He quickly and quietly slid them into the back of the van. He closed the doors as he slipped in. He tore off two large strips from a roll of duct tape and sealed them over the children’s mouths and then shot them full of the anesthetic he had chosen to have them sleep for a long time. He then slid the girl into a small sleeping bag. He put the boy in a larger bag he was lucky to have in the van. He hadn’t expected two children.
He was in the bonus round
, he thought.
He knew it would be some time before they regained consciousness. By that time he would safely be where he needed to be.
He quickly stripped off his black bodysuit and thrust it into a large garbage bag. He re-dressed quickly before he slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He looked into the rearview mirror and smiled wickedly.
He knew he was now beyond the point of no return. His evil had just begun.
They soon would be his children
, he thought.
* * *
Susan couldn’t remember when a shower had felt so good. At least the water was hot.
Tim was still sitting on the toilet seat, talking to his brother, as she toweled off and dressed in the clean clothes she had unpacked. She opened the bathroom door and heard the TV blaring.
“Tim, where are Katie and Pete?” she asked, looking around.
“They went to the car to get her teddy. Aren’t they watching TV?”
Susan rushed out of the room into the parking lot. She saw their car. The back door was open. “Katie, where are you?” she yelled out. “Pete, are you hiding somewhere?”
She looked in the front and back seats of the car. The children were not there. Then she saw Katie’s teddy on the ground.
Fear welled up in her heart. She rushed back into the room. “Tim, the kids are gone!”
“What did you say?” Tim ran out of the bathroom, still holding his cell phone.
“They’re not in this room and they’re not in the car!” she shouted hysterically.
“Jesus, Susan, let me look around outside.”
Fear sunk deep in Tim’s heart.
Louisa and Quinn quickly polished off the bottle of wine. They talked about the highs and lows of their careers and lives. She talked about her failed marriage, which had ended more than ten years earlier. She thought she had married the man of her dreams. He turned out to be a workaholic business titan who wasn’t the least bit romantic. It lasted all of two months before they both realized it had been a mistake. The divorce was painless and without emotion. They had remained distant friends.
She had dated a few men since then, but nothing had blossomed into a lasting relationship. She made a point not to date anyone associated with the Bureau or any other law enforcement agency. She rarely broke that rule.
As the hour turned late, Laura interrupted their conversation. “OK, you two, it’s just about midnight, and I see one empty wine bottle sitting here. Anything more to drink for you two?”
Quinn suddenly realized that Laura was talking to them. “No, sweetie that should do it. Bring me the check.”
“Save your money, big fella. This one is on us.” She winked at him and slowly walked down the length of the bar.
“That young woman likes you,” Louisa said as she reached into her purse. She took out a twenty-dollar bill and put it on the bar. When he began to protest, she pressed her finger against his lips. Quinn blushed and said nothing more.
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“I’m at the Sheraton in Crystal City near the Metro stop.”
“Now, that is way too convenient. My townhouse is only three blocks from there. We can head back that way together.”
He hugged Laura and waved to Ned as they left. Ned winked and waved back. They walked the few blocks to the McPherson Metro stop to catch the Blue Line to Crystal City. He could smell the late summer flowers blooming everywhere. He was surprised when she reached down and took his hand as they walked down the street. The darkness hid his blushing face. They walked slowly and stole glances at each other under every streetlamp.
She sat close to him as they rode the Blue Line out of the District into Virginia. He felt her warmth next to him and realized his senses were suddenly alive. They had the Metro car to themselves. Before they knew it, they were riding up the escalator out of the Crystal City Metro Station. As soon as they hit the sidewalk, Louisa stopped dead in her tracks.
“I know it’s late, but would you like to join me for a glass of good wine at my place?”
Her request caught him somewhat by surprise, but he subconsciously had been eagerly anticipating the invite. “Hey, I don’t have to go to work in the morning. All I have to do is drive five hours back to Fancy Gap.”
“Great! I have a late flight out tomorrow to California to visit my sister. I can sleep on the plane.” she offered as they slowly walked down the sidewalk.
