Trove (The Katie Walsh Mysteries) (31 page)

Katie felt as if her head was about to explode. The blinding light surrounding her only added to her misery. Her arm was draped across her eyes, shielding them from the full intensity. The warmth on her skin felt like sunlight. She moved slightly but stopped as an intense pain shot through her head.

She was lying on her back on something soft, a bed she guessed. She tried to piece together what had happened. She remembered being with Alec in his bed, in his arms, his strong, warm arms. Not sure why, but she sensed he wasn’t here with her, wherever here was.

She recalled sitting on her duffel bag, something cold, damp maybe, pressed against her back. She remembered sobbing but why? Where was Alec? Why wasn’t he there when she was crying? She opened her eyes slightly. The light was so bright she just knew her head would split in two if she opened them fully.

There was something there, on the edge of her mind.
Concentrate
.
Pull it out of the shadows
, she told herself. A sharp pain shot through her temple and the memory of the man and the car and his hand covering her mouth with something soft and a bitter taste came roaring into her vision.
She’d been abducted
.

She moaned. Alec was right. Her life was in danger, but she really didn’t believe him, not even after the attempt in the North End. She disregarded his warnings. She resented his keeping her on a tight leash. He tried to warn her, keep her safe. Her need to be in control, to not let him tell her what to do, led to this. He was only trying to protect her.

But that wasn’t right, she thought as her head began to clear, the pain lessening, allowing her memory to return.
He lied to me. That’s why I left him. He was using me. He needed me to avenge Josh’s murder, the man who killed my parents. That sole fact was behind the whole ruse of him showing up at the conference in London, at the Institute. He needed my help and he knew I’d NEVER give it to him if I knew Josh’s true identity.

There were no noises she could detect, no cars whizzing by on pavement, no tires crunching on gravel. She couldn’t hear any planes or birds. She concentrated. There had to be something. She listened to her breathing and then she heard something in the distance. It sounded like… God, her head hurt. What was that sound? It was steady. No, not steady but repetitive, pounding. Waves… That was it. Waves crashing into the shore. She was near water, but was it the ocean, or an inlet, a cove like the one at Willowton? And from the light warming her arms, it had to be daylight. How long had she been unconscious? Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t sunlight warming her. Maybe it was firelight. Slowly she rolled over until she lay on her side. She moved her arm so that it still blocked the light from her direct eyesight. Gingerly she raised her eyelids, prepared to slam them shut if the light hurt too much.

Her head jerked back. There was a man’s face about a foot from hers. On the bed next to her, too near her, and he was watching her. She scrambled backwards away from him, starting to sit up. Oh… her head was throbbing.

He grabbed her wrist. “Here, you might need this,” he said, as he offered her a small bucket.
             

“Why would I need—” She stopped as the vomit rose toward the back of her throat. She heaved into the bucket, emptying nothing but liquid. She retched once more before he took the bucket out of her hand, replacing it with a cool, moist washcloth.

“It’s a side effect of the chloroform,” he provided, as if she’d asked.

She glared at him. “Do that very often, do you? Chloroform women so that you can get them in your bed. What kind of head case are you?”

He chuckled. “Dr. Walsh, your reputation precedes you.”

“What the hell does that mean?” she asked, narrowing her eyes further.

“You’re a strong-willed person, albeit a very short one. You don’t take crap from people.”

“Petite. The term is petite. And for the record, height is not a reflection of my strength.” She looked closely at him. He was of medium build, about six feet, she guessed, with brown hair, dark brown eyes, and close-cut beard. “Have we met? Something about you seems familiar.”

He shook his head. “Besides at the boat ramp, no, Dr. Walsh. I guarantee that I would never forget meeting you.”

She tried to clear her head because something didn’t make sense. If her abductor was Josh’s murderer, then who was the person at the Institute who wanted the translation? Didn’t he admit to the attempt in the North End? She should be able to solve this puzzle, but her mind was still in the drug-induced fog. “You obviously want something. What is it?”

“I need your help,” he said.

“ARRRGH!! If I hear one more person say that to me, I’m going to kill someone.” Katie cradled her head in her hands. “Why can’t you all just leave me the hell alone?” She scowled at him. “I’m done
helping
people. I’m not getting anything out of this but
hurt
, so why don’t you go abduct someone else? Or better yet, take a long walk off a short pier.”

He leaned back, distancing himself from her. He frowned. “I can see you’re very upset.”

“And why shouldn’t I be? Seems like everybody in the world wants something from me and they don’t give a damn what they do to me to get it. Machiavelli lives and breathes yet again.” She huffed. “I’m sure in your view your ends justify your means.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, really I am, but I have no other choice.”

“But you did. You could’ve put someone’s well-being ahead of your… your treasure. That is what this is about, isn’t it? Some sort of sick treasure hunt?”

“It’s much more than that, much more than you can imagine.”

“I’m not going to help you so just take me back to Portree. Are we still on Skye?”

He nodded. “We are, but I can’t take you back yet.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m not going to help you.”

“Then you’re not going to leave.”

“My friends will be looking for me. It won’t be long until they find me.” She prayed that was true.

He shrugged. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Personally I think it’ll take weeks for them to find you.”

Katie’s shoulders slumped. “You can’t keep me here. I’ll leave the first chance I get.”

He grabbed her upper arm, dragged her to the door, and then shoved her outside. “Take a good look around, Dr. Walsh.”

