Dancing In Darkness (21 page)

“You know, we should go eat. Breakfast didn’t go so well, but I am getting hungry. Whether or not it stays down, we’ll see…but I’m hungry.” He told her.

“I’m good. Not hungry.” She said.

“Get your shit, you’re coming with me. We have to eat or we will be in the hospital when they find her. That’s not where I want to be. You?” He snarked.

Being too tired to argue with him and if she were being honest, she was a tad bit hungry, she grabbed her bag and got ready to go.

Waiting on their food to be served, all he could think about was hearing from the police. The not knowing was pure hell. Talking with Nina and carrying on an internal dialogue with himself was becoming a common place habit. He didn’t want to ignore her and stare into outer space, but he didn’t want to vocalize all of his internal thoughts either. It was a fine line between sanity and insanity. He felt as if he had crossed that line or was getting dangerously close to doing so.

“For someone that wasn’t hungry you sure did eat quite a bit.” He laughed at her. A true laugh. It was something that sounded foreign to his ears. He missed it and couldn’t wait to do it more often.

He recalled the sound of her laughter while they were in the garden. It was almost a magical sound to him. Is that what love does to you? Makes you think cheesy things like that? He had to smile.

“What’s so funny over there, lover boy?” She playfully mocked him.

“I was just thinking about her. How nice it was while she was there. I want that out of life and I want it with her.” He responded. “She is my perfect.”

With that, he fell apart. He thought he was having a nervous breakdown. The tears were flowing, he was laughing and he wanted to fucking kill Mike Ward. All at the same time. There were no words for how he felt and he couldn’t even express it to Nina. He didn’t have to. She felt exactly the same, only she had found a way to compartmentalize it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

When Nancy made her presence known once again, she had not changed her attitude in the least. She was still getting mouthy with Nina and she refused to listen to Adam.

“You are going to have to calm down if you are going to be here. I have no problem including you in anything that is taking place, but I can’t do that if you insist on trying to run things.” He told her.

“Look, I am her mother.” Nancy started. “There is a…”

“I’m going to interrupt you right there. You might be her mother by giving birth to her, but that is where it stops. We have talked at great lengths about this and rest assured that you do not qualify as mother of the year by any means.” He continued on, “Again, if you want to be a part of this discussion and wait on any word from the police, then I would highly advise you to shut your mouth and sit the fuck down.”

He was finished playing her power game with her. If she wanted power, he would show it to her. Nancy didn’t say anything for a few moments. She was seething and it was obvious no one ever talked to her that way before, or if they did, she paid no attention. Now she had met her match. Easily ordered around and controlled was not something that Adam Linston was, in fact, it went against every fiber of his being.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but you will not talk to me with that lack of respect. Do you understand me?” She hissed at him. Her true colors were starting to show before they knew whether her daughter had lived or died. It was a sad night for both Adam and Nina. This woman wasn’t looking to fix any relationship. She was trying to make herself look better for whatever reason.

“Mrs. Barnes, there are things about me that you have no idea about. I do not take orders, from anyone. I am not a pushover, for anyone. I am not controlled, by anyone. This will do much better for everyone involved, including Priscilla, if you can retain a modicum of self-restraint.” He told her calmly.

“Who do you think you are? This is my child we are talking about.” She continued to argue.

“She might be your daughter, but at twenty eight years old she is far from a child. If she wants to establish a relationship that is something that the two of you should discuss in private. Not with us while she isn’t even here.” He said.

“If you are through with this conversation I will return to my hotel. Oh, as her mother and the rightful next of kin, I will be contacting the police to direct all communication through me.” She smiled an evil grin. “The two of you might as well go on home now, because legally they are bound to talk to me. So, Mr. Linston, as for no one controls you, I have control of this now.” Nancy spit at him.

“If I didn’t want to go to jail I would beat your ass. How fucking low does someone have to be to pull this shit when they don’t know if their offspring is alive? You have no class and that is disgusting. I have news for you, while that might work in the medical field, for now, this is a legal matter and since we’ve already been working with the police and the detectives for months, and they don’t even know your name…it won’t be you they search out.” Nina had enough. At this point it might be worth it to go to jail. No wonder Priscilla didn’t want anything to do with this witch, especially if she had to put up with the acid filled garbage that spews from her mouth.

