Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) (20 page)

Erica gingerly felt the side of her head. She could feel dried blood clumped in her hair fusing it to the side of her head. She had been here at least long enough for the wound to stop bleeding and dry. She had to find a way out of here. She sat up and immediately regretted the movement. The pain in her head spiked and her stomach lurched. She barely had time to lean over the edge of the bed before she threw up.  She sat up much more slowly the second time. Her stomach and head still protested the motion but she managed not to throw up.

The pounding in her head made it hard to concentrate but she forced herself to try. There was really nothing in the room.
Nothing to help her determine where she was. Nothing to help her determine who had taken her out of her car. She could only assume that the person who held her now was the same person who had run her off the road. The same person who had been stalking her for weeks. The question that made her start to shake was what did he intend to do with her now? She closed her eyes and forced away all the possibilities. She couldn’t think about that now, not if she was going to get through this.

She scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to slowly stand up. Unfortunately, the second she put her feet on the floor pain shot through her left foot and halfway up her leg. Her breath huffed out in a whoosh and she dropped back down on the bed. The pain in her head had distracted her from everything else but now she tried to evaluate herself for injury. She was sore all over, but given the way the car had tumbled that wasn’t the least bit surprising.

Her head was obviously injured, in addition to her foot her right wrist hurt too. Once again she stood, this time she put all her weight on her right foot and limped to the door. She tried the door knob. She wasn’t surprised to find it locked but she was acutely disappointed. The door felt solid, she doubted she would have been able to break through it even if she weren’t injured. In her current state the mere idea of slamming her body into the door made her clench her teeth against a surge of pain.

Erica leaned against the wall to take some of the pressure off her foot. The wood paneling actually felt less substantial than the door. Looking around she thought she might be in an old mobile home. The question was where? Were there neighbors that might hear if she yelled? Or would yelling alert the psychopath holding her that she was awake? She pressed her ear to the door. She didn’t hear any voices but she heard thumps. It sounded like someone moving around in another part of the house. She wasn’t here alone.

Ethan bolted from the room. He ran to
Jace’s office at a dead sprint. He surged through the door startling everyone in the room. Thankfully Diane was still there being questioned by the police.

“Where is she?” Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions even Diane. “Where is Erica?” Jace and one of the police officers caught him before he reached Diane, holding him back.

“What’s going on?” Jace asked.

“Erica’s been kidnapped.” Ethan was trying hard to get control of his emotions but the cold fear that had seized his gut when Sean told him, was threatening to consume him.

“You think Diane has something to do with it?”

“Erica was run off the road by her car.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Diane protested, “I’ve been here.”

“She has been here, the surveillance proves it.” Jace whispered. 

“Who’s driving your car?”

“If my car isn’t in the parking lot then I guess it’s been stolen.” Diane crossed her arms over her chest. The smug gesture pissed him off and he tried to grab her. Once again Jace held him back.

“Tell me where she is!” He roared and Diane actually looked a little scared for the first time.

“Mr. Reynolds you need to calm down.” The officer who was helping Jace restrain him spoke for the first time.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. The woman I love is missing, injured, bleeding! And she knows where to find her.” The female officer moved to Diane’s back and began reading her her rights and cuffing her.

“What are you doing? You can’t take her, not until she tells me where Erica is.”

“Mr. Reynolds she will be questioned by a detective down at the station. You need to let the police handle this now.” Ethan watched in helpless frustration as they led Diane out of the room.

“Ethan, we don’t even know for sure Diane was involved. We don’t know for sure what that text meant.” Sean said as if trying to comfort him. Ethan felt defeated, like there was a weight pressing down on his chest. How could he just sit here and do nothing. How could he leave it to the police? They didn’t know
her, they didn’t care about her like he did. How much priority would they put on finding this one woman?

“What did they arrest her for?
False report?” He wasn’t sure she could be arrested for that since they had stopped her before she actually filed a report.

“Corporate Espionage.”

“What?” Ethan whirled and met
Jace’s eyes.

“The flash drive on the video, she installed a keystroke logger on my computer.” Jace sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “She got my passwords. She had access to everything.” Ethan stared at his partner wide eyed.

“My current security code.” Ethan said softly.

“
Yes, and the locations of all of our cameras, and the code to the utility room downstairs.”

“The power outage?”

“Yep.”

“But… she’s been stalking Erica? Why?”

“I’m not sure, I’m going to have to go back and see everything she accessed I’ve already got IT on it.”

“Maybe it was to distract you.” Sean suggested. Ethan had forgotten he was there.

“Distract me from what?”

“Distract you from work. With a threat to Erica, you are less likely to notice inconsistencies here?” Ethan’s knees were threatening to give out so he sank into a chair in front of
Jace’s desk.

“So this is all about what?
Money? Why kidnap Erica? Is there going to be a ransom demand?”

“That would be my guess.”

