Chapter 30
30
“I can’t believe we have our first major catering delivery,” Bess exuded, glancing toward Carol in the passenger seat. The two were in the van after packing it with fifty decorated cupcakes. A local bride had contacted her a few days ago in a tizzy. Her maid of honor had forgotten to arrange the desserts for the bridal shower, and she placed an order for the large number of cupcakes. Bess was only too happy to oblige. And now that she had a vehicle where she could carefully pack the desserts so they wouldn’t get crushed, she was thrilled.
“Did you decide not to put the seats down?” Carol asked.
Bess shook her head. “I tried but couldn’t get the latches to work so that I could open the floorboard where the seats were supposed to fold down. I’ll have to go by Mr. Williams’s place to get him to show me how they work.”
For this trip, she had plenty of room in the back to stack her boxes and ensure they wouldn’t slide around. This, in turn, ensured the swirls of frosting and decorations on top of each cupcake remained perfect.
It didn’t take long to drive to the winery where the party would take place. The bride’s mother was so thrilled with the order and how Bess could accommodate at such short notice, she tipped Bess very well.
“Oh my goodness, Ms. Crowder, I don’t know what we would have done without you! My daughter’s maid of honor is pregnant and so forgetful. She arranged for food but completely forgot about the special desserts. You have saved the day!”
Bess nodded appreciatively, trying not to show how stunned she was at the tip amount. She carried the boxes, and once they reached the pink cloth-covered tables, Carol assisted as they arranged the cupcakes in a way that best showed off the delicacies.
Tucking the check into her purse, they soon returned to the van and headed down the road. Realizing her location, Bess had an idea. “Do you mind if we make a quick stop?”
“Of course not,” Carol replied. “Where?”
“I need gas, but it dawned on me that we’ll pass close to Mr. Williams’s garage. I can’t get gas there, but I can get him to show me how to lower and stow the back seats.”
“Sure, that will be fine.”
After a mile, she pulled off the highway and turned onto another two-lane road that meandered among some farms. “That’s his place up there,” she said, pointing ahead. “It looks as old as he does, but he’s got a few new men working for him.”
She parked outside the office, spying a man inside the garage working on an old truck. He looked up, stared for a moment, then pulled his phone from his coverall pockets. Remembering Brad’s warning, she glanced toward Carol. “Would you mind texting Brad to tell him where we are and why?”
“Sure,” Carol responded, pulling out her phone.
Bess didn’t see anyone else around, so she threw open her door. “I’ll pop into the office. That’s where Mr. Williams usually sits. I’ll be right back.”
“O-kay. I’ve sent the text to Brad.”
She walked toward the office, focusing her attention forward while her peripheral vision allowed her to see the man in the garage with his phone to his ear. Approaching, she discovered the office door was locked. There was no sign on the door, but she figured Mr. Williams probably just came and went when he wanted.
“He ain’t there, babe.”
She turned around to see the man from the garage walking toward her, wiping his hands on an old towel that looked greasier than what he was trying to clean.
“Okay… um… thanks. I’ll try again another time?—”
“You need somethin’?” He inclined his head toward the van, his lips curving into a grin that appeared more Grinch-like than friendly.
“No, thank you.” She started toward the van, but he stepped in her way.
Looking down at her, he tossed the towel to the side where it landed on the concrete. “You came. You musta wanted somethin’.”
“I just wanted to ask Mr. Williams about the van. But it runs fine, and I’ll come by another time.”
“You can ask me. I worked on the van when it came in. If there’s a problem, the old man—uh, Mr. Williams would want me to help. It’s what I get paid for. And the scenery is a helluva lot better than in there.” He jerked his head toward the garage.
She pressed her lips together, and her insides warred. There was no reason not to have him show her how the folding seats work, but he made her spidey senses tingle. “Um… okay. Sure. I can’t figure out how to fold the back seats down. I’ll need to carry things and don’t always want the seats up.”
“The back seats. Sure. Let me go wash my hands, and I’ll be right back. It won’t take long.”
He walked into the garage and disappeared from sight. Bess turned and moved to the passenger side as Carol opened her door. “Mr. Williams isn’t here, but the guy who works here says he can show me.”
“That makes sense.” Carol unbuckled her seat belt, then twisted so that her legs were dangling out the door while Bess opened the sliding side door. “I’ll stay out of the way, but I’d like to see, too.”
The man sauntered back over, his hands no cleaner than before. He eyed Carol, and his lascivious grin returned. “Another beauty. My lucky day.”
Carol took a few steps to the side, and his gaze shot down to her legs, then landed on her arms, which jerked by her side.
“Somethin’ wrong with you?”
“Hey!” Bess interrupted, anger rising.
“I have cere-bral pal-sy,” Carol stated in her matter-of-fact voice.
“Don’t know what that means, but guess you can’t run too fast, can you?”
Bess’s hands landed on her hips. “You can keep your comments to just showing us how the seats work, or you can keep your mouth shut!”
He turned slowly, his gaze pinned on her, but his face no longer held amusement. “Sure thing.”
He bent and pointed at a strap at the back of the seat. “Pull on that.”
Bess bent into the van and reached for the strap. She was hit from behind and fell forward, her hands hitting the seat. The shock of being pushed reverberated throughout her body. “What the h?—”
“Shut up, bitch!”
