In The Shadows (28 page)

* * *

As Tonya walked to Deputy Manners’s patrol car, Brandon gave her a gentle hug before she got in. Brandon closed the door behind her and allowed his hand to linger on the window as a way of saying good-bye. Tonya was relieved to see the life return to Brandon. He now seemed ready to tackle new challenges this case was sure to bring.

Brandon was thankful Tonya agreed to come out with him that day. He was even more excited she just happened to find the biggest clue yet. The case now would take a positive turn in the next twenty-four hours as Brandon prayed continuously for Katy’s safe return.

Tonya left for Brandon’s house in his truck. He told her he would be there later, and if she left before he got back, he would call her when he got in. As she traveled the road, her mind raced a mile a minute. Tonya knew Brandon and his father would be up all night canvassing the area even in the dark. A killer was free, and the Masterson men were going to make sure he paid dearly for taking Katy.

Tonya was in deep thought as she traveled down the curvy highway. She was so lost in her thoughts that she’d not bothered to turn on the radio or check her cell phone for missed calls or messages. Just as Tonya entered a sharp curve, she was jolted out of her thoughts as she screamed in fright of the large truck moving in her direction.

Tonya wasn’t sure if she had crossed the line, but it was clear he was heading straight for her. Tonya quickly swerved to miss the moving truck as she wrestled to keep Brandon’s truck on the road. After regaining control of the vehicle, Tonya carefully pulled over to the side of the road and tried to calm herself. She exited the vehicle to check Brandon’s truck for any damage. Tonya didn’t think she had any damage, but she would have to tell Brandon what happened. Tonya didn’t have time to track the driver down. When she looked in her rearview mirror, she knew the driver had no intention of stopping.

Her buzzing phone soon reminded her of the text she’d received earlier from Natalie but didn’t have the opportunity to review it. The disturbing text made Tonya worry instantly. She wasn’t sure what was going on but was terrified when she couldn’t reach Natalie on the phone. Her battery was dying, and she needed to talk to Natalie right away.

“Going down to the shortcut to do some snooping . . . saw something interesting earlier today.” There was only one shortcut that Tonya could think of and that was near Joey’s. What concerned Tonya the most was that Natalie wrote the text as if she was going alone.

Tonya did not waste any time getting back on the road and rushing over to Natalie’s. Before she could call her back, Natalie sent another text saying she would be silencing her cell phone and asking Tonya to meet her by the fence.

Natalie wasn’t sure what her plan was, but she couldn’t risk involving Janelle. She knew Tonya would find a way to get there. Natalie had been on edge since walking past the Bensons’ property earlier. She wasn’t sure why they took the trail that evening of all evenings, but she got a strange vibe after looking in the window of the shed.

Natalie wore her dark jacket and gloves as she eased out of the house. She didn’t want to alarm anyone and felt she would be safe after receiving the text from Tonya. Tonya was on her way.

* * *

When Tonya pulled up, she parked down the street from the trail; she wasn’t sure if the homeowners were home, so she had to conjure up a story just in case someone approached them. Tonya removed her reflective vest and grabbed her flashlight and gloves.

After she’d gotten halfway to the meeting place, she thought maybe she should’ve called Brandon. Tonya quickly dismissed the thought after considering he was probably still out at the site and needed to focus on that. She would hate to involve him with Natalie’s suspicions unless they actually proved valid.

 Chapter Fifty-Five

Danielle had had an eventful day. That day, for the first time, she felt strong enough to force her eyes to open briefly. The sun was shining brilliantly, and she couldn’t wait for the girls to get there, to finally get a peek at them.

When she was able to keep her eyes open, she looked around at her basic but clean hospital room. What she saw to her right, on her nightstand, brought tears to her eyes. Her family and friends had set up a beautiful display full of cards, multiple flowers, and photos. The display was so huge they had spilled onto her feeding table.

Although Danielle wasn’t looking at the television, Nurse Bridges had come in early and turned the station to BET. What Danielle didn’t see was the book on coma patients in Nurse Bridges’s hand as she turned the television on and left the room. Nurse Bridges truly cared about Danielle’s health and well-being and wanted to see her make a full recovery. The volume on the television was up, just loud enough for Danielle’s ears to detect the beat of the song that was playing.

