Suspicions (28 page)

When she woke, she had a throbbing headache.
Her arms were tied behind her back and her feet were tied together.
Robby was lying on the floor next to her, his hands and feet tied
as well. He stared at her, his eyes frightened.

Looking around at the empty space, she knew
this was a different room than the one where Jason was being kept.
And she still didn’t know where Nikki was. At the thought, panic
crawled up her throat.

She heard a sound outside the closed bedroom
door and tried to smile reassuringly at Robby. “It’ll be okay,” she
whispered as the door slammed open. Her gaze shot to the figure
standing in the doorway.

“What were you doing here?” Patricia asked,
her eyebrows drawn together. “You’re supposed to be giving a party
tonight.”

Stacey watched the fury on Patricia’s face,
then answered, “The woman was sick and had to cancel.”

“Why do you always have to interfere? Why
can’t you just let him go?”

“Jason?” Stacey asked.

“Yes, Jason. He was just agreeing to come
with me and now you’re here.” She paused and almost said to
herself, “Of course, he doesn’t know you’re here.” She looked at
Stacey. “I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything stupid.”

The moment the door closed Stacey looked at
Robby. No tears were in his eyes, but she could see he was
trembling. “Scoot closer to me, honey,” she said.

He sniffled and didn’t move.

“It’ll be okay. I promise. Now scoot closer
to me so I can loosen your hands.”

She rolled over so that her back was to him.
She hoped if she could reach his hands, which were tied in front of
him, she could undo the ropes.

He moved closer to her back.

“Put your hands against mine. That’s it.”

She could feel the knot loosening. After
several tries the ropes fell off.

“Now undo my hands.”

He struggled with the knots. “I can’t do it,
Mom.”

She tried to be patient. “You’re going to
have to if you want to get out of here.”

“Okay.” He tried some more. “I think I’m
getting it.”

Stacey felt the rope loosening and wriggled
her hands to help it along. The ropes fell off and she quickly
undid her feet. Then she undid Robby’s feet.

She looked around the room but it was
completely bare. She couldn’t see anything she could use as a
weapon.

Heart pounding, she turned the doorknob and
peeked out. To the left was a bathroom. Next to that was another
bedroom door where she figured Jason was being kept, and across the
hall from that was another door, which Stacey assumed to be the
master bedroom. To the right was the living room. A door led from
the living room into the kitchen.

Stacey didn’t see anyone. She held Robby’s
hand and went right, toward the living room. She quickly glanced
into the kitchen, which was empty, then led Robby to the front door
and once outside ran to Stacey’s car.

She opened the passenger door for Robby. “Now
lie down on the floor and I’ll cover you with this blanket.”

He began to cry. “Don’t leave me, Mommy.”

She felt torn. “I have to look for Nikki and
help Dad. You’ll be all right here. I promise.” She bent down and
gave him a kiss. “I’ll be back soon.”

As she headed back to the house where her
family was being kept, she wished she had some way of calling
Detective Perkins. She didn’t have a cell phone, she hadn’t seen a
phone in the kitchen, and there were no other houses nearby.

I’ll just have to do the best I can, she
thought as she approached the house. First she peeked through the
window where she had seen Jason, but the small space through the
curtains was too small to see anything. She couldn’t even tell if
Jason was still there.

Quietly advancing toward the front door,
Stacey glanced over her shoulder to make sure Patricia wasn’t
sneaking up on her again. Seeing no one, she carefully turned the
doorknob and noiselessly entered the house.

As she walked past the room she had recently
been in, she wondered if Patricia had discovered that she and Robby
had escaped. She crept past the bathroom and stopped next to the
door of the room where she thought Jason was being held. Pressing
her ear against the door, she heard nothing.

Gently opening the door, her gaze immediately
went to Jason, who was lying on the bed, his hands and feet bound.
She flew over to him and saw white powder clinging to the corners
of his mouth. Stacey guessed he had been given some sort of drug by
Patricia.

Overwhelming love for her husband washed over
her as she gazed at his unconscious form. She realized he had been
a pawn in this game, even more than she had been.

