Chapter Eleven: Abduction Most Foul

"Daryl! We're going to be late, and somehow I don't think that yacht is going to wait for us."

He hung his head out of the shower and cursed when shampoo dripped into his eyes. "What?! Carol, I cain't hear y' over the water. Five minutes!"

Daryl stuck his head back under the spray and quickly rinsed his hair before rubbing at his stinging eyes. It was his fault they'd been late returning to the bed and breakfast. He'd been so wrapped up in Carol; he couldn't have cared less about their plans for the evening. At the time, it hadn't been all that important to her either. But once she'd caught a glance at the clock on the bedside table, she'd nearly stroked out. It was too crucial to Michonne for Carol to just blow it off.

Turning off the tap, he hurriedly dried off and ran the towel briskly over his sodden hair. They could have showered together to save time, but his girl hadn't trusted herself not to get handsy – which would have set them back even more. He slipped into the boxer briefs Carol had left out for him next to the sink and ran a brush through his damp hair as the bathroom door was thrown open, nearly knocking him down.

Carol didn't look apologetic in the least, her hair still a wild mess of curls around her shoulders. "I laid out your clothes on the bed. I think I got most of the wrinkles out." She leaned up to kiss his cheek before she shoved him out of the bathroom, so she could get to the mirror.

Daryl shook his head, making a mental note to be more punctual. She was a whirling dervish when she was pressed for time. He could hear her muttering as she fought with her hair. "Would y' jus' calm down," he said, noting they still had thirty minutes to get to the marina. "We ain't gonna miss th' boat. We'll take th' bike an' get there in plenty of time."

She peeked out of the bathroom, some of the tension easing from her shoulders as she watched him pull on his jeans. "Really? You do know I'm wearing a skirt tonight, right?"

He let his gaze wander over the black pencil skirt - which she'd paired with a red peasant blouse with gold trim – and along her shapely legs. Fingers twitching at his sides, he fought the urge to reach for her. "Jus' get ready, woman. I'll get y' there."

Ten minutes later, she was dressed, coiffed and ready to leave, except for the necklace she held out to him, needing assistance. His brows drew together as he stared at the delicate chain. "Where … where'd y' get this locket?"

Carol glanced back over her shoulder to see his gaze transfixed on the little pendant. "Merle gave it to me a few days ago when I was packing for the trip. He said it belonged to your mother," she said gently, turning around as she peered up at him. "I don't have to wear it if you would rather I not. I don't even know why he'd want me to have it. He was rather insistent, actually."

Daryl slid his thumbnail along the seam, but it refused to open. He knew all too well what resided inside. "It won't open," he mumbled, trying again.

"I tried to open it when he first gave it to me, but it wouldn't budge. I was thinking of bringing it to the jewelers when we got back."

He shrugged it off, lifting it to clasp around her ivory throat. "Don't matter. It's jus' a picture of Mama an' th' ol' man." He didn't care if he ever set eyes on Jackson Dixon's likeness again, but he wouldn't mind seeing his mother. He'd have to ask Merle why he'd been so insistent in his desire to give it to Carol.

Daryl checked his messages as Carol dropped their room key into her purse and headed out the door, following behind her. He had one from Rick, wondering if they were still coming to the marina, and he quickly sent back a confirmation. There was no news about Ed or the measures they were taking to ensure he stayed away from Carol. Maybe they'd be able to enjoy the cruise after all.

He tucked his phone away in his back pocket and wrapped an arm around her waist as they headed for the stairs. Carol smiled up at him, though it didn't match the worry in her eyes. "Have you heard from Merle? Is he going to meet us at the marina?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head. "I tried callin' him when y' was in th' shower, but he ain't pickin' up. There's no tellin' where th' hell he might be. Or it could be he's somewhere that he don't want th' ringer t' alert anyone nearby. He'll call when he can. Knowin' him, he's playin' detective or some shit."

The sun was low in the sky, still about an hour away from setting, and the evening air was balmy. It was pleasant for mid-May in Georgia, Carol thought as they stepped outside and made their way to the small parking area where Daryl had parked the bike upon their arrival. He'd backed it into a spot near the front, only a set of manicured hedges separating the pavement from the building.

