One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) (27 page)

“Do you really think he can save you?” Her tone of voice was completely unemotional. She sounded like a machine.

When Mae finally caught a glimpse of the woman’s eyes, she had the strangest feeling. Handcuffs linked them together, but her captor simply wasn’t there. She was somewhere far away. Her pupils were huge and her eyes glittered blankly. Mae peered into the face of madness.

The woman walked down the hall to the bedroom; Mae stumbled along behind her. She opened the door to the bathroom and pulled Mae inside.

“Get into the bathtub.” She unlocked the handcuffs from her
own wrist and pulled both Mae’s arms behind her back. The handcuffs snapped together.

Teetering on her heels, Mae stepped into the tub. The bottom of the tub was slippery, and she started to fall. The gun came crashing down on her. There was a flare of light and then total darkness.

T
he phone rang and Ben sat up. It was very dark. After leaving Mae by her car, he drove to the station to see if he could find Phelps or anyone who knew how Laura had gotten out of her house. The station was empty except for the night dispatcher. He finally reached George and told him that Laura had escaped. Phelps was still in his car outside the Connolly’s house. He was chagrinned, admitting he’d left his post, but only for about fifteen minutes earlier in the evening.

“I had to take a leak, Boss,” he said. “I was hungry. I got dinner from a drive through but came right back.”

Ben was too angry to discuss it. He sent the deputy back to Mae’s house to watch for her return. Ben drove to the Connollys’ house, but there was no one home. He checked with the Fannings and called every number he had for the Connollys, to no avail. After trying to track down Laura and failing, he returned home and fell into bed.

The bedside clock showed two thirty a.m. Caller ID read “George Phelps.”

He growled. “Phelps, this had better be good.”

“Sorry sir.” He sounded very upset. “Miss December never came home.”

“Oh my God.” His mind raced. Mae wouldn’t be driving around this late at night. Where in the hell was she?

He took a deep breath. “Go down to Ruby’s house right now and look around. See if anyone’s there. If you don’t find Mae, go to the Fannings’ house and search the whole property. I don’t care if you have to get everyone out of bed and standing on the lawn. Go through the house from top to bottom. Don’t forget to look in that shed! Call me if you find her at either place. Call
Robert and have him check the Van Attas’ house, too.” Not waiting for a response, Ben hit the off button, pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and ran outside, quickly checking for Mae’s car. Her car was still there and her purse was on the front seat. Mae was nowhere to be seen. He’d been so tired when he drove home that he hadn’t even noticed her car. Damn.

Ben called Wayne on his cell. He answered, sounding very tired. “Ben, what is it?”

“Mae’s missing. She was with me until around one. Her car’s still parked outside my place, her keys are in the ignition and her purse is on the seat, but she isn’t in the car. Phelps is checking Ruby’s house, the Fannings’ house and Fuller is checking the Van Attas. This is connected to the murder. I know it! You better go check the Connollys’ house.”

“I’
m on my way.” Wayne hung up.

Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?
He started his car and turned out into the empty street. Ben turned right to go to the office when something clicked.
It has to be James. He has Mae. I know he does
. He was as desperate as he’d ever been in his life.

Where would he take her? Where? Ben slammed his fist on the steering wheel. The pain in his hand flared up.

I’m a damn fool. Why the hell didn’t I see her safely into her car? Where has that son of a bitch taken Mae?

Images from the case came to him in a cascade—Ruby’s house, Robin’s house, Mae’s house and then Connollys’ downtown apartment. He swung the car around, put on his siren and drove to the Nashville apartment where Connolly had his affair with Ruby. The trip normally took thirty minutes. He was there in twelve minutes flat.

Ben drove under the portico of the building, left the car running and ran into the lobby. He pounded his fist on the desk, hitting the bell repeatedly. A frightened-looking young woman came out.

He showed his badge. “What number apartment is James Connolly’s?”

“Six ten.”

He sprinted to the bank of elevators.

“There’s been a kidnapping. Can you open the door?” Ben called back to her.

“I’m coming.”

They got into the elevator. As soon as it opened onto the sixth floor, he raced down the hall. His phone rang and Ben stopped for a second. George again.

“What did you find?”

“Nothing, sir. Mae wasn’t in any of those places. Nobody knows where she is.”

“Damn it! Search the barn, the fields.” Ben clicked the phone off. It rang again, almost immediately.

“Wayne here. I’m at the Connollys’—no sign of James. Laura’s here and she’s saying that the kids are at her parents’ house and she doesn’t know where her husband is.”

“That bastard has Mae. I’m sure of it.”

The key worked smoothly and they entered the apartment. The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Ben raced down the hall into the master bedroom.

Water was everywhere. Ben threw open the bathroom door. The tub was overflowing. He shoved the shower curtain aside. Mae lay in the water. Only her eyes and forehead showed above the waterline. She was so white she was almost blue.

“Mae! Mae!” He lifted her head from the cold water. Shutting off the faucet with his other hand, he opened the drain and the water level began gradually going down. The girl from the front desk stood staring at Mae, transfixed.

Gently, Ben lifted Mae’s water-soaked body and carried her to the bed. She wasn’t breathing. He started CPR but then raised his face from her mouth, “Call nine-one-one and get a bolt cutter,” he yelled.

