Page 69 of Vanishing Point
Palmer and Jack exchanged looks and then rocked back on their heels. “Well…”
“Setting up a distraction,” Thomas supplied.
“She’s going to be the death of me,” Cash muttered.
“You’re the one who fell in love with her,” Palmer returned.
Cash only grunted. “I’m going to load up the dogs to get them out of the way, unless you think you’ll need them?”
Thomas shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Best to handle this from long range.”
Cash nodded, then whistled for the dog that had been with Carlyle, and let the one in Thomas’s car out. So Thomas focused on the task at hand.
He had a small group of trained law enforcement. They could do this. “We spread out and surround the house. We surround, then approach, hoping the distraction lures Eric Carter and Dianne Kay out. As more cops get here, we add them to the mix. Eric Carter is our number one target. Dianne Kay is an accomplice.” Thomas turned to the Sunrise deputy. “Make sure you know who’s who.”
“I’ve read the descriptions of everyone.”
Thomas nodded. “Rosalie…” She wasn’t going to like this. “I need someone to stay here and—”
“Bite me, Hart,” she said. “I’ve got a gun I’m licensed to use, and like hell I’m going to stay here when you’ve got two civilians who can.”
“I’m not exactly a civilian,” Palmer said with a frown. Then sighed when that earned him quite a few sharp looks. “Fine, I’ll stay here and coordinate. Make sure any new officers know the players and descriptions, then send them out to plug holes.”
Thomas nodded, then looked around. A decent police presence. A lead. More officers on their way.
Vi wasn’t spending another night out there.
VI MANAGED TOhook the zip tie around her wrists on the doorknob. She carefully pulled down. She couldn’t position the weaker part of the plastic exactly where she wanted it, but there was no other option that she could find here in the dark.
So, she pulled. Then leaned forward so most of her bodyweight was pulling against the plastic. The bonds bitagainst her skin, but she was so scared and desperate, she barely even noticed the pain.
She heard a creak, like the wood of the door splintered, and she was about to scramble up so she didn’t break the damn knob off, but she heard asnap.
And her hands fell apart.
Apart.For a singular, shocking moment she just stood stock-still andbreathed. Then slowly she lifted her hands up, moved her arms apart.
She’ddoneit.
She wanted to crumple to the ground and sob, but this was hardly a war won. This was one tiny battle and there were quite a few to go. She inhaled deeply, let it out and tried to decide what to do now.
Her ankles were still tied, and she didn’t know how to change that without something sharp enough to cut the plastic. There might be something that sharp in this pantry, but she’d already felt around on the floor and shelves and hadn’t found anything here in the dark.
She could shuffle a little with her ankles tied, but she could hardly attack or run. But if someone was out there… She didn’t know where Dianne had brought her except out of town. South out of town. Would dogs really just be running around without owners? Didn’t that mean there had to be neighbors or something?
Or someone coming to find her.She sat with that feeling, the horrible, overwhelming tide of hope. But if she let it infiltrate, she’d just wait. Wait for help, wait on hope, and what if it wasn’t anybody?
She couldn’t hope. She had to fight.
She reached out, slid her hands along the wall in front of her until she found the doorknob again. She tested it. It was locked, of course, but she could maybe fling herself at the door enoughtimes to break it open based on the way the door had splintered when she’d used the knob, but that would make too much noise, draw too much attention.
Unless Eric was outside the cabin searching for people snooping around… Could she take that chance?
She pressed her ear against the door and listened. For a door to open, for footsteps on the porch stairs. For anything.
Just when she was about convinced that he’d left, because the house was just too still and silent, she heard the distinct sound of a shotgun being pumped.
She knew that sound, because he’d once done it a few times in front of her to scare her.
