Chapter 6
Anne was finally coming out of the chloroform fog she was in as she lay on the dirt path and grabbed Kendra’s hand. Kendra held her hand and squeezed with reassurance, hopeful she would be okay.
“What…what happened?” Anne asked.
“I stopped a man from kidnapping you. I’m Kendra. And you are?” Even though Kendra knew her name, she wanted to make sure that Anne recalled it.
“Grateful to you. I’m Anne Whittaker. What happened?”
“A teen chloroformed you and taped your mouth and wrists. How are you feeling now?” Kendra helped her to sit up.
“Woozy. Like I could sleep. I have a headache. I swore I saw a grizzly bear.”
Kendra ran her hand soothingly over her back. “You could have a concussion. EMS is on its way. They should be here soon.” She wanted to check on the teen too, but she had to stay with Anne for now. Then Kendra heard someone walking down the trail. Others were trying to keep up with him.
She hoped it was Grayson. Then she saw him come around a bend in the trail and smiled. Grayson. But then she frowned. His face was all black and blue.
Three male hikers were with him, watching over him.
“Hey, how is our patient doing?” Grayson closed the gap between them.
“She’s doing better. This is Anne Whittaker. Anne, this is Grayson Stone. He’s a bounty hunter like me. The teen was prepared to kidnap a young woman alone.”
“Oh, no,” Anne said.
The hikers looked shocked.
Kendra touched Grayson’s face below, where his face was red and swollen, his eye blackened. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Younger was much bigger and heavier than I thought. And muscled.”
Kendra hated seeing Grayson like that. “I hope he looks worse than you.”
“I didn’t get in another hit once he knocked me out. I was just lucky he didn’t kill me when I was down and out. But these men chased him off.”
“We were glad to,” one of the hikers said.
Anne frowned. “I guess I didn’t stand a chance fighting against the teen.” She sounded like she was finally coming to the realization that she couldn’t have done anything differently to save herself.
“I had a taser and pepper spray,” Kendra said.
“Oh, is that what made him leave me behind?”
“Uh, yeah.” Nope, a big grizzly bear saved her.
Grayson said, “If you’re alright with staying with Anne, I’m going to check on the teen. I need to call Ivy too.”
“Sure. The police are coming, and they’re going to arrest him and question us as to what happened.”
“Do we need to hang around? To help you further?” one of the hikers asked.
“Yeah. Rowland will need to get your statements about what you saw concerning Younger,” Grayson said, then he headed into the forest. Kendra heard someone else coming. She sure hoped it was the EMTs and Rowland.
Soon, she saw the EMTs with Rowland and four deputies right behind them.
Grayson carried the teen out to the hiking trail while the EMTs checked on Anne. They glanced at Grayson.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” one of the EMTs asked Grayson.
“I ran into the other kidnapper’s fist.” Grayson was just glad Anne would be all right, that they had saved her, that they had the teen in custody, and that Grayson had survived the encounter with Younger because of the hikers.
Once he got the photo from Ivy, it confirmed that the teen they had in custody was Billy and had shared it with Rowland.
Rowland smiled and shook his head. “I can’t imagine anyone getting the best of you.”
“Lucky punch.”
Then the hikers wrote their statements for the police and set out on the trail, probably the wildest hiking trip they’d ever taken.
Then another deputy, now fully aware of what was going on, took the teen into custody and escorted him to his patrol car. The EMTs carried Anne into the waiting ambulance and took her to the hospital for evaluation. Rowland took Grayson and Kendra’s statements.
“So Mimi’s son, Billy, lives with her in Kalispell.
He drives the car. Even though Younger isn’t from here, he married Mimi and lives with her when he’s not traveling across the states to see family farther east. She said he hasn’t been home for a couple of weeks.
She didn’t realize he had hooked up with her son, and the two of them were running around together. ”
“And kidnapping women,” Grayson said.
“Right. She might not have thought they were doing anything wrong. She might have blinders on when it comes to Younger. She doesn’t believe he was guilty of any of the other criminal cases that led to his prison sentence.
That he was innocent of anything he’d been found guilty of,” Rowland said. “Or, she knows everything.”
Kendra and Grayson shook their heads. “I will stand by my man no matter what,” Kendra said about Mimi’s covering for Younger.
“Right,” Grayson said. “How often is the kid with him?”
