Careful, Chapter 5.
Notes: Thanks to everyone at Maple Street for your wonderful encouragement..I would have abandoned this a long time ago if it wasn't for you.
Just a little further...there.
Slowly, she managed to crack open her right eye, wincing at the effort it took to allow a sliver of vision to penetrate. Still bound by ropes and unable to move, she glanced around from her uncomfortable position on the hard floor. The room was dark, as she'd suspected, and crowded..full of old boxes, tables and chairs..junk, mostly. A small, dirty window high on one wall let in a tiny bit of light, and she realized the room was most likely a basement. A door above her slammed, and she heard rather than saw the man walking down the flight of old wooden stairs. And she felt, rather than saw, the hard object that crashed across her face. She could feel herself slipping..slipping back into the blackness, into the dark, and she fought hard, seizing onto the single sliver of light, of hope, that still remained..
"Hey, Viv."
Vivian looked up from her desk at Martin and Danny, who had just returned from their reconnaissance of Darien's route home.
"Hey, guys. What'd you find out?"
"Look at these." Pulling out a small pack of Polaroids, Danny spread the pictures he and Martin had taken across the table.
"This alley is about halfway between Darien's house, and the school," Martin explained.
"It's pretty much the only place we saw along the route that someone could have surprised Darien," Danny continued.
Vivian nodded as she looked over the pictures.
"Good work, guys. It looks like it'd be pretty easy to pull a car in here, maybe hide next to these bushes.."
"That's what we were thinking," Danny agreed. "We went to both houses alongside the alley, to see if anyone there saw or head anything, but no one was home at either."
"Any word from Jack and Samantha?" Martin asked as he began looking over the list of names Vivian had handed him.
"Not yet, no."
Danny tapped his own list of names thoughtfully.
"Y'know, I'm not sure how much help this is going to be. The street is only visible from the auxiliary gym for a few yards."
"We have to try," Vivian was firm. "Daniel Banneker sent a time clock along with the names. Out of twelve men, five clocked out between eight and eight-fifteen, three between eight forty-five and nine, and four between seven-thirty and seven forty-five. We'll start with the men who left between eight and eight-fifteen."
"Got it."
Each with a name and phone number, the agents retreated into their separate cubicles.
"Raymond Matheson?"
A gruff "Yeah?" sounded in Vivian's ear.
"Mr. Matheson, this is Agent Johnson of the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions about last night."
"What about last night?" The man's voice was defensive, wary.
"You were working on an auxiliary gym at Brennamen High School from.." Vivian glanced at the sheet in front of her,"three o'clock until eight o'clock, correct?"
"Yeah," Raymond Matheson answered, still cautionary.
"Mr. Matheson, a girl disappeared last night after her basketball open gym at Brennamen. The open gym ended at eight, and it says here that you clocked out at 8:03. When you left, did you see anything suspicious, out of the ordinary?"
"I didn't see anything suspicious. Saw the girls coming out of the gym as I was leaving, but that's it. I left and drove to Nerino's Hardware, to pick up some supplies for a few repairs I'm doing. Then I came home. I didn't see anything," he repeated.
"How far away is the hardware store from the school?" Vivian asked.
"'Bout..fifteen minutes?"
"Okay. Mr. Matheson, it says here that a Timothy Matheson was working for Daniel Banneker last night. Any relation?"
"Yeah, that's my little brother. I doubt he's at home, though. He's working at some construction site." Raymond explained, clearly more comfortable now that he wasn't the center of conversation.
"Can you give me a number where I can reach him?" Vivian asked.
"I don't have the number there, sorry." Instead, he gave Vivian a description of the site's location, and she thanked him before hanging up. As she did, a young agent walked into her cubicle.
"Agent Johnson? Here's the information you asked for." Vivian thanked him, and he left. Glancing over the paper, she saw that four out of the twelve men working for Daniel Banneker had minor records; two for D.U.I., one for possession of drugs and one for attempted burglary. She was mildly surprised to see that it was Raymond Matheson who had been arrested for attempted burglary, but Danny's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"Anyone find anything?"
"Nothing," Martin announced. "Guy says he saw some of the girls walking out of the gym, but he drove home in the direction opposite Darien's route."
"Same here," Danny said. "Viv?"
Vivian shook her head, and as she did, her phone rang. She was surprised again, this time because it was Jack's voice on the other line.
