When Memories Fade (23 page)

Wes had tried several times to get Angel on the phone after hearing her message. He decided to swing by her house to see if her family knew where she had gone. Wes drove into the Robertses' driveway. Though she didn't ask him directly this time, Wes felt led to pray for Angel's safety for some reason. Something in her voice caught his heart. Angel sounded scared to him. In the back of his mind, he knew what she must be trying to do. He just hoped he was wrong.

Wes rang the doorbell. Angel's uncle opened the door. He appeared puzzled and said, “Wes? It's good seeing you again. Are you here to see Angel?”

“Yes, we were supposed to meet up this afternoon. She left me a message about something she had to do. I was hoping she came back home.”

Jacob eyed him. “No, she hasn't been back since she left this morning. She did seem a bit preoccupied, though. Do you know what's going on with her?”

Wes was hesitant to say anything. He wasn't sure how much Angel had told her family about her research over the past few weeks. But this was her family, so he decided to take the plunge. “Angel and I have been looking into her mother's disappearance. We came across a few things, and we were going to meet to try and put the pieces together.”

“Oh no!” Jacob rubbed his head. “She asked me questions last night about her mother and Eddie. I was wondering why she had so many questions.”

Wes frowned. “Well, where do you think she went?”

“Probably to find Eddie. I told her last night that Elisa had gotten really close to Eddie before she went missing. She would confide in him and listen to his advice over our parents' and mine.”

Wes's phone buzzed in his pocket. “Hold on a minute. This could be her. I've been calling her for the past hour.” He pulled out the phone. “It's her.” Wes answered the call and said, “Angel, where are you . . .”

He stopped talking and listened. Angel was talking in the background to someone else. “Angel?”

Jacob stepped forward. “What's going on?”

Wes shook his head and strained to listen. He pulled the phone away. Wes had clearly heard a man's voice say, “Just do what I tell you to do.” He swallowed hard, lowered the phone, and said, “We need to call the police and get them to trace Angel's phone. I think Angel found Eddie. He sounds like he's going to hurt her.”

Angel gripped the steering wheel in fear as she calculated every move Eddie would make. What if she jerked the car off the road?
No.
She
wanted
to live. Still, a car accident had to be better than what he would do to her. She had no idea where they were going. Angel could only hope that Wes had picked up the phone and had caught her conversation with Eddie. She knew enough from watching television that it was possible for the police to trace her cell phone.

“Pull over right up here.” Eddie turned his hot breath on her. “Do it now.”

With as much ease as her trembling body allowed, she slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road. There hadn't been another car for miles on this back road. The sun was hidden behind cloudy dark gray skies.

Eddie cocked the gun toward her chest. “Get out.” He swung the passenger door open.

Angel peeked down into the car-door pocket. Her eyes were glued to that phone, and she hoped it wouldn't fail her now. Her hands felt ice cold as she struggled to grasp the door handle.

“Come on!” he growled.

She yanked the door handle and scrambled out of the car to face her abductor.

Eddie waved the gun and yelled, “Start walking.”

Sticks and leaves crunched as they walked into the mass of trees. From a distance, she saw lightning streak across the sky. It was the time of year for southern thunderstorms to roll through. A cool breeze whipped through the trees, but it brought Angel no comfort. Her heart raced, as if she had just run a marathon. She choked back a sob. Eddie was going to kill her. She couldn't believe this was happening.

To think how much she had trusted him. It never would have crossed her mind that he would hurt her. More lightning split the sky, and it was followed by an intense rumble of thunder. The trees shook their limbs, as if taunting her for being so naive.

“Stop.”

She turned and noticed that Eddie had cocked his head like he had heard something. Was someone else out here?

He swung the gun an inch from her temple. “Get down.”

“What?”

“Get on your knees,” he snarled.

She fell on her knees, feeling the earth beneath her. Her heart lurched as the thunder roared like an angry lion above their heads. Big drops of rain began to crash down around them. Angel shut her eyes tight, not believing this was her fate. “Please, God, help me,” she prayed fervently.

When she opened her eyes, an answer lay near her, barely covered by leaves. She glanced up at him. Eddie's eyes had grown wilder as he paced around her. He seemed to be having a conversation, but she couldn't understand a word he was saying. The rain was falling harder now, soaking her clothes. She peered down at the ground again. Why not? What did she have to lose? She had to do something.

Angel scooped the smooth rock up from the muddy ground. Her dormant softball skills kicked in as she zoomed in on his hand. Not waiting another second, she swung the rock with all her might.

The rock smacked him square on the hand, and he dropped the gun. “No, you . . .”

She leaped forward like a track sprinter and headed into the trees. As Angel ran, the oddest memory of a Sunday school lesson entered her mind. The one about Lot's wife. God told her not to look back, but she did and lost her life.

