Chapter Ten
She whipped into her driveway and gave a quick look around the outside of the house. The pipes looked fine but she got the insulation out of the garage and wrapped them, anyway. Especially as she’d already made the decision to accept Kyle’s invitation and move in to his place so she wouldn’t be around.
That done, she went inside and ran upstairs to grab some more clothes. She was zipping the garment bag when she heard steps behind her.
“Jeez, it’s only been half an hour, couldn’t live without me?” she teased and turned around. Only it wasn’t Kyle, it was Alex standing there and a chill of dread slid through her gut.
“I can’t live without you, Maggie. You’re mine and I’m yours. Can’t you see that? Why aren’t you home anymore?”
“What the hell are you doing here! Get out of my house now or I’ll call the police.” She tried to edge her way closer to the phone on the bedside table.
“I’m here to take back what’s mine,” he said in a strange singsong voice, inching toward her. “What is that?” He grabbed her hand and stared at the ring. “No!” He pulled it off and threw it on the bed.
“Stop that!” She reached for her ring and the world went black for a moment. When she came to he was dragging her out of the room. A surge of strength and will to survive surged through her and she grabbed the wall near the door and tried to hold on but he yanked her loose. He half dragged her, half carried her down the stairs. Reaching down he slapped her across her face, hard, when she kept grabbing the spindles on the banister to stop him. Her head hit each stair, and her world hovered gray as she fought to keep conscious. She tried to yell but all she could do was moan and hoarsely whisper at him to stop.
“I’m taking you away from here, away from those meddling Chase boys. Now be a good girl and walk out of here. I don’t want anyone getting suspicious.” He yanked her upright and held her by the hair and she tried to kick him but got the leg of the table instead and knocked it over. Weeping now, she tried to grab at the doorway to hold on but he elbowed her in the face and the darkness fell over her again.
* * *
After two hours Kyle began to really get worried. “What could be taking so long? She said she’d be back in less than an hour and it’s been nearly two,” Kyle grumbled to Matt and Shane. Most likely she’d bumped into Liv and they were chatting about the engagement and he was worrying over nothing. Still, he had a strange feeling about it that only got worse as the minutes passed.
“Why don’t we take a drive over there? Maybe she had problems with the pipes. If so, you know how she is, she’s probably trying to do it all herself,” Matt said laughing.
“Yeah, let’s. It’s not like her to not call if she’s going to be held up.”
They pulled up and saw the Saturn in the drive. “She’s still here.”
“Stay here,” Shane said and was out of the car before it had stopped. Kyle, sensing that something was wrong, got out too, following his brother. The front door was wide-open and the table near the entry was on its side, the glass vase and bowl that sat upon it broken, pieces all over the place.
There was blood on the doorjamb. A bloody handprint. “Jesus. Where is she?” Kyle meant to yell but it came out as a whisper. He was suddenly cold.
“Go back to Matt’s car. Call the station on your cell phone and tell them I said to send out a car with two officers. On the double.” Reaching back, he took his gun out of the shoulder holster he had on.
“No, I’m coming in.”
Shane turned and shoved Kyle, hard. “No you are not, damn it. This is my job, Kyle. Do what I tell you and do it now. You’re endangering me and her by not listening.” He turned away, closing the discussion, and slowly walked into the house.
Matt approached and Kyle turned and ran to him. “Call the station now! Tell them that Shane said to send out a car with two officers, on the double.” Matt nodded and got on his cell phone. Kyle began to pace.
Back in the house, Shane walked up the stairs. The sight of the blood on the light-colored carpet runner sped his heart. He crept along, listening for any sound but heard none. Entering Maggie’s bedroom he saw the bedside table had been overturned and blood on the floor and then on the wall near the door, as if someone had grabbed it to hold on and pull away from someone dragging them. He walked in carefully, not wanting to disturb evidence, and he saw Maggie’s engagement ring on the center of the bed. He swept the rest of the room and the upstairs but found nothing. By the time he came downstairs, the other officers had arrived and had gone through the first floor.
