Altercation Read online

  He chuckled. “Oh, yes.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Mrs. Murphy? Agent Reynolds here, from the FBI. Are you at home? I’ll be there in ten minutes. No, tonight’s better for me. Don’t worry about it. I’m on my way.”

  Megan stared out at the road, lit only by car headlights. “What was that about?”

  “I don’t think she wanted me to come over.” He cleared his throat. “Maybe you should stay in the car for this one.”

  It was true that she had not done a lot of good at the last house. “I’ll stay out of the way.”

  They pulled up to the large Victorian-style house. The first thing Megan noticed was the For Sale sign decorating the lawn. She looked at her father.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t know about it.”

  Mrs. Murphy greeted them at the door, giving them a smile that looked like a grimace. “Sorry.” She reached up and smoothed her wavy blond hair. “We expected your family tomorrow.” She led them into the sitting room, and then shouted up the stairs, “Jacob! The FBI agent is here!”

  The man appeared at the top of the stairwell, looking disheveled with red stubble on his face and his white shirt partly untucked.

  “Hello.” He got to the bottom of the stairs and held out a hand. “Jacob Murphy.”

  “Agent Reynolds.”

  They shook hands, and Mr. Murphy gestured to the couch. “Won’t you sit down, honey?” He glared at his wife.

  She ignored him, lifting her chin to give Mr. Reynolds a sassy smile. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “No.” He rubbed his eye. “Please, sit down. I have some important news.”

  His serious demeanor finally sunk in, and Mrs. Murphy’s smile vanished. She sank onto the couch, pulling a throw pillow into her lap.

  “What is it?” Mr. Murphy asked.

  “The girls have disappeared again.”

  Mrs. Murphy shot to her feet. “What?”

  Mr. Reynolds held a hand out. “Please, be calm. It’s only been a few hours, and the FBI is searching for them.”

  “Be calm?” Her hands clenched into fists, veins popping out on her neck. “That’s my baby out there!”

  “Sit, woman!” Mr. Murphy bellowed. “Let the poor man speak!”

  She spun around. “Shut up. Actually, go play solitaire on your laptop. That’s what you do all day, anyway!”

  Mr. Reynolds turned to Megan. “Megan, wait outside.”

  She didn’t need to be told twice. She hurried away.

  It seemed like they screamed forever. Megan tried not to listen, but she didn’t want to wander away from the porch. She was a bit jumpier than she used to be, and the shadows in the driveway frightened her.

  Finally her father emerged, looking tired and drained.

  “That did not go well,” he sighed.

  She followed him to the car. “From seductress to executioner, huh?”

  “Huh.” His lip quirked upward. “You saw that?”

  “How could anyone miss it?”

  They drifted into silence in the car. Two down, one to go. Megan wished she hadn’t come. What good had she accomplished? She felt more discouraged than ever.

  Mrs. Rivera greeted them before they shut the car doors. She must’ve heard the car drive over the gravel. “Can I help you?” Her words came out with a slight Spanish accent.

  “Mrs. Rivera.” Mr. Reynolds held out a hand. “I’m Dave Reynolds, FBI. We spoke a few days ago. You didn’t expect us until tomorrow. I tried to call, but no one answered.”

  She smiled, emphasizing the strong jaw line and wide cheekbones. “Well, hello! Come in! The wind is blowing. It will get chilly.”

  A young boy sat glued to the television set, playing an interactive DVD. The other two houses had been devoid of children, and Megan had forgotten that Jaci had a brother. Two brothers. Where was the other one?

  “This is César.” Mrs. Rivera gestured to the child. She leaned over the banister on the staircase and called upstairs. “Seth! Mr. Reynolds is here from the FBI!”

  “Coming.”

  Megan caught her breath as Seth appeared. His cropped, wavy black hair and deep brown eyes had her full attention. His eyes were so similar to his mother’s, but simmering with something dark and angry.

  He glanced at Megan and she looked away, face burning. He’d caught her staring. She smoothed her green turtleneck. She must look like a grade-school kid. Her eyes lifted, unable to peel themselves from Seth for long. She followed him into the living room, watching the back of his neck from a safe distance.

  “Hi, I didn’t think you were coming over until tomorrow.” His English came out perfect and crisp. He offered his hand to her father.

  “We weren’t.” Mr. Reynolds shook his hand. “That’s my daughter, Megan.”

  Megan flashed a smile when he turned. “Hi.”

  “Hey.” He jerked his head in greeting and swiveled back to her father. “So why did you come by early?”

  Megan exhaled. He hadn’t even noticed her.

  Mr. Reynolds looked at Mrs. Rivera. “The girls are missing.”

  “No,” she breathed. Her olive skin paled.

  César looked up from his game. “I thought Jaci was found!”

  Seth tightened his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest. “Explain.” The darkness in his eyes sizzled.

  “Earlier today she and her friends were being moved to a safer location. The driver never got them to the rendezvous. The car has been located, but not the girls.”

  “I thought you were going to protect them!”

  “Seth,” Mrs. Rivera said. Her fingers clutched at the sofa, eyes wide.

  “We’ll find them, son,” Mr. Reynolds said.

