Chapter 20
Chelsea’s head pounded as she struggled to wake. What had happened?
The roar of an unfamiliar engine added to the pain. Was she in a car? She groaned and forced her eyes open.
“Don’t try anything.”
Chelsea winced at the barked order as she glanced at the driver.
Johann.
Shit.
Fear shoved the pain out of the way at his angry scowl.
The last thing she remembered was coming out of the bathroom and seeing Ethan tackle Darren to the ground.
Then pain.
Johann must have hit her over the head and somehow got her into his car with no one noticing.
Maybe Darren was simply the distraction.
She glanced in the side mirror but couldn’t see a four-wheel drive behind them. They were speeding down the road and she turned her attention forward as a massive timber truck headed straight towards them. She shrieked as Johann swerved back into the correct lane just in time.
Chelsea’s heart raced as she fumbled with her seat belt and clipped it in place. Not that it would help much in a head on collision with a truck.
She took three deep breaths before asking, “What are you doing, Johann?”
“I’m showing you what Lilydale could be.”
Confusion made her frown. Did he not realise the police were after him? There was no way for him to salvage this. What did he hope to gain by kidnapping her?
They were going too fast for her to jump out of the car and her head still spun from the blow. She touched the back of it gingerly and winced at the pain.
Had Ethan noticed she was missing yet? He must have and was somewhere behind them or searching for her.
Subtly she felt her pockets. Her phone was still there, as was her wallet.
If she called him without Johann noticing, he might be able to track her.
They were heading south down the highway.
How long had she been out? It couldn’t have been long, which meant they wouldn’t be at Honeybrook yet.
Perhaps Ethan’s team could stop Johann on the way through.
Johann slowed and made a sharp turn down a side road. Chelsea grabbed the roof to balance herself and winced as the back of her head hit the seat headrest.
Flat farmland was all around them with no houses or cars in sight.
Johann was driving as if someone was after him, but there was no one behind when she checked the side mirror again. Cautiously she slipped her hand into her pocket and drew out her phone far enough to see the screen.
She checked Johann, but his focus was on the road.
“This is all Maggie’s fault,” Johann declared, making Chelsea jump.
That’s right. He’d killed Maggie. Fear and anger filled her in a potent combination. But perhaps she could learn something. She flicked to the recording app on her phone and pressed record. “What is?”
“This whole situation.” Johann waved his hand around. “If she’d sold me Lilydale when I first asked her to, none of this would have been necessary.”
“You mean you wouldn’t have shoved her off a ladder and killed her?” The words shot out before she considered if it was wise to antagonise him.
“That was an accident!” Johann yelled. “I wanted to scare her.”
“You wanted to bully a seventy-year-old woman into selling you the property she’d lived in her whole life?”
“She didn’t need all the space. She was being selfish.”
Chelsea gritted her teeth. “Why not choose somewhere else for your development?”
“Because people want to be close to Perth. It was perfect, and I’d promised my bosses I would get the land.
They aren’t people you want to disappoint.
” He braked sharply as they came to a T-junction and then turned left onto a gravel road.
He drove a little more slowly, probably worried he’d damage his car.
That was right. Johann’s company had ties to organised crime. What would they do to Johann if they realised he hadn’t bought Lilydale?
Would they come after her if he failed?
Real fear filled her as her brain cleared enough to realise the full severity of the situation.
Though Johann was driving slower now, Chelsea still wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to jump out without breaking something.
What other options did she have?
No weapons, not even a pen on the floor and Chelsea hadn’t brought keys with her. But she could run when they stopped, and perhaps she’d be able to outrun him.
Not far ahead was construction fencing and a gate into a property development. She recognised Johann’s company name on the poster.
“This is what Lilydale could be.” Johann gestured to the row of bland, cookie-cutter units packed close together along a street. “Homes so the elderly can be independent but still have support if they need it.”
Chelsea didn’t disagree with the concept. “Why do you need Lilydale if you have this development?”
“We’ve sold everything. There’s more demand than supply with the baby boomers getting older and our surveys show there are a group of customers who want a more rural location.” He spoke as if giving a presentation to stakeholders.
Perhaps that was what she was.
