Page 62 of Justice Denied

More pacing. “Taking her was a mistake.” Another short moment of silence before he whisper-yelled, “I am not authorizing that. I’m not a killer. Let me think.”

Mae’s heart raced as she listened to Gene negotiate with the kidnapper on what to do with Emily Ainsley. Gene must have found out about the email Emily had sent and the phone call asking for a new investigation into the embezzlement.

“No, here’s what you’ll do. There’s an old cemetery called Tippit’s Hill near Route 28 and Pacific Boulevard. Leave her there and make sure there’s nothing to tie her to us.”

A few seconds later, he uttered a curse word that lacked the force of his sister’s. “I’m the one calling the shots, so you listen to me. You will not get the last half of your payment until you send me photographic proof she’s in the cemetery, alive.”

That must have convinced the kidnapper because Gene added, “I thought so. I’ll be waiting to transfer the money as soon as I receive the photo.”

He paced several more times, each time coming a little bit closer to Mae’s hiding place, but then he halted with his back to her. “She’ll be sorry she treated me like an imbecile. I’m not as stupid as she and Ryan think I am.”

A charley horse squeezed Mae’s right calf, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep from crying out. She eased out of her high heel shoe and flattened her foot to ease the discomfort from the leg cramp. As the pain receded, Mae peeked around one of the boxes to see what was taking him so long to leave the storage room. If she stayed in this position much longer, more of her muscles would seize up.

Gene rubbed his hands together like an overdramatic movie villain. Really, the man had all the panache of a clown. No wonder Ryan and Yasmine treated him like the unwanted stepchild of the family. But that might make Gene the one to keep a closer eye on because even a well-behaved dog would turn on its master if provoked enough. Mae suspected Gene had been slapped down too many times by his siblings to not lash out when they least expected it.

“Yes, they will regret their actions, of that I will promise.” With that strange pronouncement, Gene finally strode out, closing the door behind him with a welcomed click. Mae breathed in and out to lower her accelerated pulse, then stood and carefully stretched her muscles. She’d heard of Tibbit’s Cemetery recently and racked her brain to recall the info as she paced over the same ground as Gene to work out the charley horse. On her third trip, she recalled the news story about a trio of data centers being built surrounding the defunct cemetery. No one would think to look for Emily there.

She picked up the binder clips and restacked the boxes, moving the stool to its proper place by the door. As she left the room, the idea to leave an anonymous tip about Emily’s whereabouts formed. Yes, she could use the burner phone to ensure no one knew her identity, but she wouldn’t call the police. She would phone that reporter who had an interview scheduled with Ryan on Friday. That would be safer for her, and it might drive another wedge between the siblings. She also suspected Yasmine or Gene was her mysterious contact. The more info she had about their actions, the more leverage she’d have with that person. Perhaps she would come out of this smelling like roses after all.

* * *

Emily blinked backtears of pain and frustration. The thin mattress did little to protect her from the cold concrete floor, and the blanket her captor had tossed in smelled like it had been in a damp place for years. She shivered without any covering since she’d rather freeze than sneeze all night from the musty fibers.

The urge to pray once more filled her soul. She used to have a close relationship with God, but that had slipped to the wayside with the unfounded accusations against Jay, then his untimely death at his arrest. Jay had been a good man, a godly man who had served others his entire life. His faith in God’s sovereignty and kindness toward those He had called to himself had never wavered. Even when the officers had come to arrest him, he had been shocked, yes, but gentle with them. Not fighting it but firm in his belief that he would be exonerated.

Fifteen years later, his name still bore the stain of an unresolved embezzlement charge, one that had tainted their entire family with the ugliness of an untreated tumor. While in rehab, Emily confronted her own cowardice in not pursuing the matter in the days after her husband’s death. She admitted her own fear back then was she would find out Jay wasn’t innocent. But she didn’t want to leave this earth without trying to clear his name. Then when Jetta had brought the envelope to her, Emily had taken that as a sign she had been moving in the right direction. Having Jetta and Seth assisting her meant she was no longer digging on her own.