In five minutes, they arrived at her place, a new townhouse in a small development close to the Crystal City apartment buildings. She unlocked her door and entered the code on the security system. He immediately noticed a Bianchi road bike in the entryway.
“Wow, what model Bianchi is that?”
“Oh, it’s an Infinito Dama. I just got it two months ago.”
“I didn’t know you rode. That bike is a beast!”
“Since I’m retired, I have time to ride and stay in shape. I get out on the George Washington Parkway trail almost every day.”
“Now, that’s impressive. Good thing it’s not too hilly here.”
“And exactly what do you mean by that?” she asked, arching her eyebrows and placing a hand on each hip.
He immediately knew he had misspoken. She had that competitive look in her eyes as she stared him down. “Look, Louisa, I’m only sayin’ that it’s easier for riders around here since the terrain is much flatter than in the mountains.”
“So, Mister Mountain Man, pray tell, what do you ride?”
“Well, it’s not as fancy as your wheels. It’s a Ridley Damocless with Ultegra components.”
“Bet you have a big, fat granny gear on it, don’t you?”
He started to laugh. “Hey, let it be known that I’m a very youthful sixty-two-year-old stud who will never need a granny gear on my ride!”
“Well, that’s a big surprise. I thought you were at least seventy!” she said with a smile. She leaned toward him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, that wasn’t bad for a fifty-nine-year-old woman!” he said playfully.
“I’ll have you know that I’m a happy sixty-year-old hard-body who plans to kick your butt on that funny-sounding bike you claim to ride.” She smiled as she got up and slowly walked toward the bedroom. “The white wine is in the fridge. Help yourself and pour a glass for me. I’m going to make myself comfortable.”
He sat down on the couch in the living room with two glasses of wine. She had a nice selection of good wines. The Cakebread Cellars he opened was delicious. She didn’t take long to change. She was wearing a baggy gray sweatshirt and red shorts and was barefoot. She looked great.
She sat very close to him on the couch, resting her right hand on his shoulder. He must have looked a bit uncomfortable because she put her wine glass down.
“Quinn, is something wrong? I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward or anything.” she ventured.
“No…no, Louisa, it’s just that…I just haven’t been this close to a woman in several years, and especially so close to, well, such a beautiful woman.”
Now, she was blushing. That didn’t stop her, though; as she pulled his head closer to hers and planted her ruby lips tenderly on his. For a moment, that was a problem. He had forgotten how to kiss back! His lips finally found their proper rhythm and started to work. His tongue decided to meet hers and got into the act.
After a bit she shifted sideways into his lap. She pulled her head back and smiled. “You must think I’m going a little fast. I think I am…and I like it. It’s been a hell of a long time since I felt this way. The minute I looked in your eyes at the bar, I knew you were someone special. While I was changing, I made up my mind that I needed to find out if you were, well, a good kisser.”
He hadn’t swallowed his sip of wine when she said that and held his lips tightly together as he laughed.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that you passed the test,” she finished.
“Louisa, I must admit that I heard that you, well, avoided personal relationships while you were at the Bureau. I understood that several had tried, but none had succeeded.”
“You’ve got that right, my newfound friend. I never mixed business with pleasure. It would have complicated my work. Though for some time I thought John Edwards was a cutie. And we all know how he turned out!”
“You need to know that the electricity was working in both directions at the bar tonight,” he said. “I haven’t had any notions of romance in my life for a very long time.”
She leaned back into him, and they kissed for a long time. His poor hands didn’t know what they were supposed to do. Other parts didn’t have that problem, however. He thought that at this point in his life he might need the little blue pill.
Not tonight
, he quickly surmised.
“My dearest Quinn, it’s late and we’re having way too much fun for folks our age.”
He smiled as he slowly stood up. A significant part of his anatomy was at attention. Louisa smiled as she noticed his discomfort. It had been quite some time since she had aroused a man. She was feeling a lot younger than sixty.
