Her voice trailed off, but the desperation it contained broke Sydney’s heart and it was all she could do to turn away.
“I promise you, Deidre. I’ll bring back help.”
Sydney didn’t waste even another minute as she tugged Danny along with her and she found the back door. As they stepped out into the light, the warmth from the sun washed over them and she felt free with a magnitude that she had never felt before. Absolute liberation.
She looked around. There was nothing around them but cloudless sky for what appeared to be miles. Fields, crops and an empty road. They were definitely in the country. They were standing on the gravel driveway a few feet away from a faded white propane tank.
So, they were far enough from town that the gas company didn’t pipe natural gas out here. From the position of the sun, she guessed that it was late afternoon, so it was important to get moving. She didn’t want to be stuck in the country at night.
She stopped for just a second to kneel on the sharp rocks beside Danny, her heart still thudding in her chest.
“Danny, we’re going to have to walk a lot today. But we’ve got to get as far from here as we can. We’ve got to find some help for Deidre before he comes back. Okay?”
He nodded and put his hand in hers, tugging her to get started. She let him pull her down the sharp gravel of the driveway and she only looked back once. The tiny house seemed so sad, standing there alone, that she shuddered.
The fact that she was leaving Deidre in there, completely vulnerable, made her nauseous. But there was no help for it. She gripped Danny’s hand and continued walking briskly in a direction that she hoped would lead to help.
CHAPTER TEN
He couldn’t take it anymore. Sydney had been gone for two weeks. The walls of his house were closing in on him and he had to get out for awhile, just for a little while. He didn’t want to leave for long, because if Syd were to come home, he wanted to be there.
Stephen paced the worn hardwood floors of his living room like a caged lion. His patience was frazzled to the point that it was no longer existent. Although the detectives had been kind to him, they still hadn’t found Sydney. And it had been two weeks.
So much could happen in two weeks time. So many things that it terrified him just to think about them. His cell phone rang in his hands and he answered it on the first ring.
“Hello?” He answered hopefully.
“It’s Daniels. We’ve got something interesting here. Someone mailed a videotape taken of Sydney...”
“Is she alright?” Stephen asked anxiously.
“She appeared to be. But her message was interesting. She wants the world to know that her father is gay. She looked strong and healthy and it almost appeared as if she was videotaping herself. Do you think it is possible that Sydney ran away on her own accord so that she could get this tape out before her father could get to her? Maybe she was trying to protect you, for instance.”
“No.” Stephen’s answer was immediate.
“She wouldn’t do that. She trusts me and she would’ve just told me. She wouldn’t leave in the middle of the night and make it look like an abduction. She wouldn’t do that to me.” He felt confident of that fact.
“Maybe she thought you wouldn’t let her go any other way. Maybe she was trying to keep you safe…”
Stephen protested again. He knew she wouldn’t have done that. She would want to keep him safe, yes… but she would know that his worry would be unbearable.
“It was just a thought,” Harrison added. “I’m following up on the videotape to see if the post office it was mailed from has surveillance footage. We’ll find out soon enough if it was Sydney herself or we’ll get a description of whoever is holding her.”
Stephen felt himself bristling. Clearly, Detective Daniels believed that Sydney was safe and sound somewhere, intent on ruining her father’s life. Stephen knew her better than that, but how could he prove it?
“What are you going to do with the video?”
“We’re holding onto it for a couple of days. Chances are, if it was sent to us, it was also sent to a news station. We’ll see if it emerges anywhere else in the next couple of days and in the meantime, if there is surveillance tape at the post office, I will review it.”
The detective had lost his air of urgency, Stephen could feel it. It filled his heart with dread. If the detective wasn’t going to put all of his energy into finding Sydney, how in the world was Stephen going to find her?
* * *
After trudging a couple of miles, Sydney and Danny noticed a grain silo rising out of the horizon and they automatically began walking faster to reach it, even though Sydney was limping painfully.
Danny hadn’t complained a single time even though he was only wearing rubber flip-flops. Sydney knew that he must have blisters. When they saw the silo, he took them off and began walking barefoot.
As soon as a cozy little farm house situated next to the grain silo came into view, they picked up the pace even more. Just having it in their sights lifted their spirits and made it easier to trudge down the empty road, hopefully to someone who could help them.
Ten minutes later, they cautiously approached the driveway. They crept silently up to it, attempting to observe any signs of life before approaching the house. Sydney was slightly nervous that whoever lived here might be on Harrison’s payroll. It looked like a regular farmhouse but she couldn’t be too careful.
Harrison was smart. And he had money. It would make sense to hire someone to live in the nearest house to his little hide-out. That way, if anyone did escape, they would run directly to someone on his payroll. Sydney shuddered thinking about it and concentrated on the farmhouse in front of her.
A barn was directly behind it right next to a pasture full of cattle. There was a grain silo bursting with corn and barn cats running rampantly around the property. If this wasn’t a working farm, then they had done a really good job of imitating one. Sydney decided to chance it. She didn’t know what other option they had. She couldn’t see the next nearest house.
