Chapter 14
"Dad, what are you looking at?" Shirley asked as she walked into the living room. "Have they brought Laurie and Danny back yet?"
"I'm not sure. There's a bunch of official looking cars pulling up. Did the FBI call and say they found them?" Fred Renfrew asked his daughter. He was feeling guilty because he and Amanda had taken Chris and Tracy to the park. If they'd been home, Shirley wouldn't have felt compelled to send Laurie and Danny to the store.
"No, they didn't. Do you see Laurie and Danny?" Shirley's nervousness was evident in her voice.
"Now, dear, don't go getting yourself all upset until we know something for sure." Amanda Renfrew reminded her. "Come here and sit down. Fred go and get them and bring them in so we can find out what's going on."
"Yes, dear." Fred said and headed out the door. He had already seen Mr. Kincaid get out of one of the cars. He knew this couldn't be good. "Mr. Kincaid, what's going on?"
"Mr. Renfrew, we need to talk to Shirley. Is she inside?" Reuben asked.
"Yes, yes she is. Is Keith alright?" Fred asked quickly.
"We're not sure." Reuben said as he grabbed his arm and steered him back toward the house.
"Oh, dear. What happened?" Fred asked.
"I'd rather only say this once. Let's go inside." Fred nodded as Reuben grabbed the doorknob and walked in without knocking as was his normal habit. He hadn't knocked for years. He always knew he was welcome. That is, he'd always been welcome, until now. Once Shirley knew he'd let Keith leave, she may never want to speak to him again.
"Reuben, what are you doing here?" Shirley had jumped up from her chair when she'd seen him. She rushed over to meet him and after seeing his face, her mind leapt to conclusions that, in this case, were close to correct. "Something's happened to Keith. Oh, god, Reuben, please tell me he's alright."
"Shirley, I…." Reuben trailed off as he had no idea how to put into words what he had to tell her.
"Reuben?" Shirley asked again as tears flooded her eyes. Reuben wordlessly wrapped her in an all encompassing hug as the first sobs shook her body.
Agent Smith had walked in to find Shirley just pulling back from Reuben. "Reuben, please. Tell me." She begged.
"Mrs. Partridge, it might be easier if I tell you." Agent Smith said gently and led Shirley away from an overcome Reuben. "Please everyone, let's sit down. I'll fill you in on what we know and then I have some questions for you. Time is of the essence. So, please, let's all focus."
"Agent Smith, please…."Shirley trailed off. She didn't know what to ask for.
"Mrs. Partridge what we know so far is that it appears Olivia discovered Keith's whereabouts. She sent him the same arrangement that she'd sent him prior to the first kidnapping. We know there was a note with it, but we have no idea what it said. We also know that Keith very knowingly left Mr. Kincaid's apartment by himself. He borrowed a car and likely went to meet with Olivia Braddock." Agent Smith said everything as matter of fact as possible; trying to take the emotion out of the situation. They needed everyone to stay calm. "What could make Keith go to meet Olivia of his own free will?"
"Oh, no. It's Laurie and Danny." Shirley put her hands to her face as realization hit her. "They went to the store a couple of hours ago and aren't back yet. I had contacted your office about an hour ago and asked them to contact the man who followed them to find out where they are."
Agent Smith shot a telling look to one of her agents who had followed her into the house and they left to check out the situation. "So, you're saying it's possible that Olivia has Laurie and Danny and used that information to lure Keith to her?"
Shirley nodded and then suddenly remembered Keith's call asking for Laurie. "Keith called here to talk to Laurie around the same time. Do you suppose that he was checking to see if Olivia really had Laurie and Danny?"
At Agent Smith's nod of agreement, Shirley bit her lip to keep from screaming her fear. Now three of her children were likely in danger. It had been bad enough when it was Laurie and Keith and then just Keith. Now three of them?
Shirley's parents each put a hand on her shoulders to let her know they were there for her. They could both feel the shivers that were racing through her body. How much more could she take?
They ran through a series of questions that Shirley, her parents, Reuben, Bonnie and Trish did their best to answer. With all of them in the same room, they were able to piece together what was a likely scenario of what happened and how Keith was lured away from Reuben's apartment. The next course of action was to find out where he'd gone.
Trish pointed out that she hadn't had much gas in her car, so that might limit the distance he'd driven. "Unless he put more gas in the car." She finished lamely.
"No, he probably didn't." Reuben said with hope dawning on his face.
"Why do you say that, Mr. Kincaid?" Agent Smith asked.
"Because Keith is notorious for never having any money. And, with being away from home for so long, it's not like he had access to his allowance or trust fund. He likely had no cash on him at all. Right Shirley?" Reuben looked to her for confirmation.
