Careless Whisper Page 10

  “Not yet.”

  He dug as quickly and deeply as his arms would allow. His muscles burned and his breathing grew labored. If it took digging until he passed out, that’s what he would do.

  “I hit something!” Deputy Mackey exclaimed.

  Alex turned to her. “Not a rock?”

  “Sounded like wood to me!” She wiped hair away from her eyes.

  “We’re almost there!” Alex dug more furiously, sweat falling down his face.

  Everyone spoke at once, making it impossible to tell what anyone said. More people grabbed shovels and helped with the efforts.

  “I hit wood!” someone else claimed.

  Alex dug all the harder, shoulders aching, muscles screaming.

  Clunk!

  His heart skipped a beat. He’d hit something, too. “I got something!”

  Before long, long slats of wood were visible in the dim light of the flashlights shone down.

  “We’ve got her!” someone said.

  People called out Josie’s name as they flung more dirt off the box.

  If she was calling out in response, it was impossible to tell.

  Once enough dirt was cleared, one of the head agents gestured for everyone to stop. Together, as many people as could, lowered themselves and tugged on the top of the container.

  Splinters poked into Alex’s flesh as he tried to get a grip on the wood to help pull off the lid. It was tight, but he was able to squeeze his fingers between the small space and yank. It didn’t budge easily, but when it did, everyone flew backward. Alex stumbled and nearly lost his footing, but quickly regained his balance.

  Then he hurried back over to the freshly dug hole just as two men tossed aside the lid.

  Chaos broke out as everyone called out for Josie.

  She didn’t respond.

  His heart sank. Was it too late?

  “Lift her!” someone called.

  “No,” said someone else. “We don’t want to injure her.”

  Alex lowered himself to his stomach and joined the effort to pull the homemade crate out of the hole. His flesh burned as the rough wood dug in. Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He grunted and groaned, using every ounce of energy he had to pull it up.

  It lifted.

  “This way,” said an agent on the other side of the hole.

  Alex changed his grip and maneuvered himself to his knees, then into the hole as the group on his side pushed the massive box up to the other side.

  Thud!

  He scrambled out of the hole and looked in.

  After all of the noise and movement, Josie was still unresponsive.

  “Please, no.” Alex sent up a silent pleading prayer.

  “She has a pulse!” Hanks called.

  Relief washed through Alex. He looked back into the box.

  The girl looked like she was sleeping. But she was alive.

  Medics rushed over and carefully placed her on a stretcher.

  Alex watched with bated breath, looking for any sign of life.

  Her eyes fluttered open and her mouth moved.

  “Your parents are going to meet you at the hospital,” said one of the medics.

  A lump formed in Alex’s throat at seeing her move on her own. She really was alive.

  Their mission had been successful. They’d saved her.

  Hopefully she hadn’t lost too much oxygen or become too dehydrated, and she’d be able to return to her life as unscathed as possible.

  “We did it, huh?” Anderson wiped his brow and gave Alex an exhausted but satisfied smile.

  “For a moment, I thought we were too late.”

  Anderson nodded. “But she’s alive. She’ll need therapy, but she’s still here. Now just one more girl to rescue.”

  “We’d better catch those guys before they do this again. This reign of terror needs to stop.”

  “Agents are following them.”

  “Still?” Alex exclaimed. “They haven’t stopped at their base yet? Or gone home, or whatever they’re doing?”

  Anderson frowned, checked his phone, and shook his head. “They’re still tailing them.”

  “They have to be onto us, know we’re following them.”

  “Or they’re trying to throw us off the trail.” Anderson stepped toward the field. “We’d better get going. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get some sleep tonight.”

  Alex groaned thinking about the paperwork that would be involved after such an operation. “I want to sleep for a week.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  He glanced at the time. They’d be lucky to get four hours before their shift the next day.

  Chapter 24

  “Where’s Dad?” Ariana finished the last of her breakfast smoothie.

  Mom turned from the twins, who were covered in scrambled eggs. “Sleeping. He was working late, remember?”

  Ari jolted. “Did they find Josie?”

  “I don’t know. It was so late when he came in, I didn’t even hear him.”

  She chewed on her lip. “I hope so! Can you imagine being buried alive? That has to be the worst.”

  Mom frowned. “I’m not sure one traumatic experience can be compared to another. We’ve been through—”

  “I know.” Ariana leaped up from her chair. The last thing she wanted to think about was her abduction. Or Damon’s or her mom’s or her dad’s or any of the other ones of people she knew.

  Their town was cursed, even with the ringleader dead. The death of her boyfriend’s dad had seemed to stop the kidnappings, but less than a year later it was back to business as usual. Her Aunt Macy would have job security for life as a counselor.

  Ari glanced at the time. Damon would be by soon to pick her up for school. She turned to Mom. “Will you tell Dad I have something important to tell him?”

  Mom glanced toward the door. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

  Dad stumbled in the kitchen, his eyes bloodshot and his hair sticking out in every direction. “Tell me what?”

