Page 88 of Spencer

CHAPTER 27

The next morningpassed by very slowly.

The house was still full. His brothers and their wives had stayed over to see this thing through.

After the initial burst of horrified adrenaline they’d all received when Spencer had played the phone call at dawn—yes, he’d waited two hours because sleep was important at this juncture—Spencer had subsequently had a difficult time finding things to keep Tabitha’s mind engaged. Every time there was a lull in planning, she went off into her own head looking panicked, which wasn’t good for anyone.

Tex, had been busy hunting, but unfortunately he hadn’t been able to trace that first phone call, nor the next one he’d shared when it came in shortly before lunch.

“I might be willing to trade your sister’s life for money,” the caller had said. “I’ll let you know once I make up my mind.”

That salvo had been quick and straight to the point, but now it was after mid-day and they hadn’t heard another word.

There had been a dozen or so “other tips” that Tex had deemed worthy of forwarding in the interim hours, most of which Tabitha had been tasked with; following up on each and every one to see if any had efficacy.

They’d all been dead-ends. None of them had provided anything more than distraction for Tabitha, and now that even that bit of busy-work had dried up, she sat, hunched forward on his mother’s couch, crushing a pillow to her middle.

That wouldn’t do.

Spencer approached and slid onto the cushion next to hers. “How about you squeeze the stuffing out of me, instead,” he suggested, reaching out to draw the beleaguered pillow from her arms to set it aside.

Tabitha immediately turned to him and buried her face in his chest. His arms went automatically around her, and Spencer instantly felt better. He hoped his presence did the same for Tabbi.

Mason, Everlee, Kyle, and Rowan crossed the room and hunkered down on the sofa across from them, none of them having anything more to say after their morning of frustration.

Once the silence had seemingly gone on too long, Tabitha broke it.

“When do you think that the person will call back?” she questioned, her voice raspy with all the crying and railing she’d done over the course of the hours they’d been up. He noted that his mother had kept a steady stream of tea with honey going for Tabbi; always Ellen Sothard’s answer to an overtaxed throat. Her parents were positioning themselves as their support team, supplying them with all their needs; food, phone chargers, hugs.

“We can’t know,” Everlee answered. “But does it seem to anyone else like this person is getting some kind of enjoyment out of taunting Tabitha?” she suggested

It was something none of them had previously considered.

Mason sat upright. “You’re right, Ever. We’ve been focusing so hard on trying to locate Sheila, that we haven’t discussed what this individual’s motive might be.” He turned to Tabitha. “It almost sounded from their first call that the person knew you.Do you have the fortitude to listen to the messages again to see if that strikes a chord?”

Tabitha pushed away from Spencer and squared her shoulders. “I do, and I will. Anything to help Sheila.”

Spencer didn’t like subjecting Tabbi to the verbal craziness again, but if this could help them in any way…

He dug out his phone, located the file, and hit play again.

The nasty voice filled the room.

“Well, well, well. How does it feel, Tabitha, to know that I have eyes on your lovely sister? Does it make you feel nervous? Desperate? Because I’m counting on that being the case. You think you’re so much better than everybody else. But you’re not. Your sister means nothing to me in the large scheme of things, but I need my vengeance and she’s cute, so I might toy with her for a while, cat and mouse style. What do you think? Ahh, don’t worry too much. Eventually she’ll be mine, and for a price, I’ll give her back to you.”

They all had to listen to that evil laugh again before the asshole continued.

“The question is, will she be dead or alive when I do?”

Once more everyone was silent, going over the words for any nuances they might have missed.

While they pondered, Spencer played the second message, which had been short and to the point.

“I’m considering trading your sister’s life for money instead of making her disappear, permanently. I’ll let you know once I make up my mind.”

“Okay, let’s dissect these.” Mason became focused. “The person called you by name,” he pointed out.

“But her name is in the social media post,” Kyle countered. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

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