Kidnapped!
Part 9
Crabapple Farm
Monday, September 16
5:58 a.m.
Trixie tossed and turned in her bed, the quilt twisted around her body. Sleep had come slow for her. She had a mind full of images, fact and fears, and her subconscious struggled in her dreams to make the puzzle pieces fit.
The brightly painted wooden box.
Blue wrapped, emergency food bars.
Tessa’s pink, daisy, purse.
A blond wig.
Dan dancing in a castle of cardboard.
A clock, the numbers spinning from 10:30 to 12:00 midnight and back again.
Trixie sat up with a start, breathing hard. Rubbing her eyes, she worked to calm her rapid heart rate as the pieces fell into place.
“No way,” she whispered out loud. “It can’t be that easy.”
She scrambled out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, stuffing her bare feet into a pair of Keds. Hitting the bathroom at full speed, Trixie splashed water on her face, ran a brush through her tangled curls and gave her teeth a pass with the toothbrush before heading down the stairs. Unheard behind her, her alarm clock began to chime.
“Slow down,” Helen cautioned her whirlwind of a daughter as Trixie burst into the kitchen.
“I can’t, Moms,” Trixie blurted, her words tumbling out in a jumble. “I have to get Mart. I know where Tess is. I think. Well, I’m pretty sure. I need to go.”
“Beatrix! Calm down.” Helen placed her hand on Trixie’s arm. “Sweetheart, you’re trembling, and I didn’t understand a word you just said.”
Trixie took a deep breath and managed to coherently tell her mother her new theory.
Helen stared at her daughter for a brief moment. Without a word, she pulled her keys from the hook by the door and handed them to Trixie. “Take my car. I’ll call Honey and have her pick up Diana and meet you at the cabin.”
“You believe me?” Trixie asked, dumbfounded.
“Sweetheart, I trust your instincts.” Helen hugged her daughter and gave her a shove toward the door. “Go and find your cousin. I’ll call your father and uncle. They’re checking out houses with the FBI.”
A little bewildered by this turn of events, Trixie gathered her wits and ran for the car.
Maypenny’s Cabin
6:30 a.m.
Mart looked at his sister in awe. “You figured that out in a dream?” he asked.
Trixie nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but it makes sense. I knew that I recognized that painted box, and I helped carry those expired food bars into storage last year. We all did; it was like techie hazing. And the place is filled with cardboard boxes. Filled--like Dan’s nightmare.”
“She’s right,” Diana agreed, looking slightly tousled from having been rousted out of her bed and rushed out the door by Honey. “Dara’s a theatre geek, and Mr. C trusts her. She could get a key without half trying.”
Dan shook his head. “It makes sense, Trix, but the whole place was searched. Believe me, I asked. Again and again.”
Mart agreed. “It was Dan’s insistence that nearly got him locked up that night, remember?”
“But,” Honey broke in, “if Tessa was drugged like Brian thinks, she might have been unconscious...or something...while they were searching. Unless they searched every bit of the place...”
“It’s huge,” Trixie added. “The search ended by one in the morning. No way did they search everything. No way. Besides, the timing is right. Dara had to go home to take her mother’s car. She couldn’t drag Tess for ten blocks; she had to store her someplace close. Then, all she had to do was prep her hideaway, and get back before the dance ended at midnight.” She let out her breath. “It makes sense. I swear.”
Mart and Dan exchanged glances, and Dan nodded. “It makes perfect sense,” he said. “Let me leave a note for my dad, and we’ll go make Mr. Stratton see the light.”
Diana picked up her school bag. “What if he doesn’t?” she asked.
Mart shrugged and gave her a grin. “If he doesn’t, then you and I’ll distract the custodian, and Dapper Danny can swipe the keys. Either way, we’re finding Tess.”
He held out his hand, palm down. Di placed hers on top of his, followed by Trixie, Honey, and Dan. With a quick shake, they left the cabin and headed for the Bob-White station wagon, a team united.
Sleepyside Junior-Senior High School
Monday
7:00 a.m
“Mr. Stratton, please!” Trixie pleaded with the principal. “Just let us look, please?”
“Trixie,” Principal Stratton answered, “The entire school was already searched.” It was easy to see the man was trying to be reasonable, despite his obvious frustration and lack of understanding. “I don’t see why you need to revisit this.”
“Because I have a hunch, sir. Please?” Trixie opened her big blue eyes as wide as she could. “Just let the five of us search. Give us half an hour. What could it hurt?”
Phil Stratton was an educational bureaucrat, but he was not a bad man. The look in Trixie Belden’s eyes was echoed in those of her brother and friends, and a small part of him knew that the determined teens would find a way to search--with or without his approval. So he did what any sensible man would do. He gave in. Reaching into his top desk drawer, he removed a key ring. Handing it to Trixie, he said, “I don’t know which of the small keys open the padlocks down there. You have thirty minutes, so you’d better go quickly. I’ll sign your readmit slips.”
As if in response to his statement, the first bell rang its warning.
