First Class to Portland (16 page)

The flight attendant offered them another drink before they
started the descent into Portland, which they declined. He fastened his
seatbelt and stared out the window, willing all to be well when they landed.

As the aircraft taxied in to the terminal, Matt switched on
his phone and tried to call Janie. It went straight to voicemail.

"That's weird," he said and tried her number
again. He immediately heard Janie's voice asking him to leave a message.

"What's wrong?" asked Mark.

"Her phone is off," he frowned, serious concern
forming. "She never turns off her phone. Never!"

As the two brothers got off the plane, Matt's cellphone
dinged in his pocket. He whipped it out and read the single word on his screen.

"Fuck!!" he yelled, and began running through the
terminal. Mark, scared for his brother, followed close behind.

*****

Janie stood in the bathroom of Danny's house shaking
uncontrollably.
How do I find her?
she wondered. She had never been so
scared in her life but she knew she had to get it together if she was going to
save her friend.
How could I have been so stupid?
Both Matt and Katy
didn't like Danny but she had assured them both that he was harmless. Look
where that had got her!

She pulled out her phone and started to dial 911 but the
door burst open and then everything went dark.

*****

 Matt was yelling at the police officer through the phone in
the car. "I can't remember her last fucking name! My fiancée filed the
report this morning. Her name is Janie Anderson. Yes, I'll hold." Matt hit
the steering wheel with his fist for the third time in a mile.

After a minute or two, a voice came back on the phone.
"Mr. Lathem? I'm Officer Robbins. I'm the one who spoke with Janie this
morning."

"Finally!" said Matt. "I got a one-word text
from Janie when I just arrived in Portland. It was sent this morning. It just
said 'Danny', but he's the fucking peeping tom she used to live next to so
that's where I'm headed now."

Matt gave Officer Robbins the address and said he would meet
him there. He weaved through the traffic on the freeway and Mark was worried
they wouldn't make it at all.

"Matt! It's gonna be fine. She's fine."

"She'd better be," he said with fists clenching
the steering wheel. “I will fucking kill him if he’s hurt her."

*****

 Janie awoke with a throbbing pain on the side of her head.
She tried to reach up but couldn't; her wrists were tied together with rope.
She opened her eyes and saw she was leaning against the wall of the bathroom
and Danny was standing over her.

"Why did you have to come here Janie?" He looked
like he was about to cry. "I like you. I liked Robert."

"Well we always liked you Danny," she whispered.
"Have you taken out the kayak yet?" She realized he had obviously hit
her with something and tied her hands but maybe she could talk to him and
convince him she was on his side, that he could trust her.

"No!" he spat back. "It's a two-person kayak.
How do you think I'm going to take it out?"

"Well I'm sure there's someone that would like to go
with you," she tried to smile.

"She wouldn't go with me! She wouldn't go anywhere with
me! So I made her come here and I'm going to keep her here forever."

Oh shit! She's here. I knew it. I've got to find her!
Janie's mind was racing trying to picture the layout of Danny's house. There
wasn't a basement so she must be in one of the three bedrooms. She very slowly
tried to slide her back up the wall so she was in a kneeling position. If she
could just keep him talking at least he wouldn't be hurting Katy.

“So, you've got a girl, huh? That must be wonderful for you.
Tell me about her," she asked.

Danny lips curled into something that should have resembled
a smile but instead it made her physically ill.

"Oh, she's perfect," he began.

*****

Matt pulled onto Janie’s old street and slowed the car down.
He and Mark drove past Danny’s house but did not see anything unusual until
they passed Janie’s old house and saw her car parked in the driveway.

“That’s not good.” Mark shook his head.

Matt did a U-turn and parked on the opposite side of the
street. They got out and looked for any sign of the police, but they weren’t there
yet.

“I’m not waiting,” Matt growled and stalked towards the
house. The curtains were closed and he couldn’t see inside. They quietly walked
around to the back. The kitchen door was glass and so they were able to peer in
but couldn’t see anything except beer cans scattered all over the counter. Matt
turned the door handle very slowly. It was unlocked.

