12 Jude
Jude woke to the sound of the outer door squealing as the kidnapper opened it. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton. He could barely remember who he was or how he got here, never mind how long he’d been out cold. Whatever drug had been slipped into his food had been much stronger than what had been in his drink at the ball. He sat up and watched as the kidnapper, dressed again in all in black, entered the room.
“Someone’s finally awake,”
the modulated voice said. “That was quite a trip to Neverland. Wasn’t sure you’d wake up. Had to guess on the dosage.”
“Cut the shit, asshole. Tell me who you are and why I’m here. You’re gonna kill me anyway, I might as well know the reason why.”
Jude felt like he had nothing to lose at this point in the game. He was muzzy-headed, heartsick, and starting to feel a bit hopeless. He had no doubt that Ronan, Fitz and the rest of the Salem Police Department were out searching for him. Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of clues to help them find him. Even Jude had no idea where he was. He could be in fucking Canada for all he knew. It was only seven hours or so to the border. In that time he could have also been taken to upstate New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, hell, maybe even as far south as Delaware if the traffic was light.
“You always were a demanding fucker, weren’t you, Jude?”
the voice asked.
“Yup!”
Jude agreed, feeling his spirits buoy. Finally, after all this time he had his first clue. Obviously the kidnapper was someone he knew. Which, considering his former himbo days, and his time working with several law enforcement agencies and law firms, the person who abducted him could be almost anyone. What he needed to do was narrow the field and try to dial in on who this particular fucker was. “The only way to get what you want is to reach out and grab it.”
“Ain’t that the truth,”
the kidnapper agreed. “Only some of us grabbed for the biggest prize.”
“What prize?”
Jude asked. “Fucking look at me. I’m half-drugged and trapped in a cage, like a lion at the zoo. All I want to do is see my family and eat a fucking meal that won’t make me feel like I’ve been knocked into next week.”
“You don’t consider your family a big prize? That husband of yours? Those two adorable kiddos. All your friends who are more like brothers. I consider that a pretty big fucking prize.”
Jude pulled the picture of the kids out from under his pillow. He wanted to cry just looking at Lizbet and Wolf’s little faces. He’d give anything to see them again, but tears and losing his temper wasn’t going to help make that happen. Jude needed to wise up and stay on his toes. Anything this asshole said could be a possible clue. “My family is the only thing that matters to me in this world. I could give two fucks about everything else. All I want to do is go home. Whatever it is you want, it’s yours, just let me out of here. The sooner you tell me how much money you want, the sooner I can put the wheels in motion to get it to you.”
“What if I said I wanted a million dollars?”
“Done,”
Jude said, without a second’s hesitation.
“Must be nice to have friends who’d slap down that kind of money for you,”
the kidnapper sneered. The sarcasm was obvious, even with the voice modulator.
Obviously, whoever this deranged person was, they didn’t have a family, or at least not one they were in close contact with. Jude thought back to the people who’d been in his life since his move to Salem. Aside from Cope and the detectives, Jude had been in contact with cops, parents of Wolf’s classmates, and neighbors, which brought him back to the photograph of the kids the kidnapper had left earlier. “Courtney took this picture.”
It wasn’t a question, for Jude, it was a statement of fact.
“Took you long enough to figure it out.”
The voice laughed, chilling Jude to the bone.
“I could have taken out your kids and your nieces and nephew at any time. You let my sister into your home willingly. No break-in required.”
The chuckled. “Not only did you pay her to be there, but you and your numbskull friends tipped her over three hundred dollars.”
Jude thought back to what he knew about Courtney. He didn’t recall her ever mentioning a brother or a family at all. She said she was a student studying early childhood education at Salem State and to Jude, had seemed intently focused on her degree. Other families in the neighborhood had used her to babysit their kids. So far as he knew, there were no troubling incidents. Truman and Carson wouldn’t have recommended her if she wasn’t trustworthy. “This was a set up from the start.”
“Very good, Jude. The plan has been in motion for months. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get your neighbors to trust Courtney? How long it took to move that chess piece onto the board?”
“You couldn’t have known Carson and Truman’s kids would get sick. They cancelled on us last minute. Jesus Christ, did you poison those kids to make them throw up?”
Jude would never forgive himself if Stephanie, Brian, or Baby Bertha were injured because of him.
“I’m not a total monster, Jude, despite what you may think.”
“Despite what I may think? I think I’m locked in a fucking cage on the whim of a crazed lunatic who’s too chicken to show his damn face. If this is all happening because of something I did in the past, then spill it! Enough fucking around. Who are you?”
Jude demanded.
The kidnapper stepped forward. He or she was dressed in black from head to toe. Shoes, gloves, pants, hoodie and a balaclava pulled up their face, ending just below the eyes, which were shadowed. He was several inches taller than his abductor, putting them around 5’8”
or so. With that height, it could be a man or a woman. Jude had no idea who this person could be.
Slowly, the kidnapper pulled off their gloves. Jude noticed the hands were large, white, and wore no jewelry. Definitely a man’s hand. Next, the hood was pushed back, showing what looked like short, dirty blonde hair. Stepping closer to the cage, the kidnapper grinned, Jude could see the curve of their lips beneath the face covering. “Moment of truth.”