Danielle wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to stay alert. She wanted more than anything to see the faces of her loved ones when they returned for another visit.

* * *

Brandon and his father walked for what seemed like miles. They soon became frustrated with the inability to see through the darkness and knew that stopping for the night was a must. The site commander suspended the search for the night when the men realized they would have to return at daybreak. Brandon felt they were so close to finding Katy, especially with the discovery of her cell phone only miles away from where they ended. As they passed by the local cemetery, Brandon took notice of the locked gate from his position in the back of the patrol car. He wondered if Tonya was still waiting for him.

* * *

When Danielle felt the sun go down, she began to feel a little anxious. She knew it wouldn’t be long before he came by to clean her floor. Danielle tried practicing opening and closing her eyes. Not having used those muscles for a few months, Danielle found herself getting tired quickly. This time she was able to glance down and look at her fragile body covered with the hospital linen. She didn’t feel she could quite move yet because she’d been in bed for so long.

Danielle remembered swallowing earlier and felt some discomfort. As she struggled to control her muscles, she wondered if she’d be able to clear her throat. Danielle wanted and needed to hear her voice again. Her attempts came to an abrupt halt when she heard the mop bucket being pushed down her floor as she had so many nights before.

* * *

When Sheriff Masterson and Brandon returned home, they headed straight for the operations center. Brandon was so wrapped up in his thoughts he only realized his truck wasn’t in the driveway when he didn’t see Tonya in the house. As he stood out on the porch and saw that her car had not moved, he grew concerned. She left him over two hours ago and should’ve been back by now. Brandon checked his cell phone, but there were no missed calls from Tonya.

* * *

As Tonya walked quietly through the woods along the fence, she looked for any sign of Natalie. She had only turned her phone on upon arriving in an effort to preserve her battery. After seeing no missed calls or messages, she turned her phone off again.

When Tonya reached the meeting spot, Natalie appeared from behind a huge tree. Tonya was relieved to see her. “Natalie, what is going on? What are you doing out here?” Tonya’s voice was a little louder than she intended it to be.

“Look, we need to get inside that shed!” Natalie demanded.

“Wait a minute. What do you mean get inside? Natalie, that’s private property. I wish I had known what you had in mind before I arrived. We can’t just break in!”

Natalie sighed loudly and turned away in anger.

Then picking up on the seriousness of Natalie’s concerns, Tonya pleaded, “Natalie, what is going on? Please tell me, and we can decide what we should do.”

After explaining the suspicious activity she witnessed and the odd feeling she felt earlier, Tonya understood better. “Okay, Natalie, I get it. I know you’re going through a lot, and people are on heightened alert since last weekend, but we cannot break into this shed. The property owners could have us arrested,” Tonya said, trying to reason with her cousin.

“Only if they catch us!” Natalie chimed in, turning away from Tonya.

“Yes, and if they catch us we will go to jail! Believe me, neither of us are too young to go to jail. I guarantee you that!”

Natalie fell quiet, still irritated by the whole ordeal. Tonya could see as good as Natalie’s intent may have been, it would be reckless and juvenile for her to allow Natalie to proceed with her plan. “The best thing we can do is talk to the police, and if they feel this shed needs to be looked at more closely, they will get a search warrant. Anything taken without a warrant cannot be used as evidence.”

After standing in the woods for what seemed like an hour, Tonya knew it was getting late, and Natalie needed to be getting home. “Here’s what we can do,” Tonya started, and Natalie immediately cheered up. “Since this trail is used by the public in the community, we can certainly take a walk down and look around
outside
the shed.”

Natalie’s face lit up, and she grabbed Tonya and hugged her. “Okay, okay, we need to go. We’ve been out here too long, and it’s getting cold.” The girls started walking up the dark path. That night there was no moon, and Tonya was tempted to use her flashlight but only vowed to if absolutely necessary.

Natalie led the way and was relieved when she didn’t see any lights on in the shed. They couldn’t quite see the house yet, but she hoped everyone was in for the night.

As the girls walked up the back side of the shed, they didn’t see, hear, or smell anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until they peeked in the side window opposite the trail did Natalie gasp, covering her mouth.