“What if I go knock on the front door and try to distract
him?” Mark suggested.

Matt shook his head. “He’ll just think you’re me. We look
too much alike.”

Very cautiously, Matt opened the door and could hear a man’s
voice. They guessed it was Danny. And suddenly Matt’s heart sank as he heard a
woman’s voice.

“So, you've got a girl, huh? That must be wonderful for you.
Tell me about her."

Matt stepped inside the kitchen and tried to find where the
voices where coming from. He mouthed to Mark that they were down the hall.
There wasn’t another door so they were going to have to figure it out as they
went.

Matt and Mark would be a force to be reckoned with for sure,
but it was the unknown that scared them. Did he have a gun? A knife? Was Janie
hurt? Where was Katy? But Matt didn’t care about any of it except getting Janie
out of there and away from Danny.

Matt took two steps down the hall and could see shoulders
leaning in a doorway.
Janie must be in there.
Mark was right behind him.
Matt took two more steps and Danny was finally within arm’s reach.  He took a
deep breath and lunged for him, grabbing Danny around the neck and yanking him
into the hallway. He swung like a caged animal but was no match for Matt. Matt
had him against the wall and was smashing his head into the sheetrock and Mark
got in two good blows to the kidneys before Danny crumpled to the floor. Matt
kicked a couple of times for good measure and then turned to see his sweet
Janie kneeling on the floor, wrists tied together and a blood dripping from her
head.

“Janie!” he cried and fell to the floor in front of her.

“Katy!” she screamed. “Find Katy!”

Mark disappeared further down the hall and a large smash
came from the living room as four Portland Police officers entered the house,
guns drawn.

Matt threw up his hands as the gun was pointed in his face
and Janie yelled that Danny, the one on the floor, was the one who had
kidnapped her friend. Office Robbins pushed his way into the bathroom and
confirmed with Janie who Matt was and that his brother, Mark, was looking for
Katy.

*****

Mark pushed open the door and saw her. She was tied to the
bed eyes red from crying. She was gagged. She was naked and petrified. The
sight turned his stomach and he closed his eyes as he made himself speak.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he whispered. He grabbed a
blanket from the end of the bed and laid it gently across her body. He sat down
next to her and removed the bandana from her mouth.

“I’m Mark, Matt’s brother. It’s okay now.” He gently untied
one hand just as two police men charged into the room.

“Katy? Everything’s going to be fine. Danny is in custody.
He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

Mark stood and stepped back from the bed as one of the
policemen walked around to untie her other hand. Mark backed out of the room
and watched as the officers dragged Danny out in handcuffs, still unconscious.
He walked back out through the kitchen and into the back yard where he fell to
his knees and violently vomited.

*****

Matt sat next to Janie on the bathroom floor and untied her
wrists, the police taking the rope from him and leaving them alone.

“Oh God, Janie. I have never been more scared of anything in
my life,” he whispered, a tear falling from his eye.

“I knew you’d find us,” she smiled. “I knew you would.”

Matt engulfed her in his arms and kissed her head,
remembering she’d been hit when she winced.

“Fuck! He hurt you.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Where’s Katy?”

She tried to stand but her legs had gone to sleep. Matt
helped her up and he helped her down to the room where Katy was still on the
bed.

“Katy!” she cried as she ran to her and embraced her.

Katy was sobbing and buried her head into Janie’s neck as
Janie tried to soothe her.

More commotion in the hallway was heard as the paramedics
arrived. They pulled the two women apart and began asking them each questions
at the same time. Matt suggested he take Janie outside and they could tend to
Katy first.

Janie nodded at her best friend and told her she would wait
for her out the front. Matt took his fiancé and picked her up, cradling her
head on his chest as he marched through the chaos in the house and out the
front door.

The paramedic checked Janie’s head and recommended a trip to
the Emergency Room to make sure she was okay. Janie shook her head and said she
was fine but Matt insisted. Janie gave in and agreed to go as long as she could
ride with Katy. Just at that moment, Katy was wheeled out on the stretcher and
Janie ran to her side, grabbing her hand.