  “I’m not your son!” Seth’s voice came out with so much rage that Megan shuddered. “How can we trust you? For all we know, you’re in on it! How do we even know that Jaci was found in the first place?”

  “We found them. I saw her.” Megan didn’t know where she found the courage to talk, in the midst of his angry tirade.

  He turned his eyes on her. Megan faltered, twisting her fingers around each other. “She stayed with us.”

  Seth dropped his head and stumbled over to the couch. His mother caught him. He clutched her, his body stiff.

  Mr. Reynolds cleared his throat. “I hate to cut this short, but I have an appointment in twenty minutes with the detective on the case. Do you have any further information about Mr. Rivera?”

  Mrs. Rivera shook her head. “Nothing new.”

  “I’ll be in touch.” Mr. Reynolds moved to the front door. Megan moved into step behind him.

  “Hey, wait.”

  She stopped at Seth’s voice.

  “Yes?” Mr. Reynolds asked.

  “Would it be all right if your daughter stayed? I want to ask her some questions about Jaci.” He met her eyes as he approached. “If that’s okay.”

  “Megan?” her father asked.

  Megan nodded, trying to conceal her glee. “Sure. Of course.”

  “I’ll be back when I finish with the detective.”

  “Okay.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Well.” Seth gestured toward the door. “You want to sit outside?”

  Megan shrugged. “Sure.”

  It was dark now, and crickets chirped under the wooden porch. A swing sat to the left of the front door, but Seth moved to the steps and sat down. Megan joined him. She clasped her hands in front of her and studied him out of the corner of her eye.

  Seth stared at the palms of his interlaced hands and sighed. “Sorry for that explosion. Things have been tense for me.”

  “I understand,” Megan said.

  “No, you don’t.” His hard voice allowed no room for e
mpathy. The skin around his eyes tightened and he glared out over the yard. His tone softened. “Sorry. I just get so angry.” He looked at her. “How long were you with Jaci?”

  Megan pinched her lips together and tried to remember. “Almost a week. The girls stayed with my family while the FBI arranged a safe house for them.”

  “How was she?”

  “She didn’t look too bad, for someone who’d been in a forest for a month. Physically, I think she was okay.”

  “Emotionally?”

  Megan hesitated. “Um, well, she didn’t really talk about what happened. She seemed to be doing better than the other girls, though. I mean, Amanda acted like it didn’t faze her and Sara cried. A lot. Jaci kept her head, I think.” She risked a glance at Seth and shoved a piece of her reddish-brown hair behind her ear.

  “Did she ever mention me?”

  “Um. Yeah. She said she had two brothers.” Megan wished she could give him a better answer.

  He slammed his hands down on his thighs. “I’m just so frustrated. I sit here pent up with anxiety, nerves, I want to do something. I can’t think. School’s a joke. Church—” he paused. “Are you a churchy girl?”

  “Uh-huh.” She gave a quick nod.

  “It’s Megan?”

  Again a nod.

  “Megan, it’s not that I don’t believe in God anymore, like my mom thinks. I do. I really do. I’m so angry at him! You couldn’t find a better girl than Jaci. And Callie was pretty close. What did it get them? Kidnapped. Dead.” He bit off each word and spat it out, eyes flashing.

  Megan pulled back, grateful the anger wasn’t directed at her. “I—I’m sorry.”

  As quickly as it had come, his fury faded. When he spoke again, his voice was cool and collected. “Do you know where the safe house was?”

  Megan nodded. “I know what city. I overheard my dad making plans for their custody.”

  “You were their friend?”

  She blushed and tucked another strand behind her ear. “Um, yeah. For a bit.”

  “So where were they?” He stared at her now, those dark brown eyes penetrating hers.

  Megan looked down, swaying on the steps. “Well, I, I’m not supposed to say. It’s confidential.”

  He waited, not taking his eyes from her face.

  “Cincinnati. Ohio.” Did I just tell him? I can’t believe I just told him!

  “That’s where they disappeared from?”

  “Yes.” Megan whispered the response, her heart pounding from her betrayal.

  “Anything else you know?”

  “Not that I can think of.”

  Seth stood, and she followed him with her eyes. “Where are you going?”

  “To do something.” He pulled a keychain from his pocket and rattled it. “You might be helpful. You can come if you want.”

  She blinked at him. Do something? Come where? Then she understood what he meant. The blood drained from Megan’s face and she leapt to her feet. “You can’t! It’s dangerous! The FBI is looking, the police are looking—you’ll just make things worse!”

  “Shut up.” He stepped up to her, pressing a hand over her mouth. “You don’t want to come, fine. But don’t screw it up for me.” Dropping his hand, he walked toward an orange jeep sitting in the driveway. He got inside and the engine roared to life.

  “Seth?” Mrs. Rivera’s voice carried from inside the house.

  Megan bolted down the pathway. “Wait!”

  “What?” He had the vehicle in reverse and was ready to move. “Don’t even try to talk me out of this.”

  “I’m not.” She went around to the passenger side. “I’m coming with you.” I’m not really doing this. This isn’t me. I can’t believe I’m doing this. “But we better go. My father will be back, and then all of the FBI will be looking for this car.”

