Colton looked at Sandy and smiled. He unfastened the heart shaped necklace from around her neck and laid it on the table beside the watch, then picking her up, he sat her on the tailgate of the truck. “You’re a whore, just like the rest of them.” Climbing into the box, he pulled her in beside Tom. Closing the door, Colton laughed as he padlocked it and put up the tail gate of the pickup.
Picking up the necklace and watch, he went in the house, closing the sliding glass door. Laying the watch on the kitchen table, he looked at the necklace. “You’re gonna like this,” he said.
Walking over to the padlocked door, he took a key from the top of the cabinet next to it. Unlocking the padlock, Colton opened the door to a small room, which consisted of bathroom facilities and a mattress lying in the middle of the floor. The room was lit with a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Standing on the opposite side of the room was a blonde-haired, naked, teenage girl.
“Come here, Lucy. I have something for you.”
“For me?” Lucy Handling asked. She walked over to him, noticing that he had something in his hand. “What is it, Colton?”
“You ever hear the song, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds?” he asked, as he straightened the chain on the necklace.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Probably not. You’re too young. Turn around,” he ordered. He fastened the necklace around her neck. “Now you have diamonds. You’ll take real good care of this, won’t you?”
Lucy nodded as she looked at the heart shaped diamond necklace. “I will.” She looked out the door into the kitchen. “Can’t we go outside? I’m tired of this room.”
“Yeah, we can go someplace different,” Colton answered, as he unfastened his belt. He led her out of the room and into the living room. “How about right here? I can breed you, like these animals do and they can watch us. Get down on your hands and knees.”
Lucy got down on her hands and knees.
“I have a special hunt coming up tomorrow,” Colton said, taking off his shirt. “One like I’ve never had before. “You know, I’ve never had a bitch like you. One that I was the only one you’ve ever had.” He knelt down behind her. “If things were different and everyone wasn’t looking for you, I wouldn’t mind keeping you.”
“You can anyway, Colton.” She turned and looked at him. “I’ll tell them that I came here to be with you, but I didn’t tell them because they wouldn’t understand.”
“You think they’re stupid? You think I’m that stupid?”
“Colton.” Lucy kissed him. “I think I’m pregnant.”
“You what?”
“I think I’m pregnant.”
Colton smiled. “You’re serious?”
Lucy nodded, “I want to stay with you. You’re the father of my baby. We can go away and get married. We can tell everyone that I got pregnant so I went away for awhile.”
Colton shook his head. “That’s not going to work.”
“Why not?”
“Because, I just won’t. No,” Colton shook his head, “I gotta think about this.”
Seventeen
Tom woke. Sitting up, he felt awful. He rubbed his head, feeling the bump he’d got from the butt of Colton’s rifle. Hornbaker was gonna to pay for this. It was complete darkness in the box. Tom couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, but he could feel the rough, ridged, metal bed he was sitting on and a large metal hump to his side. He recognized it as being the fender of the inside of a pickup box, and he had a good idea he knew where he was.
Feeling Sandy lying next to him, he put his hand on her, gently shaking her. “Sandy. Wake up, honey.” Finding her arm, he pulled her up against his chest. “Wake up, baby.”
“Tom.” Sandy’s voice sounded groggy, like she was still drugged from whatever it was that Colton had put in the wine.
“You have to wake up.”
Sandy stirred. “Where are we?”
“I think we’re in Hornbaker’s dog box,” Tom answered. “I’ve got to get us out of here.” He started to stand, but hit his head on the top. Looking through the slat in the upper part of the box, it was dark outside and he couldn’t see anything. “That son of a bitch.” He pounded on the side of the box. “Colton! Let us out of here.” Finding, what felt like the door, Tom tried to break it open, but the steel door held fast.
“I can’t believe he’s locked us in here,” Sandy said moving up beside her husband, looking outside. “What’s he going to do with us?”