“I worried about that too. That he was grooming him to be a serial kidnapper like him. Like a drinking buddy that would make it seem that he was all right in doing what he was doing,” Kendra said.
Rowland said, “Younger married Billy’s mother when he was three years old.
Mimi has been part of his life for all these years.
Billy has too, so I agree with you about the grooming issue.
Okay, I called Mimi, who is listed on the car registration, and she confirmed that her son, Billy, was driving the car.
Of course, she was worried that something terrible had happened to him, like a car accident.
I told her to go down to the station in about an hour because her son was being detained.
He’s sixteen, so one of his parents has to be there for the interrogation. ”
“The teen looks older because he’s a big guy for his age and so muscled,” Kendra said.
“I agree. If only Younger would show up.” Grayson smiled.
“Yeah, and we could wrap him in a bow, throw him in a jail cell, and toss the key. Oh, Younger adopted Billy because his own dad had abandoned them early on. He’s a known drug user and sells them too. He has been in jail a number of times for drug possession.”
“Mimi wanted to know what was going on with the car, and I told her Younger has it. She swore. She said her son is a better driver than Younger, and that he isn’t allowed to drive her son’s car because she bought it for Billy.
Though the registration and car insurance are in her name.
She didn’t list Billy on her insurance,” Rowland said.
“What about Younger? Was he carrying insurance on the kid? If not, they could be charged for allowing a minor to drive the car without insurance, and you know it’s a higher rate for kids that age,” Grayson said.
“We’re looking into it. We’ll have to charge the kid for attempting to kidnap women also, and put him in juvenile detention, or if they try him as an adult, jail,” Rowland said.
“Then Billy’s mother can have the car back.
But when we get hold of it, it will be impounded and forensically checked for evidence first. The same with Younger’s vehicle when we find it. ”
“He’ll probably wipe it down,” Kendra said.
“Yeah, well, I wish we could have grabbed it before that could happen. But I’m sure they clean them up between criminal pursuits. You’d better get your head looked after, Grayson,” Rowland said. “You said the beast knocked you out. You need to have the doc take a look at you.”
“Hell.” It was one thing to go to the clinic for Ivy, but for himself, that was another story.
“Rowland is right. I’ll drive,” Kendra said, taking charge of the situation.
“I’ve put a BOLO out for the teen’s car. You take care of Grayson so he can still be a help in tracking this guy down,” Rowland said. “I’m going to interrogate the kid when his mother arrives. I’ll let you know if I get anything out of him that can help you locate his stepdad.”
Then they all left to get into their vehicles, and they followed Rowland out of the park.
“How are you feeling, Grayson?” Kendra sounded worried.
“I’m okay, a headache, sure. But I’m certain I’m okay.”
“The doctor will probably want an MRI done on you.”
When they finally reached the clinic, the doctor had him come in right away for an MRI. He was certain that he was okay, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. He wasn’t staying overnight for observation, though.
It didn’t take long for him to get the scan, and the doctor cleared him. “I would like you to stay overnight for observation.”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. If I don’t feel well at any time, I’ll let you know.”
“All right.”
Then he paid up at the front desk while Kendra watched. “You’re okay?”
“Yeah, Doc cleared me.”
“No overnight observation?”
“No.”
She smiled. “She suggested it, but you declined.”
“You don’t read minds, do you?” If her friend had some psychic ability, maybe Kendra did too.
“No. You’re an alpha male, a big old grizzly, it goes to figure you would be like that.”
He smiled. “Okay, I’m glad you can’t read minds.”
“Is there something you don’t want me to know about?”
He laughed. “Where to now?”
“I want to question the teen, but it’s not our job. I love being a bounty hunter, but sometimes I would rather be a detective, catching the bad guys and putting them away.”
“Same here, but we do help put them away, too, when we catch them and turn them back in.”
“That’s true.”
Grayson called his sister. “Have you gotten any more calls from Younger?”
“No. I guess you didn’t catch him.”
“No, I’m afraid not, but we got the sixteen-year-old.”
“So he was real.”
“Yeah, and he tried to grab Kendra, and then he tried to kidnap another woman.”
“Oh, how awful. Is Younger still in the area?”
“He was. We learned that the ‘son’ is a stepson and that Billy was driving a car registered to his mother. At least we have him in custody for now. Hopefully, he’ll stick around longer, and we, or law enforcement, can grab him. The stepson was living with his mother in her home.”