She moved over to her side desk and wrote on the desk pad. “So here are my e-mail address and cell number. I’ll be back from California next week. Let’s talk then.”
“Thanks. Here’s my card. Please call when you get back because I need to find out if you really can ride that bike.”
They stood close to each other at the door. He looked into her eyes and thought he saw exactly what he was feeling in his heart and elsewhere. They exchanged a light, parting kiss. After he stepped out, he waited for her to lock the door behind him.
Quinn looked at his watch and realized it was very early in the morning. He quickly made his way to the Sheraton and nodded to the night auditor as he passed the front desk. The young man looked him over and smiled. Quinn realized that he was smiling from ear to ear. He laughed uncontrollably in the elevator as it took him to his floor.
This had been a most unexpected but interesting and delightful night.
But was it all too good to be true?
he thought.
Tim ran around the motel, looking for the children. He yelled out their names as loudly as he could. Susan, now dressed, also looked everywhere, to no avail. The children weren’t there.
He ran to the motel office. The door was locked so he pounded on it. Lights went on in some of the other rooms. Finally, the old lady came to the door.
“What in tarnation are you making this ruckus for? Don’t ya know it’s late?”
“Our children are missing. They went out to the car to get my daughter’s teddy, and now they’re gone!” Tim blurted out.
“Slow down here a minute. Come inside and get off the stoop.”
Tim came in and closed the door behind him. His hands were trembling.
“Tell me again what happened,” she said.
Tim told her what had happened from start to finish.
“And you and your wife have looked outside and around your car?” she asked.
“Listen, we’ve looked around the motel and the parking lot, across the street, and even under the cars. The kids are gone.”
She picked up the phone. “I’m going to call the sheriff ’s office. But you know that they’re all probably still tied up at that crash scene.” She thought about it, then dialed 911.
“Carroll County nine-one-one center,” a woman’s voice said, loudly enough for Tim to hear.
“Hey, this is Marybeth Tillwell at the motel in Fancy Gap. A family staying here has a problem. They checked in a bit ago, and their two kids have just gone an’ disappeared on ’em. The little girl and her brother went out to get her teddy in the car and never came back to the room.”
“How old are the children?” the dispatcher asked.
Ms. Tillwell looked at Tim.
“Katie is five and Pete is seven.”
She passed along the information.
“Let me talk to one of the parents,” the dispatcher said.
Ms. Tillwell handed the phone to Tim.
“This is Tim Preston.”
“Mister Preston, are you sure your children are missing and not playing a game or trick on you? You know how kids can be.”
“I’m certain they’re not playing a game. We had a long and terrible day, and both of them are exhausted. There is no way that this is a game,” Tim shot back. Tim proceeded to tell the dispatcher all the events of the day.
“Mister Preston, I’m going to talk to Sheriff Pierce. He’s at the crash scene with about all the deputies as well as the Virginia State Police. They expect to be there for some time. What’s your cell number? I’ll get back to you just as soon as I know something.”
Tim gave her his cell number and hung up. He wasn’t optimistic. He knew how awful the crash scene was. He walked slowly toward the door, then turned and looked at Ms. Tillwell.
“Young man, you’ll be lucky to see a deputy tomorrow. There ain’t no way one’ll be here tonight,” she said as she closed the door.
* * *
The dispatcher called Sheriff Pierce on his cell.
“Yes, Lucy, this better be important,” the sheriff said when he answered.
“Sheriff, we have a family who checked into the motel in Fancy Gap tonight because of the fog and the wreck. Their two little kids left the room to get somethin’ in the car and never came back.”
“How old are the kids?” the sheriff asked.
“Little girl is five, and her brother is seven.”
“Listen, Lucy, call ‘em back and tell them we’ll get someone there as soon as we can. But it might be morning.”
“Yes, sheriff, I’ll let them know.”
* * *
Tim ran back to the room. The door was open, and Susan was still outside, looking for the children. He saw tears and panic in her eyes when she looked at him.
“What did the police say?”