The Spirit Survives (13 page)

I resembled a wild starving beast as I sawed off his devastated head and held it in my fist screaming, “Yes, you bastard, bite me now!” Poison dripped from his bared fangs and his dead crushed eyes stared at me. I yelled again and threw the bloody head against the wall of the cave. I collapsed, heaving and trying to get oxygen to my lungs. I lay there until my body stopped trembling. Finally, I was still.
 

The loud growling brought me back to reality. I glanced over and the wolf was straining against the ropes that secured his legs, but they held firm. All the activity had evidently frightened him. Frankly, it scared the hell out of me, too.

I rested for a moment, then picked up the headless body of the reptile and hauled it to my home base, leaving a trail of blood. I sat down and, with still trembling hands, cut a scrap of meat from the snake’s body. Like an insane cannibal, I stripped the skin off the bloody meat and jammed it into my mouth. The meat was tough, and the more I chewed the more I realized that I couldn’t eat it this way. In my dehydrated state, I would surely choke if I tried to swallow the raw meat. I spit it to the ground.

Damn it to hell!
I had to find a way to cook it to make it edible.

Chapter 30

Leah felt woozy from the lack of food and water. The big guy hadn’t offered her anything to eat or drink since she’d spat in his face. She was concerned about Ben, and she was also worried about her own survival. She had no idea what the man wanted with Ben, but it couldn’t be good. If she was going to help Ben, she must find a way to get away. She decided to suppress her attitude, be calm and try to deal with this bastard who had abducted her. If she used her persuasive powers, which she learned in law school, she possibly could get information from him and figure out a way to escape.
 

As these thoughts passed through her mind, she heard him slam the door and enter the suite. He’d been gone about thirty minutes. She was upstairs in the loft area, but it was open, and she could hear his movements. She tensed as she heard him climbing the stairs. When he entered her field of vision, she saw that he was carrying a Subway bag in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He sat at the foot of the bed and looked at her. She would never forget his sick grin, which looked more like a snarl.
 

He placed the bag and the water on the end table and spoke to her, “Okay, missy, we’re going to try this again. I need to find Ben Harris, and I want to find him now. I’m going to remove the tape from your mouth, and if you scream, I’ll break your damn arm. Do you understand?”
 

Leah nodded.
 

He reached down and ripped the tape from her mouth. She gasped from the pain.
 

“I’m going to release your hands so you can eat, so don’t do anything stupid.”

Leah murmured breathlessly, “I’ll be calm, and I won’t scream, but I need to go to the bathroom.”
 

He scoffed, “Okay, but I’m going in with you.”
 

She frowned, but said nothing.
 

He removed the restraints from her arms and feet and held her arm firmly. There was a small bathroom in the loft area, and he guided her to the space. He watched as she removed her wet panties and laid them on the rim of the tub.
 

She felt totally humiliated as she sat on the stool and relieved herself. “Sir, may I wash my underwear and my skirt and dry them with the hair dryer please? I’ll completely cooperate with you. Please?”
 

He just nodded and openly looked at her breasts.
 

She knew that he was enjoying her deference to him. Inside she felt such hatred, that if she had a weapon, she would kill him. Instead, she lowered her head and said, “Thank you.”
 

She filled the sink with water, placed the panties in the hot water, removed her skirt, and washed both items using the bar of soap. She squeezed them as dry as she could and hung them on the shower-curtain bar. She used the hair dryer to dry the items, as well as she could. She was naked from the waist down, and he took pleasure in continuing to gape at her private parts. Tears filled her eyes from the shame.
 

When the panties and skirt were partially dry, she put them on and said, “I appreciate your kindness in letting me clean myself up. I’ll do whatever you want, if you will just let me go to the bathroom when I need to and give me food and water. Will you do that for me? I promise to be cooperative and not make a sound.”

He looked at her with contempt. “You help me find Ben Harris, and I’ll do those things for you.” He grabbed her by the arm and led her back to the bed and pushed her down. He handed her the bag. She opened it with shaking hands and took out the foot-long ham and cheese sandwich from Subway. She had never tasted anything so good in her life, and she devoured it, only stopping twice for gulps of water. He let her finish eating and drinking without talking.
 

When she finished, she thanked him again and tried as best she could to be non-threatening and to display a defeated attitude.
 

The big man watched her and said, “Now missy, tell me all you know about Ben Harris’ whereabouts.”

Leah replied in a quavering voice, “I was at work when I heard about the tornados hitting Lookout Mountain.” She didn’t tell him she was a lawyer. “Ben had gone there for a few days of rest and relaxation. I talked to the Green Bay police and the police in Tomahawk, but they had no information about him. I tried to call him several times on his cell phone with no success.”

“Who did you talk to in Tomahawk?” he interrupted her.

“Officer Tyrell,” she continued. “The police sent out a search party, but there was no sign of Ben. They later found his abandoned car in one of the parking places on the mountain. That’s all I know, I swear.”

“You two are living together right?” Bo asked.

“Yes, we plan to be married.”

“Okay,” Bo pushed her down on the bed and tied her hands and feet again. “I’m going to leave the tape off your mouth, but you’ll regret it if you make a sound.”

Leah answered, “I swear sir, I won’t make a sound, and I promise I will help you find Ben.”
 

The big man leaned over her, purposely pressing his arms against her breasts, “You play ball with me, and we’ll get along great, missy.”
 

She smelled garlic on his breath and heard the evil in his voice. She had completed her first attempt to make him believe that she was going to be subservient to him. Sooner or later she planned to catch him off guard and hurt the bastard.

He left the loft, and Leah lay quietly, trying to figure out her next move. She knew that eventually he would attempt to rape her and maybe even kill her when he thought she was of no further use to him. She didn’t underestimate this wicked man. Her advantages were her intelligence and her keen persuasive powers.
 