  He raised an eyebrow and barely waited for her to get in before they took off. “What do you suggest?”

  “We need a different car.”

  Seth nodded. “I know just the place.” He roared down the gravel drive, spitting rocks out behind him.

  Megan sank back into her chair, her face flushed with shame. Her parents were going to freak.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jaci couldn’t see anything. She had been awake for maybe twenty minutes. Her neck and head ached where she had crashed into the wall. She put her hands over her face, recalling the way the man had groped her before throwing her in. Had he done that to Amanda, too?

  Amanda smashed her head into the wall and woke up with a gasp. “Jaci?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Are we alone?”

  “I think so. I haven’t heard a sound. Did you see anything when he brought you in?”

  “There’s a window in the room. It’s completely open, but I don’t know how to get out of this closet.”

  Jaci sighed and kicked at the door in front of her. “Yeah, that’s what I saw too.” She shifted, feeling the way the hard floor bit into her tail bone. If she weren’t in such close quarters with Amanda, it would probably be much colder in the closet. Her bladder twinged painfully. “Do you think they found Sara?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she got away. Got to the police and back into safety.”

  Jaci worried about Sara’s state of mind. Would she go to the police? “Well, she’s not in here with us. That’s a good sign.”

  It was becoming hard to ignore her body. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Amanda.”

  “What?”

  “I have to pee.”

  Silence. And then, “Me too.”

  “Huh.” Jaci gave a dry laugh. “What do we do?”

  “I’m not peeing in here.”

  Jaci had to agree with the sentiment. They were stuck in this tiny room. “I hope someone comes for us soon.” She thought of that creepy driver and shuddered. That reminded her of another question. “Did he touch you?”

  “What?” Amanda’s voice rose in pitch. “Who?”

  “That man. The one who kidnapped us.”

  “The Mexican?”

  Jaci made a face. Anyone Latino was, of course, Mexican. “Yeah, him. Did he touch you?”

  “No. Why? Did he touch you?”

  She hated to admit this. “Yes.”

  Amanda gasped. “Jaci! Did he—”

  “No, thank heavens.” Jaci shook her head, though in the pitch blackness of the closet, she knew Amanda couldn’t see her. “No. It was very fast. He just put his hands on me. And then threw me inside. Creep.” Amanda didn’t say anything else, and Jaci tapped her heels against the concrete floor. “Amanda, I’ve really got to go.”

  “What’s that?” Amanda whispered.

  Jaci heard it then. Heavy footsteps outside the room. A faint light came in under the door. She froze, heart thumping. She suddenly preferred the possibility of never being let out.

  Jaci heard the key fitting into the lock on the closet. The door swung open, and there he was. Jaci couldn’t tear her eyes from the Creep who had kidnapped them.

  He sneered at her. “Potty break. One at a time.” Grabbing Amanda’s arm, he yanked her up.

  “Jaci!” Amanda cried, just as he slammed the closet door shut.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Megan and Seth sped out of Shelley as fast as they could. Arriving in Idaho Falls, Seth drove out of town and into the back roads.

  “Where are we going?” Megan asked.

  “To get a different car.” He turned right, and the lights lit up a white rambler at the end of a long driveway. “Put your head down.”

  Megan did as she was told, her heart racing. “You know these people, right?”

  He laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. �
�Yeah.”

  Seth drove up to the porch, honked the horn twice, and then drove around to the back of the house. He got out of the car and started covering it with branches.

  Megan sat up. “What are you doing?”

  “Stay down!” he hissed.

  A moment later a light turned on, flooding the backyard and porch.

  “Seth!” a high-pitched, female voice said, exuberating bubbly excitement. “Big surprise!”

  “Hey, Cindy,” Seth said, continuing to drop branches on the car. “I need a big favor.”

  “How big?” Her girly voice was right outside the jeep now, and Megan was dying to lift her head and catch a peek.

  “Big. I need to borrow your car.”

  “Whoa!” She laughed. “And what am I supposed to do, hike up my skirts and hitch-hike to school?”

  “Ah, I’m not worried about you,” Seth replied, a teasing note entering his voice. “I’m sure all you have to do is hint at Craig or Luke and you’ll have a ride anywhere you want.”

  “I’ve missed you, Seth.” Her voice changed, dropping lower. Megan imagined her leaning in to Seth. “Don’t you miss me?”

  “Of course I do,” he said, his tone matching hers.

  “Do you still think it’s better if we see other people?”

  “I don’t know. Things haven’t really changed—”

  She inhaled sharply.

  “But maybe they will,” he inserted. “Let’s talk some more when I get back.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I can’t tell you.” His voice hardened. “And Cindy, I need you to not tell anyone you’ve seen me. Say your car’s in the shop. Promise you won’t say anything.”

  “Are you in trouble, Seth?” She didn’t seem too disturbed by the idea.

  “Don’t ask questions, Cindy. It’s better you don’t know.”

  “I’ll get my keys.”

  “Bring the car back here. I have some things I need to put in it.”

  Megan stayed quiet, listening to the footsteps crunch away. A moment later a dark car rolled up to them.