Chapter 21

Laurie had crawled into bed after saying goodnight to her mother in the hallway, but she hadn't fallen asleep. She couldn't have if she'd wanted to. She lay there tensely waiting to hear Keith creep quietly down the hallway.

She watched the alarm clock on the nightstand between her bed and Tracy's. It kept ticking…..and ticking. She watched 11:00 o'clock come and go. Then she watched midnight slip past. By 1:00 o'clock in the morning, she was sitting up in bed and had picked the clock up thinking it had somehow or another begun to tick faster than it should.

Keith should have been home at least an hour ago. Even though they didn't have school tomorrow, his curfew was midnight on a weeknight.

If he had truly been in the garage, she wouldn't have been worried either. It wasn't unusual for him to stay up all night if the creative bug had bitten. But, he wasn't in the garage.

When the clock showed 1:30, she couldn't stand the waiting any longer. She pushed the covers back and grabbed her robe. Once she had tied the sash, she quietly opened the door and tiptoed down the hall to Chris and Danny's room. She wasn't about to worry alone any longer.

"Danny." Laurie whispered as she shook his shoulder.

"What?" Danny mumbled grumpily as he rolled toward his sister who had perched on the side of his bed.

"Danny, it's 1:30." Laurie said worriedly.

"That's great. You've finally learned to tell time." Danny opened one eye to level a glare at her.

"Very funny. It's 1:30." Laurie said putting emphasis on the time again.

"You've already said that. I was asleep, not deaf." Danny quipped.

"Keith's not home yet." Laurie finally realized that Danny's sleep fogged brain, though it could still throw out one liners, was not following her at all.

"You're kidding." Danny finally understood why Laurie looked so upset.

"No, I'm not kidding." Laurie shot her brother a dirty look. Like she'd come in here and lie to him about something like that.

"Is it possible you missed him walking down the hall?" Danny asked as he pushed the covers back to get out of bed.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe he was trying to be so sneaky, I missed him." Laurie smiled in relief at Danny's suggestion. "Go back to sleep, I'll go and check on him."

"Sleep? You want me to sleep after telling me Keith might not be back?" Danny asked in surprise as he reached for his own robe. "Forget it. I'm going with you. Come on."

Laurie followed Danny out of his room and the few short steps to Keith's closed bedroom door. Danny grabbed the knob and looked over his shoulder at Laurie who urged him forward.

Danny crossed his fingers in front of him so Laurie wouldn't see them and turned the knob quietly. They tiptoed into the room and glanced toward the bed.

"See, he's back." Danny motioned to the lump underneath the covers that was barely visible in the shadows.

"Something doesn't look right." Laurie said as she moved closer to the bed. She reached out to grab the covers and pulled them down. What she found was an extra pillow and several rolled up blankets not her older brother's body.

"Oh, I guess he put 'em there to fool someone if they just glanced in the door." Danny said weakly. He swallowed hard as he realized what this might just mean. Either his brother was having way too good of a time at Muldoon's Point, or something really awful had happened to him. Danny put his money on the Muldoon's Point option. "Look, he's probably just lost all track of time while he's making up with Carol."

"Danny, he wouldn't do that. Not knowing that we'd be here worried about him." Laurie suggested.

"Why not? Mom thinks he's at home. What better time to break the rules than when you're sure you won't get caught." Danny reasoned.

"I guess so." Laurie thought that might be a possibility. "But, if that's true, I'm gonna kill him when he does get home."

"Wait in line. I get the first shot at him." Danny agreed.

"Should we tell mom?" Laurie worried her bottom lip.

"Go right ahead, but you're on your own. I have no desire to die before I get a chance to kill Keith." Danny said with feeling.

xoxo

"Come on Keith, wake up." Carol whispered and then added with even more feeling. "Please."

They were in the back of a van that had been driving for at least an hour and Keith hadn't moved since she'd been tossed in unceremoniously next to him. The two men were sitting in the front with the radio on loudly which was why Carol felt safe in whispering to Keith trying to get him to wake up.

She knew he had hit his head. Hell, he'd hit more than just his head. She remembered the whole thing, unfortunately.

She'd been enjoying Keith's nibbling on her neck and getting anxious to finish her drive up to Muldoon's Point so that she could become an active participant in his activities. The next thing she knew, someone had forced her off the road and she remembered screaming as she watched the giant tree trunk appear in the bouncing headlights. She remembered the forward jolt that had been stopped by the lap belt she'd fastened out of habit.

