Gone (46 page)

* * * * *

A woozy county clerk provided a plan of the mine that had last been used eighty years earlier when the mine accident occurred. Jake had also requested a report of the accident. An engineer from Blane County was brought in to examine the plan.

Jake shook hands with the two men. “Thank you both for coming in.”

They were meeting in Jake’s office and the clerk spread the blueprint across Jake’s desk.

“None of the shafts shown on the map still exist since its been filled in,” the clerk said, scratching his head.

Jake studied the blueprint. The mine had been one mile deep and almost that long. It was unlikely that it had been completely filled in. More likely that the entrance had been buried and blocked and the shafts leading from it had gone on undisturbed.

The boards to the entrance made it clear that Lowney was not entering the shafts from there. He had either found an air tunnel, or dug down and created a branch to a tunnel. It was the perfect hiding place.

Jake’s gut clenched thinking how Lowney had gone undisturbed there for years.

Jake turned to the engineer, Ralph Simpson. “Can you tell us where the cave-in caused by the accident occurred?”

Simpson yawned hugely. He consulted the yellowed pages of the old accident report, then bent over the blueprint and placed his finger tip to a spot in the northeast section of the mine. “Somewhere in here is as near as I can tell from this report.”

Those shafts no longer existed and Jake eliminated that section. Lowney had no need to attempt to forge a place for himself among the rubble of the accident. There were too many other locations for him to choose from.

“I also have to point out,” Simpson added. “It’s been eighty years. We don’t know if there have been other cave-ins. It’s impossible to know what all is left down there.”

“Thanks for your input,” Jake said to the men.

Thirty minutes later, Jake, Stan, a squad of agents and the Farley PD, led by Ozzie Petty, walked the property on Edgar Road. Dogs were sent for, but they’d been used at a crime scene in another state and were two hours away. The clock was ticking, and Jake didn’t want to delay the search until the dogs arrived. Armed with flashlights, teams set off in appointed directions in search of a shaft that would lead into the mine.

“Okay, Stan,” Jake said, his voice tight. “You’re with me.”

* * * * *

“Time to go, Clare.” Lowney grinned. “It will be light in a couple hours. Of course, you won’t be seeing that.”

Clare watched his approach. Water dripped from her sopping hair into her eyes—eyes narrowed in hatred. She’d lost count of the number of times he’d dunked her, keeping her under water longer each time, her lungs burning with the need for air, holding her down until she stopped flailing, stopped resisting him, until she lost consciousness.

Beth was curled in a fetal position, rocking. She hadn’t made a sound in a long time.

Clare would have one chance to escape. One chance for her and Beth. But Clare’s limbs felt like lead weights. She couldn’t lift her head.

The butt of a gun stuck out from Lowney’s pocket. Her gun, Clare realized. Her gaze flicked to it.

Lowney laughed. “You know I can’t shoot you here, Clare.” He took the gun and aimed it at Beth. “I can shoot Beth, though. I can start with her little toe. That’s a new game for me and Beth to play.” He beamed. “Go on, Clare. Give me a reason to shoot Beth now.”

The glee in his voice struck terror in Clare. One chance.
One chance
.

Lowney now had a key in his hand. Clare’s vision was swimming in and out, and she hadn’t seen from where he’d obtained it. He bent and unlocked the shackle around Clare’s wrist. She had been laying on her stomach and her arm, stretched to its limit for several hours, had gone numb. Released now, it fell to the dirt.

Lowney clenched his teeth. Impatient to get on with his plans, his fingers clamped on her shoulder. “Up, Clare.” He swung out with the gun barrel, striking Clare hard in the face. She felt the skin tear and blood pooled on her cheek.

Clare filled her fist with dirt and rubble from the ground and as he began to haul her to her feet, she flung the dirt into Lowney’s eyes. Lowney dropped the gun. Clare grabbed it, and holding it in both hands, aimed at Lowney.

He smirked, but maintained his distance.

Keeping her gaze and her aim trained on him, Clare made her way slowly to her feet.

“Beth. Beth! I need you to stay with me,” Clare said. “Please. Beth.”

Beth raised her head.

“Cover your face,” Clare said. “Do it now.” When Beth did, Clare shot the chain binding Beth to the post. “You’re free. Go. Take the flashlight on the table. Go. Get help.”

Beth sobbed. Clare feared her sister was too weak and injured to leave on her own. But Beth staggered to her feet. She lurched, regained her balance and headed in the direction Lowney had emerged from.

