Swept Away
Authors: Elizabeth Seckman
Copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth Seckman
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Printed in the United States of America.
First Printing, April 2016
Formatting by CookieLynn Publishing Services, LLC
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, live or dead, is entirely coincidental.
To Jo Wake. The grandmother of dragon
s
.
Table of Contents
Summer 2010
“Storm’s coming, Arie. Please, let me get Troy to help us.”
“No.” Ariel’s answer was quick and sharp.
Maddy shook her head, but said no more. She could see Troy Miller in his yard. The boy could be there in the time it took her to yell his name. He was taller and stouter than either girl, and could probably scale the bank with the dog and be out of the lake before the storm hit. Maddy wasn’t so certain about Ariel’s chances. The water off Lake Erie grew choppier; its normally smooth waves white-capping, slapping against the jagged rock along its shore. Maddy was beginning to wonder if the stubborn mule would drown herself and the dog.
“Over here,” Maddy moved along the edge of the bank to a spot where the land dipped. The ground here was a thickened sludge where the rising water softened the rich, black soil.
First step in, Ariel sank ankle deep. She pulled her foot loose and took another step. “Crap. I lost my shoe.”
Maddy was losing patience. With a frown and a head shake, she repeated, “If you’d just—“
“No,” Ariel said. Tucking the mud-caked mutt against her hip, she slowly moved toward dry land. Three steps later, Ariel sunk to her knees in mud. She keeled to the left as the weight of the dog threw off her balance. “Good lord, it’s like quicksand.”
Maddy lay on her belly and stretched her arms out toward her friend. “See if I can get him.”
Ariel gave the dog a toss and Maddy grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He yipped, but quickly quieted as she pulled him up over the bank, safe on solid land.
“You got him?”
“Yeah. You better hurry. It’ going to be bad.”
Ariel crawled to the drier part of the bank and with both hands free, she was up and over in seconds. Covered in mud, she looked down at herself and frowned. “My mother is going to kill me.”
“Tell her you did it…hell, I can’t think of a reason she’d be okay with. You’re up shit creek. I don’t know why you didn’t let me yell for Troy. He’d have done it…for you.”
Ariel headed for the road, arms swinging. Maddy had to jog to catch up with her. “What gives? I didn’t think the date went that bad. You two seemed to hit it off.”
“It’s not that….it’s just…Jeb found out. He wasn’t happy,” Ariel said.
“Did you tell him your mom gave you permission?”
“It didn’t matter. She denied knowing anything about it.”
They walked along quietly. Thunder rumbled behind them. Maddy needed to call her mom for a ride, but she hated to leave Ariel when she was in one of her moods.
They walked along silently. The small terrier sniffed every rock and leaf in the road. “What will you name him?” Ariel asked.
“Me name him? You’re the one who jumped in and saved him.”
“You would have if I hadn’t beaten you to it. Besides, I can’t take him home. You know that.”
The storm-grey light filtering through the leaves gave Ariel a hollow, dead look that made Maddy’s skin crawl. There was something different about her friend. Maddy knew something was wrong. Something that wouldn’t get better with time, only worse. But she didn’t know how to fix it.
“So what’s his name?” Ariel asked.
“I don’t know,” Maddy answered slowly as she pulled herself from her thoughts.
“First name that comes to mind, no thinking.”
“Toby,” Maddy said
“Toby? Hmm. I like it. Hey, Toby.”
The dog barked.
“Cool.” Ariel smiled. “He likes it. I suppose a filthy, stinky guy walking with a shoeless girl down a country road would like the name Toby.”
Ariel paused at the path that led to the monstrous lake house. She took a deep breath; her shoulders dropped. Maddy hated this part of the day—watching the stress that came over her friend when she had to go home.
“As soon as we turn eighteen, we will get us a place. You, me, and Toby.”
“I can’t wait,” Ariel said.
“You know,” Maddy said. “Why don’t we do it now?”
“Now?”
Maddy shrugged. “Yeah, now. Come on, we look eighteen. We could get jobs easy. Go somewhere warm…with a beach.”
Ariel grabbed her friend’s arm. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Oh my gosh. We could, couldn’t we? Maddy, I know where Jeb keeps his cash stash. Thousands of dollars. Stacks and stacks of bills in his desk.”
“Nuh, uh. Who does that?”
