SUMMER OF EVIL Read online

  He looked at Hunter, “Relax, or try. We’ll find them.”

  Hunter nodded and returned to the house to make coffee, but stopped before entering the kitchen and headed for the small bar they had set up in their dining room.

  “I’m not going to get drunk, but a shot of Irish whiskey can’t hurt.” He fought back tears he felt forming as he thought of his wife in the hands of that maniac. He downed the whiskey in one gulp and murmured. “Taylor and Kellie are fighters. They have been through a lot; they’ll get through this. Please God, let them be okay.”

  He picked up the phone again and called Cole. “I needed to let you know before Andrea hears it on the news. No, stay home with Andrea and keep her calm. I don’t want her to go into premature labor. My parents are on the way, and Taylor’s will be here soon. I’ll call as soon as I know anything.”

  Hunter remembered the phone in the trunk of Taylor’s car and ran out to tell Detective Stellion. “Mike, I just remembered, I put a security phone in the trunk of Taylor’s car in case he kidnapped her. You can trace the GPS signal.”

  Mike jotted down the phone’s number and carrier. He ran to his car to have a tech at the station get the paperwork and call the phone company for the trace.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Taylor fought her fear. “I won’t let Wills win either. How long do you think we’ve been in here? I’m getting stiff,” she said.

  “I don’t know. I can’t see my watch. It feels like forever, but at least three maybe four hours. That little gap near the trunk lid isn’t letting in any light. It has to be dark out.” Kellie replied.

  They felt the car brake and slow down and change lanes. When it stopped, and they felt it turn left and move along the road at a slower pace, Kellie remarked, “I think we were on the interstate, and now we’re on a highway. We’re moving slower.”

  Taylor began to stammer, “Three hours or more on the interstate could put us anywhere. They’ll never find us.”

  “You usually get home about five-fifteen. I figure by five-thirty we were on our way to Wills’ car and by six headed for the interstate. That left about three hours of sunlight. It’s dark. We could be across the state, headed south somewhere, or my best guess headed up north. There are lots of open areas, small towns, minimal populations, deserted cabins or buildings. He could hide us until hunting season or later. I’m sure the summer campers left for home before school starts next week.”

  “We’re doomed.” Taylor couldn’t hide her tears. She gave into them again and sobbed. “I want to go home. I need Hunter. I’ll never see him again.”

  “Yes, you will. We’re going to escape, or I’m going to kill Wills. I swear to you that he won’t get the upper hand.”

  “We won’t get away; he’ll kill us. Kellie, I have to get out. I can’t breathe. I’m going to die in this trunk.”

  “No, Taylor. We’re going to survive this trip and whatever Wills has in mind. Remember when Emma would have panic attacks? She always breathed through her nose to relax. Try it, please.”

  “I can’t. I hate Emma. I hate Wills,” Taylor said as she panted for air.

  “Yes you can. I hate them, too. Please don’t let Wills do this to you.”

  She heard Taylor try to breathe through her nose, but after two breaths, she gasped for air again.

  Kellie whispered, “Try again, Taylor.”

  On the third try, Kellie heard Taylor’s breathing return to near normal.

  “You’re doing well. We’re going to get out of this, or I’ll die trying. I refuse to allow Wills to kill me without hurting him.”

  “I’ll try,” Taylor whispered, her breathing slowing a bit more.

  #####

  Mike’s cell rang. “Stellion. Okay, pop the trunk. I’ll be there ASAP.” He turned and looked at Hunter. “They found Taylor’s car. It’s empty. I’ll call you when I know something.”

  Hunter walked back into the dining room where his mom was doing her best to comfort Taylor’s mom. Her dad was pacing the room.

  He cleared his throat. “They found Taylor’s car, but not Kellie or Taylor.” He stared at the floor, and the heel of his foot tapped rapidly.

  Taylor’s mom burst into tears again.

  Hunter placed his palms on the table and looked at Taylor’s mom. “Mom Stewart, Mike and the police are doing everything they can. Please try not to worry. We’ll find them.”

  Mrs. Stewart looked up at him and wiped her eyes. Kellie is like my second daughter. I feel as if I have two girls out there in the hands of a maniac. It is more than I can take.” She covered her face with her hands.