Keith, who had unfastened his to slide across the seat next to her, had been thrown forward with nothing to slow his momentum except the front dash and the windshield. She heard the sickening screech and crunch of bending metal followed quickly by the overly loud sound of flesh and bone slamming into metal, plastic and glass. She wasn't sure what the rest of the sounds meant, whether it was car parts breaking or Keith's bones, but tears had sprung to her eyes in sympathy almost immediately.

"Keith?" She'd said quietly and then more frantically as his body had come to rest awkwardly; partially on the bench seat and partially on the floor of the car. She'd struggled to move toward him to check him for injuries before she realized that her seatbelt was what was holding her back. She struggled to get the simple latch to work and when her shaking fingers finally caused the catch to release, she quickly slid across the seat to touch him.

"Oh, thank God!" Carol touched his still warm skin and immediately felt a pulse in his neck while his breath tickled her cheek as she brought her face close to his. It was too dark to get a good look at him.

"Help! Someone please help us." She begged as she began to run her hands over his body looking for broken bones. She didn't realize that she was barely whispering the words rather than screaming them at the top of her lungs.

xoxo

"Oh crap! Get rid of them." The first guy said as he began to make his way down the embankment.

"How?" The second asked as he watched the headlights approach.

"Tell them to go and call for an ambulance or something. We'll be long gone before they get back." The first said as he quickly disappeared from sight.

The second man ran over to the other car that had just seen the tail end of a car disappear down the embankment.

"Did you see who it was?" The teenaged boy asked nervously. He'd never seen an accident before, much less one happen right before his eyes. He sort of felt like he was watching one of those horrid movies they made them watch in drivers' education. He expected to hear blood curdling screams any second. He could feel his date's fingers digging into his arm.

"No, we came along just before you did. My friend went down to check on them. I'm sure we'll need an ambulance. Go into town and call one." The stranger instructed. "Hurry!"

"Right." The teenager followed the older man's instructions without question. He was young enough to take everything the man said as truth. He'd been raised to respect his elders, and the man was definitely at least in his 30's.

As the now smiling man watched the tail lights of the teenager's car disappear around the next curve, he moved back to the edge of the road. He looked down the relatively steep embankment and waited patiently to hear what his partner needed him to do next.

"Come down….and bring the tape." He eventually heard from a disembodied voice.

He went back to the van, grabbed the big roll of duct tape and disappeared into the darkness.

When he reached the bottom, he realized that the female in the car was fully conscious, but that their intended target was out cold. Good, that made things easier.

Before Carol could realize that the two men were not there to help her, she was pulled away from Keith and her hands and mouth were quickly taped. She was immobilized and shoved to the ground. She tossed her hair out of her eyes and watched the second man go back to her mother's damaged car and unceremoniously drag Keith from the car by his left arm. He flipped him over, taped his hands together and then easily picked him up throwing him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

Carol would have been awed at his strength if she hadn't realized the man was at least six foot four of solid muscle. He was huge, especially compared to Keith. He easily outweighed Keith by at least 100 pounds.

She sat there in shock as the other man turned back to her and bent to pick her up.

"Don't start cryin' sweet thing or your nose will get all clogged and you'll suffocate." His words caused Carol's eyes to round in fear and he grinned to see the reaction. He loved it when a woman looked at him like that. He just wished he had some time to show her what true fear was.

Instead, he picked her up and tossed her over his own shoulder, making his way back up to the roadside. He tossed her roughly into the back of the van and was just about to slam the door when he gave her one last glance.

"Aw, girlie, I told you not to do that. Well, if you promise not to scream, I'll take off the tape." Carol had tried to hold back her tears, but when he'd thrown her into the back of the van, she'd hit pretty hard and the tears had come unbidden. The tears intensified when he ripped the tape from her tender skin. "Now, remember, hush."

She nodded quickly as he finally disappeared behind the closing van door. She bit her lip and tried vainly to stop the tears. She was hurt and more than a little scared; not only for herself, but for Keith too. How badly had he been hurt during the accident? Why hadn't he woken up yet? Was he going to die while he lay beside her in the back of a van heading to god knows where?

xoxo

It was just after 2:30 when Laurie and Danny finally found the courage to enter their mother's bedroom.

"You wake her." Laurie shoved Danny in front of her.

"Why me?" Danny hissed back, his fear of his mother's hurt and anger ever so slightly stronger than his fear for Keith. "This was all Keith's and your idea."

Laurie began to cry at Danny's reminder of her guilt in this whole thing.

