"Call the police," Mr. Hardy ordered his wife, rushing out of the room and taking Dr. Bates with him as Frank followed. "Alert every floor to be on the lookout for Joe and the orderly," he instructed the doctor. Turning to Frank he waited for a description of the orderly.
"Brown hair, hazel eyes, early forties, six foot one," Frank dictated the description. "I'm going to the employee's garage," Frank told his dad and took off. If Joe had been kidnapped, he knew the easiest way to get Joe out of the building would be via the personnel exit.
He raced down the steps, not waiting for the elevator, and through the emergency room doors. He was lucky; a nurse had just opened the door to admit someone and Frank rushed past her. She shouted for someone to contact security as Frank hit the doors on the other side and burst into the employee garage. Nothing! He slowed his pace and looked around the area, seeking any sign of movement.
Less than two minutes later, two orderlies came out of the building heading his way. Not waiting for them to jump him, he turned to the first one and asked, "Did you see an orderly with brown hair pushing a guy with blond hair in a wheelchair come this way a few minutes ago?"
"No," the orderly replied. "Why are you looking for him?"
"My brother was just kidnapped from room 319," Frank answered, his face a scowl. "Look, he had hazel eyes, was the same height as me and had brown hair. Have you seen him at all today?"
"Sorry," the orderly said, shaking his head. "I just got on duty thirty minutes ago. Ken, have you seen this guy?"
"Did he have a gold tooth?" Ken asked, looking at Frank.
"I don't know," Frank replied.
"Well, if it was him, I can tell you what kind of car he drives but that's about it," Ken told him.
"What kind of car is it?" Frank asked. "And do you see it here?"
"It's a dark brown, four door Monte Carlo," Ken informed him. "And no, I don't see it now."
"It was here when I came on duty," the other orderly replied. "It's got a yellow leaf in the window. One of those scent things."
Frank thanked the two men for their help and returned to the third floor where his dad was waiting with his mother for Chief Collig to arrive.
"Any luck?" Mr. Hardy asked when Frank walked in the room.
"Maybe," Frank replied. He related what the two orderlies had told him. "Can you get a list of the people who work here?" Frank asked.
"Dr. Bates is getting it for us now," Mr. Hardy informed his son.
"Mom, are you alright?" Frank asked his mother, sitting down on the bed beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"No, I'm not," she told him, sniffing. "Joe has been through so much and now, they have him again," she broke off, unable to continue as sobs took over.
Frank's face paled as he looked up at his father. "What does she mean, 'they have him again'?"
"One of the men in the cult, a Cameron Avery, wasn't in the round up," Mr. Hardy admitted.
"Apparently, he had a disagreement with Douglas and left the day before...before..." he couldn't bring himself to say the day before Joe was to be sacrificed.
"But if he left the cult?" Frank quiered, confused as to why his father was so upset. Surely, if the man had left the cult, this was a good thing?
"According to Steve Vaugn, the red headed man who was next in line after Douglas, Avery was the man at the hardware store. He was the one who took the photographs of Joe," Mr. Hardy informed Frank.
"But he quit," Frank persisted.
"He quit because he had a disagreement with Douglas," Mr. Hardy told him. "Avery became obsessive about Joe. He took more pictures than he needed too. He started following Joe everywhere."
"If that were the case, then why didn't Joe know he was being followed?" Frank demanded.
"Avery was in the military. Special forces," Mr. Hardy told him as Dr. Bates entered the room with a computer print-out.
Mr. Hardy took the print-out and laid it out for Frank and himself to look over. "One thing I learned from listening in on the interrogations is that these people steal other people's identities long enough to get what they need before moving on," Mr. Hardy stated.
"So, we're looking for someone who just started working here after Joe was brought in," Frank said.
"But if he were here just to kidnap Joe, he may not have worked here at all," Dr. Bates put in. "He could have stolen an orderly's uniform."
"That's possible," Mr. Hardy agreed, not looking up from the print-out. "But he would need to know the quickest way out of the building and be able to do so with Joe. I'm guessing he would need some sort of authorization to do that."
"Authorization he could only get if he worked here," Frank concurred. "Found it!" Frank shouted seconds later. "Paul Dempsey. Hired three days ago," he added, looking over at his dad.
"Paul Dempsey?" questioned tall and graying Chief Collig, coming into the room followed by brown-headed, brown-eyed Sergeant Con Riley. Mr. Hardy brought the two officers up to speed on Joe's abduction.
"Question everyone about Dempsey," Collig issued the order to Riley who left the room at once to inform the other two officers who had remained in the hall on their arival. "Does that have Dempsey's address?" Collig asked Frank.