  Relief washed through her, seeing him. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him.

  He squeezed her. “It’s good to see you too, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”

  Ariana stepped back. “I have to tell you something I overheard at school. It sounds like it’s about your case.”

  “The buried kids?”

  Mom covered one of Laney’s ears and one of Zander’s. “Not in front of the twins!”

  Dad motioned for Ari to follow him into the living room. “What makes you think what you heard has to do with the kidnappers?”

  “You’ll see what I mean.” She pulled out her phone and looked at the notes app. “I made sure to write what they said exactly. Look at what two kids in my tutoring group were whispering to each other when they thought I wasn’t listening.”

  He took the phone and looked at the list.

  Ariana twisted her hair, mentally going over the list she now had memorized.

  Cash … meeting place … the coordinates … another girl … secret stash … going to die.

  Dad looked at Ariana, his eyes wide. “Two kids in your group said these things?”

  She nodded.

  “You didn’t mishear them?”

  “No!”

  “I have to ask.” He took a screenshot. “I’m going to text this list to myself. What are the kids’ names?”

  “Owen and Sam. I’d have to check for their last names.”

  Dad handed her back the phone. “Text me the moment you find out. We need to question those two kids.”

  Ari nodded, her heart racing. “You don’t think they’ve taken more girls, do you?”

  “We can only hope not. It’s a lot of effort to pull all of this off—making the boxes, digging the holes, kidnapping the girls, arranging the money drop-offs …” Dad’s voice trailed off as he looked deep in thought. “I just don’t see how two high school kids could pull this off.”

  “They could if they’re part of t
he kidnapping ring.”

  “Maybe. But I think—”

  Ding-dong!

  Pound, pound, pound!

  Ariana turned toward the front door.

  Dad’s brows drew together. “That isn’t Damon, is it?”

  “No! He texts me when he gets here.”

  He peeked outside. “One of your friends?”

  Ari looked out the peephole.

  It was Tess, the sister of the missing girl Stella.

  Ding-dong!

  Pound, pound, pound!

  Ariana threw open the door. “What’s wrong?”

  Tess stood there, her hair wilder than Dad’s, the skin around her eyes tear-stained. “They’re going to kill Stella!”

  “What?” Dad practically shoved Ariana out of the way. “How do you know?”

  Tears fell down Tess’s cheeks. “The kidnappers called and said because the police are involved, she’s going to die! You have to help, Mr. Mercer!”

  Ari looked between Tess and her dad, hardly able to believe the turn of events. “What can we do?”

  Dad kept his focus on Tess. “Have your parents called the precinct with this information?”

  She wiped her eyes. “No. They’re scared the kidnappers will kill Stella if they do. They don’t know I’m here.”

  Dad nodded. “You made the right decision. I’m getting ready to head in, but I’ll call the agent I’m working with and let her know what’s going on.”

  “Are you going to tell my parents?”

  “We’re going to have to.”

  Tess cringed. “What if the kidnappers find out? They’ll kill her! We need to get them the money. I never should’ve come over here.” She tugged on her jacket. “How are we going to get that much money, Mr. Mercer?”

  “The FBI is working on that. With their help, we just got Josie last night.”

  “You did?” Tess looked to Ari for verification.

  Ariana nodded.

  Tess turned back to Dad. “You can get Stella back?”

  “If your parents will work with us.”

  Her mouth wobbled. “But they won’t go to the station, and they won’t allow you guys to come to the house. They think the kidnappers are watching. They won’t even let me call Ariana for fear of the kidnappers finding out.”

  Dad’s expression tightened. “I understand.” He looked deep in thought. “Here’s what we’ll do.”

  Tess’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “Go back home and have your parents write out everything they know. Then you go to school as normal, and either hand the paper off to one of the officers there or give it to Ariana.”

  “Ari,” Tess said quickly. “I can’t risk being seen talking to one of the school officers.”

  Dad nodded. “Fair enough. Hurry.”

  “Thank you!” Tess spun around and raced down the driveway, crossing the street just as Damon pulled up.

  Dad put his hand on Ariana’s shoulder. “As soon as she gets the paper to you, take a picture of it and text it to me. Can you do that?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. And don’t forget to find the last names of those two kids. Text me and let one of the officers at school know. I’m going to call into the station.”

  Ari’s phone rang.

  Damon waved his hands from the car.

  “I’ll do all that,” she said. “I have to go.”

  “Stay safe.” Dad hugged her extra tight.

  Chapter 25

  Alex finished off his fourth cup of coffee, rubbed his eyes. Looked longingly at the desk in front of him. He could rest his head for just a couple minutes. Despite the caffeine, his eyelids were trying desperately to close. Nearly everyone else looked as exhausted as he felt, but there was too much to do.

  The kidnappers were now threatening death.

  Alex kept checking his phone for an update from Ariana. So far, nothing. Either she hadn’t seen Tess yet, or the girl’s parents had refused to cooperate. Maybe they’d even gone as far as keeping Tess home from school so she couldn’t communicate anything else to the police.

