Works of Darkness (Matt Foley/Sara Bradford series Book 1) Page 19

  “We were just leaving when I got the call,” she said.

  “Good.” He took possession of the packages. “I’ll follow you home then stop by the church.”

  Sara Bradford’s Home

  Danny and Poppy finished their favorite breakfast of buttered biscuits and chocolate syrup. Not the healthiest diet, but today was special. She wanted to make it as easy as possible for them on their first day at a new school. A small concession to ease their anxiety.

  The other kids were bound to ask questions that would be painful for them to answer.

  Sara sent Danny off to brush his teeth, then followed Poppy to assist with her dental hygiene and to help her dress.

  Poppy twirled around in her new finery, admiring her reflection in the mirror. “Do I look pretty, Sara? I hope so. I want to be pretty, just like you.”

  Sara pulled her into a hug. “Kitten, when you get older, you’ll make me look like the Wicked Witch of the North.”

  A smile lit her tiny face. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  On the drive to school, the children were silent, watching out the car windows. A white Chevy followed too close on her bumper, distracting her from the road. She tapped her breaks. The driver backed off and she brought her attention back to her driving.

  Poppy seemed nervous about school. Facing an unknown experience for the first time. Her insecurities were an issue Sara intended to work on. But Danny would handle it well. Already a pro, since this was his second year.

  Sara pulled into a parking space, got out, and released Poppy from her car seat. Danny had already unfastened his and opened the door.

  She walked Danny to his class, then Poppy to her Pre-K 4 class. Outside the door, Poppy looked up at her with wide, teary eyes. “Sara, c-can I stay with you?”

  Kneeling down to Poppy’s level, Sara took both of the child’s hands in her own. “I tell you what, Kitten. Let’s give this a week. Then, if you still don’t like it, I’ll homeschool you. Just give it a try. Many of the children in your class you already know from Sunday school. Okay?”

  Poppy gave an uncertain nod.

  Sara kissed the top of her head. “Good girl.”

  After she’d introduced Poppy to her teacher, Sara handed over the school supplies and walked away, blinking back the tears that threatened.

  CHAPTER 25

  Twin Falls Baptist Church

  Late Friday evening, Sara sat at the pastor’s desk finalizing the receipts from the garage sale. The quiet after everyone left felt a little creepy, but she pushed it out of her mind. Nerves reacting to the tribulation of the past weeks.

  She leaned back in Pastor Davidson’s chair. A neck cramp made her wince and she massaged it until the tension eased. Parenthood required an enormous amount of energy, especially since she was new at it. To ease the cramp, she moved her head in circles, first right, then left. The exercise worked, relaxing the muscles.

  She took a quick glance at her watch. If she hurried, she could get home in time for dinner with the family.

  After she counted the money and filled out the deposit slip, she placed the checks and cash inside a moneybag, and smiled. This year’s fundraiser had been a huge success. They’d earned enough to pay for summer camp for the church member’s children, and to finance the trip for a number of bus kids.

  After zipping the bag, she placed it into the middle desk drawer. Mission accomplished, she dialed Matt’s number as he’d instructed, to have a patrol car escort her home. He would be upset if she didn’t.

  Feeling a bit foolish, she punched in the station number. “Hi, this is Sara Bradford. Chief Foley told me to call and ask for an escort home.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Great. New man on the desk. She repeated the request.

  “Sorry, ma’am, I can’t do that without instructions directly from the chief.”

  “Can you contact him? He left instructions at the desk...never mind. I’ll call him myself.”

  She disconnected and dialed Matt’s cell number. The call went to voicemail. Fingers drumming on the desk, she considered her next move. If she didn’t reach Matt soon, she’d miss dinner with the kids.

  She could make the call from her car. If she didn’t reach him, when he saw her number on his caller ID, he’d call her back.

  While waiting, she auto-dialed home. Maddie’s soft hello sounded through the connection.

  “Hi, how’d the afternoon go with the children?” Sara asked.

