Baby Love (41 page)

Rafe passed a hand over his eyes. He felt Ryan's hand gripping his arm. "I'm sorry. I, um... without a description of the rental car, how in the hell will you find them?"

"Rafe," Ryan said softly. "Hey, bro. How about some coffee? Hmmm? Let these fellows do their job."

"I don't want any goddamned coffee," Rafe snarled, jerking his arm from his brother's grasp. "I want them to find my wife! The assholes are standing here with their thumbs up their asses, talking about football scores!"

The younger officer blushed to the roots of his blond hair.

"All just part of the job, right?'' Rafe cut him a scathing glance and whipped around to return to the kitchen. Upon entering the room, he braced the heels of his hands on the counter and hung his head.

When he closed his

BABY LOVE 397

eyes, all he could see was Maggie's sweet face. Aware of Ryan beside him, he whispered, "I don't even know which direction he went, Rye. She's out there somewhere, scared to death, praying I'll find them in time. And I don't know wh-where to ll-look."

A sob tore up from Rafe, jerking his shoulders. His body started to shake, and no matter how he struggled to control it, he couldn't make the shaking stop. He felt Ryan's arm encircle his back.

"Rafe. Dear God, don't do this. You can't fall apart."

Rafe took several deep, shuddering breaths. "I know. I have to stay calm. But I'm coming apart inside.

She and Jaimie could end up dead.
Dead,
Rye!"

"They won't. It's going to turn out all right. I'm sure of it, Rafe. God wouldn't have brought them to you and allowed you to start loving them, only to snatch them away. You have to believe that. Have some faith."

Rafe's faith had taken a serious beating a little over two years ago on a stormy autumn night. "I'm trying, Ryan. But I'm scared to death."

The women's rest room was empty when Maggie entered.
Just my luck.
She could only pray another group of women would enter soon. She tossed down the diaper bag and turned on the water, talking loudly to Jaimie, trying to make all the sounds she might if she were actually changing his diaper.
Please,
God. Please. Let someone come in.

"Hey there, big boy," she managed to say in a relatively steady voice. "Are you Mama's little love?"

She jerked a paper towel from the dispenser. Turned the water off. Thumped the heel of her hand on the trash can. Pacing. Turning. Talking to her son.

Relief flooded through her when the door suddenly pushed open and three women filed in, one matronly and gray-haired, the other two younger. Maggie approached them, still carrying on a nonsensical monologue with her child as if she were changing his diaper. "Oh, yes,
398 CATHERINE ANDERSON

you're such a sweet darling. Mama's little man, and just look at the mess you've made!"

The women drew up and stared at Maggie as if she were nuts. Pitching her voice to an urgent whisper, she said, "I need your help. There's a man outside. He abducted me and my baby. He has a gun."

Afraid that Lonnie would note the lack of noise, Maggie opened a stall door, kicked the flush handle of the toilet, and then let the door slam closed. Stepping to the sink, she wrenched on the water.

"Oh, my goodness!" she said in a cooing voice. "I'm going to have to change you from the skin out, Jaimie!"

Turning back to the women, who were staring at her with appalled expressions, Maggie once again pitched her voice to a barely audible level. "Please, he'll kill my baby. I'm begging you. One of you take him. You can hide him under your coat, leave in a group." Tears filled Maggie's eyes as she searched each of the women's gazes. She jerked some paper towels from the dispenser, crumpled them to make noise, then shoved them into the trash receptacle. "Please! " she whispered. "Just take him, get in your car, and drive away. Go to the nearest police station. Please?"

The older woman stripped off her blue parka and held out her arms for the baby. Maggie's legs nearly folded. She gulped back a sob as she handed over her child to a total stranger. She knew she was taking a risk. But Jaimie's chances were better this way than if she took him back to the car.

"Thank you."