“I don’t know honey. But his pranks gone far enough.” Looking through the slat on the other side of the box Tom could see a dim fire and a tent. “Colton! You’ve had your fun, now let us out of here!”
As Sandy looked out through the slat in the box, she felt for her necklace. “It’s gone! I can’t believe it!” She started feeling around on the floor of the pickup.
“What’s gone, honey?”
“My necklace, it’s gone.”
“We’ll get it back,” Tom assured her. “Along with my watch,” he added, noticing it was missing.
“I found something. It feels like… it feels like clothing. Oh god, Tom!”
“Come here.” Tom reached out for her. Pulling her over next to him, he wrapped his arms around her. “Keep calm. Everything’s going to be all right.”
“You think it belonged to those girls?” Sandy asked lowly.
“I don’t know. S-h-h-h.” He tried to quiet her as she started to cry. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll get us out of this. He’s not going to let us out of here tonight, so we better get some rest.”
“It’s so cold.”
“I know.” Tom wrapped his arms around her, holding her as he leaned against the fender of the pickup.
* * * *
Colton crawled out of the tent as the sun broke. Walking up to the box, he pounded on the side of it. “Rise and shine! You have a good night sleeping in there?”
“It’s not funny, Colton,” Tom said. “You’ve had your fun, now let us out.”
“Hell Tom, the funs just beginning,” Colton replied, as he picked up a scoped rifle from beside the tent. He let the tail gate of the pickup drop then unlocked the padlock and opened the box. “Come on out, enjoy the view.”
Getting out of the box, Tom looked at Colton with the rifle as he helped Sandy out. “What the hell are you doing, Colton?”
“I’m going to have some fun. But that’s more than you’re going to be able to say.” He smiled than lightly chuckled. “You ever see that game show, Let’s Make A Deal? Well, here’s the deal. I have a couple of options for you, Tom. I’ll take her,” he pointed to Sandy, “give you a rifle, and we can hunt each other, or you keep her with you, and I’ll hunt you both.” Colton smiled. “Your choice, what do you think?”
“You can’t be serious?”
“Dead serious. Make up your mind. I don’t have all day.”
Tom looked at Sandy then looked at Colton with the rifle. He was just as good a shot as Colton and Colton knew it. So why would he give him a rifle that was in good firing condition or accurate? And if he shot Colton, how would he ever find his wife? “She’s staying with me.”
Colton nodded, “Kind of figured you’d say that.” He pointed the gun barrel toward the desert. “Guess you better start runnin’. In about forty-five minutes, I’m gonna come lookin’ for ya. And when I find ya, I’m going to kill ya. Simple as that.”
“You’re never going to get away with this, you know that,” Tom stated.
“Yeah, I will. You know, you ought a feel lucky. I’m not only giving you forty-five minutes, but I’m letting you wear your shoes. I only gave those whores twenty minutes, barefoot. But then they were a lot younger than the two of you and a lot more agile and fleet footed.” He lowered the barrel of the rifle toward Sandy. “I figure you’re going to be the first one I get.”
Tom started
toward him, but Colton swung the barrel of the rifle in his direction. “Don’t want to kill ya right here, Tom. That wouldn’t be any fun. And I don’t suppose it would be a very good hunt with just her.”
“Why are you doing this?”
Colton shrugged. “It’s the thrill of the hunt. Besides, I don’t care much for that whore you’ve married.”
“She’s not a whore!”
“She broke up you and your wife didn’t she?”
“I broke up my marriage! Sandy had nothing to do with it.”
Colton shrugged, “Doesn’t really matter, does it? Besides, you were asking too many questions. You’re not stupid, Tom. The questions you were asking. I knew you had it figured out. You know I’m the one responsible for killing them whores, don’t ya?”
Tom shrugged. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Yeah, well,” Colton smiled, “you are now, aren’t ya? The two of you think you’re in love, we’ll see.” He looked at his watch. “You better get going, your times ticking.”