They held up the voice modulator and pressed a button before putting it back into the kangaroo pouch of the sweatshirt.
“Moment of truth,”
Jude agreed. His palms were sweating while his heart pounded out a crazy beat. What happened next would change his entire life.
Pulling the balaclava over their head, the kidnapper revealed themself.
“Jerry Dunkirk.”
What the actual fuck was going on here? Jude felt like he’d been gut punched. “I don’t understand.”
“Obviously. Do you have any idea what it was like being with you?”
Jerry asked, his voice cold and emotionless.
Jude shook his head. He had no idea and truth be told, didn’t want to hear Jerry Dunkirk run it down for him. All he wanted to know was why this was happening.
“You were my dream come to life. My first and only true love.”
Jerry said, his voice barely above a whisper. “My mother hated me because her plan to trap my father into marrying her didn’t work. After he gave us the boot, Mom moved to New Hampshire, married a dentist, and had a second family.”
“Courtney?”
Jude asked.
“Yes and another brother named Philip.”
“That’s why you Courtney have different last names?”
It was a minor detail, but Jude was curious, nonetheless.
“Dunkirk was my mother’s maiden name. She gave it to me since my father wouldn’t claim me as his son. Wilcox is my step-father’s last name. Mom took that name when she married my step-dad.”
Jude took a deep breath. “I don’t understand. You put a plan into action where your sister infiltrates my suburban neighborhood and you kidnap me because I didn’t want a relationship with you?”
He was gobsmacked. “We stopped seeing each other eight years ago.”
“And every single one of those days cut like a knife. I sat and watched from the shadows as you took home man after man after man. A different one each night. You didn’t return my calls and blocked my number. You didn’t want to see me again. You used me and threw me away, as if I meant nothing to you.”
“Because you didn’t,”
Jude snapped. “You’re just another fucker who can’t take no for an answer. No means no. I’d seen you in the club several times before I’d approached you. I wasn’t the only one going home with a different man each night or disappearing into the men’s room with some rando to relieve the bulge you’d put in his pants. After we stopped seeing each other, you could have had anyone. You still could. Men were all over you last night. You had your pick.”
“I didn’t want anyone . I wanted you!”
Jerry shouted.
Jude though back over the last eight years of his life. He’d fucked his share of men in the eighteen months or so between his nights with Jerry and when he met Cope. He’d changed careers, adopted Wolf, married Cope, bought a house, and brought Lizbet home. They’d been the best years of his life, but in that time, instead of moving on, Jerry stewed and plotted revenge. “Why me?”
It was the only question Jude could think to ask.
Jerry laughed. “You always thought you were the center of the universe, Jude. So narrowminded that you couldn’t see the forest for the trees. It seems nothing has changed. You’re missing the bigger picture.”
Jude stared at Jerry, truly not knowing what to say. What big picture was there? Did it have to do with Cope or the kids? “Leave my family out of this. I hurt you. Hurt me in return, not my kids.”
“I couldn’t give two fucks about your family, Jude. Used to be you didn’t want to be tied down. Didn’t want kids, responsibilities, a ball and chain. I always thought we’d hook up again at some point, but then you stopped coming to the club. I didn’t a little detective work of my own and found out all about Cope and his psychic friends network. Even had a reading by that curly haired guy. He told me that he saw a chasm opening up before me, but that there was time to reverse course to keep myself from being swallowed alive.”
There was no doubt Jerry had met with Tennyson. Had Ten recognized him at the police ball? Not that it mattered now, Jude was imprisoned in some fucking basement, courtesy of his raging libido and his high opinion of himself. He should have known that his sleeping around would come back to haunt him someday, but he never could have imagined this scenario. Jerry spent the last eight years crying in his Cheerios and plotting revenge on Jude. “What happens now?”
“I’m gonna just leave you here and see if you can connect all the dots to reveal the big picture.”
Jude’s stomach grumbled. “I’m hungry.”
“As a condemned man, I suppose you deserve a last meal. Big Mac, no onions, fries, chocolate shake?”
Jerry offered a dazzling smile. It had been his smile that had drawn Jude to him like a moth to a flame.
Jude nodded, slightly shocked that after nearly a decade Jerry still remembered his go-to McDonalds order. “Minus the drugs, this time.”
“I’m not going to drug you again, Jude. Silly boy. I want you awake and excruciatingly aware of what’s to come.”
Without saying another word, Jerry turned and walked out the door.
Jude almost burst out laughing when he realized Jerry hadn’t shot the bolt on the outside door. If he really was going to go out and get Jude food, then this was the time to try and escape.
“I’m coming home, Cope,”
Jude said and detached the handle from the bucket. Jerry had made a good point when he said Jude had never wanted to be tied town with a husband or a family, but now, Jude couldn’t imagine his life without them.
Over the years, Jude liked to think he’d grown and matured, shedding his old promiscuous, responsibility-free life, like a snake sheds it’s skin. He’d been reborn thanks to Cope and the kids. Nothing would stop him from getting back to his family.
Nothing.