“Now what?”
The driver turned to look over his shoulder. “You tell me. That guy is one of the richest software giants in the country. Yeah, he looks like a bum, but maybe he's just eccentric. I've seen pictures of him plastered all over the place. He always dresses like this.”
“If he's that rich and that famous, someone is going to come looking for him. He was right, carjacking and kidnapping are serious business. Why don't we clean out his account and let him go? The most we planned on getting tonight was a few hundred each. You have his PIN number. I wouldn't do well in prison,” the man sitting on Matt's right side said.
“Look, do you want a few paltry hundred or do you want
thousands
? People like him have more than one account. I say we stash him somewhere and clean out as much as we can. Let's take a vote.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“So where are we going to stash him?”
“There's an abandoned shack at Anna's Bottom. I know how to get in and out. I'm banking on this guy having a line of credit. We'll just tap into it.”
“I read something about him in the
Wall Street Journal
the other day. I read the headline at the newsstand while I was waiting in line. Damn, I can't remember what it was. Yeah, yeah, he's getting married on New Year's Day. It said something about one of the world's richest men was tying the knot and there was no prenup. They made a big deal out of the prenup. The chick lives here in Natchez. I think he'll cooperate.”
“Looks like he's going to miss his wedding. We're probably doing the dumb
schmuck
a favor. What about the dog?”
“We dump the dog first chance we get. That gives us two bargaining chips, the girl and the dog, Sneakers said. ”He'll play ball.”
“How long is that shot going to last him?”
“Six hours, maybe a little more. I have one more on me, and that's it.”
“We'll worry about that later. I'm going to pull over. Put the dog out on the side of the road. Don't hurt the animal. I like animals.”
“Settle back, gentlemen, we have a long ride ahead of us. And you guys said this little enterprise wouldn't work. Who in their right mind would think three highly respected brothers with their own business would be out robbing ATM customers in the middle of the night? If we play our cards right, we might be able to kiss that business of ours good-bye and head to the islands and lead the good life. You gotta admit, this is better than insider trading. The SEC always catches up with those guys. I don't see anyone catching up with us. Once we get his money, we let him go and split. It'll take him weeks to find his way back. We'll be long gone before he manages to get to the authorities. We're not talking murder here. We feed him, too, let him do a little exercising. All we want is his money. Do we all agree?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Â
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He woke with a hammering headache, then opened his eyes to total darkness. Where was he? Gingerly he felt his arms and legs. One leg and one arm wouldn't move. It took a full minute to realize he was tied to something. “Gracie, where are you?” he whispered. When there was no response from the shepherd, he started to struggle until he realized it was an exercise in futility.
It must be night. How had he gotten here? Where was here? He remembered the prick to his arm. Drugged. Son of a bitch! “Gracie!” he called, but this time his voice was louder. “If you bastards hurt my dog, I'll kill you. I'll track you to the ends of the earth.” The silence told him he was alone.
He closed his eyes because there was nothing else to do.
Â
Â
They woke him by poking a stick at his chest. “Where's my dog?” he demanded.
“You hear that? He's more interested in his dog than he is about what's happening to him. Commendable. We're going to untie your foot so you can sit up. “Your dog got away when we stopped for gas.”
“Lying bastard. My dog would never leave me. Tell me what you want.”
“We want your money. That's it, your money. Pure and simple.”
“How do you propose to do that? A letter isn't going to do it. My bankers aren't stupid. It won't work. My accounts have safeguards in place, fingerprint I.D., stuff like that. What that means is I have to offer up my fingerprint to withdraw any sum over five hundred dollars at any one time. It's not the same at every bank or branch. In some instances, it's an eye identification or voice I.D. They are new safeguards we put into place last year for just this reason. I'm not doing it, so forget about it. I want my dog.”
“Oh, you'll do it, Mr. Starr. If you don't, we'll pay the little lady you're supposed to marry later today a visit. Do you want to change your mind? We aren't talking about going into a bank. We're talking about wire transfers, and don't even think about telling me it can't be done.”
“You bastards. Lily has nothing to do with this. You touch one hair . . .”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like you're really going to do something. Look around, Mister Starr. What do you see? Four walls, a sturdy door, no windows, and that board you're sleeping on. It's four-thirty in the morning in case you're interested. I think what we're going to do is clean you up and drive you to New Orleans so we can go shopping for money. One wrong move, and you get dumped in one of the bayous. You'll be dead in an hour. Now, what's it going to be?”
“If I do all this and you get your money, what happens to me?”
“We stash you someplace. When we get to where we want to go we'll call the police, and they'll come get you. We're not murderers. Let me put it to you another way, you don't have any options. Get him up, tie his hands behind his back. Let him take a leak first.”
