Stolen In The Night Part 27

"It's a long story," said Tess.

"He killed that guy?" said Erny. "The guy at the campground?"

"Apparently, he did."

Erny was silent for a moment. "Why?" he asked.

"That's a good question. I don't really know."

"Wow," said Erny.

Tess looked over at him, huddled under her jacket, wedged up against the car door. His eyes were huge, like black checkers. "Erny, did you see him kill the guy?"

Erny shook his head gravely. "No. He was digging in the ground when I saw him. I was looking for firewood and I saw him digging a hole."

"Where was the...body?" Tess asked.

"In the back of the car," Erny explained eagerly. "I didn't know it, but it was in the backseat. When I looked in the car, I yelled. That's when the guy who was digging came after me with the shovel."

"Did he hit you with the shovel?" Tess asked.

Erny shrugged. "I pretended it hurt more than it did."

"Where?" she demanded.

"Right there in the woods," Erny said.

"I meant where on your body did he hit you?"

Erny feigned nonchalance and gestured vaguely toward his side. "Along here somewhere."

Tess made a mental note to have a doctor check him over thoroughly when they got back to the inn. "I'm so sorry, Erny. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry you had to see that body. I'm sorry he hit you. I'm sorry he locked you up like that."

Erny grimaced. "Well, I shouldn't have been looking in there. In the car. I guess if I wasn't looking in his car, I wouldn't have seen the dead guy. And I wouldn't have screamed and he wouldn't have come after me."

"Believe me, Erny, it wasn't your fault."

"I couldn't help it, Mom. It was so cool. I just wanted to see it. I never saw one of them before. Not up close."

Tess frowned at him. "What, a dead body?" she asked.

Erny rolled his eyes. "Not a dead body. A Mercedes, Mom. A Merc."

CHAPTER 30.

Tess jammed on the brake and they both lurched forward. She put the gear in park, turned, and looked at Erny. "A Mercedes?" she said.

Erny nodded. "A black one."

Tess's palms were damp as she gripped the wheel. "Erny, what did the man look like who took you? Was he a great big man with red hair and a mustache?"

Erny made a face, as if he could hardly believe she would make such an obvious mistake. "No. He had black hair. His eyes looked like one of those eskimo dogs."

Tess sat staring out the winds.h.i.+eld. Black hair and the pale gray eyes of a malmute. It was Chan Morris. He drove a Merc-one of the few people in this area who could afford such a car. And the shed where Erny was locked up was on his property. It all fit. It was obvious. It just didn't make sense. Why Chan Morris? Her mind felt like it was spinning. She had to stop speculating. Once again she had accused the wrong man. It wasn't Rusty Bosworth. And right now, she had no time to puzzle it out. Just moments earlier, when she got Erny into the car she had felt safe. She felt safe no longer. This was Chan Morris's property. He could drive in at any minute. He could be here already, heading for the gardener's shed. Coming to dispose of the witness who could put him in jail for murdering Nelson Abbott.

"Erny," she said. "Listen to me. You get into the backseat and crouch down behind here. Put my jacket over you so you can't be seen and just stay there while I drive us out of here, all right?"

"Why do I have to?" Erny said.

"Because I said to. Hurry. That man could be back at any minute. Hurry."

Erny unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He opened the back door and climbed into the s.p.a.ce behind the pa.s.senger seat in front. "I can't close the door," he said.

"I know. I know. I'll help you. Just...stay down." Tess got out and went around the car. She leaned into the backseat, arranging her jacket over her son. "Now, stay there," she said. "Stay very still." She stood up, looking all around, and slammed the back door shut. She went around the car and got back into the driver's seat.

"That guy said he was going to kill me," Erny's voice came, small and frightened, from the well behind the pa.s.senger seat.

"Well, he's not," said Tess. "Now, don't talk till we're out of here."

She s.h.i.+fted into drive and began to move very slowly down the maintenance road toward the long drive that bisected the farm. I can't protect him by myself, she thought. If I could only get some help. Jake was in custody. She couldn't call the police. And then, suddenly, she remembered. A feeling of complete relief washed over her. She could call the police. It wasn't Rusty Bosworth she needed to fear, after all. Once she called the police and explained where and how she found Erny, they would come to the rescue. She glanced over at the pa.s.senger seat where she had put her bag with her cell phone. Erny had pushed it onto the floor when he got in. She leaned over and tried to catch the strap in her hand as she continued toward the driveway. She couldn't manage to grab the strap and keep her eye on the road at the same time.