They rushed up the driveway just in time to meet a ruddy-faced farmer emerging from the barn. He was wearing overalls and a greasy cap and stared at them in surprise. Sydney couldn’t quite blame him. She was wearing a nightgown and barefoot, while Danny looked terrified. They probably looked like refugees.
“Excuse me, sir?” She stepped closer, pulling Danny with her. “We have an emergency. Could you help us?”
She quickly filled the farmer in on their situation, including the fact that they had left a girl behind. The farmer’s face grew more alarmed with every word she spoke.
“Miss, we need to call the police!” He wheeled around toward the house, but she grabbed his arm.
“Please, don’t. He is the police.” The farmer stared at her in horror.
“Miss, you’ve been through a lot. I think we should sit you down and I’ll call the police for you. There is no one else to call.”
Panic flooded her. She had not just escaped from a monster just to have this old farmer call him and lead him right back to her.
“Sir, please. I have been through a lot, but I am perfectly clear on this point. A detective has done this to us. If you call him, he will come right back out here and take us again. Please. Don’t call the police.”
The farmer studied her for a moment and finally nodded. He seemed to believe her.
“If we can’t call the police, then how can I help?” he asked, his face confused.
“Do you think… I mean, could you… could you drive us back down there? And do you have something to break the lock? And I know it’s a lot to ask, but would it be possible for you to take me to my house in Chicago? I know it’s a long drive, but we’ll pay you for your time. My…my father is Senator Randall Ross.”
She didn’t want to play that card, but it was the only one she had left. And it was effective. The man’s weather beaten face went slack and his mouth dropped open.
“Please?
?? we’ve got to hurry!” she urged.
“Of course, I’m sorry. Of course I can help you. I’ll get an ax and a crow-bar from the barn. My truck is over there.” He motioned toward a large F-250 parked by the barn. “Get in and I’ll be right there.”
She and Danny ran to the truck and she wrenched open the door, giving him a boost so that he could get in. They waited impatiently until the farmer came back out carrying the tools. He also carried a long shotgun. Sydney’s breath caught in her throat as he dropped everything into the bed of the truck and got in the driver’s side door.
“Which way?”
Sydney pointed and he tore out of the driveway, dust from his driveway billowing out behind them.
“My name is Tom, by the way. Are you both okay, other than being scared?”
“We’re fine now. I’m Sydney and this is Danny. He’s my neighbor and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He doesn’t have anything to do with this mess. I need to get him safely back home.”
She wrapped one arm around the slender little boy as she spoke.
“Don’t worry about a thing, Sydney. I’ll get you both safely back home.”
Tom’s confident tone made her believe him. Something about him reminded her of the old John Wayne movies that her dad liked to watch. She was still jittery, but sitting next to the old farmer was calming her nerves just a little bit at a time. He was big and strong and had a shotgun. She took a deep breath and tried to make her foot stop bouncing.
The truck roared down the deserted road and came upon the isolated little house in just a few minutes time. Sydney’s heart started pounding again. The truck lurched to a stop amid clouds of dust and Sydney leaped out, with Tom and Danny close behind her.
As Sydney barged through the backdoor, she started calling Deidire’s name. Deidre shouted back in relief as they led Tom to the door. The stench in the little house was so overpowering that it almost bowled them over. She briefly wondered why she didn’t notice the smell the first night she was here, but put it out of her mind. She was probably in shock that night.
Tom knelt in front of the door and made quick work out of the padlock with his tools. Sydney decided wryly that having an ax made all the difference. She rubbed her raw feet as she watched him work. Within half a minute, the padlock and hinge dropped to the ground and the door swung open.
“Deidre?” Sydney called. “Come out- we’re not going to hurt you. We’ve got to get out of here before he comes back.”
Deidre didn’t answer and she didn’t come out and Sydney didn’t have the patience to wait.
She crept into the doorway of the room and peered inside. Deidre was crouched in the back corner, eyeing the door cautiously, like a caged animal.
Sydney could tell that she was probably a pretty girl, but her beauty was hidden behind quite a bit of grime and ugly harsh bruises. Her blondish-red hair was matted and tangled and she smelled horrible, like she had crawled straight out of the sewer. Bright, suspicious green eyes peered out from under a layer of filth.
“Deidre?” Sydney said softly. “Come out. You’re going to be safe now. But we have to leave here.”
Deidre’s face crumpled and she started sobbing. Sydney rushed into the room and put her arm around the distraught girl, but the girl shirked away from her.
“Deidre, I know it is hard for you to believe right now, but I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. Now let’s get you out of here before Harrison gets back.”
The girl nodded and Sydney helped her hobble outside. It was clear to all of them that Deidre was in a bad way. She was very weak. Her clothes were ragged and her legs were covered in lash-like bruises.
Sydney winced as she saw the slashes on Diedre’s back. It appeared as though she had been whipped. She swallowed hard as she tightened her grip on the injured girl. Tom and Danny led the way to the truck and they all piled inside.
Sydney turned to Tom.
“Thank you so much for helping us! Can you take us to my house, now? Please?”