Eddie's voice bellowed behind her.

“Don't look back,” Angel told herself as she ran. “Don't. Look. Back.”

Wes and Jacob waited for Detective Jackson to return to his desk from the captain's office. Wes stared at his phone, praying for Angel. He was glad he'd activated the mute button, so he could keep the connection without Eddie being aware of conversations.

Jacob asked, “What's the plan? How are they going to find her?”

“Angel was clever enough to call, so her phone can be used to trace her location. It used to be only the FBI had access to tracking technology, but now quite a number of police departments can also track cell phones in case of emergencies, like a kidnapping. Right now they are working to nail down her location, and I'm pretty sure the SWAT team has been called in.”

Jacob frowned. “SWAT? You think he has a weapon on him?”

Wes hesitated because he wasn't sure how much Jacob knew, but Angel was his niece. “Look, you know about the fire at Southern Soul Café.”

“Yeah.”

“There was a body in there with a gunshot wound to the head.”

“Are you serious? Who was it? Are you telling me that Eddie killed someone?” Jacob got up from the chair and paced. “I knew it. I knew it. All this time, I knew that man was no good.”

Wes noticed Jacob's tightened fists. “Okay, calm down. If we can't keep it together, they won't let us go with them to find her.” Wes wasn't actually sure if they would or would not, but he hoped his buddy Darnell could pull some strings. Wes had to be there to help them find Angel. He said, “You know I talked to some of the members of Southern Soul, Pete and Buddy. They seemed to not care too much for Eddie, either. Neither did my pops. Do you know why Nick was the one that always seemed to be in Eddie's corner?”

Jacob shook his head. “Wes, that's the million-dollar question. I don't know why my dad was such a fan of Eddie's. Don't get me wrong. I remember admiring him when I was a kid. I think I was twelve when he joined the group. He was different, younger, and he could play the drums. I wanted to play the drums just watching him. But I don't know.... He had a way of being manipulative when he wanted something. He just turned on the charm, but there was something else about him that just never sat right with me.”

Jacob sat down. “My dad had this one-track mind. When he made up his mind about something, it was hard to convince him that he could be wrong. I remember I was accused of being jealous. Nick was my dad. He was on the road a lot, and I wanted his time. Eddie would come by with his problems, and Dad would stop and listen. You know, later I learned he bailed him out of jail.”

Jacob threw up his hands. “This dude was arrested and put in jail. If that wasn't the handwriting on the wall, I don't know what it was. None of the guys in Southern Soul were perfect, but they all were God-fearing men who had families.”

Wes nodded, agreeing with Jacob's rants. To bring Eddie into a group that had already been in existence for quite some time, and especially with his age difference, did seem a bit odd. He asked Jacob, “What was Eddie arrested for?”

“Assault and battery, I believe,” Jacob answered. “Eddie claimed the guy he used to work for had called him a racial slur, so he hit him. The man called the cops, and Eddie was arrested. I believe the guy dropped the charges, because nothing happened, or at least I didn't hear anything more.”

Wes looked up and saw Darnell walk out of the captain's office. He was wearing a bulletproof vest. He walked over.

“Okay, SWAT has been called, and the signal from Angel's phone has her up near the Lake Wylie area,” he told them. “There are cabins out there. Do you, by any chance, know if Eddie has property up there?”

Jacob stood. “No, he doesn't have property, but before he became the drummer with Southern Soul, he worked at a place with cabins. In fact, he worked there for a while even after he joined Southern Soul.”

“You remember the name of the place?” Darnell asked.

Jacob looked at Wes and then focused back on Darnell. “I was just telling Wes about the time my dad bailed Eddie out of jail. He had been arrested for assaulting the owner of a cabin resort. I don't remember what the place was called. Misty Pine, maybe. I remember the name of the place had the word
pine
included.”

“Okay, okay. That might help us narrow down the search. Do you remember what year Eddie was arrested?” Darnell asked.

Jacob blew out a breath. “I don't know. This was probably early eighties. It was right before I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill.”

Wes asked Darnell, “Eddie's fingerprints should be in the system, right?”

“Yes,” Darnell answered. “After hearing Jacob's story here, I'm curious to know a little bit more about Eddie's background. I've been looking into leads on him since the fire on Sunday. Eddie kind of doesn't have anything on him prior to Southern Soul. I think I'm going have his fingerprints run in the AFIS database. I will get someone on it. Right now, Angel's safety is our focus. It appears they stopped at some location and haven't moved, unless her battery died.”

Wes followed behind Darnell as he headed toward the door. “You are going to let me go with you, right?”

Darnell turned and looked at Wes, then at Jacob.

