Tess spent the afternoon at the Sentinel's newsroom, working on polishing her article about Gemma, but she kept half an eye on her cell phone, checking it in case Lisa pulled out of the meeting. For some reason, Tess felt that being contacted by Lisa after so many years was too good to be true, and she half-way expected that Lisa would cancel at the last minute.
Tess hoped not -- she was overjoyed that Lisa was doing well and wanted to meet again. It would be awkward at first, but Tess was determined to be totally accepting and loving towards Lisa. Tess had asked one of the HR staff members who did counseling on the side how she should handle the meeting, giving the woman a very bare bones recounting of what happened.
"Be totally open and non-judgmental of what she says," the woman advised. "Let her take the lead, and don't push her for any information she doesn't want to give."
Tess thought that was good advice. Lisa had a hard-enough life without having Tess be in any way judgmental. She would listen and let Lisa do the talking.
She could almost cry with happiness that this was happening, and so the morning and afternoon passed quickly as she anticipated the drive to Spanaway, south of Tacoma, and the meeting at restaurant near the gas station.
It was strange that Lisa wanted to meet there, but who was Tess to judge? Maybe it was a safe space for Lisa, and Tess would only find out why when they actually sat down at the restaurant and started talking.
Whatever the case, Tess left work with a sense of excitement that finally, she would know the truth. She knew Lisa survived, and that was the biggest issue, but she'd also know what happened after that night. From what Michael had said, Lisa had been sent north to Seattle and was sold over and over again to perverted rich men or to pimps who sold her to pedophiles. How had she escaped?
She drove to Spanaway, taking the interstate south and arrived on the outskirts of the city. Her car's GPS showed her the location of the gas station, and she took the right exit and found the white van Lisa spoke about. She parked in the lot behind the Shell station and walked over, eager to see Lisa's face for the first time.
When she got alongside the van, she saw that the side door was open and that it was a converted van with a small kitchenette and sofa that she assumed turned into a bed.
"Lisa?" she said, and peered inside.
She heard a noise and started to turn and then felt something crash down on her head.
Then, darkness...
She woke up in the back of a van, her hands zip-tied behind her back, a cloth gag stuffed in her mouth, duct tape keeping it in place. Her feet were likewise zip-tied, and she was lying on her side, her head throbbing from whatever hit her. She craned her neck to check out her surroundings. It was the same van she thought was Lisa's. She couldn't imagine that Lisa had done this -- even in her wildest imagination, Lisa wouldn't do anything to hurt Tess.
Then, she got a very sick feeling in her gut. Someone had lured her to the truck stop with the promise of meeting with Lisa once more. Tess kicked herself mentally -- she never actually spoke with Lisa, never heard Lisa’s voice.
How stupid could she be?
People didn't talk on the phone anymore. They texted. They Facebooked. Sometimes, they Skyped, depending on the cell they used.
Tess should have been more suspicious of Lisa turning up, but she had reasoned it was because Eugene was caught and then escaped, his story in the news. She figured that must have made Lisa think about everything again and want to reconnect.
How foolish could she be?
She heard humming coming from the front of the van. The voice was male, and Tess wiggled and tried to reposition so she could see who it was, but the most she could see was the corner of the man's head. He was wearing a knitted cap and had a thick dark reddish-brown beard.
"Hey, Tess," the man said, his voice amused. He eyed her in the rear-view mirror. "How the hell are you? Long time no see."
Eugene...
She wanted to scream but what good would that do? All it would accomplish was to make Eugene gloat at her fear.
No, she wasn't going to weep or cry or scream -- not until it would make a difference. Instead, she started to plan how she would escape. There was no way she was going to let Eugene kill her -- if she could do anything to prevent it.
As things were currently, she was immobile, and she knew he would eventually stop and probably drag her out of the van's side door. She could try to knock him in the head with her own. It would hurt, but it might give her a moment to escape. It might also anger him, but then maybe he'd kill her quickly instead of torturing her slowly, like she feared he planned.
They stopped and Eugene got out, but he didn't come around to remove her. Instead, she heard him filling the van up with gas. That gave her a few moments to try to escape her bonds. When she heard him leave the side of the van, she waited. He must have gone inside the gas station to pay. She glanced around and saw the edge of the kitchenette counter. She lifted her legs up and brought them down quickly, aiming her feet at the edge, and sure enough, the force was hard enough that the zip-ties broke, freeing her feet.
That would help.
If she was able to get into the position that she could run, at least she'd be able to. She heard the driver's side door open once more and so she laid back down in the position she had been in before, so Eugene didn't think she'd done anything while he was in the gas station. He made eye contact, and smiled, then started driving again.
She figured he'd take her to some remote location and kill her. Maybe to where he was holding Kira captive.
When they stopped, she'd try to hit him with her head the way she planned.
It might not work, but she had to try to escape.
They drove for about fifteen minutes. Tess was able to see out the front of the van from where she lay. The road they were on was winding with lots of turns, the trees tall all around them. He was taking her up into the mountains. Finally, they came to a stop and Tess readied herself for what was to happen next, trying to remain as calm and as ready as she could manage, given the circumstances.
Eugene got out of the van and came around to the side, opening the sliding door. In an instant, she made a decision and rolled onto her back, her knees bent, her feet reared back. When the door fully opened, she kicked out, connecting with his jaw. It sent him falling back and he tripped and fell to the ground.
"Son of a bitch!" he said with a groan.
Tess sat up in the van and then jumped out, deciding she had to run or die.
She didn't look back. She ran, screaming as she did even though she had a gag in her mouth and even if there was no one around to hear her. Screaming in anger gave her strength, and the will to keep going despite her fear.
"Fucking bitch!" he called out after her. She heard him running behind her and craned her neck around to see him gaining on her, his mouth bloody.
At least she'd hurt him.
She wasn't fast enough, because her arms were restrained behind her back, so he was able to catch her. He reached out for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the ground. Then he landed on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs.
"Not so smug now, are you, bitch?"
She struggled to breathe for a moment, unable to do anything to fight back, and he took the opportunity to restrain her, his hands on her shoulders.
When she did regain enough oxygen to focus on his face, she saw that it was him, despite the beard and slightly chubbier cheeks from what she remembered.
Those were the same dead eyes she saw whenever she met him. She thought back then it was disinterest. She thought it was his cautious nature.
She knew now that it was because he was empty inside, without any shred of empathy.
She was an object to him -- to be manipulated for his own pleasure or enjoyment. They all were -- Kirsten, Lisa, all the girls he'd killed. All the people who got in his way and were killed as a consequence.
He was a monster.
"Oh, Tess, we meet again. How I've longed for this moment. Ever since I woke up from my attempted suicide in jail, I've been planning for this moment so I could watch you die in front of me. I knew you'd take my Lisa bait and you did. Bet you don't feel so smart now."
She wanted to spit in his face, but couldn't because of the gag. There was nothing else she could do, except try to buck him off. She bent her knees and tried with all her strength to knock him off her, but he was stronger and held on.
He punched her, knocking her head to the side, the pain intense, the coppery taste of blood in her mouth.
"You're a fighter," he said, putting one hand around her throat, squeezing. "But right now, you're more trouble than you're worth."
He put both hands around her neck and squeezed, and she was unable to breath even through her nose. Panic rose in her, her heart racing, adrenaline surging through her body.
Then, her vision narrowed, and she knew she was going to die.
Her last thoughts before she blacked out were of Michael, his smiling face in her mind's eye, his expression tender, his arms open wide to welcome her home each night when they met again after a long day's work.
If she had to die, at least she knew she had been loved by, and had loved, Michael.