  His stomach knotted. So far, they were honoring the parents’ request to stay away from the house. But they needed more information.

  And there was nothing new. His daughter was probably sitting in class, having learned nothing about the boys who were whispering about what definitely sounded like the case.

  Even if Ariana hadn’t found anything, Nick had sent extra officers to the school. Some were listening to the student chatter while others were focused on finding out what they could about the suspects.

  If Alex had anything to say about the mess, they would find Stella before the abductors had a chance to kill her.

  But they had to find either her or them first.

  The feds were busy triangulating the locations of the kids that had already been retrieved to locate possible places where Stella may have been buried.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  Alex glanced up at Anderson. “It’s all the same stuff everyone else is thinking about.”

  “Haven’t heard from your daughter yet?”

  “No. I’m worried Tess wasn't allowed to return to school. Her parents are obviously scared about the abductors’ threat.”

  Anderson frowned. “We all are.”

  Alex checked his phone again. “And we haven’t heard anything from the officers at the high school?”

  “It’s early still. The kids are probably all in their first class. We have to give them time.”

  “Time is the one thing Stella doesn't have.”

  Anderson leaned against Alex’s desk. “You know what I think?”

  “No.”

  “It’s all about the money,” Anderson said. “They went to pretty extensive lengths to make sure the girls have what they need to survive a week. I agree with the feds—the abductors don’t want their victims to die. They just want the cash.”

  Alex nodded. “It makes sense. Do you think they could be high school kids? It seems like a lot for two teens to pull off.”

  “They’re desperate, and the money is probably to start over. It only makes sense that they want to run once they have it.”

  “They just got double the funds from Josie’s family—they might not need the ransom from Stella. For all they care, they’ll leave her to die.”

  “I’m not sure that fits. Based on everything we know, these guys don’t actually want to hurt anyone. This was the only way they thought they could get their hands on that kind of cash.”

  Alex’s phone vibrated. He checked the text from his daughter.

  “Any news?” Anderson asked.

  “Ariana hasn’t seen our vic’s sister or the two boys at school today.”

  “I’m going to speak with Hanks. We need to do something.”

  Alex nodded and slumped down in his chair as his partner hurried away. Despite his increased adrenaline, his eyes were fighting to close. He was growing jittery, so more coffee was out of the question.

  He picked up a file from his desk and opened it. Just then, a notification sounded on his laptop. Alex stifled a yawn and typed in his password.

  The notification was from his blog for missing persons.

  A father sent him a message about his daughter not coming home last night and a demand for ransom.

  Alex’s stomach knotted. Everything the man described fit their current case.

  They had a new victim.

  Did that mean they had already killed Stella? Or had they taken this latest girl after their threat to kill Stella? Would they let both girls die?

  He rubbed his temples before taking a screenshot and wandering over to Anderson and Hanks, who were deep in conversation. He kept trying to talk over them, but they interrupted him each time.

  Alex finally blurted out, “There’s a new victim!”

  Not only did his partner and Agent Hanks turn to him, but everyone within earshot did as well.

  “How do you know?” Hanks ask
ed.

  “Someone sent me a message through my blog.” He held up the screenshot on his phone.

  Everyone spoke at once while crowding around to see the message.

  Crawford barked out orders. The head agent agreed, and everyone dispersed.

  Alex forwarded the screenshot to Crawford and the head agent as they instructed him how to respond to the parents.

  Would they be able to save the new girl before the kidnappers threatened to kill her, too?

  Chapter 26

  Ariana picked at her food while looking around the busy cafeteria. She hadn’t seen Sam or Owen all day, nor had anyone she’d asked. Nobody had seen Tess, either, and she was supposed to give her a paper with everything her parents knew about the death threat.

  They were probably scared and feared if Tess was seen talking to her or the officers at school, then the police were involved. Or her parents could’ve gotten mad at Tess for coming to Ari’s house that morning.

  Damon put his hand on her arm, and she jumped.

  He gave her a sheepish smile. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I was lost in thought.”

  He nodded. “Understandable. Has your dad texted you any updates?”

  She shook her head no. “He isn’t supposed to update me. I’m supposed to give him some news—but there isn’t anything. Tess isn’t here. Sam and Owen aren’t here. And the kidnappers have threatened Stella’s life.”

  Damon gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “You’re doing everything you can. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “I didn’t say I was.”

  “You don’t have to. I can see it in your eyes.”

  She looked away, not like that would help. It was impossible not to take this on. Not when she’d been affected by so many other kidnappings. And her dad was a detective. They could actually do something.

  If there was any news.

  “Are you going to finish eating?” Damon asked.

  She glanced at her plate and shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Your stomach just growled.”

  “It did?”

  He nodded and threaded his fingers through hers. “Eat. You need your energy.”

  She took a few bites. “Happy?”

  “You should have more.”