Daryl wasted no time pulling their helmets from the saddlebags as she bent down to adjust the strap on her sandal. And that small distraction was enough to send her world careening off its axis into an abyss of terror. "Daryl!" she screamed, trying to warn him.

The helmet fell from his hand as he sensed her distress, his eyes widening as she pointed behind him. He had no time to defend himself as Ed stepped out of the shadows, his form melding from shapeless silhouette into the monster which haunted her nightmares, and brought the butt of his pistol up to slam into the side of Daryl's head. Her lover hit the pavement with a thud, the rough asphalt scraping his cheek as he landed, blood trickling from his hairline as the blackness of unconsciousness claimed him.

*.*.*

Rick paced the dock, checking his watch once again as the final boarding call sounded over the yacht's loudspeaker. Michonne stood nearby, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared towards the road which led to the bed and breakfast. He knew she was worried, hell; so was he. Daryl and Carol should have been there long before final boarding.

"Babe, you need to get on board," he said gently, moving to her side and curling his arm around her waist. "This is your show. You've worked too hard to throw it all away."

She shook her head. "I don't give a damn about my assignment right now. Something's happened, Rick. I know it."

"Shane would have called if Ed had tried anything," he argued. His partner had been staked outside of Ed's room for most of the afternoon, and Merle had been watching the window from the grounds below. There was no way the man could have gotten past them.

"Call him, at least. Carol promised she and Daryl would be here."

He couldn't stand to see the fear in her eyes. "Go on, get aboard. I'll only be a minute."

Reluctantly, she moved up the gangplank and pasted a false smile upon her lips, greeting her classmates and professor as the crew prepared to cast off. But before he could pull the phone from his pocket, it rang. Finally, the man he'd been so anxious to speak with was calling. "Grimes," he answered.

"Deputy Grimes, this is Detective –"

Rick swiped a hand over his face, exasperated. "I know who you are Nellis. Do you have any new information for me which wasn't covered in the background check on Peletier?"

"Yes, sir. I did some digging in Griffin, but it was pretty much the same as what was in the report. No one really wanted to say anything about the Peletiers."

"Damnit!" Rick cursed. He looked up to see Michonne at the rail as the yacht was released from its mooring lines. He covered the phone with his hand and yelled up to her. "I'll get a boat out to meet you!"

She waved sadly and returned to her guests.

"Tell me you discovered something shady. That check was too clean considering what he's doing to Carol Mason," he grumbled, resuming his earlier pacing.

"I did, sir. Michael Peletier was on the town council before his death last year. Apparently, he wasn't well liked. He was more feared, and he had a lot of pull in Griffin. It would've been easy for him to make sure none of Ed's alleged crimes appeared on public record."

"This is not helping, Nellis."

"There's more, sir. I found one article in the newspaper archives about the missing girl. Her sister was very outspoken in her belief that Ed was responsible," Nellis said.

Finally! Now we're getting somewhere, Rick thought as he watched the yacht drift further away from the dock. "Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah, after I finally tracked her down – which wasn't easy. It seems she caused quite the scandal in Griffin. Everyone is convinced she lost her mind after her sister's disappearance. In her grief, she began harassing the police, making claims against Ed, swearing he'd killed Margaret. With no family, she was easy prey for the town council. They had her committed to Shadybrooke Asylum over in Decatur."

Rick cursed under his breath. "So, another dead end?"

"No, sir. I went through the proper channels and got Judge Stewart to sign off on a warrant so I could speak to her. You owe him a favor, by the way," Nellis said, unable to hide the nervous warble in his voice.

"Naturally," Rick snarked. "What'd you find out when you spoke to her?"

"That she's just as sane as you and me. Marie Littleton told me Ed's 'relationship' with her sister Margaret was a lie. He wanted her, swore he loved her, stalked and harassed her, and all the while the people of Griffin believed they were together. Peletier fabricated it all. Margaret had even gone so far as to try to file a restraining order against him with the police department and they laughed her off."

"Jesus!"

"Marie had a lot to say after being wrongfully held in that asylum for the past three years – for which she blamed Ed's father. The night Margaret disappeared, she really was going to leave town. She wanted to get as far away from Ed as possible. Marie didn't want her to leave, so she followed. Marie watched Peletier murder her sister and toss her in the well on Michael's farm. Our police commissioner called in the feds, and they've brought in Internal Affairs to do a full investigation into police corruption in Griffin as well. Special Agent Phelps is hoping his CSI team will find something to put Ed Peletier away for good."

