Broken Promises (22 page)

“Did you see anything at all when he brought
you in? I was in the trunk of a car and blindfolded, to boot.”

“No, it was dark, but of course, I knew the
general direction, and I could tell when he took the High Road. I
was just guessing about being beyond the deserted winery.”

“It was enough of a clue. It led me here.
Now, we have to give him a reason to let us out of here. What if
one of us gets sick? He’d have to do something, wouldn’t he? In his
crazy logic, we’re his guests, so it stands to reason, not that
anything he says or does is reasonable, that he wouldn’t deny care
if one of us got sick—would he?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Tears welled
up in Jackie’s eyes and her shoulders slumped. “I’m just so ready
for this to be over.”

“We’re going to get out of here.” Bette
slipped her arm around her boss’s waist. “Alex will find us. You
did say something about a deserted winery.” She shook her head.
“You know this doesn’t look anything like an old winery.”

“Oh, no. You misunderstood. The connection
was horrible, but what I was trying to say we were in the hills
above the old Massamore winery.”

“So it’s going to take a little extra time
for Alex to find us.” Bette stood with her hands set at her waist.
“Which one of us is going to get convincingly sick?”

“I will,” Jackie said. “I’m halfway there
already, if sick at heart counts.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Alex returned to the CPD and found Detective
Spitz and Agent Hixson standing in front of a local area satellite
map. “This is the place.” Spitz tapped an area with his finger.
“Bound to be. Went out of business in the mid-nineties. It wouldn’t
be Widmer’s. There’s still too much going on up there—tours and
such.” Spitz turned and glared when Alex entered. “Where the hell
have you been? Thought you were told to stick around.”

Alex shrugged. “Needed to talk to my
brother-in-law about the ransom and a few other things.”

Spitz let out a raucous laugh. “I bet you
did.”

“Look, guys, I have to be in on this raid.”
He glanced from the detective to the Buffalo field agent. “I can’t
just sit here and wait. You couldn’t—not if it was your
family.”

Hixson nodded. “You can tag along, but you’ll
be positioned to the rear in the surveillance van. There’s no
telling what we’ll find.”

“No telling what you’ll find?” Alex
sputtered. “Hell, as of a few hours ago, Bette and Jackie were
still alive.”

Hixson cleared his throat. “You’re too close.
Can’t risk your getting in the way like Detective Spitz says you
did at the lake. By the way, the coroner determined she was a
suicide. Documented history of severe depression. Her sister ID’d
her.”

A suicide. Alex hung his head, still ashamed
of his earlier relief that it wasn’t his sister.

Hixson shook his head. “But we don’t have a
profile or anything to tell us about this unsub’s state of mind.
How likely he is to panic, for instance.”

“We can’t afford to wait for the Bureau to
send a profiler.” Alex looked toward the door, his body tensed,
ready for action. “We gotta act
now
.”

“I’d prefer going in under cover of darkness,
but it’s June.” Hixson glanced at the detective. “What about
it?”

“It’s not going to get good and dark until
after nine or so, but as a matter of strategy, it’s better to start
an assault in the early morning hours.”

“Are you nuts?” Alex strode to the door, but
Spitz stepped in front of him.

“Not so fast, MacGregor.”

“That’s too long.” Alex’s mind reeled with
what could happen in the hours before dark settled. “Fuck it! We
know where they are. Let’s go before he moves them or—” He broke
off, unable to finish.

Hixson frowned. “Like I said, we don’t know
enough about the unsub to make a determination.”

“So when
are
we going in?”

“We’re going as soon as the team is ready,”
Spitz said, his expression softening with apparent pity. “The SWAT
van should be pulling up and the team assembling for a briefing any
minute. Think you can hold on that long?”

Alex nodded and sucked in a ragged breath.
Soon.
Very
soon he’d know something. His heart pounded with
the surge of adrenaline; his breathing increased. “Don’t forget
he’s holding three innocent people.”

“Not likely to forget.” Spitz rolled up the
satellite map and inclined his head, first at Hixson, then finally
at Alex. “You on board?”

“Rock ’n’ roll!”

