Chapter Fourteen

When Claire arrived at Spence Alley, Guy was waiting on his porch with three men and a woman. She’d never seen any of them before, but she assumed they were his neighbors. She pulled the sledge around next to the house to leave the road clear for Michael’s helicopter. Guy was down off the porch before she killed the sledge’s engine.

“What’s with the block party?” she asked as she and Randall got off the machine.

“I figured you’d be needing all the help you can get. I told them what you told me, and they’re all willing to lend a hand. Whatever you need.”

Claire said, “I appreciate that.” She raised her voice so everyone could hear. “But right now, the best help you can give us is to go back into your homes and let us do our jobs. These are dangerous men, and we don’t want to worry about someone getting caught in the crossfire.”

The woman said, “We know what these guys have been doing. We want to help bring ‘em down.”

“I appreciate that anger, ma’am. Like I said, the more people who get involved, the more dangerous it will be.”

She grimaced but stepped back from the edge of the porch.

“Hopefully we’ll be back here within the hour, and we’re going to need a place to keep those women safe while we wait for our ride. If you truly want to help, make coffee or tea or hot cocoa. Have enough soup or stew on-hand that they can all eat their fill. They probably haven’t had a whole lot of good home-cooking and they’re going to be craving something hot after being in a cold house for so long.”

The residents were already moving back to their own homes. Guy’s shoulders were hunched, and he looked sheepish.

“I just thought maybe a posse...”

“The thought is very much appreciated,” Claire said. “But I think it’s best to keep our numbers low. And I’m not lying about the food and drink. The women will be insanely grateful for that when we get them back.”

“Then I guess I should start something brewing.” He went back up onto his porch. “Good luck, Sheriff Curran.”

She nodded, looked at Randall to make sure he was ready, then unholstered her gun. She gestured the way with her head and started walking. Randall made sure the backpack was settled properly, took out his own weapon, and followed her into the woods.

***

She was prepared for the women to have already gone to bed and couldn’t hear her quiet knock on the back door, but there was a response almost immediately. Claire muscled the door open and went inside with Randall close behind. Stefaniya was the one who let them in, and she backed away when she saw Claire wasn’t alone.

Claire held up her hands. “He’s a friend. I trust him. This is Randall. It’s okay.”

The house was completely dark save for two lanterns in the living room. It looked as if the women had made a nest against an interior wall where they could huddle for warmth. A book was lying face down on the floor next to the pile of blankets. The women were now gathered at the door of the kitchen and Stefaniya went past them to look out the front window.

Tereza said, “We may not have much time. They have not brought us dinner yet.”

“Seriously?” Randall said. “It’s really late.”

Claire motioned for the backpack. “They’ll mention it in the Yelp review.” She put the bag on the table and unzipped it. “We have coats, socks, and shoes. Hopefully, we have something close to everyone’s size, but don’t worry about perfect. This is just to get you through the snow to safety. The plan is to leave here, go through the woods, and then you’ll wait in a safe house while we wait for a helicopter to come in and take you somewhere safe.”

“Helicopter?” Kseniya said.

Vera said something in another language, her hands miming. Kseniya looked frightened but nodded.

“What about Mila?” Vera asked. “We will not leave without her.”

“Russell will get her out once the four of you are safe.”

Vera didn’t look convinced by that plan. “We won’t leave her,” she said again.

“I know,” Claire said. “But we’re very low on ideal options, Vera. Getting the four of you to safety is our top priority. Once that’s done, we’ll be free to focus entirely on Mila.”

“We--”

“He’s coming,” Stefaniya said, backing away from the window. “One of the men is coming.”

“Shit.” Claire met Randall’s eye and they had a brief moment of silent communication. “Ladies, everyone into the kitchen. Back wall, crouched down. Now! Go.”

They hurried off. Randall said, “You--”

“Keep them covered.”

He nodded and followed them into the kitchen. Claire crossed the living room in two striding steps and ducked behind the door just as it swung open.

“Hello, hello, girls!” Claire recognized Jesse’s voice. “Sorry it took so long for...”

Jesse had stopped a few steps inside the door, staring at the empty room. He turned to look at the bedroom, clearly assuming they’d gone to sleep already. Claire pushed the front door closed. He turned toward the sound, bringing his jaw around to meet Claire’s fist, already in motion. He dropped the tray of food when he stumbled backward, plates and silverware clattering across the floor. She crowded him, sweeping his back foot with her leg so that he fell hard onto his back.

