Kidnapped!
Part 7
Sunday, September 15
The Point
6:45 a.m.
Andrew Belden paced. He watched impatiently as the FBI agent studied the maps, setting parameters and dividing the assembled searchers into teams. Wesley Hart, Matt Wheeler, and Andrew’s brother, Peter, spoke in hushed tones, checking equipment and discussing options.
They seemed much calmer than Andrew felt. His head was buzzing with adrenaline, his body vibrating with the need to spring into action. All he could think about was Tessa, lost and hurt, somewhere he couldn’t reach. He was near to bursting with fear and frustration, his sense of helplessness urging him to be impulsive. It was only his years of business training that kept him in check.
A flash of blue caught the corner of his eye, and he followed it, realizing that it was the flannel shirt worn by Dan. As he watched, the boy slipped around the side of the hill, disappearing from sight. A pang of guilt hit Andrew squarely in the gut. He had barely spoken to his niece’s boyfriend, some part of his subconscious blaming Dan for Tessa’s disappearance. Both Madeleine and Helen had berated him for his attitude, and he supposed they were right. None of this was Dan’s fault, and Andrew suddenly felt the need to tell him. He started after the young man.
Dan was sitting on a rock, starring out across the river, moving something through his hands. As Andrew approached, he recognized the object as a rosary. He stopped, unwilling to interrupt but unsure of how to proceed. Instead, he waited.
As Dan finished his prayers and tucked the rosary into his shirt pocket, Andrew stepped forward, clearing his throat so as not to startle the young man. “Dan?”
Dan turned slowly, his expression guarded. “Yes, Mr. Belden?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted...” Andrew floundered, searching for words. “I just wanted to tell you...” He stopped, took a calming breath and continued, “We’re going to find her, son. Believe that.”
Dan blinked hard, the bruise-like smudges under his eyes dark in the early morning light, his mouth trembling slightly. “Yes, sir.”
“Let’s get started, then.” Andrew gripped Dan’s shoulder, gently leading him back to the search.
There were five people in each search party. Jim and Trixie were paired up with Agent Zachary Mora, Wesley Hart and Mr. Maypenny. Peter Belden searched with Spider Webster, Matt Wheeler, Brian and Honey. Diana had pushed aside her fear of dark and close spaces to search for her friend. She clung tightly to Mart’s hand and followed her father, Tad and Officer Phil McKendrick into the unknown.
SAC Sharon Salinas had serious reservations about allowing Dan Maypenny to join the search. For that reason, she placed him on her team, along with Andrew Belden, Regan and Ed Lynch. She had limited resources, and couldn’t afford a loose cannon. With well-practiced authority, she spoke to the assembled teams. “Thank you for coming out today; your help is much appreciated. Your job is to search for signs of Tessa Hart. Team leaders will be in communication with me at all times. If you find anything, anything at all, please report it to your leader. Remember that this is a methodical search, and please act accordingly. Good hunting.” She turned on her headlamp and led her team into their cave.
It was taking forever. Trixie tried to be patient, but the urge to dash ahead calling out Tessa’s name was nearly overwhelming. Only Jim’s hand firmly gripping her own was able to keep her impulses in check as they crept through their assigned cave, searching each nook and cranny. As they ventured deeper into the cavern, passageways opened up, each one needing to be searched with the same painstaking care, marked with a yellow chalk mark when they invariably turned up empty. From the bits and pieces she gathered from the radio transmissions between Agent Mora and the other teams, they were using up a lot of chalk.
“This is wrong,” she whispered to Jim as they took a few minutes to sip water and share a power bar.
“What is?” Jim asked.
“All of this.” She grabbed his wrist showing him the time on his watch. 2:57 p.m. “We’re too far in.” Her voice rose, tinged with frustration and determination, and caught the attention of Mora.
“What do you mean?” Mora asked, towering above her.
Trixie refused to be intimidated. “We’re too far into the cave,” she explained. “Look. If Dara took Tess, she had to leave school, get the car, get up here, unload Tess and head back down the hill, right?” Mora nodded, and she continued with her theory. “Tess disappeared between ten and ten-thirty. Dara’s car went into the river around eleven-thirty. That only gives her an hour to do everything.” She shrugged. “It took us nearly an hour to get this far in. Even if we knew exactly where we were going, it’s too much time. Dara’s hiding place would have to be closer to the entrance. Otherwise, the timing doesn’t work.”
The look on Mora’s face was priceless. As Trixie’s words sank in, he nodded his agreement. “You’re right,” he told her, reaching for his radio. “You’re absolutely right. Let’s head back and hit the first two hundred yards with a fine-tooth comb. I’ll let Salinas and the others know what we’re doing and why. Good work, Miss Belden. Good work.”
Trixie blushed at the praise. Jim squeezed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Good job, Shamus,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her upturned nose. “Way to show the feds how it’s done.”
She giggled. “When the FBI gives up, we take over, right?” Her face sobered. “Let’s go find our cousin.” They started making their way back to the entrance.
Think like Dara, Trixie told herself as she focused on the first twenty feet of the cave. I’m hyped up, I’m scared, I need a hiding place and I need it fast. Where? Where? Letting go of Jim, she scanned the area, her bright blue eyes searching for the slightest anomaly. Moving almost entirely on instinct, she stepped toward the east wall of the cave, her hands dancing across the stone, fingers seeking the unknown. “Jim?” she called softly, “I think I’ve found something.”
“What?” He reached her in an instant.
