Chapter 28
Joey drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. How long would it take for the money to get here?
"How long will it take for the money to get here?" Scott asked.
Joey backhanded him. "Shut up. We wouldn't even be here, waiting like idiots, if you hadn't messed everything up."
"I'm sorry, Joey," Scott said ruefully.
"This plan is so stupid. We're just asking for the cops to come and pick us off." Joey sat it silence for another moment, brooding. "Maybe we should just cut our losses. We got two hundred grand."
"But that's only a hundred for each of us," Scott whined. "We could go through that in a year. Let's just wait for the last payoff, then we can get out of here."
Joey shook his head. "It's too dangerous. If they've got cops following them, things could get ugly."
"But the money. Think about the money."
Joey thought about the money. He craved money; it was the key to his happiness. He had never had much of it; now, he had a hundred thousand. But it wasn't enough. Just one more payoff, then he would be happy.
"But if they get to the pickup spot and sees that she's not there-"
"By the time they get there, we'll be long gone. Us and the money."
He nodded. It was worth the risk for the money. After this, he could live high. All he had to do was pull off this last stunt...
Joey's mouth twisted into a sardonic smile. "There they are," he said, pointing. He licked his lips in anticipation. Soon, the money would be his.
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"Okay, they got the call."
"Where?" asked Monty, preparing to run out the door.
"Eight and Main. Let's get five unmarked units out; that way we can keep a loose hold on them. We don't want the bad guys getting a whiff of us, do we?" Monty shook his head.
The sergeant radioed five teams to trail them. He felt kind of bad about it; after all, they had requested that the police not follow them. But if they botched things up and the kid ended up dead, his police department would look bad. So he sent the units out to tail them.
For about an hour, his men made routine reports on where they were and what the car was doing. Suddenly, one of the officers said, "Sir? I think we might have a problem."
"What's wrong?" he barked into the radio.
"It looks like we've got a confrontation."
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Just like last time, Abby dropped off the money.
She placed two hundred thousand of Carter's dollars carefully in the dumpster, then walked back towards the car. "We're supposed to go to the river," she reminded Carter, who appeared to be in a trance.
Carter pointed to some nearby bushes. "Did you see that?"
"What?"
"I saw someone. Moving in the bushes."
They both stared at the bushes for several seconds, but no one emerged. "Maybe you just imagined it," Abby said, eager to get to the river and pick up Jill.
"No, I didn't. I saw someone in those bushes; I think maybe it was him."
Abby's eyes widened. "The kidnapper? How do you know?"
"I don't. I just have a feeling." He looked grim. "I want you to drive around the corner and drop me off. I'm gonna walk back over here and see if it's him."
"But what if it is him? What are you gonna do, kill him?" Abby didn't like the look on Carter's face.
"I'm gonna do whatever it takes," Carter said, determined.
"But what about Jill? She should be waiting at the river right now! We need to get her!"
"You go get her. I'll stay here."
Abby bit her lip. This wasn't a good idea, but she didn't have time to argue with him. She needed to go get Jill. Jill was at the river right now, alone! That thought spurred her to action. She drove around the corner. "Don't do anything stupid," she said as he got out of the car.
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"It's there! It's there!" Scott squealed. He wanted to hop out of the car right then and grab the money.
"No, wait. We have to be patient." In reality, Joey felt like leaping out of the car himself. The money was so close...all he had to do was reach out and grab it.
As their car sat there, Joey got worried. Why weren't they heading to the river at top speed? Why were they just sitting there like they didn't have a care in the world? Joey wondered if they were plotting a way to get the ransom and the girl. He was beginning to think that this might not have been a good idea.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the car drove off. Both Joey and Scoot breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's get the money!" Scott said excitedly.
Joey grabbed his arm. "No. Not yet. We wait." This was a bad, last-minute plan, but he wasn't going to ruin it by rushing. He didn't want to lose his money because of a stupid mistake.
Finally, after several minutes, Joey got out of the car. He looked around surreptitiously. No cops in sight. He had his hand on the lid of the dumpster when he was tackled from behind.
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"Did you see a little girl around here? Three years old, dark brown hair?" Yet another man shook his head and walked off quickly before Abby could ask him anymore questions.
Abby still had hope. Sure, he had said to look by the Arnold's hot dog stand. And she had found nothing there. But that didn't mean anything. Jill could have wandered off.
"Have you seen a little girl? Three yea-"
"No," said the man abruptly, walking off. Abby felt like sinking to her knees in despair. Where was Jill?
She had believed with all of her heart that, after getting the money, the kidnappers would turn Jill over, just like they had turned Riley over. But now, it looked like that wasn't the case.
Abby's mind was numb. She didn't know what to do next. Jill wasn't here.
She wished Carter was here, instead of at the dumpster. Maybe he would know what to do. Right now, she couldn't even think.
She would keep looking. She would keep asking. She couldn't give up.
"Have you seen a little girl?"
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Carter grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ground. He called him names he hadn't used in years. He fought like he was battling the devil himself. He wanted to kill him. This was the man who had kidnapped his children, who had caused he and Abby so much pain. He slammed his fists into the man's face repeatedly, giving him just a taste of what Carter and Abby had experienced over the past few days.
He was vaguely aware of another man jumping on him, trying to stop him, but his adrenaline had kicked in now. He tossed the scrawny man aside like a fly, then continued pummeling his companion.
The man had blood streaming from his face and soaking his shirt, but Carter didn't stop. In fact, he didn't stop until the cops pulled them apart.