Erin's Way (27 page)

The day wore on. Her sliver of light continued its creep across the crawlspace. Erin felt in the dirt while she scooted along on the ground. Sometimes people left things behind, tools, a rock, something she could use to try to knock the pipe loose. When her efforts turned up nothing more than a discarded cat food can, she growled with frustration and scooted back to her spot. It would be time to start digging in again for another night.

Her glance slithered to the canteen. After picking it up and shaking it, she realized about half its contents were gone. At best she had about two more days, and that was only if the temperatures didn’t drop as low. Then she would have to get free or die. Her choices were narrowing almost as quickly as her body was weakening. But whatever her options, she was on her own.

Erin unscrewed the top of the canteen with fingers that shook and tipped it to her mouth. She would swallow half the water now and save the rest for tomorrow. When the drug began to work on her this time, she welcomed it. Her body craved food and water, but more and more it demanded sleep, and the drug helped. She pulled her plastic insulation cover around her curled up form, resting her head on her knees as she slipped into a state somewhere between drug-induced unconsciousness and sleep.

* * * *

By the second morning after Delacroix’s death, Sam was slowly inching his way around the room again. Desperation drove him. The passing of time now had a new meaning. Each minute that ticked by was one less minute Erin had to live. He didn’t want to think about it in those terms, but that was the reality…and what drove him. He was able to move more freely and didn’t feel like every shift was going to rip something back open again. By the time Jenny arrived to check on him, he had showered, shaved—somewhat inexpertly with just one hand—and dressed in the clean clothes Catherine had brought for him the previous evening.

Jenny’s attitude was all business. After checking him over, she smiled. “You can come downstairs, but take it easy.”

Those were some of the sweetest words he’d heard. He squeezed her shoulder. “I love you, Doc,” he rasped.

Jenny grinned. “Sorry, big guy, I’m already spoken for, but if you’ll let me, I’ll accompany you down the steps.”

Sam felt himself flush. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Stoner’s front hall and study had been converted into a high-tech crime lab. When Sam raised his brows, Stoner said, “I have money. Erin is my daughter, so I see no reason not to use it. A few other people have kicked in too.”

“Like who?”

“Her friend, Rick, Evan and Jenny, Jake and Holly, Catherine…”

Jake walked out of Stoner’s study at that point. “Welcome back, Sam. We’ve got a list of places we’re going to check out today. The realty companies were a bust, but I found several promising places through private ads. I’m sending your deputies out to check most of the list…the places where we actually spoke to someone, and it’s probably not a hit, but still worth putting eyes on.”

Sam leaned on the cane Jenny had pressed on him. “That sounds like you’ve saved a few to check out yourself.”

Jake’s grin was a quick flash of white teeth and dimples. “Yup. I’ve got four places here, a little spread out, but within our search range. We haven’t been able to get a phone contact other than leaving messages. Wanna come?”

Sam turned to look at Jenny and raised his brows inquiringly. As anxious as he was, he couldn’t afford another incident like the night with Delacroix. She rolled her eyes.

“Go ahead. Nothing I say stops you unless I shoot you up with drugs, but I don’t want to hear one word tonight if you’re in pain.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Sam relaxed the tight hold on his jaw.

“Don’t mention it. And Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“You better call me if you find out anything.”

“You know I will.”

When Jake started to help him into his pickup, Sam swatted at him with his cane. “Get the hell away from me. I am not some damn cripple.”

“Language, language! Holly would be so disappointed in you for such backsliding. And besides, you let Jenny help you.”

Sam scowled. “I can get in the truck by myself. And Jenny’s a whole lot cuter than your monkey butt face.”

Jake laughed. “That’s more like the Sam I know and love.”

After Jake slid behind the wheel and buckled his seatbelt, Sam asked, “Where to first?”

“I figured we’d start the farthest away and work back in toward the middle.”

Sam stared out the window as they wound their way along narrow, twisting state roads. A little divine intervention would certainly be nice. His eyes narrowed on the road as he tried to think of every conceivable angle to finding Erin.

