Kitabı oku: «Point Blank»

ONE

Hannah felt the gun pressed to her back the minute she returned the nozzle to the gas pump. She stiffened and glanced over her shoulder. A man, his face obscured by a black hoodie, nudged her with the gun again.

“Don’t make a sound, lady, or it will be your last.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him reach out with his left hand and open the driver’s door. “Get in and crawl over the console to the floor in front of the passenger seat,” he hissed.

Hannah’s body stiffened, but her legs went so weak that they threatened to collapse. She reached out and grabbed the top of the door to keep from falling. The thought kept running through her mind that this couldn’t really be happening to her. Robberies and car jackings were supposed to happen to other people—strangers she heard about on the news. But then the terrible realization hit her that this time she was the one people might hear about tomorrow.

As the reality of her situation soaked in, a new fear swept through her. She was a single mother, with no family other than her daughter. What would become of Faith if something happened to Hannah? She had to do everything she could to make it out of this encounter alive. The problem was she didn’t know whether her safest choice was to obey her attacker or scream for help.

Still gripping the door, she took a deep breath and spoke in a shaky voice. “P-please, take m-my car. Take m-my money. Just let me go.”

He laughed, and this time he pressed the gun even harder. “Get in now,” he ordered.

Hannah cast a terrified glance toward Bart’s Stop and Shop, the convenience store where she always bought gas for her car, and prayed that Bart was watching his security cameras.

“I said get in the car!” the man growled.

Before she could respond, the store’s door opened, and Bart stepped outside. “What’s going on out here?” he yelled.

The attacker answered with a shot that struck the pavement a few feet from where Bart stood. He turned and ran back into the store, and her assailant muttered something that she couldn’t understand before he gave her a hard shove. She fell into the car and then scrambled over the console as he had ordered until she was on her knees on the floorboard of the passenger side with her upper body on the seat. The car door slammed, and they roared from the parking lot.

As they sped down the street, Hannah started to push up. “Don’t move!” the man shouted. “I’ll tell you when you can get up.”

“Why are you doing this?” Hannah cried. “You can have my car, just let me out.”

He shook his head and chuckled. “Be quiet, and this will all be over before you know it.”

His words struck a warning bell in her mind. All be over? What did he mean? She shuddered at the thought that she might be living the last few minutes of her life.

A pain stabbed her heart, and a tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of Faith, her little girl who’d already lost a father. It wasn’t fair for her to grow up without her mother, too. Perhaps she could reason with her abductor.

“Mister, I don’t know who you are or why you’re doing this. I have a daughter who needs me. I’m the only one she has in this world. Please, if you have any compassion in your heart, let me go.”

Hannah waited for him to respond, but his only answer was a grunt as he accelerated the car.

She waited a few seconds for him to say something. When he didn’t, she raised her head just enough to look at him and tried again. “If you want money, I’ll give it to you. I don’t have much, but you can have it all if you’ll just let me out of the car.”

This time his answer was a swift slap to the face. “Shut your mouth!” he yelled. “I don’t care about your daughter or your money or anything else.”

She pressed her hand to the stinging spot on her face and stared up at him. “Then why are you doing this? I don’t know you, do I? You sound as if you have some kind of grudge against me.”

His sinister laugh made her skin prickle. “Grudge? I guess you could call it that. All you need to know is that it’s payback time.”

“Payback for what?”

“I’ll tell you in my own time. For now, stay down on the floorboard and keep your mouth shut.”

Hannah started to protest, but she changed her mind when one of his hands drifted from the steering wheel and clutched the gun that lay in his lap. If she provoked him further, he might decide to end her life right now. She had to bide her time and wait for an opportunity to escape. She didn’t know how or when or even if that would ever be, but she needed to watch and take advantage of the first opportunity she had to get away from this man.

She glanced at him once more before she leaned her head against the car seat and looked up through the moon roof. Vivid colors of the afternoon sunset reminded her that she was never alone. She closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to God.

Give me strength, Lord, to face what is to come. If I should die tonight, I pray that You would please take care of Faith. I ask You to provide people who will love her and give her a good home.

The prayer broke her heart. She couldn’t stand to think about another woman tucking her child into bed at night, helping her with homework or doing any of the many tasks a mother performed. But she had just placed Faith’s future in God’s hands. All she could do now was wait and see what happened.

