Save Her (Texas Hearts Series Book 1), page 11
"How am I going to get the signatures tied to a chair with several broken bones and no one knowing that I’m alive?" Resigned to the fact that she was going to die anyways, she decided that she may as well go out bravely. She refused to cower to such a horrible man if these were her last moments. It wouldn’t be long, minutes, hours or possibly days but he would get tired of this game. She could see it in his eyes.
"Let me tell you a little story about how I get my way, OK? My brother was always the golden boy; our parents were so proud of him, but it’s funny how quickly they turned on him when they started to find the dead animals. It was fun, you know, to show these horrible little creatures who was in charge, at first anyways. Later, the real thrill came from Daniel. They honestly thought it was him, but he was a straight and narrow kid; they could not throw him out. Gasp! What would the neighbors think? The star football player? Their hands were tied, but the breaking point came when he started dating that nobody. I could tell they were getting to the end of their rope, so when he decided to marry that girl, there it was, the perfect excuse. They told him if he married her, he was dead to them. Shortly after, he cut his ties with our family and moved here. Isn't it odd how a golden boy who grew up as his parents’ favorite was disowned over something as minimal as his choice of wife? With Daniel spending all his time with your mother, the time was ripe with opportunities for drawing him out of the role of favorite son and helping myself to it. It is natural, really, for a mother to be jealous when her firstborn falls in love for the first time. The jealousy allowed me to convince my parents that instead of being an honorable young woman to be respected, a woman who had triumphed against the odds as they were inclined to believe, they came to see her as a gold-digging opportunist. Believing that she was after only his money, they had no choice, really; he could have love or money. He, of course, chose love, as only Daniel would. Therefore, they cut him off and left him penniless. He was already making a decent living, so he had no need of their money. When your parents married, mine disowned him. With some subtle encouragement and a loving facade, I temporarily replaced Daniel in their affections. As the years went on, they began to resent me for the choices I helped them make. When you were born, which they learned of through a friend of Daniel’s, they decided to try to make amends. They said nothing to me when they flew down here to see you all, but Daniel wanted nothing to do with them. Not because of the money, but because they had turned their backs on him. I found out all of this when they returned and informed me that everything was my fault. I knew, though, that with me being their only remaining child, they had no choice but to let it go; bygones being bygones and such.
"Imagine my surprise when after a carefully thought-out and elaborate planned house fire took the lives of both my parents, the lawyer read the will after the funeral, stating that everything went to my brother except for the amount necessary for my daughter to go to college. They wanted her to live on campus, the further away from me and my wife the better, they said. Her college fund was untouchable by anyone but her. Of course, within a week, I managed to obtain the total of it and we managed to live quite comfortably for some time before we ran out of money. Where there is a will, there is a way, no pun intended. It was truly a sizable portion; she probably could have lived off it for a decade, but compared to the sum total of their money it was not even a drop in the bucket. Unfortunately, all good things must end and when it was all gone, I tried to reestablish ties with my very wealthy brother.
"He denied me. The accident that took his life and that of your mother’s was simply a stroke of luck for me, or so I thought at the time. It prevented me from having to do the deed myself. See, I knew he'd leave everything to you, but I assumed I would have a chance to contest the will and if failing that just convince you to share, but your parents so neatly tied my hands with their stipulations. So we find ourselves with two options. A, I kill you and get it over with, or B, you find a way to turn the money over and we both go on about our lives."
When he touched a button on his watch, light flooded the surrounding area. He glanced at the time and smiled an evil smile and tapped her on the nose saying, "Look, my darling niece, I have to go. I am going to give you only twenty-four more hours to figure this out, then I can just kill you and go find myself a nice hotel room to hide out in and send a ransom note. Think carefully, my dear, because I really don't want to have to kill any more of my blood."
Turning around whistling, he walked out the door.
She was grateful that he left when he did because she could no longer hold herself up. Slumping, she thought of Sean and prayed for a miracle. She wasn’t sure how much longer she had left before she joined her parents and all she could think of was how she would never get to hold the people she loved again. A rash reaction had let to her downfall and soon all that would be left of her were memories. There was no way to change the stipulations of her inheritance and she had a feeling she was just about out of time. No one had a clue where she was or who she was with and they more than likely wouldn’t think to look for her since her truck had blown up. They could be planning her funeral that very moment and not have a clue that she was alive and running out of time. Because she couldn’t trust in Sean and stick around to see what the explanation was she was now going to die alone. She would never get to see the man she loved smile at her again. There would never be rides to the creek or picnics under the stars. No children with his eyes and her nose, his wildness or her calm. There would never be sleepovers with Sheriff and Grandma Thelma. A whole life, a whole world of possibilities were now gone and all she could do was sit in a chair, in her soiled, ripped, and bloody clothes and pray for a miracle while she cried herself to sleep once again.