Jake glanced over at him, then back to the road. “I ran into Tabby and Melodie at Tarpley’s this morning. Tabby wanted you to know Joe’s got Erin on a prayer chain. Of course, he’s also volunteered to help with the search.”

Sam knew he should make some positive response. “That’s thoughtful.”

Jake glanced his way again. “Melodie told me to remember to look under everything because that always helped her when she was trying to find something she’d lost.”

Sam rubbed his eyes. “She’s a good kid, especially considering everything she’s been through.”

“Yeah. Well, her advice isn’t bad either.”

It was just over an hour to the first location. When they arrived, they were greeted by a little old lady who was so hard of hearing she’d missed their call. She told them she had rented the place out about a week ago to a nice young couple who were both away at their jobs. Did they want to wait?

Sam crossed that off Jake’s list as they bumped back down the drive. After the second place was also a bust, Jake suggested stopping by Mercer’s and grabbing a couple of sandwiches before they headed to the last two. “It’s getting late, bro. I’m hungry.”

Sam had no appetite but knew he had to eat. The sun had shifted toward the mountains to the west. Once they were back in the truck, Jake sipped his coffee and set it back in the drink holder.

“The next place is only about five miles from where we found Matty. No one could remember any structure on the property, so we might have to look around. There must be something, otherwise why run an ad to rent it?”

“Hunting rights? Not the right time of year, though.” Sam frowned. Great. This was probably a bust too. Jake turned off the highway to bump down a narrow gravel road that barely had enough room for two cars to pass each other. Trees overhung the road from both sides, casting it into deep shadow.

“Hell, this is almost as bad as Mistletoe Lane, that goat path where Holly was living when I first met her.”

“It’s worse. Mistletoe Lane at least makes a pretense at being a road. I’m not sure this even qualifies. Are you sure there’s anything back here?” Sam’s brows drew together. They couldn’t afford to waste time on wild goose chases. He felt time ticking off Erin’s life clock with each beat of his heart.

“I was about to say cattle, but judging from the gaps in that fence, any self-respecting steer would already be long gone.”

“Whoa!” As Jake was speaking, Sam had spotted what looked like tire marks angling off to the right.

“What is it?”

“There’s an old road bed that heads off here… Mainly grass, but it looks like it’s seen some traffic recently, too much of a coincidence not to check out.”

Jake braked and backed up until he could make the turn in. They spotted an old shed with part of its roof missing and were about to turn around when Jake abruptly stopped again.

“Hmm.” His eyes narrowed as he peered out through the windshield.

“What?” Sam snapped. It had been a long, frustrating day after such a hopeful start.

“You see anything back there among the kudzu vines?”

Sam squinted a little bit. At this time of year, the tangle was still dead looking and minus the leaves.

“Yeah,” Sam acknowledged slowly. “Let’s keep going. Of course how anyone thought someone would want to rent this kind of crap, I don’t know.”

Jake grunted. “Probably some absentee landowner who hasn’t bothered to check the condition of their property in years, but if someone did rent it, let’s hope it was Delacroix.”

They pulled into what once might have been a front yard. Now it was littered with creeping vines. The trailer appeared abandoned, but not in total disrepair. Windows and doors seemed to be intact and the roof looked solid.

“Looks like it’s still habitable,” Sam murmured.

Jake snorted as he eyed the kudzu. “I hear the owners only moved out last week.”

Despite the situation, Sam chuckled. The speed at which kudzu grew was a running joke all over the southeast. “That can’t be. I’m sure the kudzu would have been strangling the roof vent by now.”

Jake shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know, Sam. This looks like a dead end, man.”

“Let’s check it out anyway. It’s nearly dark, and we won’t get to anything else today.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck, not sure if the feeling creeping over him was legitimate or just wishful thinking because in the back of his mind, he knew Erin was about out of time.

The slam of their truck doors echoed in the deserted area. Both men snapped on latex gloves, and picked their way to the front steps.

“You brought the key, didn’t you?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.”

“So try it, Cinderella. Let’s see if it fits.”