* * *

Sheriff Ben Whitman let his gaze drift over the bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along the highway through the middle of the small mountain town where he’d grown up. Things certainly had changed here since he was a boy. A town that had once been a wide spot in the road on a route into the Smoky Mountain National Park had now become one of the top tourist attractions in the Smokies.

Throngs of tourists showed up year-round, and souvenir shops and amusement attractions now lined the thoroughfare through the town. On nights like this, the streets were packed. Tourists who were fortunate enough to have found a parking place were ambling from one shop to another while the slow-moving cars hovered like vultures waiting to pounce on the first parking space available. He had lost count of how many fender benders they’d answered calls for this week because two vehicles vied for the same open spot.

Ben glanced over at Deputy Luke Conrad, who was driving the police car, and sighed. “Looks like a big night for the merchants.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah. How about if I turn right up here at the next stoplight and get out of this traffic jam?”

“Sounds good,” Ben responded. “If we don’t, we may find ourselves boxed in somewhere if we get a call.”

Luke turned on the car’s blinking lights and maneuvered onto the side road that led to a street that ran parallel to the highway. Once they were out of the crowd, Luke smiled. “Where to now?”

Ben was about to answer when the radio crackled with a message from dispatch. “Abduction of a female identified as Hannah Riley at gunpoint from Bart’s Stop and Shop. Victim last seen being forced into her white SUV, headed toward Wears Valley. Suspect armed and dangerous.”

Luke jerked his head around and stared at Ben. “Does the Hannah Riley you know have a white SUV?”

Ben’s heart had begun to pound at the message. All he could do was nod. He’d just seen Hannah that morning when he stopped by her ranch to check on her and Faith. She’d looked happy and was practicing her archery skills in the backyard. How could this have happened to her of all people?

He pushed his fears for his friend away, knowing he had a job to do. There had been a woman taken against her will, and they had to try to stop the culprit. He only hoped they were in time to save her life.

He spoke into his shoulder mic. “Copy that. Unit 1 in pursuit toward Wears Valley. Request backup.”

“Ten-four, Unit 1. Backup on the way.”

Ben gritted his teeth and exhaled. “Light ’em up, Luke!”

He’d no sooner spoken the words than Luke turned on the blue lights, and they were racing toward the highway that led to Wears Valley. Questions poured through his mind as they sped down the highway.

Did the attacker intend to kill his victim, or did he just want her car? If he’d wanted the vehicle, why did he force the woman to go with him? The possible answers to those questions made his stomach roil.

They passed the road that turned off and circled back to the national park entrance. What if the abductor had taken that turn? For a moment Ben debated telling Luke to go back and turn onto that road, but he didn’t. Even at this time of late afternoon, there would still be tourists at the scenic stops along that route, and a speeding car would draw attention. If the suspect was smart, he would probably have made the decision to continue on the road on which they were traveling.

One thing bothered him, though. There were lots of turnoffs along this highway that led into the mountains with its many trails. They didn’t have the time or manpower to efficiently search every one. If the kidnapper took one of those, he and his victim would be lost to them. If he decided to dispose of his victim, her body might never be found in that wilderness. They had to get to her in time.

Ben leaned forward and stared out the windshield in hopes of catching a glimpse of the vehicle. After a few minutes, he was about to think he’d made the wrong choice to stay on this road when he spotted a car in the distance. It was barely a speck on the horizon, but it looked like it was white.

He held his breath as Luke accelerated and shortened the distance between the two cars. “That’s a white SUV!” Luke said as he pulled even closer.

Ben’s heart seemed to jump into his throat as they neared the car. All hopes that there might have been a mistake in identifying the victim—that it might be someone other than Hannah—died when he caught sight of the familiar license plate on the back of the car. Hannah hadn’t been content to settle for one of the regular state license plates and had bought one of the specialty plates the state offered. Hers was one issued to University of Tennessee supporters and personalized with the words VOLS FAN as a tribute to the football team she followed with a passion.

He had to face the fact that he’d been trying to deny ever since getting the call. Hannah was in jeopardy. But where was she? He could see the outline of a man’s head behind the steering wheel, but there was no sign of anyone with him. Were they too late? Had he already disposed of her?

