Chapter 32
SPOV
I was pissed at Ranger and how he'd closed down on me. I thought we'd moved beyond that now, hell, this was my life we were talking about and he went and refused to tell me something. He had no right to do that which was why I had ignored him while I finished my sandwich. I knew that Ram would be outside and hell, Rangeman was only down the street, so while Ranger paid the bill I started out of the diner. As I walked across the sidewalk to the curb, I was feeling nervous and was starting to regret my rash move. I could see Ram stood on the other side of the street watching me and no doubt Ranger would be right behind me.
I turned as I heard the screeching of brakes, curious as to what was going on and then stupidly just stood there watching as a car came to an abrupt stop in front of me. I'm not sure what I expected to happen, certainly not the next move. As the rear door opened an arm came out and grabbed hold of me, I tried to get free but the hand around my arm was like a vice around it. I know I was screaming and struggling to get free but even as I did that, the car began to move, and I was dragged into the back of the car.
I was hyperventilating with my head on my knees. I didn't dare look up in case it was a face that I recognized. What if it was that man, Ethan Parker or even Tasha? How had I been so stupid to think I was safe, to walk away from Ranger because I was annoyed at him? My breaths were coming quickly, and the black dots were swimming in front of my eyes. If I was aware of the movement of the car then it didn't register, I was so frightened of what would happen to me. I welcomed sinking into despair and was thankful as the world around me went quiet before it went black.
I was aware that I was sat, laid back, maybe in a chair and felt my hands tighten on the soft armrests next to my arms. Memories of being snatched from the street came back to me as did an overwhelming feeling of terror. I didn't dare open my eyes for me see where I was or who was with me, but my breathing did begin to speed up and I thought my heart was going to burst. I instinctively moved my hand to my left wrist trying to feel for my watch. I almost screamed out in despair when I couldn't find it.
"Shit, Dad. She's hyperventilating again"
"Talk to her. Maybe we shouldn't have just grabbed her off the street"
"Stephanie, please don't be frightened, we aren't going to hurt you. We just wanted to talk to you. Hell, I'm so sorry we frightened you"
I heard the voices, not recognizing them, but then started to listen to what was being said.
"Please Stephanie. I didn't know how else to talk to you. They're watching me all of the time"
I slowly opened my eyes to see a young man knelt down in front of me. His hand was on my shoulder which caused me to flinch away from his touch.
"She's scared stiff Tony, be careful with her"
"Why's she so frightened?"
"I think maybe because someone hurt her, badly"
I looked up to see an older man, the resemblance between the men confirming them as father and son. I was sure though that I recognized the older man though couldn't for the life of me remember where from. I felt a glass in my hand and looked down to see a small tumbler with a small amount of pale brown liquid in it.
"Drink up, it'll help to settle your nerves"
I smelt the drink before my lips allowed me a small sip, the burn of the liquid sliding down my throat. I gripped the glass and looked again at the older man.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jeremy Heap, Sarah's father. This is Tony her brother"
"Why?"
Was all I could think and say as I looked between them, totally confused. Jeremy sat down in a chair opposite me while Tony stayed on the floor but leant against another chair. I looked beyond the two men to where I was, surprised to find myself in what looked like a lounge. It had that worn feeling to it, faded wallpaper and thread bare carpet, though the surfaces to the wooden furniture seemed clean. For some reason I wasn't feeling as scared as before and the amber liquid di have the effect of calming me slightly. My attention was drawn back to Tony as he spoke.
"My Dad's worried"
"Why?"
"Dad, why don't you explain the story to Steph"
Tony looked to his Dad, so I suppose this had more to do with him than it had Tony.
"I think they took my baby"
I assumed that he meant his daughter, but why the hell would they grab me off the street?
"Why would anyone do that?"
"They know I know who they are"
"What?"
That surprised me because I'd talked myself into thinking that Sarah's father probably didn't know anything about what was going on. I sat forward now keen to find out how on earth Jeremy Heap had anything to do with the mess that I'd gotten into or even the disappearance of Sophia.
"I thought she'd be safe doing that volunteering stuff, well as safe as someone can be. She used to email me each week, when she could, depending on where she was. They were just general, what she was doing and how much she was enjoying the work and the people she was meeting. Then the emails stopped so I just assumed that where she was had no electricity or signal. I was surprised when I got a letter in the mail. Of course, it took an age to get here. She was worried about what seemed to be happening. Said there were men coming and going who had nothing to do with the villagers she was working with. Then she saw Darren Barnes down there with some of the men"
"How did she know him?"
I knew that Barnes had been Jeremy's partner but wasn't too sure where this was going.
"I worked a case with Barnes, a few years ago. Big case that was investigating a murder but led us to cybercrimes. We worked with the FBI and found enough to indict people, even got them charged with prison time, but something just didn't feel right. I talked it through with Sarah afterwards, she was a good listener and helped me to work through what I was thinking. Then Barnes resigned not long after, but he just seemed so up beat about what he was going to do. I knew he didn't have enough money from his pension to do what he said, and I started to get suspicious"
"What did you do"
"Went through all of the evidence again. Thing is I found out that some was missing"
"So you thought Barnes was responsible?"