Rick paled as he headed towards the shuttle to take him back to the bed and breakfast. Not only was Ed Peletier a stalker, but also a murderer. And Carol and Daryl hadn't shown up for the cruise. It was possible the two had decided to stay in for the night, but she would have called to let Michonne know. His gut twisted as he took a seat and told the driver to step on it.

"Good work, Nellis. Keep me informed of the investigation. I mean even the most inconsequential details. Lives are at stake here!" he hissed into the phone.

"Sir, there's something else … Carol Mason is a dead ringer for Margaret Littleton."

"Fuck!" he cursed before he hung up.

He called Shane next.

"Hey, brother, how's the party?" his partner asked, trying to sound cheerful. He hated the boredom of watch detail.

"Where's Ed? He still in his room?" Rick asked, his panic mounting.

"He hasn't even come out to visit the bathroom down the hall."

"What about Daryl and Carol?"

"Shouldn't they be on the yacht with you? They left out of here about thirty minutes ago," Shane said, a dark frown creasing his brow as he fixed his eyes on the door of Ed's room.

"They never showed. Something's up. I'm on my way back to the B & B." He held on tightly as the driver took a curve a bit too sharply. "I'm going to call in to the mainland and get some units down here. Give Merle a heads up. Something tells me we're going to need him."

*.*.*

Shane did try the knob to Ed's room before he kicked the door down. He stepped in cautiously, gun drawn. The room looked untouched, the bed not so much as rumpled. Even the room key was sitting innocuously there on the nightstand. He did a further search to find no bags, clothes, toiletries or souvenirs. It was almost as though he hadn't occupied the room at all. Wasting no more time, he went to the french doors leading to the balcony which spread across the second floor of the bed and breakfast, leaning over the railing to whistle for Merle.

"Dixon!" he called when the man didn't show himself immediately. Finally, Merle stepped from the shadows. "He ain't here, and Daryl and Carol are missing!" Merle's features turned steely, and Shane was only too happy he wasn't the cause of the change.

Merle made a circular motion with his hand, indicating he'd make a sweep of the immediate grounds. The officer didn't see his eye-roll due to Shane's loud mouth. If Ed were still in the area, the man would know they'd been tipped off. The eldest Dixon gave new meaning to the term 'armed and dangerous'. He gripped the 9mm tightly in his hand as he pressed himself into the shadows next to the building and began a three sixty search. If his brother were still on the grounds, he'd find him.

The light was fading, the sun setting and triggering the lamp posts dotted along the sidewalks. He nearly tripped and sent himself sprawling when he recognized a pair of familiar boots next to Daryl's bike. Merle charged through the hedges, dropping to his knees beside his brother, feeling for a pulse beneath Daryl's jaw. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he quickly scanned the immediate surroundings, his heart thundering when he realized Carol was nowhere to be seen.

Merle patted Daryl's cheek as he rolled him over, careful to avoid the scrape he must have received in the fall. "Daryl … c'mon, lil' brother, this ain't no time for a nap," he said gruffly, ignoring the panic welling in his chest as his brother remained unresponsive. "Daryl, we gotta find yer girl. Cain't do this without y', so y' need t' wake up now."

Shane and Rick rounded the corner of the building and shuddered to a stop, breathing heavily. "There's no sign inside of Ed or Carol," Shane panted.

Merle glared at Walsh before removing the shop rag from his back pocket and holding it to the side of Daryl's head. The bleeding had slowed, but not stopped entirely. His brother moaned, his hand rising to bat away Merle's hand.

Rick took charge. "Units have been dispatched, as well as an ambulance. They should be here soon. We need to cover all points of exit off this island."

"Carol …" Daryl groaned again, his head pounding as he sat up and looked at the faces surrounding him. "Where is she?!"

"We don't know," Shane said, barely able to meet Daryl's eyes. "We were hoping you could tell us."