"Hey, Viv. We just got back."
"Already? I guess you didn't find anything?"
"Nah. Blessing's got a solid alibi..Philadelphia all weekend at some business conference. How are things going?"
"Slowly. We're talking to the men who were working at the gym last night..so far, none of them have been any help. Danny and Martin said the route Darien walks is only visible from the gym for a few yards. Looks like I've got to check out some construction site. One of the men who left between eight and eight-fifteen last night is there now. That timeslot is our best bet."
"Where's the site?"
Vivian gave him the information Raymond Matheson had given her.
"Samantha and I will swing by, talk to him," Jack decided. "Keep trying the others, I guess. We'll be back soon."
"Okay. Talk to you then." Vivian hung up, turning to Danny and Martin
"Jack and Samantha are back. The ex-husband is clean; he was apparently in Philadelphia all weekend."
"Damn," Danny looked discouraged.
"Jack said he and Samantha are going to question Timothy Matheson at the construction site where he works. I'll take the last one who left between eight and eight-fifteen, if you two want to start with the men who left between eight forty-five and nine."
"Sure." Martin and Danny began divvying up the names as Vivian dialed the final number.
Jack guided his vehicle into a tight parking space next to the construction site Vivian had described, and shut the car off. He turned to Samantha, who smiled.
"Let's go." She had been in much better spirits since the plane ride. Jack wasn't sure why, but he was glad all the same. Not much got past Samantha when she was focused and determined, and her enthusiasm was contagious. Together, they walked up a small hill and approached the man closest to them.
"Excuse me, sir?" Samantha's voice was all business, and the man looked up in surprise. "We're looking for a Timothy Matheson. Do you know where we could find him?"
Squinting against the sun, the man pointed to his right.
"See the guy in the green shirt? That's him."
With a smile, Samantha thanked him, as she and Jack started off in that direction.
"Timothy Matheson?" Jack spoke firmly to the young man in front of him. Jack estimated his age to be about twenty-four, though he wasn't positive.
"Yes?" Timothy's face was quizzical.
"I'm Agent Malone, and this is Agent Spade of the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions about last night."
"Last night?" The man took off his gloves and set them down on the block in front of him. "What about last night?"
"You were working on the auxiliary gym at Brennamen High School from three to eight, correct?"
"Yeah, I work there for Mr. Banneker on weekends. Why, did something happen to it?"
"Not exactly." Samantha took over. "More like to someone. Mr. Matheson, one of the girls who attended the basketball open gym last night is missing."
"Tim, please. And that's horrible." His tone seemed genuine.
"Yes, it is. She never made it home. According to a time clock from your boss, you clocked out at 8:04. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when you left?"
Tim shook his head thoughtfully.
"I don't think so. I left as soon as I clocked out, and most of the girls were gone by then. I drove by Darien Blessing on my way home, but that's about it. I wasn't paying much attention," he confessed.
"How do you know Darien Blessing?" Jack fired the question immediately, and Samantha thought she saw a flash of...something, in the man's eyes, but it was gone almost immediately.
"I don't know her. I've never spoken to her before, anyway. My brother, Ray? He talks about her sometimes, her and that other girl, Grace. He works at the school more than I do, so he sees her more often."
"Darien is missing, Tim. Do you know anything about it?" Samantha was urgent.
Tim appeared increasingly uncomfortable. He fidgeted with his green shirt, which was dotted with spots of mud, before answering.
"I don't know. God, I can't believe I'm even thinking this. Ray's at the school a lot. He always works Sunday nights, and he's mentioned Darien a couple times. You know, 'she's really pretty', stuff like that. Ray's twenty-eight," Tim clarified. "It's just kind of weird. And sometimes..Ray does stupid things."
"We don't have time for bullshit, Tim. A girl's life is in danger. Do you believe your brother had anything to do with Darien Blessing's disappearance?" Jack pushed the man on. To Samantha, he spoke in a low voice. "Call Vivian. Find out everything Ray Matheson told her." Samantha nodded and walked quietly off, pulling out her phone.
"Jesus, I don't know." Tim ran a hand through his dark hair, and he was quiet for a moment. "I'd like to say no. He's my brother. But it's strange..the girl he's talked about suddenly going missing? I don't know," he repeated. "Ray and I, we're not that close. We work together sometimes, and we live in the same neighborhood, but we've never been tight, not even as kids."