  Hunter’s mom stood and walked to the kitchen. She returned with a big plate of sliced banana bread. “Eat even if you don’t want it. You need some strength and food in your stomachs. Coffee isn’t going to sustain us. We might be waiting a while.”

  #####

  Taylor cried herself to sleep, and Kellie fumed. Her fists balled up for so long her fingers ached when she stretched them. Forcing her breathing to slow also slowed her heart. She tried to relax. Remembering what she learned in safety class she thought, “Keep calm, Kellie. You need to stay clear headed. Remember your strengths. You can shoot a gun accurately. You passed the safety protection class. You can and will take Wills down if needed. You’re strong. You must survive. You will survive.”

  She reached over to lay her hand on Taylor’s arm. “You’ll survive, too. I won’t lose my best friend to a crazed killer.”

  Kellie mumbled, “I think we have been on this road as long as we were on the interstate. It must be close to midnight or later.”

  She felt the car slow and turn onto a bumpy road. The movement woke Taylor.

  “Oh no, it’s happening. I thought I was having a nightmare.”

  “Unfortunately, but we’ll get away. I don’t know how yet, but we will. I think we’ve been driving for at least six or seven hours. This bumpy road must be out in the country somewhere regardless of which direction he took.”

  “Even if we get away, how will we find help? We could be miles away from anywhere.”

  Kellie could feel Taylor’s body trembling next to her. Her rapid breathing and mumbling worried Kellie.

  “Breathe, Taylor. Let’s take one problem at a time. For now, we need to survive and plan on an escape.”

  Taylor’s trembling turned into shaking. Kellie felt her body moving next to her in the confined trunk. “Taylor are you okay? Breathe through your nose. Don’t have another anxiety attack.” Taylor didn’t answer, and Kellie panicked thinking Taylor was having convulsions. She grabbed her arm.

  “Calm down, we’re going to be fine.” She moved closer to Taylor and put her arm over her.

  Taylor’s shaking slowed, but sobs continued to wrack her body.

  “Please Taylor, we’ll escape somehow, but we have to be strong, or he wins before we get out of this trunk.”

  “Do. You. Think. He. Really. Wants. To. Kill. Us?” Taylor tried to speak and breathe at the same time.

  “He’s a serial killer and he seems to like to kill blondes and redheads. That’s why we need to think of a plan before he has a chance.”

  Taylor took a deep breath and her body calmed. She tried to stop her tears. “Okay, but I’m thirsty and I need to pee.”

  “Me, too.”

  The car lurched to a stop.

  “Oh no, we’re here,” Taylor said.

  “Don’t panic. I don’t think he plans on killing us now, or he wouldn’t have brought us here. He could have shot us in the parking lot or your garage.”

  “What….what if he plans to rape us first.” Taylor began to cry again.

  “Don’t cry, he’ll think he has the upper hand. Please think positive. I’m scared, too, but I’m more angry than scared. I’m going to try and use that for strength.”

  “Okay, I’ll try. I love you, Kellie.”

  “I love you, too, Taylor.”

  “Do you think Hunter and Uncle Mike know Wills kidnapped us
by now? Are they looking for us?”

  “I’m sure of it. You left your purse and phone behind. Mine are in my house. They’ll figure it out.”

  Wills opened the trunk and blinded them momentarily with a bright emergency lantern. “We’re home. It’s time to get out.”

  He began to mumble his mantra and Taylor’s terror returned.

  #####

  Hunter let Penny and Rufus out for a night run before he decided he should try and sleep. He walked into the backyard feeling the cool pre-autumn air blow through his hair. Kellie’s dark windows and the empty gazebo in her half of the yard added to his sense of dread. The full moon cast shadows across the yard. Penny and Rufus chased each other and the elusive shadows. Streams of moonlight shining through the tree branches reminded Hunter of romantic evenings spent watching the stars while sitting on the deck with Taylor.

  His fist doubled wanting to hit something-anything. He rubbed his arms and called the dogs. They bounded back, up onto the deck and through the patio doorway as soon as Hunter slid it open. Hunter turned and looked up at the full moon filling the star filled sky.

