Chapter 20

It was quiet at first, and then louder. Isabella was shutting down her computer in the office at The Bean for the night when she heard the front door rattle as if someone were trying to get inside. She froze. They hadn’t planned for this at all.

Connor was on his way over to help her with the wire before she went home, but at the moment, there was no one here but her. Isabella jumped out of her seat and leaned out the doorway, peeking around to see if anyone was there. Why didn’t we think David would come here instead? She thought in a panic.

She wasn’t wired for the police to have any confession on tape. Isabella glanced up at the corner of her shop where a CCTV camera was and she relaxed. At least that’s there, she thought. It would only show the video, not the audio, but it was better than nothing. A quick glance at the front door showed no one there. No David. No friend. No one. Just an almost empty street outside as other businesses closed down for the day.

Isabella let out a sigh of relief and gave a little laugh.

“Calm down, Izzy. It’s okay,” she told herself as she walked towards the front door to make sure it was locked up tight. It was.

Isabella nodded and turned to go back to her office when something crunched slightly under her foot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she looked down. The edges of a plain white envelope stuck out from under her shoe. She moved her foot and bent down to pick up the letter, already knowing what she would find. Her hands shook as she opened it and pulled out the note.

Ready to play? Time’s up, the note read. Isabella crumpled the note in her fist and looked around the coffee shop one more time to make sure she was alone. David was ready to make his move, she was sure of it. And judging by the note, he wanted to throw her off guard before he arrived, just enough to make her rattled and lose some confidence.

Isabella walked back to her office and threw the letter on the desk. She wouldn’t be able to get any more work done knowing what would happen tonight. At least, she hoped it happened tonight. David hadn’t answered her question earlier about the gifts, but between the display with Jack and the conversation with Lucy, she thought the trap had been pretty well set.

A chirp from her phone drew her out of her thoughts. After she checked it, she went to the back door to let Connor slip inside without being noticed by anyone, since the rear door opened up to a small alley where the trash bins were kept. There was hardly room for much else back there and if someone was there, she would have seen them.

“Did everything go smoothly?” Agent Lahey asked.

“I think so. David seemed to believe it. And this arrived as I was getting ready to leave,” Isabella said as she handed over the crumpled up letter.

“Time’s up,” Agent Lahey read. “I guess that means David’s making his move tonight then.”

“I hope so. I can’t take much more of this stress,” Isabella said as she led him into her office.

“That’s understandable, Isabella. But I want you to know that you’re helping the FBI a great deal. We’ve been hunting him down for three years now, always several steps behind him. You’re the first person that’s given us any sort of hope that we can catch him,” Connor said.

Isabella nodded. “That’s good to know. And I do hope this works, for all of us.”

“So do I,” he said as he opened the small box he had brought with him and examined the contents.

“Well then, what do you need me to do?” she asked.

“Take your shirt off,” he said as he fiddled with the small microphone. But he looked up at the shocked silence that answered him and saw Isabella’s mouth hanging open as she stared at him in surprise. “No! I just meant that I need to tape this to your chest. Not that I don’t find you attractive, but Jack would kill me.”

Isabella listened to Connor trying to back peddle and couldn’t help but laugh. He was usually so serious that it was nice to see his more relaxed, more human side.

“Well, it wouldn’t do if we had a dead FBI agent on our hands, now, would it?” she asked with a grin as she unbuttoned her shirt a bit.

“You’re right,” he said with a smile. “All right. We’ll just tape this to your chest and then we’re all set,” Connor said as he stepped forward hesitantly and looked at her for permission before he positioned the wire against her chest, slipping the end of it under her bra and placing some tape over it to hold it in place.

“Okay. You’re sure this will work?” Isabella asked, the panic and fear creeping in again as she buttoned her shirt again, taking care to make sure the wire wasn’t visible.

“Yes. You have nothing to worry about. Sheriff Hardy and I will be just around the corner. We’ll be here in thirty seconds if anything happens. But if you feel like it’s getting too far out of control, say potato,” Connor said as he packed away his equipment.

“Potato?” she asked.