Kyle couldn’t seem to stop shaking as he waited out on the front lawn. Matt was with him, an arm around his shoulder. Seeing Shane come out of the house broke Kyle’s stillness and he ran over. “Where is she, Shane? Is she all right?”
“She’s not here. Kyle, I’m going to tell you what I saw in there but I need you to hold it together, okay?” Stunned, Kyle nodded and Shane exhaled before continuing. “There’s blood in several places. Her ring is on the bed. There was a garment bag of clothes but it’s on the floor like she dropped it. Kyle, it looks like there was a struggle. There’s a blood trail from the bedroom, down the stairs and to the front door. The officers are taking blood samples so that we can run a match. Thank goodness we got that grant money to have better lab equipment here, but it will still take time to identify the blood and the bloody handprints at the doorway. Kyle, the handprints are very small though. I’m guessing they’re Maggie’s. I think she was attacked and taken.”
Kyle’s eyes went wild, his heart threatened to burst through his chest in terror for her. “No! Damn it, Shane, find her!”
Shane grabbed Kyle’s upper arms and got in his face. “Keep it together, Kyle. She was still alive when he got her to the door. That handprint shows she tried to fight. She won’t give up, Kyle, remember that.”
“It’s Alex, you know that! Find him.”
“I think so, too. I’ve called the judge and asked for a warrant to search Alex’s apartment and he granted it. We’re going to go over there now.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“No, Kyle, you can’t. This is police business. I can’t take the risk of you losing it and messing with evidence. Go back to the condo or to Mom and Dad’s. Heck, raise a search party. But do not go to Alex Parsons’ house.” He paused. “We will find her, Kyle.”
He turned and stalked off, getting into the squad car he took with another officer recently arrived.
Matt hugged his brother tightly. “Let’s go back to Mom and Dad’s to get people out looking. We’ll drive Nan and Pop to your place in case she shows up and Grammy and Gramps can stay at Mom’s in case she comes there.”
* * *
Polly was beside herself but Edward and Peter helped by organizing everyone. Polly stayed back with her parents and Nan and Pop went over to the condo to wait there. They split up and took opposite sides of town to search. They all had cell phones with them and a description of Alex’s car.
Shane called in to tell Kyle that Alex had taken a suitcase and some clothes. Dee was at the bank, checking the records to see if he’d pulled any large amounts of cash out of his account recently.
“Kyle, it’s bad. There are more pictures here. Of the two of you. His walls are covered with pictures of her and there are stacks of letters everywhere that he’d written to her but never sent. His obsession with her has grown.”
Kyle hung up, shaking with rage, terror burning the backs of his eyes. He looked at Matt who was there with him. “If that bastard hurts her in any way, I’ll kill him.”
“I’ll help you. But she’s going to be all right,” Matt said, hoping he wasn’t lying.
* * *
Maggie woke up in a strange room, disoriented. Her head hurt like hell. Blinking to try and clear her vision so she could figure out where she was, she quailed when Alex came into her line of sight. Suddenly, memory of what happened earlier rushed back, filling her with terror.
“Alex, please, let me go. This is crazy. Let me go and I won’t call the cops, I promise.” She desperately tried to recall the advice from the self-defense course she’d taken the year before.
He laughed and kissed her forehead and she tried not to show her revulsion. “Oh sweetheart, I’m not letting you go. You’re mine, silly. I’m sorry I had to hit you. Is your head all right?” Maggie tried not to panic as she listened to him. His voice was so odd, dreamy and high-pitched. It frightened her, filled her with dread. He was obviously insane.
“What do you think, Alex? Can you untie my hands at least? My shoulders really hurt and this angle is making my back twist.”
“No, I can’t risk it. But I’ll help you sit up and get you some Tylenol for your head.” He gently moved her into a sitting position and left the room, coming back with a glass of water and two tablets. “Here. Open your mouth and I’ll help you.”
She clamped her lips shut tight and shook her head. God only knew whether or not he’d drugged or poisoned the water or even if the pills were actually Tylenol.
