Star Pupil
Chapter 10
School had gotten busy and Katelyn had been unable to return home on the weekends. When she was finally given leave, she would have to study the entire time, but at least she would be at home. There were times she felt a little detached from her family, and that had been reinforced over the past few weeks. Katelyn would never admit it but she was lonely. It was late Friday night before she could make the drive home, and a vehicle behind her was making her nervous. If she sped up, it sped up. If she slowed down, it slowed down. The highway she was on was kind of desolate and Katelyn thought about calling her dad, but he would be asleep and she just wanted to go home. About five miles from her house, just as she pulled up to a stop sign, her car was rear-ended. Katelyn had her seatbelt on, but she hit her head on her steering wheel. Before she lost consciousness, she heard two male voices; one of them being Brad's.
"Leave that note." Brad said.
"What do you hope to accomplish?" The other voice asked.
"Well, I would imagine her mom has been with her dad by now, so I may just have to break sweet Katie in." Brad said. They picked Katelyn up and carried her to an old van. Katelyn tried to fight but she was so tired. She just gave into unconsciousness.
Christine woke up about midnight. Mike was sound asleep next to her and she realized, Katelyn had never came in to wake them up and let them know she made it safely home. Christine checked her phone and then Mike's. There was no missed calls or text messages. She looked out the window, and Katelyn's car wasn't parked in the driveway that she could see. It immediately worried Christine but before she woke Mike up, she checked Katelyn's bedroom. There was no evidence of Katelyn having been there. Christine gently woke Mike up.
"Mike; Katelyn hasn't come home. Her car isn't here and she hasn't called either of us." Christine explained as Mike rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"I'll call her. Maybe she got side tracked?" Mike suggested as he grabbed his cellphone and punched in Katelyn's number. It rang four times and a strange voice answered.
"Hello?" The voice asked.
"Yes; this is Admiral Mike Slattery. I'm calling my daughter's cellphone to check on her and you answer?" Mike asked.
"I'm Deputy Christopher Maxwell. I located your daughter's car at the intersection of Highway 17 and Apple Creek Road. Its been rear-ended, sir. There's quite a bit of blood and hair on the steering wheel, but she isn't here. Her purse, cellphone and school books are, though." Deputy Maxwell explained, and Mike's heart sunk.
"Anything else?" Mike asked.
"A note. It was on the driver's seat. Does the name Brad Johnson ring any bells?" Deputy Maxwell asked.
"Yeah. He held my family hostage for years and tortured my wife." Mike answered. Until then, Christine had been okay. As soon as Mike answered the deputy, Christine burst into tears.
"Alright, I have more units responding." Deputy Maxwell said.
"I will be down there." Mike said before hanging up.
"My baby…he has my baby." Christine sobbed. Mike wanted to get to the wreck site, but Christine needed him.
"She'll be okay. She's tough." Mike tried assuring Christine as he held her.
"He'll kill her, and if he doesn't; what he'll do is much worse…" Christine choked out between sobs.
"I am going to go look for her. I'll have someone come and stay with you. I will find her. I promise." Mike said. He had to release Christine, but thankfully; Hannah came to the door.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Hannah asked.
"Brad Johnson got ahold of Katelyn. Can you stay with Mom?" Mike asked and Hannah nodded. Mike kissed her forehead and gestured back at Christine. "Take care of her. She's pretty upset." Mike said.
"And you're not?" Hannah asked.
"I have to concentrate on getting her back. I'll be upset later. I love you both." Mike said before walking out. He'd grabbed clothes as he talked to Hannah and quickly changed in the kid's bathroom. He called Tom who agreed to meet him at the wreck site.
Seeing the blood all over the steering wheel and reading the note was hard, and they had no leads. Deputy Maxwell was very hard at work, but infrastructure wasn't what it had been like before the Red Flu and Mike didn't envy the police their jobs. It all seemed hopeless and Mike began wondering if he would ever see his oldest daughter again.
He was beating himself up. Katelyn had felt pressured to be accepted into the Academy, and felt she needed to stay. He knew she was feeling a bit lonely in Annapolis, and they could have gone to visit, but they didn't. Maybe if they had, she would be safe and sound at school? Instead, she had been in a car wreck, kidnapped, and God only knew what else all because she was homesick and was driving home late at night. If the worst happened, Mike would never forgive himself.