Matt gritted his teeth. “Where's my dog?”
“I told you, he hopped out of the car when we stopped for gas. The dog was alive. I like dogs. That's the truth. Come on, move.”
“The dog is a she, not a he.”
“Whatever.”
He was right, there were no options.
It was just turning light when Matt was shoved into the backseat. He felt something hard nudge his thigh when he landed against the back door. The cell phone? It felt like it. One of the men climbed in next to him. “Wake me up when we get there,” he snarled.
Matt worked his bound hands around the hard square he was half-sitting on.
“What the hell are you doing back there, Mr. Starr?”
“Trying to get comfortable. Can't you just tie one of my hands to the door handle or something?”
“No.”
It was the cell phone. Now the problem was, how to get it into his hip pocket, and he had to do it before it became full light. He sat quietly, his mind racing. Without stopping to think, he brought up his knees, one leg outstretched. He shoved the leg into the driver's neck, knowing he was going to get clobbered for doing it, but it gave him precious seconds to jam the cell phone into his hip pocket. The Jaguar careened to the right and then the left as the driver struggled to control the powerful car.
“Try a stunt like that again, and you're dead meat. Get on the damn floor and don't move. Keep your foot on his neck and don't go to sleep.”
Matt felt himself being shoved to the floor. His leg swung out again and clipped his seat companion smack on the mouth. He felt something warm splatter on his face. Blood.
The Jaguar came to a screeching halt. Strong hands yanked him from the car. He inhaled deeply of the crispy pine-scented air and wished he had a cup of Starbucks coffee to welcome the new day.
“Put him in the damn trunk!”
“No. We want him alive and well. The trip's too long. Find something to tie his ankles with and give him another shot of that stuff. Do it now, you idiot. He'll sleep the rest of the way. Am I the only one with any brains around here?”
A moment later, Matt's ankles were tied. For the second time in under an hour he was shoved into the car. He thanked God for the hip-length windbreaker that covered his hip pockets. The needle stung, then his world went dark.
Chapter Two
The mirror said she looked like a beautiful bride, but it was all a big lie. In order to be a beautiful bride, one had to go through a wedding ceremony, preferably with a groom in attendance. The stunning Demetrios original with matching veil and the requisite blue garter just wasn't cutting it. Especially since the groom had been a no-show.
Lily Harper gritted her teeth. By God she wouldn't cry. She absolutely would not cry. Dumped at the proverbial altar on her wedding day for the
second
time. Not just any day. Oh, no, he had to do it on New Year's Day. Jilted twice and by the same man both times. What kind of fool was she? A lovesick fool who believed a man's lies. She remembered now how bad it had hurt that first time. How devastated she was. So devastated, she trashed the gown and veil and ran as far and as fast as she could. She'd ended up in Wyoming and signed on as an outdoor survival guide with a company that planned Extreme Vacations for wealthy businessmen. With her degree in forestry, she'd aced the rigorous training program and managed to hide out until Matt Starr came back into her life. Sweet-talking Matt Starr and his dog Gracie. Oh yeah.
Her face burned now when she remembered how eager she'd been to swallow the lies he'd fed her. With no family to fall back on to guide her, she'd had to rely on her friend Sadie, who thought Matt Starr was the neatest thing since sliced bread. Sadie was a bigger fool than she was.
Lily looked around the sunny apartment. Her home away from Ozzie Conklin's survival camp for the rich and famous. Right now she couldn't bear to think about her first real estate venture, the white elephant she'd purchased from Sadie last April at Ozzie's insistence. You need to put down roots, he'd said. And, he'd gone on to say, owning a house is a tax write-off. Since that time the project had grown legs. The house was supposed to be her wedding present to Matt. For the past year she'd racked up huge telephone bills talking daily to the contractors, who specialized in restoring antebellum mansions. While she wasn't a native of Natchez, having grown up in Florida, along with Sadie, she'd been coming here for years for visits with Sadie. Four years ago she'd leased an apartment in the Bienville complex on South Commerce Street, returning every winter with Sadie when Ozzie closed down the camp for three months. She preferred the laid-back life of Natchez to life in Fort Lauderdale, but coming here to soak in the milder temperatures during December, January, and February when Ozzie closed down had never really made her happy. Maybe that was because she was incapable of being happy. Maybe it all had something to do with Matt Starr and the fact that she'd signed the lease on the apartment, along with Sadie, after she'd finally given up hope of ever seeing him again.