Ariel shrugged. “Jeb. So, here’s the plan. You call Devon and tell him we need a ride. He’ll give us a lift to the bus stop, and then we take off.”
Maddy’s face squished. “We can’t take Toby on a bus.”
Ariel nodded slowly. “Then…what if…we steal Jeb’s car. When we get to where we want to go, we ditch it.”
“Well there Thelma, how the hell hard do you think it’d be to ditch a car and not be caught?”
“Well, we steal the Porsche and leave it unattended and someone will take it for us.”
“You’re a freaking genius. I’ll go home and get a few things, and I’ll meet you at midnight after everyone is in bed.”
Ariel squealed, grabbing her friend and hugging her. “This is the beginning of something good. I can feel it.”
Summer 2015
Tucker Boone was a peculiar creature compared to the people who raised him. Ed and Marlene Adkins were both short, blonde, and boring. By contrast, at age fifteen, Tucker stood well over six foot with an athletic build, thick dark hair, and a restlessness that was nearly palpable.
When he turned eighteen, the idea of heading to college fit him like a tight suit. Instead, he joined the Marine Corps. Marlene was horrified, certain her only child was headed to Iraq. In her fury, she made a disgusted comment about the apple not falling far from the tree. “You’re just like your father,” she screamed. “The hell with your family. Go save the world.”
Odd thing for a woman who, until that moment, swore his paternity was a credit to a sperm donation from Reproductive Associates, Inc. But there was little time to question the remark, since he was, indeed, headed off to a war zone.
Once his service ended, he was out less than a week before the question began to tingle his spine.
Who was Tucker Boone?
Pressed for the truth, his mother grudgingly admitted his father wasn’t donor number eleven-one-five, but a real flesh and blood man. One whom she lived with for years, and who was still listed in the Applewold, Pennsylvania phone directory. Tucker decided he’d visit the man. His mother wasn’t happy with the decision, but having lost the moral high ground in her fury, she could only offer a tight-lipped warning about the dangers of turning over rocks. A determined Tucker could not be swayed.
It didn’t take him long to realize his mother might be right. Nothing good lived under rocks. On first sight, the ratty old trailer his
father
lived in looked abandoned. Windows were held to the rusting metal walls with duct tape. The garbage-littered yard didn’t even have enough space to grow grass. Just tufts of weeds in a square of mud.
Tucker was about to abort the mission when a harried-looking woman with a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth hollered to him, asking in a voice as raspy as the tattered screen door her bony arm forced open, “You here about Madison? You with the FBI?”
It wasn’t that Tucker, a clean-cut, handsome guy in jeans and a blue Oxford button-up, looked like an agent, he just didn’t look like he belonged in that trailer park.
“No, ma’am.” Tucker shook his head as he mounted a sagging step.
“You a police officer?”
“No ma’am. My name’s Tucker Boone. I’m looking to find my dad, Robert Morgan?”
“Oh.” The woman’s bony shoulders sagged. “Your old man don’t live here no more.”
“You know where I might find him?”
“You Marlene’s boy?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“Yes ma’am.”
“You can drop the ma’am stuff. I’m just Gloria. I suppose I’m your stepmom.” Gloria laughed, opening the door wider. “Well, you came a long way; you might as well come on in and sit a spell. I can tell you some of what you probably want to know. I can certainly tell you about your sister. Did ya even know ya had one?”
“No, ma’am. Can’t say I did.”
“Didn’t figure. Your momma did her best to cut ties completely. Not that I’m casting blame, Rob played his part too. He didn’t give a fig that she hated military life. When it was time to re-up, he signed on without even asking her. That was it for them. She told him to go to hell, but instead he came to Hooley’s Bar and met me.” Gloria interrupted the story with her raspy laugh, which ended in a coughing fit. She had to take a minute and a few deep breaths before adding, “My Maddy, she’s your age. Let me see if I remember; you turned twenty-two in January, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Maddy will be twenty-two next month. Born on the Fourth of July in Italy. At the Ghedi Airforce Base. Perfect birthday for a military brat.”
“She’s the same age as me?”
Gloria nodded. “You two are what my grandma would call Irish twins. Or in you guys’ case, a couple of bastards born in the same year.”
“I never knew. Is she home?” Tucker felt a rush of enthusiasm.
“No, she ran away five years ago—or so they say.”