"That's right. Keith would have had to have gone to the bank to access his trust fund and he wouldn't have been able to do that. Not without being able to leave Reuben's apartment, which before today he hadn't done except to go to the studio." Shirley looked at Reuben hopefully.
"That's good. That narrows down our search area. All we have to do is calculate how far the gas left in your car would have gotten him." Agent Smith smiled in encouragement. This was good news.
xoxo
Laurie and Danny strained to hear the conversation on the other side of the closed door. They couldn't make anything out at all.
"Can you hear anything?" Laurie whispered in frustration.
"No. I can't even tell if they're talking at all. What are we gonna do?" Danny's terror was going back up. When he'd seen Keith he'd felt much better, but now that he wasn't with them anymore, he was scared all over again.
"I don't know Danny. But no matter what, we stick together, right?" Laurie reminded him.
"Right. All three of us." Danny said.
Laurie smiled at him. She wasn't very hopeful that Olivia would keep all three of them. Even with a gun, she would have problems watching all of them. It was likely she wanted to get rid of her and Danny as soon as possible. She needed to be sure that Keith would do what she asked of him first, but once she had his cooperation or got him somewhere where no one could find them, she and Danny were expendable.
She didn't mention any of her fears to Danny. She didn't want to worry him. She'd worry for both of them.
Danny watched the emotions play out in Laurie's eyes. She was trying to protect him. He could see it. She thought he was too young to understand. But he wasn't. He understood perfectly. If Keith did what she wanted, they were goners. She'd have no more use for them. And, she certainly couldn't leave behind any witnesses to tell them where they were going. He was too young to die. He had so much to experience yet in life. He started running down the list in his head – first and foremost was becoming a millionaire. If he'd already been a millionaire he could have bought their way out of this situation. But, no, that wasn't true. They'd found out that Olivia and Lester Braddock came from a very wealthy family. Olivia couldn't be bribed with money. The only thing she wanted that she didn't already have was Keith. And, if Danny wasn't mistaken, she was about to get that too.
As Danny and Laurie worried silently trying to catch any of the conversation happening in the other room, time stood still. Laurie willed the door to open. She pictured Keith walking through it and untying them. He'd hurry them past the unconscious Olivia and they would all drive away to safety. It was a happy dream. But just that – a dream.
They both jumped when the door finally did open. Laurie's eyes lit up when Keith walked in. He put his finger to his lips to keep them quiet and hurried over. He began to untie Laurie first and told her to sit tight. He then reached over and untied Danny too. Laurie's eyes were bright with hope.
"Listen close. Get in the red mustang in front of the building and drive back home as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. Do you hear me? Nothing." Keith handed Laurie the keys to the car and had looked deeply into her eyes while he'd given his quick instructions.
"Don't stop. I get it. Where will you be?" Laurie asked urgently. Her dream was slightly off. Keith was supposed to come with them, wasn't he?
"I can't go with you. Please, just do what I ask." Keith begged her.
When Laurie hesitated, Keith turned to Danny. "Danny, make sure she does exactly what I told her. Can you do that for me?"
Danny had already caught on to the fact that Keith was sacrificing himself for their freedom. He didn't like it, but he understood it. He wouldn't have expected anything less of his older brother who had oftentimes felt like the father figure to his younger siblings. "Got it Keith. We'll do exactly what you said. I promise."
"No, Keith. You can't. I won't leave you with her. Not by yourself. Not again." Laurie pleaded. She'd felt guilty enough the last time she'd had to leave him to go for help. This time she knew he wouldn't be waiting for her at this motel when they brought back help. She knew it and so did he.
"You have to. It's the only option. Please Laurie, I couldn't stand it if anything happened to the two of you." Keith tried again.
"Oh, Keith, no. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. I can't leave you. I won't." Laurie couldn't hold back the tears any longer. They began to fall in earnest as she blinked madly so that she could see his face clearly.
"You will. Laurie, think of Danny. You have to take him to safety." Keith reminded her that it wasn't just the two of them this time.
Laurie threw her arms around his neck and finally agreed to do what he'd asked. She whispered in his ear, "I'll send back help. She won't have you for long. Stay strong. I love you more than you'll ever know."
"I love you too." Keith whispered back. "You ready Danny?"
"You bet." Danny hugged Keith as soon as he let go of Laurie and whispered, "We're coming back for you."
"Thanks, kiddo. I didn't doubt it for a second." Keith whispered back.
"I hate to keep interrupting these touching family moments." Olivia said in a tone that made her comment immediately recognizable as a lie. "Are they leaving or are you waiting for me to change my mind?"
"They're leaving, right now." Keith stressed and pulled them both out of the bathroom and immediately to the door.