The older woman nodded as she cuddled the baby close. She draped the parka over her arm to hide Jaimie. "What's your name, honey?" she whispered. Then, never taking her gaze off Maggie, she said in a loud voice, "Hey, lady? You got any paper on your side? The roll's empty over here."

One of the younger women jerked from her seeming trance at the question and threw open a stall door to flush

BABY LOVE 399

a toilet. "Yeah, hold on a minute. I'll hand some under to you!" she called.

At the noise, Jaimie began to wiggle. The woman holding him started to rock him. Maggie stared at her son, praying to God and all His angels that her son wouldn't start to cry as the woman left the rest room.

"My name's Maggie Kendrick," she whispered.

"Hey, lady," the younger woman standing in the stall doorway said loudly. "You want this paper or not?"

The older woman said, "Oh, thanks. I didn't see it. Sorry about that."

"Not a problem," the younger woman said.

The third woman stepped over to play with the water faucets and towel dispenser, her horrified gaze fixed on Maggie. "You'd think they'd keep these places stocked with paper. Where's our tax dollars going, anyway?"

"What's the man's name? " the older woman whispered.

"Lonnie Boyle."

"Make and model of the car?"

Maggie ran a hand into her hair, frantically trying to remember. "A red Honda, I think. A four-door sedan.

Newer model, probably a '98." She closed her eyes and gulped. "Oh, you're such a good boy!" she said loudly.

"Cute kid," one of the younger women commented.

"Thanks. I think so," Maggie replied.

"Stall him," the gray-haired woman told Maggie. "I've got a cell phone. I'll call the cops. They can get here in only a few minutes."

She moved toward the door with Jaimie. The other two women flanked her, one stepping out slightly ahead and then hanging back to shield Jaimie from view with her body. Maggie gazed after them, her heart in her throat. At any second, she expected to hear Lonnie yell out. The door swung closed. She stood there alone in the rest room, so scared she could have sworn she heard the sweat oozing from her pores.

Two seconds, three. No yell from Lonnie. She

400 CATHERINE ANDERSON

dragged in a shaky breath, slowly exhaled, grabbing frantically for her composure. "There you go!" she said in a wobbly voice. "I'll bet that feels better, huh, big boy? You be good now while Mama goes potty. All right?"

Maggie opened a stall door, shaking so violently that it was all she could do to walk in. She turned and struggled frantically to slide the bolt. Her fingers quivered, rubbery and unresponsive.

She heard a car engine roar to life outside. After finally managing to lock the door, she leaned weakly against it and closed her eyes.
Please, God. Let them make it safely away.

"You gonna take all night in there?"

She jumped at the sound of Lonnie's voice. "I just got in here," she cried.

"Well, hurry it up!"

"I've been hurrying," she called back. "You think it's easy, managing to do this while I hold a baby? Think again. I've only got two hands."

She heard the sound of cars pulling out of the rest area. Even so, she knew Jaimie wasn't safe. If Lonnie realized she had handed him off to a stranger, she wouldn't put it past him to give chase. The man wasn't stupid. Without Jaimie, his hand was weakened. He would have nothing to hold over her head.

Tears streamed down Maggie's face. She stood there, using the door to hold herself up.

From here on in,
she thought with giddy relief,
it's just you and me, you bastard.

We just got a break!"

Rafe turned from gazing out the window to see Sergeant Hall stepping from the atrium into the kitchen sitting area. "What kind of break?"

"Some gall just called the state police on her cell phone. She says she ran into a young woman in a rest area just outside Jerico who claimed she'd been abducted. Asked this lady to sneak her baby out of the rest room and take him to the nearest police station." Hall made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, his broad face splitting into a grin. "Your baby is safe, and we've got the son of a bitch nailed to the wall. His location
and a
description of the rental car, in case he takes off before we can get there. Not likely, though. Cops are moving in on him from all directions."

Rafe wanted to shout. Only the joy no sooner surged through him than another wave of nearly paralyzing fear came in its wake. Maggie still wasn't safe, and when Lonnie found out she'd managed to get Jaimie away from him, he would probably go crazy.

