Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Courtney had found watching the drone to be nerve-racking. There was a part of her that couldn’t believe this was actually happening. It was simultaneously thrilling and awful.
Another part absolutely could believe it and was making mental notes for a possible upcoming novel. She noticed the hammering of her heart, the buzzing of the drone, and the way she had to strain to see what was happening in the quickly dimming light.
Her emotions were all over the place. Afraid. Exhilarated. Nervous.
She was also experiencing some anticipatory dread. Anticipatory dread. She rolled the two words around in her mouth. Was that even a thing? Probably not, because dread was anticipatory by definition.
Courtney hadn’t planned to grab the hoe and follow the drone until she did. She had absolutely no intention of interfering with the money transfer. The money was the least of it. She just wanted to see where it went and if it led to Dana. Could her friend really be close by? Hopefully, when all of this was done, she’d be willing to talk about the entire experience, because no one could tell a story like Dana, and she wanted to know everything.
Mostly, though, she wanted to see her safely home. Courtney hoped that soon enough this painful ordeal would be over with, and when that happened, she’d get her best friend back, and by association, her life as well. She wasn’t made for nonstop worry and sleepless nights.
What Courtney could do well was write novels and offer support when Dana needed it. She was modest by nature, so bragging was out of the question, but to herself she could admit excelling at those two things. No one else could come close to managing Dana the way she did. Together they’d created a character beloved by readers and written a series of books that sold millions. No small thing.
She went after the drone, hanging back as far as she could while still keeping it in sight. It didn’t hurt that the noise clued her in to its location. She hoped she couldn’t be spotted by whoever was operating the thing, although honestly, she had no knowledge of drone capability. Did their cameras have a 360-degree view? No idea. It seemed like something she could research for a future plot device.
The drone teetered like it was drunk. At one point it even dropped down, looped back, and headed in her direction, which made her think they’d spotted her and were aiming for an attack. She spun around in a panic, only to hear it circle back and resume its course.
Courtney turned around and kept going.
When the drone was nearly to the back of the lot, it stopped, the whining noise straining. She looked up to see it had gotten tangled up among some tree limbs. It moved from side to side and up and down, which only made it worse. The movements reminded her of an animal caught in a trap. The bag, which had been dangling nicely from the bottom of the drone, was now caught on a branch.
The drone hadn’t been in the woods for long at all, and whoever was steering it had already managed to mess it up.
Heart pounding, Courtney drew in a breath and said a silent prayer, willing the drone to get disentangled. Please, please, please. After all she’d done to save Dana—getting the money from Ian’s drawer, communicating with the kidnappers, and hanging the bag in just the right spot at the right time—this had to go well.
If the ransom wasn’t paid, there was a good possibility she might never see her best friend again. Trying to problem-solve, her mind raced with thoughts. What would Rebecca Cavanaugh do? No doubt Rebecca would have this problem solved in no time. That’s what happened when a woman had complete confidence and plenty of cool gadgets. It always worked out that way because that’s how she was written. In real life, it was a different story. In her case, she had only the tiniest bit of courage and a garden hoe.
It had to be enough. Dana was counting on her.
Courtney took a deep breath, stepped underneath the drone, and raised the hoe with both hands.