Roger came to full consciousness in the trunk of a car. The wheels hummed and he knew he was traveling over asphalt. It was a long, flat stretch of road. Too bad he couldn’t determine how long he’d been knocked out. As he shifted his position, he realized that his hands were restrained behind his back, and he had a serious headache. Otherwise, he was unharmed. And being taken hostage could work to his advantage. He’d gambled on the fact that his mother wouldn’t kill him outright—or let Antoine have the honor. He didn’t know how long he could count on her “maternal” instinct, though. If she truly felt threatened by him, she would sacrifice him without a backward glance. In the meantime, he felt certain he would be taken to wherever they were holding Trudy Wells. It had cost him another knot on his head, but this was the quickest route to finding Tabitha’s sister. The sooner he found her, the better her chances of survival.
As the car whirred down the asphalt, Roger assessed the damage to his body. His head throbbed and he was slightly nauseated, but nothing serious. As Charline had always teased him about his hard head, he had to admit she was right. He’d been struck from behind twice. And left to burn to death once. While his mother was a conniving witch, Antoine was an apparent murderer. The dapper con artist would have let Roger burn to death. Roger felt certain his mother’s acknowledged fiancé was involved, if not the trigger man, in Lisa East’s death. The arson at Lisa East’s cottage had to be to destroy evidence.
The car turned off the highway and bumped down a rough dirt road. Roger felt every pothole and struggled to loosen the bonds on his wrists. Antoine was good with blunt force to the head, but not so good with ropes and knots. As Roger wiggled his bonds so that they loosened, he took satisfaction in thinking that when he got out of the car, he was going to make someone pay.
They traveled for another twenty minutes or so before the car stopped. Roger had freed his hands and he prepared himself for the confrontation, going limp and turning his head so that he was as concealed as possible. The latch popped and the trunk opened to a flood of light. He’d been in the luggage area of the car long enough for day to arrive. Tabitha would be fit to be tied.
He heard Antoine’s voice outside the car, but he couldn’t tell if his mother was present. Antoine was clearly annoyed.
“What are we supposed to do with him?” Antoine asked. “He’s put himself in real danger. He knows too much. Him and that nosy psychic. She’s no more a psychic than I’m an astronaut.”
“Calm down, Antoine.” Hannah’s voice was like the crack of a whip. “You knew going into this it could get dicey. We can’t turn back now. We almost have what we need. Roger isn’t hurt. Not yet. And he’ll be out of trouble here. There’s a lot more riding on this than a few bumps on Roger’s head, though you didn’t have to hit him so hard.”
“I took action because you failed to rein in your son. Had you done what you were supposed to do, we’d be sitting pretty now instead of worrying about what to do with…bodies.”
All refinement was gone from Antoine’s voice. The hint of culture and continental influences had been replaced by a flat accent. Roger realized the man wasn’t even from Europe. He sounded more like he had ties to the Bronx. Roger forced himself to go limp when rough hands pulled him into a sitting position.
“Snap out of it.” Antoine shook Roger. “Get out and walk. We don’t have time for this. We could just leave him in the trunk.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Hannah said. “Get him in the house. Make sure he’s tied up good.”
“Maybe you should help me. He’s your flesh and blood.”
Footsteps crunched in the shells of a driveway. “Listen, Antoine, we can use Roger to our advantage. So far, we’ve played our roles perfectly. Yes, this is a tight spot, but Lisa East is the only person who’s dead, and we couldn’t have prevented that. Let’s get Roger inside.”
Footsteps crunched away, and Roger felt strong hands pulling him out of the trunk. He moaned softly and rolled his head, looking all around. He saw a dark building set among trees. It was a cabin in the woods, a retreat. And he knew it. Big Samuel Long had built the cabin back in the 1940s as a get-away. Roger had hosted a few high school parties there. He and his buddies had followed the worn path to hangovers and regret that most teenagers traveled. They’d pretended to be all grown up and drank and told stories, played cards, talked about girls. The cabin had been a big part of high school summers.