Chapter 17:
Courtney awoke sprawled on the couch, disoriented. It had been a long night and she simply could not remember having fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms out above her before she froze as she recalled the night before. Standing up, she straightened her clothes, grimacing at the wrinkles. Silence permeated the house, so thinking she was the only one about, she went to the bathroom. Long ingrained habit had her closing the door and stripping out of her wrinkled slacks and placing them neatly over the shower curtain rod. She turned the hot water on high in the tub hoping the steam would help relax some of the lines and creases on her clothing. Walking to the sink, she splashed cold water on her face, washing away yesterday’s makeup. Satisfied that she would look no better without a full-on shower, she turned the water off and pulled her slacks back on.
Planning to make some coffee, she went into the kitchen only to find Sean and Sheriff Pike sitting in the exact same spot as the previous evening, both awake and looking haggard and neither speaking, simply staring at different spots on the ceiling. She started to ask if there had been any news but changed her mind. Surely, if there had been a change, they would not be here.
"Mind if I make some coffee?"
Sheriff Pike looked up and said, "Coffee's already on. Help yourself."
Thinking, she walked to the window and watched the horses graze, blissfully happy to munch the thick green blades of grass, completely unaware of the tension and worry trapped in the small kitchen. Grabbing a coffee mug, she filled it to the rim with the brutally strong brew. Taking a tentative sip, she wrinkled her nose at the bitter taste, glancing around for sugar.
Seeing none, she made an unselfish move for a woman generally so self-absorbed and drank her coffee silently.
She took a huge gulp and nearly gagged at the taste but choked it back and took another strong drink. Feeling exceptionally proud of herself, she continued until her cup was nearly empty before she could handle it no longer. As she rinsed out her cup, the phone rang. Both men jerked to attention, then Sean rose abruptly and answered it.
"Hello?"
The others in the room with him could not hear what was being said on the other side of the phone, but it was obvious that it was not news about Katherine, because when the person on the other end spoke, Sean’s whole demeanor dropped and his head hung low.
"Nothing yet, Doc." Sean put the call on speaker so that Sheriff could hear as well.
"Well, that little girl has everybody in Wolfe Springs praying for her. We all love her dearly. We are praying for you, too, son. Everyone knows how close of friends the two of you are and always have been. I'll get off here, but please keep me informed."
"I will, Doc. Katherine knows we love her. I have no doubt about that. Thank you for calling."
Hanging up the phone, he ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed his chin. He seemed surprised to find the stubble there.
"Sheriff, you ought to go on home to your wife now. You know she's probably desperately worried about Katy, and you need some rest," Sean said.
"Son, if I go home, are you going to bed? Are you going to get some rest?"
"It's different. I can’t sleep knowing she is out there somewhere hurt and alone, or God only knows what else."
"And do you think I could sleep any better? I just told this girl only a few short weeks ago about her parents’ deaths. She is not simply another citizen in my county; she is my goddaughter, and I will be damned if I sleep while she is missing. If neither one of us are going to sleep, then how about we get some work done?"
"What can we do?"
"Let's get as much info on this uncle of hers as possible. Last night, all I could find out was that his parents died because of a suspicious house fire, cause undeterminable, and he moved to Texas about a month before Katy's parents were killed. Access to his bank account and financial info had to wait until this A.M. for a warrant, so I’ll call and get what info I can. Do you have a number for the uncle?"
"I have Katy's phone. Let me check that and see what I can come up with."
While the men were carrying on their discussion, Courtney quietly carried the phone into the living room to make a call.
On the second ring, he picked up.
"This is Devon."
"Hey, bro, it’s Court. I need you."
After a brief pause, he sighed and said, "What happened now?"
"It's about Ev. Katherine Dunlap is missing, and he needs you and the boys’ help."
"Why hasn't he called me yet?"
"Well, it’s kind of my fault."
Devon could only just imagine that is was. Resigned, he asked, "Where are you?"
"Wolfe Springs."
"Has he talked to the cops yet?
"Yeah."
"I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Thank you."
"Courtney, after this is over, we are going to talk. You can't keep running."
"I know."
"Love you."
"Me too."
She walked back to the kitchen as Sean said, "It's in here. What should I do?"
"How about you call him to inform him that Katy has disappeared. Do not mention us finding her truck. Just ask him if he has seen her, because she didn’t come home last night. Don't act suspicious. Just play it by ear. We’re getting his financial info now."
