AN: Sorry for not updating sooner. I did 3 or 4 rewrites before I was satisfied with it.I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Instant Star, but I wish I did. Enough said.
Chapter 15: So Close, But Yet So Far
As the detective predicted, Jude's kidnapper called a couple of days later. Mike had told us that they could do a trace on the phone, but to try and keep the kidnapper on for as long as possible, since it took a couple minutes to get a location. He suggested that Lisa answer the phone this time, because she had the best chance of all of us to get information on Jude's whereabouts. What we didn't know was that Nicole was in no mood to strike a deal with us.
"Hello?" Lisa asked timidly, as she glanced at the detectives, who already had their equipment set up.
"You're new. I've never heard you before," Nicole seemed disinterested.
"Yeah, it's…it's nice to finally hear from you," Lisa stammered. She couldn't figure out whether the woman had a high-pitched voice, a low-pitched voice, or an average-pitched voice, since the woman was barely speaking above a whisper.
"Save it. Get a million dollars, leave it in a suitcase by the docks by midnight tonight, and you'll have Jude back," Nicole commanded.
"Midnight tonight? I thought you said Friday. And anyways, don't you mean midnight tomorrow?" Lisa feigned surprise. She looked at the detective, who signaled that they would have a location in a minute.
Nicole laughed cruelly. "Ooh, a smart ass, aren't you? I know you've got the wire tapped. Bring it or else."
Lisa heard the sound of a click, then the dial tone. She looked over at the detective, hoping that she had kept the kidnapper on long enough to pinpoint the location.
The detective shook his head, and said sadly, "We would have had it in 40 seconds."
"But we did find out the kidnapper's a woman," Lisa said, hoping it was something to work with. "You can tell by her laugh."
"So either the kidnapper's a crazed fan, or someone out to get Jude." Kwest added. "Either way, that narrows it down to the entire Canadian population, minus us, G Major people, and the police."
"Hey," Tommy suddenly said. "We're in the music industry, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Lisa asked, wondering what he was getting at.
"Maybe there's a clue in the tape, something that we missed. A sound, an echo, anything."
"An echo? What would that have to do with anything?" Lisa asked. Kwest nodded in understanding.
"That would mean that the phone call took place somewhere with good acoustics. A vaulted ceiling, any music studio, you get the idea." Kwest explained.
The detective looked up from his seat. He had been replaying the tape to himself, while the three were talking. "Listen to this," he said. The tape played, and when it ended, Tommy spoke up. "Isn't that…"
"Yeah, it is. It's somewhere close to the docks." The detective smiled, knowing he had a good lead now.
"How can you tell?" Lisa said, rewinding and playing it over again.
"The surf. You can hear the faint sound of the surf crashing onto the rocks," Kwest's practiced ear missed nothing.
"Keep it up, man, and you'll be a great producer someday. Almost as good as I am," Tommy joked, trying to ease the tension.
"Whatever, man," Kwest ignored Tommy's comment, and knew he was already every bit as good as Tommy was.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Lisa said anxiously. She wanted to find Jude before anything bad happened to her. The two of them had become friends when Tommy and Jude had their arguments, and Jude stayed out in the lobby while Tommy locked himself in the studio to work.
"I just have to get a warrant to search these places, then we can go," the detective said.
They went to get the warrant, then the detective called in backup, just in case it was a trap.
They drove down in unmarked cars, so that they wouldn't be easily found out. They stopped by every possible building, so that they could check the phone lines. None of them appeared to have their number blocked, which, according to the detective, was a sure sign that they could be ruled out as possible sources of the call earlier that night.
"What about over there?" Tommy said, pointing to the abandoned warehouse that lay in the distance.
"Hmm, that's a possibility," remarked the detective. He motioned for the three to follow him, just in case the kidnapper pulled a gun or knife on them.
They entered the warehouse as quietly as they could, and stayed as close together as possible. The detective led the way, and Kwest was bringing up the rear, since he wanted to protect Lisa if they were attacked from behind.
Tommy saw that the warehouse was huge. It had corridors leading in many different directions, and any one of them might lead them closer to Jude, if she was even inside the building.
The detective whispered to them, "Whatever you do, don't split up. The kidnapper wants us to do that, so it'll be easier to pick us off. But if we stay together, it'll be harder to take on all 8 of us at once. As we cops always say, 'There's strength in numbers.'"
There were 5 detectives in all, plus Lisa, Kwest, and Tommy. So they huddled together and tried not to make too much sound.
The 8 of them walked slowly toward the corridor to the left, which seemed as good a place as any to start.
"Wait," Kwest said, stopping in his tracks. "We should leave a trail, you know. So we don't get lost and can find our way back out."
"Great idea," one of the detectives said. "Ever think about joining the force?"
"If we ever get out of here alive, I'll give you a call," Kwest said. "This place gives me the creeps."
And Kwest had every right to be afraid. There was no light in the darkened room, so they had no idea where they were going, or whether they were any closer to finding Jude.
Kwest looked at the group. "Anyone have anything we could use?"
They all looked at each other, and shook their heads. Then Lisa said, "Could we use Tommy's licorice?"
"What licorice?" Tommy feigned innocence.
"The ones you always eat," Kwest said, shuddering at the memory of using the soundboard after Tommy. It was always sticky, although Tommy swore he made sure to wipe it off.