Since he’d assumed the mantel of running Long Agricultural, he’d almost forgotten the place existed. It was the perfect hideaway, nestled in dense woods with access to Moon Lake and no neighbors. Not far away was a small, isolated little island that he’d loved as a boy. Moon Lake had once been a part of the Mississippi River, but over time, the river had changed course, and this bend had been cut off, leaving a deep lake.
Having a sense of where he was gave him a semblance of control. He’d also deduced that there was only Antoine and Hannah with him. But Antoine and his mother seemed worried about someone else.
“Wake up. Come on, Roger, we have things to finish.” Antoine lifted Roger’s upper body out of the trunk.
Roger had loosened the rope around his wrists, but he knew if he intended to take any action, his timing had to be perfect. He lolled forward, seeming to bang his head on the trunk lid.
“Come on, stay on your feet,” Antoine ordered as he roughly grasped Roger’s upper arm.
Roger made his move. He used his left leg to kick at Antoine’s ankles, sending the man sprawling into the shells of the drive. When Antoine was down, Roger didn’t hesitate. He stomped hard on his chest with all of his weight. The air left Antoine in a whoosh. Roger finished him off with a kick to the head.
“Stay down,” Roger said. It took him another moment to work his hands free. He used the rope to secure Antoine and dragged him to the side of the driveway. He also recovered his cell phone from Antoine’s pocket. To his disgust, the phone was completely dead. He dropped it into his pocket and jogged toward the cabin.
He’d moved Antoine out of sight in the weeds, but Hannah would be looking for him any minute. He knew his mother. She gave a command and expected instant obedience. Well, he had a surprise for her. At the thought of it, a tight smile crept over his face as he hurried to the cabin and silently climbed the steps.
He listened for a moment at the front door, but no sounds came from inside. Without waiting, he kicked the door as hard as he could, sending it crashing from the frame. He stepped into the large den where Hannah stood. She was frozen in place, a kettle of water in her hand.
“Hello, Mother,” he said.
She hurled the kettle at him and took off for the back of the house, but he was quicker. “I don’t think so,” he said. “There’s a very inviting car trunk waiting for you. It might be a little crowded with Antoine in there too.”
“How did you get loose? Listen, you have to stay here at the cabin,” she said. “I don’t have time to explain. Where’s Antoine?”
“He’s a little indisposed. Now you can make this easy, or you can make it hard, but either way, I’m going to tie you up.”
To her credit, Hannah didn’t resist him. In a few moments, he had her tied to a kitchen chair with the electrical cord from a lamp. “Now where is Trudy Wells?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Mother, now isn’t the time to play games.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“My employee. The young woman who worked as a receptionist.”
Hannah lifted her chin in a classic move that Roger recognized, and couldn’t help but admire. Even tied to a chair with retribution staring her in the face, Hannah played it regale. “I don’t know where she is. Why should I?”
“Because you and Antoine abducted her. I found his cufflink in her car, which was hidden in a thick brake on my land. Now spill it. I’ll tell the police you helped me find Trudy. I’ll ask for leniency.”
“Roger, I’ve been trying to protect you, but you need to let me loose and get Antoine. We don’t have long.”
Roger’s headache intensified. He was so close to finding Trudy. So close. “Sit tight, Mother. Then again, you don’t have a choice.” He quickly scouted out the rest of the cabin hoping that Trudy was stashed there somewhere. He didn’t want to punish his mother, not really. He only wanted to find Trudy and deliver her safety to her worried sister.
Even though he tossed the rooms hurriedly, he found no evidence that Trudy had been held there. No sign that anyone had occupied the cabin. He felt his plan unraveling, and he returned to the kitchen. “Mother, where is Trudy? Let me help you.”
“I don’t have a clue,” she said, staring past him. You always assume the worst of me, and I really don’t blame you. This is different, though. Antoine and I--”
“Just stop!” His mother was going to do the thing she always did—find a way to cast herself as the victim. “Tell me now or I’m going to gag you and leave you here while I find that young woman.”