“I’m coming with you!”

Katy nodded and squeezed her hand as the two women entered
the back of the ambulance. Officer Robbins came and stood next to Matt, patting
his back.

“You should have waited for us,” he said.

“Fuck that!” said Matt. “That’s my fiancé. We are getting
married on Saturday. You think I was going to wait?”

Officer Robbins snorted and said “Nice job on the perp by
the way. Although I wouldn’t have minded the extra paperwork if you’d killed
the bastard.”

“I need to follow them to the hospital. Where are they
going?” asked Matt.

“I’ll find out,” he said.

Matt turned and went back into the house and asked the
officer for Janie’s purse. They located it in the bathroom and gave it to Matt.
He started to head back out but saw Mark through the dining room window
kneeling on the grass in the back.

“You okay?” he asked, stepping out the door.

“Shit, no.” Mark was pale and sweaty.

“What is it?” Matt’s voice full of concern.

“You should have seen her Matt. No! You shouldn’t have seen
her! It was the worst thing you could ever see,” he shuddered.

Matt put his arm around his younger brother, not knowing
what to say.

“It’s going to be okay,” he managed. “Katy’s going to be
okay.”

“Physically, maybe.” Mark would never forget the look in her
eyes. He had never seen anything like it and hoped he never would again.

*****

The women didn’t speak on the ride to the hospital. Their
hands just clung to each other and they rode in silence. Once inside the ER,
Janie was taken to one room and Katy to another. A nurse came in to examine
Janie and said the doctor would be in shortly. Janie sat in the cold, sterile
room and tried to keep it together, but now that she knew Katy was okay, she
burst into tears and ran to Matt as he entered the room.

Mark stood back and watched his brother soothe and calm
Janie and watched him kiss her with such tenderness and love. He was very happy
and relieved that she was okay and Matt was with her now. He sat in the chair
outside Janie’s door and buried his face in his hands.
How could a man ever
do that to a woman? How sick would he have to be?

Officer Robbins came and sat next to Mark.

“I need to ask you some questions,” he said.

Mark nodded and did the best that he could, recalling the
events as they happened not more than two hours earlier. Officer Robbins was
satisfied but told Mark he would need to speak to the prosecuting attorney
before he left town. He thanked Mark for being instrumental in Katy’s rescue
and shook his hand, and headed in to talk to Matt and Janie.

Mark rubbed his face and took a deep breath. But he couldn’t
close his eyes, because when he did, he saw her.

*****

They had been at the hospital for almost six hours when both
women were finally discharged. Katy’s physical injuries were minor; just a few
scrapes and some rope burns on her wrists. Janie’s x-rays and MRI came back all
clear. She had two small stitches in her scalp and was good to go. She would
need to follow up with a doctor to have them removed in ten days. Matt
explained they would be on their honeymoon and the doctor calmed their nerves
by telling them they could go to any clinic or hospital and have it taken care
of.

Janie and Matt headed to Katy’s room. Janie wanted to help
her get dressed. She touched Matt’s shoulder as they stood outside the door,
hesitant in what she was about to say.

“Matt, maybe we should postpone the wedding. I’m not sure I
can do this with Katy….”

“Don’t you even think about it!” came the scream from
inside. Janie was startled and looked in the room to see Katy sitting on the
edge of the gurney. “You are NOT postponing anything, you hear me? I’m fine.
You two are getting married on Saturday! No more discussion!”

The intense fear was finally gone from Katy’s eyes and she
was starting to get some color back in her cheeks. Janie went to Katy’s side
and the women hugged and cried.

“I’m serious,” she said looking at Janie. “You are getting
married in five days!”

Janie managed as weak smile. “Are you sure?”

“Do I not look sure?” she said as she stood. Katy was
dressed in a pair of scrubs, her hair in a ponytail. Her face clean of makeup.

“Okay,” said Janie. “Let’s go home.”

They left the ER, Matt and Mark behind them.

“I’ll take the ladies,” said Matt. “Mark, can you follow in
Janie’s car?”