Luke switched on the siren as they bore down on the car, and Ben pulled his gun from its holster. The deepening afternoon shadows lit up as the flashing lights reflected across the area. The kidnapper had to have heard the sound, but his response was to increase his speed. Luke pressed down on the accelerator, and they sped after the car.

Suddenly Ben heard a sharp crack as a bullet whizzed past the driver’s window of the squad car. Luke was too experienced to startle or swerve. Instead he frowned and pulled closer to the fleeing SUV. “You’re not getting away from me,” he muttered as another shot pinged on the bumper of the car.

Ben rolled down his window and hesitated before sending an answering shot. What if his aim wasn’t true? He could shoot Hannah if she was still in that car, or he could cause the car to wreck, which might leave her dead or injured.

He’d been in similar situations before, but never in a circumstance like this. Hannah wasn’t just another victim whose life had been placed in danger. This was his friend. He’d known her since she’d come to live with her grandfather in the Smokies after she graduated from college. He’d also become friends with her late husband, and he was godfather to her daughter. How could he risk her life? On the other hand, who knew what she would face at her abductor’s hands if he allowed them to get away?

Another shot whistled past, and he took a deep breath as his decision was made. “Hold the car steady, Luke,” he said as he stuck his arm out the window and aimed for one of the back tires of the car.

For a moment he closed his eyes and prayed. Make my shot count, Lord.

Then he opened his eyes, refocused his aim and fired at Hannah’s SUV.

* * *

Hannah, her hands covering her head, crouched on the floorboard of the car. She heard the sirens behind them and saw the reflection of the flashing lights in the mirror on the side of her vehicle. Could Ben be in that squad car? She had no doubt he would come if he knew what had happened to her.

Suddenly she didn’t have any fear. God had answered her prayer already. She had asked him to send Faith to someone who loved her, and now she knew who that would be. Ben had been a dear friend to her for years, and he loved her daughter as if she were his own. If she was to die today, she knew that Ben would see that Faith was cared for.

No sooner had the thought flashed in her mind than she saw her abductor raise his hand with the gun. She sucked in her breath and waited for him to shoot her. Instead he rolled down the window and fired at the police car. The sirens and lights continued to follow them. Then he shot again.

She lost count of how many times he shot, but she was afraid that sooner or later he would disable his target. Then she heard an answering shot as it hit the back of her car. The police were answering the fire!

She crouched even farther and tried to roll into a fetal position, but there was barely enough room on the floorboard to get her head below the seat. Another shot hit the back of the car, and she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.

Her kidnapper cursed under his breath and fired toward the car again. Almost immediately there was the sound of an answering bullet striking its target, and her car ran onto the shoulder before it careened back onto the highway. She knew right away that the pursuing officer’s bullet had struck one of the back tires. The relief she felt at knowing someone was trying to help her died quickly as the car began to swerve out of control back and forth across the highway. Her abductor wouldn’t be able to get away with her...but they seemed to be headed for a crash that could kill them both.

“No!” Her abductor yelled and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands as he struggled to gain control of the car.

His gun dropped from his hand and landed on the car’s console. Before he could react, Hannah grabbed the gun and pointed at him. “Stop this car!” she yelled.

He turned his head toward her, and the hoodie slipped back on his head. For the first time she saw his eyes, and she recoiled at the pure hatred in them. He grasped the steering wheel with one hand and gritted his teeth as he reached over and hit her in the jaw with his fist.

The force of the blow sent her head spiraling back against the door. The impact blinded her for a moment, but she was determined not to let him wrest the gun from her hand. She placed her finger around the trigger and tightened her grip on the pistol.

“Stop this car!” she ordered.

His lips curled into a sneer, and he pulled one hand away from the steering wheel. He doubled it into a fist and snarled at her. “Give me that gun before I make you sorrier than you already are!”

Hannah knew it was now or never. She could cower on the floorboard and let him kill her, or she could fight for her life. If she shot him, the car would probably wreck and she might be killed. On the other hand, if he gained control of the gun, she could still be killed—and he’d probably try to make her death as painful as possible. She had the choice, and she wasn’t about to give the gun to him.