“You’re gonna--”

She shoved him onto his stomach and pulled one of his arms back. “You’re under arrest. Anything you say--”

He bucked hard, twisting and shooting his elbow back at her. Claire avoided the blow, but he managed to squirm out of her grasp and get on his back.

“You!”

He lashed out with both fists but Claire easily avoided the sloppy attack and grabbed his wrist again. With her free hand, she unhooked the taser from her belt and jabbed it into his stomach. One squeeze of the trigger took all the fight out of him. His feet kicked the floor and he rocked his head back, crying out in pain and surprise. Claire rolled him again and put a knee in the middle of his back.

“As I said, you have the right to remain silent...”

She cuffed him as she finished reading his rights. When she was finished, she used his belt and shirt collar to pull him upright. Randall came out of the kitchen and she pointed at the laundry room. Randall opened the door and Claire took their prisoner inside. She put a hand on his shoulder, pressing him to the wall, and patted him down with her other hand.

“You do not want to make Mr. W any angrier at you than he already is, lady,” Jesse said. “Trust me, that is one guy you don’t want on your bad side.”

“I’ve seen a lot of bad guys with a lot of bad sides.” Claire found a phone in Jesse’s pocket. “It rarely works out well for them.”

She pushed him into a sitting position and motioned for Randall to stand guard. She turned on Jesse’s phone, expecting she would need a passcode, but it opened with a swipe of her thumb.

“You’re not a very good criminal, are you, Jesse?”

Vera had ventured forward and peeked into the laundry room. “You actually... you did it. You stopped him.”

“One down,” Claire said, scrolling through Jesse’s contacts. “Actually this is three down. We’re halfway there.”

Jesse had messages from all six of the men, letting her confirm the names she’d accumulated for them. The most recent message was from Tim. She couldn’t remember if she’d dubbed him Dopey or Bashful. She tapped on the screen and read the last string of messages, all of which had been sent the night before.

 

JESSE: You don’t have to go over there all the time and see them! It's fuckin crazy! I didn’t think they were all that hot at first, you know, but after a while

TIM: Any port in a storm?

JESSE: lol absolutely!!! Too bad bossman would skin us alive if we actually did anything.

TIM: Sometimes I’m almost ready to risk it

JESSE: Suicide lol

 

Claire grunted and looked at the window, then at the dark laundry room door. Randall was watching Jesse, but also had an eye on her, waiting for word on what their next move would be. Claire went into the kitchen. The women, other than Vera, were still crouching on the floor.

“Shoes and coats, ladies. Quick.”

Randall said, “What’s the plan, boss?”

“They’re going to notice he’s gone eventually. Vera, how long does he usually stay over here when he brings you dinner?”

“Sometimes not long. Sometimes a few minutes. Never longer than ten.”

Claire said, “They’ll know something is wrong when he doesn’t come back.”

She tapped the phone against her hand. The plan was to lead the women back to Spence Alley, let Randall deal with Wyman and the remaining thugs. She looked at Jesse, who glared back at her. He was six foot, maybe three hundred pounds, and she’d been lucky to sucker punch him the way she did. She was tough but in a fair fight, things might have turned out very differently. Randall was a shade over six feet, lean but strong.

“What are you thinking, boss?” he asked.

“I’m thinking Jodie is going to make herself a widow when she finds out this was my idea. But we need to get this guy out of here. I’m pretty sure I could handle him on the walk through the woods, but if I had to choose who would be his escort...”

Randall lowered his voice. “You swore to Jodie you’d leave.”

“Yeah,” Claire said. “But I didn’t know we’d have a prisoner. That changes things. I’ll be left with three of them to handle.”

“That’s still a lot.”

“Better than four,” she said. “If you take that guy with you. We have an opportunity here. We need to take it.”

Randall pressed his lips together and shook his head. The women had finished putting on their shoes and were bundled in coats.

“Is Jodie the type to kill the messenger...?”

“Just make sure there are witnesses around.”

Randall sighed in defeat. “Fine. Okay. What’s your plan?”

Claire held up the phone. “I’m going to play To Catch a Predator.”

“Gross.”

“Yeah, I expect I’ll need a couple showers to get it off me when I’m done. But it’s a surefire way to lure one of the guys over here. Then I’ll only have to worry about Wyman and one other guy. The odds are getting better all the time.”