“It makes sense.” Jace spoke up, “We don’t access financials with our regular credentials. I haven’t had a reason to access any corporate accounts in a long time.”

“The finance department handles that.” Ethan murmured.

“But if there is a ransom for Erica, you’ll access them. Every one you have to.”

“Get IT in my office,
hell get them all over the network. I want every computer swept, every password changed.” Ethan barked. “And sweep for bugs too.

“I’ll take care of that.” Ethan swiveled and saw Norma still sitting quietly on the couch. He had forgotten she was there too.

“Thanks Norma.” Ethan looked back at Jace. He looked into his partner’s eyes for a long moment.

“She wasn’t alone, someone has Erica.”

“So we just have to find her partner.” Jace finished his thought. Without further discussion they both went to work.

Erica took a deep breath and tried to will the room to stop spinning. Her head pounded viciously and her stomach churned. She was lying on the dusty bed, it helped a little but not enough. She heard the scrape of the lock and forced herself to sit up. She wasn’t going to face her attacker lying down. The door creaked when it opened and Erica felt as if she was trapped in a B movie with bad lighting. She didn’t like slasher flicks anyway she definitely didn’t want to be the helpless victim. She held her breath waiting for the sinister villain to come into view. When her kidnapper finally came into view her breath whooshed out in shock.

“Jade?”

“Surprised?”

“Um, well yes.
Frankly I am shocked. You ran me off the road? Kidnapped me? Why?”

“He was mine, he was mine and you took him away.”

“I… Ethan?”

“We were going to be married and you ruined it.”

“Ethan?” She asked again.

“You just couldn’t stay away though could you? You should have stayed in San Diego.”

“Stay away,” Erica muttered, remembering the brick.

“And when you came around it was like I didn’t even exist. He loved me and you lured him away.” Jade’s voice went up a notch, her eyes took on a wild look and she practically screeched, “You little tramp.” The sudden change in the woman’s demeanor made Erica jump. Just as quickly her expression and voice returned to normal. For the first time since her kidnapper had been revealed, Erica was afraid.

“It doesn’t matter. Why should I want a man whose head could be so easily turned? A man who would say such beautiful things to me and then dump me the second you are back in town.” A million questions sprang to Erica’s mind but she refused to voice them. She told herself that the woman was delusional and not to play into her delusion but it wasn’t easy. Instead she tried a different tact.

“I need a doctor.” Jade’s only response was a smile. “How long do you plan to keep me here?”

“Not long, Ethan will come for you.”

“Does he know I am here?”

“Not yet. First he has to pay.”

“A ransom?”

“To begin with.”

“And then what?”

“And then he can watch you die.” Jade laughed. Erica gasped and pain surged sharp and bright through her head. “Or maybe you can watch him die first.” Jade’s voice took on a childlike glee, “I know, you can both die while he tries to save you. Won’t that be romantic?” Jade clapped her hands happily and Erica wondered just what had caused this woman to be so seriously unbalanced.

“I thought… I thought you said you loved him. You were going to marry him. You can’t do that if he’s dead.” Erica’s heart pounded and she blinked back tears. She wasn’t sure it was possible to convince this woman to spare Ethan but she had to try.

“It’s too late for that now. You have tainted him. I needed him to be pure.” Jade pouted.

“Pure?”

“When he dies he will be pure again.” Erica, could not follow the conversation. Either the woman was seriously disturbed or her head injury was worse than she thought. At the moment she really didn’t know which. She did know she needed to escape, the door was still open but Jade was in her path. Jade was slender and about average height. Much smaller than Ethan and she had practiced her self-defense moves on him.

Aware of all of her injuries, she knew she would need the element of surprise, so she launched herself from her position on the bed, attempting to tackle the other woman. Jade bore the brunt of their collision but much to Erica’s shock she remained on her feet. She actually caught Erica against her
chest. Erica felt a sharp sting at the back of her arm. When she looked she saw Jade push down the plunger on a hypodermic needle.

“
Nighty-nite.” Jade laughed, the room swam before Erica’s eyes and her muscles fell slack.

Chapter 22

“I think I have it.” Jace strode through Ethan’s office door with a printout in hand.

“What?”

“Diane is a rock climber.”

“Okay.”

“She belongs to a climbing club. I called the manager and emailed a picture, he says that she has a climbing partner.” He put the picture on the desk. “Look familiar?”

Ethan looked at the picture, it was of a person on a rock wall, their face wasn’t visible but the position on the wall looked just like the image of the figure climbing up the brick wall on the back of Erica’s apartment. Jace tossed down another photo, it was two women one was Diane and the other a dark haired woman. According to the club her name is Jade Smith. When I put her through the system it popped out her maiden name as Jade Clements.”

“Are they related?”

“Sisters.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, so I did a property search, I got nothing for Jade but Diane has a small rental on the edge of town and there was a house outside of town that apparently belonged to their father. It was just foreclosed on.” Ethan stared at the two addresses then looked at Sean who was still there.