Connor shrugged. “It’s not something you would usually say in a conversation with David, right?”

“True,” she said with a smile.

“Okay. You’re all set. Ready?” Connor asked as he studied her.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “You’ll call Jack now?”

Connor looked at her and realized how close she had become with Jack. “Yeah, I’ll give him a call once I’m in the car with Hardy. It’s a plain, unmarked car, so we won’t stand out. He’ll be waiting for you once this is all over, Isabella. And it will be over tonight. I promise you that.”

Isabella nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Agent Lahey.”

“It’s my pleasure, Miss Montgomery. Remember, say potato if things look like they’re going south and you just want us to come in.”

“I’ll hold out for as long as I can,” Isabella said with a small smile. She didn’t know how she would, but she would have to. That’s the only way this would end.

“All right. I’d better be off then, so you can go home alone,” Connor said.

“Thanks for everything,” she said.

“No problem, Isabella. Take care,” Agent Lahey said as he slipped out the back.

She only hoped that David hadn’t seen Connor. If he had, all this would be for nothing.

She gathered her things and unlocked the front door to leave. Once she was outside, she locked the door behind her and carried her keys in her hand as she walked to her car. Isabella looked around, half expecting David to jump out from behind a tree and kidnap her. If she acted too jumpy, David would know, so she had to act as natural as possible. Great idea, Izzy. You’re inviting a madman into your house. Nothing about this is natural.

“Night, Izzy. Have a good evening,” said Sheriff Hardy as she approached her car.

“Goodnight, Sheriff. See you in the morning,” Isabella said with a smile.

It was another show for David’s benefit. He was probably watching her, making sure no one else would be around after she got home. Would he wait until it was fully dark? Would he show up as she was getting into bed? Would he join her for dinner? She didn’t know. But she had to get home before he showed up so that the trap would actually work.

She drove home, being overly cautious on the five-minute drive. She wished Jack were here. He always seemed to know how to calm her down and comfort her. But he wasn’t. And she would be on her own tonight. Apart from the police and FBI listening in, that is.

Isabella pulled into her driveway and turned off the car before she calmly walked inside and made her way through to the kitchen, setting her bag down and hanging up her coat first.

“Okay, boys. Let’s get this show on the road,” Isabella said in a quiet voice, somewhat comforted by the fact that Sheriff Hardy and Agent Lahey could hear her. She puttered around the house, tidying the living room, doing the dishes from that morning, folding laundry. It was busy work, designed to keep her mind and body entertained by the monotonous tasks while she waited for the storm to hit.

Eventually though, those tasks were finished and all she had left to do was wait. She put water on to boil again and chose a tea that would calm her nerves while she waited. It was dark outside now and she turned on the outside light for comfort more than anything else. At least this way she might see David coming.

Isabella poured the hot water into her mug and dunked the tea bag in. She watched the tea brew and change the color of the water as the tea steeped. It relaxed her to watch those small motions and know that the finished product would taste wonderful. She threw the tea bag out and leaned against the counter with the warm mug clasped between her hands.

Her cell phone buzzed at the incoming call and she took a deep breath before she answered it.

“Hello?” she asked.

“He’s on his way, Isabella. Stay calm and remember we’re right around the corner,” Sheriff Hardy said.

“Right. Thank you,” she said and hung up. Showtime.

She was ready. Ready for David to show up. Ready for all this to finally end. Ready for the freedom to be with Jack completely. But she was scared of the next few hours and what they would bring.

Logically, she knew everything would be fine and that if anything went wrong, Sheriff Hardy and Agent Lahey would burst through the doors and rescue her. But she also knew that Jack was listening in. The wire taped to her chest under her shirt was an uncomfortable reminder that they would all listen to whatever abuse David hurled her way. They would know her fear and her shame, and they would hear something in her voice they had never heard before: Total submission to an abusive man. It was something she had hoped to never hear in her own voice again, too.

Isabella stood over the sink and drank her hot herbal tea in the hope it would calm her nerves before David showed up.

She set her cup down, looked up, and gasped at the reflection that had joined hers in the window.