Page 18 of Operation: Unify

“Who?” She hadn’t said her name, and she wasn’t going to give away their location so easily, though whoever was on the line had to know the hotel name.

“My wife. Melinda. The one you kidnapped yesterday. I’ve already called the police.”

Her mind tried to work fast. How had he found them? “Your wife is an adult. She can leave whenever she chooses to. The police already knew where she was because we filed a report yesterday.”

“You did what?” he yelled. “Melinda has no business going into the police station. They all think she’s a lunatic there anyway. You couldn’t do anything to me.” His topics bounced around faster than a rubber ball.

“We filed a report. Against you. For all the bruises and for jumping on my car. You threatened me. I needed to make sure the police knew what you said and did.”

“It doesn’t matter. One report isn’t going to cover months of reports from me.”

“You can leave her alone now. She’s gone, not your concern anymore.” Though the longer she talked to him, the less she believed that.

“You think you know everything, but you don’t. She is my wife. Until we’re divorced, she will always be tied to me, and I won’t grant a divorce.”

“Why not? It’s not like you love each other.” Frustration made her say what she hadn’t wanted to.

“How do you know? You came out of nowhere and claimed to have all the answers for Melinda. I’ve cared for her for years. Where were you when she was grieving for her miscarriages? Where were you when her local friends walked away? You weren’t here. No one was except me.”

Melinda hung her head, and Lacy knew she could hear all that was being said. She headed for the other side of the room. “I don’t live here in town.”

He snorted. “I’m aware. I did some digging last night by looking up the area where Melinda came from. It didn’t take long to find you in an old church registry, Lacy Kincade.”

Somehow, having him know her name made the situation more terrifying.

“Oh, you’re speechless? That’s interesting.”

Someone knocked on the door. “Knock, knock. Is anyone home.”

Melinda burst into tears and slid down her chair and under the table. Lacy hung up the phone and quickly slammed the deadbolt home. She had relied on the door lock when she’d come back from gathering breakfast. The hotel had felt safe, far away from Tod and the police. Now, she wished the police were closer.

“Go away. You’re not welcome here,” she yelled out the door, hoping it would disturb someone nearby.

“Call the front desk,” Melinda whispered. “They’ll come.”

She wasn’t sure that was the best idea. If she were the one sitting at the desk, would she want to face an angry man? They probably didn’t get paid enough to deal with dangerous situations.

“Do you really want to make him angrier?” Lacy headed for the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth to thread through the loop lock at the top of the door.

“Open the door.” He banged on the other side.

Lacy bit her lip and looked at the phone. She called the police first and told them what was going on, that they were barricaded in the hotel room, trying to keep Tod out. Then, she called the front desk.

The voice from that morning answered, “How can I help you?”

“This is Lacy in room 310. There’s a man pounding on our door and telling us to open up. We don’t want him in here.”

The man went silent for a moment. “Is this part of the bad day you talked about this morning? The one that made you scared of me?”

He wasn’t going to help her, was he? The dread seeped into her shoulders as Tod pounded on the door again.

Someone in a nearby room yelled, “Quiet down, it’s six in the morning!”

“Shut up! This doesn’t concern you!” Tod sounded like he was leaning against the door.

“Please,” Lacy whispered into the phone. “I’ve already called the police. They’re on their way. Just tell them the room number.”

He banged on the door again.

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