Dead Right (Stillwater Trilogy #3)(87)
Author: Brenda Novak

When Hunter barged into the police station, a stout woman behind a small desk glanced up and tried to intercept him, but he sidestepped her. “Why aren’t you doing more?” he demanded, confronting Chief Pontiff at the water cooler.

“You’re not the one calling the shots around here,” Pontiff retorted and drank from his partially filled paper cup.

“So what? You saw those pictures on Ray’s computer. We’ve got to find Madeline!”

Pontiff crushed the cup and threw it in the garbage. “We’re trying, damn it!” The quaver in his voice would’ve given away his anxiety—if the tremor in his hand hadn’t done so first. “I’ve called his sister’s house and talked to her and his mother. They haven’t seen or heard from him. I’ve canvassed the trailer park, talked to all the neighbors. No one knows where he might’ve gone. I’ve called in my new rookie. He and Radcliffe have driven up and down every street in this town. Right now they’re searching the barns at some of the outlying farms. What more can I do?” he asked miserably.

“Organize a civilian search party,” Hunter said. “Ask the town for help.”

Pontiff stared at him for several seconds. Hunter guessed pride tempted him to refuse. He didn’t like having someone else take charge, especially an outsider. But, ultimately, he nodded. “I’ll call Pastor Portenski, see what he can do.”

“Thanks,” Hunter said and meant it. Planning to head out so he could search again, he hesitated when his cell phone rang. It was Clay.

“Tell me you’ve found her,” he said, answering immediately.

“No. But I’ve located the truck she was driving. It’s here at the farm. We missed it earlier because it’s parked way in the back. And there’s a broken window at the house.”

Hunter’s grip tightened on his phone. “She’s not inside?”

“No. Bonnie Ray across the road says she saw Ray’s old Dodge pull out of the drive over an hour ago. But she doesn’t remember seeing Maddy.”

“Did she notice which direction he went?”

“He turned east, away from town.”

“Son of a bitch,” Hunter muttered. What were they going to do now? If Ray Harper had Madeline and had left town more than an hour ago, she could be anywhere within a sixty- to eighty-mile radius.

Every bump caused Madeline more agony. Her head, shoulder, hip and jaw throbbed; her hands and feet had stopped burning but she could no longer feel them. She needed to move, get her circulation going. She craved a change of position more than she’d ever dreamed she could crave something so simple. But it was no use. She’d already struggled with the ropes until she’d rubbed her wrists raw.

She couldn’t get loose. And it was noticeably colder. She was beginning to shake violently—from the cold and the pain.

“Hunter,” she whispered, wishing he could hear her. She remembered how he’d cradled her body against his last night, the comfort he’d offered and tried to imagine she was with him now, safe and warm.

But other visions intruded. Like the message on her answering machine. Spread your legs. The blood on her kitchen floor. The giant dildo. It had to be Ray. But why? She didn’t understand.

The truck slowed, its shocks squeaking as it bounced and swayed from side to side. They obviously weren’t on a paved road anymore.

That realization terrified Madeline. There had to be a million little turnoffs between Stillwater and wherever Ray was taking her. How would anyone ever find her?

She blinked hard, trying not to give in to the despair that was bringing tears to her eyes. She’d think of something. This couldn’t be real. This didn’t happen to people like her. This kind of thing always happened to someone else.

Briefly, she prayed it was just another one of her nightmares, that she’d wake up in a few minutes.

But when the truck came to a stop and the driver’s door creaked opened, then slammed shut, she knew with absolute certainty that she was already awake.

“We’re here,” Ray announced cheerfully.

She wanted to ask him where “here” was. She wanted to ask him so many questions. But even if he removed the gag, her mouth was too dry to speak. The gag was so tight she hadn’t been able to close her lips or even swallow properly since he’d put it on.

“Let me check it out, and I’ll be back for you, okay?” he said.

When she made no sound, didn’t move, he suddenly pulled the blanket off her, and their eyes met. “Scared me for a minute,” he said, chuckling.

His boots thudded against the earth as he walked away from her. Then she heard the jingle of keys. She couldn’t figure out where they were, but it was so damn cold. Colder than Stillwater. And higher in elevation. The smell of pine was stronger than ever—pine and wood and moist earth.

“No bathroom,” he said when he came back. “But what can you expect for thirty-five bucks a night?” He untied her from the bed of the truck. Then, using the rope to jerk her into a sitting position, he almost broke her arms.

When she groaned, he laughed. “Sorry about that. You’re a tall woman, and I’m not as young as I used to be.”

He rolled her toward the tailgate, then shoved her again and let her fall to the ground. Pine needles poked her cheek and nearly went in one eye. She tried to turn her face away, but in her effort to get enough air she breathed in some dirt, then hacked helplessly because she couldn’t cough.

Ray didn’t seem to care. He’d gone back to the cab of the truck. “I’ve got everything we’re going to need right here, but—” she heard him rummaging around “—damn it! I gave you the dildo. Am I an idiot, or what? I wasn’t even there to see you open it, and now we don’t have one of my favorite toys. If you fail to plan you plan to fail,” he said, chastising himself.

She tried to ask, “What do you want from me?” but her words came out as helpless grunts.

“Just be patient,” he said. “I’ll get you fixed up.” He pulled her into a sitting position. Then he picked her up and carried her into a small cabin. There was some very plain, inexpensive furniture in the living room, but no television and, from what Madeline could see, no phone.

“It’s pretty basic,” he said as he put her on the couch. “But that’s okay. We won’t get bored. If we do, I brought some good reading material.” He took some magazines out of the bag he’d carried in and showed them to her.