“I swear to you, I didn’t have anything to do with Lisa East’s death or the disappearance of that other young woman. I swear it.”
Roger held the gag right at her mouth. He took no pleasure in tormenting his mother but he also didn’t believe a word that came out of her mouth. And he didn’t trust that she would keep quiet in a pinch. He feared she’d willingly give his position away, given an opportunity. The hard facts were that if Trudy wasn’t with Antoine and Hannah, then they were working with someone else. Someone who could show up at the cabin any moment. Someone who might be armed. “Last chance. Where is Trudy?”
“Let me loose and I’ll tell you everything I know. She’s safe, for the moment. I swear it. Antoine and I, we aren’t what you think. We’re involved in exploring this new cotton.”
“I know. Big financial investment, right. Now where is Trudy?”
“I don’t know. I swear to you. Antoine and I don’t have her.”
A chill traced down Roger’s back. Hannah was an extremely good actress, and he couldn’t tell if she was pretending to be innocent or not. He faced her. “Look, if what you’re saying is true and you didn’t have anything to do with Lisa’s death or with Trudy’s abduction, I’m sure you’ll make out just fine with the authorities. Right now, I have to find Trudy and return her safely to her sister.” He started to put the gag in place.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
“I’m going to make sure you won’t try to warn anyone if your confederates show up here.”
“Don’t tie me up and leave me here. Please. You don’t understand what the consequences will be. For me and for Antoine.”
“You presume I care.” He had a thought. “Where’s your phone?”
She indicated her jacket that hung over the back of a kitchen chair. Roger fished the phone out. He didn’t remember Tabitha’s number, but Charline’s number was programmed into the phone. He made the call.
“Hannah, where are you?” Charline answered, her voice frayed with worry. “Roger is missing. Do you know where he is?”
Roger realized Charline had looked at the caller ID and presumed his mother was calling. “Aunt Charline, it’s me, Roger. Mother is here with me. She’s…detained. But she’s fine. Please tell Tabitha that I’m okay.”
“I’m going to put you on speaker,” Charline said. “Tabitha is right here with me. Samuel and I have been worried sick about you. Where are you?”
“The cabin on Moon Lake. Mother and Antoine are involved in some bad business, Aunt Charline. Would you call the sheriff’s department and ask DeWayne or Budgie to send some Coahoma County deputies to the cabin? I know you can give them directions. Mother and Antoine will be here. Restrained and waiting.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Charline didn’t bother with extraneous questions. “Where are you going, Roger?”
“Antoine knows where Trudy Wells is. He’s going to tell me. Now.”
“Be careful, Roger. Antoine is not what he appears to be. Neither is your mother.”
“I’ve come to that conclusion on my own.” Roger chuckled. “Mother is in this up to her neck.”
“It grieves me to hear that, Roger. Hannah is difficult, but I’ve always cared about her. I know deep-down, you do too.”
The gut punch hit Roger, and he had to acknowledge it. “I do love her. I’m sorry it’s come to this, but she has to answer for what she’s done. Is Tabitha okay?”
“She is. She’s been worried too. She wants to talk to you.”
“Listen, I hear someone driving up.” He knew his time was short and he had to get the basic information to Charline. “I’m going to find Trudy.”
Charline’s voice was choked with emotion. “Remember the nature of a scorpion. They bite because that’s what they do. Antoine is a scorpion from everything Tabitha discovered.”
“I’ll remember that, and I’ll call back when I can.” Roger had been watching his mother’s reaction to his conversation. When a slow smile curled her lips, he knew something was going on. He dodged left just as the front door banged open. Hannah’s scream rang out and the phone crashed to the floor, knocked out of Roger’s hand by a flying screw driver.
“Don’t let Tabitha come here. Whatever you do, keep her away. It’s too--” Roger said before the phone went dead.