“Maggie, why are you being so difficult? Look.” He held the pill up so she could see the factory stamp and he brought the bottle in as well. “See, here’s the bottle. The water is from the tap. It’s well water. The cabin is on a well. I wouldn’t hurt you, Maggie. You can trust me.”
She narrowed her eyes at that ridiculous statement.
“Suit yourself, then,” he said with a sigh. He set the glass and the pills down. “Let me know if you change your mind. Seems silly to hurt out of spite.”
She snorted but didn’t say anything else.
When he reached out to caress her face, she shrank back as far as she could go until she hit the wall. Nausea and revulsion roiled in her gut, fear threatened to drown her. She gave herself a mental slap. She had to keep it together if she was going to get out of this mess.
“I love you, Maggie. I just want to touch you.”
“Alex, get away from me. This has gone far enough. Take me home.”
“You are home. Our home.” He smiled dreamily and got up.
“Where are we?”
“This is our cabin. Our honeymoon cabin,” he answered and walked out of the room.
She felt woozy and her world became fuzzier and fuzzier until at last, she lost consciousness again.
* * *
It was three in the morning and many of the Chase household slept on couches and sitting up in chairs. Kyle, his brothers, father, his uncle and Maggie’s father were in the dining room sitting at the table, looking at pictures.
“Damn it! Where is she!” Kyle raged. They’d stayed out searching for hours and had found nothing.
Shane had come back to report on the situation. They had surveillance camera footage from the ATM machine at the bank. Alex took the maximum two-thousand-dollar withdrawal. In the background, after they’d blown it up, Maggie was clearly lying against the front seat, her eyes closed, a bloody trickle from her scalp down her face.
“Kyle, this was at five twelve, about forty-five minutes after she’d left here. We’ve narrowed the time frame down considerably. At least we know roundabout when she was taken.”
“But she could be d-dead by that time. Her eyes are closed,” he replied, barely containing a sob. Edward moved to hold his son, bracing him with his arm around his shoulders, lending him strength.
“Son, if he’d killed her, he’d have gotten rid of the body. She was probably unconscious. She was alive then, we have every reason to think she’s alive now. Alex is obsessed with her. He doesn’t want to kill her. He wants to possess her. She’s a smart cookie, she’ll do what she has to to stay alive.”
“And what will that be, Daddy? What will he do to my girl?” Kyle whispered. “We have to find her. Where could he have taken her? God, I never should have let her go over there alone. We were talking about buying a house together. About her moving into my condo and selling her place and buying our own.”
“That’s it,” Shane said, looking up at Edward. “Daddy, can you run a title search? See if Alex has bought any property in this and the surrounding few counties since September?”
Peter stood up. “I can. Let me run into the office and check,” he said, looking relieved to be able to help in some way and Shane followed him out the door.
Polly came into the room. “Honey, it’s three in the morning, why don’t you get some sleep? We’ll wake you if anything changes.” She stroked a hand over his hair, trying to comfort him.
Kyle stood up. “I can’t sleep while Maggie is out there being held by that sick bastard!” he shouted and Edward hugged him tightly and Kyle broke down and wept.
Tom went to him. “Listen to me, son. My little girl has been on her own, out of necessity, for most of her life. She’s independent and she will not quit. I promise you that. She’s strong, my baby. She won’t let herself be killed, boy. Not without a fight. You keep that ring for her because she will be back here and she’ll want it back.”
Pulling himself together, Kyle took a deep breath and looked at the engagement ring he’d been wearing on his pinkie finger. He locked eyes with his father-in-law-to-be and nodded.
* * *
When Maggie woke up again, the throbbing in her head had subsided to a dull ache. She opened her eyes carefully but it was still dark. Judging by the position of the moon that she could see through the window, it was sometime between midnight and about four a.m. Alex lay next to her on the bed, his arm curled around her thighs. She shuddered in disgust.
Think, Maggie! How can you get out of this? She tried pulling at the ropes that held her hands but that just made them tighter and her movement roused Alex.
“Maggie, honey? Are you all right?”
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Oh of course! Let me help.”
He got up and helped her to stand and led her to the bathroom. The cabin was large and modern. That was a hopeful sign that they weren’t out too far into the middle of nowhere, Georgia. He opened the door and started to undo her pants.