Samantha returned to Jack's side as quietly as she had gone.
"According to the agent your brother spoke to, he went straight to Nerino's Hardware after work. Said he had some repairs to do?"
"Nerino's Hardware? That's only a few miles away from.." Tim trailed off, shaking his head.
"A few miles away from what?" Jack's patience was wearing thin.
Tim sighed. "Ray has this..cabin, I guess, only it's more of a shack than anything else. He bought it about five years ago. It's really run-down, falling apart. There's a few of them, in a stretch of woods near Nerino's Hardware." The man's voice was grim.
Samantha and Jack exchanged glances.
"We need to know exactly where this cabin is," Jack told him.
Resignedly, Tim nodded, giving Jack and Samantha directions to the cabin. "Once you get to the woods, you'll see a path. You can't miss it, and the cabin is about a mile or so in. Just follow the path," he concluded. "Listen..if Ray really did this..well, I'm sorry, I guess. I didn't know the girl at all, but.." he trailed off.
Samantha and Jack nodded, thanking him before turning and leaving the site. They walked quickly back to the car.
"Vivian talked to Ray Matheson at home, right?"
Samantha nodded as Jack put the car into drive, pulling out of his space.
"We need to get a team of uniforms to meet us at the entry of this path." His tone was grim. "Call Vivian again, will you? Tell her to call Daniel Banneker back, and find out everything she can about Ray Matheson, including his home address. Have Martin and Danny watch his house."
Both took out their phones, Jack to call for a team of uniforms and Samantha to contact Vivian.
"Viv? It's Samantha again. Listen, we need everything we can get on Ray Matheson. Jack wants you to talk to Daniel Banneker again, and make sure you have his home address. Danny and Martin are supposed to watch the house. According to the brother, Ray has a cabin in the woods near Nerino's Hardware. She might be there..we're headed there now." Samantha listened as Vivian agreed and promised to call after talking to Daniel Banneker, and hung up.
Samantha was restless as Jack drove, drumming the seat with her fingers. She jumped slightly when her phone rang, and Jack couldn't stop an amused grin from quirking across his lips.
"Relax, Sam," he said as she answered.
"Hey, Viv." Samantha shot Jack a look of mock exasperation, before turning back to the phone.
"Just talked to Daniel Banneker. He said he's never noticed anything about Ray Matheson that would lead him to believe he's capable of kidnapping, but he also said that he doesn't know much about Ray..said he's kind of quiet. Same with the brother. However, both of them always leave at eight o'clock on Sunday nights, if that's any help."
"It's possible that both have seen Grace and Darien walking home, then," Samantha mused. "Thanks, Vivian."
"No problem. Danny and Martin are on their way to Ray's house. I'm going to finish talking to the men who were working last night, although none of them have seen anything so far."
"Okay. Talk to you soon." Samantha folded her phone before turning to Jack.
"Viv says that both of the Mathesons leave at eight on Sunday nights. She also said that Daniel Banneker didn't know much about either of them."
Jack nodded. Within a few minutes, they were driving past Nerino's Hardware and onto a road that eventually became a dead end. The uniformed team was already there waiting when Jack and Samantha exited their vehicle.
They spoke briefly before Samantha and Jack took the lead, walking to the edge of the woods.
"Here's the path," Samantha spoke, and they started down it. Their pace was brisk, purposeful, and Samantha couldn't help feeling slightly unsettled as she led the group through the darkening trees. After they had been walking for a good twenty minutes, the uneasy feeling grew.
"Tim said the cabin was about a mile in, right?" She turned slightly to Jack, who nodded grimly. Samantha frowned, then swore out loud. "Oh, damn."
A few yards ahead of them, the path ended abruptly in a line of trees. Samantha met Jack's gaze.
"Tim."
"Christ, Jack. There is no cabin. He played us." Samantha's voice was full of disgust.
"He made a mistake telling us her name," Jack agreed as he replayed the conversation in his head. "So he covered by shifting our focus to his brother."
"And gave himself a huge head start." Samantha's eyes were wide, frantic. "He's got her. He's got her, and he knows we know." She stopped for a second, her gaze shifting to the depths of the forest in front of her. She spoke again, quietly. "We're zero for two, Jack. Darien doesn't have time for us to miss again."