SUMMER
Sitting alone, the thoughts are killing me. I keep seeing the scene play out in my imagination and though I try to change things, it always ends the same—with Taylor being dragged away from me screaming.
Sitting alone, I’m left pondering whether or not I should bolt. I’ve been thinking that off and on since I first jumped into the car with the stranger who so kindly stepped in to save me when he didn’t have to.
But the seconds and minutes, the hours too, they’re all ticking by while I just sit here alone. My stomach growls, but I’m not hungry. There’s no way I could eat when my insides are twisted like a pretzel at a mall eatery.
I should be doing something. That much is certain, but my mind won’t allow me to come up with ideas of exactly what I should be doing. Somewhere out there, Taylor is scared and she’s alone. And here I am in what is basically a safe house. The guilt eats right through me.
My mind goes to the darkest of places, wondering if she’s even still alive, and then wondering how much I am to blame for what happened. The what if’s, those are the absolute worst, eating away at my soul and damning me to submerge myself in guilt.
There’s a knock on my door but before I’m able to answer, the door is pulled open and I’m greeted by a tall blonde with a warm smile. She’s dressed in a fitted black dress and matching high heel shoes.
“You must be Summer,” she says to me with a brimming smile. Considering the circumstances, I’m slightly annoyed but I force a smile back. She steps forward and reaches her hand out to shake mine. “I’m Anna Lewis. I presume Chase told you about me?”
“He said you’d come for me.” When I stand up, the bedsprings squeak from under me. “I’m ready.”
“You’re in good hands, Summer.” She twists on her feet and hooks her finger for me to follow her.
I’m right behind her as she exits the small bedroom and follow her past the training area. Towards the back of the large space, there’s a steel door with a blue light situated over it and another retina scanner beside it. She looks into the scanner and the light above the door flashes twice before there’s a low buzzing sound.
The door clicks open.
She grabs the handle and ushers me inside. Just before the door closes behind us, I crane my head over my shoulder to see that the tech guy—Marcus, I think—has vacated his post.
I glance around the short hallway where there are steel doors on both sides and a long glass window looking into both of them. I’ve never been in a real life interrogation room, but from what I’ve seen in movies and television, this looks just about right.
I swallow nervously as Anna’s shadow falls over my face. Standing side by side with a clipboard in hand, she lowers her palm onto my shoulder and massages me gently.
“I know it looks scary, but there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“What do you mean?” I force another smile and cock my head to her.
“It’s okay.” She sighs as she reaches for the left-most of the two doors and pulls it open. “This is a scary place, because it’s meant to be scary. You’d be surprised how many people crack the second they pass through that secured door.”
I look back at the door and swallow again. If I were nervous before, feeling sick and queasy with my stomach twisted into knots, then I’ve reached a new low. I feel as if I could faint, as if the nightmare I’ve found myself in is only getting more and more terrifying by the moment.
Frozen in place, it’s like I’m unable to move. Not until she braces a firm hand on my back, gesturing that it’s okay. She follows me into the room and as I move to take a seat in one of two chairs around a steel table, Marcus jets into the room with a laptop in hand.
Anna closes the door, and it’s like all the oxygen in the room is sucked out in an instant. I pull at the top of my blouse, running my balmy fingers over the bare skin of my neck. My throat dries in an instant and I’m left feeling parched as if I’ve been lost in the middle of the desert.
Anna and Marcus take seats on the opposite side of me. I avoid making eye contact as my gaze shifts upwards to glance at myself in the mirror behind them. It’s a two-way mirror; I know that because I could see inside the room from the outside hallway. Here, I’m met with only my pale reflection.
I shake my head and try to steady my breathing, try to regulate my temperature, but it’s no use.
There’s nothing else I can do. Nothing else but to jump from my seat and race towards the door. I rip it open before either of them can process what’s happening, but when I try to do the same with the first door, it won’t budge.
I pull at it again, but it’s just more of the same until the door is thrown open, knocking me on my butt. Two men dressed in all black—the same men from the parking garage—stroll in with guns. One of them aims their gun squarely at my head and behind closed eyes, I just pray for this nightmare to end.
I snap back to reality, the reality in which I’m still seated in front of Anna and Lewis and they’re both staring at me like I’m a blind canvas.
“We don’t often bring clients back here,” Anna says, with the same warm smile she greeted me with earlier. She’s always smiling, an admirable trait in this oftentimes grim world. “It’s against protocol. This room was designed to suppress the bad guys, so to speak. It’s cold and uninviting with purpose, but that purpose serves no purpose here. We are two friendly faces and we’re simply here to help you by gathering useful information and intel that Chase will be able to use to get your sister back.”
“Okay,” I whisper under my breath, just about as meekly as possible. “Where do we begin?”
“Can you state your name?” Anna begins as Marcus readies his fingers on the laptop computer. He’s there to take notes, not ask the questions.
“It’s uhh…” I push dark curls of hair out of my face and wet my lips with my tongue. “I’m Summer Smart.”
“Can you give us some basic information about yourself, such as your age, occupation, things like that?”