“Is Younger still married to the kid’s mother?”
“Yeah, he’s still with her. But they don’t see each other all the time.”
“So no alibis for when he’s going after women.”
“That’s the thing. He uses her as his alibi, and she says he was with her, but in the cases for which he was convicted, they caught his license tag on camera in the vicinity of the crimes.
The women he had kidnapped had identified him out of a slew of photos.
His cell phone had pinged off cell towers in the same area.
Other witnesses had seen his car and him grabbing a couple of different girls, then taking them into his vehicle.
There is plenty of evidence that he committed the crime. Mimi couldn’t alibi him out that time.”
Kendra got a call and said, “Yes.” She glanced at Grayson. “Okay, I’ll do it. Yeah, Grayson’s with me. I’ll see if he wants to go with me.”
“I’m going with you.” It didn’t matter to Grayson whether it was anything big or not.
Sometimes something that seemed easy to deal with could escalate into something dangerous.
But while he was here and they were trying to track down leads on Younger, he would help Kendra with her cases. He said to Ivy, “I’ve got to go.”
“Be careful.”
He said to Kendra, "Since Younger was at the park when his stepson took off down the hiking trail, I suspect he was nearby before we fought and he took off.”
"Because he wanted to get to Billy and free him before the police got there?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah. I'm sure he was afraid Billy might spill his guts about him, and he wanted to get to him first."
"But then?"
Grayson smiled. "He was afraid of the big, bad grizzly." Grayson rubbed his chin. "Younger didn't see you, which is a good thing."
"Right. Younger only saw you. But the teen saw you and me both."
"True." Grayson called Rowland on Bluetooth. "Did you get anything out of the kid?"
"No. His mother is used to her husband getting arrested, and she lawyered up."
"Anne and Kendra are witnesses."
"Exactly. We've put Anne in protective custody.
Younger is getting sloppy. He lost Ivy, so she's a witness to his crime, and the two men who rescued her after she jumped from Younger's vehicle are witnesses.
And Kendra is a witness to the teen grabbing Anne.
Of course, Younger attacked you at the park also," Rowland said.
"Right. You know I've been thinking about what you said concerning Younger being able to live off the land. If the judge gives the teen a bond and his mother bails him out, his stepdad might camp out in the park rather than try to find some other accommodations and then come for him," Grayson said.
"He won’t chance going to the house. We have his mother under surveillance in case Younger drops by there.
Billy is wearing an ankle monitor and will be under house arrest when he goes home.
We've also got surveillance on the kid's aunt and uncle, as well as his maternal and paternal grandparents’ homes.
He doesn't have any siblings, and his two cousins are already in jail for armed robbery. They're awaiting trial right now."
"Sounds like a history of criminal activity with that extended family," Grayson said, adding that Billy shouldn’t be bonded out, considering the seriousness of the crimes.
"Yeah, he’s bad news. Did Younger come in a different vehicle?" Rowland asked.
“No. I believe he was hiding in the back seat of the green car. Then he went into the woods after we rescued Anne and captured Billy. He must have realized you were protecting Anne, and Billy was nowhere in sight. All I can figure is that Younger returned to his car after I went there to open it up and learn what I could.”
“Do you think he knew you had taken Billy into custody?" Rowland asked.
“Possibly, and came to get me, believing I knew where the kid was, or planned to kill me and go after the boy until the hikers intervened. Also, I had the notion that Younger might hike into the forest later and hunker down until he can grab his stepson once he learns where he is and get out of here. I’m sure he'll hear from his wife, and she'll let him know when Billy returns home.
I suspect they'll use some ruse and lead the officers on a wild goose chase while Billy slips away. "
"Then once he gets the boy, they'll leave the state. Possibly the country,” Rowland said, then thought for a minute, rubbing his chin. “You know…the guy is wily. What if Younger returns to the park, figuring we’ve all been out in this area and won’t be looking for him here again?
He could hold up in the forest until he can get hold of Billy, maybe even have Billy meet up with him here.
I can’t afford to send a bunch of men out here if we’re wrong, but… ”
“Kendra and I will go to the park to see if we can locate Younger’s scent then."
"I think it’s a good idea. Let me know if you find anything important. We’ll continue to check surveillance videos throughout town to see if we can learn which way he went, if he didn't backtrack and go to the park."
"Sounds good. Out here." Grayson glanced at Kendra. "Have you got any camping gear?"