Daryl shoved Merle's hands away, keeping pressure on his wound as he pushed unsteadily to his feet. What he wouldn't give for some Excedrin at the moment. He forced himself to focus, to remember, and rage swept through his body like a brushfire. "We were goin' t' take th' bike t' th' marina 'cause Carol was all worried about bein' late. Ed jumped me from behind an' hit me over th' head. That's all I remember." He turned to his brother. "Get th' truck an' bring it here. Need my crossbow an' some flashlights if I'ma track her through th' woods."

"Y' think he took her off on foot?"

Daryl hooked a thumb behind him to where Ed's car was still parked in the lot. "Time is it?" he asked, his voice groggy as his head spun dizzily. "Need t' know how much of a head start he's got on us."

"Dixon .. man, you need to have your head looked at," Shane said. He knew it was useless to try to talk him into seeing to his own wounds when Carol was missing.

"Later," he growled. "But first I'm goin' get my girl. Jus' be glad I ain't beatin' your ass for lettin' th' fucker get by y'!"

*.*.*

Stay calm … Don't panic! Tread deeply … Leave a trail!

Carol repeated it like a mantra, clinging to her sanity by a thread as she was dragged through the woods by a madman. It wasn't helping in the least. What she wouldn't give for a decent pair of boots, she thought hysterically as she nearly fell, her sandal catching on a tree root. A wave of nausea rolled over her as Ed wrapped an arm around her waist to help steady her.

She didn't think she'd ever been so frightened as when Daryl's eyes had rolled back in his head, and his body had slumped to the asphalt of the parking lot. For one brief moment, she'd feared he was dead. She'd run, dropping to her knees at his side to feel the steady pulse beneath his jaw before Ed had dragged her away from him. She knew Merle was close, and so was Shane. When she and Daryl didn't arrive at the marina in time for the cruise, Rick would surely know something was wrong.

Tears stung her eyes to think of Daryl lying there all alone, injured and no way to help him. Carol tried to assure herself he was okay, but she couldn't help the doubt and fear which caused her heart to ache. It didn't occur to her she should be worrying about her own precarious situation. Nothing mattered if Daryl was lost to her.

Carol shivered, and Ed glanced at her curiously. "Are you cold? Don't worry, Carol Ann … I'm gonna take care of you. Just a little farther and we can be on our way."

Her eyes narrowed malevolently on her abductor. "Where are you taking me?" she hissed, digging her heels in just a bit to slow their progress on the overgrown path. Perhaps if she could distract him, it would give her friends time to find her before it was too late.

"Haven't you been listening?" he asked sourly, showing the first sign of impatience since he'd pulled her along behind him into the woods. "I'm taking you somewhere safe. Gotta get you away from that redneck trash. He's brainwashed you into thinking you love him. He's trying to come between us, and I can't take it anymore."

"I do love him … I always have. I –"

Ed's hand shot out, catching her across the face, his knuckles like fire against her cheekbone. And in an instant, the anger faded from his eyes, and he gently helped her back to her feet. "Now, see what you made me do?"

Carol suppressed the shudder threatening to snap her spine and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly very cold. She ducked her head and shuffled her feet, surreptitiously marking an 'x' in the soil with the toe of her sandal. "How …" She cursed the quaver in her voice, clearing her throat before trying again. "How did you get past Shane?"

Ed snorted and took her elbow, motioning with the gun in his right hand that she should move ahead of him. "I bet you thought you were oh so clever, didn't you? Sicking your watchdogs on me. I ain't the one you should be afraid of, Carol. Besides, it's not so hard to slip in and out if you know the history of this place. I came last weekend and did a bit of research. That old house they turned into the bed and breakfast is riddled with secret passageways."

"You planned this?! Ed, kidnapping is illegal, you ass!" she fumed.

He laughed at her, sending another chill to skip along her spine. "You'll feel differently soon enough. You're going to love our new house. It's perfect for us to raise a family, and you won't be alone. I'll be with you always."

Carol felt tears burn at the corners of her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She had to be strong. There was no doubt in her mind Daryl would come for her, and when he did … Ed Peletier would rue the day he'd been born.

A/n: And the angst train has finally rolled into the station. Don't hate me too much. I promsie there will be a happy ending. Two more chapters to go, my darlings! I can't even begin to tell y'all how much your love and support for this fic have touched my heart. Thank you so much! Again, a huge thanks to my betas BettyBubble and Geektaire. Love you so much, girls!