Randall said, “You like those odds? Remind me to play blackjack against you sometime.” He took the cuffs from his belt and gave them to her, replacing the ones on Jesse’s wrists. “Play for money. Lots and lots of money.”

He used one of the extra pairs of socks to gag Jesse, then draped one of the coats over his shoulders and zipped it up with his arms trapped inside. The coat also had a hood, which he pulled over Jesse’s head and cinched the drawstring tight.

Vera watched, then marched over to Claire. “I would like to stay and help.”

Claire shook her head. “I can’t allow that. But thank you.”

Vera looked like she wanted to argue, but decided to surrender. “Good luck, Sheriff Curran.”

“Thank you.”

Randall handed Vera a flashlight. “Wait until we’re in the woods to switch it on. Then follow our footprints in the snow straight west. It’ll take us right where we need to go.” He put one hand on Jesse’s left shoulder, gripped his right bicep with the other, and marched him forward. To Claire, he said, “Be careful.”

“You too.”

“Move it,” he said to Jesse, and shoved him ahead as if he was being used as a human shield.

Tereza opened the back door and froze on the threshold as she looked out into the darkness. Vera came up behind her, touched her shoulder gently. Kseniya reached out and took Tereza’s hand in hers. Stefaniya stood behind the three of them, tall and strong, preventing anyone from forcing them to take this step before they were ready. Finally Tereza exhaled in a puff of white smoke and stepped out into the night. Kseniya and Vera went with her, and Stefaniya followed, turning to look at Claire and Randall before she was out of sight.

“Give ‘em hell, Lance,” Randall said.

Claire followed him to the door and watched as they disappeared single-file into the woods. Once they were gone, she took out Jesse’s phone and scrolled back over his texts with Tim to learn his voice well enough to mimic it. When she felt confident, she tapped to compose a new message.

 

Dude you won’t believe it. These chicks are REDDY. Its fuckin freezing over here, and they’ll do anything to keep warm.

 

She added a few emojis she hoped were suggestive and hit send. A few seconds later, she got a reply.

 

lol your insane. You need to get laid, man, for real.

 

Claire grimaced and sent back I’m about to! She felt disgusting. Get over here and get yours! I can only do so much!

 

ripe for the picking right lol but boss finds out, we’re toast

Plenty we can do without leaving evidence, man. There practically climbing all over me!! Backup lol.

oh man, I hate you.

 

She went to the window and looked out. A minute passed, then two. If she’d just channeled a horny asshole for no reason, she doubted there would be enough showers in the world to make her feel clean. How much could she push this? Could she send another message asking him to come over? At what point would he become suspicious? She remembered now that Tim was Bashful, the soft-spoken one who didn’t say much. If he was too shy or--

The front door of the main house opened. The man who came out was short, barrel-shaped, and rolled his shoulders when he walked. He made her think of gorillas at the zoo as they strutted up to gaze out at the people gawking at them. In the short time it took him to get from one house to the other, he looked over his shoulder three times to make sure no one was watching him.

Claire moved behind the door again. This time she already had the taser in hand when the door opened. Tim slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. He was so focused on the bedroom door that he might not have noticed her even if the lights had been on. Tim moved stealthily toward the bedroom and Claire silently fell into step behind him.

“Jesse?” he whispered. “You in there, man? Can I have the tall mean one?”

“Am I tall and mean enough for you?”

He yelped and spun around. Claire hit him in the chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him, preventing any cries for help he might have made. He backpedaled and hit the wall.

“You!” he wheezed.

“I keep getting that,” Claire admitted. “Face the wall.”

He obeyed, to her surprise. “I-I-I wasn’t going to do anything they didn’t want.”

“Consent is real important to you, huh?” she said.

“I’m not a rapist.” There were tears in his voice.

Claire said, “Yeah. You were just going to have sex with a couple of women you were keeping prisoner, all of whom were reliant on you for their basic necessities. But you were going to make sure they gave consent before you did anything.”

“Please,” he said. “Please, please, I can’t... I can’t go to jail for rape.”

“Look on the bright side,” she said. “Maybe all your other crimes will take up enough time that no one will bother going anywhere with the attempted sexual assault charge.”

He sobbed. “Oh god...”

“Come on.”

She walked him to the laundry room and put him on the floor. She patted him down and came up with another phone, a wallet, and a small knife. She held up the blade so he could see it.

“This probably helps with the consent, huh?”