“If I
hand this all over to Edgepark PD will they follow up on it?”

“Of course they will but not with the kind of speed you’re looking for. Right now there is nothing at all to connect Diane to Erica’s disappearance except for that text which could mean just about anything. Unless Diane cracks, and she hasn’t yet, we don’t have enough for a search warrant.” Ethan nodded his understanding then he ripped the piece of paper in half
and handed one half to Jace. You check out the rental, I’ll check out the foreclosure.”

“Shouldn’t we go together?”

“No time.”

“Ethan you cannot go out there alone.”

“I’m coming with you,” Sean spoke up. Ethan nodded and then met Jace’s eyes.

“All right,” Jace sighed, “I’ll take Darren with me.”

“Call me if you find anything.”

Erica fought to open her eyes but she was so tired, she had never experienced such exhaustion. She could barely make her limbs move. Even her fingers were heavy. She told herself she had to wake up. She had to warn Ethan, or convince Jade to leave him alone. She had to do something. She forced her eyes open. The
angle of the light shafts coming through the window were different, she thought she must’ve slept for a few hours but she couldn’t tell what time it was or even if it was the same day. She was thirsty but still too nauseated to be hungry. Her eyes drifted to the door and she jolted with surprise when she realized it was open. She channeled every ounce of willpower into pushing herself up.

At least the sedative had dulled the pain, she was still aware there was pain but it wasn’t so sharp that it kept her from movement. She moved slowly down the hall, leaning heavily on the wall out of necessity. The dirty brown shag carpet muffled her steps. She could smell old cigarette smoke and something flowery. She couldn’t hear anything at all. No voices, no television. It was a little creepy. She tiptoed forward past a bathroom and an empty bedroom. The hallway was long but she could see a door at the end of it. Unfortunately she could see that she was going to have to cross into the open in order to get to the door. There was a window to her left at the
end of the hall but it appeared to be an old louvered window that had to be cranked open.  

The sound of tires on gravel sped her steps to the window. She looked out and saw Ethan’s truck as it eased up the driveway. She held her breath waiting for the chance to shout a warning to him. He parked and opened the driver’s door, a uniformed police man stepped out the other door. She began to shout but the sound was cut short when someone yanked her backwards from the window and clamped their hand over her mouth.

“Is this right?” Ethan leaned over the steering wheel looking around.

“Yeah look; a fire department address marker, there laying in the grass.” He saw the metal post with numbers on it where Sean was pointing but it was little reassurance.

The property was littered with junk, old cars, a bicycle with a bent front rim. It was overgrown with weeds and grass, and at the end of the drive sat a single wide trailer. Three slightly off kilter wooden steps led to the doorway. He expected to see a dog chained in the
yard, it was just that kind of place. But there wasn’t one. It looked deserted, he didn’t even see birds.

“Look!” Ethan looked where Sean pointed and saw a white Ford with a lot of front end damage. His heart rate accelerated and he threw the truck in park. He stepped out pulling his .45 at the same time. Then he heard a shout. It sounded like Erica, like she’d called out to him but then it was gone and there was only the ticking of his cooling engine.

He raised his gun toward the trailer but he knew he had to be careful, he couldn’t shoot if there was a chance he might hit Erica. He kept the truck between him and the trailer while Sean moved to cover in the yard. He was just about to move forward when the door opened.

“That is far enough.” A female voice shouted.
“Unless you want me to put this bullet right in her head.” He saw the gun at Erica’s temple and his chest seized. Erica’s form filled most of the door way. The other woman was behind her holding the gun to her head. “Did you bring the money?”

“What money?” Ethan asked before he caught himself.

“The ransom.”

“Oh, yeah of course.
I have it right here. You want to come down and get it?”

“Don’t lie to me Ethan! You didn’t know what money.” The woman protested. Something about the way she spoke made him think that she might be just a little slow.

“No, I was just a little confused. I have the ransom. I brought it. So just let Erica go.”

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you?” The woman’s voice turned angry. “You want your little tramp back.” Ethan’s grip tightened on his pistol as he leaned across his hood. He didn’t have a shot. Not with the woman hiding behind Erica.

“Don’t you see? She ruined it. She ruined everything. She has to pay! You’ll see, you’ll see once she’s gone, then we can be together again. She won’t distract you anymore.” Ethan’s heartbeat erratically, this woman was not making sense but she clearly believed what she was saying. He knew that Sean had radioed for backup he just had to buy time. He needed to get the gun away from Erica’s head.

“No, you’re wrong. It’s not Erica’s fault. It’s my fault, she didn’t distract me.”

“Then you should pay.” She turned the gun pointing it at him instead.

Erica didn’t hesitate the moment the gun wasn’t pressed to her head she brought her elbow back hard straight into Jade’s stomach. Jade
stumbled backward and pulled Erica with her. Erica heard an explosion just before she hit the ground and her world went black again.