Suspicion (35 page)
It was snowing harder now, and the road was getting very narrow. As Bruno kept turning the wheel right and then left to get around the curves, Alison’s stomach began to churn. She had never been a good back-seat rider. But she couldn’t get sick now. She had to keep pretending that she was passed out. That way, Bruno wouldn’t feel as if he had to watch her every second.
She wasn’t sure how long the rest of the ride lasted. She was concentrating on her breathing, which she kept deep and even, just in case Bruno was listening to it. It was a little trick she had perfected during the past twelve months. Every night, and especially after an argument, her
mother would come up to her room before going to hers, hoping they could have one of those mother-daughter chats she was so fond of. But Alison would pretend to be asleep. After a while, Kate would kiss her on the forehead, tuck the covers around her and leave.
A sob began to press against her throat. She swallowed to push it back. I’m sorry, Mommy. I wish you were here now.
The car came to an abrupt stop and Alison’s stomach did a somersault. Please, God, she prayed, don’t let me throw up. Not now.
The back door opened and she quickly closed her eyes. She thought of everything her drama teacher at Sawmill Academy had told her the day Alison had found out she was going to play the lead in the Christmas play. "Forget that you’re acting and that you’re on a stage. Let yourself into the skin, the soul, the heart of your character. Don’t just imagine what it would feel like to be Elena. Become Elena."
That’s what she had to do now. She had to become that limp, unconscious girl and hope she was as good in this role as she was in Mrs. Gherart’s Elena’s Christmas Wish.
Grunting, Bruno reached into the back and pulled her out feet first Although she hadn’t expected him to be gentle, she wished he had been a little more considerate. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be unconscious. Unconscious people didn’t gripe about their kidnapper’s rough manners.
Letting herself hang from his arms, she tried to relax while at the same time wondering where he was going to dump her. A couch or a bed probably wouldn’t bring out so much as a murmur from her. But what if he dropped her on the floor? Would she be able not to cry out in pain?
You’d better if you want a chance to get to that phone.
As she felt herself bounce on something soft and springy, she relaxed.
Bruno’s footsteps moved away. Feeling relatively safe, Alison opened her eyes. She was in a log cabin of some sort. A table lamp cast a soft glow on the log walls and rustic furnishings. Directly across from the sofa where she lay was a huge brick fireplace. Above the mantel, the antlers of what must have been a very large buck pointed down at her.
Turning her head slightly, she saw Bruno standing by the window. His broad back blocked out most of the light. In this small room, he looked even bigger than he had in Maddy’s penthouse.
How was she going to make a run for the phone with him standing there?
As he started to turn, Alison resumed her pose, letting her right arm dangle over the side of the sofa for effect.
He didn’t seem to pay any attention to her. Instead, he started to walk aimlessly around the room. As the minutes passed, he grew more and more restless.
Was he upset because Maddy hadn’t called with her new set of instructions?
With a chill in her heart, she remembered the tragic story of Polly Klaas, the California girl who had been abducted from her home a couple of years ago, raped and then killed.
What if she was about to suffer the same fate?
Before she could scare herself even more than she already was, she heard a noise. Opening up her eyes again, she saw that Bruno had picked up the phone, not the cellular, which was hopefully still inside the car, but the one on the small table near the fireplace. His back was to her.
"This is Bruno," he said roughly after a few seconds.
"Let me talk to Maddy." Suddenly, with no warning, Bruno let out an exclamation. "Jail?" he said as Alison watched him intently. "They took Maddy to jail? What the hell for?"
Alison sat up. Maddy in jail? Not sure whether the news was an omen or a greater threat, she moved slowly to the edge of her seat.
"Damn." Bruno ran a hand over his bald head and kept it there. "Did she say anything?" he asked, his voice sounding uncertain. "Did she leave a message for me?"
Alison threw a frantic glance toward the front door, which was no more than eight or ten feet from where she sat. Here was the chance she’d been waiting for. It was now or never.
Standing up, she took a deep breath. God knew when she’d be able to take the next one. Then, ever so slowly, she inched her way toward the door, one cautious step at a time. Bruno continued to talk on the phone, unaware of what was happening behind his back.
She was almost there.
