Barbara Levenson - Mary Magruder Katz 03 - Outrageous October (18 page)

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CHAPTER

FIFTY-TWO

Sherry’s Nightmare

Sherry had lost count of the days. She was in the dark or blindfolded all of the time, so there was no way to tell day from night. She was moved from what she thought was a basement to another building. It smelled of hay or grass and manure so she guessed it was a barn.

Once when the old lady took her to an outhouse and removed her blindfold, she tried to see her watch, but it was no longer on her arm. This made tears well up in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. The watch had been a gift from her father when she graduated from high school. It was a Rolex, water-proof and shock-proof so she wore it all the time. She guessed one of these people had taken it while she was in a stupor from the knockout meds they were feeding her.

The tears burned her cheeks. They must be chapped from the cold in the barn. She couldn’t rub them away because her hands were tied all of the time. She was always cold now. She almost laughed, thinking how mother was always instructing her to moisturize her face twice a day and “for heaven’s sake, Sherry, put on more sunscreen before you go out to the pool.”

When she tried hard, she could picture the pool and the patio in Miami. She tried to remember the feel of the hot tropical sun on a lazy Miami morning. But the cold in the barn transcended her image.

Of course, it really didn’t matter what her skin looked like or any other part of her. She was sure that death awaited her as soon as Paul and his friends collected their money. The old lady wasn’t his mother she guessed because he always called her Francie. And the other guy, Otis, she had only glimpsed a couple of times; when they first grabbed her in Paul’s truck, and once when they were moving her and the blindfold slipped. But she heard him yelling at Francie and Paul. He looked and sounded disgusting.

She wasn’t actually hungry anymore. They fed her once in a while and Paul came out to the barn with hot tea and some bread twice, or was it three times? How could she have fallen for Conrad/ Paul. She was a total idiot. It would all be over soon and she’d never have to face her family or friends and try to make them understand how she could have been so misled.

She heard something like the squeak of the door opening. A gust of wind blew against her body. She listened for footsteps but only heard the rustle of leaves somewhere nearby. Then she heard a voice, just a whisper saying her name.

“Who is it?”

“Shh. Don’t speak. Just listen to me. I’m going to put something over your mouth. Don’t make a sound. It’s me, Paul.”

Sherry’s first thought was that this was the end. Paul was the one who was here to kill her. How ironic, that he would be the one to finish this.

Something was shoved inside her mouth. She gagged for a second. Then she felt tape stuck to her lips and chin.

“Sherry, just listen. Try not to make any noise. I’m going to get you out of here before it’s light out. I’m going to untie you. Don’t try to run or struggle with me. You can’t make it out of here in the dark alone. Do you understand me? If you do, just nod.”

Sherry couldn’t process this for a minute. Was this a trick to get her to move somewhere to be shot or something? Paul’s voice came again.

“I know you don’t want to trust me. I don’t blame you. This is your only chance so please do what I ask. If you don’t, Francie will kill you. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Paul was whispering directly into her ear.

This time she nodded.

Sherry felt the ties on her hands loosen and then release. She moved her arms free. They tingled as if a thousand thorns were attacking her. Then she felt the ropes on her legs that tied her to her chair loosen. She wasn’t sure whether they were gone. She had no feeling in her legs. She felt a heavy jacket being put on her. She shivered.

“Can you stand?” Paul whispered.

She tried to get up but sank to the ground. Paul scooped her up and began carrying her. She tried to break free but her arms and legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

“Don’t struggle; any noise will wake them. Stay still,” Paul whispered.

They were outside now. Sherry could feel the wind against her. Paul was running. He was breathing hard and she could feel sweat from his body against her.

It seemed like hours that he ran carrying her through bushes or branches that scratched her and caught on her hair. Finally he laid her on the ground.

“I’m going to take off the blindfold now, but you still can’t talk or scream,” he said.

Paul was beside her on the ground when the blindfold came off. It was totally dark, but she could see the outline of trees. They must be in some woods.

“I don’t think anyone can see us here. Let me help you try to stand,” Paul said.

He pulled her up, his hands under her arms, until she was upright.

“See if you can take some steps.” He held her arms as she began to move in small shuffling steps.

