Tangled Beauty (19 page)

“Oh, I know what you’re saying,” I answered, grabbing my cell phone. I di
aled a number on my contact list- an ornery New York cop who was also one of my best friends.

“Benny, it
’s me,” I said into the phone.

“What the hell? Do you know
what time it is?” he grunted. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry but it’s an emergency.”

He snorted. “It’s always an emergency with you. Let’s hear this particular one.”

I chuckled. “What’s wrong, Jenny cut you off, again?”

“I got a piece yesterday, asshole. I’m just fucking tired. It’s late.”

“I can tell.”

“Come on, I don’t have all damn morning. What’s the story?”

I gave him a rundown of what I knew and he sighed. “Okay,
the car could be stolen but let me make some phone calls and see what I come up with.”

“Thanks, Ben.
I owe you.”

“Damn right you do.”

I hung up and went to go find Jesse, to see if he’d heard anything yet.

***

Sinclair

When I fin
ally cleared the woods and stumbled upon a dirt road, I was so relieved I almost started crying. I knew I wasn’t out of the clear but surely this road would lead to someone who could help me.

It had to.

I pushed on and on until the
sun peaked over the horizon and the dirt-road finally led to one with pavement. After another thirty minutes or so of walking, I saw a gas station in the distance and it gave me the adrenaline I needed to get me there.

“Holy shit,” said the old woman
behind the counter as I limped into the store. Both of my feet felt like they were on fire.

“Where am I?” I asked.

She looked at me like I was high. “What do you mean, where are you?”

“Please, what city is this?”

“You’re in Big Bear Lake.”

That was almost two hours away from
Huntington Beach.

“Call the police,” I said, knowing I probably
looked like hell. My hair was now a tangled mess, my mascara was probably all over my cheeks and my expensive designer dress- it was ruined.

“You hurt?” she asked, staring at
me. “You want me to call an ambulance?”

I shook my head. “No, just call the police for now. Please,” I said.

As she reached for the phone, I noticed a car pull up to the station. When I recognized the model and the driver, my heart stopped.

“Oh, my God,” I
choked. “That’s the man who kidnapped me. Call the police, hurry!”

“Pastor Michael?” asked the woman, staring
back at me in shock. “Why surely he would never…”

“He did this to me!” I hollered
, spreading my arms out. “Please, call the police!”

“
But…”

“Fuck,” I said
, annoyed that she didn’t even believe me. “Just don’t tell him about me when he gets inside. Please.”

She frowned.
“Well, alright.”

I raced to the back of the store and locked myself in
to the bathroom, which smelled like sewage and stale cigarettes. I waited, wondering if he’d seen me walk into the station and if so, what he’d do. I closed my eyes and leaned against the door, praying that he’d just go away and I could get help.

A few minutes later, w
hen the handle to the bathroom began to jiggle, I choked back a terrified scream and backed away from the door.

“Hello?”
called the woman from the counter. “Miss?”

I sighed in relief.
“Is he gone?”

“You can come out now. You’re safe.”

I unlocked the door and stepped warily out of the bathroom.

“Come on now,” she smiled, beckoning me with her h
and. “Let’s get you something to drink.”

“Thanks,” I said, following her to the front of the store. When we reached the counter, I gasped in horror.

“Hello, Sinclair,” smiled Pastor Richie, wearing his disguise, once again.

“Oh my God!” I cried, backing away. “You lied to me!”

“Calm down, Miss,” said the woman. “Pastor Michael explained everything. You’re going to be fine.”

I shook my head vehemently. “No, he’s crazy. He tried raping me!”

Pastor Richie took a step towards me, his hands raised. “It’s okay, honey. You’re confused. You know that I would never hurt you. Now, come with me and we’ll find your pill
s, then everything will be okay.” He turned to the cashier. “She went out last night and didn’t take her meds, now her parents are frantic with worry.”

“No!” I hollered. “He’s lying. Please, call the police!”

The woman frowned and reached for the phone. “Well, I think that maybe I should call the police, Pastor. They might have better luck calming her down.”

He sighed
and reached behind his back. “I’m truly sorry about this, Cindy,” he said, pulling out a gun.

“Oh, my God!” gasped the cashier.

“No!” I cried, as he pointed the revolver at Cindy and shot her in the face, without any hesitation.

“This was your fault,” he said,
now aiming the gun at me. “You’ve ruined everything, you know.”

I raised my hands. “
I’m…I’m sorry. Please, don’t shoot me,” I sobbed.

His face softened and he opened his mouth to say something
, but then a man stepped into the store, startling the both of us.

“
What the hell?!” hollered the customer.

“Run!” I screamed.

As Pastor Richie aimed his gun at the shocked man, I turned and ran to the back of the store, through a set of swinging doors.

“Oh my God,” I moaned as the Pastor’s gun went off again.
I couldn’t believe how insane he was, killing those two without remorse.

“Come out Sinclair!” hollered the Pastor. “We can work something out if you just quit resisting
me.”