“Oh god,” he blubbered again.

She remembered seeing him in Rucker’s photos, swaggering and powerful. Any bravado he may have had was gone now. He’d given in to a shameful urge and was being punished for it. The women he planned to victimize had vanished, replaced by a vengeful woman with the ability to make him pay for showing his true nature. She doubted he would cause much trouble, and she wanted to save her handcuffs for someone who presented a real threat, but she wanted to be certain he was contained.

“Coat, shoes, socks.”

He looked up at her. “What...?”

“Your coat, your shoes, and your socks. If you’re wearing layers, everything but the bottom shirt goes.” She snapped her fingers. “Now! It was good enough for the women you were holding here.”

He unzipped his coat and shrugged out of it. Claire waited as the pile of clothes grew bigger, finally leaving him in a plain white T-shirt.

“Belt, too.”

This time he didn’t hesitate. “I swear I wasn’t going to force anyone to--”

“Ripe for the picking,” Claire quoted from his text.

He blubbered and ducked his head. She crouched down and used the belt to bind his arms, pulling it tight enough to be uncomfortable without being cruel. It would force him to lie on his side instead of a more natural position, but she wouldn’t lose any sleep about it. She balled up his socks and used them to gag him. She did feel a little bad about that, but then she remembered what he’d come over here to do, and her pity evaporated.

She gathered his clothes and took them into the kitchen. Randall had left behind the bag with the extra coats and shoes. She added Tim’s clothes to it, zipped it up, and stowed it behind the fridge just in case Tim found his courage and got free. She went back to the living room window. All the lights in the main house were on, but she didn’t see any movement in the windows. Only two men were left in the house, Wyman and Ryan. She hated that their names rhymed, so she switched Ryan to Dopey to make it sound better in her head.

The boss and one of his lackeys. She assumed she had five minutes before either of them noticed their missing pals, maybe three to five more after that before one of them came to investigate. Wyman wouldn’t come himself, so Dopey would get the job of seeing what their compadres were up to. Pro, she had a taser, and con, she only had one pair of handcuffs. Not ideal.

Claire went to the back door and slipped outside. She assumed Tim was too deep in his self-loathing to even notice she’d left, but she would have to move quickly.

She went to the tree line and used it as cover to circle around behind the main house. The generator was there, tucked up against the wall like a stone. She crouched next to the machine and found the control panel. She assumed there was a process for safely shutting these things down, but she didn’t have time and frankly didn’t give a damn if she fried their engine. She found the off button and held it down until the engine wheezed to a stop.

The main house went dark.

The clearing fell immediately, eerily silent. She stayed crouched down and moved back toward the door. She stayed close to the wall and waited, already hearing voices from within. There were three concrete steps leading from the back door down to the ground, and Claire went to the far side of them assuming anyone who came out would be focused on the generator.

“--filled that damn thing,” Wyman snapped.

“--probably just froze up,” the last man standing replied. “It was Jesse’s turn to take care of it.”

“Well, Jesse ain’t here right now, is he? Go take care of it. It’s already fucking freezing in here.”

Claire held her breath. The shadows were thick enough that she doubted anyone would see her even if they looked right at her, but she didn’t want to take the chance.

Seconds ticked by. Finally, she heard footsteps and the rattle of the doorknob. It swung open and Dopey came out. He shined a flashlight at the generator, closed the back door, and grunted as he stomped down the stairs.

“Gonna skin that asshole alive, I swear...”

Claire closed the distance between them before he could reach the generator. She pressed the ice-cold plastic of the taser against the exposed skin of his neck, and his entire body went rigid. Both his hands went up on instinct, and his head ducked down. She knew his brain registered the touch as a gun barrel, but she was willing to ruin the illusion by zapping him if he made a move.

“What the shit...”

“Do you have a weapon on you?”

“Flashlight. That’s it.”

“Drop it.”

He obeyed, tossing it into the snow while keeping his hands at shoulder-level. “The fuck you come from, lady?”

“On your knees,” she said. “Lace your fingers behind your head.”

“You really plan to take us all out one by one? Seriously? You got lucky with George, ‘cause he was lazy, and your girl was brutal with Teddy. But you have no idea what you’re up against.”

Claire cuffed his wrists. “Yeah? Who’s your money on? Jesse? Where do you suppose Jesse is right now? When did you last see him? Or maybe you think Tim has a chance. Good ol’ Timmy. Looks tough, but that boy has a crying problem. Last I saw, he was blubbering like a baby. He’s probably peed his pants by now.”