Tucker’s hopes crashed. This morning, he thought he’d meet his dad. Then there was no dad, but he had a sister…briefly. Now he was back to nothing.
“Come on in, and we’ll talk.”
The air in the trailer was stale, and the floors groaned under his feet with each step.
Gloria made her way through the narrow hall into a living room that was as small as it was gloomy with its faux-wood paneled walls and windows shrouded in heavy brown drapes. The only light in the room was the glow from a table lamp and the muted television. As Gloria moved through the space, she gave her entourage of cats a scratch or a pat on the head and shared each of their stories.
“This is Hercules. I call him Herc. Found him in a dumpster down the street. And Mabel, sweet and able. She nursed Sybil’s kittens. Sybil was a rotten mom, weren’t you, ya old slut?” Gloria said as she patted a yellow tabby on the head. "And then there’s Bonnie. She just showed up on my porch the other day. Heard her meowing in the middle of the night. Last thing I needed was another damned cat, but then I thought of my own girl out there with nothing, and I couldn’t help but bring Bonnie in. Guess I hoped if it was my baby crying for help, someone would listen.” She made her way to a worn recliner and grabbed a pack of cigarettes on the table.
“That’s mighty kind of you, ma’am.” Tucker took the seat opposite hers, sinking so far into the broken down cushion, he gripped the armrests to keep his butt from hitting the floor.
Gloria tapped the pack on the palm of her hand and let out a gravelly laugh. “More of that ma’am business.”
“It’s a habit. I’ve only been stateside a few days.”
Gloria’s hands shook as she leaned forward, pointing to Tucker with her cigarette. “And this was your first stop? Poor sap.” As she lit up, her eyes crinkled in thought. She frowned as she sucked harder on her cigarette, making it crackle and glow. “Let’s see. I suppose you want to know about your dad. Hate to say it, but he’s in a nursing home on Baker Street. You can visit him if you want. It’s downtown. You can’t miss it. Don’t know what good it’d do ya. He can’t talk no more, and his right side is completely paralyzed.”
“What happened?”
“He had a stroke,” Gloria said. “I coulda kept him here, but I warned him early on—cheat on me like you did Marlene, and your ass is outta my house. Well, he cheated. Him and Amanda Stone had to
comfort
each other. His daughter was missing and instead of looking for her, he was dipping his wick.”
“Amanda Stone?” Tucker asked. Gloria said the name like he should know her.
“Amanda is Ariel’s mom. And I will say, though it makes me want to vomit, that Amanda Stone is a looker. I suppose if I was a man, I'd do her before a skinny old gal like me.”
“Who’s Ariel?”
“Maddy’s best friend.” Gloria gave him a wide-eyed look. “You never heard of Ariel Stone? Didn’t you watch the news? Read the papers?”
“I’ve been in Iraq, but before that I was in high school and didn’t worry too much about the news.”
“I see. Well, Ariel Stone was Maddy’s best friend. Poor girl was murdered by her stepdad. Seems he was abusing her—sexually. He always did make my skin crawl. Maddy hated him too. I always thought he was too strict with her. Never allowing her to go many places. But I never imagined…that poor girl.”
“Ariel? That’s the Stone girl?” Gloria nodded. “So, where’s Maddy?”
“They say she ran away.” Gloria sighed, not at all sounding convinced. She took a deep breath and said, “If she did, I wish she’d come home. I miss her.”
“Have you searched the web?”
“No. I ain’t got a computer.” Then as if an epiphany slammed her tiny body, she nearly jumped in her seat, bringing her close to the edge of the cushion. “Hey, maybe that’s why you’re here. I know Marlene didn’t tell you about your father. Had to be something in your gut bring you here. Maybe it’s your sister. Like some sort of blood bond, ya know? You could find her.”
Tucker rested his suddenly heavy arms on his knees. All he wanted was a connection. As pathetic as he felt admitting it— when the action stopped, he was numb. In high school, he had sports, and in the Marines, he had a war zone to distract him. Here, in the land of the normal life, he didn’t fit in. He moved among people who knew where they belonged, and he had what? A mother who lied to control to him, a dad who was a vegetable, and a sister who was obviously smart enough to get the hell out of Dodge. Even in his messed up idea of ordinary, it was bizarre. Add in the fact that he was now expected to find her? It was too much. Tucker rubbed the back of his head. “If she ran away, maybe she doesn’t want to be found?”