A long look from Kwest made Tommy give in. "Fine, but you owe me. For every piece you use up, I expect to get a piece in return."
"Fine, licorice man," Kwest teased. Tommy was silent, but everyone could tell how angry he was getting over losing his licorice.
The 8 of them continued walking down the darkened corridors, and every creak they heard made them stop. Lisa was gripping Kwest's hand so hard, he was losing feeling fast. But Kwest was just as scared, and he didn't mind having someone's hand to hold. Especially not Lisa's.
Tommy tried to act brave, but he was secretly as afraid as Kwest was. Although, he reminded himself, if he showed any fear, they'd never let him live it down. And that was enough to make him act brave.
Once they reached the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a similar position. The hallway branched out into several other corridors, and they felt as if they were in a maze.
"Which way?" Lisa whispered.
"I don't know. Let's try this way," suggested Kwest, pulling her toward the second corridor on the right. Tommy sighed as they pulled off another piece of his licorice and put it on the floor.
What they didn't know was that they were being watched. Nicole had set up a surveillance room, so that she could keep track of who came in and who didn't. Even though most people stayed away from the building, she had set up hidden cameras all over the place, just in case the occasional traveler happened to get too close, and discovered her secret.
She slipped out of the room, and back down to the room where she had Jude tied up.
"Miss me?" Nicole said, walking over, grabbing Jude by her hair, and pulling her up, so Jude could look into her eyes.
"What do you want?" Jude cried desperately.
"Let's see, what do I want?" Nicole tapped her chin thoughtfully, then said, "What I want is for everyone to know that I should be the Instant Star, not you. That I should be with Tommy, not you. And the only way for me to do that is to make sure that no one sees you alive again."
"You'll pay for this," Jude warned, although her voice had been weakened by her cries for help.
"Not if they can't find you," Nicole laughed cruelly. She bent down and punched Jude in the face. Jude moaned in pain. Nicole scowled. "Now shut up, you're making too much noise." She beat Jude up until Jude fell unconscious. "That's better," Nicole said, making sure to tighten the rope binding Jude's wrists and legs together. "Sweet dreams, Jude." She chuckled lightly to herself before walking out to check up on the group.
When Nicole got back to her seat, she saw that they were a few corridors away from where Jude was. "We can't have that, now, can we?" She grabbed the letters she had prepared in advance, and grabbed all of her stuff. "Now, we disappear."
Nicole snuck back in quickly and dragged Jude out, making sure to leave everything else as she found it. "No sign of a break in, everything looking as it should be in an abandoned warehouse, perfect!" She muttered under her breath. She smiled as she walked out the door. But she failed to see that the rope that had bound Jude's legs together had slipped off when Jude was being strung along. It was lying next to a makeshift post, where Jude had been tied up all this time.
Nicole dragged Jude away from the group, and took a shortcut to increase the distance between them. Once outside, she slipped on some gloves and pulled her into a nearby hotel.
The concierge gasped as he saw the extent of Jude's bruises. "What happened?" He asked Nicole.
"Our dad…he was drunk, and took it out on her. I managed to get her away before he could hurt her anymore. Please, please don't tell anyone we're here." Nicole looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Of course. Just stay here as long as you need to. If there's anything you need..." The concierge asked kindly. "She looks like she needs a hospital."
"No!" Nicole exclaimed. The concierge looked at her quizzically. "I mean, no, I can't afford a hospital. I just need a place to stay until she gets better. Could I work here, so that we can both stay? I don't have much money, but whatever the difference is, I'll pay it off by working. I'll do anything, even clean toilets." She wrinkled her nose at the thought, and the concierge was touched by her earnestness.
"Tell you what, you've got yourself a deal. Only I want you to work in our back office, in case someone comes by and notices you. How does that sound?" The concierge smiled as Nicole said, "Thank you, sir!"
The concierge motioned the receptionist over. "John, can you help these young women find a room?" John nodded as the concierge returned to his station.
"Miss, I just need your name and your sister's name." John blushed as he looked at Nicole.
"Of course," Nicole said, scribbling down the name Nancy Cooper. For Jude, she wrote down Jessica.
The receptionist took the registration from her, and punched in a few keys on the keyboard. "Would you like a room on the first floor, or second?"
"Second," Nicole replied. "Do you have any rooms close to an elevator?" She asked this, since it looked like Jude would need it, considering the shape she was in. But the real reason she asked was that she could use the elevator to get down fast, in case she saw them coming.
"Yes, would you like room 217? It has a balcony." John offered.
"Perfect! Thank you!" Nicole said, making sure her smile was genuine.
After John had entered their information, he motioned for Gary, the bellhop, to take their belongings upstairs. He also asked him to carry Jude upstairs, since she was still out cold.
Once Gary had carried Jude upstairs, he went back down to get their things.
"Thank you, Gary," Nicole said politely.
"You're welcome, miss," Gary said.
"Please, call me Nancy," Nicole pressed.
"All right, Nancy. If you need anything, just let me know."
Nicole waved as he went downstairs, then dropped her act as soon as she walked inside and closed the door.
"OK, punk princess, I've got you right where I want you." She pushed Jude onto the ground, then got into the bed that Gary had laid Jude down on.
AN: What will Nicole do next? Review if you want to find out!