Keegan smiled, hating that the woman at the county office had been so helpful and he'd lied to her about who he was. He looked at the name he'd been given; it was a corporation, not a person. Who owned it?
He sighed as he realized he had more research to do. As he drove away, he went by the Tennison building and he realized who else might help him. He drove a few more blocks before he found what he was looking for. Ten minutes later, he parked outside of the newspaper. He entered the building. Suzanne was busy at her desk. She smiled when she looked up and saw him.
He handed her the bouquet of carnations that he'd stopped to pick up. "These are for you. For being so helpful the last time I was here. Just wanted to say thanks."
She blushed. "No one's ever bought me flowers. Thank you." She buried her face in the blossoms. "This is so sweet."
He smiled at her as he talked to her about how things were going. She looked around before asking, "How's your book coming?"
He put on what he hoped was his best crestfallen look and told her his troubles. Twenty minutes later, she had done a ton of research for him and had put him onto two websites that might help him figure out who owned that land. He left whistling. Now, he had information he could use.
~~~~
"Okay, Dr. David, your last act before you retire. Have you got the package for me?"
"Yes, Mr. Ozz. But you can't keep body parts on ice for an extended period of time. They won't last. They need to be used right away or they won't work properly or at all."
"Not my problem. You just get them to me. You make sure they look nice and pink and healthy—pump them full of dye or whatever drugs you need to. That's all you have to worry about. I just have to get them to my sellers."
"But people will become really ill and possibly die if they use these organs. After a short amount of time, human body parts start to die, especially if they aren't handled properly."
"All I have to do is deliver the organs. If they work or not, isn't my concern. How many bodies do you have for me?"
"Four. But two of them are over eighty. They aren't really in that good of shape."
"Not to worry, Doctor. It really is time for your retirement. You just pink them up like any healthy twenty-year-old's organs. Your job is to get them to me. Got that?"
"Yes."
"Have you orientated Dr. Blatt on the process?"
"Yes. He's helped me with the last two organ extractions."
"Excellent. He should be ready to take over, starting next week. We wouldn't want to delay your … retirement, Doctor."
~~~~
"Where is she?" Shelley barked out as soon as Sam answered.
"Who? DD?" Sam's eyes opened wide as she held her cell to her ear.
"Of course, DD. Who the hell else would I be calling you about?"
"DD's not with you?"
"No, she's taken off. She said she never wants to see me again." Shelley's gut-wrenching sobs filled the silence.
"Have you looked everywhere?"
"I'm not an idiot, Sam. This is my daughter."
"Okay. Look, Shelley, I know you're upset. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
"We had a fight last night. She said daddy wasn't her daddy."
Sam gasped. DD had been listening to her and Kyle.
"And this morning she's gone. I've looked everywhere. I've asked the neighbors. I called the bus line to see if she got on. They're checking but that could take a while. Then I thought she might have tried to find you."
Sam blinked back tears and swallowed a few times before she asked, "Is there any way she went in search of her real father?"
"Kyle's her real father, Sam."
"I meant biological."
"I know damn well what you meant. Kyle's her father. The other man doesn't matter."
"Obviously he does, Shelley. Maybe you should have told her before now about your affair."
"There was no damn affair. I was raped!"
Sam gasped and felt a little lightheaded. "Oh, Shelley. I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell me?" As soon as she said it, she realized she was the last person she'd tell. Emotions were clogging her throat, but she got out, "I'll find her. I'll find her. She'll be okay. I know you don't trust me, but I promise I'll bring her home to you." She clicked off her cell phone. Shelley was beyond talking and her speech sounded like an animal's keening howl when she'd lost her young.
Always so brilliant, Sam. Always so brilliant.
Her eyes flooded with tears. She strode about ten paces, spun, and strode back. Her arms pumped at her sides as she moved, not unlike that of a speed walker.
Oh, man. Oh, man.
DD. She had to find DD. But where? She thought about the time that DD had hitchhiked to her place in Bentley. Just because she'd wanted to see her. The poor guy who'd given her a ride had been mortified that such a sweet girl had conned him into believing that her mom had forgotten to pick her up and needed a ride. The man hadn't liked seeing her on the side of the road, so he'd done a good deed and picked her up. It made Sam shudder to think about what could have happened. She'd been so scared; she'd told DD that if she did that again they wouldn't be able to hang out anymore. That made no difference, obviously.
Her gut was tied up in so many knots she thought she'd puke. What if she wasn't so lucky this time? What if someone bad picked DD up? The visions and thoughts that filled Sam’s mind just about sent her over the edge.
Oh, man. Oh, man.
It was then that she realized shadows were dancing across the lawn in her path. Glancing to the west, she saw that the sun was about to set. DD was on her way to the lake, of that she was sure. But where was she? Sam remembered the bad guy who said he would wait at her cabin until she showed up. She ran to the path that would easily lead her to Mrs. MacNeil's and then around to her cabin. The trail was slick from the recent rain. After falling a few times in the slippery mud, she made it in fifteen minutes. At the last turn, she stepped off the path into the thick undergrowth as the last twenty yards was wide open. She had to make sure that the man who was looking for her wasn't around.
The first few steps weren't bad but then the snarled mass of brush, weeds, and grass wrapped around her legs like suction cups. She swore as a branch snagged her hair, yanking her head backward. She tugged gently trying to pry herself free. The gentle breeze, the wind, and a few birds were all that she could hear over her pounding heart. The light was fading fast.
"AnSam, where are you?"
At first, she thought she was hearing things. The voice was croaky, weak, barely distinguishable.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Deirdre Dawn. Who are you?"
"Uh. That's not important. What are you doing here? Where'd you come from?"