At last, Alison’s hand made contact with the doorknob. Her eyes fixed on Bruno, she turned it, opening the door just wide enough to slip through it. Once she was outside, she closed it again.
The snow was still coming down, but she ignored it. She kept focused on the car in the driveway. When she reached it, she said another prayer. "One more favor, God," she whispered as she gripped the handle. "If you grant it, I promise I’ll never miss another Sunday service. Don’t let the car door be locked."
Pulling on the handle, she felt the door open and almost let out a cry of victory. Then, remembering that time was crucial, she quickly stepped into the car. The phone was still there-on the console.
Leaving the door open, she picked it up and dialed the number of Fairchild Baxter. "This is Alison Logan," she said quickly. "May I speak to my mother, please. It’s an emergency."
"Certainly, Alison. Hold on, honey."
"Alison," her mother said when she came on the line, "what emerg-"
"Mom, I’ve been kidnapped!" Before Kate could reply, the words tumbled out of her mouth. "This big, ugly man took me to some mountain cabin-"
A huge hand fell on hers, knocking the phone to the floor. "Little bitch." Bruno pulled her out of the car so hard, she thought her arm would fall off.
Alison’s shout of pain was lost on him. Looking like a madman, he grabbed Alison by her coat and literally dragged her back into the cabin.
This time, he took her to a back bedroom and made her sit on the floor while he yanked a sheet from the bed. With no more effort than it would have taken to tear a page from a newspaper, he ripped a strip from the sheet. Then, holding Alison’s hands together, he twisted the makeshift rope around her wrists, made a tight knot, then tied her to the bedpost.
When he was sure she wouldn’t be going anywhere, he left the room.
Alison glanced hopelessly around her. How in God’s name was she going to get out of this one?
Thirty
Her morale considerably boosted by Kate’s encouraging words at lunch, Rose dropped her keys on top of the credenza in the foyer and picked up her mail from a silver dish.
Kate was right. Eric was a big boy now. And he was with the woman he loved. At least she hoped he loved her. After all Megan had risked to be with him, she would be devastated if she found out that her feelings weren’t shared.
When the phone rang, Rose picked it up, speaking absently into it as she kept sorting through her mail. "Hello?"
"Hi, Mom."
A strangled sound, halfway between a sob and a laugh escaped from Rose’s throat. She gripped the receiver with both hands. "Dear God, Eric, is that really you?"
"It’s me, Mom. And I’m coming home."
"Oh, Eric, I’m so glad. But…" She paused. "What about the warrant for your arrest?"
"I’ll deal with that when I get there, Mom. And I’ll explain everything then."
"When will that be?"
"Megan and I are on the way. Provided we don’t get picked up by the police," he added with astounding lightness, "we should be in Potomac in about an hour. But
don’t tell anyone, okay? Not even Douglas. I’ve got to do this my own way."
"I won’t say a word." She had difficulty remaining calm. "Oh, Eric, I’m so glad you called. Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see."
"I know. Look, it’s starting to snow here and I’ve got to concentrate on the road. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?"
"Okay, darling. Give my love to Megan."
After hanging up, Rose folded her hands and pressed them against her mouth as tears of relief ran down her cheeks.
She glanced at the phone again, wondering if Eric’s warning not to tell "anyone" had included Kate. She never had a chance to finish her thought. The front door opened, and Joseph, looking paler and more agitated than she had ever seen him before, walked in.
"Dear God, Joseph, what’s wrong?" Mildly alarmed, she glanced behind him. "Where’s Alison?"
Joseph gripped his cap with both hands. "I don’t know, ma’am." Making a tremendous effort to keep his voice on an even keel, he added, "She’s gone."
Rose’s hand shot to her mouth. She could already feel the blood rush to her head as something icy settled in the pit of her stomach. She held on to the credenza. "What do you mean gone? Where did you take her?"
"To Miss Melissa’s house, ma’am. It was agreed that I would pick her up at three. But when I went there, the maid told me that Miss Alison had come in for just a few minutes and then left."
"Why would Alison go to Melissa’s house when she knew perfectly well that Melissa wouldn’t be there?"