Picking up his cell phone, Sean dialed Donald's number. It rang three times before he picked up.
"Dunlap."
"Mr. Dunlap, this is Sean Everett. We met at the diner. Katy is my girlfriend. I wanted to let you know that she’s gone missing."
"Oh dear, what happened? Did the two of you have a fight?"
"Actually, we didn't, but thank you for your concern. I was wondering if you had seen her."
"You haven't seen a single trace of her? Not even her truck?"
"No, sir, we haven't."
On a piece of paper, Sean jotted down 'He knows, asked about truck.’
"Well, surely you should look a little harder. People don't just disappear from the face of the earth."
"We are just now reaching the twenty-four-hour limit to call the cops. It’ll be a while before we find anything specific out."
"Well, Mr. Everett, I hope you all find her soon; it would be horrible if something... permanent were to happen to her."
"What do you mean, sir?"
“Mr. Everett, I don’t have time to play word games with you. You have alerted her next of kin that she is missing, which I am assuming was your purpose in calling me. I will let my wife and daughter know, and we will meet with your local police to see what should be done next. Thank you for letting me know. I will handle everything from here on out. Are you still residing in her home? I think that all things considered, it would be far more appropriate for you to vacate the premises and allow her family to be there, where we belong.”
“I am not going any damn place. I will be here when she gets home, and I will be the only one living here besides her. You are not going to be taking advantage of the situation on my watch. And you are no more family to her than you are to my horse Ethel. Blood doesn’t mean anything. Her godparents are her family. I am her family. You are someone with similar DNA. Did you do something to her, asshole? Where is she? Where in the fuck is she?”
Donald’s laughter rang out over the phone line even as he was hanging up. Sean stood there, his chest heaving with emotion as his fist clenched his phone to his ear in a bruising grip.
Sheriff was standing right beside Sean, now paying very close attention to every word being said, while Courtney was sitting at the vacated table, praying Katherine would live, and not only because she really wanted to come out of this unscathed. She was shocked to realize there was some concern peppered in there for the other girl.
"Dammit! He hung up. Smug son of a bitch is practically begging to be murdered. He has her or knows where she is. He has to.” Sean’s eyes were bloodshot and watery when he made eye contact with Sheriff. “He was laughing when he hung up on me. Laughing. We have to find her. Now."
"Ok, Sean, focus. What about his wife and daughter?"
"Ask me, his wife is in it or at the very least knows about it and isn’t objecting. The daughter seemed to genuinely like Katy. She might be the key."
"Do we have the number?"
"Katy does. They exchanged numbers at the diner. Here it is. Claire. Do you want me to call?"
"It might be easier if she talks to you. She knows you two have a connection, and it would probably be distressing to her to speak to a cop."
"OK."
Running a shaky hand through his hair, he drew in a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing."
Highlighting her name on the phone screen, he pressed call. On the second ring, a breathless voice picked up. "Katy?"
"Claire? This is Sean. Do you remember me?"
"Oh yeah, Big, hunky cowboy. What's not to remember?"
Another time he would have laughed; now he just felt numb. "Look, this is kind of hard to say, but Katy is missing and we think your dad could have something to do with it."
"Oh my, are you sure?"
"Unfortunately, yes. It would help out a lot if you would come talk to me. She is hurt very badly, and if we don't find her soon," he said, "she may not survive."
On the other side of the line, Claire drew in a shaky breath.
"I thought all of this was over when we left Oklahoma. I thought we would make a new start, be a real family with Nanny and Gramps gone. How can he do this again? Where are you, Sean? How do I get to you? I have a big story to tell you and need to do it in person."
Covering the mouthpiece, Sean told Sheriff, "She'll come."
"Wherever she is, I'll send a car to get her."
"Claire, where are you?"
"I'm about ten miles outside town."
“Are you alone? You don’t have anyone with you?”
“No, it’s just me. Mom is out shopping, and Dad hasn’t been around for a couple of days.”
"Can you get to the diner where we met?"
"Yeah, sure. Is that where you all are?"
"No, but an officer will meet you there and bring you here. It is for your own protection, Claire. Katherine's godfather is the county sheriff, and he wants to keep you safe."
"Am I going to get in trouble over this?"
"No, but we don't want you to get hurt over this either. Especially if your father figures out you're helping us."
"OK, I'll be there in five."
Raising a hand palm outward and fingers spread, he signaled five minutes. Sheriff nodded in agreement and pushed the talk button of the radio strapped to his shoulder to call an officer as he walked into the other room.