Sobbing, I ran to the
very back of the supply room and found an outside exit. I opened it and began limping away from the station, towards the forest. Just when I reached the cover of the trees, someone grabbed me around the waist and slammed me into the ground.

“Sinclair!”
hollered the Pastor. “Stop!”

“No!” I cried, struggling to get away.

“Settle down,” he said, turning me over. “We have to get out of here.”

I hit him and raked my fingernails across his f
ace as he tried grabbing my hands.

“Stop this, Sinclair!
”

I grabbed
his hair and pulled so hard, he gasped in pain. As he tried to remove my hand, I reached down with the other one, wrapped my fingers around his crotch and squeezed.

“Bitch!” he howled, punching me in the chin.

My face was on fire as he rolled away, but it didn’t stop me from trying to escape. I crawled away from him, got up, and started running back towards t
he road. When I saw a squad car pull in to the parking lot, I cried out in relief

Reed

“The car was stolen,” repeated Jesse, in horror. “Who in God’s name
is
this freak?”

“I don’
t know,” I said, sitting down next to him in the dining room. “The cops should be here, shortly. Maybe they’ll know something more.”

“I’m so sorry,” sobbed Mimi as she wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I had no idea that he was lying to me. No idea.”

“Mom, obviously we were all duped. It could have happened to anyone,” I said, especially to someone as gullible as her.

Jesse ran a hand through his hair, making it stic
k up in disarray. “What in the hell did he want with Sinclair?”

“Oh God,” moaned Mimi. “I hope he doesn’t rape
her. The poor thing.”

That had been my first thought but hearing it spoken out loud was enough to make me want to kill the bastard who took her
several times over. “Did she ever mention anyone stalking her or threatening her?” I asked Jesse.

Jesse
shook his head. “No. Never. She doesn’t go out much, she isn’t dating anyone, and she pretty much keeps to herself.”

Mimi’s eyes narrowed.
“I thought she was dating you?”

Jesse sighed. “We’re just friends, mother.”

Mimi leaned forward. “But I thought…”

“Jesus Christ,” I said. “
You already know the answer to that. Quit lying to yourself.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Mimi.

“I’m gay, mom!” snapped Jesse. “Open your eyes.”

She opened her mouth but no words came out.

“Congratulations,” I said. “You should have announced it a lot sooner, though, don’t you think?”

Jesse didn’t say
anything, he just stared at the fireplace in despair.

“It’ll be okay,” I told him. “We’ll find her.”

“I hope so,” he mumbled. “Sinclair doesn’t deserve this. She’s my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

***

Reed

The c
ops showed up sometime after three in the morning, and questioned us along with the valet who’d watched her leave with the pastor. After filling out a report and making a final search of the premises, they prepared to leave.

“That’s it?” I asked. “Isn’t there more you can do?”

One of the men, a young officer named Drake, who looked to be around Jesse’s age, shrugged. “There isn’t more we really can do at this point. She hasn’t even been missing for twenty-four hours.”

“But there’s foul play involved,” I said. “She may be dead in twenty-four hours.”

“Are you sure this friend of yours didn’t know the perp?” asked Drake.

“No, absolutely not,” said Jesse.

“Have you checked around to see if anything of value is missing?” asked the other officer. “The guy is obviously a thief.”

“The only thing valuable missing is Sinclair,” I snapped.

“Listen,” said Drake. “We’ll look into everything you’ve given us and get back to you. For now, I’d call her family and friends, to see if she’s been in contact with them.”

I nodded. “Okay, fine. But call us if you find out anything.”

“Will do,” said Drake. “We’ll check the phone company’s records too. See if it brings us anything.”

“Okay,” I said, although the odds were that the
cell phone he used was probably stolen too.

***

Reed

I couldn’
t sleep. All I could do was pace around the house and stare outside, wondering where the hell Sinclair was. It wasn’t until the sun finally rose and I had coffee in my system that I decided to try searching for her myself. I had no idea where to start, but I couldn’t sit around the house and just do nothing. I grabbed the keys to my car and started towards the front door when Jesse stopped me.

“They found her!” he hollered. “She just called me. She’s okay.”

I sighed in relief. “Thank God. Where is she?” I asked.

“Midway Hospital,” he said. “She has some minor bruises but she’s
doing fine.”

“Thank God,” I said. “Let’s go.”

Sinclair

“You have visitors,” said the nurse, an older woman with kind blue eyes and salt and pepper hair.

I cleared my throat.
“My parents?” I knew they were supposed to arriving within the hour.

“No, your
fiancé and his brother,” she said.

I raised my eyebrows.
My
fiancé?

“Okay,” I said, sitting up straighter in the bed, realizing who it had to be.

A few moments
later, Jesse breezed through the door with Reed following close behind, each carrying a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh my God,
Sin
,” said Jesse. “Are you okay?” he asked, grabbing my hand. “I was so freakin’ worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” I answered, softly.
“Now, that is.”

Reed moved closer to my bed and his face darkened.
“Did he do that to your face?” he asked with at tight jaw.