“I see what you’re saying. Everybody I ask to help me tells me, ‘
she ran away…she’ll come back when she’s ready.’
But my heart doesn’t buy that story. She wouldn’t have left Ariel. And, Rob never believed Maddy ran away either, and there’s a couple of things that can be said of Rob Morgan. One, he thinks with his dick. And two, he knows people. He always had great gut instincts. And also, before Ariel died, she swore she saw her stepdad hurt Maddy.”
“She saw him?”
“Well, she sort of saw it in a dream, but we all knew Ariel was sort of psychic.”
Tucker’s eyebrow popped up.
“I know, sounds crazy. But the girl had a way of knowing things that didn’t make sense. Rob always teased her about picking him some lottery numbers.” Gloria shook her head and stared over his shoulder a moment. “Look, I know logic says Maddy ran away, but there is that voice that bugs me when I try to sleep…did Jeb Stone hurt my girl? Or maybe she run off in fear of him. Maybe she doesn’t know he’s locked up now. Maybe she doesn’t know it’s safe to come home.”
Tucker rubbed his jawline. He should have listened to his mother. Dead girls, psychics, and a dad who couldn’t keep his zipper shut. What a mess. But like any good train wreck, he was drawn in. “What happened the night Maddy disappeared?”
“After dinner, Maddy said she and Toby were going to Ariel’s.”
“Toby? Was he her boyfriend?”
Gloria laughed. “No. No. Toby was her dog. Her and Arie found the mutt earlier that morning. She was going to take him to spend the night at the Stone place. Rob, of course said no, because he didn’t think the Stones would appreciate her dragging the mutt along. Maddy insisted Ariel asked, but Rob wouldn’t budge. Of course, neither would Maddy, so it turned into a pretty good fight. They got so loud, a neighbor called the police. The police told Maddy she had to listen to her parents and stay put, so she went to her room. Then like the brat she was, she called her boyfriend and snuck out anyhow.”
“Is the boyfriend gone?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, he says he dropped her and the dog off at the bottom of Ariel’s driveway. But Jeb and Amanda say she never showed up. Her and Toby disappeared without a trace that night.”
“Was she seeing anyone else? Someone who might’ve picked her up?”
“Well, there was the one boy. She’d dated him a month or so before, but they broke up. He got a little pushy with her. She came home with bruises on her arms and neck, and Rob had to have a talk with him, if you know what I mean.” Gloria gave him a wink.
“Was that boy checked out?”
“He was at a baseball camp, so they say he couldn’t have done anything. Here,” she said, pulling a file folder from a stack of papers on the table. She handed it to Tucker. “It’s all in there.”
Newspaper clippings of the Stone girl’s murder filled the file. There were only a few small articles about Madison—just quick,
if you see her call the police
articles.
“So, Ariel thought her stepdad killed Madison? The same guy who ended up killing her? I hate to say it, but—“
“Don’t you dare say she’s dead. She may be hurt somewhere or scared, but she can’t be dead. And see, I have proof.” Grabbing the file from his hands, she clutched the papers, her voice growing more insistent as she explained. “Look here.” She pulled an envelope out of the folder. “It’s a letter. It arrived a week after Ariel was killed. It looks just like Maddy’s handwriting. It’s a clue—a clue about where to find her. She probably meant it for Ariel. Those two were like peas in a pod. Looked alike, talked alike. Twins couldn’t have been closer.”
Tucker pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it. He read the words:
I’ve gone Mad, Mags.
“It’s a clue, don’t ya see? Maddy’s alive, and she expects Ariel to find her. But Ariel’s dead, so I have no idea what that means. No idea where to look. But I bet you’re smart, like your momma. You can figure it out. You can find Maddy.”
Tucker stood. “I’ll look into it, but I can’t promise anything.”
That was enough for Gloria. She insisted he keep the file and report back to her with anything he dug up.
He gripped the file in his hands as he walked toward his car. Halfway there, he turned and asked, “If you knew who I was, then evidently my dad knew too?”
Gloria scratched her head and frowned. “By the time he got back to this area, you were thirteen years old and happy enough with your stepdad. Marlene told him to leave well enough alone. He’d just screw up your head—with you thinking Ed was your dad and all. I will tell you Rob went to all your games. He was right proud of you. Though why, I don’t know. Not like he had any reason to credit himself for your raising. But still, you were his flesh and blood.”