Tom took Sandy’s hand. “Come on.”
They started jogging across the desert, away from Colton.
Colton fired the rifle in the air. “Faster or you’re not going to get very far! I want a good hunt!”
* * * *
Running through the desert, Tom and Sandy reached a narrow finger of trees on the edge of the mountain range, they continued to the other side before stopping, out of breath.
Tom, breathing heavy, looked at Sandy, who was bent over out of breath. “Take off your dress.”
“What?”
“It’s… it’s a red flag. Take it off,” he ordered, as he unzipped his uniform shirt.
Sandy pulled the dress off over her head.
Taking it, Tom handed her his shirt. “Put this on.” Looking around he saw a dead tree and stuffed the bright, red dress down in along the edge of the trunk, then piled branches, pine needles and sticks over it to hide it. He looked at Sandy in the shirt, which hung down to her knees. “Give me your shoes.”
Taking off her black heels, Sandy watched as he broke the heels from her shoes. “Tom.”
He threw the heels as far as he could in the wooded area. “You can’t run in heels,” Tom said, handing the shoes to her. “We get out of here; I’ll buy you a new pair.” He tucked in his tee-shirt, then reached in his pocket and took out a compass, as Sandy put her shoes on.
“You actually carry that?” she asked, watching him as he studied the compass.
“I’ve carried it with me every since you gave it to me. And I’ve used it a few times.”
“I guess Colton doesn’t know you have it.”
“If he did, he’d have taken it. He’s taken us to his hunting ground. We need to go east.”
“You’re sure?”
Tom nodded. “I’m sure. Come on.” He led the way out of the wooded area and they started running across the desert toward the sun.
* * * *
Glen pulled on the door handle of the police station. It was locked. He looked at his watch as he unlocked the door. As he walked inside the phone was ringing. Hurrying to his desk he picked up the receiver. “Sheriff’s office.” Glen swallowed. “Hi, Kelly, I’m really -… Tom’s not here, why?.. Maybe he or Sandy’s sick or -... When did Mildred check their house?... Really,” he said looking at the papers on his desk. “Tom said they were going out to… I’ll talk to you later.” Hanging up the receiver, Glen called Tom’s cell phone. There wasn’t any answer, but the service didn’t say it was out of the area.
Rushing out to his car, Glen sped through town with the lights flashing, as he drove out to Colton Hornbaker’s.
Mildred looked out the window of the café as the police cruiser went speeding by. “Looks like Glen or Tom got a call.”
“He probably has to make an emergency run to The Club,” Kelly said lowly.
“What did you say to him?”
“I told him that Sandy hadn’t come in, and that you’d checked on her this morning, but nobody was home,” she said, untying the apron from around her. “I have to go.”
“Go? Where are ya going? And what’d Tom say about Sandy not being here?”
“Tom wasn’t there. Jerry Mustafa’s waiting for me. I have to go,” Kelly said and walked out the door.
* * * *
Glen pulled up beside Tom’s pickup. Jumping out of the car, he looked around. “Tom! Sandy!” Looking in cab of Tom’s pickup he saw the cell phone lying on the seat. He hurried up to the house and tried the front door. It was locked. Working his way around the house, Glen tried looking through the windows, but they were all covered by white, pull-down shades. Working his way around to the back of the house, Glen tried the sliding glass door. It slid open.
“Tom, Sandy, are you in here?” Glen yelled. “Colton! Sheriff’s Department!” he announced, walking inside. “Anyone here?”
Seeing the gold and diamond Rolex lying on the table, Glen picked it up. Looking at the back of it, he read the inscription- ‘Tom love you Sandy’. Putting the watch in his shirt pocket, he looked at the door with the padlock. “Tom, Sandy! Are you in there?” he yelled, as he searched the cabinet. Feeling on top of it, he found the key and unlocked the padlock, swinging the door open.