"Come with us." Laurie whispered one last time.
"I can't. You know that." Keith pushed her out and stood in the doorway with Olivia standing happily holding his arm.
Olivia waved as Laurie and Danny got into the car and started to leave. The last thing they saw was Keith take something from Olivia, put it in his mouth and swallow. What had she given him?
xoxo
They drove for about ten minutes when the engine started to sputter.
"Oh, no. We're almost out of gas." Laurie said as she pushed the gas pedal down hoping to get as much speed out of the car so they could coast as long as possible.
"You're kidding. Leave it to Keith to leave us with a car with barely any gas." Danny smacked the dashboard. "How are we supposed to bring back help if we're sitting helplessly on the side of the road?"
"What did that last sign say? Didn't it say gas ahead in 2 miles?" Laurie had been too busy paying attention to the road. She'd never driven as fast as she had before today. In fact, she was a little nervous thinking she might get her first speeding ticket, but then started hoping that she would be only to happy to see a police car right now.
"It did, but it was really old. Who knows if the station is still operating?" Danny hated to throw that possibility out there, but he didn't want Laurie crushed when they found an old abandoned building with broken windows and rotted floors.
"Well, start praying now. We just ran out of gas. I'll keep us coasting as long as possible, but the engine has died." Laurie pointed out the obvious. The only sound now, was the wind whistling in the windows. They were losing speed fast. Just their luck, they were on a slight incline. Could nothing go right today?
They crested the hill doing about 20 and looked down to see what looked like a gas station at the bottom. Laurie shifted the car into neutral and let it coast slowly down the hill. It settled gently next to the pump.
"We made it. I can't believe it." Danny said triumphantly.
"Me either." Laurie looked around. "Now, is there any gas in this pump? It looks deserted."
"I'll go look around." Danny hopped out and did just that.
"Be careful." Laurie said as she opened her door too.
Well, if there was gas in the pump, was there anyone there to pump it? Even if there was, how would they pay for it? Her purse was in the cart at the grocery store. She had no money. Maybe Danny had some.
Danny came back leading an old man of at least 80. "Hurry, Mister. We need gas."
When the man shuffling slowly behind him finally spotted Laurie, he smiled at the pretty young woman. He was never too old to appreciate true beauty. "Oh, hello, there young lady. What can I do for you today?"
"We need gas. We're dry as a bone. We had to coast up." Laurie said and threw him her best smile. If Danny didn't have any money on him, she was going to have to charm the gas out of him. "Excuse us for just a second."
As she pulled Danny aside he said, "Can you believe the old man doesn't have a working phone in this ancient place?"
Laurie hadn't thought about trying to call anyone. She'd been so focused on getting back home to tell their Mom. Leave it to Danny to think of the details. But now that gas was their only option again, she asked, "Do you have any money on you? My purse is back at the store."
Laurie threw another smile at the old man who watched them closely.
"Of course, I do. How much do you think we need?" Danny pulled out his wallet.
"Five dollars should do it." Laurie smiled again at the old man just in case Danny looked and found only moths.
"As usual, we're in luck." Danny crowed as he pulled out five wrinkled dollar bills.
"Oh thank god." Laurie said and pulled him back to the car. "Could you please put in five dollars worth?"
"Sure thing, young lady." The man said and started to pump the gas.
"Please hurry. We're late for an appointment." Laurie urged.
When he was done and they'd paid him, they hopped back in the car. Laurie turned the key but the car wouldn't turn over. Now what?
"Um….Miss?" The man said near her window. "When you run a car dry, they don't always want to start right away. Be careful you don't flood it now."
"I'm sorry. What?" How in the world could the car be flooded? They were no where near any water.
"You keep that up and you're going to flood it." The man said again and shook his head at the impatience of the young.
"Well, that just makes no sense." Laurie said and looked at Danny to see him rolling his eyes. "What?"
"You have a license, but you know nothing about cars. How is that?" Danny said.
"If you step out for a second, I'll get it running for you." The old man offered.
"Alright." Laurie did as he asked and within seconds, the car was purring quietly.
"There you go. Drive safe now, you hear?" He said as he closed the door behind a baffled Laurie.
"Thank you, very much. For everything." Laurie threw out the window before she burned rubber.
xoxo
Keith was no longer worried or afraid. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all. He was just empty.
It was the pills she'd given him as Laurie and Danny drove away. It had been part of their deal. As soon as Laurie and Danny were safely driving away, he'd agreed to take some medication. One was a mild sedative and the other she'd called a dopamine blocker. Whatever the hell that was? He'd had no idea what it would do to him, nor did he really care. He just needed to be sure that Laurie and Danny were safe.