"Ma, what are you doing?" Erny asked, seeing the movement on the pa.s.senger side through the s.p.a.ce between the seats.

"Trying to get my cell phone," said Tess.

"I'll get it for you," he offered.

"You stay put," she said.

But she knew she wasn't going to be able to reach the bag and drive at the same time. Once we get through the gates at the top of the driveway, she thought, I can pull over and call...But it seemed foolish, even dangerous to wait. I need help now. I need to tell someone what happened. I need those police to swoop down here in their squad cars and escort us safely home. The image in her mind was so tantalizing that it was irresistible. Safety. The nightmare over. I'll pull over. It won't take but a second to make the call, to let them know where we are. And then we'll be safe.

The maintenance road curved toward the driveway around the pond. She a.s.sumed it was the same place where Erny went fis.h.i.+ng and fell from the tree, but she didn't mention it or ask him. She didn't want him throwing off the jacket draped over him and popping up from the backseat to look. The road followed the sh.o.r.eline of the pond and turned out onto the driveway in the direction of the farm entrance. Once she made the turn, she pulled the car to the side of the drive, put it in park, and bent over the pa.s.senger seat. Tess grabbed her bag by the strap and pulled it onto her lap. She rummaged in the bag and felt both delight and relief when her groping fingers identified the cell phone and grasped it. She drew it out of the bag with a sigh. As she straightened up, and flipped the phone open, there was a rap on the driver's-side window.

Tess screamed and jumped. She turned her head and saw the black-ringed gray eyes of Chan Morris staring in at her. Tess glanced in the rearview mirror. The black Mercedes, pulled to the side of the road, purred silently, a car length behind her. Drive away, she thought. He can't stop you. Or act normal? Which was better? Before she could choose, he reached for the door handle on the driver's side and opened the door. Too late, Tess realized that unlike her own car, the car she was used to, Kelli's car did not have doors that she could lock automatically. Chan held the door open and glanced around inside the car. Her options had dwindled. Her only option now was to lie and hope he didn't realize it. Stay quiet, Erny, she thought. Oh please, don't move or make a sound.

"h.e.l.lo, Tess," said Chan. "What are you doing here?"

Tess exhaled and gave him the brightest smile that she could muster. "Oh, hi, Chan. You startled me."

"You should have told me you were coming," he said.

Tess heard the chilly note in his voice. "I asked your wife if it would be all right," she said. "You can ask her."

"I'm asking you," Chan insisted. "What are you doing here?"

"Brrr...it's kind of cold," said Tess. "Would you mind if I shut the door?" She reached for the inside handle and tried to pull it toward her. The door did not budge.

Chan did not explain nor did he let the door go. "It's not that cold," he said. "Now, why are you here?"

"Well, when Erny was here the other day he lost his sweats.h.i.+rt and I thought it might still be here."

Chan c.o.c.ked his head. "A lost sweats.h.i.+rt? That's why you're here?"

Even as she nodded, Tess realized her mistake.

"Your son was kidnapped this morning," Chan said. "And all you've got to do is come over here looking for his sweats.h.i.+rt?"

Too late, Tess knew how ridiculous her excuse sounded. She stared through the winds.h.i.+eld ahead of her, her cheeks flaming.

Chan reached into a bulging pocket of his olive green field coat and pulled out an object that he swung in front of her eyes. "What do you know about this?" he said.

Tess stared at the metal padlock that hung from the broken hasp. Chan shoved the padlock back into his pocket, reached into the coat's inner pocket, and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Tess.

"Nothing," she whispered.

"Get out of the car," he said.

Tess stared at him, frozen to the seat.

Chan roughly grabbed her by the upper arm. He jerked her from the front seat, smas.h.i.+ng her head against the door frame, and then, still grasping her arm, the gun pointed at her head, told her to open the back door. "Where's the boy?" he demanded, although he avoided her gaze. "Open the back door."

"No, Chan," she said. "No, please don't."

"Open it," he cried, his voice cracking. "Do you want me to start shooting?"

Tess shook her head. She was s.h.i.+vering, both from fear and the cold. Numbly, she reached for the door handle and opened it. Chan leaned over and looked inside. He pointed to Tess's jacket, covering Erny on the floor of the backseat. "You know, Tess, if you're cold, you should wear your jacket. Pick that up for me, why don't you?"

