Chapter 8 Tessa #2
“Lori Carlton,” Tessa told her. “My mother’s best friend, who’s staying at Seabird Cottage for the summer while Mom and Maggie are in Florida.”
“Yes, I heard your mother did a house swap for the summer,” Jackie said, nodding. “I was pleased to hear that Carrie took my advice and went on vacation. She needed to give her body proper time to heal after that injury.”
Before Tessa could respond, the sound of a bolt sliding open froze them both. Jackie moved quickly to sit beside Tessa on the cot, and they huddled together instinctively as the heavy door swung inward.
A massive figure filled the doorway. The man had to be at least six feet six, maybe taller, with shoulders so broad they nearly touched both sides of the door frame. He wore dark clothes and a black hood that completely obscured his face.
“I brought pills for your headache,” he said, his voice leaving Tessa cold.
That voice. That horrible, gravelly voice sounded like the man’s throat had been damaged somehow. Like every word was being dragged across broken glass.
The giant placed a small bottle of pills on a narrow shelf built into the wall beside the door.
“Dinner will be at seven tonight,” he said, then stepped back out and shut the door. The bolt slid home with a decisive clang that echoed in the concrete room.
Tessa sat frozen, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her mind raced.
She glanced at the empty cots, and a terrible certainty settled over her like a suffocating blanket.
She had a horrible feeling that she’d just been dragged into yet another terrifying situation, and this time she might not be able to lawyer her way out of it.
“What did his voice sound like to you?” she asked Jackie, her voice tight.
Jackie was quiet for a moment, her professional instincts clearly analyzing what she’d heard.
“Like he’s had some kind of throat surgery,” Jackie said slowly.
“Possibly a laryngectomy or extensive damage to the vocal cords that required surgical intervention. That’s why his voice sounds so gravelly like that.
The scarring affects the vibration of the vocal cords, creating that rough, grating quality. ”
“Dr. Simons...” Tessa began.
“Please, call me Jackie,” Jackie interrupted gently. “Right now, I’m not a doctor, and you’re not a patient. We’re just two people trying to survive whatever this is.”
“Jackie,” Tessa corrected herself. “Are you and Sally Lane still good friends?”
“Yes, of course,” Jackie said, looking puzzled by the question. “We’ve been best friends since we first started school together. She’s like a sister to me. Why?”
“I take it you know about her ordeal with her late ex-husband?” Tessa asked carefully.
“Yes,” Jackie nodded, and something dark and angry flashed in her eyes. “I know everything that happened.” Her jaw clenched. “How do you know about that? Were you on her legal team?”
“No,” Tessa said, swallowing hard. “Sally told Lori and me about it this afternoon at a coffee shop in town. Right before I was kidnapped.”
Jackie’s eyes widened with dawning horror. “You think this has something to do with the Lanes?”
Tessa nodded grimly. “That man’s voice. The way Sally described the voice of the assassin who came for her in the woods, who killed Bradley...” She couldn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to.
Jackie’s face went pale as the memory clearly came back to her.
“I remember now. Sally told me about his voice. She said it haunted her nightmares. A gravelly voice, like someone with severe throat damage.” Jackie looked toward the door with new fear.
“I was also at the courthouse supporting her during the trial. I gave a character witness testimony for her.”
“Do you know about Elias Dane?” Tessa asked.
“I do,” Jackie said. “He was Sally’s bodyguard from Barstow Security. He protected her from Bradley and his family. Why?”
“Well, he’s been watching Seabird Cottage for a few weeks now,” Tessa told her. “We weren’t sure why at first. But earlier today...” She swallowed, her throat still burning. “He was nearly killed. Someone attacked him and left him for dead on the beach below the house. He’s in the hospital now.”
“What?” Jackie breathed, her hand flying to her mouth. “You think the Lanes are coming after all of us? But why?”
Tessa shrugged, but the gesture felt hollow.
“Loose ends? We all know too much, and they’re cleaning house?
” She lowered her voice, acutely aware that someone could be listening.
“Anyone could have been listening to us in the coffee shop this afternoon when Sally told us everything. About the Lanes, about what happened at the cabin, about the evidence Barstow Security has on them.”
“You could be right,” Jackie said, her face grim.
“The Lanes are awful people. You have no idea how badly they treated Sally. The things they did to cover up Bradley’s abuse, the way they tried to destroy her company, her reputation, everything.
They have connections everywhere, and they’re absolutely ruthless when it comes to protecting their family name and fortune. ”
“We need to get out of here and warn Sally,” Tessa stated firmly. “She’s probably next on their list, if she isn’t already captured.”
“How?” Jackie asked, spreading her hands helplessly. “That door is our only exit, and there’s a three-hundred-pound giant on the other side.”
“Through the door,” Tessa said again, her mind working through possibilities. “We just need to keep our cool. And if you think that powder you have can knock out that giant...”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jackie said. She stood up and walked over to the shelf where the giant had left the bottle of pills.
She picked it up, examined the label, and her eyebrows rose.
“These are prescription-strength painkillers. Strong ones.” She looked at Tessa with growing excitement.
“If we combine these with the sleeping powder, it would significantly increase the sedative effect. The interaction between opioids and sedatives is synergistic, meaning they enhance each other’s effects.
It might be enough to take down someone his size. ”
“Then let’s do it,” Tessa said.
“How are we going to give it to him?” Jackie stood staring at Tessa.
Tessa looked down at the water bottle still in her hand, and a slow grin spread across her face despite their dire circumstances.
“Leave that to me,” she said. It looked like her great persuasive abilities might just help them after all.