Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Courtney discovered that a greenhouse wasn’t the worst place in the world to wait. The inside had a wonderful earthy smell, all peat moss and damp soil. Greenery had a calming energy. She could understand why Ronald loved working outdoors. Seeing his plants bear vegetables that Martha then used in their meals had to be very satisfying. The idea of hoeing and weeding in the hot sun didn’t appeal to her, but she loved that he did it and the rest of them benefited.
She got her bearings, noticing a stack of bags containing potting mix behind her. In the corner next to the door leaned a long-handled hoe. The handle of the step stool gave her back a place to rest, and she had a lovely view of the wooded yard and statuary garden.
Not that she could enjoy it.
Maybe once Dana was home she would come out here occasionally and sit in the greenhouse to decompress. Or maybe not. She wasn’t in a good headspace to plan ahead.
She tried not to keep looking at her phone, knowing that staring at the screen accomplished nothing and that it would ping with any updates. She also tried to resist reading the messages the kidnappers had sent earlier, because each time she did, it only amped up the sick feeling she’d been carrying since this whole thing started.
Still, she couldn’t help herself. She kept sneaking peeks at her phone and even played the audio of Dana being tortured, trying to discern if it could be AI-produced. Maybe? It was hard to tell. She didn’t know enough about the technology to say either way. All she knew was that it sounded like her best friend was trapped and in pain. And hearing her like that tore her heart into pieces.
Courtney blinked back tears. She was a crier, had been since she was a kid. It didn’t take much. She cried when she was frustrated or sad or embarrassed or mad. Throughout her childhood, she’d been told she was overly dramatic and too much of a worrier. She’d tried to toughen up, but progress was slow. Would she ever be as confident as Dana? No, definitely not. Few people on the planet were that bold.
She hoped that this stressful ordeal wouldn’t strip away Dana’s bravado. It was the thing she admired most about her. Nothing got her down.
The bag of money hung just in front of the setting sun, making some nice imagery. A slight breeze came through, causing the leaves on the trees to shimmy and the bag to sway ever so slightly.
Courtney glanced at the time. The kidnappers should be there soon. Once they had what they wanted, she hoped they’d release Dana immediately. She imagined Dana stepping out of the wooded area and into the open. Ta-da! Dana always did love a big entrance.
When that happened, Courtney’s relief would be palpable. Until then, there was nothing left to do but wait.