Jake slid the key in the front door. While it slid all the way in, it wouldn’t budge a single tumbler. He pulled it back out and shook his head. Sam leaned to the side of the narrow front porch to peer through one of the front windows. A beat up couch sagged along one living room wall and a cheap table sat forlornly in a kitchen bare of appliances. As he squinted, he saw a glass on the counter and next to it, a hypodermic needle. His heart thudded heavily.

“Jake, someone’s been here recently. There’s a syringe on the counter. Try the back. You know how some of these places are. Different keys fit different doors, and I can see a door off the kitchen.”

“Wait here,” Jake suggested. “I’ll try the back door. If it works, I can let you in.”

Sam watched through the window, saw Jake’s shadow at the back door, then the shaft of afternoon sunlight as it opened. This was it. Now where was she? Everything was so silent. Were they too late? Had Delacroix moved her somewhere else? Fear clawed at him, so when Jake finally opened the door, Sam almost knocked him out of the way to get inside.

“Erin!”

“Easy, bud. Check the bedroom on this end. I’ll go the other way.”

Sam turned to the small bedroom next to the front door. One glance told him there was nothing in there to be concerned about. Jake approached from the other end. He shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“The key fits. It’s the only lead we’ve got, Jake. We’ve got to keep looking. Maybe this was a red herring. Maybe he’s stashed a key somewhere to the real place.” Sam glanced back at the hypodermic. It could be just some addict looking for a place to shoot up, but the key had fit, and there was just something that bothered him about the whole deal. He shifted his eyes back to Jake. “What was it Melodie said?”

Jake frowned. “Look under everything.”

They returned to the bedrooms and the bathroom, checking in closets and inside cabinets, calling Erin’s name as they searched. Nothing. They rifled through the drawers, searched cabinets with their fingers, feeling for keys. Sam stood in the middle of the kitchen, still reluctant to leave even though the light was fading. He glanced back over to the cabinets under the sink. Jake had left them open, and he could see the pipes leading from the sink through the bottom of the cabinet…to the crawl space under the trailer. He looked up slowly and found Jake’s eyes following the same path his had.

“Under the house.”

They both said it at the same time. Jake with an air of anticipation, and Sam with cold dread. If she was under the house and alive, she should have made some noise or responded when they called her name. They clambered down the back steps, Jake much faster than Sam, but Sam wasn’t far behind.

Like many rural trailers, this one had only cheap aluminum skirting to hide its underpinnings. An area just to the right of the back stairs looked like the metal had been recently moved, the ground around it disturbed by both footprints and signs of something being dragged or scraped. Sam reached it first, snatching it back, and once again feeling a jangle along his right arm. Both men bent low to peer into the dimness, but they neither heard anything nor saw anything other than disturbed dirt.

“Fuck!” Nausea rolled through Sam. He straightened and leaned against the house, closing his eyes in sudden pain. God in heaven. Had Delacroix killed her and buried her here? Sam started to shake.

“Hold it together, Sam. No matter what we find, you gotta keep it together, man.” Sam heard Jake’s attempt to bolster him, but there was no comfort.

“You got a flashlight?” Sam snarled.

“Yeah.” Jake pulled it off his duty belt and flipped the switch before pointing it into the dimness. “Looks like just some trash, the water heater, and some wadded up insulation.”

Sam bent over, braced on his cane. “Shine it up along the bottom of the trailer.”

As soon as Jake raised the beam, they both saw the glint of metal and a limp hand protruding from the insulation.

“Erin!” Sam cried, then roared right on the heels of that, “
Bastard!
”

“Jesus!” Jake exclaimed at the same time.

As Sam started to dive into the confined space, Jake stopped him. “Get real, Sam. You can’t do this. You’re in no condition to bring her out. I’ve got the handcuff keys. Use your cell. Call it in and call an ambulance. I’ll get her.”

Sam’s breathing was as heavy as if he’d just run several miles. Fury nearly clogged his thoughts to the exclusion of all else. Impotent fury because the man who’d done this was already dead. Get a grip. They had to get Erin out of there. Get her out where she could get help because God only knew what kind of shape she was in by now. Tough as she was, no human was meant to go through what she had.

Jake touched his arm.

“You hear me, bro? Don’t wig out on me. I’ll bring her out. You’re in no shape for that. You call. Now!”