"Aw, I didn't mean anything by that." Danny whispered feeling awful about making Laurie feel bad.

"No, you're right. This is my fault. I'll wake her." Laurie wiped at her tears, but they continued to fall. She reached out to touch her mother's shoulder gently. "Mom?"

"What is it, honey?" Shirley had been woken slightly by the fiercely whispered conversation, but was still trying to drag herself from the deepest sleep she'd gotten in over a week. She'd been lulled into a sense of security by the recent discussions that they thought the threat against Keith might be over. Or even possibly a figment of Marvin's imagination.

"Mom, Keith's not home yet." Laurie said urgently.

"Yes, he is, dear. He's in the garage. Remember?" Shirley said as she blinked her eyes trying to bring Laurie into focus.

"No, he's not." Danny said from behind her.

"Did you check?" Shirley asked now even more confused not only by the cryptic conversation, but by the fact that Danny was apparently awake in the middle of the night too.

"Mom, he never was in the garage. Well, that's not true. He was. Just not for long." Danny began to confess everything in a spate of choppy sentences.

"Slow down. Laurie, what's Danny trying to say?" Shirley sat up and reached for the bedside lamp. The light caused all three of them to squint in surprise at the sudden change.

"Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry." Laurie said first.

"Laurie, it's going to be alright. Just tell me what's going on." Shirley instructed calmly, her insides clenching in fear while her face remained passive.

"It's Keith. He's not home. And, no, he's not in the garage. That was just a…..well, a lie, so that he could go out and meet Carol." Laurie looked down in shame at her part in all of this.

"Keith left the house? How?" Shirley could not bring herself to believe what Laurie had said. The house was surrounded by FBI agents. Keith getting past them was impossible, right?

"They made me help." Danny said quickly. "I told them it was wrong."

"No you didn't. You thought it would be a great adventure." Laurie pointed out and then turned back to her quickly frowning mother. "Mom, I helped Keith get out. Danny and I helped."

"When did he leave?" Shirley was struggling to believe that she was awake instead of dreaming all of this. It was surreal.

"Around 8:30 or so. He snuck out to the garage when you and I were in my bedroom. Then I distracted the agent by the back door so that he could sneak out of the back yard. He promised to be home hours ago." Laurie could feel the tears intensify as fear for her brother took over. "Oh, God, mom, something's happened to him. I just know it."

"How could you? What were you thinking?" Shirley could feel her anger rising as she quickly got out of bed and, grabbing her robe, almost ran downstairs and out the front door. She needed to inform the agents so they could start looking for her son.

Her quick exit caused the two agents in front to jump from their relaxed positions leaning against the front fence.

"Mrs. Partridge? Is something wrong?" The blond man asked.

"Yes, I've just been told that Keith snuck out of the house hours ago." Shirley said calmly. Too calmly, if you asked Laurie. Where was her panic? Where was the fear?

"Well, find him!" Shirley said as the panic finally began to edge into her voice.

"Yes ma'am. As soon as we understand what we're looking for. Where was he going and with who?" The agent asked.

"He was going up to Muldoon's Point with his girlfriend, Carol Connor." Laurie said quickly. "She had borrowed her mother's car. They were meeting at the taco stand and then driving up to Muldoon's Point."

The agents quizzed Danny, Laurie and Shirley for another 15 minutes and then called for backup and support.

The search for Keith Partridge began at 3:00 am.

xoxo

The kidnappers had driven around for several hours. Sometimes back tracking sometimes making a beeline for their destination. They knew that at least one of their hostages was awake and they wanted to be sure she had no idea where they were headed. The panel van they were in made sure that she couldn't see anything, but she might be able to judge how far they'd driven if they hadn't made it almost impossible.

They pulled onto the dirt road and hung on tight as they bounced and jostled down the rutted road; deeper and deeper into the woods.

Carol continued to whisper to Keith begging him to wake up, but so far no luck. As she was tossed by the rough ride, she was almost grateful that Keith wasn't awake. She winced, groaned and grunted several times as her body was literally lifted from the floor of the van and brought crashing back down less than a second later. She could feel bruises forming with each new jolt.

She tried to brace herself against the smaller ones, but the bigger bumps invariably brought a groan of pain. Were they almost to their destination?

Just as she had that thought, the van shuddered to a stop.

"Scout around." One of the men said to the other.

"For what?" Asked the other.

"Make sure no one is around." The other said as if he were talking to a simpleton.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. Who's going to be around? Bears? Squirrels?"

