Deadly Intent (10 page)

“I’m not. He knows I won’t leave without Joshua.”

Maven didn’t understand. “But you could leave, and then bring help back.”

“Reuben would kill us all, including Joshua before she could get back,” Tricia said.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

These poor girls were so brainwashed, they’d stopped trying to escape.

But Maven wasn’t young and naive. “There must be a way out. And he doesn’t stay here all the time, does he? There has to be away out of here.”

“He doesn’t stay, but he always knows what we’re doing.” Still whispering, Tricia stood up and moved closer to the chain link separating her from Maven and Lara.

“And it doesn’t matter. If we try to escape, he’ll kill the rest of us before the cops can get to us,” Denise said.

“He just tells you that to control you.”

Quiet descended on the group.

Lara finally looked up. “It’s true. I tried to escape one time when Joshua was younger. I just wanted him to have a better life.”

Sick to her stomach, Maven asked, “What happened?”

Tricia shrugged. “He walked down those steps and shot Melissa. There was nothing we could do to help her.”

Maven stared at the women. How could something so horrible be going on and no one know about it? These poor women had been living down here all these years.

It was as if Denise read her mind. “It’s not all that bad when we aren’t chained up. We have a bathroom down here with a shower. And a refrigerator for food. Not that he remembers to stock it very often,” Denise said.

Living in a dark damp basement? Not too bad? These women seemed to have completely given up on the thought of freedom.

“Not that it matters now,” Lara said.

“What do you mean?” Maven asked.

“There’s only allowed to be three of us at any given time. Three cages. Three women. He’s going to kill one of us,” Denise whimpered.

Maven looked at her fellow captives. “Are you saying there have been others besides Melissa?”

Silence fell on the group once again.

After a time, Tricia answered. “I was the first. There were three other girls over the years that he brought down. But after a while he took them, and then they were gone.”

“I remember Mindy,” Lara said. “She was here for about a week before she disappeared.”

The horror of their words was too much for Maven to process. After several deep breaths, she managed to speak. “I think we need to pray.”

28

“We can’t let him do this to us. It’s so wrong.” Maven looked at the women hoping to see a spark of anger, indignation, anything.

“He already has,” Denise whispered from her cage.

“Don’t you want to get out?”

“How are we supposed to stop him?” Lara spoke up. “He has complete control over all of us. And he has Joshua. I won’t leave without him.”

Tricia spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, “Stop talking about leaving. You know he’ll hurt one of us. Or maybe Joshua. He can hear everything we say.”

“He’s not here, he won’t know.”

“He always knows.”

Maven thought of the electronic equipment she’d seen in the little room before he shoved her down to the basement. Maybe he did spy on them. Was it possible to do that even when he was away—at work? Lowering her voice, she whispered. “You might be right. But we’ve got to try to get out before he kills one of us.” Probably her, since it hadn’t been his choice for her to be here, anyway. And as they said, she was much too old for him.

Footsteps creaked above their head.

“Oh, he’s going to be mad. He’s going to punish us,” Denise whispered. “I told you all to be quiet.”

Maven forced her voice to sound brave. “I’m the one talking. There’s no reason to hurt you.”

“But it doesn’t work that way. He punishes all of us no matter who does something wrong.”

The door opened and bright lights flooded the room.

Reuben stomped down the steps. He was dragging something behind him.

Joshua. The child wasn’t moving.

Maven prayed he was just unconscious.

Lara started sobbing.

He unlocked Maven and Lara’s cage, walked over to Lara and tossed the boy in her lap. “Don’t worry. He’s not dead—yet.” He turned towards Maven, and jabbed his finger in her direction. “But you keep trying to stir up trouble, and then see what happens. His life is in your hands.”

Lara sobbed harder as she hugged her son.

He pointed a finger at each of his captives. “You better behave. And stop listening to her. She’s nothing but a troublemaker.” He turned and smiled at Maven—an evil smile. “And I don’t like troublemakers.” He walked in front of Maven and glared down at her.

