Fancy Gap (25 page)

She smiled wickedly and said, “Well, I could also buy the open lot next door and build my own house, sweetie, now couldn’t I?”

Quinn smiled as he bent over and kissed her. “No need for that, ’cause you can shack up with me here just as long as you desire. I might even grow to like your girlie, four-by-four Volvo.”

“Deal,” she said. “What are we off to today? Work or play?”

He took her hand as they left the deck. “Change into something that can get wet. We’re going to the New River to do some kayaking through the rapids at Foster Falls.”

Quinn kayaked on the New River on several occasions. Louisa had only been on the Potomac in Washington a few times. She had suggested to Quinn that she was ready to step it up. That came as no surprise to him.

Quinn was taken with the natural beauty of the New River. Despite its name, there was nothing new about the New River. In fact, it was the oldest in the United States and second oldest in the world, perhaps 10 million to 360 million years old. The New River had its origins in northwestern North Carolina, near the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock. By the time it merged with the Gauley River in West Virginia near Charleston to form the Kanawha, it flowed north through parts of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Quinn also appreciated the fact that it flowed north, which in itself is very unusual.

He also liked the New River State Park, which included a fifty-nine-mile trail that followed the abandoned railroad right-of-way. The park meandered through Grayson, Carroll, Wythe, and Pulaski counties in southwestern Virginia and paralleled the scenic and historic New River for all those beautiful miles. Part of the Rails-to-Trails Program, the land was donated to the state by Norfolk Southern Railroad when the company discontinued the line and removed the tracks. It also served as a link to numerous other recreational areas, including the town park in Fries, Mount Rogers National Recreational Area, and Claytor Lake State Park. He knew Louisa would love Claytor Lake and find it a great place to train for triathlons.

The kayaks went in the river at Foster Falls. The water had good velocity as it went over the rapids at the point. The park ranger Quinn talked to told him that the river was at its prime for kayaking.

Louisa let Quinn take the lead. She watched his moves as he dipped over and through the water that was gushing through the rocks. She understood the danger of getting too aggressive before she had enough experience in the rapids. Quinn took his time and patiently waited for her to catch up.

The afternoon quickly passed as they traveled mile-after-mile down the river. Quinn had made arrangements to be picked up at a designated spot. Quinn pulled his kayak out of the water onto the shoreline and waited for Louisa to paddle the last one hundred yards. He pulled the end of her kayak up next to his.

“Now that was a rush! Some of those rapids were beasts. I’m surprised I fell out only three times!” she exclaimed as she peeled of her life preserver. “I knew I was going to like this rough water, but I never imagined I’d like it that much. Kinda like you, I guess.”

Quinn was laying in the grass, basking in the afternoon sunshine. Louisa spread out beside him and let go a sigh of exhaustion. “Wow that was a workout as well. I suddenly realize that my shoulders need more attention. Need to take care of that so we can go a lot further down this beautiful river the next time,” she suggested.

Quinn turned when he saw a truck heading down the dirt road toward them. They loaded the kayaks on the back of the truck and rode in the truck bed back to Foster Falls. Louisa snuggled under his arm as they bounced along the road. She couldn’t recall feeling this good about her life.
This is all so good,
she thought.

They sat quietly in the Ram as they drove south on I-77 from Foster Falls to Fancy Gap. The afternoon sun was now much lower on the horizon. They were both a bit surprised when they noticed the flashing fog alert on the VDOT digital overhead message board. Quinn had seen this happen before. The cloud deck ahead was at three thousand feet, and he knew a wall of fog awaited them.

As Quinn exited at Fancy Gap, they were immediately enveloped in pea soup. He drove slowly to take the right-hand turn on to Highway 52. It wasn’t as bad as it was going to get when total darkness arrived. They crept along the Parkway and watched for any wayward deer crossing the road. It took them a long time to drive the four miles to the Chateau. Quinn pulled in to the driveway and set the parking brake. Louisa stepped outside the truck and looked at Quinn.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked.

“I believe I am. Let’s get the sheriff on the phone,” he replied.

The sheriff answered on the first ring. “Where are you, Quinn?”