  “So far, great. We’ve managed to keep them occupied. You need to pick up some educational toys and games.”

  “I know. That’s at the top of my to-do list.” She fumbled for the car keys in her handbag. “Wanted to let you know I’m leaving the church now. See you in a bit.” She disconnected the call, then tried Matt’s number again.

  Still no answer. Where could he be? She dropped the phone into her sweater pocket and closed the office door.

  The air bit cold and crisp through the thin layer of her clothing and she hurried to her car. A blue-northern had blown in late that afternoon and dropped temperatures to the low thirties. She sucked the cold air into her lungs, enjoying its freshness and the smell of pine that rode in on the brisk breeze. The moon hung low, like a giant yellow balloon in the night sky, making the church steeple gleam white and pure in its brightness.

  She pressed the automatic unlock-button on her key fob then opened the door.

  The crunch of gravel on the pavement drew her attention. She tossed her handbag onto the carseat and turned.

  Before she completed the movement, a thousand sharp needles jabbed at the base of her skull, and a well of darkness sucked her down into its inky black depths.

  Outside Twin Falls, Texas

  Consciousness returned in bits and pieces. Sara’s eyelids seemed weighted and a wave of claustrophobic panic crashed over her. Total darkness surrounded her. Darkness so thick and impenetrable it pressed against her skin. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Her mouth felt dry, as if stuffed with sand. She ran her tongue over cracked lips.

  The darkness reawakened memories of the lake, the cold, the need for oxygen. Disjointed thoughts flashed through her mind. Why couldn’t she see? Another thought even more terrifying. Had the blow that knocked her unconscious blinded her?

  The next sensation came as pain that shot through her skull, followed by penetrating cold from the hard floor beneath her. A flat surface, like marble or smooth stones. Terror built inside her chest—a volcano poised to erupt.

  Alone. Completely alone. Like after her parents’ death. Her last year at college, they’d flown her back to school. Their plane went down in a storm on the way home. Her whole world ripped out from under her in a flash of lightning that destroyed the aircraft’s navigational system.

  Breathing in quick nervous gasps, vivid memories from the present swam by. The forklift explosion, Dolly’s death, and the children. All paraded across a wide screen behind her eyelids. Until, once again, she slipped into the welcome comfort of nothingness.

  Matt Foley’s Home

  Too many late hours this week had caught up with Matt and he’d turned in early. He tried to ignore the sound of a distant telephone that pierced his sleep-fogged brain. With a punch to his pillow, he turned over, but the annoying ring persisted. Eyes half-closed, he threw his legs over the side of the bed, and picked up the phone. “Foley. What do you want?”

  “Uh...sorry to wake you, Chief.” Duly chastised, the desk sergeant’s voice sounded cautious. “A Mrs. Jamison called, sir. She insisted you get back to her right away. Her niece hasn’t come home. The niece called about six o’clock. Said she was on her way, but she never arrived. I explained the twenty-four hour wait period before filing a report, but the lady wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  Now wide-awake, Matt looked at the clock. 11:07 pm. “No need to apologize. I know Mrs. Jamison well. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Call her back. Tell her I’m on my way.”

  Anger
bubbled inside as he slid warm feet into cold slippers. He’d told Sara not to be out after dark without an escort. Considering the recent attempts on her life, he couldn’t ignore Maddie’s concerns. Logic told him she had reason to sound the alarm. Most missing persons showed up unharmed. He could only pray that would be the case in this instance. But he couldn’t quell the apprehension that settled over him.

  Sara Bradford’s Home

  Twenty minutes later, Matt arrived at the Bradford home. Lights glowed from every window, a testament to the vigil within. A couple of cars he didn’t recognize sat under the portico in the driveway.

  Matt swung his SUV in behind a black Mercedes.

  Before he could ring the bell, Shannon Connelly opened the door, her face ashen. “I’m so glad you’re here, Matt. Come in. Everyone’s in the den.”