~~*~~

Alex sat in the back of the CPD SWAT van and
fidgeted with the straps on his Kevlar vest. The van was parked at
the base of the hill that led to the winery buildings. Peeking over
the surveillance equipment tech’s shoulder, he watched the assault
team slowly advance toward the main building. It was a large shabby
structure and looked like a good wind might topple it. Several
smaller outbuildings had already been cleared. “Any sign of
them?”

The tech scratched his neck and yawned. “Nah.
I think this is a bust. Nobody home.”

“I’m sure this is the place she meant.”

“Didn’t you say the original message was
garbled?” The surveillance tech kept his gaze on his monitors.

“Yeah, but…”

“There ya go.” The tech shrugged. “Your lady
misunderstood.”

“But now
she’s
missing and isn’t
answering her cell.”

“Out of range. Not surprising with all the
hills. Or maybe her battery’s dead.”

Antsy and irritated by the tech’s so-what
air, Alex stood. “She would’ve come home, then,” he muttered and
opened the van door.

The tech turned his attention from the
screens long enough to raise a single brow. “You’re supposed to
stay with me.”

“Getting stuffy.” Alex shrugged. “Think I’ll
get some fresh air. Stretch my legs.”

The tech shrugged. “You’re a big boy. Suit
yourself. No skin off my nose if you get your ass in trouble.”

Alex clenched his jaw and resisted the
impulse to tell the tech to kiss off. Instead, he sucked in a
breath of fresh upstate air. This wasn’t his first time at the
Massamore Vineyards. When he was a kid, he’d come on a class trip
and toured the winery before it closed for good. What a
god-forsaken, dilapidated place it was now, with peeling paint and
a roof ready to implode. He walked around the back of the van and
checked his vest.

It was then he heard the radio squawk, but he
couldn’t make out what was said.

“Agent,” the tech said, “they’re about to
call it a day. They haven’t found anything.”

Alex’s heart sank. He’d been so sure this was
the place Bette meant in her message.

~~*~~

Bette nodded. “
You’re
his sister.
Drew’ll be more inclined to take you to the hospital. Me—I doubt
he’d care if I were in pain or not.”

Jackie’s blue eyes filmed over with tears.
“Maybe so, but I can’t leave Cody. It’ll upset him if I pretend to
be sick.”

“Tell him it’s a game.” Bette leaned forward
and gave Jackie’s shoulder a bit of a shake. “We’ve got to do
something. You’ve been strong this long. You can do this. One way
or another, we’ve got to outfox him.”

Jackie went into her and Cody’s room while
Bette considered their situation. Her boss was obviously at the end
of her emotional tether. And no wonder.

When Jackie returned, lines of worry creased
her face. “I talked to him. He understands it’s a game. And a
secret.” She chewed the corner of her lip for a second. “But he’s
so young and not very good at keeping secrets.”

Bette slipped her arm around Jackie’s waist.
“Maybe not, but it’s our only chance. We have to risk it. Nothing
ventured, nothing gained—right?”

“R-right.”

Bette held a hand to her ear and said in a
low singsong, “I couldn’t
hear
you.”

“Right!” Jackie said with a growl.

“That’s more like it. All right. Now I’m
going up to knock on the door and tell him you’re sick. So get in
character. We need an academy award-winning performance.”

Jackie nodded and pinched her cheeks until
they were reddened, then went into the bathroom and splashed her
face with hot water. She grabbed her belly and started a low
groan.

“Lights. Camera. Action.” Bette bounded up
the stairs, then banged on the door. “Drew! Open up. You’ve got to
do something. Jackie’s sick. She’s in pain.” Was the basement
soundproofed? What if he couldn’t hear her?

After what seemed like forever, the door
opened. His tall, broad form filled the space. “What?” His gaze
peered over her shoulder. “Jackie?”

At that moment, Jackie moaned and fell, then,
for good measure, rolled around clutching her belly.

Without warning, Drew shoved Bette aside and
thundered down the stairs. His sudden, swift movement slammed her
head against the wall. Pinpoints of light and a wave of dizziness
set her reeling. She grabbed the hand railing and clung to it until
her vision cleared and her head stopped pounding.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good plan after all.
He was big, fast, and strong. His gracious manners were barely
skin-deep. The fierceness of his shove was so reflexive she might
as well have been a fly buzzing around his head.