“Louisa and I just got back from Foster Falls. We hit the fog wall at the Fancy Gap exit. That got us thinking about the possibility of something happening tonight. Do you know what the weather forecast is?”

“The weatherman isn’t our friend on this night. The winds are still, so it looks like this fog will hang around at least until daybreak. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach tonight. The killer’s appetite and desire to kill again may have him work somewhere in the fog in hopes of finding another child to snatch.”

“I couldn’t agree more, sheriff. I think the killer feels in total control while surrounded by the fog. What are your plans to deploy your deputies?” Quinn asked.

“Well, we have all hands on deck for tonight. We need to cover the motels at the Hillsville exit as well as the old motel in Fancy Gap. Are you two willing to work with us tonight, because if you are then Leroy will work with you?”

“Count us in, sheriff. Have him come by at eight o’clock to pick us up. And one more thing: Have your dispatcher call all the motels in the fog area and tell the receptionists to warn guests about keeping their children inside their rooms.”

“We’ll do that, Quinn. Hopefully the killer won’t strike tonight and all of this will be for naught. I’ll see you later tonight,” he said as he hung up.

Louisa had turned the television on in the living room and was watching the news. The report came from the fog-shrouded parking lot of the BP Station at the Hillsville exit. She could see several reporters from other stations giving live reports for the six o’clock news. Quinn cooked supper as he listened to the reports. Since this was the first major fog event since Pete and Katie’s abduction, the media had jumped on the possibility of another abduction in the area.

“OK, Quinn, what are the odds that he strikes again tonight?”

“Louisa, you know better than I do that this killer believes in his warped mind that he’s smarter than any of us and has a burning desire to prove it. He probably has a TV on somewhere and is watching the same media reports we are. He fully expects us to be watching every possible place where a child might be found tonight. I believe he has several perches picked out where he can safely observe the places where he could snatch a child and be gone in an instant. He’s also picked out alternate routes to get back to the place where he’s holding Katie. Our problem is that because of the darned fog, we need to get a lot closer to the possible points of abduction than we normally would.”

Louisa lifted her eyebrows and said, “Wow, I’m impressed. For a corporate sleuth, your deductive reasoning is spot-on, and by all means I agree with it. I think there’s a very real possibility that he’ll be somewhere near that old motel tonight. He knows that the fog only happens every so often and is unpredictable. He’s put himself back into play and wants more of whatever perverted action he’s enjoying with Katie. I think tonight might be the night.

What do you plan to wear? Do you have any black tops or tights that I can wear?” she asked.

“You’re in luck. The kids have some stuff that they keep up here. I’ll bet we can find something for you,” Quinn offered.

Leroy arrived promptly at eight, wearing black combat fatigues and black boots. Before he could knock on the door, Louisa came around the corner and opened it. He took one look at her and suppressed a laugh. She was wearing black tights that were too short and a black turtleneck that was about ten sizes too small.

“OK, Leroy, this isn’t a fashion show, ya’ know. Wait till you see what Quinn’s wearing,” she snickered.

Quinn came up from the lower level dressed in black from head to toe. His Colt Defender was on his right hip, his Ka-Bar fighting knife on his left. Louisa adjusted her Beretta in its holster at the small of her back. Leroy gave them the communication units and ear buds they would need for the operation.

“Well, it looks like you two are ready to roll,” Leroy said as they grabbed the black skull caps they would wear.

Leroy carefully backed out of the driveway and crept down the Parkway. He briefed them on new information he had received from the sheriff. All of the area motels were as full as they expected them to be. The greatest concentration of deputies and state police tactical unit members were covering the Hillsville area. The sheriff was convinced that if the killer struck, it would be there. He didn’t expect the killer to run the risk of returning to Fancy Gap.

“Do you agree with the sheriff, Leroy?” Quinn asked.

“No. I believe if the killer comes out tonight, it’ll be in the Fancy Gap area. He wants to look smarter than we are and wants the world to know. Heck, he wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of posting the boy’s picture on the Internet if that wasn’t the case. I think we’re dealing with someone who’s very cunning. Trust me; he’s no backwoods redneck who acts on impulse. He has a plan and tries to follow it. Yet his passion for his perverted pleasures is on fire, and that’s what’ll eventually lead to his capture or death,” Leroy asserted.