  Shannon led him down the hallway into the library where Maddie, Colin, and Jeffery Hayden, the Greek god who’d accompanied Sara to the Stanton party, waited.

  Palpable silence hung over the distraught group. The two men stood in front of the hearth, backs to the embers of a dying blaze. A pot of coffee and a plate of sandwiches rested on a tea cart. Three pairs of eyes became alert when he entered the room with Shannon.

  “Thank you for coming, Matthew.” Maddie Jamison rose from a chair to greet him, her pale skin drawn tight across the cheekbones. “I...need your help. I’m afraid something terrible has happened to Sara...” Maddie lowered herself back into the chair. “Help yourself to the coffee and food. Beatrice insisted on making them. Keeping busy helps her cope. She’s concerned, as indeed, we all are.”

  Shannon moved to the cart and filled a cup. She handed it to Matt. “You look like you could use this.”

  He took a grateful sip. “Tell me why you’re sure Sara is in trouble. Could she have stopped off somewhere, forgotten to call?”

  “Not Sara,” Maddie said.

  Maddie continued, “She always calls if she’s delayed for any reason. She wanted to be home for dinner with the children. Matthew, you know about the recent attempts...”

  “I’m afraid it’s serious, Matt,” Colin said. “Jeffery and I went to the church. We found her car, still in the parking lot, the door open, and her purse in the front seat. The cell phone lay on the ground by the vehicle. As a cop, I’m sure you know what that means.”

  Maddie sat small and still. Lines of apprehension creased her normally smooth brow. Matt touched her shoulder. “Try not to worry. I’ll put my people on it immediately. Have you called any of her friends?”

  “Most of them are here.” She nodded at the others. “Except for the people in the bus ministry and I’m sure she isn’t with any of them.”

  “Humor me. Give Shannon a list of Sara’s friends and their phone numbers.”

  The task would give Maddie a chore to do. He wanted to ask Colin some questions but not in Maddie’s presence.

  After Maddie left the room, Matt pulled Colin aside. “There were definite signs of a struggle in the church parking lot?”

  Colin nodded. “As I said, the car door was open, her cell phone was lying on the ground. It appeared someone surprised her.”

  With a motion for Colin to follow him, Matt led him through the front entrance and outside. Jeffery Hayden followed.

  Matt stopped near his car. “Colin, did Maddie tell you we found the car that killed Josh?”

  Colin nodded.

  “I didn’t want to ask this in front of Maddie, but under the circumstances, do you think it’s possible she may have staged the scene at the church. Decided to run rather than face murder charges?”

  For the first time, Hayden spoke. “Not Sara. Never.” Hayden’s jaw clenched. “She wouldn’t leave without telling Maddie, and she wouldn’t kill anyone. I’ve known Sara for a long time. She’s no coward. She’d face any charges against her and prove them wrong.”

  “It’s my job to look at this from all angles. Because of the past attempts on her life, I’ll treat this as a kidnapping. We’ll pull her car in; ask questions of the neighbors, see if they saw or heard anything.”

  Colin nodded. “I think you should. I have to agree with Jeffery on this. Sara wouldn’t leave, not when she knew Maddie would be worried sick about her. And don’t forget, she just brought those kids home.”

  “Where are the children?” Matt asked.

  Colin stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded towards the house. “Shannon read them a bedtime story and put them to bed. They don’t know what’s happened. We didn’t think they needed anything else to upset them. If we don’t find Sara soon, they’ll have to know. Not a job I want to tackle.”

  Shannon walked out of the house to Colin’s side. She slipped her arm through his. “I called two of Sara’s friends. They haven’t seen or heard from her. Find her, Matt. She’s in danger. I know it.”

  Matt walked around his car and got into the driver’s seat. The reflections of the three friends were outlined in his rearview mirror as he drove away.

  He had worn a confident demeanor in their presence, but he was more than a little troubled. The woman he’d comforted in the kitchen wasn’t the type to run.

  Stopped at a red light on his way back to the station, Matt glanced at his cell phone. He’d missed two calls from Sara, about the time she’d vanished.

