Lisa Gardner - Touch & Go

Then, a new sound, faint, but closing the gap.

Sirens. The cavalry, arriving at last.

Too late for Justin.

But maybe…

I glanced up sharply. Saw it clearly in Z’s eyes from where he was crouched in the waiting van. Regret. Not for killing my husband, I was certain. But because they had run out of time to kill us, too.

Justin had collapsed on top of Mick, one arm entangled in the other man’s vest, his body large enough to pin both of them in place. Now Z leapt out of the van. Given the approaching sirens, he seemed to reach some sort of internal decision. Rather than take the time to untangle Justin from Mick’s vest, he helped Mick heave Justin’s flopping corpse into the vehicle, Mick rolling in after him. Then, Z resumed his position.

The van door slid shut.

Radar gunned the engine.

And they roared away. Just like that. Nine million dollars richer. Cold-blooded murderers of my husband. Making their getaway.

My daughter wasn’t screaming anymore. Or crying.

She just stood there, completely shell-shocked.

After another moment, I crossed to her and put my arms around her trembling shoulders. We stood together, listening to the sirens come closer, and wondering if we’d ever again feel safe.

Chapter 39

TESSA SPOTTED LIBBY AND ASHLYN DENBE FIRST. They stood under a covered carport outside the main prison entrance. Libby’s clothing appeared torn to shreds and streaked with blood. In comparison, Ashlyn appeared in relatively better shape, but with a blank expression on her face. Shock, trauma, stress.

Wyatt braked hard twenty feet back, and they threw open the doors, hands on their weapons.

“Libby and Ashlyn?” Wyatt called out, still tucked behind the protective cover formed by his open door.

The woman answered first. Her voice hoarse but surprisingly steady. “Yes.”

“How many remaining on the property?”

“They’re gone. It’s just us. The commandos…all gone. My husband. Gone …” Libby’s voice broke. She folded her arms around her daughter’s still-frozen form, but whether she was seeking comfort or giving comfort remained unclear.

Wyatt and Tessa exchanged glances. In a crisis situation, first order of business was to secure the scene, next tend to the victims, then give pursuit.

They got to work.

In Tessa’s days as a state trooper, she’d carried enough supplies to outfit a small village. Wyatt clearly thought the same. From his trunk, he produced blankets, water and energy bars. Without a word, Tessa went straight to the women, while Wyatt, weapon drawn, conducted a rapid inventory of the building.

“My name is Tessa Leoni,” she introduced herself as she approached, voice calm, movements brisk. “I was hired by Denbe Construction to assist with finding you.”

Libby and Ashlyn both stared at her. Up close, Tessa could see that the girl was unnaturally pale. She was also starting to shake. Small shivers now, but her condition would grow to full-on tremors if not dealt with quickly. Tessa threw two dark wool blankets around the girl’s shoulders, handed her a bottle of water and instructed her to drink.

Libby Denbe was already rubbing her daughter’s shoulders. Her hands appeared lacerated and there were already bruises forming around her face and neck. And yet she still seemed in better shape than her daughter.

“Ashlyn?” Tessa prodded more gently. “Ashlyn, honey, I need you to look at me. You’re going into shock. If we don’t do something about that, you’re going to feel a lot worse in a very short amount of time. I need you to drink some water, maybe have a bite to eat…”

The girl simply stared at her, Libby rubbing, rubbing, rubbing her daughter’s bundled-up form.

Tessa made a second attempt: “Ashlyn. Can you tell me how old you are?”

The girl slowly blinked. Bit by bit, her too-large hazel eyes came into narrow focus, a small frown forming on her brow.

“Fifteen?” she whispered at last, more of a question than an answer.

“I’m with law enforcement, Ashlyn. See that uniformed officer over there? He’s with the county sheriff’s department. Soon you’re going to hear even more sirens. We’re all here for you, Ashlyn. You and your family. We’re here to make you safe.”

“My father…,” Ashlyn whispered.

She glanced abruptly at her mother, and Tessa could see tears now sliding down Libby’s face.

“He saved us,” Libby provided hoarsely. “Mick was hidden inside the control room. He had a gun, knives, so many weapons. He shot Justin, we just got out… Then he was chasing us, with this huge blade. And he was so much bigger than me. So much stronger. I told Ashlyn to run and hide. I didn’t want her to see…but she found Justin in the hallway. Even shot in the shoulder… He’d sworn to me he’d keep us safe. No matter what. No matter how. He wouldn’t let us down.”

“Mick stabbed him,” Ashlyn erupted suddenly. “He took his knife, and he, and he… I hate him! I hate him I hate him I hate him. We Tased him. We hit him, we fought him. Why can’t a man like him just die!”

The dam broke. Ashlyn burst into tears, falling into her mother’s embrace. Libby grabbed her daughter tightly, and they clung to each other, a family of three now forever a family of two.

Tessa didn’t say a word. That snowy night years ago, she and Sophie had done the same. In fact, they still did. Because some kinds of pain didn’t magically fade away. While knowing they at least had each other helped make the bad days easier to take.

Wyatt returned, murmuring low in her ear. “Tire tracks, headed down the hill. Must be on open road by now.”

Tessa got the message. “Libby, Ashlyn? I know you are hurt. I promise, we’re here to help. But first, we need your assistance. The men who did this. They’re getting away. Wouldn’t you like to do something about that?”

Her words got their attention. In a matter of minutes, she had them ensconced in Wyatt’s cruiser, more blankets, more water, Ashlyn now tearing into one of the energy bars while Libby did most of the talking.

Plain white van. Neither of the women remembered any identifying marks, had not really seen it much from the outside anyway. Their captors, on the other hand, they could describe in great detail. Three men, a huge guy with a cobra tattoo, a second big guy with crazy blue eyes and checkerboard hair, then finally, the smaller born-again nerd.

Libby and Ashlyn talked, Wyatt worked the radio, getting the description circulating immediately to all available law enforcement officers.

More vehicles arrived, state police cruisers, unmarked detective’s vehicles, not to mention the feds, tearing up the long, snaking drive.

Not much longer now, Tessa knew. The feds would take over and with at least two members of the Denbe family safe, her assignment would wrap up, with even Wyatt finding himself relegated to cleanup. Except the kidnappers were still out there. Men so brutal that even after being paid nine million dollars, they’d been willing to slaughter an entire family.

The feds’ black sedan making the final climbing turn.

Tessa studied Libby Denbe and she made her decision.

Tessa squatted down, taking Libby’s hands in her own. “You are strong. Your daughter is strong. Trust me when I say you are both doing remarkably well. Now, I just need a couple more things from you. You understand, right, that whoever did this knew you, knew your family?”

Libby got it immediately. “Inside job,” she murmured. “They overrode our security, knew everything about us, even mentioned having done research.”

“Do you think they were professionals?”

“Yes, former military. Justin thought the same.”

“Did you know them?”