Maggie clutched the pink backpack, trying to keep breathing through the panic. “How did he get to her?”
“I don’t know.” Joe’s knuckles were white on the wheel. “This whole thing is crazy. We gotta just give him what he wants and get Tammy back safe. Did you have any success at Yoriko’s?”
“We found something.”
He looked at her strangely. “What do you mean? I thought for sure you’d find the jewelry.”
“I’ll explain later,” she said, not wanting to bother with an explanation of the empty jewelry case. Goose bumps prickled her skin. What would Virgil do when he found out the case was empty? In the suspense movies Tammy loved to watch, the hero would have some clever plan, a diversion, a hidden backup guy. Maggie had nothing but one slender fragment of an idea: hand the backpack over, grab Tammy and run. She wanted to explain to Joe that she had no idea where to look next for the ransom for her sister’s life, but Joe’s hands were already shaking, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down convulsively.
“Joe,” she instructed as they headed up the graveled driveway to the trailer, “keep the engine running. Be ready to get us out of here quick.”
He shot her a questioning look but there wasn’t time for a follow-up as the light went on in Tammy’s trailer.
Maggie got out of the car on rubbery legs.
Virgil stepped onto the porch. “Thanks for coming,” he said as if they’d agreed to meet for lunch. “We’ll all be glad when this situation is resolved.”
“Where’s my sister?” Maggie demanded.
Joe stood next to her. “Let us see her.”
Virgil laughed. “You don’t watch enough TV, do you? That’s not how it works. Give me the jewelry.”
“Not until I see that my sister is safe.”
“Look,” Virgil said, teeth bared, “I don’t have time for this. I have people I owe and an insurance claim pending. Now I hear that Vivian is making arrangements to return to live with dear old Uncle Bill. I have you to thank for that.”
Her mouth managed to form words in spite of her bone-deep fear. “No, you have yourself to blame, trying to terrorize us, blackmailing my sister.”
Hatred blazed in his eyes. “You’re going to give me what I want. I’ll settle things here with the insurance claim before dear Viv rolls into town.”
“You’ve gone too far with this abduction,” Joe said. “You crossed the line.”
Virgil chuckled. “But I hold all the cards. I have Tammy. If you give me the jewelry, I’ll let her go unharmed and erase the video of her theft.” He snapped his fingers. “All this trouble goes away, just like that. Think of it as my Christmas present to you.” He laughed. “A get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s so much nicer than the alternative in which both women die.”
Joe’s teeth crunched together. “You were wrong to involve Tammy in all of this.”
Virgil regarded him, chin cocked. “You have it bad for that girl, don’t you?”
A branch cracked from behind them in the woods. Virgil flinched. He pulled a handgun from his belt and swiveled a glare at Maggie. “If you brought help, I’ll shoot you right here, right now.”
Her mouth went dry with terror. “I didn’t tell anybody. I promise.”
He wiggled his fingers at her. “Backpack. Now.”
She forced her limbs into action, holding the backpack out to him.
“My sister...” she started.
He unzipped the backpack, darting looks at the woods behind him. He tossed out the jacket from the pack and grabbed the velvet box, the gun still secure in one hand.
“I want to see my sister,” she cried, taking two steps toward the porch step.
But he’d stripped the rubber band off the box and flung it open. He howled at the sight of the empty box, aiming the gun at Maggie.
“No,” Joe shouted.
From the woods behind the trailer, a shot rang out and Liam charged from his hiding place in the trees. Virgil dropped the pack and ran for his car as Liam and Jingles burst from the foliage, sprinting toward him. Virgil did not return fire, instead leaping into his vehicle and peeling out of the drive in a shower of gravel.
Maggie gulped back the fear and pounded up the steps to the trailer. “Tammy!” she screamed. The door slammed wide and she groped for a light.
Frantically she searched the bathroom and closet and even under the bed. She sank to her knees and began to sob. Her sister was not there.
Liam helped Maggie to a chair in the trailer and tried his best to comfort her. His head was whirling. He’d managed a quick call to Helen on the way over. She’d confirmed that Tammy was gone and she had no idea how. The thought that Virgil might have waltzed into the Lodge unnoticed sickened him. He might have hurt Tammy, Helen, any of the guests, to get what he wanted.
“We have to call the police,” he said.
Joe shook his head. “Virgil will kill her. He said so.”
Liam worked to keep his voice calm. “Joe, he didn’t get what he wanted. He may take that action anyway.”
Joe shook his head. “No. He hasn’t gotten the jewelry.” He flashed an angry look at Maggie. “Why did you try to trick him with an empty box? What were you thinking?”
“You’re not going to badger her now,” Liam growled. “The cops know how to handle things like this.”
“I...” Joe started. His phone rang and his mouth slackened. “It’s Virgil.”
“Put it on speakerphone,” Liam said, jaw tight.
“Nice trick,” Virgil said. The words were composed but Liam heard the quick panting that indicated he was on the verge of losing control. “I guess we’re even. You didn’t bring the jewelry and I didn’t bring Tammy. We’re going to try this again, one more time. If I don’t get what I want, I will kill Tammy and then I will hunt Maggie down and murder her, too. I’ll tell you the time and place next time I call.”
“How do we know you even have Tammy?” Liam said. Proof of life. That’s what they needed.
“Maggie...” One word, two anguished syllables cut off quickly, but not so fast that Liam couldn’t hear the strain in her voice.
“Understand now?” Virgil said. “She’s alive. They’re both alive, until you double-cross me.” The phone disconnected.
Liam sank to his knee in front of her. “Maggie, this is a police thing now. They know what to do.”
“No,” Joe said, the word sounding torn from him. “He’ll kill Tammy next time. I know it. Give him what he wants. Her life isn’t worth some diamond jewelry. If you think you can trick him with that empty box...”
“That’s enough for now.” Liam helped her to her feet. “I’ll take her home. She’ll decide what she wants to do without pressure from either one of us.”
“But...”
“Go home, Joe. If Virgil calls, text me right away.” He gave him the cell number for the new phone Chad had found for him since his was beyond repair thanks to the salt water.
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Wait to hear from us.”
“But...”
Liam ignored him this time, leading Maggie out to the truck and easing her into the passenger seat.
She was wide-eyed and staring the whole way back to the ranch. When he settled her into a chair in the saddlery, she jerked a look at him.
“What...what should I do? Should I tell Joe we don’t have the jewelry?”
He shook his head. “I think not.”
“Why? He loves her.”
“Because the less people who know, the better, and...”
“And you don’t like him?”
“Not particularly.”
She laughed bitterly. “Because he’s in love with your ex?”
Liam blew out a breath. “Maggie, I would hope by now you know that my motive in helping out here isn’t about my past with your sister.”
She dropped her head and the tears started again. “I’m sorry. I’m...”
“Upset. Understandable.” He swirled her hair away from her cheek and caught the trail of tears with his thumb. “If I could take this pain on my shoulders for you, I’d do it in a hot minute.”
She still didn’t look at him. “My sister must be so scared. I don’t know what to do.”
He tried again to reason with her about the police, but she only seemed to retreat further into her shell.
“All right,” he said after a deep breath. “If you’re not going to let the police in, then you have to let me help.” He smiled. “We’ll go all Green Beret on him.”
She gave him a watery sliver of a smile. “Not candy diplomacy?”
“No, ma’am,” he said. “What I have in store for him is anything but sweet.”
“Liam,” she whispered, “are you sure this will work?”
“Certain as the sunrise,” he said, praying deep down that his words were true.