Gritting her teeth, she wrapped both hands around the gun, aimed at him and fired. The driver’s window shattered at the impact, and he screamed. “You crazy woman, what do you think you’re doing?”

He reached toward her again. This time his fingers wrapped around the gun and jerked it from her hand. Determined that she wouldn’t give up, she clawed at his hands in an effort to get the weapon back. For the first time she noticed that he wore disposable gloves, and she dug her nails into them.

With a cry of rage, he pulled free of her and aimed the gun at her. Before he could fire, another shot from the police car struck the other back tire. The car veered toward the right and hit the loose gravel on the shoulder of the road. Hannah screamed as the car hurtled down the embankment, crashed through a fence and slammed nose-first into a tree. Her last conscious thought was that she hoped the police got to them in time to save her life.

* * *

Ben watched in horror as Hannah’s SUV careened off the road and became airborne for a moment before it crashed. Luke pulled the squad car to a stop on the side of the road, and they both jumped out. In the distance sirens screamed the approach of another police car.

Please let her be all right. Please let her be all right.

The prayer echoed over and over in Ben’s head as he and Luke ran toward the SUV that had smoke pouring from underneath it. He still couldn’t see Hannah’s head, and the fear that he was about to find her body inside the car that had folded like an accordion upon impact against the tree filled his mind.

He’d already unholstered his gun, and Luke pulled his out as the driver’s door of the wrecked car opened. A man wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie jumped out and spun to face them. He had a gun in his hand.

“Put the gun down!” Ben yelled.

The man answered with a shot that kicked up dirt a few feet away from him. Ben didn’t slow as he returned fire. The man ducked behind the open door to gain cover and fired again. This time the shot hit near Luke’s feet.

Ben and Luke both dived for cover behind the car and pressed their bodies against the hatch. “You can’t escape!” Ben called out. “Don’t add more charges to those you’re already facing.”

Two bullets in quick succession blazed past Ben’s hiding place, and then he heard movement. He raised up enough to see the man running toward the forest at the back of the field. “I’m on it!” Luke called out as he jumped to his feet. “You stay here and see if Hannah’s inside.”

Before Ben could stop him, Luke took off in pursuit of the fleeing man. The sheriff ran around to the passenger side of the car and jerked the door open. His heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach when he saw Hannah crouched on the floorboard with her head resting on the seat. The windshield’s shattered glass covered her and the seat. She didn’t move as he touched her arm.

Blood poured down the side of her face from a cut at her hairline, and he raked the fragments of glass off the top of her head. He held his breath as he placed his fingers on her neck. The steady thump of her pulse sent a wave of relief coursing through him.

Ben turned his face to his shoulder mic. “Unit 1. Officer in pursuit of fleeing suspect. The victim is secure, but unconscious and in need of medical attention. Requesting more backup and an ambulance on highway at Wears Valley.”

“Ten-four,” Clara the dispatcher replied. “Ambulance on the way. More backup en route.”

Ben wanted to examine Hannah more thoroughly to see if he could detect any other injuries, but with the risk of spinal injuries, he was afraid to move her. He leaned over and whispered to her in hopes that she could hear him. “Hannah, it’s Ben. I’m here. Everything’s going to be all right. You’re safe now, and help is on the way.”

She stirred, and he held his breath as she lifted her head and stared up at him. “Ben,” she whispered. “Is it all over?”

He squatted and returned her gaze. “The guy who kidnapped you ran off, but Luke is after him. The important thing right now is whether you’re okay. Are you hurting anywhere?”

She lifted her hand to her forehead, frowned as she touched the blood and pulled her hand away to stare at it. “My head hurts, but I think I’m okay otherwise.”

She started to push up, but he put a hand on her and restrained her. “Don’t move. I want the EMTs to examine you first. Just try to relax until they get here.”

Tears pooled in her eyes, and the muscles in her throat constricted as she swallowed. “I think he really meant to kill me. I was so scared, Ben. Not for myself, but for Faith. She has no other family than me, and I prayed that God would give her a family to love her. Then I thought of you, and I knew you would never let anything happen to her.”

His chest tightened, and he took a deep breath. “You know I love Faith like she’s my own daughter. As long as I’m alive, I’ll be there to take care of her and you, too.”

“You’re a good friend, Ben,” she whispered as she let her head drop back to the seat.