He'd noticed the pill bottles had her name on them. He'd idly wondered why she'd had the prescriptions in the first place.
Now that enough time had passed, the pills effects had begun to take hold. He watched the world go by in slow motion and could find no reason to try and do anything. He had no desire to do anything at all.
Olivia glanced at him in the passenger seat of her car as they headed away from the motel. Maybe she shouldn't have given him double the dosage. He appeared almost catatonic. But then again, he was agreeable to anything she'd suggested since it had kicked in.
So far, so good.
Now she just had to get him to the small airstrip owned by her family. She'd hired a private jet to pick them up there. They were going to fly to her father's hunting cabin in the mountains. Very few people even knew of its existence. Her father had built it himself with Lester's help over the summers just before he'd been killed in a car accident with their mother.
That was when her problems had begun. Her Aunt Millie had flown in to take care of her beloved niece and nephew. Ha, that was a joke. Her Aunt had loved Lester, but she'd obviously hated Olivia. Shortly after their parent's funeral, Aunt Millie had taken Olivia to a doctor under the guise of helping her to sleep. Instead, the Doctor had diagnosed her with schizophrenia and that's when Olivia's waking nightmare had begun. They'd drugged her and flown her to Switzerland for treatment.
Now that she was once again drug free, the delusions had passed (or so she thought) and she could think clearly for the first time in years. She could focus on her goals. She could go after her dreams.
She'd thought of taking Keith to the cabin just a few days ago. It was secluded and no one would think to look for her there. She'd never been the outdoorsy type and had avoided going most times she'd been invited. She'd sent a family employee up to stock it and prepare it for their arrival. She'd have all the time she needed to get Keith to finally admit his true feelings for her. Enough time for him to fall as madly in love with her as she already was with him.
This time, nothing would ruin her plans. She wouldn't let anything ruin her plans.
She pulled up to the private airstrip and noticed a small jet already waiting. Ah, she just loved efficient services. She'd heard good things about 'Air Landry'. They'd come highly recommended by her family's attorney. Not that she'd hired them through the law office. That would have left too much of a trail. No, she'd called them on her own and set this up telling them that she was setting up a private get away for someone extremely famous.
Well, that hadn't been a lie. She'd been setting up a private get away for Keith Partridge and he was definitely famous. It was just semantics that Keith hadn't been planning the trip himself.
When she'd told them she wasn't at liberty to share the name of their passenger they hadn't balked at taking the job. She'd been informed by Mr. Landry that privacy was their specialty. It was then she'd known she'd hired the right firm.
xoxo
Nic watched the nondescript car pull up to the small out building from her vantage point in the cockpit. This was a privately owned air strip and they'd been allowed to land and refuel by an employee of the owner. The lack of grandeur of the car pulling up surprised Nic. She'd just assumed that whoever they'd be flying would have shown up in luxury. After all, they'd hired a luxury jet for the next leg of their journey.
Oh, well, who was she to judge. Rich people were often eccentric and it was possible that the only way this person could be snuck out of wherever they'd come from was by leaving in a car no one would expect them to travel in.
She was certainly glad she wasn't famous. They sure did have to go to extremes just to get around. Why anyone would want that, she didn't know.
xoxo
Olivia sat in the car and quietly checked out the area. She had no desire to walk into a trap of any kind. She glanced at Keith again to find him staring at the jet, but still showing no emotion.
"Stay here." She instructed him but didn't expect him to answer. "I'm going to go and make sure everything is ready for us."
She got out of the car, grabbed her purse, pushed her sunglasses on her nose and began to walk toward the jet.
She noticed a man step out of the small building and begin walking toward the jet. She paused to watch him. He looked familiar. Why did he look familiar?
As she watched, she noticed movement from the jet. She watched a pretty blond begin down the steps lowered from the door. She looked familiar too. But, if she was who she thought she was, she was supposed to have been disposed of in Albuquerque. What had gone wrong?
Olivia changed direction and headed for the building rather than the jet. She knew that the man and woman were watching her, but didn't care. She needed to confirm her suspicions.
"Hi, Tony. What are the first names of our pilots?" Olivia asked the man who had been in her father's employ for her whole lifetime.
"Hi, Livvie. Ummm….I think they said their names were Ron and Nic, short for Nicole." Tony answered.
"I was afraid of that." Olivia said under her breath. Too bad she hadn't heard the Landry's last names when she'd been eavesdropping in Albuquerque. She'd only caught first names. She had to change her plans and quick. "Could you please run to town for me and pick up some, ummm, ice cream? You know how much I love ice cream. I'd like to take it along."
Tony readily agreed and headed out to his pickup truck that was parked along side the building. Olivia watched him drive away. Good, there would be no witnesses to what she was about to do next.