“Leroy, you’ll be happy to know that we both agree with you,” Louisa said as Leroy pulled in to the grassy area near the little pond at the intersection of the Parkway and Highway 52. They stepped out of his car and stood shoulder to shoulder in the thick fog. They could barely see each other.

“I’ve picked a place on a knoll where we can watch the motel and the gas station,” Leroy offered. “There’re already deputies on the other side of the gas station and the far side of the motel. I figure we stay in place for at least three hours and reevaluate at that time. Work for both of you?” he asked.

Quinn and Louisa both said yes and slowly and quietly followed Leroy to their vantage point. Quinn was pleased to see the spot Leroy had picked out. Obviously the man had done his homework before hand.

As they spread out, Quinn immediately noticed a car slowly pull into the restaurant’s parking area. A man, woman, and child got out of their car and entered.

“Did you two see that?” Quinn whispered. Leroy and Louisa said yes. All eyes were now on the restaurant.

The waiting game had just begun. A few cars drove by on 52 but none stopped. At least a half hour into their surveillance, they saw a figure standing near a dark corner of the old motel. Then they heard the front door to the restaurant open. All three people emerged and went to their car. Their attention then shifted across the street as the silhouette near the motel turned and started to move. Leroy held up a hand as he sensed their impulse to move. They watched the figure remove the cigarette from his mouth and toss it into the parking lot. He had simply left his room to smoke a cigarette.

Quinn looked over at Louisa and saw a faint smile on her face as they settled back into a more relaxed mode. He knew she was enjoying the adrenaline rush of the moment as much as he was.

Two hours passed with little traffic on the Parkway or 52. The fog and the newfound fear of a killer in the area had kept most people locked in their homes for the night. The restaurant was about to close, and the gas station would close in an hour. Just then, a white, Ford four-door pickup pulled in to the gas station. A man got out and started pumping gas. After he finished, he went into the convenience store. Soon thereafter, the back door of the truck slowly opened, and they saw a young boy either run to the back of the store or be pulled out—they couldn’t tell for sure.

The man came out of the store and got into his truck. Within a second he was out again, looking around the truck and yelling, “Jimmy! Jimmy, where the hell are you?”

Leroy was the first to move. He sprinted from the knoll and headed toward the convenience store, reaching for his pistol as he ran. Louisa and Quinn were on his heels. They reached the pumps and headed for the far side of the store. As they rounded the corner, they stopped in their tracks. Through the thick fog, they could see the young boy tugging on the fly of his jeans. He looked up, startled, and saw the three of them, followed closely by the man and the store clerk.

“What in the hell are you doin’ son?” the man yelled.

The young teenager looked sheepishly at his father and said, “I had to pee real bad. I couldn’t hold it no longer. I’m sorry, Daddy.”

Leroy looked at Quinn and Louisa and wrinkled his eyebrows before he identified himself to the man, holstered his pistol, and walked back with him and his son to their truck. He soon rejoined Louisa and Quinn on the knoll.

“They were heading back to North Carolina and needed some gas. The dad had forgotten about the abductions until he realized his son wasn’t in the truck. That scared the shit out of him,” Leroy explained. “I think we’re done here. The gas station is about to close. Let’s call it a night.”

During the drive back to the Chateau, Quinn said, “Man, I was impressed with how fast you moved out there tonight, Leroy. Very impressive!”

Leroy smiled and responded, “Hey, both of you were right on my heels, and you’re both fifteen years older than I am. You would’ve passed me if it was ten yards more.”

“I might have caught you, Leroy, but Louisa would’ve needed at least another hundred or yards or so to even get close. Ya’ know what I’m sayin’?”

“Leroy, I’m certain a man of your intellectual and tactical experience understands that, being the crafty woman I am, I hung back on purpose just in case the killer was waiting around that corner. His first two rounds might have hit you both. My first round would have killed him,” Louisa asserted.