Ben started to say something else, but the sirens that had been wailing in the distance had now grown louder. He glanced up to see an ambulance and a squad car, their emergency lights flashing, stop beside his patrol car on the highway. Joe Collins, and another EMT who Ben hadn’t seen before, jumped from the ambulance and ran with the backup officers to where he stood.

“In here!” he called out to Joe.

He backed away as the paramedics swooped in to examine Hannah, then turned to the two deputies who’d just arrived. “Luke has gone after our suspect,” he said. “Let’s go give him some help.”

The two men nodded and followed Ben as he ran in the direction that the kidnapper and Luke had gone. They were almost to the tree line of the forest when Luke stepped out into the field and jogged toward them.

He halted in front of them and wiped sweat from his forehead. “I lost him,” he said. “There are a lot of trails that lead into the mountains hidden in those trees. It was impossible to find one he might have taken. It was as if he just disappeared.”

Ben stared at the forest for a moment before he nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. There’s some rugged country in this area. If we want to catch this guy, I’d better get a search team out here.” He pulled his shoulder mic toward his mouth and requested a canine search team at Wears Valley, informing dispatch that there was an escaped suspect in area.

“Ten-four, Unit 1. Will advise ETA as soon as possible.”

Ben glanced back at the car, which was still smoking, and saw that the EMTs had brought a gurney to the scene and lifted Hannah onto it. He turned to Luke. “I’m turning the search party over to you so that I can go to the hospital with Hannah. Clara will radio back with the estimated time of arrival for the team. Keep me posted on what’s happening.”

Luke nodded. “I will.” His gaze went to the EMTs who were preparing to push the gurney toward the ambulance and then back to Ben. “You go on and take care of Hannah. We’ll make out fine here.”

For a moment the awful thought of what might have happened to Hannah washed over Ben. If their suspect had chosen to turn onto another road before Ben and Luke got to him, he would have disappeared with Hannah. Thankfully they’d arrived in time, but there were still lots of unanswered questions.

What had prompted the man to abduct Hannah? Was she a random victim, or had there been a motive behind his actions? Random acts of violence were fairly rare—attackers usually had a reason and a specific victim in mind when they chose to lash out. But could Hannah truly have been targeted? Ben couldn’t believe that anybody would want to deliberately hurt her. Everyone in town knew her as a dedicated mother who had worked hard since the death of her husband to provide a good life for her daughter and herself.

Even those who didn’t know her well knew of her larger-than-life husband who had charmed everyone in town when he’d married Hannah and moved there six years ago. In a community such as theirs where horses played an important role, Shane had been the celebrity in their midst as the World Mounted Archery League champion. He hadn’t missed an opportunity to cash in on his fame and had been in demand for conducting clinics and judging competitions all over the world. That was, until one night in Houston when he was mugged and killed while returning to his hotel.

Now Hannah was raising their child alone, and had become one of the leading experts on mounted archery in the country. People came from all over the world to attend her training sessions. Today, all that had almost come to an end. The thought made Ben’s stomach roil, and he hurried to catch up with the EMTs as they approached the ambulance. “Joe,” he called out. The paramedic turned and stopped as Ben ran toward him. “How is she?”

“I can’t find any broken bones, but you never can tell about internal injuries. We need to get that checked out and attend to the cut on her head. We’ll know more when the doctor can run some tests at the hospital.”

Ben glanced at the squad car he and Luke had arrived in and back to Joe. “Could I ride to the hospital with you? I need to leave my car here for Luke.”

“Sure,” Joe said.

Ben followed behind as the two EMTs pushed the gurney to the waiting ambulance and loaded Hannah inside. When Joe had Hannah settled and ready to be transported, Ben climbed in. Hannah looked up at him and smiled when he sat down next to her.

“Are you okay, Ben?” she asked.

The question surprised him. “Me? I’m fine. It’s you we should be worried about. You’re the one who’s just been through a terrifying experience.”

She reached out and clasped his hand. “I know you, Ben Whitman, and I know you care about every victim. You always put your whole self into righting every wrong you encounter, but it leaves you drained afterward. I’m afraid the stress of your job is going to get to you after a while, and I don’t want that to happen. The people of this county need you, and I think I just realized today how much Faith and I need you, too. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”