  CHAPTER 26

  Outside Twin Falls, Texas

  The touch of the tile floor sent needles of cold piercing into Sara’s body. She shivered uncontrollably as she tugged the sweater tight around her body. The vicious pain in her head caused her stomach to roll.

  The icy dungeon mocked her. Her own fault she’d landed in this situation. Matt warned her. She should have waited inside the church until Matt or a patrol car arrived. If she had insisted, the desk sergeant would have located Matt.

  Couldn’t think about that now. The damage was done.

  She faced death. If not from thirst and exposure, then from the hands of her abductor when he returned. But she also knew she couldn’t give up. Maddie, Danny, and Poppy gave her reasons to fight this predicament with everything in her power. The children couldn’t lose another caregiver. Not this soon. Not this way. She had to suck it up and find a way out. If she waited until her captor came back, she was dead. That reality spurred her into action.

  The first step towards escape would be to find a light source so she could explore her prison.

  No way to tell how long she had lain unconscious. A day? Hours? Urgency consumed her as she fingered the useless watch on her wrist—unable to read the time in the dark. She jerked upright, and gulped a breath of air as pain shot through her head.

  She extended her legs as far as possible. Physical activity might at least provide some warmth. Her foot bumped something solid. Closer examination revealed a wooden column that braced the ceiling.

  With her back pressed against the partition, she straightened and slowly rose to her feet, fighting the vertigo washing over her. She grabbed hold of the beam and regained her balance, but was still a little shaky.

  From the column, she reached out and touched the wall. Moving around the room, she ran her hands up and down the partition in search of a light switch. Nothing.

  As she continued the circuit around the area, her shin connected with a sofa and a small table. Her heart leapt as she touched a refrigerator and her fingers made a frantic search for the door handle. With a steady hand, she opened the door.

  Only more darkness.

  The panic-demon gripped her again, until the warm air emanating from inside the appliance, told her the power was off. Probably worked from a generator that had been turned off.

  She closed the door and pushed her fingers into the sweater pockets. The iPhone was gone. Either her assailant had removed it or the phone had slipped out during the attack.

  That cell phone would solve all her problems. Even if she didn’t know where she was, the authorities could find her with the phone’s GPS feature.

  Continuing exploration around
the wall, she bumped into a desk. She groped through each drawer and fingered every item, trying to identify the objects by touch. Pliers, a hammer, a few nails. After searching four drawers, she had nothing but tools, which she might be able to use later. If only she could see.

  The items she’d hoped for, she found in the last drawer. A box of four candles. But no matches. Success urged her on. There should be matches or some means to light the candles. She searched the drawers again. Still no matches.

  “Arrrrrgh,” she slammed the last drawer closed and groaned in frustration.

  A tight one-handed grip on the precious candles, she continued the search, wincing as an object jammed into her leg. Something made of wood protruded from the wall. She rubbed the bump that formed, just above her ankle, then reached out. It was a stairwell in a basement or cellar.

  No handrails on the stairs. She moved up them like a child, sitting on one-step and pushing up to the next level with her hands and feet.

  At the top, she found a metal door. The discovery gave her added strength. She pulled against the doorknob with every ounce of power that remained. Before long, her breath came in exhausted gasps, her head throbbed and the queasiness returned. For the moment she conceded defeat.

  Her dungeon―locked securely from the outside.

  Twin Falls Police Station

  By one o’clock Saturday afternoon, Matt’s people had inspected the pavement where Sara’s car was parked, and Dale McCulloch had gone over every inch of the rented sedan. The search yielded no clues as to who her abductor might have been.

  Two patrol officers had interviewed neighbors in the church vicinity. A senior citizen out walking his dog around six-thirty Friday evening saw a man and a woman in the church parking lot, but he couldn’t describe either.

  Despite efforts to keep Sara at a distance, she had become more than just another missing person. But she was still a suspect in a murder case. For that reason alone, Matt had to cover all the bases.