Page 13 of Now You See Me

“I’ve lost my phone. We need to call this in and get paramedics out here.” She removed her gloves, tossed them onto the ground and pulled on a fresh pair. “Let’s check the victims.”

Kane sucked in a breath to steady his nerves. Losing Jenna was his worst nightmare and this time, he’d come too darn close. He pushed down the concern and concentrated on procedure. “I’ve called Rio. With this one, we have three dead and one walking casualty.” He handed her a mask. “The smoke is much worse on the highway. We need to move away. The tanker might blow. I’ll see if I can disconnect those darn horns.” He held out his hand and climbed out of the gully. “We’ll come back later and look for your phone.” He stared at the damp patch spreading from the truck. “There’s fuel leaking from the tanker. We need to get out of here. Right now.”

“Did you find Maisy’s phone?” Jenna ran beside him jumping over the debris littering the highway.

Kane nodded. “Yeah, just before the wreck.” He patted his pocket.

“Maisy’s purse is there too. It’s likely under the pickup with my phone. I heard the truck coming and ran along the gully. It landed just behind me.” She looked up at him. “Someone was watching over us today.”

“I’m a doctor.” A man waved Kane down. “The man on the road is deceased and the driver of the eighteen-wheeler has a suspected fractured collarbone and minor abrasions.”

“Thank you, Doctor…?” Jenna stopped and pulled out a notebook.

“Dr. James Pringle from Blackwater.” He eyed her speculatively. “Are you hurt, Sheriff?”

“No.” Jenna indicated behind her. “Unfortunately, the victim in the upturned pickup bled out.”

Kane grabbed her arm. “We can talk later. Right now, we need to get away from the tanker. It could blow at any second. Run.”

As they headed to the line of vehicles blocking the highway, Kane waved back the people crowding toward the wrecks. “Move back, the truck could blow at any moment.” He looked at Jenna. “Get them back. I’ll stop the noise.”

Running to what was left of the red pickup, he wrenched up the buckled hood and tore the horn wire from its moorings. He shook his head. His ears rang from the noise. In the distance he could hear sirens. Turning, he searched for Jenna. She’d reached the group of onlookers and was taking down names of witnesses. Beside her, Duke was sitting, leaning protectively against her leg. “That dog never ceases to amaze me.”

The smell of gas came through the smoke. The fire was getting intense and had moved from the engine and now flames lapped around the tanker wheels. The fuel ignited in a whoosh. Jenna and the onlookers needed to be at least another fifty yards away to be safe. Kane swallowed hard and started to run. He waved his arms and made a pushing motion. “Get back. Get back now.”

The explosion shook the ground before a wave of heat lifted Kane from his feet, tumbling him over and over. He landed on his back on the roof of a pickup and slid across the shiny top and landed on his feet in the bed. The momentum of the blast carried him forward and he staggered, falling to his knees before grasping the side of the truck. Coming to a halt, he stared at the carnage before him. People had been picked up and tossed around like rag dolls. The blast had pushed the row of parked vehicles together like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. He turned his head to see a mushroom cloud rise up into the sky. Around the tanker, flames leapt and hissed, he stood in the back of the truck, searching for Jenna.

Kane choked back a gasp of fear. Through the smoke he made out the bright yellow writing across the back of her sheriff’s department jacket. She must have been heading for the protection of the Beast when the tanker exploded. Chest tight with concern, he jumped down from the pickup and ignoring the falling debris, bolted toward the blood-splattered body sprawled across the hood of his truck.

FOURTEEN

Inside the horrific hellhole, Maisy Jones searched every square inch for a way to escape and found nothing. The only way out was through the locked doors. The dripping sound of blood from the corpses flowing into the buckets was like being trapped inside a clock store with every darn clock ticking at a different pace. She’d found a few blankets and a pile of discarded clothes and shoes tossed in a garbage pail. She’d taken a scarf and tied it around her face to filter the smell. The odor of rotting flesh hadn’t increased, but now the suffocating smell of preservative she’d recognized as formaldehyde was choking her. The blood had drained from the bodies and now the chemical dripped into the buckets. She moved closer to the door, pressing her face along the cracks, trying to feel any breeze from the outside. Being so close to the dead people frightened her. She’d watched far too many horror movies and the silly notion that one might suddenly sit up was freaking her out.