  “Wherever you are, baby, I hope you see the moon and remember how much we love to sit and cuddle on the deck. You look beautiful in the moonlight.” He shivered. “Please God, keep them both safe.”

  #####

  Wills took a step back, and Kellie and Taylor saw him holding a gun in his right hand.

  “Okay, brats, out of the trunk slowly one at a time. C’mon Taylor you first.”

  Taylor’s muscles sore from the confines of the trunk swung her leg out and stood pulling her other leg out. Feeling her knees buckle, she gripped the edge of the trunk.

  “Move to the side, let the second brat out.”

  Taylor shuffled two steps over and looked up at the sky as Kellie climbed out of the car. “How can the sky be so beautiful when we’re living through horror down here?” Taylor thought. “Hunter, I hope you see the full moon and know how much I love you. Please find us.”

  Wills took a step back aiming the gun at Kellie. “Move, get out now.”

  Kellie fought the urge to leap at Wills, but her muscles felt too sore and weak. She climbed out of the trunk and stood next to Taylor.

  “Close the trunk.”

  Kellie obeyed.

  “Good girl,” Wills grinned. “Move slowly toward the cabin. Taylor first. When she reaches the porch, Kellie you move. Then you will both walk up the steps, and Taylor will open the door.”

  They followed Wills instructions and entered the cabin. Wills followed and closed the door.

  “Welcome home, brats,” Wills grinned showing his teeth. “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

  Kellie and Taylor glanced at each other and around the moonlit cabin. Kellie reached for Taylor’s hand, and they held on tightly.

  Wills noticed their hands and laughed. “I wonder if you will feel as happy to be that close after a few days.”

  Taylor’s knees grew weak. Her thoughts ran wild; “He said a few days. What does he have in mind? It is worse than being in the Gotz Manor dungeon. Maybe not, maybe Kellie will kill him. I hope she kills him. I want him dead.”

  Wills smiled again. “This is going to be fun. I want you both to sit on the couch. One of you at each end.”

  Kellie and Taylor complied. Kellie glanced around for something, anything to use as a weapon. She couldn’t see anything useful.

  Wills picked up a box from a table across from the battered couch. He set the box next to Kellie’s feet. He sat down and placed the gun next to him. He looked up at her, “If you try to kick me or hit me, I’ll kill you right here. Do you understand? Don’t move.”

  Kellie nodded.

  Wills removed several white zip ties and a length of chain. He threaded one end of the tie through the last link of the chain and placed the tie around Kellie’s right ankle. He repeated the process and attached the other end around Kellie’s left ankle. The chain was approximately eighteen inches long. Glancing at the chain, he mumbled, “You could break that loose. You’re wearing a bandage on your ankle. Hmm.” He added a second tie along with the first to the chain and her ankles. “That should do it. I’ll check them each day.” He wiggles his nose at Kellie and asks, “Comfy? Your ankle hurt?”

  Kellie answered, “Only if I stand too long or walk too far.”

  “Good,” Wills mumbled.

  Taylor’s eyes widened as she watched and listened to Wills. “You will be able to walk, well maybe shuffle, the way we did at Graywoods, but you can’t run.” He leaned back and laughed.

  Kellie moved her feet knowing Wills was right.

  He looked at her again. “Take off your jacket. You won’t need it in here.” She complied. He attached a similar chain and double zip ties to her wrists. He stood and told Kellie to remove her boots. He picked up the jacket and boots and dropped them near the door.

  He turned and looked at Taylor. “It’s your turn, brat.”

  Taylor shook her head back and forth quickly until she gave herself a headache.

  Wills stood in front of her swinging a piece of chain. “Are you done? I’d like to finish this and I bet you’d like to use the bathroom.”

  Taylor gave in to the inevitable, and soon her wrists and ankles were chained. He dropped her shoes and jacket next to Kellie’s and said, “Okay, now I want the two of you to scoot together on the couch.”

  When they were sitting side by side, Wills took two more zip ties and linked the ties on one of their ankles to the other. Kellie’s left and Taylor’s right ankles were now bound together.

  Wills sat in a chair across from them. “I think you know you’re not going anywhere without the other unless I agree. It’s good that you’re friends because you’re going to do everything together. Stand up, and you can shuffle to the bathroom.”

