Bobby Cole - The dummy line

After calling information for the number, Scott confirmed that his kids were safe and sound asleep. He apologized, without explaining, for calling at this ungodly hour. That’s a relief. Then he dialed Jake’s cell number from his phone book. “Come on, Jake,” he said aloud, hoping that he had his cell with him in the camper. “The subscriber you have called has traveled out of the calling area. Please try your call again later,” the automated message replied. “Shit,” Scott said, remembering that cell service at the hunting camp sucked. He thought for a second, then dialed the Crosby house.

“Hello?” Morgan replied groggily after four rings.

“Morgan, this is Scott. Is Jake there?”

“No…no…he and Katy went hunting. What time is it?” she replied as she sat up in the bed.

“Morgan, Lindsay was kidnapped. I know this sounds crazy, but I just got a call and she’s in the hospital in Livingston…she somehow got away!”

“What? Who called you?” she asked, jolted awake.

“The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. I don’t know any details. I’m on my way to the hospital. I was in Biloxi when they called me.”

“You?…What?…She?…Where are your kids?”

“They spent the night with some friends. They’re safe,” he replied. “I may need you to pick them up this morning.”

“Sure. I…just…hang on. I think there’s someone outside,” she explained.

Morgan had suddenly become aware that Scout was barking more excitedly than usual. She heard a vehicle pulling up in their driveway and saw the flash of lights through the bedroom window.

“Morgan? They kidnapped her from our house, so be careful. I’m gonna try and to catch up with Jake and get him to go to the hospital until I can get there.”

“What? Scott, I’m sorry…I didn’t hear what you said…hold on…someone just drove up,” Morgan replied, trying to figure out just what was going on.

“Morgan! They kidnapped her from our house! Be careful!” he screamed, but she didn’t hear him.

Morgan was already setting down the phone. “Hold on!” she yelled, running to a window at the front of the house.

Morgan saw two cars in her driveway. Scout was going wild, barking as fast as she could. What’s going on? she thought. Running back into the bedroom, she reached under the mattress and grabbed Jake’s pistol. She pulled the gun from its holster. It felt alien. She didn’t know if it was loaded or even how to check.

A sudden loud banging came from the front door. She jumped and screamed. She could hear voices, but Scout’s barking was so intense she couldn’t understand their words. She quickly grabbed her robe, wrapping it around herself. She peeked around the corner of the bedroom door. Looking down the hall, she could see through the leaded-glass front door. Someone was standing in the shadows. Holding the pistol level in front of her, she crept down the hallway, sliding along the wall. As she got to the foyer, she reached around the corner and flipped on the front porch lights.

“Sheriff’s Department! Don’t shoot!” the deputies yelled, holding up their badges and looking at the pistol pointing at them.

“Please, put the gun down!” they shouted. “Put it down, ma’am!” they screamed with their hands on their holstered pistols. Scout was in a total frenzy.

“Ma’am…we’re from the sheriff’s office, and we need to ask you some questions!” one deputy yelled over the dog’s barking. He watched her lower the pistol.

Reaching for the dead bolt, Morgan took a deep breath and unlocked it.

“Ma’am, can we come in please?” the deputy asked, keeping one eye on the fat black Lab growling at his side.

She looked at both of them, recognizing the one farthest away. His daughter had been on one of Katy’s softball teams.

“Come in. What’s going on?” she replied. “Scout, hush…Scout!” Reaching out to reassure her with a head rub, she said, “Good girl,” and then stepped back to allow the deputies inside.

The two deputies were clearly relieved to be out of Scout’s reach. They took off their hats and apologized for scaring her.

“Mrs. Crosby, would you mind doing something with that pistol? It makes us real nervous,” asked the tall deputy-the one she knew.

“I…I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what was going on…and still don’t.” She placed the pistol on a shelf in the bookcase, next to Jake’s collection of African hunting novels.

“Where’s Jake right now?” the tallest one asked.

“He’s turkey huntin’. He and my daughter-Katy-left last night. Why?” she asked, sitting down on the leather ottoman.

“I can see he hunts,” the deputy said, looking around at the mounts.

“What’s goin’ on? Why are you here? This is weird. I just got a call from Scott Littlepage saying Lindsay had been kidnapped,” she said, furrowing her brow.

The deputies looked at each other. So much for surprise, they thought.

“Yes ma’am, we have a unit over there right now. How would you describe Jake’s relationship with Mrs. Littlepage?”

“Kidnapped? Are you serious? This is like a bad dream.”

“Yes ma’am. Now, how would you describe their relationship?”

“Huh? Relationship? Um…he…well…she’s our next-door neighbor. I think she aggravates him some, or more like he aggravates her. She’s always complaining about something. You know, typical neighbor stuff. Jake comes and goes at all hours, and she complains about him waking her up, but wait…I don’t understand what this has to do with anything,” Morgan rambled.

“We don’t either. We do know that she was kidnapped tonight and somehow got away from her abductors. She was rescued by a deputy in Sumter County, Alabama.”

“Really kidnapped?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you think she would have gone to the hunting club with Jake for any reason?” the short, pudgy deputy asked, watching her body language.

The thought had never crossed Morgan’s mind, and then she quickly dismissed it. Shaking her head, she decreed, “No. Absolutely not. I know my husband, and I know her. No. No way.”

Morgan didn’t know exactly where Jake was, and before tonight, she had never heard of Sumter County. She looked blankly at the deputies. “Sumter County…and that’s in Alabama, right?”

“Isn’t that where your husband hunts?” asked the stocky one, with no small amount of derision.

“I don’t know. Maybe…it’s a few hours from here. Scott’s in the same hunting club! Crap, I still have him on the phone!” She ran back to the bedroom and grabbed the phone. The line was disconnected. “He hung up,” she called to the deputies.

Walking back down the hallway with the portable phone in hand, she said, “This is crazy. You think Jake kidnapped her? You’re crazy. What about Lindsay, is she all right?”

“Yes ma’am, she is. We know something has occurred, we can’t say what exactly. We’re just trying to gather information for the sheriff down there.”

“Let me try Jake.” She dialed while they studied her. The phone rang, and she stared at them. “He’s out of the coverage area…but I never can call him when he’s down there. Jake says it’s pretty much a dead cell area.”

“Look, we have a lot to do. We need to go and secure the Littlepages’ residence. We need you to help. If Jake calls, we need to talk to him immediately, OK?” The tall deputy handed her his card.

“Yes, sure, of course. Whatever I can do. I can’t believe this has happened!” she exclaimed. “So, Jake’s not at the camp house?”

“No ma’am, and we sure wanna talk to him. I’m sure you do, too,” said Chubby with a sneer.