Chapter 41
Drew leaned over to open the door handle when Scott pulled in behind Tori’s Toyota at the sheriff’s office. He was anxious to get in her sports car and hightail it home to make sure no one had found his hiding place.
“I’ll follow you to your house so we can get the money,” Scott said.
Drew hesitated. He needed to move the gun before showing Scott where the money was. Maybe he could get Scott to wait downstairs while he retrieved it.
Scott started to say something else when his cell rang. “Hold on a sec, Caleb is calling.” He answered, and his eyes widened. “You’re doing what? . . . I’ll meet you there.”
He ended the call and shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Tori is at Jenny’s office.”
“Sounds like her. Did he say why?”
“Something about files.” He looked uncertain. “Maybe you better go with me.”
“I’ll be all right to swing by my house and pick up the money.” When Scott hesitated, Drew shrugged. “No one knows that I have it—I’ll grab it and meet you at your house. I’ll be fine.”
“You know the code to the gate?” When he nodded, Scott put his truck in gear and drove away.
Drew climbed in Tori’s Toyota and pulled out of the parking lot, turning in a different direction. Halfway to the house, he couldn’t shake the feeling someone had eyes on him. Which was crazy. No one knew about the money Jenny had hidden. He checked his rearview mirror but didn’t see anyone.
A few minutes later, he pulled into the driveway and parked out front. In his bedroom, he grabbed his backpack and went to the closet. Once he had the secret compartment opened, he stared at his dad’s gun. Should he take it, maybe give it to the sheriff?
No. He’d seen enough cop shows to know the killer would’ve wiped the gun clean. The gun would point right back to his dad, and Drew knew in his heart his dad hadn’t killed Jenny. Instead, he tucked the gun in the compartment bottom and then placed the money in the backpack.
The small box was the last thing. Drew wanted to open it before he left just to see what was in it and laid it on the floor.
He stuffed a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts on top of the money.
When he was satisfied that if someone looked in his backpack, all they would see were his clothes, he picked up the box and untied the cord around it.
Inside was a black thumb drive. He held it up.
Did he have time to boot up his dad’s old desktop computer and see what was on it?
A step on the stairs creaked, and Drew froze. He knew that sound—it was the board on the landing at the bottom of the stairs. He tried to swallow, but the inside of his mouth had turned to cotton.
Someone was in the house.
No time to put the money back, but he stuffed the thumb drive back in the box and laid it beside his dad’s gun.
After closing the compartment, he covered the floor with his dirty clothes.
What should he do with the money? Drew grabbed the backpack and shoved it under his bed.
There were enough other boxes that maybe if anyone looked, they wouldn’t notice it.
Drew eased to the door and listened for footsteps. Total silence except for blood pounding in his ears. He let another five minutes pass. No sounds came from the stairs. Tension eased from his muscles, and he blew out a deep breath. Nobody was here but him.
Drew couldn’t believe he’d gotten so spooked. He ran his tongue over his lips, which felt as dry as his mouth. He had to have some water. Cold water.
He descended the stairs, still a little spooked, but it was plain the house was empty. He couldn’t wait to get away, the sooner the better, but he’d have to go back and grab the money he’d told Scott he would bring. He hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water and uncapped it.
Just as he raised it to his lips, something pressed into his neck.
“Don’t move.”
A voice that sounded just like Darth Vader almost made Drew’s heart stop. “Wh-what do you want?”
“Just shut up.”
Drew couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman—the person must be using something to alter their voice. Sweat trickled down his back. “You can have the money.”
The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. But the person’s mechanical breathing and the eerie voice spooked him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath to calm his heart. Didn’t work. He was afraid his chest would explode.
“Nobody said anything about money.”
He groped for words. “Uh, I . . .” He took another deep breath. “Look, I can pay you. Just let me go.”
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now we gotta go.”
The guttural words were slow and precise. The gun pressed harder against his neck. “Listen carefully. Leave your phone on the counter, walk out the back door to the car in the driveway, and get in the trunk. Don’t try running unless you want to die. You do what I say and you’ll live.”
Chills raced over Drew. The assailant prodded him with the gun, and Drew did as he was told. He walked toward the door, careful to keep his gaze down. As long as he couldn’t identify the person, maybe he’d get out of this alive. “W-what are you going to do with me?”
“We’re going someplace where no one will find you, and you’re going to call your aunt. You better hope she’ll think you’re worth saving.”
The weird voice had Drew straining to understand. “What do you want with her? What’d she ever do to you?”
“She ruined my life. Everything was fine until she got involved.”
Drew clenched his jaw. No way was he going to lure Tori to her death. Maybe it was time to rely on someone besides himself. Scott had said God was big enough to handle anything. Maybe it was time to trust him.