“What is it?” Tonya asked, taking a closer look but seeing nothing suspicious.

“It’s clean!” Natalie whispered loudly, then standing back to let Tonya get a closer look.

“What do you mean it’s clean? Is there anything wrong with that?”

Covering her face, shocked and embarrassed, Natalie said quietly, “Tonya, this place was not like this a few hours ago. I mean, it was full of boxes, containers, and most importantly, there was a vehicle in here covered by a beige tarp.”

The last statement got Tonya’s attention. “Okay, well, there’s no crime against having those items in here. What interests me is the fact that they stored a vehicle in here. Are you 100 percent certain it was a vehicle? Do you know what kind it was?” Tonya asked, taking a closer look as she walked around to the front of the shed.

Disappointed, Natalie said, “No, I didn’t get the best look because we heard movement up ahead at the house. That’s why I came back tonight. Something just didn’t feel right. I’m sorry I had you come all the way out here for nothing.”

“Natalie, you know I would do anything for you. That was a pretty brave thing you did back there. You are definitely my cousin,” Tonya said as she gave her a quick hug.

After dropping her off and making sure Natalie got inside the house safely, Tonya turned her phone on and realized she’d missed two calls. One call was from Brandon and one from an unidentified number. Tonya was on her way to Brandon’s, and it was almost 10:00 p.m., and she knew he’d be worried. When she stopped at the next light, she sent him a text message letting him know she was on her way. Brandon responded quickly as if he was waiting by the phone for her to make contact.

Tonya was worried about Natalie. She felt there was something she hadn’t told her. Tonya would follow up with her the next day after the service. The town had a big day tomorrow, and the school would be opened only for Cody’s memorial service. Cody’s family and friends would say good-bye tomorrow at Northport High School. Tonya thought back to the earlier search and remembered there being a lot of activity at the cemetery. She figured the Northport cemetery by the park would be Cody’s final resting place.

* * *

When Danielle heard the mop bucket stop outside her room, she immediately tensed up wondering if it was him and what nurses were on duty at the nurses’ station. Danielle felt so tired, almost like she overexerted herself earlier as she practiced opening and closing her eyes.

* * *

Katy was almost lifeless as she lay in the box that had kept her for the last several days. She hadn’t had anything to eat in two days and very little to drink. Katy was worried more than ever now as she began to hallucinate. She felt like the ground was moving beneath her, and she had started hearing voices. Katy had been away from human interaction for so long she felt she had begun to slip from reality. Katy thought of her mother and knew she would see her again one day. This thought brought her internal joy as she closed her eyes yet again.

* * *

Carlos had decided to leave work early on Friday. He was so excited that he’d already packed before he went to bed. He didn’t want to waste time stopping by the house on his way out. Carlos wanted to call Brandon, but he figured it would be best to wait. He knew Brandon had his hands full and didn’t want to interrupt the progress.

Carlos could only imagine what Brandon was going through. Carlos had been through hell and back since Andrea disappeared, which was probably why he continued having the nightmares. That night he reached for the sleep aid and prayed he could sleep through the night without having another nightmare. He looked over at his wife’s empty side of the bed and smiled before turning out the light.

* * *

When Tonya pulled into Brandon’s driveway, he rushed out of the house and met her at the door. “Babe, is everything all right? I was worried sick.”

Tonya instantly felt bad not informing Brandon of her whereabouts and what she was doing. Not bothering him with it was meant to keep him from worrying, but with everything that had taken place and Tonya’s whereabouts being unknown, it caused the opposite to happen.

“I’m sorry. I had to get to Natalie. She is going through something and has a very suspicious mind right now. I will fill you in tomorrow, I promise,” Tonya said, looking at her watch. It was 10:30 p.m., and Tonya was thankful for her extended Thursday night curfew. Although she missed Bible study, she could certainly use that time to talk to Brandon.

Brandon was livid after Tonya told him of her close call on the road with the moving truck. He was clearly not worried about his truck but more concerned with Tonya’s safety as he pulled her in for a warm embrace.

“I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you,” Brandon whispered before pulling her in for a long kiss. Brandon updated Tonya on the search. He and his father would be back at the site at 5:30 a.m., waiting for daylight to continue their search.