"Which rest area?" Rafe demanded to know. The neighboring town of Jerico wasn't that far away. He could be there in twenty minutes. "Was the woman north or south of Jerico when she called in?"

Sergeant Hall shook his head. "I can't give you that information, Mr. Kendrick. You'd drive there and only

401

402 CATHERINE ANDERSON

get in the way. Let the police do their job."

Rafe was on the man in a flash. He grabbed him by the front of his uniform shirt and slammed him against the sliding glass door. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch! That woman's my
wife!
Not you or anybody else is going to keep me from going to her. You got that?"

"Rafe!" Ryan jumped in, grabbing his brother's arms. "Jesus Christ, have you lost your mind? You can't muscle a police officer around."

Sanity returned. Rafe released the man and smoothed the front of his uniform shirt. "I, um ... I'm sorry. I, um... lost my head there for a second."

Sergeant Hall jerked at his shirt collar and stepped away from the glass. "I could throw your ass in jail.

You know that?"

Rafe clenched his teeth, striving to control his temper.

Hall tucked his shirt back in and straightened his badge. "If it weren't for the fact that I've got a wife and kids at home myself and would probably react the same way in a similar situation, I just might do it!"

"He apologized. All right?" Ryan put in. "He's upset right now. Not thinking clearly. Surely you can understand that."

Hall nodded. "I realize he's upset. Anyone would be. But I can't be telling him which rest area they're at.

It's against regs. If he went and caused a ruckus, or ended up getting himself or someone else killed, it'd be my ass hung out to dry."

"We understand," Ryan assured him. "I do, anyway. And later, when my brother calms down, he will as well."

Hall rubbed the nape of his neck. "I'll tell you what I
will
do for you, Mr. Kendrick. I'll go back out and stand near the police vehicles." He looked directly into Rafe's glittering eyes. "Those damned radios blast so loud, you can hear everything that comes over the air from several feet away." He smiled slightly and arched

BABY LOVE 403

an eyebrow. "I'll keep an ear out and keep you posted on—"

Rafe shoved past him. "Thanks, Hall. I owe you, buddy."

The sergeant leaned out the sliding glass door. "I didn't say a word about those radios. You got it?"

Rafe never broke stride. "I got it."

Less than three minutes later, Rafe had heard the mile-post number of the rest area and was behind the steering wheel of Ryan's pickup. Such was his haste to reach the highway that he peeled rubber in the gravel of the drive, pelting the police cars with rock.

"Don't kill us getting there," Ryan warned, one hand gripping the dash. "We'll be there in fifteen minutes if you don't have a wreck first."

Rafe slammed on the brakes. "Five minutes, tops. If you're not up to the ride, get out now, Ryan."

"Five?
Holy hell and high water." Ryan gripped the dash with both hands. "I'm going with you. Step on it."

Rafe did just that, grinding gears and peeling rubber as he shifted into fourth, then gunned the accelerator. "Buckle your seat belt and hang on."

Lonnie kicked the metal door, rattling the entire rest room stall with the force of the impact. Huddling on the toilet, Maggie stared under the partition at his widespread boots, remembering how he'd pummeled her with those steel-reinforced toes the morning he beat her up. Sweat ran in rivers down her face, trickled from there down her throat, and pooled in the cleavage of her breasts. She had been terrified of this man hundreds of times over the last seven years, but never more so than she was now.

"Lonnie, for heaven's sake," she said, barely managing to keep her voice steady. "I'll be done in just a minute. Just wait for us outside."

"You open this door,
now,
and get your ass out here," he ordered.

404 CATHERINE ANDERSON

Maggie made a grunting noise. "I'm not finished yet. I can't."

"Don't tell me what you can or can't—"

"Oh!" a deep female voice rang out. "I'm sorry. I thought I was in the—I
am
in the ladies' rest room."