“Thank you, Mr. Statton, sir,” Trixie squealed, heading for the door with her posse close behind. “You won’t be sorry.”
The second bell rang as they headed for the down staircase. They were halfway down when the shrill shriek of the fire alarm split the morning calm, echoing throughout the halls.
Sleepyside Junior-Senior High School
Monday
7:05 a.m
Tessa huddled against a wall of boxes, her eyes trying to focus on her watch. The numbers swirled with dizzying effect. Pulling the afghan closer around her shoulders, she shivered. Not a good sign, she thought. It’s not cold in here. She looked at the watch again, squinting at the face. Her head ached in time with her arm, and her stomach churned with anxiety. If Dara turned up now, Tessa wasn’t sure she could take her. She felt weak and sick, and a night filled with only fitful dozing was making her loopy. She reached with her right arm for the fire extinguisher she had dragged back from the under stage area. It and the half empty can of hairspray accounted for the sum of her defensive weapons.
The first bell rang, warning students to class. Tessa tensed in anticipation. She had to wait for the right moment. Struggling to her feet, she fought against the dizziness, reaching out for the alarm. The second bell rang, and she counted silently, one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three...
When she reached one hundred, she pulled the alarm, covering her ears and sinking back down to the floor as lights flashed and the shrieking scream of the alarm pierced throughout the building.
Trixie froze in place as the fire alarm shrieked above her. “No way,” she exclaimed.
“Mr. Stratton would have mentioned a drill,” Honey shouted over the din. “Wouldn’t he?”
Dan stepped aside to let a line of escaping students pass them in the stairwell. Mr. Wells, the woodshop teacher, brought up the rear. Spotting the Bob-Whites, he gave a brusque order, “Fall in. This might be for real.”
A look of quiet desperation bounced between the five Bob-Whites. Diana, seeing the look of pure stubbornness setting across Dan’s face, gave a little shriek. “For real?” she asked, taking a gulp of air. “Oh, no! No!” Tears started down her face, her breathing rough and ragged. “What will we do?”
“Calm down, young lady,” Mr. Wells ordered, a flash of panic appearing in his eyes at Diana’s tears.
Mart, taking the cue from his girlfriend, wrapped his arms around her, loudly soothing her fears. “Shh! Turtledove. We’ll be fine. Just hang on to me, and Mr. Wells, here. We’ll get you out safe and sound, won’t we, sir?” He turned guileless blue eyes at the teacher.
“Of course. Nothing to worry about.” Mr. Wells, distracted by Diana’s hysteria, hastened to assist Mart, leaving Trixie free to slip the ring of keys into Dan’s hand.
“Hurry,” she hissed at him, grabbing Honey’s hand and tugging her along after the weeping Di, attentive Mart, and concerned teacher, and leaving Dan to slip stealthily down the stairs.
The hall was empty, the alarm echoing. Dan found the locked and chained doors very quickly. He pounded on the door, trying to make his voice heard over the alarm. “Tessa! Tess! Are you in there?” When there was no answer, he started trying keys.
Behind the door, Tessa cringed under the piercing alarm. When the door began to shake, she uncovered her ears. Someone was pounding on the door, and she thought she heard someone shouting. Dan’s voice? She couldn’t be sure, but...
Struggling to her feet, she ignored the pain as she hefted the fire extinguisher and slammed it with her remaining strength, against the door. “Danny?” she tried to shout, but her voice barely carried. Instead, she focused on banging the metal container against the metal door before her.
Dan heard the clang of something hitting the door from the other side. Tessa. He knew it. With renewed purpose, he dropped to his knees and searched through the keys, trying to isolate the correct one for the lock. He was on his third attempt when a heavy, gloved hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up into the masked face of a Sleepyside firefighter.
“What are you doing? You need to be outside.”
“There’s a girl trapped in there,” he shouted. “I have to find the right key.”
“Out!” the firefighter stated firmly, dragging him to his feet and pushing him into the grip of his partner.
“She’s in there!” Dan yelled. “You have to get her out! Please!”
At that moment, Tessa slammed the fire extinguisher against the door one last time.
The firefighter replaced Dan at the lock, his gloved hands fumbling through the keys. Luck was on his side, and he slid the right key into the lock. With a shake of the chains, the door opened and the firefighter was face to face with the slightly-worse-for-the-wear Tessa Hart.
The fire extinguisher fell to the floor with a loud clang and she stepped forward, blinking rapidly at the infusion of fluorescent light. “There’s no fire,” she rasped. “I pulled the alarm. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t think...” Her eyes focused on the form struggling against the grip of the second firefighter. “Danny!” she cried, “I knew you’d find me.” She slipped past her rescuer and into the suddenly free arms of Dan.
She winced as his arms engulfed her, drawing her close to his chest but pressing painfully on her injured arm. Dan felt the shudder, heard the squeak that escaped from her throat, and instinctively loosened his grip. That was when he saw the blood soaked bandage tied around her left arm. “Tess,” he whispered, “You’re hurt.”
