Chapter 5
Mac and Tom had spent the remainder of the afternoon fine-tuning their plans to rescue John. They knew their chance of success was slim, but they held out hope.
“Come on you two, dinner is on the table,” Marge whispered, as she poked her head through the office door.
“Thank goodness, I didn’t know how much longer I could sit here with that magnificent smell in the air,” Mac grinned.
“Let’s go; after you, Detective,” Tom walked to the door and held it open for Mac.
***
“There you two are, I was wondering if you would leave your planning long enough to eat.” Marge smiled, while setting the platter with the pot roast on the table, next to the homemade bread.
Mac looked at all the food on the table and licked her lips, “Oh Marge, this looks delicious!”
“Well, you had better dig in before Tom does, or you may not get any,” Marge gave Mac a playful wink.
“That is right, Marge’s pot roast is the best around, so if you want any you had better dig in.”
Tom took a large piece of the roast and set it on his plate then leaned forward, and inhaled deeply, “Oh, yes, now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Mac smiled as she watched Tom scoop up some potatoes and carrots and then put them next to the slice of roast. “Here’s some gravy,” she grinned, handing him the gravy boat.
When they finished their meal, Mac stood to gather her dishes. “Please leave them, dear. I can get them once we have had our pie,” Marge stood, and walked to the kitchen.
“Please let me help. You’ve worked all day preparing this marvelous meal, so that’s the least I can do,” Mac stood and gathered her dirty dishes then reached for Tom’s plate.
“Besides, I want to make sure I get a bigger piece of the pie than Tom does,” she winked at Tom.
“Be sure to put some ice cream on mine,” Tom yelled to Marge, who was already reaching inside the freezer for the ice cream.
“Don’t worry, I will,” Marge rolled her eyes, causing Mac to laugh. “He says that every time and his pie has always had ice cream on it.”
Once they had finished their pie and loaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher; Mac and Tom went back to his office.
***
“Marge is a fantastic cook. I can’t believe I ate so much,” Mac groaned, as she rubbed her stomach.
“Yes, I’m a very lucky man,” Tom smiled proudly. “I hate to bring this up, but do you think Erebus will call again?”
“I’m sure he will because he loves to push my buttons. I only wish we knew if John is all right. Damn, I blame myself for all of this!”
Mac knew the only reason John was in danger was that Erebus wanted to finish their game. If she had stopped him in the first place, none of this would be happening.
“Mac, you can’t blame yourself for this. Erebus has played his game perfectly many times so no one could have done any more than you did.” Tom understood how she felt, but he wished she would stop blaming herself.
Mac sat a few moments quietly, trying to shake the horrible feeling growing from deep inside of her when her cell phone rang.
She looked at the number, and then to Tom, “Speak of the devil, this has to be him. Hello.”
“Good evening, Lucinda. I hope you were able to get rested after your flight?”
“Perfect timing, we were just talking about you. Is John all right?” Mac did her best to keep her voice calm, but he sensed her concern.
“My dear, Lucinda you never waste any time; always straight to the point. Yes, John is doing fine.”
“How can I believe you? I want to speak to him.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s a bit tied up at the moment. You need to tell Captain Riggs to check his email; I believe its contents will calm your fears. I’ll call back in ten minutes.” The telephone call abruptly ended.
“Tom, he sent an email to prove John is still alive!” Mac felt her heart pounding in her chest, as she stood and followed Tom to his desk.
Tom booted his computer, and once he was online, he opened his inbox. He scanned through the usual emails from friends and co-workers until he found the one with “Our Mutual Friend” in the subject line.
Tom looked at Mac with a look of apprehension on his face, “This has to be the one.”
He opened the email, and what he found made his heart nearly stop beating in his chest.
“That bastard!” Mac growled as she looked at the picture of John, bound to a chair in the middle of a dark room with a dim, single-bulb light hanging down from the ceiling over his head.
“Well, at least he was alive at the time he took this picture,” she sighed.
Tom was speechless. He had been involved in kidnappings before, but never on such a personal level. “Mac, I have a sinking feeling that Erebus doesn’t plan to let John survive this.”
“Tom, I’m worried about the same thing, but we have to try to stay positive. If we give into our fears, then Erebus has won. Remember, that’s how he defeated John the first time. We need to find out where he’s holding John before he has the chance to take it to the next level.”
Mac hated to agree with Tom, but she had the same feeling herself. She knew Erebus would discard John once he had served his purpose.
“He said he’d call back in ten minutes, so when he does, I’ll turn on my speakerphone. Maybe between the two of us, we can pick up on something to help find John.”
“That’s a great idea, Mac.” Tom then said a silent prayer that her plan would work, as he stared at the picture of John.
After a few long and agonizing minutes had past, Mac’s cell phone began to ring. She looked at Tom, smiled and then answered, “Hello.”
“So, now that you have seen the picture of John do you now believe that he’s still alive? I also hope that I gave you both enough time to discuss your plan for a successful rescue before I called back?” Erebus envisioned them busily making their plans.
“As a matter of fact, we were,” Mac shot back with an air of sarcasm in her voice.
“Wonderful. Good evening, Captain Riggs, I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you. Lucinda, I’m impressed that you decided to save us time by using your speaker function,” Erebus chuckled.
Mac looked at Tom and shook her head. “Well, I do try to be helpful,” she said, attempting to hide her disappointment.
“Erebus, this is Tom Riggs. I want to let you know if you harm John in any way, I will make it my personal mission to hunt you down. Have I made myself clear?” Tom did not attempt to conceal his true feelings.
“Tom…, may I call you Tom? I promise that any future our mutual friend may have will depend on what you and Lucinda do in the next twenty-four hours. You see the clock is ticking, and this game has almost run its course. Lucinda, I want to tell you how much I look forward to the next move in our game. Now, I want the two of you to get some rest, for tomorrow will be a busy day.” The call ended without another word.
“I hate when he does that!” Mac groaned as she put her cell phone back into its case.
“Tom, we have twenty-four hours to save John. Shit, I hate this feeling of helplessness!”
Tom sat quietly at his desk and went over in his mind what Erebus had said, “Mac, what can we expect from him?”
Mac looked at Tom, and she saw the fear clearly in his eyes. “I’m not sure, but I know he’ll have a trap set for us tomorrow. Tom, I’m not sure if I’ll be as lucky this time. He had time to rethink his game with me, so I’m afraid he’ll be ready for anything I might try to do this time.”
“I’m worried about that myself,” Tom said as he powered down his computer.
He then looked at Mac, “Come on, it’s late and from what he said tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”