14

The property wasn't far from the McKenna homestead. Geoff maneuvered the station wagon through twisty back roads, checking his rear-view mirror and watching the first few flakes descend along crazy paths, melting when they touched the ground. He saw the dirt turn-off nearly obscured by overgrown underbrush, oaks and pines. The stink struck a moment later and he questioned the idea of opening a practice that handled livestock. Perhaps he should focus on house pets.

A light shone from a fixture near the peak of the barn roof, and he was startled to see an armed figure step toward him from the side of the structure and braked hard.

The man gestured for him to exit the vehicle. His heart thudded wildly; this wasn't how it was supposed to go. Wherever they'd holed up with Nadean, it had been a lot closer than he'd imagined. He had assumed he would make it to the farm first.

The stranger wore blue jeans, a leather jacket, and a ski mask. "Where is it?"

"Where's my sister?" He inwardly cringed at the quaver he heard in his voice.

The guy waved the gun threateningly and Geoff stood uncertainly with his palms raised to either side of his head. The man approached to jab the muzzle of the weapon against his spine and frisk him. A number of the residents of Kingston hunted or kept firearms on their farms, so he was familiar with quite a few models. From what he'd glimpsed, the thing threatening to gut or paralyze him was high-tech military, and not something he immediately recognized.

"Where is it?"

"Passenger seat," he said, struggling to keep his tone even and calm.

He heard a chuckle. "You gift-wrapped it?"

"The lid comes right up."

He heard a crinkle of paper, then, "Ugh! Thing stinks!"

"I tried to save it."

The box was thrust into his hands. He tried to work the lid back into place, and then wondered why he bothered. It wasn't actually a gift.

"Walk," the guy said.

"Don't you want it?"

"I ain't got your sister. You said back of the property, so walk."

"Okay," he said, nervously wondering if he should walk quickly or if a burst of speed would make the guy suspicious.

The dirt road was hardened and crisscrossed with tire tracks. It wasn't far to the edge of the forest, but every breath and beat of his heart seemed to make the journey nearly exhausting. All he could hear was the crunching of his feet as he traveled. As he cleared the near corner of the pasture that abutted the barn, he realized with a sinking feeling that the pigs had already been put inside for the night, probably in anticipation of snowfall and colder temperatures. He had hoped to find a moment to fling the little corpse to them, knowing they'd make it disappear before anyone could easily identify it.

Each footstep seemed uncannily loud as he trudged over brittle, deeply tire-rutted earth in a section that held water in the spring and summer months whenever it rained. He was halfway to the forest when he finally noticed an unfamiliar vehicle. His chest hurt and he fought to keep his mind clear as fear began to infuse the entire situation with a sickening dreaminess.

He slowed as he approached the turn that would bring him in direct sight of the sedan. His feet felt like they were made of lead. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. He felt ridiculous about how brave he had sounded earlier on the phone, trying to call the shots.

The woods were quiet. Poachers sometimes went back there to hunt off season, kids on bikes rode back there to play with firecrackers and fish in the pond at the very edge of the property, and now and then a local girl lost her virginity beneath the scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces of oak and maple leaves of the forest canopy. Geoff traveled another twenty feet toward the vehicle before halting at the sound of a heavy door swinging open. Another guy in a ski mask emerged, pulling a figure roughly after him.

"How nice. A present. For me?" He had yanked his captive to her feet and positioned her before him. Geoff recognized the jeans and sneakers. "Set it on the ground and back away."

He bent slowly. "How do I-"

"We ain't babysitters," the guy snarled. "Open it so I can see. Back away from it."

It was a sweater box. The lid was attached and opened by folding the top back along a crease in the cardboard. He had wrapped it so it could be opened easily without disturbing the decorative paper. Geoff eased the top back and felt his heart race. The job he'd been almost proud of at home in the kitchen seemed laughable now. The guy would see what he'd tried to do and shoot Nadean, then Geoff. He backed away hesitantly, feeling queasy.

Nadean wore a ski mask backward with silvery grey duct tape covering her eyes to ensure she was utterly blind. For every step the guy took toward him with his gun aimed Geoff's way, Geoff took another step back. Finally he stopped by the box and turned the gun on the girl. Looking down, he cocked his head a few times. Geoff figured if the guy shot his sister, he'd try to flee into the woods. He did not expect to get through this alive.

"Stinks," the guy announced.

"It was frozen. Been thawing."

"How'd it die?"

"Kidney stones."

"How'd you know?"

Nadean must not have talked much. "I'm a veterinary student."

"You cut it up."

He nodded, swallowing.

"Stay put. Guide her to you using your voice."

Brief hope surged within him, but he quickly suppressed it. They remained in danger until they had successfully escaped.

The guy toed the corner of the box as though to reposition it in the dull grey light. "All the parts still there?"

"Yes!" Geoff called a little too excitedly. "I didn't remove anything. Just a…an autopsy." To his sister he said, "Keep moving forward, Nadean. You're almost here. Little steps. Don't trip over the tire ruts."

She was close enough that Geoff could tell she was crying. He wished he was armed. After a few more shuffling steps he grabbed her and pulled her to him, holding her tightly, repositioning himself so that he was the easiest target. The guy stooped slowly to flop the lid down over the box and pick it up. Geoff tried to pull the ski mask off Nadean's head, but the duct tape was wound around it too tightly.

"My hands," she said, trying to turn so he would see that her wrists had been secured with tape also.

"I don't have a knife or anything."

He turned her to guide her back toward the station wagon. The black sedan started up and the guy bore down on them. Geoff spun his sister to the side, and they fell while the car veered around them. He was startled by the sound of an engine starting nearby, and then an AMC Javelin burst from the woods in pursuit of the masked kidnapper. The sedan driver noticed the police markings and floored it around the turn, and a second vehicle emerged from the far corner of the property onto the dirt road behind it. The car slid to a stop, hemmed in when more police vehicles appeared in front of him, blocking his access to the road. He flung the door wide and bolted for an old storage building. A shot was fired and he struck dirt.

Nadean clung to her brother, terrified by the commotion. "What is it? What's happening?"

"The cavalry," he sighed, patting her arm reassuringly. "It's okay. They got 'em."