Page 14 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Lily started crying again. “He said if we behaved, he’d let us out alive. He didn’t want to kill us. This was just a game to him—his version of catch and release. But rather than fishing catch and release, he liked to hunt and release humans. It made thegame much more fun. Then he gave us water and we blacked out again. I don’t remember much until we woke up.”
Mckenna stopped listening. Nausea swept over her, and she fought to hold down her coffee and breakfast. Her entire body started to shake. Evan stared at her again.
“Are you okay?” he whispered to her.
It was all Mckenna could do to squeak out ayes, because she wasn’t fine. Everything Lily said brought back the same memory—including the “catch and release” phrase.
Toby. Her kidnapper. It must be Toby. He’s done it again. If only I’d gone to the parole hearing. If only I’d spoken up, we wouldn’t be here today.
“When we woke up again, I think it was the middle of the night,” Lily said. “I told Autumn we had to try to escape. I think it’s what he wanted, because we found a hole in the side of the wall. We barely fit but managed to squeeze through and there was a broken window. Autumn took her shirt off and finished breaking the glass. I was so scared that he was waiting for us, but Autumn said we had to get out the window. She put her shirt on the bottom of the window to help protect us and helped me get through first. She’d been a gymnast, and she was able to jump and push herself up and through. We started sprinting and all of a sudden there was a loud, popping noise and a tree trunk next to us shattered into pieces. We realized he was shooting at us, so we ran into the thicker trees to make it harder to see us. Autumn screamed in pain because a bullet had hit her arm, but she told me she was okay. She said to keep going.
“There was a creek running nearby and I told Autumn we needed to follow it. Maybe if we followed the water, it would lead to a road. We were running so hard and when I turned to see if anyone was following us, I saw a lone tree up on the hill.”
A lone tree that seemed like a ghost, Mckenna thought, continuing to shudder.There were other trees too. They were weird in shape. I remember a creek, but I ran the other way because he was also shooting at me and I started to run a zigzag pattern to make myself a difficult target. I was in good shape from running track and I managed to get away even with my side bleeding. I was lucky to find the road. I was lucky that a good Samaritan stopped, because he was close behind.
“We found a road, but a truck came along, and it was him, so we hid behind some bushes, huddled together. I was so scared that he’d see us.”
“How do you know it was him?” Evan asked.
“He had the window down and was cursing. I don’t think we were supposed to get away that quickly. I don’t know. He also had like a spotlight and was searching for us. He never saw us, and we stayed there until morning. Autumn started to say she wasn’t feeling good.” Lily started to cry again. “I don’t know how long we were there, but the sun started to rise. I saw a car come along and Autumn wasn’t right. She quit breathing. I waved them down and then started CPR, but nothing seemed to work. The couple called 911 and I continued CPR until the first deputy arrived. He kept telling me there was nothing more we could do, but I didn’t want to stop. Someone made me stop, but I killed my friend. If we hadn’t gone to that party, she’d still be alive.”
CHAPTER 11
The room closed in around Mckenna. Everything Lily said was pretty much the same as her experience. The only difference was that a door had opened for Mckenna to go through after a couple of days. That was when she’d seen the opportunity and taken it, not caring how bloody she was, or how she escaped. The kidnapper also had taken her shoes when she’d been drugged, so she was running in bare feet. It didn’t matter. She was in a race for her life.
Later, Mckenna realized that was what he’d had in mind all along. He’d wanted to watch her scramble out and to see if she could get away just like catch and release fishing, where the fisherman took pictures of his trophy and then let it go just before it was too late. Only he wanted to catch Mckenna again and probably had no intention of allowing her to live.
Dizziness washed over her, and Mocha, sensing the change, climbed off the bed as Lily and Evan continued to talk. He came over and put his head in Mckenna’s lap, big brown eyes staring at her in concern. Mckenna tried to pet him, but her hands shook too violently. Mocha placed his head on her hands as if he knew she needed them to be held.
The party. I never did say who threw the party. I pretended not to know. If only I had, this wouldn’t have happened. Toby. It had to be him. He couldn’t control his compulsion and obsession. Why didn’t I go to that hearing? Why didn’t I give a victim statement?
A hand lightly touched Mckenna’s shoulder, and she jerked away.
“Are you okay?” Evan asked.
Mckenna glanced back and forth between Evan and Lily. She needed to leave. Now.
“No, I think I ate something that’s not settling well,” Mckenna lied. “I’m sorry, Lily. Mocha and I need to leave now.”
“Can I see him again? Soon?” Lily asked.
“Sure. We’ll come back for another visit.”
Mckenna forced herself to her feet, swaying back and forth, trying to make herself leave.
“Let me help you,” Evan said.
He was instantly by her side, softly touching her and supporting her.
“No. No, I’m fine. I just need to get some fresh air.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“Keep talking to Lily. I’ll be fine,” Mckenna said.