"Yes"
"Sarah?"
"She knew my suspicions"
"Oh God, do you think Barnes knew?"
"I do now. I prayed every night that she'd be safe. I just never thought that she'd disappear. I eventually managed to get in touch with the organization she went with and they told me that she'd left to come back home"
"I'm so sorry"
I knew that tears were running down my cheeks thinking about what might be happening to her.
"No. I'm sorry for what happened to you. These people are lowlife, evil, money grabbing scum"
"You think that me being hurt is to do with this?"
I watched as Jeremy sat back in the chair, as he wiped his hands down his face. He looked older than the photo that I'd seen of him but maybe the worry for Sarah was responsible for that.
"I don't know. All I know is what I heard at the station, that you'd been taken and hurt badly. It made finding Sarah more important than ever"
I was still confused why he was telling me all of this. I hadn't known Sarah or even met her so why would he come to me? As he looked at me I suppose that he could see that I wanted some more answers so I waited for him to spill why he'd focused on me.
"Gazzara. He asked about Sarah and said for some reason you were concerned. That had me thinking that you knew something. You know you have a reputation for solving things don't you?"
"Me?"
I said not really understanding where he was coming from.
"Half the cases Morelli took credit for were because of you. Everyone could see it but Morelli refused to acknowledge just how good you were. If you were asking Gazzara about Sarah then I just knew that somehow you'd picked up a trail"
I wasn't too sure whether to be mad at Eddie for mentioning my name or pleased that other people thought I was good at following leads.
I suddenly thought about where we were and knew that Ranger would be going mad trying to find me.
"Where are we?"
"I rented this place in a false name"
I'm sure my eyebrows shot up at the son as he said that, but the look of the place seemed to corroborate what he'd said.
"Jeremy"
"Jerry"
"Okay Jerry. The man I was with today, he'll be worried about me, in fact he'll tear Trenton apart looking for me. My watch, he'll be looking for it and it will lead him to me"
"I could never understand why Morelli got so upset that you always had trackers on you. You'd think he'd feel appreciative knowing that someone could find you. I had Tony destroy it once you passed out in the car, didn't want anyone following us"
"Ranger won't be pleased that you grabbed me"
"Manoso. So the rumors are true?"
"Rumors?"
"That you're his woman. I'm glad to see you two together, never did like Morelli"
What the hell did you say to someone who had just said that? I mean I had never really suspected that people talked about me like that. I knew that Ranger had put the word out on the street around Stark but assumed it was just his way of giving me some protection from some of the people who hung out around there.
"I'll get a message to him, but I'm going to have to leave you somewhere for him to collect you"
"Why? Can't we work together on this?"
"No. Tony's going back home and I'm heading out"
"Why exactly did you bring me here?"
Like couldn't he have phoned and had a conversation instead of scaring the shit out of me.
"I want you to take the file. I've added notes from what I could remember and thought maybe you'd know what to do with them"
"Me?"
"I think everything is linked together and you'll be able to unravel the clues. Manoso is a good man and he'll want to find the person responsible for hurting you, that's how he is. Just tell him that Barnes is mine. If I get anything else, I'll get it to you"
"You're going after Barnes, by yourself?"
"Yes. I have to do it, for Sarah, I need to know what's happened to her. Stephanie you have got to be careful, there are some very powerful men involved with this. They're watching me and I'm sure you as well"
"Jerry. Did you know Sophia Singsong?"
I saw the frown cross Jerry's face and knew straight away that he hadn't had anything to do with assaulting her.
"No. You brought her in to the station, didn't you?"
"Yeah. She said that a policeman had assaulted her"
"Never heard anything about that and there hasn't been anyone from Internal Affairs at the station"
The fact that he never asked anything else about Sophia led me to believe that she wasn't even on his radar. I sank back into the chair and watched as Jerry had a conversation with his son. Not long after Tony left the room with a bag, so I assumed he was leaving. Jerry came back into the room and just looked at me.
"Can I trust you?"
"Yes, why?"
"I don't want to knock you out, but I need to take you somewhere and then contact Manoso to collect you"
The idea of being drugged had me staring wide eyed at Jerry and he must have seen how panicked I was. He crouched down in front of me and took hold of one of my hands.
"I won't do that to you. Just promise that you'll lay down on the back seat of the car until we get there"
"I promise"
"Okay, here's the file"
I took a file from his hands that seemed very thick with papers. It was all fastened up with string making it feel very important, which I knew it was. As he offered me his hand, he pulled me to my feet and led me through a door into an attached garage. There were no lights inside so I couldn't tell what make of car it was and didn't get a chance to say anything before Jerry opened the rear door. Once in the car I laid down on the back seat and allowed Jerry to cover me with a blanket.