“No! Jesus. Get off me. Untie my hands, Alex, and wait for me out there. The window in here is too small and too high up, I couldn’t get through it even if I could get up there. Let me have some dignity.”
Alex sighed. “I’ll untie you, Maggie. But I have a gun and if you try anything funny I will shoot you. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Now untie me.”
He did and stepped back, looking at his watch. “You have two minutes and I’m coming in.”
She moved her fingers a bit, getting the blood back into them, and went to the bathroom quickly. Not knowing when he’d decide to barge in, she got re-dressed and washed her hands and then her face, which had bloodstains all down the left side. She had a bump the size of a softball on the back of her head and another smaller one on her upper forehead, just at the hairline.
She noticed that he seemed to take it all right when she was a bit bossy but she knew he wouldn’t take too much. She had to bide her time. The longer that she was there, the more time she had to think and plan. And hopefully, the more time Kyle would have to find her. She decided to be extra obedient. She wouldn’t try to run just yet, she had to get her bearings back but she needed him to let her stay untied. She called out to him. “I’m done and I’m going to open the door now.”
She did, slowly, and held her hands up for Alex to see.
“You cleaned off your face. I’m sorry, I meant to do it for you but I fell asleep. Let’s go back to bed. I’m tired and you need to rest your head.”
“All right,” she agreed meekly and hoped he forgot about the ropes.
He didn’t. “Maggie, I need to retie you.”
“Please don’t. My wrists are all raw and it hurts my back, neck and shoulders to have to sit that way.” She tried very hard not to beg.
“I can’t trust you not to run.”
“Then tie me in the front and wrap something around my wrists to go between my skin and the rope. Please.”
She wanted to seem reasonable but not have a turnabout of behavior that would be unbelievable either. She had to gain control of the situation.
He studied her. “Fine.” He got out some face cloths and put them around the abrasions on her wrists and then bound her wrists in front. The price was that she had to lie down beside him. It took every bit of her will to survive not to scream in terror and revulsion as he put his face in the nape of her neck and his breath skated across her skin.
Kyle, where are you?
* * *
“We got it!” Shane burst in through the door. “He bought a cabin about two hours east of here six weeks ago. I’ve called the judge. It’s still in this county, and he’s issued a warrant for arrest and a search warrant. It’s in an unincorporated area, no local police force so I’m taking my men out with me. We’ll meet the cops from the nearest jurisdiction to make a joint raid on the house.”
“I’m coming, too,” Kyle said and Shane started to disagree until he saw the set of Kyle’s mouth.
“You may wait outside the police line if you promise not to get involved. I mean it, Kyle. You can’t interfere, you could get her or yourself or one of my men killed if you don’t obey me.”
Kyle nodded.
“I’ll drive him,” Matt said and Edward grabbed his keys and he and Tom got into the back seat of Matt’s Bronco. Soon they all tore out of the driveway, heading east.
They drove at eighty miles an hour and made the two-hour drive in under an hour and a half. Shane and his officers met with the local sheriff. Kyle watched, tense as his brother and his men all donned body armor and began their silent creep through the woods. They’d stopped their vehicles about a mile away from the cabin so they could approach it unseen.
* * *
Maggie was lying in bed, trying to think up a plan. Her muscles ached from holding still but she didn’t want any movement to wake him up. The sun was rising and Maggie figured it was about seven or seven thirty. She sighed without meaning to and Alex stirred.
His eyes opened and stared into hers with an eerie light. He brought his hand up and cupped her breast and she screamed.
He hit her in the face. “Shut up, you whore! Why are you acting so afraid? It’s not like you haven’t fucked half the town already. Everyone but me. You led me on and I can’t have that. You’re mine, Maggie.” He squeezed her breast hard and she bit back a whimper.
“Get off me, you bastard. I don’t want you, damn it! There are plenty of other women in town. Date them and leave me alone!” She looked around the room for a weapon, anything she could use to stop him.