She didn’t respond, her head resting against his chest, her body limp and unresisting, until one of the firefighters made an attempt to remove her from his arms. As soon as the gloved hand touched her, Tessa screamed, her hands clutching at Dan, her fingers tearing at his clothes. “I’ve got her,” Dan insisted, scooping her into his arms, being careful not to jostle her arm. One fireman walked in front, and another behind as he headed back up the stairs. The rest continued to search the lower level of the school.
Somewhere along the line, one of the firefighters must have radioed for a stretcher, because one was waiting as the little group approached the exit of the school. Dan gently settled Tessa on it, making sure he kept a firm grip on her hand. She kept her eyes on him and didn’t fight as paramedics strapped her in and rolled her out the door.
The whole school was outside, lined up by class, watching as the stretcher was rolled out towards the waiting ambulance. Mart and the girls broke away from Mr. Wells, running to meet Dan. Tessa managed a feeble smile. “Wow,” she joked weakly, “an assembly for me?”
“Just for you, Cuz,” Trixie told her, her grin masking the tears of relief in her eyes. “It’s good to see you. We’ve been going crazy.”
“Sorry.” Tessa’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“I’m sorry, kids,” one of the paramedics said, running his hand through his short reddish hair. His name badge read ‘Jay’. “We need to get our patient to the hospital.” Tessa tightened her grip on Dan’s hand, her mouth set. Jay sighed loudly. “Fine. He can come, but not the rest of them. And we’re going now. Rick?” In tandem, he and his dark-haired partner lifted the stretcher into the ambulance, letting Dan step inside in front of them. The door closed, and soon, the ambulance pulled away, leaving Mart, Diana, Trixie and Honey staring after it.
“Go.” Mr. Stratton’s voice startled them all. “I know you want to be there with them. Just go.”
“Thanks, Mr. Stratton,” Mart didn’t wait for the principal to have a chance to change his mind. He hastily herded the girls toward the car, anxious to follow the ambulance to the hospital.
The trip to the hospital went by in a blur for Dan. Paramedic Rick drove, while Jay tended to Tessa. Dan made himself as small and unobtrusive as he could without releasing her hand. He whispered calmly to her, reassuring her. It wasn’t until the stretcher pushed through the emergency room bay doors and almost directly into Lieutenant Wendell Molinson that he let go of her hand.
Molinson was unusually gentle as he spoke to Tessa. “I need to talk to Dan for a few minutes, Miss Hart. You’re safe now, and the doctors want to have a look at you. I’ll return him in a little while. Your family is on the way. Okay?”
Dan smiled reassuringly at her, and she reluctantly released his hand. “Promise?” she mouthed, and he nodded. As she was wheeled down the hall, he turned to Molinson a little warily. “Am I under arrest for interfering, sir?”
Molinson shook his head and laughed, actually laughed. “No, son. Much as I’d like to lock you all up for sticking your noses in where they don’t belong, I can’t deny that you played by the rules nor that you got the desired results. No. I just want to find out how you managed to find your girl. I figured you’d be in better shape to talk than Tessa.” He gave Dan a closer look, taking in the shadowed eyes and exhausted face. “Maybe I was wrong about that. When was the last time you slept?”
“This morning,” Dan replied with a straight face. “From about three-thirty until just before five.”
“Maybe I should just send you home.”
“I won’t go.” He folded his arms across his chest and gave the police officer a half-hearted grin. “Unless you want to drag me, kicking and screaming. I won’t leave her until she asks.”
Molinson rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Fair enough,” he said, “but I really do need for you to fill me in.” His face grew rueful, a half-amused expression on it. “Here comes the cavalry.”
Dan turned. Sure enough, Mart and the girls were barreling through the doors. He threw up a hand, palm out, halting the stampede. “Tess is with the doctors. She fell while trying to escape yesterday. A piece of metal sliced up her arm, and she needs stitches. The guy who was with us, Jay, said it looked infected, and Tess was running a fever, so they might keep her here for a little while.” He looked at Molinson. “I’m going to go talk with the lieutenant, here. If Tess gets done before I do, tell her I’ll be back, okay?”
“Of course.” Diana threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “The Beldens and the Wheelers are on their way. Mrs. Wheeler is bringing some things for Tess. I’ll stay with her until you get back, Danny. I promise.”
Dan rested his cheek on her head, inhaling the lavender scent of her hair. “Thanks, Di,” he whispered. “I didn’t tell her all about Dara. I just told her she wasn’t a threat. Fill her in, okay?” Wiggling away from her, he turned back to Molinson. “I’m ready, sir.” With a half wave, he followed the cop down the hall.
Author Notes
Thank you’s all around to Susansuth, Dianafan and WendyM for editing for me. You ladies are awesome!
You all knew Trixie would figure it out, didn’t you? And how about Miss Diana Lynch and her extraordinary acting ability? Nothing like a weeping, semi-hysterical girl to distract the woodshop teacher.
Thank you, dear readers, for hanging on. There is just a little wrap up left. I think if you click on the conclusion, it just might work.