"I'm sorry," Lonnie said. "It's my wife. She's sick. No one else was in here, so I came to check on her."

Maggie grunted again. She could almost feel Lonnie's rage radiating through the metal door. She wouldn't be able to put him off for much longer. She could only pray the police came soon.

"Oh," she heard the woman say. "Would you like me to wait outside a second?"

"You okay in there, honey?" Lonnie asked.

"I'm all right," Maggie replied. "I'll be out as soon as I can. I'm sorry to make you wait like this, but I can't help it."

She watched Lonnie's boots step away. As the detested footgear disappeared from sight, she went limp with relief and hung her head.

The stall door next to her opened and clanked shut. She leaned down and looked at the other woman's smudged sneakers. She considered saying nothing, fearful that Lonnie might be lingering near the doorway and would be able to hear her. But she didn't want to put anyone else in danger.

In a stage whisper, she said, "That man who just left is crazy and dangerous. Please, don't stay to use the bathroom. Get out of here. If he goes over the
edge
and you're still in here, I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

The woman sighed. A second later, Maggie heard a rush of urine. "Have you ever wondered why men get so obnoxious when they're traveling? They're worse than kids."

Nonplussed, Maggie stared at the woman's shoe. Traveling? "No!" she whispered urgently. "You don't understand. He's—"

"Oh, I understand." The woman laughed softly.

BABY LOVE 405

"You think I'm hooked up with Prince Charming? If Pete yells at me one more time for having to stop and pee, I'm gonna shove his hot cigarette lighter up his ass. Chain-smoking. Can you believe it? I can barely breathe without my window down, and it's freezing out there. Would you believe he actually counts the cars that he's already passed while I'm using the rest room? They're all ahead of him again, he tells me.

Like we're in some kind of race?"

Maggie felt as if she were trapped in a nutty dream. "No, you don't understand, lady. He abducted me!

He's got a gun. The police may be on their way. If he hears sirens or sees cop cars, he'll go ballistic. I'm afraid he's going to kill me."

Long silence. Then: "You serious?"

Maggie grunted loudly, just in case Lonnie was listening. "He abducted me at gunpoint. He's already shot one woman tonight. Of course I'm serious. Get out of here, please. "

She heard the woman stand up. "Oh, God," she whispered. "I just pissed down my pant leg." Maggie heard her zipper rasp. "Oh, Holy Mother. He's got a gun? I haven't made my Easter duty in six years."

Maggie stared at the puddle spreading over the floor in the next stall. She grunted again for Lonnie's benefit. "He's insane! I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Would you just get out of here?"

The woman made an odd little sound. The next instant, they heard the rest room door open again. Fearful that it was Lonnie coming back, they both stopped talking and listened.

Oh, God, oh, God.
Maggie held her breath, praying mindlessly. Lonnie would shoot that woman if she got in his way, just as he had shot Becca.

The stall door to Maggie's right squeaked open and thumped shut. She saw a woman's red-laced hiking boots. Not Lonnie. When she had recovered enough to regain her voice, she leaned down and said, "Lady?

406 CATHERINE ANDERSON

Don't use the bathroom. Just make a U-turn and get out of here. There's a man outside. He's got a gun.

Your life may be in danger."

"This is a joke. Right?" the newcomer whispered. "Am I on
Candid Camera
or something?"

Candid Cameral
Maggie accepted in that moment that the situation was so bizarre as to be unbelievable.

Neither of these women was taking her seriously—one of them worrying about her Easter duty and the other thinking there was a hidden camera in her bathroom stall?

This was pointless. This rest area attracted a steady stream of visitors. No matter what she did, someone else was bound to be in here with her when Lonnie realized he'd been hoodwinked. Better that it be these two women than someone with small children.