She was hoping that Stephen would be at home. She desperately longed to hear his voice but she couldn’t chance calling him. Harrison had probably tapped his phone.
“I know this is going to sound really stupid, but where are we?” She looked sheepish.
Tom didn’t miss a beat, he just looked at her sympathetically.
“You’re about ten miles east of Gary.” That made sense. It had taken less than an hour to get from her house to the hide-away house the night she had been taken.
She settled back into the seat, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She hadn’t rested easily in a couple of weeks and the soft leather truck seat suddenly felt really good. Her eyes stung from lack of sleep. The hum of the road as they flew over it toward Chicago lulled her to sleep even in the midst of life-changing excitement. A body could only stay awake so long.
Jolting bumps intruded into her peaceful sleep, and she startled awake. She hadn’t even been aware that she had fallen asleep. She jerked up in the seat to look out the window and was relieved to find that they were crossing the bridge on I94 into Chicago. She could see the Willis Tower rising out of the horizon. She was almost home. Her close proximity to Stephen made her antsy all over again, but she tried to ignore it. She couldn’t make the truck go faster.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” she apologized to Tom. I haven’t slept much at all for weeks. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you helped us. I don’t know what we would have done…”
He interrupted her. “Don’t think a thing about it. I’ve never seen a sorrier looking pair than the two of you walking up my drive. I couldn’t just go about my business, now could I?”
She smiled a jittery smile at him. She was on pins and needles. Would Stephen be home when they got there? What if he wasn’t? What should they do? What should their next steps be? She took deep, calming breaths and focused on the road in front of them. It wouldn’t do any good to fall apart now. Tom turned onto the Skyway and headed into town.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of her house. Tom pulled the truck up behind Stephen’s T-Bird before he turned to her.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll walk up with you to make sure that he’s here.” It was as if he had read her mind and discovered her secret fear…that Stephen wouldn’t be home.
“Thanks, Tom.”
She flashed a brief grin of relief at the kindly man before running up the sidewalk, her bloody feet barely touching the concrete. She didn’t feel the pain, though. Or the exhaustion, fear and fatigue. All she knew was that she was just a scant twenty yards from the love of her life.
Before she even reached the door, it opened and Stephen filled the doorway, surprise and shock freezing him in place.
“Sydney?”
He opened his arms up just in time for her to leap into them, wrapping her legs around his waist. She buried her face into his neck and breathed him in. He smelled like soap and musk and Stephen. She was so relieved that she felt tears welling up in her eyes. After a minute, Stephen pulled his face back.
“Sydney, how are you here? Are you alright? What happened?”
He fired questions at her, one after the other, before she even had a chance to speak. And he didn’t loosen his grip on her even a little bit. She smiled and pulled him close for just another second.
“Stephen, I love you so much. And I’ll answer your questions, but not right now. There’s no time. We’ve got to leave. We can’t stay here. I’ll explain in the car.”
She unclasped her legs and dropped to the ground, wincing a little as pain shot from her feet up into her calves. She started to tug Stephen toward his car and then remembered Danny. He had trailed up the sidewalk behind her and was watching her now uncertainly.
She knew that his parents must be frantic with worry, but she was too afraid to turn him over to them right now… not with Harrison probably hot on their tail. All of a sudden, an idea occurred to her.
“This
is going to sound crazy, but we need to get to my parents’ house, I think. All of us.”
Stephen did a double-take but she continued before he could interrupt.
“Danny, I know you miss your parents, but you need to come with us for a little bit longer, okay? We can call your parents from a secure line.”
The little boy nodded quickly, glancing wistfully at his house.
Tom stepped forward.
“Sydney, it isn’t my place to say so, but won’t the detective be looking for Stephen’s car? Maybe I should just give you a ride on over to your parents’ place. No one will be looking for Ol’ Red.”
He motioned to his big red truck as he spoke. “It might be safer and I’m happy to do it for you. It beats throwing hay bales around this afternoon.” He grinned briefly before he started back toward his truck. “But you’re right. We’d better move.”
Luckily Stephen was dressed and he hesitated only long enough to lock the front door before he hurried behind them to the truck. They piled in and the heavy truck lurched forward toward Highland Park- a direction that Sydney hadn’t thought she would travel toward for a very long time.
“Are you going to tell me what is going on now?” Stephen asked.
All the while, he had one arm around tightly around Sydney’s shoulders, clutching him to her. Sydney never wanted him to let go of her again even if she did reek to high heaven.
“You’re not going to believe it, but… here goes. Detective Daniels’ had me kidnapped.” She paused to let him absorb that information. His expression froze, along with the hand that had been lightly rubbing her back.
“Come again?” he asked politely, as though he hadn’t heard her, but she knew that he had.
“Detective Daniels’ is the one who took me. He’s crazy. He just doesn’t act like it.”
“Oh my God,” he muttered. “Sydney, he created a gag order forbidding anyone to tell the press that you had been taken. He said it was so they didn’t accidentally alert your dad but really, it was to protect himself.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “How could I have been so stupid?”