The receptionist reached for the intercom on her belt and called security. “Come to six ten. Bring a bolt cutter. Right away!”

Tense minutes went by as Ben breathed into Mae’s mouth. He kept counting, desperately praying for her to breathe. Her lips were ice-cold.

When the security guards arrived, Ben rolled Mae onto her side so they could cut off the handcuffs. He never stopped CPR. One of the men pinched the bolt cutter on the side of the cuffs but couldn’t cut through the thick, silvery plastic.

“Is she breathing?” he asked.

Ben shook his head, lowered his mouth over Mae’s and blew again. The whole time he kept pushing on her chest.

The security guard continued trying to cut the handcuffs off. Finally, they snapped. Mae’s wrists were raw, chafed and bleeding.

Her eyes fluttered, and she retched violently. She coughed and heaved.

Pulling her to a seated position, Ben struck her on the back several times. Her head flopped forward onto his chest. He raised her face. Her pupils were hugely dilated.
Euphoria sang through his veins like hard liquor. She was alive.

“Mae, it’s all right. You’re going to be fine,” Ben whispered. “Who did this to you?”

She picked her head up and opened her eyes briefly. Looking over his shoulder, she mumbled something he couldn’t understand and flopped forward again. Ben lay her down on the bed. She was so small and pale, with her thick hair plastered down, but she was breathing. Breathing! Nothing else in the whole world mattered.

Ben turned to the desk clerk. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Sandy.”

“Sandy, I need your help, okay?” Her eyes seemed caught on Mae’s wet, barely-breathing body, but at last she nodded. “We have to get all of her wet clothes off and get her wrapped up in blankets. We’ve got to raise her body temperature.”

M
ae was in the hospital for three days. The doctors were worried about brain damage from the few minutes her breathing had stopped. Daddy said she technically died, which was hard to accept or even think about. The last thing she remembered was stepping into the bathtub.

They kept her fully sedated for
two days but everything checked out fine. The December family and several others, including Ben and Patrick, all wanted to be there when she was released. Mae whispered to her mother. She wanted Tammy to take her home. She couldn’t face a big crowd of people. For once, Mama didn’t argue.

When Mae saw her old farmhouse, she started to tear up. Once inside, she bent down to pet Titan, Thoreau, and Tallulah, who had come out from the laundry room to greet her. She lay down on the couch and turned on the news. The reporter said James Connolly had been arraigned on charges of murder and abduction. She ached all over. Her throat was sore and her wrists and head still pounded. She was a wreck emotionally and physically, but knew she
had to call Ben.

“Hi
, gorgeous.”

She cleared her throat with a loud rasp. “Hi Ben.”

“Oh Mae, I’m happy to hear your voice. How are you? Are you feeling better? Could I come by?”

“No. Not right now. I just wanted to tell you that I don’t think James had anything to do with any of it. The murder, the kidnapping, the shovels; it was all Laura. You need to arrest her. He’s innocent.”

“You’re calling about the case?”

“Well, I saw the news. Tammy brought me home a little while ago and she’s in the kitchen fixing me some dinner. I turned on the
TV and saw that you arrested James.”

“We have Laura here, too. Don’t worry. We were operating under the assumption that they were in on it together. I’ll send someone to get your statement tomorrow, unless you want me to come?”

She thought for a minute. “I’m not physically or emotionally ready to see anybody right now. I gave a statement to a Nashville police officer when I woke up in the hospital, so they should have it.”

He gave a deep sigh. “I’ll contact them and read it. I’d like to see you, though. When you’re ready, I mean.”

“I know you came to the hospital—Mama told me you were there—but I don’t remember. You saved my life. I can never thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to thank me. If I had walked you to your car, she wouldn’t have gotten you in the first place. I was really angry about Laura showing up at the fundraiser and the complications with Katie and her son.”

Complications? ‘Her’ son?

“Laura would have followed me and gotten me some other way. I know this whole thing has been really hard on you, Ben, and I’m sorry you’re going through this, but I don’t think a little boy deserves to be referred to as a complication, whoever his father is.”

“You’re probably right about that.” He sighed again. “I’m just so sorry about everything Mae. You sound like you’re recovering, though, and that’s the main thing.”

“I am. Why don’t you call me when you get some things figured out?”

“I will. Feel better.”

When Tammy came into the room with an omelet on a tray, she glanced at Mae with a little frown. Mae shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it. Tammy sighed, but asked no questions.

The omelet was delicious, and soft enough that it wasn’t excruciating to swallow. After dinner, Mae wandered through the house and out to the barn. All her boarding dogs were gone, picked up by their owners. The kennel was silent. Patrick had taken care of Tallulah, Titan, and Thoreau while she was in the hospital. Everything was clean and quiet. Mae walked back into the kitchen. The puppies weren’t even making any noise, snuggled up with their mother in the laundry room.

“Do you know where my bread starter is?” Mae gazed around.

“July has it. She told me she’s looked after it before. She knows what to do.”

“Good. I’m glad. I guess you and Patrick took care of everything.” Mae started to choke up again. “I need to ask you for one more favor. Will you stay here tonight, Tammy? I don’t think I can stay alone yet. If you can’t stay, you know Mama will be here in a heartbeat, but I just can’t take the drama tonight.”

“Of course I’ll stay.” Tammy hugged her tightly.