Cautiously, she descended the stairs; the
handrail had loosened when she grabbed it. Drew was standing over
Jackie with his fists clenching and unclenching. “Stop rolling
around like that. You were fine a few minutes ago.” He spun and
advanced on Bette. “What did you do?” He raised his fist. “If you
hurt her—”

“No! Drew!” Jackie wailed, continuing to
thrash. “Bette didn’t do anything. I’m
sick
.”

Bette backed away. No point in being within
his reach. “That’s right. First she turned pale, then red, and she
started having stabbing pains in her stomach. She needs a doctor.
It sounds like appendicitis to me. You’ve got to get her to the
hospital.”

His facial expression morphed blindingly fast
from one of rage to one of sadness. “Can’t you see,” he said, as if
explaining something to a not-so-bright child, “the hospital would
ask questions. Besides, we have to be here when Alex arrives.” He
gave a deep sigh. “We don’t want him to think we’re rude, now, do
we?”

“Alex would understand after we explained. He
wouldn’t want Jackie to be in pain either.”

“Don’t care what Alex wants.” He swung around
and slammed his fist into one of the metal support columns. “Alex.
Alex
. It’s always about Alex.” His tone took on an angry
muttering quality that sent chills up and down Bette’s
backbone.

“Careful.” With a great deal of caution,
Bette approached him. “I think you’ve hurt yourself.”

Drew glanced down at his bleeding fist and
frowned, as if puzzled by his injury. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, and neither is Jackie. Now
you
both
need a doctor.” Bette shot a frown at Jackie, whose
performance had momentarily stalled.

“Drew! I’m sick. I think I might be losing my
baby.” Jackie clutched her lower belly and moaned.

Way to go, Jackie
. A miscarriage was
even better than appendicitis, since it would nudge Drew back into
family mode.

“Baby? You didn’t tell me you were having a
baby.” Drew kneeled beside his sister and wrung his hands.

“It’s very early. I wasn’t sure. But the
pains feel like a miscarriage. I had several before I had
Cody.”

And that wasn’t a lie either.

Drew looked over his shoulder, his face
sickly pale. “
You
have to help her. I don’t know what to
do.”

“Hold on. Do I look like a doctor? I don’t
have a clue. I’ve never had any kids whatsoever.”

“But you worked in her office. Surely—”

“As a freaking
receptionist
!” Damn,
but this guy was hard to convince. “Before that, I studied interior
design. But I’ll tell you this, I know enough to know she needs to
get some pain meds on board,
and
she needs a doctor. She
might even need a transfusion if she starts bleeding. Miscarriages
are serious business. Dammit. She could die!”

Their captor rose to his feet, his face a
blank but frightening caricature of Alex’s. He paced from one end
of the basement to the other, muttering. She could only make out
part of what he said, and none of it was reassuring.

“Not supposed to happen like this. Supposed
to be easy. Just bring the family together. Jackie. Cody, Bette,
and
Alex
. A real MacGregor family reunion. Of course,
Bette’s not family yet, but she’ll help bring Alex here.” He
stopped, and a smile broke. His eyes not quite so scary, he pulled
what looked like her cell phone from his pocket and handed it to
her. “I’m tired of waiting. Call him!”

Chapter Twenty-three

Back inside the van, Alex drummed his fingers
on his knee. The tech was adjusting his equipment and appeared to
be ready to shut it down.

Just then, Alex’s phone signaled an incoming
call. He pulled it from his pocket and read the caller ID.
Bette
. His heart rate escalated. Hixson and Spitz were
making their way down the hill. He gave them a
hurry-up
wave. “Hold on,” he told the technician. “It’s from Bette. See if
you can trace and triangulate this.” He nodded at the equipment.
“I’ll keep her on as long as I can.” He jumped down from the van
before answering, “Bette? Where are you? Is everyone okay?”

“Don’t interrupt.” Her tone was hushed and
brusque. “Just listen. I have to make it quick. He could come back
at any time.”

“I’m listening.”

“He’s keeping us in the basement of a big
house. We’re in the hills above and beyond Naples. Please, look for
Shadow as you come up the drive. She got away when he grabbed me.
You know her
brother
will pine away if she goes
missing.”