“Nina, go sit down and be quiet for a minute. Please.” He added for good measure.

“Mrs. Barnes, you need to go back to your hotel or better yet back to Pennsylvania, because you are cutting your own throat with your daughter. How do you think she would feel hearing you talk to the people she loves, like this?” Adam asked her. He wanted a legitimate answer.

“Mr. Linston, I do not need to answer you nor do I feel that your question deserves a response. When they find my daughter I will make sure she understands how you treated me so disrespectfully.” She said with a smile.

Without any forethought, Adam laughed. He laughed hard. Then he opened the door and showed her out. When she was on the other side of the door, he found that he was still laughing. That was the stupidest outburst he had ever seen. If they had a legitimate relationship, it would be understandable. Since they have not and never have, it doesn’t matter in the least. There is no way that she would ever choose to go against Nina, and he doubted she would against him. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that she broke into a full blown power play while they were searching for her daughter.

“What the hell is her problem?” Nina sputtered. “I’ve never seen anyone who was that mental before.”

“I don’t get it Nina.” He admitted.

“Some things are unexplainable.” She said as she shook her head.

“I wish we would hear something from the police. I’m really getting worried.” He told her. “I think I am going to go out and smoke a cigarette, maybe talk to one of the uniforms that are still out here.”

“I’ll be here. I need to take a shower and get cleaned up. Maybe I will feel a little better after.” She responded.

As he was standing at the edge of the parking lot one of the officers made his way over to talk. Just to pass the time. Adam made small talk for a few and decided to ask him if he knew what was going on.

“As far as I know they haven’t located anything yet. I can’t guarantee that, but it’s all I got.” The officer said. “I know how hard this has to be on ya’ll. Just try to stay positive. It’s the only thing we can do.”

“You got that right. Your mind is a crazy place, forming thoughts that aren’t conducive to anything, not letting go of their grip.” Adam replied.

When he was finished with his cigarette he offered the officer a bottle of water or something. He knew he had been standing out here for a long time.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks though bud. I’ll keep an ear open for ya.” He returned.

“Thanks.” Adam said.

Instead of going back upstairs, Adam decided to go for a short walk. It would burn off some of that unused energy and give him a chance to try and clear his head. He couldn’t think. It was a nice night, not too chilly and not hot at all. It made him think of Priscilla and the possibility that she was laying out there on the cold, dark ground all alone. It broke his heart. All he wanted to do was hold her hand and never let it go.

He could close his eyes and picture a life together. A life full of love and happiness, great conversation, great sex, all of it combined to fill their own little world. It couldn’t be over before it started. It just couldn’t. As he was walking along the dark sidewalk of the complex, his phone vibrated to life in his pocket. As he was trying to get it out, he accidentally hung it up. Seeing it was Nina, he called her back right away.

“I’m sorry, I hit the damn button the wrong way getting it out of my pocket. What’s up?” He asked her.

“I think you might want to come back up here for a minute.” She said.

“Is something wrong?” He asked quickly.

“Just come up here.” She said as she hung up the phone.

Turning around he started to run back to the building. Taking the concrete stairs two at a time he bounded to the landing. Before he could put his hand on the door knob, Nina had it open. “You need to see this.” She said.

The television had come to life and they were watching a breaking news report of police activity in the area. The reporter began to speak.

“Tonight, we are bringing you breaking news of police activity. Several different locations are being scoured for any signs of missing local woman Priscilla Barnes. Ms. Barnes is twenty-eight years old, long brown hair, blue eyes, she is five foot five and weighs one hundred and twenty pounds. There is no accurate description of clothing. If you see Ms. Barnes please call 911 immediately. Police are requesting that anyone travelling through one of the designated search areas to please choose an alternative route. We will bring you more as we receive information.”

As the channel cut to a commercial, Adam sat back in the chair. “At least they finally have it on the news. Maybe someone has seen something. Anything.”

“I was hoping for the same thing. You never know. Someone had to be driving along the interstate the night she vanished, but now we know who actually took her. I keep asking myself, Adam, why would Ward want to do this to her?” Nina replied.

“Repeatedly I have asked that same question. I cannot come up with anything that makes any sense. There is no connection between her and Ward. Not from my house or anywhere else that I am aware of. She didn’t know him at all when she met him the night Zena was killed.” He said.