"No, it's all right..."

"Do it!" he cried.

Feeling helplessly trapped, Tess leaned into the car and pulled her jacket off her s.h.i.+vering child hidden in the well. Erny looked up at her with wide eyes. Their faces were inches apart.

For a moment, Tess felt as if they were frozen in time and s.p.a.ce. She had almost saved her son. Almost gotten him away. And now, because she had stopped to call for help, instead of stepping on the gas, they were both in mortal danger. Erny was shaking all over, staring at her, looking to her for an answer. Tess looked directly into his eyes. "Listen. If I say 'run,'" she whispered, "open that door and go. And don't stop. Hear me?"

"What are you saying to him? Come out here," said Chan. He reached in and jerked Tess toward him by the scarf around her neck. She gagged as it tightened against her throat. She grabbed at the scarf, trying to pry it from her throat, to relieve the pressure as she tottered clumsily backward.

Chan leaned over and looked into the car at Erny as Tess crumpled against the door, gulping in the air. "I told you not to leave that shed. But here you are. Doesn't your mother teach you to mind?" he cried, pointing the gun at the frightened child in the backseat.

The sight of Chan pointing a gun at Erny was horrifying. Tess wanted to yell out in protest and then she realized how dangerous that would be. He was clearly nervous and agitated. She didn't want to startle him. Try to be calm, she thought. Pretend you don't know anything. Try to reason with him. "Chan," she said. "I don't understand what's going on. Why was Erny in that shed?"

Chan shook his head wearily. "Don't pretend, Tess."

"I don't know what you mean," she said.

Chan ignored her protest. "How did you know he was there?" he asked. "Does anyone else know? Who were you calling when I came up on you?"

Tess took a chance. She tried to look apologetic. "You may as well know. I just got off the phone with the police. They're on their way. There's no use in hurting us. They already know."

Chan peered at her. "I saw your car stop. You didn't have time to call the cops."

"It doesn't take long," she said.

"Even if you did, they wouldn't believe you," said Chan, shaking his head. "You're the girl who cried wolf."

Tess realized that there was some truth to what he said. Still, she persisted. "Look, Chan, I told several people I was coming over here. You can't get away with this," she said, wis.h.i.+ng that were true.

"No. You were just playing a hunch or you would have brought the cops along. But what was it? What made you think of me?"

Tess wanted to tell him about the mistake he had made, so long ago. About the "Believe" pendant found in his shed and the fact that she had proof. And then, before she blurted it out, she realized that the pendant was still in her pocket and that she had told no one that she had found it. All he had to do was get rid of it, and them, and there would be no one to suspect him. "I...I had a very good reason," she said.

"What reason?" he demanded and Tess jumped.

She and Erny were alone on this vast farm with Phoebe's killer holding a gun on them. And wherever she had gone, Sally, who was the only one who knew they were here, would not be concerned about Tess. Clearly, she had her own problems. "I don't have to tell you. And people do know I'm here..." Tess insisted, but she could hear the note of desperation in her own voice.

Chan peered at her, still pointing the gun at her chest. "There's nothing, is there?" he said. "It's not too late."

Tess seized on the hint of doubt in his tone. "It is," she said. "It's way too late."

He frowned a moment, thinking, and then he shook his head again. "No. If you'd called the cops, they'd be here by now. No. If I get rid of the two of you, I'm safe."

"Sally knows I'm here. Your wife. I spoke to her. She'll tell the police."

Chan shook his head. "Sally's gone," said Chan.

Tess thought of Gwen, the woman from SHARE. Sally must have left with her after all. She must have been in the pa.s.senger seat when she drove away. "Yeah, but when she gets back..."

Chan stared back at her and suddenly Tess was struck with a terrible realization. "You mean, gone, as in...?"

"She had another fall," he said. "We quarreled a bit and she fell down the stairs."

Tess pressed her lips together to stifle a sob. "Let us go, Chan. Please."

"Look, you brought this on yourselves," he said, almost apologetically. "I never wanted to hurt anybody." He was thinking aloud. "Now, I need to get rid of any trace of you. Any way they can link you to this place. Here, get back in the car. In your car. Get behind the wheel. We'll drive far away from here." He gestured with the barrel of the gun for her to rea.s.sume the driver's seat.

"And then what?" said Tess, although she was afraid that she knew.

"I'm not sure," he said.

"You're not going to let us go," said Tess.