Ryan tried twisting to look at her. “Who the hell are you, lady?”

“Sheriff Claire Curran.” She hauled him back onto his feet. “And you’re under arrest. Come on, walk with me.”

She walked him back to the house where the women had been held. She was concerned about him calling out for help, but he surprised her when he finally did speak.

“Look,” he said quietly, “what kind of deals are going to be on the table here?”

“You feel like you’d be negotiating from a strong position?” she asked.

He said, “I swore I would never go back to prison, and I’m definitely not going to take the fall for Dennis fucking Wyman. I want to be your best friend now. I’ve been keeping records, okay? The people who bring the girls, the contacts he has overseas. Russia, all over Asia... the guy keeps talking about how untouchable he is, but I kept track in case this day came, because of course it was coming.”

Claire kept walking. They had reached the women’s house.

“Look, you’ve clearly won. You know our names. Hell, I don’t even know how you found this place. Den was insane about being sure we were never followed. That’s why your pal got a bullet across the bow, because he--”

Claire shoved Ryan against the wall of the house and pressed her arm against his throat.

“His name was Callum Rucker. He was one of the best men I’ve ever known. And you assholes killed him like he was nothing. You want a deal? You want to be my friend? You have no idea how tempted I am to just tie you all up out here and let you slowly starve to death. There’s going to be a time to talk about deals, I’m sure, but right now the only deal I’m willing to make is you shut up and I’ll keep doing this by the book. Can you sign off on that deal, Ryan?”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She let him go and shoved him forward. She yanked the door open and marched him inside. She could hear Tim in the laundry room, still sobbing. She told Ryan to wait as she pulled the back door tight into its warped frame and flipped the locks. She expected Wyman would eventually look outside, see the flashlight Ryan dropped, and then he’d do one of two things: hunker down with his hostage, or follow the footprints in the snow to here. There was no need to give him an easy way in.

Ryan was staring at the laundry room door. “Holy shit, I thought you were bullshitting. How’d you make him cry?”

“I can show you if you want. Go.”

She took him into the bedroom. She took his shoes and belt, then unfastened one of the cuffs so he could take off his coat. She looped the chain around a pipe in the corner before she put the bracelet back on. He remained docile throughout, supporting his claim that he wanted to act as an informant. Claire gestured for him to sit, and he slid down the length of the pipe to lean against the wall.

“The woman in the main house,” Claire said. “What room is she in?”

“Kitchen. Dennis would probably be in the living room, but he probably realizes something’s up by now. So I can’t swear what he’s doing. The house looks pretty much like this, except kind of sideways. The rooms are all on that wall.” He gestured vaguely. “Reversed, you know?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

She started to leave, but he stopped her. “Sheriff, wait.” She turned to look back. He showed her his palms. “This might come off as a threat, but it really is just a warning. Dennis fucking hates your guts. No one has ever made him work this hard, and he resents it coming from some small-town nobody. He’s going to come at you, no holds barred. I’m just saying if you have to fight dirty, it might save your life.”

Claire said, “Noted.”

She closed the bedroom door on him. She took out her phone and dialed Randall’s number as she crossed to the living room window and looked out. Everything was quiet and dark.

“Boss?”

“Two more down,” she said, “one to go.”

“Damn,” Randall said. “Everyone here is safe at Guy’s. The biggest threat right now is overdosing on stew.”

Claire managed a smile at that. “Good to know. Tell them to sit tight. Their ride should be coming along soon.”

“Everything is pretty much locked down here, boss. If you needed backup...”

“Thanks, Randall. But those women need someone they can trust. Guy has been reliable, but he’s still a stranger to them. They need the badge.”

He sighed. “I guess that’s logical.”

“Hopefully Jodie will agree.”

“Be careful, Claire.”

“Will do.”

She hung up, stared at the phone, and dialed Michael Hood-Colby’s number. He answered on the first ring.

“Sheriff. I’m sitting in the bird, ready to go. Paige is here, too. She decided having me fly her chopper was riskier than the weather. Hopefully, her being here doesn’t affect the plan too much.”

“No, it actually might be good for another woman to be flying the getaway car.” She looked outside to make sure Wyman wasn’t sneaking up on her. “We’re almost ready for you. But there’s been a slight change to the plan...”