"1414 Paraguay Drive," Frank read it off. "It probably doesn't exist," he added and told them about Avery's previous alias and address.
"We'll try it anyway," Collig said. "Now, tell me everything you remember about the orderly," he told Frank.
Joe was wheeled out of his room and down the hallway to the elevator. Inside, the orderly pushed the button taking them down. Joe sat quietly, not really paying attention. Most people hated being in the hospital, but after the past few weeks, even the antiseptic smell was a welcome relief. Joe glanced at the top of the elevator where the floor number was lit. They should have arrived by now.
Something was wrong, he decided. The elevator had not stopped on the main level. Instead, it was taking them down to the garage. He attempted to rise from his wheelchair but was too weak. He fell backwards. "Relax, Joe," the orderly told him, grinning down at him as he looked up. Joe saw the man's gold tooth and fear gripped him.
Joe reached for the elevator button but the man was too fast. He grabbed Joe's hand and laid it back down on his lap. "Uh-uh," he said, shaking his head. "Be a good boy and this will all be over with before you know it."
Joe started to struggle but the man reached into his white jacket and extracted a syringe. He jabbed the needle into Joe's bare arm. Within seconds, Joe was asleep.
Avery wheeled Joe out to his car. He laid Joe in the back seat and tossed the wheelchair in the trunk. He doubted he would need it, but 'just in case,' he thought. He then got behind the wheel and took off. He realized he was going to have to get rid of his car. The Hardys were going to be on the look out for it in no time. Time to hit the garage, he decided.
He had obtained the Monte Carlo from a garage in Southport only months before. It was amazing, but a lot of cars were towed whose owners just didn't want them anymore. Once the car had been at the garage for ninety days, an injunction could be placed on the car and the garage owner would become the new owner. But this usually involved a lot of red tape. Avery had found that if the price was right, the mechanic would forgo the required paperwork and simply, "lose" the automobile. The car would be untraceable. At least to me, Avery grinned at the thought.
Avery reached the Bayport city limits and kept going. No, the Hardys would never find their son this time, he assured himself. Unlike those moronic cult members, he was a professional. He knew exactly what he could and couldn't do without getting caught. Hadn't he just taken Joe Hardy from under his dear brother's nose?
If Douglas had agreed to his plan, Joe Hardy would have been sacrificed on schedule. But no. Now he would have to be primed all over again. The proper way to prime him this time. Joe Hardy must be desecrated, Avery repeated the words in his brain. The same words he had used to argue with Douglas.
"Brown hair, hazel eyes, early forties, six foot one," Frank dictated the description. "I'm going to the employee's garage," Frank told his dad and took off. If Joe had been kidnapped, he knew the easiest way to get Joe out of the building would be via the personnel exit.
He raced down the steps, not waiting for the elevator, and through the emergency room doors. He was lucky; a nurse had just opened the door to admit someone and Frank rushed past her. She shouted for someone to contact security as Frank hit the doors on the other side and burst into the employee garage. Nothing! He slowed his pace and looked around the area, seeking any sign of movement.
Less than two minutes later, two orderlies came out of the building heading his way. Not waiting for them to jump him, he turned to the first one and asked, "Did you see an orderly with brown hair pushing a guy with blond hair in a wheelchair come this way a few minutes ago?"
"No," the orderly replied. "Why are you looking for him?"
"My brother was just kidnapped from room 319," Frank answered, his face a scowl. "Look, he had hazel eyes, was the same height as me and had brown hair. Have you seen him at all today?"
"Sorry," the orderly said, shaking his head. "I just got on duty thirty minutes ago. Ken, have you seen this guy?"
"Did he have a gold tooth?" Ken asked, looking at Frank.
"I don't know," Frank replied.
"Well, if it was him, I can tell you what kind of car he drives but that's about it," Ken told him.
"What kind of car is it?" Frank asked. "And do you see it here?"
"It's a dark brown, four door Monte Carlo," Ken informed him. "And no, I don't see it now."
"It was here when I came on duty," the other orderly replied. "It's got a yellow leaf in the window. One of those scent things."
Frank thanked the two men for their help and returned to the third floor where his dad was waiting with his mother for Chief Collig to arrive.
"Any luck?" Mr. Hardy asked when Frank walked in the room.
"Maybe," Frank replied. He related what the two orderlies had told him. "Can you get a list of the people who work here?" Frank asked.
"Dr. Bates is getting it for us now," Mr. Hardy informed his son.
"Mom, are you alright?" Frank asked his mother, sitting down on the bed beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"No, I'm not," she told him, sniffing. "Joe has been through so much and now, they have him again," she broke off, unable to continue as sobs took over.