Mustering all her courage, she met his gaze with what she hoped was defiance.

“You’ve caused me a lot of problems. And someone has to be punished.”

She took a deep breath. “Fine. I’m the one causing the problems so punish me.”

He laughed and turned to the other women. “Didn’t you tell her? It doesn’t work that way. But don’t worry. I’ll figure it out, and I’ll save the best for you.” He tossed something at Lara. “Unlock them one at a time so they can go to the bathroom.”

With obvious reluctance, she laid Joshua on the dirty mattress and stood. Lara’s hands shook so badly she could barely get the key into the lock. She moved to Tricia’s cage and opened the door.

Tricia walked through the open gate with her chains still on.

He turned back to Maven. “So, what do you think of your new home?”

“Just lovely.”

“I hadn’t planned on keeping you around, but it might be fun. I’m a little bored with them.” He must have seen terror in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m not interested in you sexually. You’re way too old for that. But I bet we can have some stimulating conversations. These girls don’t know much. In fact, they’re rather boring.”

“Well, maybe they would be more stimulating if you didn’t keep them locked up down here.”

“Maybe so.” He shrugged. “But it can’t be helped.”

Tricia walked back into her cage.

Lara moved to Denise’s cage.

Denise rushed towards the bathroom.

“Reuben, is it OK if we get some food?” Tricia asked.

“I don’t think so. I never gave any of you permission to talk with her. But you did it, anyways. So no food today.”

Tricia nodded and sat down on the mattress in her cage.

“Now, we have a little matter to settle. And before we start, I want you to understand I’m not playing games.”

Maven was sure she wouldn’t like it.

“How did you find me?” he asked.

“I didn’t. I was walking in the park when you found me, remember?”

His face flushed. “And how did you happen to be in the park by my house?”

If he found out about the drawings, who knew what would it happen? He might kill all of them, including Joshua. It was up to her to give Paul the time to find them.

“I had to go to the doctor’s today. And even though it was out of the way, I decided to visit Erieview Village. I’ve never been here before. It’s an adorable town. I made a wrong turn and found the park. I decided to take a walk before I headed back home.”

He slapped her—hard.

Maven gasped.

Denise started crying.

“You expect me to believe a ridiculous story like that.”

“Reuben, it’s true. That’s what she told us, too,” Tricia said.

It was the first sign of rebellion Maven had seen in any of the women. Good. She would need their help to get them out of this situation.

He turned from Maven and advanced towards Tricia. “You better not be lying to me. All I have to do is check the video recording. You know what will happen if you’re lying to me.”

No wonder the women had insisted on whispering.

Tricia shook her head. “I’m not lying. That’s what she told us.”

Lara was cradling an unconscious Joshua in her arms.

“Tell me the truth.”

Lara met his gaze. “That’s what she told us. She had no idea what was going on. It was a coincidence that she ended up in the park.”

Another spark of rebellion.

He turned back to Maven. His hand landed on her face once again. “I don’t believe any of you. I gave you a chance to tell the truth. Now, you can all face the consequences. I’m done with all of you. This is over. Enjoy the next…” He looked at his watch. “Twenty hours. When I come back from work tomorrow, I’m killing all of you.” He pointed at Maven. “And it’s all your fault. Joshua will be the first one to go. That way, you can all see him die and know it’s your fault.”

“No, Rueben. He’s your son. You can’t—” Lara cried.

“I can do anything I want, Lara. Or have you forgotten that?” He turned. “Unless you want to tell me the truth.”

“Will you let Joshua live?” Lara looked up at him.

“I’ll think about it.”

Lara nodded.

He opened their cage and grabbed her by the hair. She laid Joshua down before he dragged her across the basement floor. Once out of the cage area, he released Lara and snapped the lock back in place. He stopped underneath the light bulb and pulled the string. A moment later, all the lights went out.