"Alright, Claire, the officer will be there in a few minutes."
Ending the call, Sean sank back into the chair that he had so rarely vacated during the last twenty-four hours. Coming back into the room, Sheriff sat down across from him.
"From the preliminary reports it looks like her uncle is flat broke and up to his eyeballs in debt; the wife, too. The funny thing is, the girl has a trust fund with Daniel as executer. They had never even met, had they?"
"Not as far as I know. I wonder if her father knew about this."
A few moments later, they heard a car crunching across the gravel drive. "Well, it looks like she's here. Say, where'd your friend go?"
Looking around, he said, "Who knows." In the silence there was an implied 'Who cares?'
As the front door creaked open after a quick knock, booted feet sounded, all but drowning out the almost whispery sound of a softer, more feminine entrance.
"In here."
Following the sound of Sean's voice, Claire made her entrance into the kitchen, her mind reeling and her gut clenched. "Has there been any news yet?"
Sadly, Sean shook his head no.
Sean watched as Claire came to a decision and squared her shoulders before approaching the table to take a seat.
Sitting in an empty chair, she started talking, almost reluctantly at first but quickly gaining momentum as she purged her soul of the poison that was her parents. "When Uncle Daniel left, Daddy started down this path. I think he had always been a bully underneath all the sophisticated polish. Nanny and Gramps started pushing him to start a family, settle down, hoping, I think, that he would change and maybe start to love someone or something more than himself. Mom just wanted his money, which is all either of them are really after. When they conceived me, Nanny and Gramps gave them a large amount of money for baby essentials. From what I understand, a week out of the hospital my parents left me at home in a playpen so they could attend a party. A party Nanny and Gramps were also attending. Gramps and Dad had a big blowout, and Nanny and Gramps came to get me, but it came to blows and Dad put Gramps in the hospital that night and refused to let them see me. Gramps told them that either they would allow me to have a live-in nanny, or he would cut them off. Auntie June came to live with us then. She raised me until I was ten. That is when she died and I was alone once again with them. That lasted about two months, and for my eleventh birthday Nanny and Gramps brought me a puppy. He was an adorable fur ball, always licking you. A week or two after I got him, he just disappeared. For days, I wandered the woods surrounding our house calling for him. I found him, but when I did he was dead, had been tortured. Crying, I called Nanny and Gramps, and they came to get me. Gramps threatened to call the police, so they let me go. I figured out later on what my grandparents had known all along. My dad had built a habit of torturing animals spanning back from childhood. Anyway, after I moved, things were great. I didn’t have to see my parents, and my grandparents did their best to show me all the love and affection I had missed out on growing up. Three weeks after my seventeenth birthday, Gramps had a stroke. He was bedridden after. Dad came for me, and Nanny just could not stop him from taking me. It was not that bad back at home. They just ignored me mostly, but..." She teared up still carrying guilt for everything that happened next. As the first tear fell, she started again. "But when they couldn't get any money for my 'care,' as they said, Dad decided it was about time that he inherited. He set fire to their home, the place he had grown up in, without a flicker of emotion. Gramps died in the fire, but the firefighters arrived in time to get Nanny out before the flames consumed her as well. She was burned badly. I think that smoke inhalation put her into a coma. God, if I'd been six months older, he'd have never gotten away with it, but since she was technically on life support, he pulled the plug. She lingered, though. Boy, did she linger. Eight days after they took her life support away, her fingers briefly gripped mine in a sign of acknowledgment, I am sure of it, but that evening she passed. Up until that point, the doctors were optimistic that a recovery was possible, even if only a partial one, but that night she was just gone. Just an involuntary movement is what they all said, but I could feel it in here." Her hand covered her heart before falling to her side. "But I've often wondered how hard it'd be to cover her face with a pillow or something. I mean, she couldn't move and needed to breathe, so it would be the perfect crime, wouldn't it? Sorry. Anyhow, after they died, Dad expected to inherit it all, but he got nothing. Nan and Gramps had set aside a very sizable sum for my college, but somehow Dad gained possession of it in a very short space of time. Ironically, the joke was on him because they had actually left the money to throw him off the trail of my actual trust fund. The will was not read in the traditional way; the lawyer told us about his lack of inheritance and my college fund, and at my grandparents’ request said no more. The rest of the will divided all of their belongings equally between Katy, Daniel, and me. Dad still didn't know that or that Daniel split his inheritance fifty-fifty between Katy and me. I have been terrified he would find out and do something to me. I never thought he would go after Katy. I've given him my monthly allowance since the beginning thinking it would all stop."