As she bent over to wake him, she heard
someone coming. Heart racing, she dashed to the closet and closed
herself inside. Leaving the door open a crack, she watched as
Patricia entered the room and walked over to Jason.

“Your son got away with that witch,
sweetheart,” Patricia cooed, her back to Stacey. “But don’t worry.
We still have your lovely daughter.”

Horrified at Patricia’s declaration, Stacey
pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from crying out.

Patricia shook Jason and he moaned in his
sleep.

“We need to decide where we’re going to go.
But we can go anywhere you want. I can afford it now,” she laughed.
“I’ve put the money in a safe place so we’ll have to stop by and
get it. Maybe we can go there tonight. We’ll have to wait until
they’re asleep, though.”

Patricia picked up a blanket that was folded
at the foot of the bed and laid it across Jason, tucking it around
his shoulders.

“I know we’re going to be happy together,
darling,” she went on. “When you told me you couldn’t afford to
divorce Stacey, I knew just what to do.”

As Stacey listened to Patricia, her heart
dropped. What does she mean? What did Jason say to her? Had he been
considering ending our marriage? The thought shocked her. Tears
filled her eyes as she continued observing the bizarre scene in
front of her.

“I’m so sorry that old car of yours got you
involved. I never meant for you to be a suspect. When Gary told me
the car he’d bought belonged to you, I gave him a piece of my mind,
believe me.” She adjusted the blanket. “He didn’t know all of my
plans. He didn’t know my ultimate goal.” Patricia bent over and
whispered loudly in Jason’s ear. “You!”

Stacey watched in growing understanding as
she put things together. She almost felt sorry for Gary Tomlison.
Patricia had used him and then killed him.

“It’s time to wake up,” Patricia said, her
voice impatient. “I didn’t give you that much sedative.” She
slapped him across the face, hard. “Wake up now! We need to get
moving.”

Stacey’s tears stopped and she became angry.
How dare she hit my husband? Feeling angry enough to confront
Patricia, Stacey reached out to slide open the closet door, but
stopped as Patricia abruptly left the room, closing the door behind
her.

Racing to Jason’s side, Stacey could see a
handprint appearing on his cheek. Gently stroking the reddened
mark, she urgently whispered, “Wake up, Jason.”

Getting no response, she roughly shook him.
After several moments he mumbled something, then his eyes opened
halfway. He seemed to be trying to bring them into focus.

“Jason! It’s me, Stacey. Wake up!” She shook
him harder. “Do you have your cell phone?” She searched through his
pockets but didn’t find it.

His speech was slurred. “What’s wrong,
honey?”

“Jason! Where’s Nikki?”

“Nikki?”

Afraid for her daughter’s safety, yet not
wanting to leave Jason in this helpless state, she loosened the
ropes on his hands and feet.

“I’m going to look for Nikki,” she said.
“I’ve loosened the ropes. If Patricia comes back, you need to
pretend like your hands are still tied. If you can stall her, I’ll
go for help.” She looked at him, waiting for a response. “Jason,”
she whispered urgently.

His eyes opened slightly.

“Did you hear me?” she asked.

“Okay,” he said, still groggy.

Stacey quickly kissed him, then took a step
toward the bedroom door. Hesitating, she gazed at her husband,
unsure if she should stay with him or look for Nikki. As she
briefly watched him, he seemed to be waking up more.

Satisfied he could take care of himself, she
slipped out into the hallway and stopped, listening for Patricia.
She thought she heard movement coming from the master bedroom, so
she headed toward the kitchen to look for some sort of weapon.

Quietly, she pulled open drawers and
cupboards. They were all empty.

She opened the door to a pantry and looked
around. A broom and dustpan hung inside and a mop and a couple of
bottles of cleaning solution were placed on the shelf. Grabbing the
heaviest bottle, she headed toward the master bedroom.

As she approached, she could see the door was
ajar. She could also hear the sound of a child whimpering. Having
heard the sound plenty of times before, she recognized it
immediately.

It was Nikki.