Lucy looked up at him from the floor. “Oh god, you found me!” She hurried over to him. “I’m Lucy Handling. I’ve being held prisoner here. Help me! Please, you have to get me out of here before he comes back.”
Glen looked around the room. “Where are they? Where’s Tom and Sandy?”
Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Looking at her, Glen recognized the necklace she was wearing. “Where’d you get this?”
Lucy looked at the necklace. “Colton gave it to me.”
“Take it off.”
“But -.”
“Take it off,” Glen ordered and started unfastening the necklace from around her neck. “It belongs to Sandy. Where’s Sheriff Tom Moratelli and his wife?”
Lucy shrugged, “I don’t know, why?”
“Where’s Hornbaker?” Glen asked, as he put the necklace in his pocket with the watch.
“He said he was going hunting.”
“Get your clothes on. I gotta get you out of here.”
Lucy shrugged. “I don’t have any clothes. I don’t know where they are.”
“Well, find something to put on. I can’t take you into town like this.”
“Where are you going?” Lucy asked as Glen started out the door.
“I have to find Tom and Sandy.” Leaving Lucy in the house, Glen walked over to one of the sheds. Opening the wood, slat door of the first one, he found it full of shovels, wheel barrows, a ladder and number of sawhorses.
* * * *
Tom and Sandy ran to the next finger of trees along the rock ridge. Entering the edge of the woods, they saw a rifle propped up against a tree.
“It’s a gun!” Sandy exclaimed.
As she started to reach for it, Tom grabbed her hand. “Don’t touch it!”
“But, Tom -.”
“It could be a trap.”
“A trap!” Sandy said, breathing heavy. Bending over, she grasped her knees as she looked at the rifle. “You think Colton put it out here?”
“I don’t know.” Tom looked for a trip wire. “But I don’t know anyone else who would leave something like this out here.” Not seeing anything suspicious, he cautiously picked up the rifle and looked at it.
“Is it loaded?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have a firing pin.” Tom propped the rifle up against the tree the way he’d found it.
“Oh, god,” Sandy gasped. “I can’t believe he’s doing this.” She swallowed. “Why’s he doing this?”
“I don’t know. You doin’ all right?
“Yeah.” Sandy straightened up. “How’d Colton know we’d come
this way?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he’s planted more than one around.” Tom looked at the compass. “We have to go. This way.” He looked at the flat sandstone and grinned. “Rock, it’ll make it harder to track us. You ready?”
Sandy nodded.
They started across the flat rock, slowing as the rock started to slope. Coming to the rim of a canyon, they stopped.
Sandy looked down into the canyon at the bottom. “There’s no way.”
“We have too.”
“Tom!”
“You can do this.”
“I hate heights.” She looked along the ridge of the canyon. “There has to be another way.”
“This is the best way. It gets steeper the further we go that way, and we don’t have time to go the other way.”
“Are you sure we have to go this way?”
Tom looked down into the canyon. “I’m sure, honey.”
“How far is it, the another way,” Sandy asked looking along the edge of the canyon.
“Too far.”
“How far’s too far?”
“Miles. We have to go this way. I’ll go first, I’ll help you.”
Sandy shook her head.
“Yes,” Tom said, taking hold of her. “We’re going to do this. You’re going to do this for us.”
Sandy looked down into the canyon and swallowed.
“Don’t look down there. You look at me. You tell me no, but you don’t look down there.”
“I’ve never told you no, but -.”
“And you’re not going to now.”
“It’ll take us forever to get down there.”
“We’ll make it.” Tom started down the wall, testing each step. “Come on, honey. Put your foot on this rock right here.”
“I don’t know.”
“Sandy, we don’t have any choice.”
“Yeah,” she moaned. Getting on her hands and knees she slowly stepped down, feeling for the rock.
“You’re doin’ fine. Just listen to me.”
“I always listen to you.”
“Well, do what I tell ya.”