Chapter 11
Trixie saw Brian laying on a bed with his hands tied above his head. His feet were tied to the foot of the bed. His face was turned away from her. She moved closer. She needed to get a closer look at her brother’s face. She touched his chin and turned his head toward her.
As she moved his face, his eyes opened and he stared at her. She let go of his face.
"You did this to me. You put me in this position. You are at fault for everything."
Trixie stepped back shaking her head. She couldn’t believe her brother would say those things. She knew it wasn’t true.
"No," she said. "No."
Trixie opened her eyes quickly and looked around. She immediately recognized her surroundings as a room in the Manor House. She looked over and saw Stan staring at the equipment. He looked at her and smiled.
"Look who finally woke up."
"What time is it?" she asked softly.
"About six," Stan said. "You fell asleep about three."
"I didn’t mean to," Trixie said sliding into an upright position.
"It’s all right. You’ve been up almost 48 hours straight. I didn’t expect you to keep going without sleep until this was taken care of."
"I’ll go make some coffee, then you can take a break."
"That sounds great."
Trixie stood up and wrapped the blanket that was covering her around her shoulders and made her way down to the kitchen. She quietly started the coffee and waited. She couldn’t believe they hadn’t heard anything about Brian. As more time passed, Trixie became more worried. She wanted to know for sure that her eldest brother was all right. He had to be.
Once the coffee was ready, she filled the cups and took them back to the room. She stepped inside and handed one to Stan before sitting back down.
"So," Stan said. "I guess things are still the same between you and Jim."
Trixie smiled a little. She had gotten to know Stan real well while working with the FBI and found he was an easy person to talk to. She had told him about what happened when she left for school and had listened without telling her what she should have done.
"Actually, Jim and I have decided to be civil to each other. We’ve hurt too many people because of our problems."
She watched Stan take a drink. "Do you think the two of you will get back together?"
"I’m not sure, but I doubt it. There’s too much between us."
Stan got to his feet. "I’m going outside. I need a change of scene. Call if there’s anything."
"Got it."
Stan left the room. Trixie pulled her legs up underneath her. She wondered why the kidnapper hadn’t called yet. There had to be a reason for it.
But what was with Stan questioning me about Jim? she thought. I know I talked to him before about why I hadn’t been home during my time with the bureau. He had listened and didn’t say anything. He had been a good friend, but it wouldn’t go any further. We could only be friends.
I guess that’s all I ever will be with Jim too. I may have feelings for him, but I know that he doesn’t feel the same way about me. And we have to make sure the friendship works.
"Hey."
Turning, Trixie saw Jim standing in the doorway. He had on a pair of shorts, but no shirt. She couldn’t believe how muscular his chest and arms were.
"Hey yourself."
Jim came into the room and sat down in the seat Stan vacated. "You look tired. Did you get any sleep?"
"A little. What about Honey? Do you know if she slept at all?"
"She slept on and off all night. Mother and I took turns sitting up with her."
"She’s got to be terrified," Trixie said tightening her hold on the mug in her hand.
"I can see you’re worried too," Jim said. "Trixie, if there’s anything I can do, please let me know. Brian is my best friend. I can’t sit here and watch Honey torture herself thinking the worst."
"Thank you for the offer. And I understand how you feel. I can’t stand to watch her this way either. But we can’t do anything until the kidnapper calls." Trixie looked at the mug.
"Could the reason the call hasn’t come be because Brian is already dead?"
Trixie’s head snapped up to look at him. "Don’t say that," she said loudly. "He’s not dead. He can’t be."
"I’m sorry," Jim said. "I just had to ask."
"I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to snap at you."
Jim got off the chair and moved closer to her. He kneeled in front of her and took her hands in his. "I know you’re having a lot to deal with and I’d rather have you lose your temper with me than with anyone else."
Trixie looked at Jim. She couldn’t believe how understanding he was being. She forgot about this side of him. He was always there for her when they were younger.
"I am sorry," Trixie said.
"I know."
At that moment, the phone in Honey’s room rang. Trixie said, "Get Stan. He’s outside."