“I don’t think so,” he snarled and ripped at her shirt, sending buttons flying and exposing her bra and her bare stomach. “I mean to have what’s mine.”
“No! No, Alex!” Struggling and screaming, she turned her head and saw a face in the window. He held his finger up to his lips, indicating she should stay quiet about his presence.
Alex ripped at the fastenings of her pants and she kicked at him and tried to raise her hands but her wrists were still bound and he had them pinned with one hand, while the other was pulling at her clothes.
“Get off me, you bastard!” She screamed. She screamed and she screamed and he slapped her again, so hard she tasted blood. He ripped at the front of her bra and it came open, baring her breasts, and she began to weep. “Stop it, damn it! I don’t want this.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered and unzipped his pants and started to pull himself out.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and several large men in body armor poured in pointing guns and screaming, “Get down! Get off the woman, now!”
Shane stepped forward and yanked Alex off of her and threw him across the room. Another officer came to her and gently pulled the sheet from the bed around her, covering her nakedness.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” the officer asked softly.
She started to tremble, shaking so hard her teeth chattered.
“Did he rape you?”
“N-n-no. He—he tried b-b-b-but you s-s-s-stopped h-h-him,” she stuttered out.
Shane came forward and looked her over. “Maggie, honey? I just need to look at you. Make sure you aren’t injured.” He gently opened the sheet and winced as he saw the hand-and-finger-shaped bruise on her left breast but he felt relief seeing that her panties were still on. “Honey, we don’t have any female officers here but I want to get pictures taken of you and your injuries. Will you let me do it? Officer Jeffries here will stay in the room but he won’t look at you when I have to take the pictures of your breasts. I’m sorry to even ask it of you but it’s necessary for the case.”
Tears running down her face, she nodded, still trembling. She went into another place in her head as he took pictures of her face, neck and her wrists and then of her torn clothes and the bruise on her breast.
Shane did it as quickly and methodically as he could but he couldn’t fight the rising bile, the anguish over what she’d gone through.
“All done, honey. I’m going to wrap you in this blanket here. It’s a blanket from my car, not his. I’m going to take you out to where Kyle’s waiting for you. He’s been so worried. And then we’re going to take you to a hospital.” He spoke to her calmly and softly as he touched her carefully.
Sobs tore through her stomach. “Kyle’s here?”
“Of course he is, Maggie. He threatened to kneecap me if I didn’t let him come with me. Come on, honey, let’s get you taken care of.”
Nodding, she stood still while he gently put the blanket around her and picked her up. He held her against his body and carried her the mile back to where the cars were.
Her eyes were closed but she heard Kyle say “thank you, God” and come moving toward her.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said softly to Shane and he nodded and handed her over to Kyle.
“We need to get her to a hospital. Kyle, you ride in the back with her. Dad, you all follow us.”
Maggie opened her eyes but one of them was pretty near swollen shut and she had to close that one. “Kyle, he...oh God,” she whispered and began to cry.
“I’m here, Red. Always here. God, I love you so much. Hell, I’m so damned thankful you’re okay. We’ll get through this, baby.” He stroked gentle fingers over her hair.
They checked her into the hospital. She had a concussion and they wanted to monitor her at least for the next twenty-four hours.
* * *
Alex had been transported to jail and awaited arraignment on kidnapping, false imprisonment, attempted rape and assault charges in addition to violating the two orders of no-contact.
Maggie slept but they woke her up every hour to check on the concussion. She was feeling loopy from the lack of REM sleep and the rush of adrenaline her body had produced over the last day.
Kyle never left her side and he looked almost as bad as she did. The whole Chase clan was splayed across every available surface in the waiting room as were Maggie’s father and her friends. Maggie’s father had called her mother to tell her what had happened but she’d expressed disinterest in the whole situation.
Finally, after twenty-four hours, the hospital discharged Maggie and Kyle carefully loaded her into Matt’s Bronco and they drove back home.
She stared out the window and he looked at his father with a worried expression. When they neared Petal, Matt asked, “Where to, sweetheart? Momma wanted me to tell you that you’re welcome to stay with her and Daddy until you felt better. I figure you and Kyle might like some time alone. I can take you to your house, too. Just tell me where and I’ll go.”