"I wasn’t aware of that at the time, ma’am. She must have wanted to go somewhere else. She told Zina that I was waiting for her at the curb when she knew that I had already left."
"She lied to you? She deliberately lied?"
Joseph sighed. "Yes, ma’am." Then, his voice
stronger, he asked, "Should we call the police?"
"Yes! No!" Rose ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, God, I don’t know what to do. I should call her mother first." She picked up the phone. "Yes, that’s it. Kate will know what to do."
As Alison’s call was abruptly cut off, Kate hit the plunger in a frantic attempt to be reconnected. "Alison! Alison, talk to me!"
But she knew it was useless. The line was dead.
Frankie, whose office door was open, ran in. "Kate, what is it?"
Raw fear shot through Kate’s bloodstream. Everything she had ever learned about staying calm in a time of crisis was forgotten.
Some maniac had taken her little girl.
"Kate!" Frankie was shaking her. "Answer me."
"Alison’s been kidnapped." She wasn’t sure how she got the words out. or how she was able to hear them and not break down completely.
"Oh, my God, no." Frankie’s eyes were wide with horror. "Does she know where she is? Or who took her?"
Kate tried to put the questions in order, but her mind, blurry from the shock, refused to function. "Mitch," she said, her speech slurred as if she had been drinking. "Have to contact Mitch."
"I’ll do it." Before Frankie could reach the phone on Kate’s desk, it shrilled, startling them both. Frankie picked it up, then handed it to Kate. "It’s Rose."
"Oh, Kate." Rose’s voice was filled with panic. "Alison is missing. She lied to Joseph about going to Melissa’s house, and when he went to get her, she wasn’t there."
Through a monumental effort, Kate was able to collect herself. "She just called, but we were disconnected."
"Then she’s all right!"
"No." Kate pressed a hand over her heart in a futile attempt to stop its erratic beating. "She’s been kidnapped. " There was a small cry at the other end of the line, followed by hysterical sobbing. Kate could feel the panic mounting again. "Rose, stop it!" she said sharply. "I’m not going to be able to do a single constructive thing if everyone around me falls apart."
The sobbing stopped. "What shall we do?" Rose asked in a trembling voice.
"I’ll contact Mitch Calhoon. Then I’ll come to your house to talk to Joseph."
"What if Alison calls you again?"
"Frankie will stay here in case she does. And I’ll ask Maria to go back to the house and cover that line."
"We should call the police, Kate. Or the FBI."
"No," she said firmly. "Not until we know what the demands are-if there are any."
As she was hanging up, Frankie called from her office. "Kate. I’ve got Mitch on line two."
Kate hit the button. "Mitch, thank God."
"Frankie said Alison has been kidnapped."
"I don’t have a lot of details." Feeling as though she was about to hyperventilate, Kate took a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly. "She just called and said that a big, ugly man took her to some mountain cabin. She didn’t have a chance to say anything more. We were disconnected. I’m on my way to Douglas’s house. Joseph may remember something important." "I’ll meet you there."
Felicia, the housekeeper who had replaced Maria a year ago, was standing in Rose’s drawing room, her chubby face clouded with worry. "Joseph told me what happened," she said to Rose. "Is there any news from Miss Alison?"
Rose nodded and tried not to cry. Kate was right. Nothing could be accomplished by falling apart. "She’s been kidnapped. Detective Calhoon and Mrs. Logan are on their way here."
Felicia closed her eyes and crossed herself, murmuring something Rose didn’t understand.
"Please make some coffee, Felicia, and perhaps some sandwiches. I’m not sure how long we’ll…" She couldn’t put that last thought together. But Felicia understood.
"Si’, senora. Right away."
She ought to try to reach Douglas again, Rose thought as Felicia left the room. His secretary had expected him back at three, but it was well past that now and there was still no sign of him.
Other books
Selkie's Revenge by Rosanna Leo
Power & Majesty by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Loren D. Estleman - Amos Walker 21 - Infernal Angels by Loren D. Estleman
The Beach House by Young, Chloe
His Unexpected Bride by Jo Ann Ferguson
Guardian's Hope by Jacqueline Rhoades
Knifepoint by Alex Van Tol
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison
Eagle's Heart by Alyssa Cole