Trixie moved to the equipment as Jim hurried out of the room. She lifted the earphones as she heard Honey answer the phone.
"If it isn’t Miss Honey Wheeler," a male voice said.
Trixie knew it was the kidnapper.
"I want to talk to Brian," Honey said trying to steady her voice.
"A little impatient, aren’t we?"
"Please, let me talk to him. I need to know he’s all right."
"In a moment." He took a breath. "I think you and I need to make a deal."
"What kind of deal do you want?"
"I want something from you."
Trixie felt Stan slide into the chair beside her. She could only see Jim out of the corner of her eye. She wrote "Go to Honey" on a paper and handed it to him.
"What do you want?" Honey asked.
"You."
"What?" Honey asked.
"I know you won’t give me yourself," the man laughed. "But you are what I want."
"Please," Honey begged. "I’ll give you money, but I want Brian back."
"All right. I’ll take 50 million."
"You can have it, but please let me talk to Brian."
"If you must."
Trixie listened to the noise on the other end of the phone. She couldn’t tell where he was. There were no outside sounds. She heard a door open and footsteps. She heard something rip and a small moan.
"There’s someone who wants to talk to you. Your fiancee’."
"Honey?" Brian’s voice sounded weak.
"Oh, Brian, sweetie, are you all right?"
"Honey, don’t do anything. I mean it." Brian’s voice was a little stronger.
"Brian, I love you."
"That’s it," the male voice said. "I’ll call with directions when I think you’ve had enough time to get the money together."
Click.
Trixie pulled the headphones off and looked at Stan. He was writing down notes. She hoped he knew where her brother was being held. She heard quick footsteps. As she looked up, she saw Honey and Jim come into the room.
Honey’s face was white and there were dark circles under her eyes. Jim had his hands on her shoulders. Honey said, "I tried to keep him on as long as I could."
"You did fine," Stan said without looking up.
"What do you have?" Trixie asked staring at Stan.
"We need to check something out," Stan said.
"Where are we going?" Jim asked.
Trixie and Stan looked at Jim, surprised. "I know you want to help," Stan began. "And there’s something more important you can be doing. You can make arrangements to have that money ready to go when he calls back."
"And what will you be doing?" Jim asked.
"Finding out more about this guy." Stan looked at Trixie. "Let’s go."
Trixie got to her feet and followed Stan out of the room. She heard a crash and knew Jim had lost his temper. She climbed into Stan’s car as he started the engine. As he exited the driveway and headed into town, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"I have an idea where the call came from."
"And?" Trixie prompted.
"Hawthorne Street."
"Oh, no." Trixie knew that street. She had been there before when she was younger and knew it was a bad part of town.
"That’s not the best part of town, is it?" Stan asked.
"No, it’s not."
"Hopefully we can figure out who it is."
"I hope you’re right. Brian didn’t sound good on the phone."
"We’ll do our best."
"What are we going to do?" Trixie asked trying not to think of the condition her brother could be in.
"We’ll observe for a little while to see if we can find out who it is."
"I hope this isn’t a wild goose chase," Trixie said. "We have to find him."
Chapter 12
Two hours later, Trixie and Stan were seated in his car watching people move up and down the street. No one could see them since the windows on his car were tinted. Trixie hadn’t seen many people. No one looked familiar to her. She wondered if they were wasting their time.
Ring.
It was her phone. "Hello?"
"Trix, it’s Jim."
"What’s up?"
"I called to let you know we have the money."
"Great."
"What’s going on?" Stan asked.
"Hang on, Jim," Trixie said into the phone. She quickly told Stan what Jim had said.
"Tell him we’re on our way," Stan said.
"Shouldn’t someone stay here and watch to see who makes the next call?"
"How will you get back to the house?" Stan asked.
"I’ll come and get you," Jim said listening through the phone.
"I’ll meet you at Wimpy’s then," Trixie said.
"I’ll be there soon," Jim said.
Trixie hung up the phone, then looked at Stan. "Take me around the corner and I’llwalk to Wimpy’s."