Jacob shook his head. “I'm fine. I need to get back to my mother. The nurse was nice enough to come in on her day off. Fredricka doesn't know what's going on, but I have a feeling this will be on the news.” Jacob looked at Wes.

Wes nodded. “I know Serena is on this. She's going up in the WYNN helicopter, but I'm not interested in going to get the story. I want to be there for Angel.”

Darnell said, “Wes, you can't be trying to play hero. We have trained professionals who will handle Eddie.”

“I know that, man. Angel is going to need a friendly face when you find her. She's probably totally freaked out.”

Darnell sighed and looked over at the captain's office. “Fine. We'll get you a vest, and you are not to get in anyone's way. Understood?”

“You got it!” Wes said.

A few minutes later, Darnell sped down the highway with Wes in the passenger seat. Wes still held tight to his phone, praying that they would reach Angel in time. After what seemed liked forever, Wes could see flashing lights ahead, along with the SWAT truck. He could see several officers standing in a group, dressed in gear.

Wes sat up and pointed. “Oh, man, there's Angel's car.” He reached for the door handle while the car was still moving.

“Okay. Stay cool, man.” Darnell pulled the car over, and both of them got out. Wes kept up with Darnell's long strides. From what he could see, no one was in Angel's car. He looked over into the woods. Eddie must have taken Angel into the woods.

Wes watched as the SWAT officers suddenly took off into the woods.

He asked Darnell, “How are they going to find her in there? Does she still have her phone on her?”

Darnell had been talking to a technician who had been examining Angel's car. He shook his head. “No, she left her phone in the car, which was probably a good thing. She wouldn't have wanted Eddie to know she had kept it on. The team has mapped out the place and is spreading out now. It looks like this road leads up to the back of Pine Meadows. Some of these cabins haven't been open to the public in a while. This is probably the place where Eddie worked at earlier in his life, and he probably knows the area well.”

Wes felt fear surge through his body as helplessness set in. Angel would need more than just the SWAT team. He prayed,
Lord, please protect Angel. Send your angels to surround her and protect her from evil.

Angel's chest felt like it would burst as she struggled to breathe and run. Eddie wasn't far behind her. Amazingly enough, as she ran, zigzagging around the trees, her anxiety about being in the woods a few weeks ago was low on her priority list. She stumbled over a rock but jumped back up quickly. The bottoms of her jeans were muddy, as were her hands. She told herself,
Just move.
She'd watched enough horror movies to know to keep running.

She slowed for just a second to decide where to go next. “Angel.” She heard her name echoing through the trees. That motivated her to go right. If he hadn't taken her keys, she could have run to the car, except she had no idea how to get to the car or how far she was from the road. She could only hope to find camouflage in the heavily wooded area. At some point she would need to stop and hide.

The sound of her feet pounding the ground was probably drawing attention to her location. She had a feeling Eddie had outdoor skills she didn't possess.

Angel glimpsed a cabin ahead, but as she approached, there weren't any lights visible from the outside. Angel ran up to the door, banged, and then yanked on the door handle. Nothing. She ran around to the side of the cabin, and there appeared to be a shed. Maybe she could at least go in there and catch her breath. She needed to think.

More importantly, she needed a miracle. God had already answered one prayer.
Lord, please help me
. She hoped Wes had been able to hear what was going on through the phone and had sent the cavalry after her. It could be her imagination, but she thought she heard the deep hum of a helicopter hovering above.

Angel pulled on the shed door. She cringed when it creaked open, and entered the darkness. It took her eyes a few minutes to adjust. Angel bumped into a sharp object and sucked in her breath to keep from crying out her pain. In the distance, she heard her name again. Angel gingerly stepped around what felt like a lawn mower or some type of cart. She went to the other side of the shed and squatted down. Her wet clothes clung to her.

She realized if she didn't stop panting like a dog, she was going to give her location away. Angel gulped air and reached up to grab the object in front of her to steady herself. She snatched her hand away as the remnants of a cobweb wrapped around her fingers. Angel wiped her hands on her jeans. No need to get freaked out by the creepy crawlies now. It was either the little creatures or the crazy man outside. Angel looked up at the object that had been covered with cobwebs. It was a shovel. Her mind was moving fast.
It's a weapon.

No match for the gun, which Eddie had probably recovered from the ground, though. Maybe she should have stayed and gone for the gun. Now all she was doing was second-guessing herself. She'd never shot a gun in her life. All she knew was she could be dead by now.

“Angel.” Eddie's voice ricocheted close by.

She reached for the handle of the shovel and inched her way around to behind the shed's door, careful not to step on anything. Maybe he would come through the door; maybe he wouldn't. She was going to be ready for him. Angel spread her legs and held the shovel in her hands.

