Chapter 25
Abby leapt out of the still-moving car and raced towards the picnic table. "RILEY!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
The little boy was looking vacantly around the clearing, but at the sound of Abby's voice, he turned his head sharply towards the car, and the woman racing towards him.
"Mommy?" he asked carefully, then, "Mommy!"
Quickly removing his legs from under the picnic table, he stood and prepared to run towards Abby, but she was already standing next to him.
She snatched him up in her arms and squeezed him tightly. Tears blurred her vision as she held her son in her arms once again.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Riley smiled widely, and buried his face in his mother's shirt. "I missed you, Mommy," he said.
"I missed you too, baby."
Meanwhile, Carter had noticed the exchange, and when he saw that the boy sitting at the table was indeed Riley, he followed Abby out of the car.
"Daddy!" Riley proclaimed at Carter ran up to them.
Carter wrapped him arms around both of them. This couldn't be real. Riley was alright!
"Are you okay?" he asked him, pulling them both closer to him.
Riley nodded. "But that man wasn't nice. He hit Jill."
Riley's statement brought Abby back to reality. "Jill. Where is she? Is she here, too?" Frantically, Abby scanned the clearing, expecting to see her daughter at any moment.
But Riley shook his head. "He left Jill at his house. He brought me here and told me to sit at the table."
"His house! Do you know where it is? Do you think you could show us?" Carter asked eagerly.
Abby gave him a sad look. "Carter, he's three. He can't give us directions to the house."
"I know where it is!" Riley said defiantly. "It was by the trees!"
"By the trees? You mean in the woods?" Riley looked confused. "Nevermind; it's okay. I'm just glad you're safe."
"Do you remember what the man looked like, honey?" Abby asked gently.
Riley wrinkled his brow in concentration. "He was tall, like Daddy," he finally said.
Carter looked around. "Do you see a note?" Abby looked around, then shook her head. "Riley? Did the man leave a note?"
Riley thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, he just left me."
Abby nodded, then sighed. "Okay, okay. I guess we should call the police now."
Slowly, the three of them walked back towards the car.
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The police were not happy. "Do you know how dangerous this was? Both of you could have gotten killed."
But Abby didn't care. All she knew was, she had done what the kidnapper asked and had gotten her son back. Now she would do whatever it took to get Jill back too. Then, they could be a family again.
"I did what I had to," Abby said, unapologetic.
The officer sighed. "Well, we're going to put a tap on your phone, so if he calls again, we'll know."
"You're not going to follow us if he tells us to go somewhere, are you?" Abby asked quickly.
"It's a safety precaution. It could be very dangerous if, say, he asked to meet you somewhere before he turned over your daughter. We could have someone tail you discreetly."
"No," Abby said firmly. "It's too dangerous. If he catches a glimpse of a cop, he might decide to forget the whole thing."
The cop looked at Carter, as if he expected him to talk some sense into Abby. Carter looked back. When he realized that they were in agreement, he said, "Well, I hope you realize that he's going to ask for more money. He gave you your son for what he got; if you want your daughter, you're going to have to pay more ransom. If you cooperate with the police, we have a ransom fund that you can use."
Carter shook his head. "Money's not an issue. We just want to do whatever we have to to get Jill back, and having a cop following us when he calls again isn't going to help."
The cop sighed wearily. "Well, maybe this whole argument is for nothing. He might not tell you to go a certain place next time, so this whole discussion could be moot. I know you both want your daughter back, but you have to think rationally. You'll have a greater chance of getting her back if you have the whole police force behind you."
He stood up to leave. "Think about it, okay?"
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Carter knocked softly on Abby's bedroom door. "Abby? You in there?"
In response, Abby slowly opened the door with a finger pressed to her lips. Peeking into the room, he saw Riley lying on her bed, sound asleep.
Carter gently sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's so good to have him back," he said quietly.
Abby smiled and sat down next to him, gazing down at her son. "I almost feel guilty for being happy that he's back. Jill's still gone, and we don't know if we'll ever get her back, but still...I'm so glad he's okay." She reached a hand up to pat down an errant hair on Riley's head.
"He'll probably contact us soon. He'll ask us for more money, and we'll give it to him, and he'll give us Jill."
"I hope so," Abby said, but her voice didn't sound hopeful.
"What's wrong?" Carter asked.
"I just have a feeling that's something's going to go wrong. It's just too easy, you know? I pray with all of my heart that that's all it'll take, but I'm just scared that something will go wrong." Abby looked down at Riley sleeping peacefully. What she wouldn't give to see Jill sleeping next to him!
Carter placed a hand on Abby's shoulder. "There's no reason why this can't end well," Carter said. "We have Riley back now, don't we? And soon we're going to have Jill back, too."
Abby nodded slowly. "I hope you're right."