She disappeared into the darkness. And Clare breathed a short sigh of relief. Her grip wavered on the semi-automatic. Lowney swam in and out of her vision.

“I am going to cut your heart out,” Lowney said.

His gaze was unswerving. He didn’t blink. The venom in his eyes and in his words, spoken without inflection, made the fine hair on Clare’s arms and on the back of her neck rise.

“Since I’m the one holding the gun, you should take care not to make me angry,” Clare said.

Brave words.

Her strength was ebbing fast. If she didn’t sit down, she would fall down. She needed to hold on a little longer. Had enough time passed for Beth to have exited the shaft? Beth needed time to bring help. Clare didn’t know. Her sense of time was muddled.

Her arm lowered fractionally. Her eyelids drooped.

Lowney lunged for her. His hand closed over her gun hand and he turned the gun to her chest.

* * * * *

Jake kept his flashlight pointed at the ground as he trudged over the wild growth. He’d set a swift pace for himself and Stan. He could no longer see the other men and women who made up the search teams. On and on he walked, his gut getting tighter with each passing moment.

There had to be an entrance to a mine shaft here somewhere. Jake prayed that in his desperation to find it, he hadn’t overlooked it.

“Where the hell is Lowney hiding?” Stan muttered.

Jake didn’t respond, just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Mosquitoes and other small insects hovered around the light as Jake swept the beam in small arcs.

So far, he’d seen nothing but wild growth and a rabbit, but . . . what was that? Jake held the light steady and squinted. A square piece of wood . . .

Stan came up behind him as Jake removed the wood. Beneath it was a hole . . . a narrow mine shaft.

Heart pounding, Jake aimed the light into the shaft. A woman stood on a ladder, sobbing, her arms above her head as if she’d been pushing against the wooden cover in an attempt to move it, and failing.

Her gaze met his and her eyes filled with terror. She stumbled back and if Jake hadn’t reached down and caught her shoulders, she would have fallen.

“I’m a federal agent,” Jake said. “You’re safe now.”

The woman looked like Clare and could only be her sister, Beth. His heart lurched at the resemblance. He dropped the flashlight by his feet and lifted Beth the two steps, bringing her out of the shaft. Her strength gave out and she fell against him. He set her gently on the ground. Her physical condition enraged him and terrified him since Clare was still down there with Lowney.

“Beth, where’s Clare?” He clutched Beth by the shoulders. Her gaze was glazed. She was in shock. She was trembling in his grasp and he wasn’t sure he’d gotten through to her. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. “Beth. Beth, where is Clare?”

Beth’s mouth quivered, her split lip began bleeding again. “Down there. Through the tunnel. It opens up into a shaft. She got me out.” Tears left tracks in her dirty and bloody face. “She stayed there so I could get out. You have to get her.” Beth clutched Jake’s arm in as fierce a grip as she was capable of. “You have to get her.”

“I will.”

Stan crouched beside them, and Jake released her into Stan’s care.

Jake snatched up his flashlight from the ground. As he climbed onto the ladder, a gun shot rang out.

For an instant, Jake thought his heart stopped, then adrenaline kicked in. As he raced down the ladder, he heard Stan yell for backup.

Jake took out his weapon and ignoring procedure, ran through the shaft. He saw a light and with no further need of his flashlight, dropped it. He saw Lowney atop Clare. Her face was turned toward Jake and her eyes were closed.

“Clare!”

With his weapon aimed at Lowney, Jake ran to her. He jammed the barrel of his gun into the hollow at the back of Lowney’s neck and seized the man by the shoulder. Jake pulled him back from Clare. There was a hole in Lowney’s chest. His eyes were wide and staring. He was clearly dead.

Jake flung Lowney off Clare. She was covered in blood. Jake dropped to his knees beside her, frantically feeling for a pulse.

“Clare!”

She opened her eyes. “Jake . . . ? Where’s Beth?”

“She’s safe. She’s fine.” He moved his hands over her, desperate to find where she was hurt. “You’re bleeding. Don’t move, baby.”

“Not my blood. Lowney’s,” Clare said, and lost consciousness.

Chapter Twenty Five
 

The clock in the Burby living room showed one-oh-six in the afternoon. Clare sighed. Time to leave.

“Gotta go?” Beth asked.

“Afraid so.”

Beth nodded. “I’ll walk you out.”

At the front door, Clare turned and hugged Beth, holding her tight. Beth’s grip was as strong and they stood like that, holding each other, until the clock chimed the quarter hour.