“Angel, you can't hide from me. Just come out. You wanted to find out about your mother. I told you I would take you to her.”

Angel gripped the shovel tighter. As she thought back to what Eddie had revealed earlier, she started to get the picture. Larry and Eddie had got rid of her mother's body. She swallowed hard, but tears flooded her eyes. Her mother had been buried up here in these woods. No wonder no one could find her. She wiped her face with her sleeve, willing Eddie to walk through the door.

She would have her wish. Eddie had to be right outside as he shouted, “Angel, I loved your mother.”

Angel listened. What was Eddie talking about?

“It hurt my heart to see Nick in pain about Elisa. But in some ways it made up for my pain. I grew up without him in my life. He'd just left my mother, not that I blamed him. She was crazy.”

What?
Angel almost lost her grip on the shovel. Eddie really was her uncle. Her granddad had never mentioned that Eddie was his son. That was not a secret her granddad would have kept. Her head started spinning. She couldn't believe a word Eddie was saying. Maybe he was just trying to draw her out. She dug her heels in again and watched the door.

“Angel.” Eddie dragged out her name.

The door of the shed creaked open. Angel waited, looking for the gun.

Eddie didn't disappoint. The gun came through the door first.

Angel slowly pulled the shovel back and hoped the darkness of the shed would conceal her. Eddie's tall frame appeared fully inside the door, the gun out in front. He turned slightly to the left. Angel took that as her cue to smash the shovel across Eddie's head.

“Ah!” Eddie screamed. The gun went off as he stumbled and fell.

Angel ducked, and then adrenaline surged through her body. She jumped up and slammed the shovel hard across Eddie's back. The gun spun out of his hand and landed somewhere inside the shed. Something primal surged through her body, and she screamed and picked up the shovel again.
This man.
She slammed down the shovel.
Killed my mother.

“Angel!” She stopped, holding the shovel and breathing hard. Several people behind her were calling her name. She slowly stepped back out of the shed with the shovel. Angel turned to see several men with guns pointed in her direction.

One of the officers stepped out from the group. “Angel. Angel Roberts?”

She nodded.

“It's okay. We're here. Eddie in there?”

She dropped the shovel and nodded again. One of the officers came over and pulled her away as the others swarmed the shed. The officer led her over to the steps of the cabin. After the officer left her side, she sat and cried. Angel shed tears over the loss of her mother and the split second when she wanted to take Eddie's life.

Angel wiped her face, which she was sure was a dirty mess now. She looked at the scene before her, trying to make sense of it all.

“Help.”

Angel turned her head. There was so much commotion around the shed and the cabin now that maybe she was just hearing things.

“Please help me.”

She sprang up from the steps, her heart still pounding, and pressed her ear against the cabin door. Angel banged on the door. “Is someone in there?”

Angel could hear a female voice. She sounded young and weak. “Yes. Please help.”

Angel waved her arms and yelled at the officers around her. “Someone is in here. Please, she needs help.”

Angel moved out of the way as members of the SWAT team rammed the door open.

“Angel, are you okay?”

She turned around to see Wes running toward her. Knowing she looked a hot mess, she gladly accepted his arms around her and buried her face into his shoulder. She cried hot tears again, grateful that God had worked out a way for Wes to save her.

“Oh my!” Angel heard Wes say.

“What?” She turned and saw a young woman being carried out on a stretcher. “Who is she, Wes?”

“Angel, I believe you found Melanie Stowe.”

Angel tore herself away from Wes's arms to move closer to the woman. It was her. Eddie had kidnapped Melanie. Seeing the caked blood on Melanie's face, Angel guessed that Eddie had left her for dead. That explained where the scratches had come from on Eddie's face.

She looked over at the man as officers escorted him out of the shed. Angel had left her mark on Eddie too. He appeared disoriented. Rage surged through Angel again. She tried to run toward Eddie, but Wes and Darnell snatched her back.

“Whoa, Angel! Let us get Eddie into custody, okay? He has quite a few charges coming his way,” Darnell said to calm her. “Don't worry. He will get prison time.”

She turned to Darnell. “He buried my mother up here. You make him tell me where she is.”

Wes and Darnell both looked stunned.

Darnell nodded. “All right. We'll have to get the medical examiner's office up here to see what they can recover. In the meantime, you need to get back to your family. I know Candace is blowing up my phone, she's so worried about you.”

Angel nodded.

After Darnell walked over to the other officers, Wes reached his arms around her. “It's going to be okay.”

Angel held her head against Wes's shoulder. She hoped so. It had turned out to be a day she would never forget. In her quest for the truth, she'd unlocked so many secrets, she wasn't sure if she would ever be the same.