Frank's face paled as he looked up at his father. "What does she mean, 'they have him again'?"
"One of the men in the cult, a Cameron Avery, wasn't in the round up," Mr. Hardy admitted.
"Apparently, he had a disagreement with Douglas and left the day before...before..." he couldn't bring himself to say the day before Joe was to be sacrificed.
"But if he left the cult?" Frank quiered, confused as to why his father was so upset. Surely, if the man had left the cult, this was a good thing?
"According to Steve Vaugn, the red headed man who was next in line after Douglas, Avery was the man at the hardware store. He was the one who took the photographs of Joe," Mr. Hardy informed Frank.
"But he quit," Frank persisted.
"He quit because he had a disagreement with Douglas," Mr. Hardy told him. "Avery became obsessive about Joe. He took more pictures than he needed too. He started following Joe everywhere."
"If that were the case, then why didn't Joe know he was being followed?" Frank demanded.
"Avery was in the military. Special forces," Mr. Hardy told him as Dr. Bates entered the room with a computer print-out.
Mr. Hardy took the print-out and laid it out for Frank and himself to look over. "One thing I learned from listening in on the interrogations is that these people steal other people's identities long enough to get what they need before moving on," Mr. Hardy stated.
"So, we're looking for someone who just started working here after Joe was brought in," Frank said.
"But if he were here just to kidnap Joe, he may not have worked here at all," Dr. Bates put in. "He could have stolen an orderly's uniform."
"That's possible," Mr. Hardy agreed, not looking up from the print-out. "But he would need to know the quickest way out of the building and be able to do so with Joe. I'm guessing he would need some sort of authorization to do that."
"Authorization he could only get if he worked here," Frank concurred. "Found it!" Frank shouted seconds later. "Paul Dempsey. Hired three days ago," he added, looking over at his dad.
"Paul Dempsey?" questioned tall and graying Chief Collig, coming into the room followed by brown-headed, brown-eyed Sergeant Con Riley. Mr. Hardy brought the two officers up to speed on Joe's abduction.
"Question everyone about Dempsey," Collig issued the order to Riley who left the room at once to inform the other two officers who had remained in the hall on their arival. "Does that have Dempsey's address?" Collig asked Frank.
"1414 Paraguay Drive," Frank read it off. "It probably doesn't exist," he added and told them about Avery's previous alias and address.
"We'll try it anyway," Collig said. "Now, tell me everything you remember about the orderly," he told Frank.
Joe was wheeled out of his room and down the hallway to the elevator. Inside, the orderly pushed the button taking them down. Joe sat quietly, not really paying attention. Most people hated being in the hospital, but after the past few weeks, even the antiseptic smell was a welcome relief. Joe glanced at the top of the elevator where the floor number was lit. They should have arrived by now.
Something was wrong, he decided. The elevator had not stopped on the main level. Instead, it was taking them down to the garage. He attempted to rise from his wheelchair but was too weak. He fell backwards. "Relax, Joe," the orderly told him, grinning down at him as he looked up. Joe saw the man's gold tooth and fear gripped him.
Joe reached for the elevator button but the man was too fast. He grabbed Joe's hand and laid it back down on his lap. "Uh-uh," he said, shaking his head. "Be a good boy and this will all be over with before you know it."
Joe started to struggle but the man reached into his white jacket and extracted a syringe. He jabbed the needle into Joe's bare arm. Within seconds, Joe was asleep.
Avery wheeled Joe out to his car. He laid Joe in the back seat and tossed the wheelchair in the trunk. He doubted he would need it, but 'just in case,' he thought. He then got behind the wheel and took off. He realized he was going to have to get rid of his car. The Hardys were going to be on the look out for it in no time. Time to hit the garage, he decided.
He had obtained the Monte Carlo from a garage in Southport only months before. It was amazing, but a lot of cars were towed whose owners just didn't want them anymore. Once the car had been at the garage for ninety days, an injunction could be placed on the car and the garage owner would become the new owner. But this usually involved a lot of red tape. Avery had found that if the price was right, the mechanic would forgo the required paperwork and simply, "lose" the automobile. The car would be untraceable. At least to me, Avery grinned at the thought.
Avery reached the Bayport city limits and kept going. No, the Hardys would never find their son this time, he assured himself. Unlike those moronic cult members, he was a professional. He knew exactly what he could and couldn't do without getting caught. Hadn't he just taken Joe Hardy from under his dear brother's nose?
If Douglas had agreed to his plan, Joe Hardy would have been sacrificed on schedule. But no. Now he would have to be primed all over again. The proper way to prime him this time. Joe Hardy must be desecrated, Avery repeated the words in his brain. The same words he had used to argue with Douglas.