Sam ripped her hair from the branch, barely choking back a cry of pain. She plunged through the thick undergrowth. Her throat so thick with fear, she couldn't swallow. The saliva in her mouth dried up faster than a drop of water in the desert. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she struggled to get where she could see DD and who she was talking to.
"No. Your name."
"What?"
"I told you mine. Now you tell me yours. Now. Now. Now. Now."
"All right already. It's Toby. What are you doing here?"
"I want AnSam." She sat down in the middle of the driveway. "I'm sleepy."
"Whoa, you can't stay here. Go home. Now." The man grabbed her arm and tried to make her move. DD screamed, long and loud. The low pitch carried an eerie sound that always made Sam feel like it had reached right inside of her, grabbing at the heart of her and twisting. It had freaked Sam out the first time she'd done it. DD's puffed up red face looked like a balloon about to explode and was enough to send the strongest of men running. This guy didn't seem to be any exception. He shot down the path that Sam had just arrived on. Diving out of the trees as soon as he was out of sight, Sam rushed over to her niece who looked like she was close to bursting at the seams.
"Ssshhhh. DD. Shhhhhh. I need you to be quiet, okay?"
"Aaassssaaaaaaam. Aaasssssssssaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm. Aaaaaaassssssaaaaaaaaaam."
"Please. Be quiet or that man will come back. He's a bad man." Sam squatted down and tucked her hands under her armpits and started making monkey sounds. "Eeeee. Eeeee. Eeeee." Finally, after a few minutes, she got DD's attention; she stopped yelling and then suddenly launched herself at her. They toppled over with Sam on her back and DD lying on top of her.
"AnSam." She sighed as she snuggled there.
"DD. DD, I need you to move," Sam choked out, before gently rolling her to the side and off of her. Sam drew in a few deep breaths before jumping to her feet. "Come on. We need to get moving."
"I nap."
"I know but that man will come back and he wants to hurt me. Do you understand? He wants to hurt me."
DD sat up. "No. I won't let him."
That's when Sam realized that DD was in her faux silk pajamas and it was freezing out. "Come on, we have to get you into something warmer. MOVE. NOW." She held out her hand and pulled her to her feet, all dead weight of her.
They snuck into the cabin. There was still no sign of the guy who had gone running off, but Sam knew he'd be back. And soon. Her stuff was strewn about. Someone had not only been there, but they'd searched her cabin. It was either the current man or the one who'd been there earlier. Why they were looking for her, she still didn't understand. Pulling her sweatpants off the table in the corner, she swiped her T-shirt off the floor. "DD, put these on."
"Sleepy, AnSam."
Sam pushed her down onto the couch and pulled off her pajama bottoms, then replaced them with her sweats which she had to roll up about six inches. DD's cheeks were bright pink and her eyes were sitting at half-mast. The pants were plenty snug but, after a bit of tugging and pulling, she got them up around her waist. Then she removed DD's top and replaced it with a T-shirt. DD's arms and chest were covered in goosebumps by the time she got her re-dressed.
"I need you to stay awake. We can't stay here. Okay?"
"Okay, AnSam."
Since she'd used her full name, she took that as a good sign. The sweatshirt Sam had on was the only one that would fit DD, so she pulled it over her head and yanked it down. She left her sitting there while she went to raid her cupboards. Once she'd filled a bag with crackers, some fruit, and water bottles, she peeked out the kitchen window. There was no sign of the man, but she didn't want to hang around and wait for him. She turned to tell her niece it was time to go, but she'd slumped sideways on the couch and was fast asleep.
Grabbing her sleeping bag off the floor, she tucked it around DD. Nothing would wake her now, not even a herd of elephants running over the top of her. Not liking her odds, but knowing she had to do something, she snuck back outside and crawled under the covered deck. She grabbed a few yard implements and went back into the cabin. She was just closing the door when she glimpsed movement through the trees. Flattening herself against the wall of the cabin, she hooked the feeble hook and eye lock on the door. Her breathing sounded loud and raspy, echoing like it was being blown through a bullhorn. She pressed her hand to her chest to slow her thumping heart and to remind herself to take deeper slower breaths. The last bit of sunlight vanished, plunging the cabin into darkness. The suddenness of it startled her. She peered out the window. Dark shapes were all she could see; she didn't see anything that looked like a person which made her wonder where her friend was at.
Suddenly, there was the sound of clomping boots. She froze for a split second until her adrenaline kicked in and pumped through her like an artesian well. She stepped quietly across the path of the closed door so that she would be standing to the side and behind it. She gripped the shovel in her two hands, raising it above her head. His cell phone rang. He was right outside. Sam widened her stance, tightening her grip on the handle.
"Yeah?"
"No. No sign of her. She hasn't returned."
Sam was thankful he didn't mention DD, but then realized that it wouldn't look good for a man to be scared of a child who had Down's syndrome. She had to smile at that.
"Is the shipment coming in early?"
"A truck is stuck? … Whose dumbass idea was that? … Fine. But I'm not taking the blame for that one … Do you really think I should leave? … 'k. But you get to explain to Mr. Ozz why WE haven't found her yet. I'll be there in about ten minutes to help push the truck out … Yeah. Yeah, I can come back and hang out here for the rest of the night. Lucky me. Don't worry I'll find her."
The sound of his heavy boots stomping across the deck was a relief, but she wasn't about to let her guard down yet. She waited patiently; she heard the truck leave but waited several more minutes before moving. She checked on DD, who was sound asleep, snoring gently. Sam pulled open the door, listening carefully before stepping outside. She walked around the edges of the property before she let herself breathe. At the lake, she pulled out her cell phone.
Time to let Shelley know her daughter is okay.
The battery was at two percent. It wasn't enough to make a phone call. Heading back into the cabin, she set it on the counter. The guy had left but said he'd be back.
What the hell am I supposed to do?