“This rock is...I don’t know...loose?” She pushed against a narrow wedge of stone, and it slid slightly.
“Let me,” Jim said, moving in front of her. He wiggled his larger fingers into the crevice and shoved. The rock slid smoothly to the side, revealing a dark opening.
Trixie flipped on her headlamp and stuck her head inside. The light played over a cave room about the size of a small bathroom. She could make out a metal folding chair, a painted wooden box, emergency food bars, a jug of water, pictures, handcuffs, and an item that made her heart leap into her throat. Backing out of the room, she choked out, “Agent Mora? We’ve found it.”
The news traveled fast. As the agents and officers swarmed the hidden room, Jim hovered protectively around Trixie, making her sit down on a rock in the sun, and encouraging her to drink water. Dan paced in front of her, clearly trying to restrain himself.
“Are you sure, Trix?” he asked for the fifth time. “Are you sure?”
“It was definitely Tessa’s purse, Dan,” she answered, also for the fifth time. “It’s the pink palm frond daisy. Mak’s fiancee, Tanya, made it. She made one for each of us, and they’re all unique. Tessa’s was the pink one, and she had it on Friday. You know she did.”
“I know.” He knelt down in front of her. “I’m sorry, Trix. It’s just, if Tessa’s purse is here, and her wallet was in the car...”
She finished his sentence. “Where’s Tess?”
“Daniel? Could I see you for a moment?” SAC Salinas inquired from the mouth of the cave. “There’s something I need you to see.”
With apprehension, Dan rose, brushing the dirt from his knees. Jim grabbed his arm, his green eyes intense. “Dan, I don’t know where Tess is, but she wasn’t in the car when it went into the river. I’m positive.”
Dan nodded, his own eyes dark with emotion. “Thanks, Jim. I...thanks.” He turned to meet the SAC, following her silently into the cave.
Regan capped his bottle of water and watched as Dan stepped out of the cliff cave, eyes unfocused and dark in an unnaturally pale face. Concerned, he silently followed as his nephew staggered around the corner and out of sight of the assembled searchers.
“Dan? Danny? What’s wrong?” Regan caught up with the younger man, grabbing his arm. Dan yanked free, shaking his head vehemently. Before Regan could react, Dan bent over, vomiting into the bushes.
Helpless, and thoroughly unsettled by this turn of events, Regan gripped his nephew by the shoulders, steadying him until he was finished heaving. Gently, he led Dan to a nearby outcropping of rock, sitting him down and holding him until his trembling stopped.
“Here,” Regan said, holding out his half empty bottle of water. “Rinse.”
Like a robot, Dan did as requested, swishing the water around in his mouth and spitting it onto the dusty ground. He sat, unmoving, staring forward, the bottle clenched in his hand, his face twisted in torment.
“What happened in there?” Regan prodded, more afraid of Dan’s silence than of the potential answer.
“Pictures.” Dan’s voice was barely a whisper.
Now the answer and all of its implications caused a significant increase on Regan’s fear meter. “Pictures of what? Tessa?”
“Yes. No.” Dan shook his head. “Pictures of me with Tessa, only Tessa wasn’t in them anymore. She was.”
“The obsessed one?”
“Yeah. Dara.” Dan shuddered. “How did I not know?” he asked. “I swear I didn’t even know her name until Friday. I had no idea, but...it’s sick. She’s sick. And she did something to Tess.” He looked up at his uncle. “There were handcuffs in there. Police ones.” His mouth quirked up on one side, even as his eyes filled with tears. “The kind that are cold and heavy and hurt; the kind that you need two keys to open. The kind they use when they don’t want you to escape. That crazy bitch is seriously sick, she’s the only one who knows what happened to Tess, and she’s...”
“And she’s unconscious,” Regan finished Dan’s sentence. His nephew nodded, a single tear escaping to streak down his dusty face. Regan tightened his hold, pulling Dan into a hug.
“I’m scared,” Dan choked back a sob. “She’s been gone too long. What if Tess was in the car? What if she’s tied up somewhere or handcuffed in the dark with no water or food? What if crazy Dara hit her over the head like she did Marnie? Tessa can’t take another head blow--not since her accident in Wales. That’s why she always rides with a helmet. What if...”
“Stop.” Regan hugged Dan tighter, hushing him softly. His mind searched frantically for the right thing to say. Platitudes weren’t going to cut it this time. “Danny,” he whispered, “I’m not going to tell you not to worry. You’re going to worry. But I will ask you to think. Think about Tessa, search inside yourself and tell me if she’s gone. I mean really gone. Because…because I think you’d know.”
The only answer was a couple of ragged breaths before Dan pulled away and wiped at his eyes. He closed them and took another, deeper breath. “No,” he said. “I don’t think Tessa’s dead. Not in my heart. But I know she’s not here, either. I never thought she was here.” He looked again at his uncle. “I just know she’s somewhere, I’m afraid she’s hurt, and I’m super afraid that I’m not going to find her in time.”
Author Notes
Thank you, as always to my wonderful editors, Susansuth, WendyM and Dianafan. These ladies rock, believe me.
Dan and Tessa have an odd psychic connection. He felt her pain when she was in the accident in Wales, and do you remember how all three boys reacted at the time of the ship fire? Tessa had panic attacks while Dan was having some of his more frightening moments, but she was in England, so we didn’t see them.
I hope you enjoyed the moment between Dan and Regan. It’s going to be the last for a while, but hopefully, the next set of stories will explain the reasons. That wasn’t at all mysterious, was it? {insert maniacal laugh}