"Just do it." The one in charge growled.

Carol heard a door open and close. Silence ruled for several minutes before the other man also got out of the van. She could hear voices outside, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

While she was alone in the van, she began to wiggle her wrists against the tape, attempting to loosen the bonds. All she got for her trouble was the small hairs on her arm being ripped out by the roots. She winced in pain again.

"Oh, Keith, please wake up. I need you." Carol whispered fiercely.

This time, her plea was met by a soft groan.

"Oh, Keith, that's it wake up!" Carol felt hope bloom.

Her next plea for him to wake up was cut short when the back door swung open.

"He still out?" The cruel man from before leered at her and then glanced at Keith.

"Yes, he is." Carol said quietly, fear once again the only thing she could feel.

"Wonder what he hit his head on so hard." The guy laughed. "He must be a wimp."

Carol had to bite her tongue to stop from defending Keith. He may not be the tallest or most muscular guy she'd ever known, but he was by no means a wimp. She'd seen him moving the family's equipment around with relative ease and that equipment was big and awkward. He may not look like a bodybuilder, but he was strong.

"This time you can walk." The second man, the man who didn't appear to have any designs on Carol's body, suggested as he came around the side of the van. He also appeared to be the one in charge. "You can carry the kid."

"Why me?" The jerk said. Carol had begun to call them 'Honcho' and 'Jerk' in her head. They had yet to use their names, so she'd labeled them to keep them straight.

"Because I'm the brains and you're the brawn." Honcho pointed out. "Besides, I'll carry the rest of this stuff."

"Fine, just don't forget the food. After this workout, I'll be hungry." Jerk informed Honcho. "Maybe girlie here knows how to cook over a camp fire."

"She doesn't." Carol sniffed. She'd been a girl scout when she was younger, but had no intention of helping them out in any way.

"Figures." Honcho said as he grabbed her ankle to pull her toward the open doors. "Come on get out. Follow…..my friend there." Honcho caught himself just before he used the jerk's name.

Carol had to fight the urge to run. They weren't paying very close attention to her. The jerk was walking with Keith over his shoulder, a flashlight's beam lighting the narrow path. He was already several yards away. Honcho was waist deep in the back of the van gathering their supplies. She could run.

But what about Keith? No, she'd stay until he was awake and they'd escape together. Besides, it was pitch black and she had no idea where she was.

xoxo

Reuben came flying through the front door shortly after 3:30. "What happened?"

"Reuben, what are you doing here?" Shirley had jumped when the front door had slammed against the closet door.

"Danny called." Reuben knew that's all the explanation she needed.

He glanced around the room to find Laurie and Danny sitting quietly on the couch with their heads down. They looked guilty. It was the first description that came to his mind.

Shirley was standing by the phone, her hands clasped tightly together. An FBI agent was sitting at the desk efficiently attaching what appeared to be tracing equipment to the phone if Reuben could believe the spy movies he'd seen.

"Shirley?" Reuben had to push for an answer. "What's going on? Danny just said to come quick."

Shirley bit her lip and swallowed hard before answering. She had to have her emotions under control or she'd be a weeping mass of fear in no time. "He's gone Reuben."

"Who's gone?" Reuben asked before it sunk in what she had said. "Keith? How?"

"He snuck out to meet his girlfriend." Shirley's eyes began to fill with tears. As the first one began to fall, she brushed it away but it was quickly replaced by another.

"How do you sneak out of a house surrounded by FBI agents?" Reuben asked as he walked toward Shirley. Her pointed and angry glance at Laurie and Danny had the light bulb reaching full wattage in Reuben's mind. "How could you?"

"They obviously weren't thinking." Shirley's anger at Danny and Laurie hadn't abated one bit since she'd found out they'd helped Keith get out of the house. She knew they felt awful and that they needed to hear her forgiveness, but she just couldn't give it. Not yet.

"We'll find him. We'll get him back." Reuben said even though he knew his words may very well be lies.

xoxo

When the jerk dropped Keith onto the floor of the cave, Keith groaned loudly.

"He's wakin' up!" The jerk informed Honcho.

"Good. We'll want to get him to talk on this tape so that they believe we have him." Honcho said as he set their supplies down on the opposite side of the sandy area they'd stopped in.

Carol, hearing Keith's groan, had quickly sat down next to him.

They began to light more lanterns now that they felt they were safe from prying eyes. When Honcho brought one over to get a closer look at Keith, Carol gasped at her first good look at him since the accident.