Chapter 32
This couldn't be real. It seemed like a dream.
Abby's hand reached out to touch Jill. She was really here. She was okay. "Jill-" Abby said. Her voice cut off, unable to respond. Her arms wrapped around her daughter. "Are you okay?" she asked, stroking Jill's hair.
Jill smiled and nodded. "I ran away from the bad man," she said proudly.
Abby smiled and laughed. "We're finally all together again," she said happily. She motioned Riley towards her and gathered them both in her arms. Her children were finally safe. For the first time in days, she could rest easy.
"But where's Daddy?" Jill asked, confused.
Abby suddenly remembered Carter. He was still on the plane to Los Angeles!
"What?" asked Susan, noticing the alarm on Abby's face.
"I have to call Carter," she said.
"I wanna talk to Daddy!" Jill said.
"Me too!" Riley exclaimed.
Abby smiled widely. "We can all talk to him," she said. "C'mon, let's go inside." Holding their hands, she walked back into the house. Things were finally going well.
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The plane crashed.
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Abby frowned. "I can't call into the airplane phone," she said. "And his cell's still off."
"I don't think you can call into airplane phones," Susan told her. "You might have to wait until he calls you."
"I guess so," Abby said resignedly. "But I want to tell him the good news! Jill's okay!"
Jill hopped into Abby's lap. "Where did Daddy go?" she asked.
"He went on a little trip, but he'll be back soon."
Jill nodded contentedly. "Good, cause I want to see him."
The phone rang, and for once, Abby didn't race to answer it. The kids were okay now; what was the hurry? She moseyed over to the phone and answered after the second ring. "Hello? Yes, it is...well, Jill's back!...I know!...okay...yeah, I'd like to see it anyway...okay, hold on, lemme see." She held her hand over the receiver. "Do you know if Carter has a fax in here anywhere?" she asked Susan. Susan shrugged. Abby got back on the phone. "No, I don't...okay, yeah...I can give you the address..."
Meanwhile, Jill had gone into the kitchen to get a snack. She returned with a bag of potato chips in time to see Abby hang up the phone. "Who was that?" Susan asked, digging her hand into the bag of chips. She hadn't had any breakfast, and she was hungry.
"It was the cops. They said they were going to fax me the news report about the kidnapping, but they're just going to e-mail it to me since Carter doesn't appear to have a fax. Imagine not having a fax in a fancy place like this!" Abby said cheerily, sitting down at the computer desk. She was almost giddy with relief. Jill and Riley were finally both safe, and she could rest easy. She couldn't wait to tell Carter the good news!
"News report? I haven't seen it," Susan said.
"Me neither." She turned on Carter's computer. "It should be here any minute now."
"Can me and Riley play on the computer?" Jill asked.
"In a minute. I have to check something first," Abby said.
"Is it here?" Susan asked, crowding the computer.
Abby raised her eyebrows. "You mind if I log on first?" she joked, typing in her password.
Susan smiled. The change in Abby was amazing. Jill had only been home for five minutes, and already she was cracking jokes. The kids being missing had really taken a toll on her. But now, it was like she was back to normal.
Dean Joseph Amos and Scott Amos arrested for kidnapping, was the subject of the first e-mail in her inbox. Wow, that was fast, she thought. She was about to click it when she noticed another message.
Abby frowned. "What's this?" she asked curiously. It was from an unfamiliar address, yet in the subject line, it said Abby. Out of curiosity, she opened the email.
As she read the email, all the color drained out of Abby's face. "What's wrong?" Susan asked, alarmed at the change in her face. Susan bent over and read over Abby's shoulder.
"Oh, my God," Susan breathed as she read the email. This couldn't be real.
Abby i think the Plane is about to crash we are going through Turbulence. I am soory that i was not able to rescue jill and i hope she will be okay. i am so sorry that things had to end like this i just wanted you to know that i love you and i never Meant to hurt you.please tell the Kids that i love them and im sorry i didnt get to spent more time with them.i want you and the kids to stay in the house i know it is not in my will but hopefully my parents will respect my wishes when they see this letter. goodbye and please take good care of the kids but i know you will. i love you.
John
For a moment, Abby didn't say anything. She read the email, then she read it again. Her mouth hung open in shock.
"This...this has to be some kind of sick joke," she said, her voice trembling. She scrolled up to the top of the email. "How would he be able to send this from a crashing plane anyway?"
Susan bit her lip. "Maybe if he used a messenger phone-"
"He didn't have a messenger phone!" Abby yelled, losing her cool. Just when it seemed like things were perfect, now...it looked like they weren't.
"Maybe it's a joke. Maybe it's from the guy who sent him on this wild goose chase," Susan suggested, trying to grab on to any strand of hope.
Abby nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it's probably from him." She grabbed the phone book. "We have to find out what flight Carter was on. Maybe he's in LA right now, and all this worrying is for nothing."
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"Carter? John Carter?" Abby shifted the phone to her other ear. "Yes, I'll hold."
"Mommy, Mommy, I wanna go to the park!" Jill said.
"Me too!" said Riley.
"Not now, guys. I have an important phone call to make."
"I can take them," Susan offered, but Jill shook her head.
"We want to stay here with Mommy," Jill declared, and Riley nodded in agreement. "We can play dolls, Mommy!" Jill suggested.
"Okay, but I'm making an important phone call right now, honey. Just let me finish this, then I'll play with you." An hour ago, she couldn't have imagined putting off playing with Jill for any reason. But now, Carter's safety took first priority.
"Yes, hello? Oh, you don't? Well, how about Abby Wyczenski? Yeah, that's W-Y-C-Z-E-N-S-K-I. Yes, I'll hold."
"Nothing for Carter?" Susan asked.
"No, but I just realized that maybe in was in my name and- oh, hello? Oh, you don't? Okay, thank you. Goodbye." Abby hung up the phone and crossed off a name from the list. "Fourteen to go." With a sigh, she picked up the phone and dialed again.
Susan sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes. She didn't open them until she heard Abby say, "You did?"
Eyes now open, she flew across the room and stood next to Abby, listening to her end of the conversation. "When was it?...did it...oh." Her voice dropped, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
That one word said it all. Before Abby even hung up the phone, Susan knew what had happened. "It crashed, didn't it?"
Wordlessly, Abby nodded her head. "They have search parties looking for it. They said it went off radar somewhere in Arizona." Abby bit her lip.
"I'm so sorry Abby," Susan said quietly.
"So I am." Abby was quiet for a moment. Then, in a voice so low Susan could barely hear it, she said, "What if he's...dead?"
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"I made him go."
"What?" Susan asked, confused.
"He didn't want to go, and the cops said that it was a hoax, but I...I told him he didn't care about Jill, that if she was really important to him he would take any chance to get her back." Abby looked down. "If I hadn't, he'd still be alive."
Susan walked over to Abby and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Abby. Besides, we don't even know if he's dead. He might be fine."
Abby shook her head. "He's not fine, Susan. People who get it plane crashes don't end up fine." She sighed. "I'm so worried, Susan. I just wish I knew if he was okay." Abby got a strange feeling of deja-vu. Hadn't she said that phrase before?
"How soon will they know?" Susan asked.
Abby shrugged. "I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything. They just said they would call me if they got any new information." She shook her head. "I'm gonna go check on the kids. Answer the phone if it rings, okay?" Susan nodded, and Abby headed upstairs.