Lily kicked off her satin heels and watched them fly across the room as she burst into tears. “Damn you! Damn you to hell, Matt Starr.” She hooked her thumbs into the delicious V of the Demetrios gown and felt the material give way. Thousands of tiny seed pearls created a blizzard as they sailed about the room. She continued to rip and gouge until the elegant gown was nothing but shreds. When she realized she was still wearing the matching veil, she ripped it from her head and stuck her foot through the fine netting. Breathing like a racehorse, she hiked up her strapless bra and peeled off the lacy blue garter. She made a slingshot of it and watched it ricochet across the room to land near one of the white-satin shoes.
She sat down on the colorful green-and-yellow sofa and cried because she didn't know what else to do.
Sadie Lincoln opened the door and cautiously entered the living room.
“Go away, Sadie. I don't want to talk. There's nothing to say. Please don't try to cheer me up.”
“I wouldn't think of it. I came up to commiserate with you. Everyone's gone except Matt's best man. I think it's safe to say it was one pissed-off crowd. The Digitech crowd that is. You know, they missed the New Year's Eve bash back in New York for your rehearsal dinner, then the wedding that didn't come off on New Year's Day. As Marcus put it succinctly, the wedding from hell that didn't come off. Dennis is waiting downstairs. Why, I don't know. My blood is boiling, Lily. I thought Matt Starr was one in a million. It looks like we were both wrong. I need to know what you're going to do, Lily. I can't go off to Australia tomorrow knowing I'm leaving you like this.”
“Don't worry about me. I survived the first time, and I'll survive this time, too. The worst part of all this is I
knew
. I knew, Sadie. Something in my gut, my heart, my head, whatever, told me this was going to happen. When he called to say he wouldn't make the rehearsal and the dinner last night, I knew. Even though he said he was probably going to be late and might not make it at all, something told me he was going to make a fool of me again. I played that stupid game of pretend, the way I used to do. I ignored what my heart was telling me even though I knew better. Ozzie taught us always to heed any warning, no matter how slight. Did I heed his warning? No, I did not. The fact that I haven't seen Matt for a month should have been my first clue. Spending Christmas alone should have been my second clue. Why didn't I think that was important? A smattering of phone calls in one month should have been my third clue. Not only am I dumb, I'm stupid as well. Look, don't worry about me. Go to Australia. Meet Tom's parents, enjoy your two-month leave. I'm a survivor. I'll be okay.”
Sadie hiked up the hunter green gown and sat down cross-legged in front of Lily. “Are you going to go back to camp?”
“No. Even I know you can't go back. I need to wallow in my misery for a little while before I make any decisions. I think I'm going to sell my parents' condo. I never liked it. That's a concrete decision. I won't have to pay the maintenance if I sell it. I'll save three thousand a year if I get rid of it, not to mention the utilities. I hate going back there. There are just too many memories attached to that condo. With that in mind, the logical thing for me to do is stay in Natchez and make my life here. Thanks for being my friend, Sadie. I'm going to miss you.”
Lily stared at her friend's earnest face. Sadie was the kind of friend everyone deserved. She was honest, loving, caring, and fiercely loyal. Right now, her piercing blue eyes pleaded with Lily.
“I need to know you're going to be okay, Lily. This is going to be the first time since we were six years old that we're going to be separated. Do you think it will work for you, staying here?”
“I suppose it's all ... doable. Right now I can't think straight. Maybe I should just move on. Go somewhere new, different, start a new life. What in the hell will I do alone in Natchez, Mississippi?”
“Finish restoring the house. In another few weeks it will be done, and you can move in. Or you can sell it if you want to. You can teach school. Besides your degree in forestry, you also have a degree in education. Use it. Get over this rough patch. Get grounded, then make decisions. Living here year-round, you could very well come to love Natchez. Just because it isn't for me doesn't mean it won't be right for you. In time you'll adjust to the brutal humidity. We can talk it to death over dinner.”
Lily's head whirled. “If . . . if I decide to stay in Natchez, that isn't like running away, is it, Sadie? That's what I did the first time. I don't want to live like that again.”
“No, Lily. It's called moving on and getting on with your life. You're thirty years old. This is supposed to be the best time of your life. It can be, too, if you open up and embrace it. You're tough, kiddo. Ozzie made us tough. We're survivors. That means emotional as well as physical. Listen, the guy was a dumb shit to do this to you. It's his loss. You would have made him a hell of a wife. Now, I have to go downstairs and tell his best man something. Does anything come to mind?”
Lily peeled off her thigh-highs and headed for the bathroom. “Tell him to go back to wherever it was he came from. Don't tell him anything else. I'm going to get dressed and drive over to the Emerys to pick up Buzz. If you like, we can get a bite to eat or we can sit here and you can watch me bawl my eyes out. Your choice.”