“I couldn’t start the truck or they would’ve heard us. While it’s still dark, we’ve got to get out to the dirt road and then down to the highway. It’s your only chance. Do you think you can walk?”

She nodded even though she wasn’t sure that she could.

“I’ll help you but we have to move. It won’t be light for at least an hour. When we come out of the woods, we’ll be far enough away from the house and they won’t be looking for us yet.”

Sherry pointed to the gag in her mouth and made a slight noise.

“Can you promise not to scream?”

Sherry nodded again, and Paul slowly removed the tape. It made a scratching noise. Then he pulled the rag from her mouth.. She tried not to cough.

They began to move together. Paul was leading her through the thick stand of trees and brush. He began to move faster dragging her behind him. Something flew across her face. She almost screamed but stopped herself. She tripped and fell to one knee. Paul pulled her up and kept moving.

Sherry tried to say something but her voice was a croak. It had been so long since she had spoken. She wondered how many days she had been there. As they moved, more feeling was returning to her feet and legs. She felt a sudden surge of energy. Adrenalin forced her to move faster. She could see they were now on some kind of a path and the trees were not as thick,

“I know these woods real good. I played and hunted here when I was a kid. This land used to be my family’s farm.” Paul looked at her for a second and then continued pulling and leading her away from this terrible place.

“When we get to the main highway, we’ll stay over on the edges in the trees. Hopefully, a car will stop for us, or we’ll walk to where there are some houses. I’ll get you out of here. Just keep moving.” Paul pulled her along again. Sherry felt a lightness that made the ground whirl. She was dizzy with hope.

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CHAPTER

FIFTY-THREE

I was the last one to pull up in front of the diner. Dash was looking down the road as I pulled in.

“I thought you were lost,” he said. He was holding a tray of cardboard coffee cups, and I grabbed one gratefully downing several swallows.

It was cold and still dark. The wind had kicked up again and the leaves swirled around in small piles covering part of my boots.

Sheriff Parsons was standing next to two huge guys. One looked like a Suma Wrestler and the other looked like a full back on the University of Miami football team.

Dash took my arm and led me over to the group.

Parsons had a map open and was giving each of us directions. “Our best bet is to surround this place as close as we can get. A dirt road leads up to the house and they would sure hear our trucks coming down there. But there is a meadow behind the place. We can get there through this back road. We’ll have to drive off road for a bit. Dash is your vehicle four wheel drive?”

“Of course, how else do I get around in the winter?”

“Okay, Mary you leave your car here and go with Dash. I’ll be in the truck and Lonnie and Sean, you guys take Lonnie’s SUV. We’ll move into the meadow and walk up the hill to the house. There’s an old barn, too. We’ll stop about 200 yards from the house and approach from the left and the right. I’ll show you when we get out of the cars.” Parsons looked at each of us. “Any questions?”

One of the giants spoke. “You want us to take our rifles, right?”

“Sure you all take your guns. Lonnie, that’s a dumb questions. Anyone else?”

“Jim, how far is it before we turn left to get to the back road?” Dash asked.

“It’s ten miles from here on Route Four, before we get to the turnoff. Then we’ve got another two miles and another turn. Just follow me. We’ll get there before it’s completely light.”

We broke from our huddle and headed to our trucks. My heart was beating hard. A murder trial paled in comparison to my level of nerves this morning. This time we had to prevent a murder.

I locked my car by force of habit even though everyone here laughed at me each time I locked up. “Don’t you know it’s perfectly safe here?” I was repeatedly asked. Sure, I thought. The car is safe, but coeds are not! Dash was holding the passenger door of his Subaru open for me. I climbed in and he took off quickly to keep up with the others. We pulled out onto Route Four, the sheriff in the lead followed by the big guys in the tall SUV. We brought up the rear.

I shivered a little, more from nerves than cold. Dash noticed and turned on the car heater. “This whole event must have you feeling like you’re in a foreign place,” Dash said.

“The temperature is not what we encounter in Miami. It’s probably still ninety there. As far as kidnappings go, they do happen. It’s just that I’ve never been on a rescue mission, and I’ve never had a friend become the victim of a snatch like this. You know Lucy sent me up here for some peaceful head-clearing time. What a laugh.”