"Are you sure?"
"It’s not that far."
Stan looked at her for a moment. "All right." Stan started the engine as Trixie looked back at the phone on the corner. She looked at the people walking by. One face stood out to her from when she was younger.
Tad Webster. She stared at him wondering if it was her imagination. She couldn’t believe he was in town.
She felt the car turn and move down the street. She looked out the front windshield and pointed to a spot Stan could pull over. He did.
Trixie unhooked her seatbelt. "If you see anything, Stan, call me."
"Got it. Same goes for you."
"No problem."
"How far is this Wampy’s place?"
"Wimpy’s and it’s a couple blocks. I’ll be fine. I grew up here."
"All right."
Trixie got out of Stan’s car and closed the door. She watched him pull into traffic and go around the block. She pulled out her phone and quickly punched in seven numbers. She put her phone to her ear.
"Officer Managan speaking."
"Dan, it’s Trixie."
"Hey, Trix. What’s up? Have you found Brian yet?"
"Not yet. Dan, I need you to do a check and I need the results ASAP."
"What is it?"
"Find out if Tad Webster is still in jail."
"Trixie..."
"Just do it." Trixie ended the call.
She quickly started toward Wimpy’s. She hoped she had been seeing things. But she had a feeling she wasn’t. If I really saw Tad, she thought, then we’re really in some serious trouble. He was angry when he went to jail and his anger probably got worse. I can’t believe it’s been five years since the incident. I forgot all about it until now.
It was the night of the girls senior prom. Trixie, Honey and Di had ridden in the Wheeler limousine with their dates, Jim ,Brian and Mart respectively. All of them were looking forward to a night of fun.
While at the prom, Tad had come in, drunk. He had a knife and threatened to kill everyone. No one knew what he was talking about, but knew he couldn’t be trusted. Tad went on about how everyone in attendance was going to pay.
At that moment, Honey and Brian came into the room. Tad put the knife to Honey’s throat after pushing Brian away. Tad claimed he was going to start with them, the members of the Bob-Whites, because they felt they were superior than everyone else.
Trixie knew she had to do something. She had approached Tad trying to convince him what he was doing was wrong. He got distracted and turned away from Honey. Trixie kicked his hand that held the knife and it fell to the floor.
Honey pushed his arm away and hurried to the safety of Brian’s arms. Jim and Mart had taken Tad’s arms and held onto him until the police arrived. Tad stood trial and was sentenced to jail.
She shook her head bringing her back to the present. She hoped she was wrong and this wasn’t revenge. Trixie reached Wimpy’s and stood outside.
What if Tad is the one who has Brian? she thought. He could be doing this to get revenge for what happened years ago. He never liked us to begin with and I guess his hatred continued to grow.
A horn beeped getting her attention. She looked up and saw Jim’s jeep pulling up at the curb. She moved to the jeep and quickly got in.
"Head back to the Manor House," Trixie said as she fastened her seatbelt.
"All right," Jim said and pulled into traffic. "Did you find anything?"
"Nothing yet." At that moment her phone rang. "Hello?"
"Trix, it’s Dan."
"What do you have?"
"He’s out Trixie. Tad’s been out since February."
"Is there anything else?"
"No. His parole officer hasn’t heard from him since he was released. Do you know where he is?"
"No, but I’ll keep an eye out."
"All right," Dan said.
"Thanks."
"I’ll talk to you later."
"Bye." Trixie shut off her phone and closed her eyes. Her feeling that Tad was behind this began to grow worse.
"Who was that?" Jim asked.
"Dan. He was looking up some information for me."
"Do you have a lead?"
"Nothing yet. Could you drop me off at the farm? I need to change my clothes. I’ll be up as soon as I’m done."
"I can wait for you."
"I appreciate the offer. But if the kidnapper calls again, Honey is going to need you there."
"Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?"
Trixie looked at Jim and smiled. "You’re doing it."
Jim pulled into the drive at Crabapple Farm and Trixie got out. She went inside and hoped she had time to get things ready.
To be continued