Chapter 25
Tuesday Afternoon …
Doreen woke up in the darkness in a moving vehicle. She could breathe but just barely. The hood was still on her head, and she took a long moment to figure out what was going on. She had to be in her own car. She shifted enough to know that her legs hit a wheel well, and she heard a whine in the background. She tried to call out, muffled, at best, from within a hood, “Mugs? It’s okay, Mugs.”
A little excited woof came and then some scratching. She must be in the trunk, and the vehicle was moving at a fast pace. Her attacker had shoved her into her own vehicle and then had driven out with her. How fair was that? She shifted a bit, happy that her hands were free and that she could get the hood pulled off her head. She heard the crooning against her ear. “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.” Her heart swelled as she reached up and gently cuddled the bird.
“I wish you were safe at home instead,” she whispered. “I really wish you weren’t here in this situation with me.”
She wanted to kick the trunk lid, but she also didn’t want to let her attacker know that she was awake. Cuddling Thaddeus, she quickly explored the little space. She was in the back of her own car, which just drove her nuts. What she needed was for the vehicle to slow down. Also a way to attract some attention. Knowing that whatever damage she caused to her own vehicle, she would have to pay for made her hesitate. But, as she studied the two taillights, she wondered if it was possible to pop one of them out. It was an older car, so maybe it would give her less resistance, if she kicked out one. Then she might stuff something into it and attract some attention.
On the other hand, there was a good chance that she’d end up just hurting her foot. And that’s the last thing she needed. Just then the vehicle took a hard right, and she was tossed from one side to the other. And she knew that they were quickly heading to a crunch point.
She had no idea how long she’d been out, and her head was killing her, more so when she explored the sore spot. Her finger came away sticky with blood. It was pitch-black in the darkness of the trunk, but, as far as she could tell from the smell and the texture, it was blood. That just made her madder because no way she deserved to be hit and hurt again. She’d been through enough of that already.
But she was also leery, knowing that the vehicle had taken a rough turn. So, even now, as she bounced around, she was afraid she’d be taken out to some far lonely corner, where he planned to do away with her. And she didn’t even know why. That would never go down well. The fact that she also had Thaddeus—and quite possibly the other animals were inside the car with her kidnapper—terrified her. They hadn’t done anything wrong and certainly didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
Doreen desperately wanted to find a way to get out of this, but, if they weren’t in traffic, then nobody would notice, even if she were to break something and were to try to attract attention. The vehicle kept going, as she struggled with an exit plan, wishing she had left something in her car. She managed to loosen one of the taillights by her head. But she would have to shatter it to get just her hand, if that, outside the car. She wished she knew more about cars. She wished she knew more about a lot of things.
Just then the vehicle slowed again and took another turn. She jostled in the back, and Thaddeus cried out, as she shifted. Mugs started to bark, and a yowl came from the front. All the animals were here.
At that, a voice from the front of the vehicle started yammering at them. “Calm down. Stop making such a ruckus. I can’t even hear myself think.”
She immediately recognized the voice as that of Rex, her ex’s henchman. She was surprised enough that she didn’t even know what to think for a moment. She needed to tell Mack. That brought her up short, and she immediately checked for her phone. Her kidnapper hadn’t even removed her phone. She pulled it from her pocket, turned it on, and noted she was at half battery power, but she had enough light to text Mack. She immediately sent him a text message, with the volume way down, warning him that she’d been kidnapped from her garage, was in the trunk of her car, and was on a rough road after a couple harsh corners. She had all the animals with her.
WHAT?
I don’t know where we are. I just know I’m in the trunk, and he didn’t tie me up. He put a hood over my head, which I have since loosened, mostly because of Thaddeus.
She had marshaled an army by contacting Mack. She didn’t understand why the kidnapper hadn’t taken her phone, but he must have thought that she was contained enough that she couldn’t do any damage.
Which just meant that he didn’t understand her or Thaddeus. Even now, Thaddeus was pecking at the laces on the hood. But she was free and clear of it, so there was no point. She gently disengaged him from that activity and whispered, “See if you can find a way out of here, Thaddeus. Find a way out.”
And, at that, Thaddeus walked around the trunk, pecking and sticking his head into various corners. She wasn’t sure that he even knew what he was doing, but she appreciated his attempt.
She just smiled at his antics, wondering how long it would take Mack to find her. She got another text, saying an APB was sent on her vehicle, and everybody was out looking. But they needed an idea of how long she had been out. She immediately responded that she’d been unconscious for a time and didn’t know how long, but she was awake now, and Rex would regret not taking away her phone and not tying her hands.
At that, Mack sent back a message. Stay calm. We’re on this.
She knew what that meant, but she also knew that, if they weren’t on it fast enough, she wouldn’t get a good outcome. She shifted in the back and tried to push the seat forward, and it budged a little bit, but she couldn’t get her hand up to undo the locks. Something here engaged them. Normally they just snapped down. But she remembered that the left side never latched properly. She slipped over to the far side, wincing and barely avoiding crying out as she hit something hard, and it jostled her back.
Immediately Mugs started barking again. And, once more, Rex snarled at Mugs to shut up. Then Rex started talking. “I’ll be glad when I get this stupid job done. Shut up! God, you’re dirty animals. I hated you when you lived at the house, and I hate you even more now!” he snapped.
She wondered at a man who could hate a dog. What kind of a person was that?
Chapter 26
As Doreen listened, Rex muttered to himself, but it wasn’t making any sense, or at least wasn’t something she understood. She tried hard to listen, but it wasn’t clear enough. Some words were garbled. She only heard something about, “That woman had him so wrapped up. And now he’s in deep trouble.”
At that, she sat back in shock. Maybe Doreen was wrong. But she quickly texted Mack about the words Rex said. I think Rex had a relationship with Robin and may have killed her. Maybe because he feared getting caught by Mathew.
At that, she got no answer for the moment, while she kept listening to Rex’s words and sending Mack the little bits and pieces that she heard. It just wasn’t very much.
Finally Rex took another left and slowed the vehicle. She immediately contacted Mack and said they were slowing down. Rex hit the brakes, opened the driver’s door, and hopped out, then opened up the side door and said, “Get out of here! Go on. Get out!” She didn’t know who was getting out, but it didn’t seem like it was Mugs or Goliath because she could hear the two of them chasing around inside the car, as Rex yelled and hollered at them.