Dash looked over at me, taking his eyes off the road for a minute. “Listen, Mary, I guess things feel a little awkward between us, and I don’t want that. I care about you. That wasn’t a one-night-stand for me.”

“That’s exactly why I feel uneasy around you now. I think this has spoiled our friendship. I need to be honest with you. I’m not over my relationship with Carlos, the boyfriend I came up here to forget, so becoming more entangled with anyone now just isn’t right.”

“I get what you’re saying. I don’t want to lose our friendship. Maybe with some more time here, you’ll feel more than just being my friend.”

“That’s another thing. I can’t go on hanging out here. I have my career in Miami; my office and clients, if I have any left. And my brothers and their wives and kids, and my parents are all in south Florida. I need to make plans to get back to Miami.”

Dash didn’t answer. He kept his eyes on the road and the cars ahead of us. I could see that I had disappointed him. He clenched his jaw as if he had encountered a difficult legal problem.

We rode in silence heading west. The sky was still dark ahead of us. I looked back behind us. The first streaks of purple outlined the morning sky where the stars still formed a polka dot pattern. Soon the hills ahead of us took on the same purple glow. It looked so serene, presenting a contrast to what might await us on the Conrad farm.

Our caravan began to slow slightly as we passed through the village of Woodstock. There was no traffic on the main street that generally abounded in leaf peepers, walkers, joggers and shoppers.

“Why are we slowing down? Don’t we need to get out there before it’s any lighter?” I asked.

“Remember, I told you before when Woodstock posts a twenty-five mile zone, they really mean it,” Dash said.

“Even at this hour?”

“Absolutely. Look over there.” Dash pointed to the old deserted railroad station. At the side of the crumbling wooden structure sat a police cruiser, its lights off but engine running, waiting to pounce. We both laughed breaking the tense jitters that filled the air in the Subaru.

Soon we were speeding past the high school still completely dark, a produce market and a large post and beam structure outside the village boundaries.

“That’s the synagogue I told you about,” Dash said pointing to the building.

We were in the countryside again, passing the remnants of corn already harvested, bales of hay ready to be brought in. A sign advertised firewood for sale.

“I guess all these are signs of winter approaching,” I said.

“Yup, the almanac says it’ll be a cold one with plenty of snow.”

I realized that Dash and I were making small talk to cover the uneasy feeling we had about Sherry and the unease with trying to put our relationship back to just plain friendship.

We slowed again near a sign that told us we were two miles from Bridgewater.

“Jimmy must be looking for the road where we’re going to turn. It’s sure hard to see with all these trees lining the road and no real light yet.” Dash said.

I peered out trying to look for anything that resembled a road. I rolled down my window and stuck my head out hoping to watch for a turn. The truck and SUV ahead of us were slowed to a crawl too. Something caught my attention coming out of the trees, moving into the road.

“Dash, look out. Maybe that’s a deer or some animal moving into the road,” I yelled.

The car lights outlined two figures. A tall male stepped almost in front of the car. He was waving his arms and yelling something. The other figure was half bent over and stood on the shoulder of the road.

“My God, what is that?” Dash said as he hit his brakes.

With my head out of the open window, I heard the male yelling ‘help’ and then a female voice screaming. Dash jumped out of the car and I followed him. As I ran around the front of the car, the headlights blinded me for a minute and then the female was running toward me.

“Mary, is it really you? Help me, oh please. The figure fell over a tree stump and held out her arm. The headlights hit her face.

“Sherry, Sherry, oh my God.” I reached her and pulled her up. “Dash, it’s Sherry.”

Dash ran back to his open car door and blared the horn. The truck and the SUV stopped. I watched the SUV back down the road until it stopped in front of Dash’s car. Jimmy’s truck was turning around and moving back to our location. The male stood between the two vehicles, hesitating before he suddenly bolted into the trees.

“Stop him,” Dash screamed. “That’s Pauly Conrad, one of the kidnappers.”

Sean and Lonnie began to run in the direction of the fleeing Pauly, but these enormous guys couldn’t move very fast. Then I saw Dash streak by me. In seconds he had disappeared into the woods. At that moment I remembered why his nickname was Dash.