Robby pulled the blanket closer around
himself, but the shivering wouldn’t stop. He was worried about the
rest of his family. Mrs. Summers had been mean to him and had made
his dad drink something that had made him go to sleep. Now his mom
was there. What if Mrs. Summers did something to her too?

It’s all my fault, he thought. If I hadn’t
left Kyle by himself at the treehouse that day, none of this
would’ve happened. And then I didn’t even tell right away.

He fidgeted on the seat of the car and
wondered if there was anything he could do to help his family. He
knew he would have to be brave, even braver than when he’d snuck
into Mr. Gowen’s barn.

Biting his lip in indecision, he slowly
reached for the door handle. Pushing the door open, he swung his
feet to the ground and tossed the blanket onto the floor. Then,
closing the car door, he peered into the darkness and stared at the
lights in the distance.

That’s where they are, he thought. That’s
where I need to go.

Straightening his shoulders, he began
walking.

Stacey hesitated outside the master bedroom
door. Holding the bottle of cleaner behind her back with one hand,
she stepped into the open doorway. Nikki was curled up in a corner
on the floor and Patricia was freshening her make-up in front of a
mirror.

Her gaze darting around the room, Stacey
quickly developed a plan.

Patricia must have sensed her presence,
because she suddenly spun around. “Stacey, why am I not surprised
to see you?”

“I’ve come for my daughter.”

At the sound of her mother’s voice, Nikki’s
head lifted from the floor.

Stacey’s gaze shot in her direction, then
came back to Patricia.

“As much as I’d like to accommodate you,”
Patricia began. “I need her. She helps me keep Jason in line.”

“Mommy?” Nikki cried, pushing herself to a
sitting position.

“Stay there,” Patricia shouted.

Nikki froze, obviously terrified.

“It’s okay, honey,” Stacey said.

“No, it’s not okay.” Patricia glanced at
herself in the mirror once more before taking a step toward Stacey.
“You see, you keep messing everything up.”

Watching Patricia closely, Stacey didn’t
respond.

“When Jason and I were becoming close, the
thought of you kept him from pursuing me freely. And when I nearly
had him convinced to come with me, he said he couldn’t afford to
leave you because alimony and child support would be too high. So
what do I do? I figure out a way to get a million dollars.”

Shaking her head in apparent mystification,
Patricia took another step toward Stacey. “So when I get him over
here tonight and tell him about my brilliant plan, does he thank me
for opening up a way to freedom? No! He gets angry at me for, as he
calls it, ‘tricking’ him into coming here.”

A serene smile replaced her look of anger.
“But we’ve been chatting, and it seems he’s coming around to my way
of thinking.” Patricia glanced over her shoulder at Nikki, who was
silent but watchful. “But I need a little insurance, you see. So
Nikki has to stay with me.” She paused. “I know he’ll do what I
want as long as I have Nikki.”

A rush of adrenaline pounded through Stacey’s
veins. “I will not allow you to use my daughter that way.”

Patricia laughed. “I don’t think you have
much choice. Soon you’ll be out of the way and then I can do
whatever I want without your interference.” Suddenly turning,
Patricia walked to the dresser and pulled open a drawer, revealing
a large knife.

Gasping, Stacey’s gaze locked on the
knife.

Robby slipped into the house unnoticed and
heard voices coming from somewhere down the hall. Though terrified,
he wanted to help his family and took several steps toward the
sound. With each step his courage dwindled and he stopped as
overwhelming fright set in.

What if she sees me? He thought. Will she tie
me up again? Will she hurt me? I should’ve stayed in the car like
Mom told me to.

Frantic for a place to hide, he looked up and
down the hall, finally deciding on the bathroom as a good place to
conceal himself. As he slid behind the open door, he peered through
the crack and waited, trying to slow his breathing and his racing
heart.

He couldn’t see much, but he would be able to
see if someone walked by. The voices had quieted, but he knew his
mother was still in there, because she would have to pass by him to
leave the house.

Maybe she needs me, he thought. I should go
help her.

The idea sent shivers of terror up his
spine.