As she twisted, his body landed on her, pressing her down into the small space between the seats. She tried to kick out as she screamed. “Carol, go!” Her hands were wrenched behind her in a firm grip, and with his knee on her back, she was immobile. She heard a ripping sound, and then, as his knee moved off her, she discovered her wrists were unable to move, now tied together. Unable to see what was happening, she heard Carol cry out.
Bess yelled, “Stop! Don’t hurt her!” She shimmied backward until her legs stuck out of the side door, but she couldn’t stand. With her hands secured behind her back, she was stuck. Carol was unceremoniously dumped into the back seat next to where Bess lay, and her feet were shoved in. The two women cried out each other’s names as they tried to maneuver to see what was happening.
The door slid shut, and cackling resounded as the man shouted, “You won’t believe how easy this was. You were out looking for the van, and she just drove up here! Easy as shit!”
She could hear another man’s voice added to the situation but had to strain to understand what they were saying. Still on the floorboard, she only heard bits and pieces.
“... doing here?”
“Came in… seats down…”
“... other bitch…”
“Some cripple.”
Bess heard the last statement clearly enough, and her rage threatened to overtake her fear.
“What is hap-pen-ing?” Carol asked.
“I don’t know.” She strained to hear the conversation that seemed to be moving away from the van. “Can you see anything?”
Carol shifted. “Two men. Wait… three men. Tal-king. They don’t look mad.”
“Did he say they were looking for my van?”
“I don’t know,” Carol said, her words shakier than normal.
“Shit, shit, shit. I can’t think!” Bess moaned, her mind racing as fast as her heart was beating. Lifting her head, she tried to think of a way to get out, but even if she could, she doubted she could outrun them. And she knew Carol couldn’t.
The driver’s door opened, and the man who climbed in was the first one she’d met weeks ago when she looked at the van he’d said wasn’t for sale. He twisted around, lowered his gaze to her, and grinned. “Well, Sweet Cakes, it seems like you just dropped into my lap.” He laughed and started the van.
“You can’t do this.” She had no idea exactly what he planned, but whatever it was, she was terrified.
“Looks like it’s already happening.” He backed up, then stopped and started forward. Bess could see they were driving past the garage bays and office, heading toward the fenced area in the back. She strained against her bonds, her heart hammering in her chest. She didn’t think there was a place to hide the van inside the gated acreage, but Flip stopped near the back.
Her shoulder screamed in pain as she rose again, but from her angle, she could see the old barn close by. One of the other men opened a fence panel by sliding it to the side, and the van drove through. Once through, she fell back onto the floor but could hear the fence panel slide back into place.
A shiver ran down her spine as panic clawed at her insides. She twisted again, this time looking up at Carol’s anguished expression. Realizing Carol was lying on her left side at an awkward angle, Bess tried to shift upward to add leverage to allow Carol to straighten. Not sure she made much difference, her attention swung back to the windshield as one of the men opened the barn door. The building was so ramshackled, she feared the van’s engine’s vibrations might bring the entire wooden structure down on their heads.
As soon as they drove inside, the dark interior kept her from seeing clearly even though sunlight should stream through the holes in the roof and walls. Suddenly, they were plunged into darkness.
The van stopped, and the driver threw open his door and climbed out. The side door closest to Carol opened, and she yelped as she was dragged out.
Desperation surged through Bess as she prayed for an opportunity to fight back. She hoped the sliding door closest to her would open so that she would have a chance to kick out at whoever might try to grab her, but no such luck. Instead, her upper arms were gripped tightly, and she was hauled out from the same door that Carol had been pulled through. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she braced for whatever horrors awaited in the darkness of the barn.
Her shoulders, hips, and knees banged against the seat as she was dragged across the floorboard and then dumped unceremoniously onto the hard-packed dirt floor. An overhead light flipped on, and she blinked against the sudden brightness. Her gaze darted around, taking in their surroundings. She knew they were inside the barn, but this was no barn. Black metal walls and ceiling enclosed them, creating an ominous container. Besides the van parked to one side, her gaze landed on shelves filled with car parts and tools, a sedan that resembled a skeleton with its bones picked clean. And on the other side was her beloved BeBe. Gasping to see it whole, her gaze jumped back to the man nearby, her heart racing as she waited for his next move.
“Jaybird!” the man called out.
Bess noticed the young man from the garage replied as he walked closer.
“Yeah, Flip?”
“You and TinMan get back and make sure the old man isn’t snooping around. I’ll deal with this, and then we’ll get the van ready for a trip. Tell Babyface to call whichever bitch is driving to let her know she’ll leave tonight.”
“What about them?” one of the men asked.
“I’ll secure these bitches, then we can move the van. Get the plates and destroy them first. Don’t want no connection to Sweet Cakes over there.”
The men laughed, leering in her direction. The two younger men left, and their voices diminished the farther away they got. Uncertainty slithered through her as her mind raced once they were left with Flip, who seemed to be in charge. He stared at her for a long moment, rubbing his chin as though trying to make a decision. Her chest heaved, but she stilled her movements. The last thing she wanted to do was to give him any reason to stare at her longer.
Grateful that Carol was quiet, she thought their best course of action was to stay silent. She didn’t want to make him angry, but with no one knowing where they were, she wondered if his anger would be their worst problem.