“I’m thirty years old and work as a high school history teacher. I live out in the suburbs and come from a small farming community from out East.” I clear my throat. “Why does any of this matter?”
“We just need to make sure everything checks out.”
“Are you trying to imply that I’m lying?”
“Nothing like that.” She reaches across the table and holds her palm over the back of my hand to comfort me. “Can you give us more information about what transpired earlier today?”
“My sister and I were out shopping and when we were leaving, we were jumped by two men wearing all black. That guy… Chase, he, um, appeared out of nowhere and was able to save me, but the men dragged my sister into the black SUV.”
“Can you give us more information about your sister?”
“We look similar, same hair and eye color.” I bow my head. “She’s slightly taller than me. Married.”
“We don’t need a physical description. We have photos.” Marcus peers over the computer screen briefly. “We’re sending those photos out to our contacts to see if anyone has any leads.”
“How?” I cock my head and wet my lips. “How do you have pictures?”
“Chase sent some photos from your house,” Anna says.
“Right.” I nod as my feet begin tapping nervously on the concrete floor, creating a symphony of fear in the brief silence between questions.
“Does your sister have any enemies? Anyone who’d have a reason to abduct her?”’
“Not that I can think of.” I shake my head, trying to figure out if there’s anyone that could have done this, anyone that I’d know about, but all I can think about is the look on my sister’s face as a hand covered her mouth and dragged her backwards into a van. “Look, I don’t know much about any of this but it seems to me that this wasn’t something that was planned.”
Marcus points to the diamond pendant hanging around my neck. “That diamond on your neck. Were you wearing that during the attack?”
“Yes.” I clutch the diamond in my hand and close my eyes, and when I do, I swear I can feel my sister’s heartbeat from wherever she is. “My sister had just bought us matching pendants.”
The two of them share a look. “That could have been reason enough for them to make their move.” Marcus begins clicking on his computer and though his eyes are clearly busy, he continues to ask questions. “You mentioned your sister was married earlier.”
“Yeah, she got married to a mortgage broker about five years ago. Rick Young, perhaps you’ve heard of him?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “So, I assume he has a lot of money. Would that be a correct statement?”
“At least a few million.”
Anna exhales and leans back in her chair. “Whether or not this was a planned kidnapping, it’s most likely that this has become something else. Whoever has taken your sister is going to realize the magnitude of her wealth, and when that happens, they’re going to probably demand an outrageous ransom.”
“Her husband will pay it,” I stammer, seeing this as the one bright spot in this dark situation. Rick certainly has enough money to hand over whatever the kidnappers demand. “He’s not the friendliest man in the world, but he loves my sister more than anything in this world.” I lean across the table. “He’s out of town on business. Should we call him?”
“At this point in time, we have every intention of leaving the police out of this. If her husband knows what’s going on, then we risk losing control of the situation and right now that’d be the worst case scenario. You see, these situations are very often extremely difficult, and whoever ends up coming out on top usually does so because they’re able to maintain control.”
I lean back and cross my arms. My eyes shift from Anna to Marcus and then back to Anna. I swallow, the sickness in my stomach reaching a new fever pitch. “You have no intention of paying them, do you?”
The two of them share a look again, this one more nervous than the last. Anna drags her open palm across her mouth before she can bring herself to look me in the eyes. “These situations are complicated, and while there’s no way of committing to a plan one way or the other, we’re not usually in the business of paying ransom. We…” She pushes her tongue against the inside of her cheek and cracks another warm smile. “We have other ways of handling these situations and take great pride in the fact that more often than not, we do get results.”
“Right, well, those results don’t matter to me.” I cross my arms defiantly and avert my gaze. “My sister means the world to me and that’s all I care about.”
“I understand your concerns—”
“Do you?” I question, biting my tongue because there’s so many other things I could say right now. “I don’t know you from Adam. I don’t know any of you and whatever this is, all I know is that you’re not the actual police and I want to trust you, but—”
“But what?” Chase questions, leaning against the doorframe. I hadn’t even noticed he had arrived, but it’s like he sucks all the oxygen out of the room—whatever’s left anyways. “If you want to trust us, it’s as simple as doing just that.” He takes a measured step forward, his muscular frame domineering over the three of us at the table. He carries a severe weight of authority in his stride that forces me to take notice. “You’re scared and I get that. If I were in your shoes, I would be too.”
My eyes shift to the gun attached to his hip. Even though I grew up in a small town out east, I’ve always hated guns. They scare me. Just one tap against the trigger can put an end to a promising life.
He’s a good guy though. A good guy with a gun, maybe that’s exactly what I need right now; someone like him to stand up to men like the ones who abducted my sister.
“I’m just worried.” My lips quiver as I drop my head with a sigh and begin twiddling my fingers together underneath the table. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry,” Anna says, reaching across the way. “You’re a victim in all of this.”
“Listen to her,” Chase says dryly. “She knows what she’s talking about.”
My eyes lift to see Chase tapping on Marcus’ shoulder. Immediately following, the two of them leave the room and close the door behind them. When they’re gone, it’s just me, Anna, and the silence that threatens to choke me.