Page 39 of Barry

Andrew swore bitterly and explained as Barry urgently made his way through the bar crowd to the community center behind it. He searched every table and corner until he made it through the inside of the community center. Once on the patio, he dissected the crowd and shifted through the people. Finishing by the barbecue grill, he’d asked thirty or so people if they’d seen Kathy. No one had. Andrew and Ken arrived within a minute of each other.

“No.” Ken shook his head when he looked at him. “Didn’t see her. No one I asked had.”

“Same,” Andrew said.

“I’m gone.” Barry headed to his truck.

“What’s going on?” Tegan asked.

“Kathy isn’t here. We’ll make sure she didn’t have problems with the truck or something,” Ken said and jogged up behind Barry. “Let’s take my vehicle.” Ken nodded to the SUV, which was closer.

Barry got in, and they took off. He noticed Andrew was following in his truck. He took a breath and held it for a moment, trying to slow his heartbeat. Her truck wasn’t at the house. “Maybe we missed her,” Ken said as he slowed down.

“The dogs are out.” Barry jumped out of the still-moving SUV and sprinted to the door. Mitzi and Honey barked like lunatics.

A clip of the siren didn’t stop him. “Barry, don’t go in!” Ken was running behind him. He looked behind him and noticed Ken had his gun in his hand. “Let me clear the house.” Ken pushed past him and slowly entered the house.Fuck that. He followed Ken in the door. The sheriff glanced back at him and narrowed his eyes. Barry glared back at him.

“I’m coming.”

Ken must have seen the determination in his eyes. He relented and motioned, saying, “Stay behind me.”

The neat and tidy kitchen was a disaster. Chairs were knocked over, and a streak of blood on the linoleum flooring sent a flash of rage through him. They movedthrough the kitchen, and Ken entered the living room. A silver high-heeled shoe with a broken strap laid on top of a broken photograph frame. That was where the blood trail started.

Barry started constructing the events in his mind as they cleared the bathroom and entered her bedroom. He saw her jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes on the bed. An empty hanger and garment bag were hanging from a hook on the wall. The bedroom rug was churned up, and the chair at the little makeup table was toppled over. The makeup and bottles of potions and lotions were knocked from the table and strewn on the floor.

Ken put his gun back in his holster. His eyes darted from one item to the next. “She was taken. It started here.” Barry pointed to the mess at the table and the rug and then moved out of the room. “She lost her shoe while struggling.”

Ken nodded, motioning to the side table where photographs were toppled and the one on the floor had broken. “She put up a fight.”

“She’s injured,” Barry gritted through clenched teeth. “Her truck is gone.” He spun around.

“Her purse is gone.”

“I have to go after her.”

“No, that’s the wrong move.”

“Fuck you!” Barry roared and turned on Ken. “She’s my fucking life!”

“Barry—”

He threw off Ken’s arm and headed out of the house. Ken’s hand on his shoulder spun him, and he swung hard. Ken dipped below his punch, and before he knew what was happening, he was up against the wall with his arm wrenched behind him.

Barry didn’t give a flying fuck. He struggled to get out of the hold, his shoulder nearly dislocating. He screamed in pain, and in a frenzied need to find her, he bowed backward and headbutted Ken.

He felt another set of hands on him and was forced to the floor. Barry bellowed in rage and lifted with all his might. “Damn it, Marks, stand down!”

Barry heard the words and recognized the voice. Andrew. He fought against the arms and hands holding him down. “Cap?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You got to stop struggling.”

Like a wheel and cog clicking in place, Barry’s mind slotted into gear. “Kathy. I need to find Kathy.”

“And we’ll do that, but you got to stop,” Andrew said from above him.

Barry relaxed, but the hands didn’t loosen their grip. “Ken, you need to get medical attention.”

“I don’t think he broke it. It’s just bloody,” Ken said. “I need to call this in.” One set of hands slowly relaxed. “You back with us?”

---