43
According to her calculations, they’d been driving for close to fifteen minutes.
The radio blasted a rock song out. The loud music drowned out any ambient noises. Which meant she couldn’t get a fix on where they were. City? Town? In the country?
No one spoke, but from the breathing patterns, she thought there were three men in the van with them. And all very serious.
She wouldn’t be getting any sympathy or finding any help from them. With God’s help, she’d get Andrew home to Zink.
Zink. Had Enrique contacted her yet? Did she know what was happening with her son? Did she know about Michael being found? Jamie couldn’t imagine the nightmare Zink faced daily for the past two years, but this had to be even more unbearable for her.
The van stopped.
Andrew was pulled out of her arms. He whimpered. They weren’t giving her a chance to escape. Still, she would be ready when an opportunity came. She heard nothing. No noise. No traffic sounds. Wherever they were, it wasn’t in a town or city.
From the sounds she didn’t hear, they were very isolated. When she and Andrew escaped, they would have to hide and make their way to safety on their own.
She took a deep breath. A familiar scent. What was it? She sniffed again. The scent grew stronger. Definitely farm smells.
Something changed.
The wind stopped and she wasn’t breathing fresh air any longer. They weren’t outside. The barn smell was overpowering. They must be on a farm. In Ohio? She could only hope that was the case. A horse whinnied, confirming her suspicions.
“Put her in there. Make sure her arms are tied to something. I don’t want her getting away. And separate them.”
Andrew screamed at the top of his lungs as they dragged him from her.
She bit her lips to stop from yelling out for him. She didn’t want to remind them that her mouth was no longer taped. She was pushed down. Her right shoulder smashed against a wall. The pain jarred her, but she managed not to moan. Moments later, her hands were tightly secured to something above her head, making it awkward for her to move. She couldn’t sit down. Basically, she was suspended even though her feet touched the ground.
Andrew was screaming.
Footsteps scuffed past, and then silence.
Andrew’s screams turned to sobs, and then to whimpers.
She straightened to a standing position. As she did, her hand hit her head. She leaned back down and grasped her hood. A moment later, her head was freed. She could see again. Her hands were secured to the bars of the stall.
The barn was dim, but a bulb gave off enough light to look around. More stalls were on the opposite side. Horses were in a few of the stalls.
This was not the type of barn she’d grown up with in Ohio. The barn was modern and clean. Instead of old, gray weathered wood that most Ohio barns had, these stalls were made of knotty pine. Could they still be out west?
Taking deep breaths, Jamie calmed down so she could think.
A barn meant tools. Tools that could be used as weapons. If she could get her hands free…
“Andy, can you hear me?” Her voice was soft.
The whimpers quieted. “Ye…es.”
“Andy.”
“Wha…at?”
Most adults underestimated children. Amazingly, her own daughter had managed to contact an aunt she’d never met when Jamie was kidnapped.
“Andy, my name’s Jamie. I’m here to help you.”
“I want my daddy.”
“I know you do, sweetie. And I’ll take you back to him. Very soon.”
“OK.”
“Andy, are your hands and feet tied?”
“Sort of.”
“What do you mean?”
“They tied me up, but not very tight.”
“Can you walk around?”
“Sort of.”
“Your feet are untied?”
“They’re tied. But I can walk. Just not big steps.”
“Do you see a door in front of you?”
“Yes.”
She’d been half-expecting him to say ‘sort of’. “Good. See if you can open the door.”
“OK.”
Moments later, soft scuffling sounds came from further in the barn.
“It’s heavy.”
“That’s OK. You’re a big, strong boy. You can do it.”
Dry rusty squeaks.
Andy stood three stalls down. “I got it.” Triumph was in his voice.
“I knew you could. Can you see me?”
“No.”
“That’s OK. I’m going to kick my stall door. You’ll see it move. Come towards me.”
She stretched out. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain in her shoulder sockets. She kicked her leg towards the door. Her foot met the wood, but just barely. The door only moved an inch or so. “Do you see it, Andy?”
“Yes.”
“OK, you come here. And then I’ll open it as much as I can. When I do, you grab it and open it the rest of the way. OK? But we need to be quiet. We don’t want them to hear us.”
“OK.”
She looked towards the entryway. Nobody was coming. She wanted to urge him to move faster. But that would make him more anxious. “You’re doing great, Andy. Almost here.”
He looked up at her with trusting eyes. He stopped in front of her stall.
Please, God, let me deserve his trust.
“Are you ready, Andy?”
“Yeah.”
Once again, Jamie stretched, and then pushed against the door.
Andy grabbed the edge, opened it wide, and then ran inside. He hugged her legs.
“OK, Andy. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to climb up on me until your hands reach my hands. Then I’m going to untie your ropes. Then you’re going to untie mine. And then we’ll be free.”
“I don’t know how.” His voice trembled.
“I know you can do it. You’re a big boy and you’re so brave.”
“I can’t.”
“You want to know how I know you can?”
“How?”
“Because you are smart and brave.” She gave him a big, happy smile. “OK, pretend you’re a mountain climber.”
He giggled and crawled upwards, gripping her clothes for security. The kid was heavier than he looked.
Her back muscles quivered. “Keep going. You’re doing great.”
He moved up to her chest. He grabbed the bars and pulled to a standing position, one foot on her arm, the other on her shoulder. She winced.
“I hurt you?”
“You’re fine. Just move those hands up to mine.” Jamie stiffened her body, holding him in place.
His hands touched hers. She fumbled with his ropes, her arms screaming in pain. Her legs and back began to cramp under his weight.
“You got it, Jamie.”
“I did. Now, it’s your turn. I want you to untie my hands.”
A worried silence filled the air.
“Don’t worry, Andy. If you can’t do it, it’s no big deal. But go ahead and try, OK?”
“OK.” He gave a huge sigh.
“Find the end of the rope.”
Andy touched the rope.
“Not that one, see the one dangling.”
He touched the right one.
“Good, now move your finger up further on the rope, and then pull it through that loop.”
He did as directed.
“Just keep pulling that rope through the next loop. Take your time.”
His hands touched her wrists, and she worried his little fingers weren’t up to the task. Her back muscles turned to jelly, and she was just about ready to tell him to get down when the ropes fell away.
“I got it.” His voice as triumphant as his smile.
She grabbed him into a big bear hug. “Oh, yes you did.” She twirled him around.
He giggled.
“I knew you could do it.”
“I didn’t know it.” A deep voice rumbled from behind them.