  The first thing they realized was the cabin was too small for them to shuffle side by side. They had to move sideways down the hall and maneuver into the small bathroom. Wills closed the door and yelled, “I trust you in there. Besides, there’s no way you can get out of the window.”

  Kellie mumbled, “He’s right. That window is too small for one of us.”

  A single light bulb illuminated the room. “I think he plans to keep us forever and never have a shower,” Taylor whispered. Both young women looked at the old shower stall that was stacked to the ceiling with four-packs of toilet tissue.

  “Oh my,” she mumbled grabbing Kellie’s arm.

  “What?”

  Taylor pointed to six neatly stacked super-sized boxes of tampons sitting next to the toilet tissue. “He really is planning on keeping us for a long time. Why?”

  Kellie shrugged. “We better do what we need to do before he makes us leave. Who knows when we might get bathroom privileges again?”

  Kellie and Taylor managed to use the toilet while connected at the ankle, and each took a turn washing their hands in the light brown water. Wills had provided antibacterial hand soap, a cup with two toothbrushes, and a tube of toothpaste.

  Taylor bent over and began to laugh.

  “Taylor are you okay. What’s funny?” Kellie’s face scrunched, and she bit her lip.

  “I’m losing my mind. That maniac wants to be sure we brush our teeth, so we don’t get cavities before he kills us. I don’t think I’ll survive until he does kill us.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hunter paced his living room. It was after midnight and no word about Taylor or Kellie. He needed to talk to someone, but he couldn’t call Cole. Andrea was a nervous wreck and Cole had taken her to the E.R. so her doctor could monitor her and the baby for a few hours. He knew he needed to call Kellie’s cousin Kyle, but he would wait until morning. His mind raced to Peter. He had to let him know before he heard it on the news.

  Hunter explained the situation to Peter.

  Peter said, “Who’s with you now, Hunter?”

  “No one. My parents and Taylor’s went home to get some rest.”
<
br />   “You shouldn’t be alone either. Mind if I come over? I won’t sleep tonight,” Peter said.

  “Please do, I could use the company.” Hunter dropped the phone next to him, turned on the TV and listened to a man drone on during an infomercial, and waited for Peter.

  #####

  “Ready?”

  “No, but you go first,” Taylor answered.

  Kellie opened the bathroom door while Taylor pressed into a corner to make room. She moved out back toward the living room and stopped abruptly. Taylor bumped into her.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked. Glancing over Kellie’s shoulder, she saw what Kellie did.

  A small fireplace sat in the corner of the living room. Perched on a narrow wooden mantle were three garden gnomes. Kellie shuddered. Taylor placed a hand on Kellie’s shoulder.

  Wills asked, “Do you like the décor? There’s one for each of us. I can’t wait for all of us to play tomorrow.” He interlaced his fingers and placed them under his chin. His smile made Taylor’s skin crawl.

  He stood and said, “Do you like where you’ll be camping out?” He swept his hand out as if he was proud of what he had done for them.

  Wills had spread a large sleeping bag on the living room floor. Two pillows lay side by side on the sleeping bag. A blue blanket lay at the bottom of the sleeping bag. Everything appeared new.

  “It’s time for dinner and bed. You need to get a good night’s sleep so we can play tomorrow. Don’t think about trying to leave. I took your shoes and the doors and windows have alarms on them.” He handed each of them a granola bar and a bottle of water.

  Kellie and Taylor glanced at each other. Fear was building in Taylor’s eyes again.

  He held back the curtain on the living room window, and both women saw a small white object. Wills moved the window, and an ear-splitting alarm went off. He grinned at them again, “It’ll wake me before you get the window open. Don’t try to sneak into my room to try and kill me, it has an alarm, too. Sit down and eat. I will be back in a few minutes to turn off the light.”

  Kellie and Taylor stood at the bottom of the sleeping bag and did their best to sit down at the same time, but they fell dropping their water and meager dinner. They maneuvered around until both were sitting. Taylor and Kellie heard Wills close the bathroom door and ate before he came back and changed his mind. The two women lay down leaving the blanket where they found it.