Since giving me the file Jerry hadn't spoken another word to me. I felt and heard the engine start up and was ready as the car began to move. It was strange really, because I didn't feel any fear as he drove and realized that I believed what Jerry had told me. I couldn't say that I was happy that he was going after Barnes on his own. What if he didn't find him or Barnes got away? Worse, what if Barnes killed Jerry before he had answers about Sarah?
As the car journey continued my mind turned to Ranger. I was sure that he'd be worried about me, probably doing everything he could to find me. I was beginning to feel very guilty for how I had behaved and was sure that Ranger would be annoyed at me. Not that this wasn't the first time I'd done something stupid and ended up in trouble. I just hoped that Ranger wouldn't feel less for me when I eventually saw him. My greatest worry was that he would try and send me to a safe house somewhere. I wouldn't cope with that and knew that I'd feel more stressed out and worried, especially if what Jerry had said was true, that there were people constantly looking for me.
So far, I was sure that the car had travelled along smooth streets. There were times we stopped and started, no doubt for traffic lights or junctions. I didn't expect the feel of the road to change but as we seemed to take a turn it felt as though we were travelling along a dirt track. All too soon the car slowed down and came to a stop. The engine was still running but I could hear Jerry speaking on the phone.
"I have a special delivery for you, but you'll need to come and collect it. 40.0479° N, 74.4760° W"
I assumed the numbers were the coordinates for where we were and hoped that it didn't take too long for Ranger to get here. I heard the front door open and then the door for the back of the car. The blanket was taken off me surprising me when it seemed so dark beyond the interior light of the car. Jerry helped me from the car and then wrapped the blanket around me. As I stood outside the car I couldn't see very far, all I was aware of was that we seemed to be surrounded by trees.
"Come on, there's a small cabin over there. You'll be safe in there until Ranger gets here"
Jerry had his arm around my shoulder as he led me to a small wooden cabin. The door creaked as he pushed it open and from the side of the door, he took down a flashlight.
"Tony came here earlier and made sure it would be okay. He left this flashlight for you so you wouldn't be in the dark"
Great, he was leaving me in a small cabin in the middle of the woods in the dark. Jerry didn't say anymore and before I knew it the door creaked as it closed, and I was left on my own. I heard the sound of the car engine starting and watched as the lights shone onto the cabin and then disappeared.
I stood in the center of the of the room, the file held tight to my chest, the blanket around my shoulders and the flashlight in my hand. I shivered, not from the cold, but I didn't like being inside here.
I wasn't sure if the decision that I was about to make was the right one or not. I turned off the flashlight and made for the door that I'd seen at the back of the cabin. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I was very thankful that the door opened easily and with a lot less noise than one we'd entered through. Once outside I made my way around the cabin to where Jerry had parked the car and then started to walk along the track. As I walked, I was constantly stopping as I heard noises, most of them coming from the trees. In the end I began to get accustomed to them and started to ignore them.
The idea I'd had was to meet Ranger as he drove down the track, the lights from his vehicle would see me. Then I thought what might happen if a car that didn't belong to Rangeman came across me. Jerry had said someone was watching him as well as me. What if someone had followed Jerry or even Tony out to this cabin. What if Jerry had contacted someone else and told them where they could find me. Was I being paranoid, overthinking things through? He'd sounded so sincere with what he'd told me, but then again I'd fallen for that with people who'd got close to me, Tasha and maybe Cassie coming to my mind. How was it that I seemed so accepting of people? I didn't know and I didn't get a chance to reason it through in my head because I was suddenly aware of the sound of a car. I darted from the track and headed toward the trees just as I saw a beam of light heading toward me.
I crouched down behind a tree and watched as the car passed by. My heart started hammering in my chest as I realized that it was a saloon, not an SUV, which meant that it wasn't Ranger. As soon as the lights from the car passed from view, I thought of returning to the track, but I couldn't move. Being sunk low to the ground with my back against a tree felt almost safe. Certainly safer than being out in the open. What I couldn't work out was who the hell was in that car and how they had found me.
I wasn't too sure of how I felt. Yes, I was scared being left here alone in the dark. My mind went through the whole incident that had happened since being grabbed off the street. Clutching the file to my chest and pulling the blanket around me I felt safer sat here in the woods leant against a tree, than being inside that cabin. For some reason I actually believed what Jerry had said to me but just wished he'd found a better way to talk to me. Maybe though if he felt that he was in danger it was the only solution he could come up with. Maybe if he knew people were watching the both of us there had been no other option but how I wished he'd come up with a better idea.
As I sat there, I went through what he'd said to me. I knew that one of those men that he'd arrested had been the one to question me but how the hell did his case from so long ago fit into what had happened to me? Jerry must have a lot of faith in me and somehow, I knew that I would do my best to try to unravel the clues. It made me worry for Sarah though and how she'd disappeared. Where she was or whether she was still alive. Then there was Barnes. What the hell did he have to do with any of this other than to be involved in the investigation into the cyber fraud. What happened to me was certainly nothing to do with fraud. I stayed as still as I could praying that Ranger would find me, that it was him that Jerry had contacted.