She didn’t see any road, any other homes. The cottage they were in was hidden from view from the cliffs above. It was tucked under an overhanging ledge, back right into it nice and neat. Someone would have to know there was a building there in order to find it. She followed the path beside the cottage with her eyes. It was narrow, steep, and close to a sharp drop off. She gasped as she guessed that he must have carried her down the path while she was unconscious. She whirled around. “You could’ve dropped me. I could’ve gone over the edge.”

He shook his head. “Not a chance. You’re precious cargo. I took precautions to ensure your safety.”

“Like what?”

He stared at her, refusing to answer.

“I don’t like you.”

He laughed. “Your directness is quite refreshing.”

“Get stuffed,” she snapped.

He laughed harder than before. “I do believe I’m going to enjoy your company, Katie.”

“Don’t count on it, and it’s Dr. Walsh to you.”

He walked over and stood in front of her. “And just so you don’t go wandering off,” he said as he reached over and removed her glasses, “I’ll keep these.”

“No,” she wailed, as everything morphed into soft edges, much like a Monet painting. “You can’t take them. I can’t see without them.
Please
give them back.”

“Only when I say so.”

“You bastard,” she said, almost sobbing. “I can’t see.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Katie, so work with me, do as I ask, and things will go well.”

She swallowed, choking down sobs that threatened to erupt. “And if I don’t?”

“I said ‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ but it doesn’t mean I won’t. I’m a desperate man with nothing
to lose.”

For one of the few times in her life, she couldn’t see any way out except to do as he asked. He held control over the whole situation. She was figuratively and almost literally blind. She didn’t have a clue where on Skye she was. And even if she could escape, without her glasses she would most surely injure herself and more probably die. She didn’t know whether he would hurt her or not, but if he truly had nothing to lose, then he was probably capable of anything.

Her shoulders slumped. “I seem to be everyone’s last resort. You guys sure know how to give a girl a complex. And just for the record, it gets
old
very quickly.” She sighed. “Let me guess. You want the translation of the runes.”

“Yes,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“I have it. I’ll give it to you.” She started to reach for her laptop. “I need my glasses.”

He put them back on her face, arranging her hair as he slipped the frame behind her ears. “It’s not complete without the final runes.”

She gasped. “How do you know about the missing runes?”

“Because I discovered them.”

Alec pounced on the table where he’d placed his phone when the chime echoed through the deathly silence. He looked at the screen and punched the talk button. “Willie, tell me it’s good news.”

“I don’t know if it’s good.”

Alec slumped into the chair, bracing himself. “Did you get the video?”

“Yeah, and Katie’s on it.”

Alec sat up. “That’s good news, Willie. Why so glum?”

“I sent a clip to your phone. Best ya take a look at it.”

Alec’s stomach roiled as he waited for the video. “Was she hurt, Willie?”

“Just have a look.”

“Shit. If anything happened to her…” He cradled his head in his free hand.

“Look,” Willie said, “I don’t know what went on with ya two, but if she spent the night with ya, then she trusts ya. She doesn’t sleep around, buddy. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Alec asked.

“Unless ya went and did something to hurt her. Stupid she can forgive, but hurt…”

“I’m so screwed,” Alec muttered.

His phone pinged. He hit the “Play” button and watched Katie s as she calmly walked up the hill beside a man, away from the camera, and disappeared from sight.
Let her be all right.
Something about the man reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t recall who it was. Was it someone both he and Katie knew? Was that why she seemed calm? The video jumped and she appeared again, only walking toward the next camera. He saw the bearded man, who she was now following, ahead of her with her duffel bag. He stopped beside a parked car. He watched as the man opened the door and threw her bag in. He could clearly see her face and watched in horror as it morphed from a casual look into one of terror before she turned and started to run down the hill. He saw the cloth in the man’s hand as it clamped down over her mouth and then she slumped and slipped into unconsciousness as the man picked her up and placed her in the car.

“
Jesus
,” was all Alec could manage.

“Alec. Alec!” Willie shouted.

Alec was numb, in shock. Someone took Katie. He jerked his wrist and checked his watch. The video was time-stamped shortly after 4:30 a.m. That was more than six freakin’ hours ago. What could he do? If he went to the police, they might spend hours harassing him over the illegal possession of the video. He started to pace. What other choice did he have? He needed help.

“Alec!” Willie shouted again.

Alec slapped the phone against his ear.

“Listen up, Alec. Get ya shit together. We got work to do.”

“I need to go to the police.”

“That’s the absolute wrong thing to do. They’ll probably arrest ya for possession of the video, or at the very least, hold ya hours for questionin’.”

“So what can I do?” Alec asked, his voice faltering. “I don’t know what to do to find her and get her back.”

“I need to get over there. I figure it’ll take me at least twenty-four hours.”

“
Twenty-four hours
? That’s too long. Anything could happen.”

“Sorry, unless ya have a jet at your disposal, that’s as good as it gets.”

Alec snapped his fingers. “I don’t have one, but I know someone who could arrange it.”

“Well, then I suggest ya get busy makin’ some calls, Mac.”

“Yeah, hang tight and I’ll call you back soon.”

Katie swallowed, trying not to choke. What did he mean he discovered them? Was this guy, her abductor, “The Doctor,” Josh’s partner? That didn’t make sense. The Doctor didn’t discover the runes. Josh did. Her head was throbbing. It felt like a drummer was pounding an erratic beat on the inside of her skull. She jerked her head back and looked at him, carefully scrutinizing his face, his body shape. A vision of him holding a fish flashed in her mind. The picture, the one she’d dropped and broken the glass, was at least ten years old.
What the hell?
It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be. He was dead. Unless this was the plan all along, to get her to Skye where he and Alec would get her to lead them to Norland. She shook her head in disbelief and hurt.