She woke, dazed and uncertain. Terrifying images jumped through her
mind. Shivering and confused, she opened her eyes to total blackness. What is
this darkness? A dank, moldy odor assaulter her nose. Cold, damp air
penetrated her thin cotton jacket and pants. Her body tensed, frigid with fear.
“Where am I?” she screamed out loud into the barren darkness. As her eyes
adjusted, she spotted a tiny hint of dusk filtering in from a small six by six inch
square in a wall. Or was it a door?
“Easy now,” a soft voice replied nearby in the midst of the black void.
She heard a “snick” noise, followed by the appearance of a hazy beam of
light. She wasn't alone. Her shoulders drooped just a little with relief. Until her
mind reminded her that this could be her captor.
The 'voice' came again. “My name is Sharon. What's yours?”
She couldn't see much of the woman, a silhouette really, a solid gal wearing a
burnt orange top, with a flickering cigarette lighter in her trembling hand.
“Uh, uh, Jennifer,” she finally said. Her brain was having trouble processing
even the tiniest bit of information. “Where am I? What happened – do you
know? Are you...um...are you h ere like me?” Jennifer looked down, about the
only place the shaky light made visible. She saw her hands grasping a pile of
straw. Apparently this is what she was sitting upon. Another layer beneath
looked like dirt, littered with leaves and twigs – it smelled earthy and old.
“You were abducted,” Sharon told her gently. “Yes, like you I was brought
here aginst my will.” She didn't want the newcomer to become so terrified that
she would retreat inside herself, enmeshed in fear.
Jennifer struggled to think, trying to link pieces of memory together. Her head
hurt. Slowly taking a calm, deep breath, Jen burst into uncontrollable coughing.
Stale, lifeless air filled with pollen, mold and other unmentionables, irritated her
lungs. Deep breathing, her usual antidote for anxiety, wouldn't work. Jennifer
felt like crying – or screaming – or both. Deciding for the moment to leave her
scrambled thoughts alone, Jen turned her senses toward her surroundings.
“What is this place?”
“I'll answer all your quesitons,” Sharon promised, “but I have one first.”
Sharon paused. She hadn't talked to anyone but her captor – and out loud to
herself – for many days. “I've been here awhile. At first I tried to keep tracak
by looking out that little window and marking the days on the wall. But then I
feel like long perios of time disappear – is it hours? Or days? They must be
slipping drugs into the food they give me. So I really have no idea of how much
time has passed.” A little out of breath, Sharon had to stop a minute. Jennifer
was on pins and needles listening to her story. “So my question is, what month
and day is this?”
A groan of anguish escaped from Jennifer's lips. Just how long had this girl
been held captive? And more importantly, why?
CHAPTER ONE
COASTAL NEWS
Serving Southeastern Maine
BREAKING NEWS
VACATIONING WOMAN DISAPPEARS
In the tiny seaside town of Cliffside, an enclave for the rich
and richer, a young woman, a wife and mother, is missing.
Jennifer Latham, 34, disappeared yesterday when she left
their rented beach house to pick up a carton of milk.
Today the exclusive community is brimming with volunteers
and law enforcement searching for any clues to the
disappearance. Jennifer Latham's car was found parked
outside the village market and there is no indication that
she ever made it inside. Her purse, wallet, and cell phone
were still sitting on the front seat when crime scene units
arrived.
Reading the news bulletin, Alex paused, her finger on the scroll button. It
sounded eerily familiar. She concentrated hard, trying to come up with a
connection.
KERPLUNK! Screaming, Alex shot out of the chair. Lucy, one of her two
kitties, jumped up in front of the computer. Simon, meanwhile, lay sprawled
across the bookcase nearby, sound asleep. Lucy, the petite white cat, only slept
when necessary. There was absolutely too much going on. Who wanted to
sleep?
Lucy batted the computer mouse around then sat staring at the screen. Alex
glanced at what happened to her computer. On the screen was a newspaper
story she had read the other day. Strangely the headline read, “Vacationing
woman disappears.” This article came from the Mountain Gazette in New
Hampshire. A young couple from Boston was staying in a cabin in the foothills
of the mountains. The husband took the car to go into the small town to buy trail
mix, water and other supplies for the hike they planned the next morning. When
he came backhis wife was missing. Naturally the police suspected him.
Taking over the computer from Lucy, Alex checked to see if there had been a
follow-up story done since then. Sure enough, near the cabin, police had found
tire treads from a different vehicle, and also signs of a struggle. In the ensuing
fight the woman must have pulled a button off of her attacker's jacket. It was
obvious she fought hard as a few droplets of blood were also found at the scene
that did not match either her or her husband's blood type. It was being tested
for DNA. Randy Kessler was cleared but the mystery remained. What
happened to his wife, Sharon?
Alex checked the dates of the two stories. Jennifer Latham was abducted
almost two weeks after the first woman. Where was she? Did someone have
her? Is she already gone from this earth? No mention appeared about ransom
or any other explanation. Was this a giant coincidence and there were two
kidnappers, Possibly killers, on the loose in the northeast?
“Mrrow,” Lucy exclaimed, looking at the phone