Maven sat in the dark, listening to Lara’s screams. She prayed for Lara, for all of them. In the midst of her terror, peace reigned. God had brought her here for a reason. And she would do her best to see it through.

Paul must be so worried about her. He wouldn’t stop looking for her.

A sweet longing filled her soul as his face swam in front of her. Why had she been so afraid of taking their relationship to a new step? It was so clear to her now. God had given her a second chance at love—and she’d rejected it because she was afraid. Sitting in this darkened basement, listening to the screams above her, Maven understood what real fear was.

Oh, Paul, I’m sorry I didn’t understand that sooner.

29

Paul’s alarm clock dragged him out of a horrific nightmare. The few hours he’d slept since Maven went missing took him to places he wouldn’t let his conscious mind go. He sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the clock’s little red numbers.

Maven had been missing for almost sixteen hours. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air—just like Moses. No Maven. No car. No cell phone or credit card activity. It wasn’t looking good.

He was a cop. They might tell family members otherwise, but…Paul forced himself to stop thinking the worst.

God was a good and loving God. He would take care of Maven.

Paul slipped to his knees and begged for Maven’s safe return. He loved the woman now and forever. When he found her, Paul would spend the rest of his life doing everything he could to make her happy, whether as a friend or as a husband.

Maven wanted a life with a man she could count on. And that man was him.

An idea took form while he showered. He had to take a risk to find her—if it wasn’t already too late.

Paul drove to Donald Decker’s office.

The secretary ushered him right in.

Paul didn’t waste time on small talk. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“It’s risky. I wanted to run it by you before I talk to anyone else. I want to offer a reward. Not for finding Maven, but for finding the house.” He held up the drawing Moses had done. “We put on the news that we are looking for this house on a street with the name of Cedar. First person who leads us to the house gets the reward.”

“It might work.”

“Or it might not.” Paul nodded. “If the person who has Maven actually lives in that house and sees the news broadcast, it could make things much more dangerous for her.”

Donald Decker looked grim. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“On the other hand, whatever is going on is probably not good for her. I really feel God telling me to hurry. We don’t have much time. I just know it.”

“Do you want me to put up the reward?”

“Well, I have some money, but I thought you could add a bit to it. The more lucrative, the quicker the responses will come in.”

Donald walked behind the desk and pulled out a checkbook. “How much? Fifty thousand?”

“I don’t think we need that much. Let’s start with twenty-five. You understand, even if we find the house, that doesn’t mean it will lead us to Maven, but we’ll still have to pay the reward. I’ll pay you back, but it won’t be all at once.”

“Not necessary. I want Maven safe and back where she belongs. Have you talked with the FBI about this?”

“No, and I’m not going to. They would do everything they could to stop us. I think we need to go to Cleveland, hold the press conference, and wait for the calls to come in.”

“Why Cleveland?”

“That’s where she was the last time we spoke. I’m sure she’s somewhere in the area. If we’re there, it will take less time to find her.”

“One of my lawyers has an office up there. Downtown. He could help us set something up with the phones.” Donald was already reaching for his phone as he spoke. “And I’ll have him set up a press conference, as well.”

30

Lara was tossed down the steps in the early morning hours.

“Maven.” As little arms wound around her neck, she woke up.

No one wanted to talk despite Maven’s best efforts to get them to open up. She had no idea if Reuben really planned to follow through on his threat to kill them when he got back from work. “Moses. Sweetie.”

He patted her cheeks. “I love you, baby.”

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t lose it now. “I love you, too, sweetie. I missed you so much.”

“Missed you.”

“Why do you call him Moses?” Lara asked.

“We didn’t know his name so I gave him that one. It seemed like a suitable name for him.”

“I like it,” Lara whispered. She sat beyond the first gate.

Even in the dimness of the basement, Maven could see the bruises on her arms and her swollen face.

Reuben hadn’t even bothered to put her in the cage. He knew she wouldn’t leave without her son.

Maven had to convince her otherwise. “We can’t sit here and wait for him to come back. Lara, you’ve got to go get help.”