Learning nothing new from the television report, Nina turned it off. The silence in the room was deafening. No matter where they turned it was always the same response. We don’t know. We haven’t heard. She didn’t think answers were ever going to come. On the other hand, she was smart enough to know that this wasn’t going to be an immediate thing either. It took time and planning. There were other lives to protect as well. The men and women in law enforcement were also targets.

On the other side of town in the swampy area past the freeway, a team of forty men and women had gathered and were prepared to make their way to the cabin. They knew that there was no electricity out here, it had never been wired in. Any lights at all would indicate that there was someone at the cabin. They had to take great care to ensure that while they captured their suspect that they didn’t harm the victim.

This scenario was a disaster waiting to happen. If one thing failed to be performed the way it was intended, the consequences could be high. He had to be caught completely off guard. Tony had no way of knowing if he knew they were here. All she could go on was skill, training and instinct. She was thankful that there were others who were in charge of the detailed planning.

Being more than a hundred yards off the road they knew that they would be coming up on the cabin soon, although there wasn’t a precise location for it. The plan was to watch it for any signs of movement before making their move. It would be getting light soon and it would make it an even more dangerous situation. If they could see him clearly, then he could see them. He had to be taken under the cover of darkness.

As the team advanced deeper into the woods, the signal was given for them to stop. Approximately fifty yards to their west was a cabin. Sending one man to silently make his way closer to the structure, the others prepared for whatever they encountered. They formed a straighter line against the building so as to avoid crossfire if necessary. When the scout officer returned to let them know that there was indeed someone inside, they tightened up their line and made a slow progression.

Once they were in close enough range two SWAT officers shifted position to be on the opposite side of the cabin, this way he couldn’t escape from the other side. There was a small glass window next to the door. Another officer was going to quickly break it and throw in a flash grenade. It would knock him off balance and allow them time to enter and apprehend him and hopefully find Priscilla.

As soon as the officer was in place with the grenade the lead agent gave him the go ahead. The sound of the glass break jarred Ward from his sleep. He had fallen asleep with his head on the table while waiting for light. He knew instinctively what was going to happen. Within a few seconds the flash grenade exploded. Agents and officers swarmed the structure and were able to apprehend Ward with no further incident. They searched the tiny cabin for signs of Priscilla.

In the bedroom they found the rope and shackles, but not her.

“She’s not in here Tony.” Someone called.

“As they were handcuffing Ward, Det. Tony asked him where the hell she was. His only response, “Dead.”

Beth wanted to punch him, but took the high road and would let the justice system handle him. He disgusted her and he did nothing but tarnish the name of decent officers.

Now they had him, they had to find her. If she were dead like he said, where would he hide her body? He hadn’t hidden any of the others. Her gut instinct told her that Priscilla was alive. He hoped they wouldn’t look for her so that she
would
die. She was here somewhere. That much she knew.

Reaching the agents in charge, she told them that they had to continue to search the woods. Something told her that the woman was here. “Call me crazy, but this woman is out here. He doesn’t want us to find her, because right now she is still alive!”

“We are going to have to wait for light to start a manhunt for her. It is too dangerous for our officers and agents to be out in unknown terrain.” He told her.

“Are you kidding me? You have topographical maps. You can see the terrain, it isn’t that bad. A little slippery and wet, but this woman truly could be dying out there. Someone had lost a lot of blood in that car and it obviously wasn’t that asshole.” She was getting angry.

“If you do not send anyone out there, I am going on my own.” She declared.

“I can’t allow you to do that.” He almost yelled at her.

“Look, we will get a team together and as soon as the sun rises we will be out.” He tried to compromise.

“No. Hell no. I’m going now.” She said as she spun around and took off deeper into the woods.

Yelling for Priscilla she hoped she could hear her. Priscilla couldn’t answer, lying in a hole in the ground with enough leaves and brush to keep her unnoticeable, she shook with fear. She was smart and knew it wasn’t fear alone. It was shock. Soon her body would start shutting down organs. There had been too much blood loss and she hadn’t been gentle with the wounds. She didn’t have to time to be gentle, all she could do was get away. When she heard the grenade explode it terrified her and she ran as fast as she could away from the sound.