Sadie stared at her friend's retreating back.
Pick up Buzz, get a bite to eat.
The girl had just been left standing at the altar in front of fifty of Matt Starr's associates, and she wanted to get a bite to eat. She blinked. “That sounds like a plan. I'll run downstairs and tell what's-his-name to . . . to do whatever he wants. I'll be right back.” She waited for a response and when there was none she wasn't surprised. She let herself out and walked down the steps to the first floor.
It was like all apartment lobbiesâslate floor, a mirrored wall, rattan furniture with artificial flower arrangements on the tables. Even with the sunlight filtering through the bamboo blinds it was depressing. This whole place was so unlike either one of them. They'd moved there because she'd told Lily she would learn to love the town and the people. She was usually right about most things. What she hadn't figured on was Matt Starr leaving Lily standing at the altar a second time.
“Dennis, can I talk to you for a minute?” Sadie said, sitting down across from him. Her first thought was he was handsome in a
nerdy
kind of way. He had beautiful eyes and an even more beautiful smile. Her second thought was he probably looked better in tweeds or jeans than he did in his tux.
He was on his feet in an instant, his face a mask of worry. “I don't know what to say. Matt wouldn't . . . I know about the last time but . . . The last time I talked to him was two weeks ago, and everything was a go. I thought it was strange when there was no one to pick me up at the airport. I think something happened to him. How is Lily? Jesus, this must be like a scene in a horror movie for her. Twice and by the same guy. Dammit, this is not something Matt Starr would do. You should understand, Sadie. You and Lily have been friends since you were little children. You know everything there is to know about each other. That's the way it is with Matt and me. I know I sound like a broken record, but Matt simply would not do this. Something must have happened to him.”
“Something happened all right. Your buddy got cold feet like he did the first time. Don't try to defend him. This is unconscionable. How much time does it take to make a phone call? Seconds. If your buddy didn't have the guts to talk to Lily, he could have put a note under the door. I think the guy is gutless is what I think. I really don't care to hear anything else about him. As to how Lily is, she's . . . she's none of your damn business. You can tell that to your buddy, too. She'll do just fine because she's a . . .
fine
person, unlike some people I would rather not mention. This whole thing was so humiliating. I was only in the wedding party, and I was humiliated. Who does that man think he is? Because he's rich and the media has him snapping at Bill Gates's heels doesn't give him the right to do this to my friend. It's beyond cruel. You tell him that for me,” Sadie said angrily. “Wherever you're going, have a safe trip.”
“Why are you yelling at me? This isn't my fault. Sadie, listen to me. I'm telling you, something must have happened. Matt isn't anything like what you said. He loves Lily. All he wants to do is talk about her, day and night. In my opinion, he's never been happier. He told me all about their plans, their hopes and dreams. I'm telling you,
something happened to him
. Why don't you believe that? I think I'm going to file a police report,” he said, jerking at the bow tie at his neck.
“You do that! You have to wait forty-eight hours before the police will even talk to you. If you do file one, don't bother either of us with the results. Read my lips, we don't want to know anything about Matt Starr. Not now, not ever. I don't want you calling Lily and upsetting her any more than she is already. Are we clear on that?”
Sadie stomped off to the elevator. She didn't look back.
Sadie opened the door in time to see Lily stuffing her wedding apparel into large trash bags. She looked grim and brittle. She stepped aside as Lily drop-kicked the trash bag in the general direction of the door.
“I'm sorry about the expense of your gown and all, Sadie. I'll pay you back.”
“You will not. I'm taking this gown to Australia with me. I'm sure at some point there will be a dinner party I can wear it to. Give me ten minutes to change, and we can be on our way. I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?”
“No, I'm not okay. I feel like someone ripped out my guts. My head feels like cotton candy, and my heart is beating way too fast. I just want to get my dog and curl up with him so I can bawl my eyes out and have him lick my face. I need to do that, Sadie. You know, get it out of the way. Damn, the house was supposed to be this big surprise! I know Matt would have loved your old house as much as I do. It was going to be our getaway place or maybe our home base. I'm just now beginning to realize I didn't know Matt Starr. How can that be, Sadie? I was going to marry a man I know nothing about. Let's go to Pearl Street Pasta before we pick up Buzz. I'm not saying I'm going to eat. I just want to get out of here so I can
breathe.”
Forty minutes later they were seated at a cozy table in back of the bar area perusing the menu. It was warm and comfortable, the lighting dim. As the hour wore on, Sadie watched in horror as Lily downed one drink after another. She didn't try to stop her.