Maggie rose to her feet, unbolted the lock, and pushed from the stall. She had to do something. Only what? She gazed at the door. No lock. If only she could think of some way to keep Lonnie from entering until the police arrived. She knew she wasn't strong enough to hold the door closed by herself if Lonnie was determined to get in, and there was nothing in the bathroom to barricade it shut. The trash receptacle would only tip over.

She stepped closer to the stalls. "Hurry. Both of you. If any of us are going to live through this, I'm going to need your help, and you'd better hustle before it's too late."

Both women emerged from the stalls almost simultaneously, the deep-voiced woman in sneakers a stout, broad-shouldered individual, the owner of the hiking boots a thin, pale-faced blonde. Maggie looked them both in the eye.

"That man out there has already murdered one woman tonight, and the three of us will be next unless you help me. Do you understand? This is not a hoax. He's got a gun. We've got to hold that door closed to
BABY LOVE 407

keep him out of here because he won't hesitate to shoot all of us. He's just that crazy."

"My mom and kids are waiting out there for me!" the blonde cried.

Maggie heard brakes squeal. Though she couldn't see outside, all her instincts told her a regular passenger car wouldn't be entering a rest area parking lot at such a high speed. She whirled, her heart pounding. In three running steps, she reached the door and threw her weight against it. Glancing back at the other two women, she cried, "That's probably the cops! Help me, damn it. Don't just—"

"You
bitch!"
Lonnie yelled from outside. The next instant, he tried to open the door.

Maggie braced against him, using all her strength, but her sneakers merely slid backward on the tile.

"Help me!" she screamed. "Don't just stand there. He'll kill us!"

The sound of squealing tires came again. Maggie heard shouts and cries of alarm. "Freeze, Boyle!" a man yelled.

A woman screamed. There came a loud crashing sound, as if someone had collided with a garbage can.

The other two women rushed to help Maggie, the blonde crying, "Oh, dear God!"

The next instant, the deafening sound of gunfire erupted in the night. Maggie heard running footsteps, people shouting and screeching. The report of one of the guns was so loud that she knew it had to be Lonnie's. Trembling, she pushed against the door with all her might, thankful to have the heavyset woman beside her. The blonde was so slightly built and afraid, she wasn't much help.

At any second, Maggie expected Lonnie to open fire on the door. The bullets would penetrate the wood.

She or one of her companions could be killed. With every report of a weapon, she flinched, expecting lead to plow into her body. .

408 CATHERINE ANDERSON

* * *

Rafe brought the pickup to a screeching stop and killed the engine, then threw open his door and bailed from the cab.
Maggie.
It was a scene out of his worst nightmare, the rest area crawling with people who were fleeing for their lives. Lonnie Boyle was crouched behind a rock drinking fountain in front of the rest-room block, shooting at the police officers. None of the lawmen could get a clear enough shot at the man to take him down.

Maggie.
Where in God's name was she? Rafe scanned the crowd, searching frantically for her. He didn't see her anywhere. Ducking low, he ran toward the nearest police car, using parked vehicles along the curb for cover.

''I'm Rafe Kendrick," he said as he darted around the rear fender of the white bubble top. "It's my wife Boyle abducted. Where is she? Is she safe? I don't see her!"

Crouched behind the open door of his car, the cop glanced back over his shoulder. "Are you crazy, man?

Get your ass behind the car."

"Where's my wife!"

The officer swore under his breath. "In the women's John, we think."

"Is she all right?"

"We don't know."

A bullet struck the front fender of the police car, which was parked at a slight angle to provide maximum cover. The state policeman flinched and ducked. "Damn. We've gotta take him out. He's gonna kill someone."

Crouching low, Rafe retraced his steps back to Ryan's pickup. His brother was crouched on the far side of the vehicle, watching the goings-on while protecting himself from the gunfire as best he could. "Where is she?" he asked when he saw Rafe.

"In the rest room, they think." Rafe hunkered next to his brother to take stock of their surroundings. Like
BABY LOVE 409