A noise made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle and she stared all around, but the sound was coming from the other side of the door. Footsteps echoed in the distance and got louder with every second. A squeaky sound like an unoiled wheel accompanied the tapping of boots on tile. Terrified, Maisy ran back into the small room where she’d woken hours before and, heart thumping like the drum in a marching band, she hid behind the door.

Peering through the crack between the hinges, Maisy heard the grinding of the tumblers inside a lock and then the double doors swung inward, pushed open by a gurney. The man guiding the autopsy table was wearing scrubs, facemask, gloves and a wraparound rubber apron. On the table lay the body of a young man. The person pushing the gurney scanned the room, his gaze stopping on the open door. He’d seen her.

“You might as well come out.” The man started removing the clothes from the dead body using a pair of scissors. “You can’t escape from here and I have food and a hot beverage for you.” He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. I need you fresh.” He took a paper sack from the end of the gurney and placed it about ten yards from the bodies. “You have to eat, right?”

He sounded almost normal. Friendly even. Not like a man who’d drugged and kidnapped her and then left her alone with a bunch of corpses. She stared at the bag of takeout and, despite the stink, her stomach growled. It had been many hours since she’d last eaten. Trembling, she stepped out from behind the door and stood in the open. Acting tough was her only option. She lifted her chin and glared at him. “Why did you kidnap me?”

“I could have killed you.” He went about removing a fluid line from one body, attaching it to the new one on the gurney. He started the machine and a rush of red liquid ran down the tube from the young man’s arm and into a clean bucket. “I admit I’m a power freak.” He looked up at her and shrugged. “Having you trapped in here, frightened and under my complete control, is very satisfying. I decide everything you do from now on. If you’re good, I’ll leave the lights on and feed you from time to time, but if you don’t comply, I’ll leave you in here in the dark, no light, no food, and just watch you die slowly.” He pointed to a camera mounted high above the swinging doors. “It has an infrared function so I can see you in the dark.” He pulled the tubes out of a middle-aged man and pushed him toward the door. “The rats are bad here and come out in the dark. Sooner or later, they’ll eat you alive.” He turned and peered at her over his mask. “Won’t that be fun?”

FIFTEEN

Swiping at her face, Jenna blinked dust from her eyes and coughed. Somewhere behind her she heard Duke whine and the thump of his tail. Her head ached and her sight was blurry. Wherever she was, it was way too bright. She moved her fingers over her face and found an oxygen mask. Memory of the explosion came back in a wave of nausea. If Kane wasn’t with her, something had happened to him. “Dave?”

She didn’t recognize the gasping voice coming from her lips but was comforted by the unmistakable wetness from Duke licking her hand. The ear-shattering noise as he barked made her cringe. Blinking, she opened her eyes to see the dog six inches away from her face. His big brown eyes alert and his body shivering with happiness. Secured in his harness on the back seat of the Beast, he was trying very hard to stay. Dave must have given him the command. He must be okay but where was he? Her seat was tipped back almost horizontal. When Duke barked again, the door behind her opened.

“Jenna. Lie still, take deep breaths.” Kane leaned over her. “Where does it hurt?”

Relieved to know he was okay, she grabbed his hand. “Thank God, you’re okay. I just have a headache and my ribs are sore, not broken just bruised. Oh, and my shoulder hurts a little. How long have I been out?”

“Maybe half an hour. You have a cut on your hairline. It bled like crazy, but Wolfe sutured it right here in the Beast. I cleaned you up best I could, but you have blood caked in your eyebrow and it’s all down the neck of your shirt. Your eyes look fine, but you need to lie still for a time. Wolfe will come by and check you again soon. He’s kinda busy right now.” His fingers went to her pulse and then he brushed the hair from her eyes with gentle care. “Your blood pressure dropped out and it needs to be checked again before you move. So don’t be a hero. There’s nothing you can do out here at the moment, okay?”

Jenna couldn’t see him properly. “Can I roll onto my back or sit up? I feel okay.”

“Okay.” Kane removed the blanket, unclipped her seatbelt and offered his hand. “Sit up nice and slow and I’ll move the seat.” He pushed up the back of the seat. “Keep the oxygen mask on.” He pushed the blanket around her. “I’ll go back and help Wolfe.” He reached into the back and handed her a bottle of water. “Promise me you won’t leave the truck.”

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