Bo walked down the stairs and turned on the TV. He loved a subservient woman and Leah Hamilton was beginning to turn him on. He would keep it in his pants until he had Ben, and then maybe sample some of that. By any measure, she was a beautiful and sexy bitch and Bo had not had any for two weeks and counting. Watching Cherokee rape the girl left images in his mind that made him horny, but Bo was a professional and he would wait for the appropriate time.

He decided it was time to put some pressure on Ben Harris, wherever he was. He retrieved Leah’s purse from the counter to get her cell phone. He planned to scroll through her last calls to determine what Ben’s cell phone number was, then call to see if the evasive Mr. Harris would answer. If he didn’t answer, he would leave a message to set up a meeting. Leah was his ace in the hole.

He thoroughly searched her purse, but there was no cell phone. He threw the bag to the floor in disgust and bounded up the stairs and confronted her. ”Where’s your damn cell phone?”
 

Leah was surprised by this sudden flash of anger. She replied calmly, “If it isn’t in my purse, I must have dropped it at Lookout Mountain. I had just tried to call Ben before you stopped me there. What do you want with my cell phone?”

“Shit!” Bo grumbled, “None of your damn business!” He abruptly picked up the tape from the end table, ripped off a piece, put it firmly across her mouth and stormed out of the loft.
 

 
It was clear that he had to take another trip to Lookout Mountain to find the friggin cell phone if he had a chance to clean up this mess. This simple hit was turning into a major catastrophe. Bo picked up his keys from the kitchen counter and rushed out the door to the SUV. After putting up with all this shit, when he returned with the cell phone he would have some fun with Leah for his reward.

Chapter 32

The August heat was building up on the mid-afternoon drive from Tomahawk to Lookout Mountain. Officer Tammy Terrell and Assistant Chief Rex Herns rode together in one police vehicle and the two deputies had taken the police van. The air conditioner was cranked up full blast and Herns had the radio tuned to an oldies station. Terrell was driving and actually was enjoying the ‘50’s Jack Scott hit, “My True Love.” Few people remembered Jack Scott, a rock and roller from Canada. Tammy knew all his hits and had collected ‘50’s rock and roll for years.
 

Tammy glanced over at Assistant Chief Rex Herns. His six-foot-six muscular frame sat rigid in the passenger seat beside her. He was a handsome man with a friendly smile and big blue eyes. His black hair was graying on the sides, even though he was probably in his late forties. The touch of gray made him look distinguished to add to his handsome features. She found herself admiring him and wondering if he would be interested in her if she was single. Tammy was happily married and would never cheat on her husband, but this guy was a dream. She scolded herself for thinking those thoughts and blamed the Jack Scott ballad for the girlish feelings.
 

He must have felt her eyes on him as he turned and caught her gaping. “Is there a problem, Officer Terrell?” he asked softly.

Tammy tried to prevent the blush that came on her face, but was unsuccessful. “Sorry, Assistant Chief, I thought I saw some movement out of your window as we passed that house,” she lied.

Rex turned off the radio. “Listen, let’s dispense with the formalities, I’m Rex, and you’re Tammy while we work together. Is that okay with you?”

Tammy nodded and concentrated on driving.
 

Rex continued, “When we arrive, I want to drop you off at the area where Ms. Hamilton’s car was found. You search that area to see if you can find anything out of the ordinary. I want to drive up the mountain and get familiar with the terrain before the helicopter arrives. The two deputies can stop by the convenience store to ask questions about Ms. Hamilton and Mr. Harris to see if anything else has come up since your department questioned them. Can you radio them and instruct them to do that? We can assemble at the site you’re searching in one hour.”
 

Tammy agreed and relayed the instructions to the deputies on the police radio.

Immediately, to the right of the sign that announced the entry to Lookout Mountain was a convenience store and gas station. As they passed it, Tammy saw the police van in the parking lot. About a mile up the mountain was the small parking area where Ms. Hamilton’s abandoned car had been found. Directly behind the parking lot was a wooded area with nature trails leading up the mountain. Tammy recognized the various species of maple trees that populated the woods. She and her husband had walked these trails often.

Tammy made a right turn into the parking area and exited the police vehicle. She opened the trunk and retrieved her evidence bag. It contained plastic gloves and bags and other items needed to collect and preserve evidence. She also grabbed her police revolver and shoulder holster and put it on.
 

Rex walked around the vehicle and got into the drivers’ seat. “Good luck. I’ll return in about thirty minutes after I get a feel for the terrain, so we can better direct the search of the helicopter.”

“No problem. I’ll perform a thorough search and see you then.”

Tammy spent about fifteen minutes inspecting the road in front of the parking area and the exact spot where Ms. Hamilton’s car had been parked. She decided to take a look in the wooded area in the immediately vicinity. At this point, she had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

Chapter 33

As the afternoon sun beat down on the asphalt, Bo Lopez was depressed about this unscheduled trip because he was sick of this damn mountain. The faster he could get away from this god-forsaken place, the better. He had to locate Ben Harris and Cherokee and kill them or the cartel would do the dirty act on him. That damn tornado had screwed up his carefully formed plans. He averaged eighty miles an hour as he sped toward the mountain and soon the familiar sign came into view, and he turned right. About a mile up the mountain he spotted the parking area where he had parked Leah’s car after abducting her. He pulled his SUV into the lot and got out. There was a grassy area on the left side of the lot that was burnt brown by the August sun. This was near the place he had heaved Leah into the back of his vehicle. He advanced to the area to search for the phone. After a few moments he noticed a crevice just below the grass line. He went to his knees and dug his fingers into the crevice. They closed around a metal object, and he pulled it out. Shit, was he lucky or what?