“Not my house, not ever,” she said, panic at the edges of her voice. “Take me to the condo please, Matt. If that’s okay with you, Kyle.”
“Of course it is, Red. Whatever you want, baby.” Kyle looked back at Edward and his father’s eyes softened at the sound of anguish in Maggie’s voice.
All three men helped her into the house, even though she was perfectly capable of walking. She let them fuss over her a bit and thanked Matt and Edward for their help. She turned to Edward as he was leaving. “They won’t let him go will they?”
“Honey, I want you to know I am on the prosecutor’s ass about this. He was denied bail at his arraignment. I don’t foresee that changing. Alex will do time. They’ll charge him with everything they can, I promise you. Oh baby, I’m sorry,” he said and swept her into an embrace.
She nodded up at him and blinked back tears. “Thanks, Dad,” she whispered and his heart nearly broke in half.
She looked at Kyle and kissed the hand holding hers. “I’m going to take a shower and change. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Hey, Red, afterward we’ll get tucked up on the couch. I’ll order in Chinese and we’ll get pay-per-view. Holler if you need me all right?” Kyle asked gently and she nodded and walked up the stairs.
“Daddy, I know Momma wants to come over but can we hold off for at least a day? I can’t see that she’s got much reserve left to go on right now.”
“Yes, I’ll talk to her. You take care of my future daughter-in-law you hear? And yourself, too. You look like hell. I love you, son.” Edward hugged Kyle tightly.
“I want to kill him, Daddy. She has a bruise in the shape of his hand on her breast. He gave her a concussion. He tried to rape her. Damn it, I want his blood!”
Matt grabbed his brother’s arm. “She needs you, Kyle. I know you’re angry. We all are. But you have to deal with this so you can help her through. We’ll do all we can to be sure he does time but you can’t go off half-cocked because she needs you. Now, do you have to work tomorrow? Marc, Shane and I will do shifts here with her around your schedule if you need us.”
“No, I don’t have anything until next week. She’s due back in class on the third, we’ll see how it goes. I want to wait to talk with her until she’s had a chance to settle in. Thank you, though.”
“We’ll go and leave you two be.”
Kyle watched them drive away and then called and ordered dinner, built a fire and went to change his own clothes. Worried that she still wasn’t out of the bathroom, he went and knocked softly on the door. “Honey? Can I help you with anything?”
“No.” She sniffed and pulled herself together. She’d scrubbed her skin for the last fifteen minutes and she still couldn’t get the feeling of his hands off her skin.
“Maggie, I’m going to come in now,” Kyle said seriously and slowly opened the door to see her sitting in the shower, the water still on. “Honey, let’s get you out of there,” he said gently and turned the water off. He hadn’t seen her naked and the sight of all of the bruises she bore made his stomach tighten with rage. He dried her carefully and helped her get her clothes on and led her downstairs.
They ate from the cartons and watched a comedy and he massaged her temples as she lay tucked into his body. She looked at her ring, back safely on her finger. “You know, you don’t have to marry me if you don’t want to.”
He moved so that she was facing him. “What? Why on earth wouldn’t I want to marry you?”
“Well, I mean, I’m trouble. I can sense that you feel differently about my body. You’re angry with me. I swear that I didn’t do anything to lead him on.”
“Oh my God, Maggie, how could you think that I’d ever imagine that what happened to you was your fault? Of course you didn’t do a damned thing to deserve what he did to you! No woman who’s been raped ever does. And I don’t feel differently about you or your body. I just want to kill him when I see what he’s done to you. I love you—God, I love you so much. I thought I’d die when I saw the bloody handprint that you left on your front door. I failed you. Maybe you don’t want me because I didn’t protect you. I should have gone with you to your house that night. I could have protected you.” He started crying.
“I want to kill him, too,” she whispered and kissed his tears away. “You didn’t fail me. You didn’t give up. You saved me. I love you, too.”
He led her upstairs and sheltered her with his body as they got into bed. For the first time in several days she felt safe enough to sleep.