The Taking Of Carly Bradford. Ramona Richards

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СКАЧАТЬ “She carries a Swiss Army knife?”

      “Everywhere she goes. I think it belonged to her husband. Dee isn’t crazy about carrying a purse.” Maggie looked down at the floor a second, then back up at him. Squaring her shoulders, she stood. “What if she’s right? What if these are Carly’s and someone did attack Dee? What then?”

      Tyler rose as well, watching her face closely, trying to read her meaning. Was this about Dee? Or the fact that those woods bordered the retreat’s property? Fletcher had once told Tyler that Maggie seemed to adopt all the writers at the colony, taking them under her wing no matter what their age. Encouraging, sympathetic, and patient with the creative egos, Maggie became their sister, mother, or daughter, depending on their needs. He also knew that Dee held a special place in Maggie’s heart. Tyler saw that in her now, the light of deep compassion in her hazel eyes.

      He took her hand in his. “Then we’ll protect her. We’ll get her story and investigate. We’ll call the FBI and ask for their help again. We’ll have to revisit a lot of what we’ve done on Carly’s case.”

      Maggie breathed deeply, her voice barely above a whisper. “If they are…I mean…would this mean she could still be in the area? Does this mean that Carly is still alive?”

      THREE

      Somewhere over her head a door slammed violently, and a scream of pure fury echoed throughout the house. Carly Bradford whirled away from the narrow window of the basement room and dropped back down on the bed beneath it. She scooted close to the headboard and drew her knees up close to her chest, waiting, her eyes locked on the overhead vent that allowed in cool air and a lot of noise from upstairs. She followed the booted footsteps as they crossed the ceiling, then thudded down the stairs into the basement and across the short passage outside her door. There was an odd sound of rustling metal that she could never quite figure out, then keys rattled, the lock scraped and the door swung open.

      Her captor entered, face red with anger, and Carly knew immediately that the sandals had not been found.

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drop them…” She stopped, and Carly’s eyes widened as she took in the bruised face and the streaks of mud on the legs and chest of the sweat suit her captor always wore into the woods. Something had happened.

      Carly flinched, a new wave of fear surging through her, and she hugged her legs tighter. “Please don’t hit me again.”

      “Someone took them. I tried to stop her—” Her captor waved a hand in dismissal. “Never mind. I want the dress.”

      Carly pointed, hand trembling, to a trunk in the corner. “It’s still there.”

      Shortly after her captor had locked Carly in this tiny bedroom, new clothes had appeared on the bed, with orders to put the sandals, poncho and dress into the trunk. There they had stayed until last night, when her captor had awakened Carly well after midnight and announced that she needed exercise. Her captor had not bought new shoes for her, so they had retrieved the sandals. They had walked the stream bank into the woods, following only the light of a full moon. Her captor had tried to make her laugh and play, as if all were normal, despite the rope tied securely around Carly’s waist and a hushed threat of what would happen if she screamed. Exhausted, terrified, Carly had tried, finally slipping off the sandals and wading downstream a bit, then back. Only after they had returned home did they realize the sandals were gone.

      Her captor snatched the blue sundress out of the box and waved it at the young child. “I’ll get them back. Have to. No matter what it takes. That meddling witch…” The dress snapped like a flag in the wind. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to move.” The door slammed, and the lock clicked back into place.

      Tears leaked from Carly’s eyes as the frightened, confused little girl rolled over on the bed. “I want to go home.” The pillow muffled her words and soaked up her tears, but she grew quiet as something her captor had said echoed again in her head.

      Someone took them…her…

      Someone. A woman. Maybe the rescuer Carly had been praying so feverishly for? Carly looked up at the ceiling. “God? Can she help?”

      Is Carly still alive? Maggie’s question haunted Tyler all the way back to Mercer, just as it had clung to almost every waking moment for the past few weeks. He drove back alone in his cruiser, with Maggie insisting that Dee ride in her larger and more comfortable SUV. Anna had been right. When they brought Dee into the waiting area after her discharge, the medications had completely clouded her mind. Incoherent and groggy, Dee had almost fallen out of the wheelchair, and Tyler’s chest tightened as he looked over her injuries and tried not to show his surprise.

      Tenderly, he’d lifted her from the chair and snuggled her down into the backseat where Maggie had made a nest of coats and blankets borrowed from the hospital. “Ride easy, Dixie Dee.” He had whispered it so softly no one else could hear, and she’d blinked up at him, then closed her eyes sleepily as he’d tucked a pillow in at her side.

      He’d backed away as Maggie took over as nurse, and Tyler returned to his car with the bag holding the sandals. As both cars pulled out of the hospital’s parking lot, he called Fletcher. “Speak to me. Where are you?”

      The older detective cleared his throat. “Just leaving the scene. It’s getting too dark to do any more tonight. How’s Dee?”

      Tyler related what Anna had told him about the attack and Dee’s condition. “Anything to corroborate her story?”

      “Some. Wayne found blood spatter around a tree, and drops leading to the road near where you hit her. He also found blood and bits of skin on one of the limbs. There are at least two sets of footprints, one most likely Dee’s, but we couldn’t tell if there were more than two. The ground is badly torn up. We took a couple of casts, just in case. Wayne gathered some of the blood and skin to send to the lab, but my guess is that it’s all Dee’s.”

      “Hear any spooky voices out in the woods?”

      Fletcher paused. “You don’t believe her?”

      Now it was Tyler’s turn to hesitate. “I don’t know, Fletcher. Her injuries are real, and it does sound as if she had a scuffle with someone. I don’t think she made this up. I just don’t know if she heard what she thinks she heard. It could have been a kid trying to scare her. What’s your take on this?”

      Another pause. “The wind in these trees can sound strange to anyone not used to it.”

      Tyler grinned. “So says the boy from New York City?”

      “Not me,” Fletcher growled. “I grew up in Vermont.”

      “Right.” Tyler let him off the hook. “Listen, Maggie is taking Dee to the retreat lodge house. She’ll play nurse, but if you could…”

      “Not a problem. And I’ll keep an eye out.”

      “I know Dee will remember things differently tomorrow, but there was no way to get a statement out of her today.”

      “Assault victims usually do.”

      “Is Wayne going to send everything to the lab?”

      “Yeah. He said to tell you to go on home. The boys are changing shifts, and he’ll take care of the rest of this. You can do any remaining paperwork СКАЧАТЬ