Chelsea wasn’t certain where they were, but it must be somewhere just south of Pinjarra and towards the coast.
Johann pulled up and grabbed something from the floor. He brandished a butcher’s knife towards her and she shrank back against the door, her hand scrabbling to find the door handle.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” The slight desperation in his gaze made Chelsea freeze.
She swallowed. “What do you want me to do?”
“We’re going into that building.” He gestured to the nearby demountable.
“Is it the construction office?”
“Yeah.”
She glanced at the bush. Should she run for it? It would be hard going through the dense undergrowth, and Johann would catch her in the car if she used the road.
But it was her only hope. Whatever his plan, he couldn’t let her go when he was done. Not if he didn’t want to go to gaol.
She got out and dizziness swept over her as she straightened. She clutched the door frame for support as she tried to get her legs to work but it was as if they were jelly.
Frustrated, she closed her eyes until the dizziness faded.
Johann grabbed her arm. “Come on.”
Damn. Running had been her only option. Now what was she going to do?
She breathed slowly, concentrating on her steps. Perhaps she could reason with him. “I’m assuming no one works here on the weekend?” She stumbled towards the demountable building, her steps unsteady and nausea making her want to vomit.
“Not at the moment. We might ramp up the project after we’re at lockup. Our clients want to move in by Christmas.”
Which was still eight months away. It was a pretty impressive schedule if they stuck to it.
He glanced at her. “That’s why we need Lilydale as soon as possible.” His expression had morphed into salesman mode; an attempt at charm which only came through as insincere.
The change was more frightening than the anger.
This spoke more of delusion. Did he really believe she would change her mind after he had kidnapped her?
Whatever his plans, her best option was to stall him long enough for Ethan or the police to find her.
Or find a weapon and attack when he wasn’t expecting it.
But first she needed him to put down that viciously scary knife.
Chelsea’s heart raced as she walked into the demountable. “Perhaps I was a little hasty in refusing you. Lilydale would be perfect for your requirements.”
Johann nodded, though he looked a little suspicious.
“Do you have a concept?” Only the one door, but four windows she could escape from. She stopped next to the filtered water stand with plastic cups next to it. “May I have a drink?”
Johann nodded, and placed the knife on a credenza just next to the door.
Chelsea poured a glass, making note of the kitchenette on the other side of the room. She might find a weapon there.
Johann opened a drawer and pulled out several large drawings, placing them on the meeting room table in the middle of the room. Still between her and the door.
Her head pounded with pain and the dizziness was still there. Carefully she wandered over and traced the road on the image. “That’s the road which winds around Lilydale?”
“Yes. We’d have one entrance into the community to ensure security and a hundred and fifty units.” Suddenly he was smiling at her and in full pleasant salesman mode.
It filled her with unease, but she could play along. At least he wasn’t threatening her with the knife.
Residents would live on postage stamp blocks with no garden.
Some people might appreciate it, but it would reduce Aunt Maggie’s work to nothing, the lush coolness of the garden to brick and concrete, which would raise the ambient temperature.
It was already hot in the summer with the sea breeze not cooling this far inland.
Chelsea hated the idea, but she kept her distaste from her face. “Will there be a range of unit sizes?”
“A couple of three bedrooms, but mostly one or two. The oldies don’t need the space.”
His condescending tone irritated her but she didn’t react. A faint familiar whirring noise reached her ears. She’d heard it on the shoots with Aria. They hadn’t had any generators and their technology had consisted of cameras and… drones.
Hope filled her.
“Could you turn on the air-conditioning?” she asked. “It’s hot and I’m dizzy.” She cleared her throat and waved a hand at her face, trying to make enough noise so he didn’t hear the whirring.
“Of course.” Johann moved to the remote next to the door and in moments the hum of the air-conditioner blocked out any sound of the drone.
Outside a drone flew from above the units to over the demountable and out of sight.
Was that Ethan?
She hadn’t noticed any farmhouses nearby and there was nothing to attract drone enthusiasts unless they wanted an empty space to fly.
“What are you looking at?”
She glanced at Johann. “The units. Are they the same as you’ve designed for Lilydale?” She moved away from the window.
“Yes. They’re very popular.”
“Have you got the floor plans?”
“Of course.”