If she’d known her feeble efforts would lead to these attacks on her daughter and herself, she never would have begun the journey. The price had become too high to pay. She’d already sacrificed her husband to the embezzler. She would not do the same with her youngest.

Jetta had been through so much, with breaking up with her abusive boyfriend and then his assault on her. Her pregnancy as a result of rape broke Emily’s heart, especially because Jetta had concealed it from her until she’d arrived in Virginia. Jetta still hadn’t told her siblings about the baby, and Emily hadn’t spilled Jetta’s secret either. That was Jetta’s decision, and Emily suspected her daughter wouldn’t say a word until she’d decided whether to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. Emily wasn’t sure which one would be best for Jetta and her mental wellbeing. That Jetta loved her baby was evident, but would the reminder of how it had been conceived be too much for her to bear as the baby grew? Would she grow to resent the child? Would another man ever want to raise the child of a rapist?

Seth’s strong, handsome face popped into her mind. Emily had been grateful for the young man’s assistance since he’d moved next door more than two years ago. He’d quickly become the go-to guy for moving furniture or carrying heavy objects. While he had a friendly outward demeanor, Emily had long suspected it hid a broken heart.

His inner strength reminded her of Jay, and she suspected Seth shared her late husband’s faith. A faith she had begun to notice more and more in Jetta too. A faith she should return to herself.

The door opened and two figures entered. The light from the hallway backlit them enough that she could tell both wore black clothing with black gloves and ski masks, leaving only their eyes visible. Emily shrank back on the mattress as they approached without a word.

“No!” Her scream ripped from her throat as one of them grabbed her arm and yanked her to a sitting position.

“Another sound, and we duck-tape your mouth,” the man growled in her ear.

She nodded her understanding and bit back another cry as the second man moved to her other side.

The two men hauled her upright and dragged her to the door. Emily fought to get her good foot underneath her to help ease the weight on her shoulders to no avail—they were moving too fast for her to assist. At what appeared to be the outer door, the men paused. One yanked a black hood from his back pocket.

Emily opened her mouth to protest but one look at his hard eyes had her snapping it closed. The man put the hood over her head but thankfully, didn’t tighten the drawstring Emily had spotted. Then a cool breeze swirled around her. Within seconds, she was bundled into the back of a vehicle—an SUV she thought—as the floor was higher than a sedan trunk. The hatch slammed shut and the vehicle roared off.

Emily lost track of the many twists and turns or how long they’d traveled before the vehicle slowed. The sounds of other vehicles faded as the road became more bumpy and less smooth, leading her to think it was unpaved. No gravel crunched underneath the wheels and no outside sounds gave her any clues as to their location. All she knew for certain was it must be away from people. Her heart pounded so hard, she was certain it would be heard by her captors.

She didn’t think either of the two men had been the one who interrogated her, but they might have been the ones who had grabbed her from the rehab center. Then the car halted, and the engine died.

The hatch opened and they hauled her out, leaving the black hood on her head. They again used her arms to move her away from the vehicle. Emily was in too much pain from her injured leg bumping along the ground to protest. If this was the end, she didn’t want to spend it begging for more breaths from ones who obviously didn’t care.

Then she was abruptly thrown onto the ground. Her head connected with something hard. Pain, this time in her head, overwhelmed her, and she welcomed the darkness that heaved her into oblivion.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Seth flipped onto his back, trying to get comfortable but his bed had morphed into a hard plank. Jetta’s harsh words, coupled with her revelations about her ex, had him tossing and turning. Hearing how her ex had treated her had ignited a flame of anger he thought long doused. In the quiet of his bedroom, images of his mother whimpering as yet another man thought he had the right to use his fists on her face because of some perceived slight invaded his mind. Seth had learned it didn’t matter the reason—the men wanted to prove their power over his mom, and, by extension, him.

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