CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

C HAPTER T WENTY-TWO

The Next Day

I t was just after midnight when Dickie finally pulled off the interstate at Blaine. Eileen was not far behind. As suspected, he drove directly to the Cascade Inn and parked in the rear. Eileen pulled out her surveillance gear and walked along the side perimeter of the building. She set up a small motion-activated camera to cover the rear, then climbed a big oak toward the front, where she could view the front and sides. Once she was situated, she logged into the camera to observe when Dickie left the building. With the little advance warning they had, it wasn’t possible to set up any equipment ahead of time. They were on a seat-of-their-pants operation.

About thirty minutes later, her phone began to blink, letting her know that the camera had been engaged and was recording activity. From what she could tell, Dickie was removing a box the size of a dishwasher from the building. He was using a hand truck. He looked in every direction, then opened the rear doors of his van. He stood for a moment with his hand on his chin. It appeared he was trying to figure out how to get the box into his truck. He turned the hand truck around and tilted it back. Then he climbed into the van and pulled the box up and inside. When the large box was completely inside, he jumped out, shut the doors, and locked them. He looked around again before getting in. Eileen knew he was going to drive off, so she scrambled down the tree and jogged over to her vehicle. Within a minute, Dickie was driving past her. She checked the GPS signal. He was heading back to the interstate.

* * *

Lori was waiting in terror for the worst to come. It might have been two days. She wasn’t sure, but she’d been served four meals by a masked man. She heard the bolt on the door slide open. Again, a masked man walked in, but this time he was carrying two zip ties, tape, a hood, and a very big box that had the name of an appliance company on it. She didn’t know if she would throw up or pee in her pants. The man didn’t say anything except, “Show me your wrists.”

Dickie debated whether or not he should tie them behind her back or in front. It was a long trip. He knew she wasn’t going anywhere, so he opted for tying them in the front. She’d be a little more comfortable. That was probably the first act of consideration he’d given anyone in a while.

Dickie wasn’t naturally evil. Much like his boss, he was in way over his head. Then he tied her ankles and said, “Get on your knees.”

Lori was sure the masked man was going to kill her. Instead, he placed the opening of the box over her head. “Now lie down on one side.” She obeyed as he turned the box to one side. He shoved her legs in farther, closed the opening, and taped it shut. She was in darkness except for the sliver of light from the corners where the tape didn’t cover the flaps all the way. She felt a slight movement as he slid something under the box. She was tilted and then felt as if she were moving on wheels. The wheeling sensation stopped after several yards. She heard doors opening. Then more tilting. She heard him grunt, and then she was horizontal again. She heard doors slam shut and lock. An engine started, and she was in motion again. Maybe he was going to take her somewhere else to kill her. Again, she began to pray.

* * *

Eileen hung back a few cars and sent Avery a message:

Heading south on 15.

* * *

It was three hours before Dickie pulled off to get gas. Eileen was in need, as well, so she waited for him to pull away before she pulled the pump from the machine. She still had him on GPS, and it wouldn’t take long for her to catch up. Less than ten minutes later, she had him in her sights. Another three hours passed, and then he finally got off the exit at Four Corners and headed to OR-214 to Silver Falls State Park. About a mile down the road was a large grocery store, and he pulled into the lot. Less than fifteen minutes later, he exited the store pushing a shopping cart. From what she could see, there was a large cooler and several bags. She had a terrifying thought. What is he going to do with that cooler?

About twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of a secluded cabin. Eileen drove about a hundred yards past. The sun was about to come up, and she had to find a blind where she could observe his movements. He backed his truck all the way to the beginning of the driveway, near a shed. Eileen crept along through the foliage and saw him remove the box, but he didn’t have a hand truck this time. He had to drag it up two steps and into the back door. Then he went back to the truck and brought the cooler and bags inside. Eileen wanted to run after him, tackle him, and find out what was in the box. But what if it was a dishwasher, and he was simply planning on staying at his cabin for a few days? She bit her lip. She hated being in these situations, but it was what she was paid to do: watch, listen, do not engage.

She alerted Avery.

Subject at cabin with large box. Suspicious.

Avery replied: Understood. No action .

That was Eileen’s message to do nothing except observe, unless she was actually witnessing foul play.

* * *

Inside the house, Dickie was rummaging around. Lori heard the sound of a drill. She was panicking and making muffled sounds of despair. She had been quiet for the duration of her captivity except for when she vehemently refuted working for anyone besides the Spanglers.

“Simmer down,” was all she heard after the drilling stopped. Her captor slipped a utility knife down one set of flaps. Then he abruptly left the cabin.

Eileen watched Dickie hurry from the back door to his van. He was carrying a small piece of black fabric. She clicked a photo.

Lori grasped the flap and tried to pull the box open, but she was in an awkward position and was only able to slip her fingers through the opening he’d made. She stopped when she heard him clambering the steps.

“Now where were we?” He pulled the flaps open and helped her up. “Don’t try anything funny.”

He opened the basement door and cut the ankle ties off. “You’re gonna go down those steps.” He switched the light on, and she began to descend into the basement. He was close on her heels. He opened another door. “Get in.”

Lori thought it might be one of those survivalist shelters and did as she was told. “Now sit down.” Again, she obeyed.

Dickie went back to the kitchen and then brought the cooler and the groceries to the basement. “Here you go. Make the best of it.” He removed the tape from her mouth. “If you behave, this will all be over soon.” He had absolutely no idea how, but he certainly hoped it would. He was confident she wasn’t going anywhere, so he cut the ties from her wrists. “See ya,” he said, as he left her sitting with tape over her mouth. When he got to the top of the stairs, he made sure the padlock was secured. Even if she screamed and yelled, there was no one around to hear her.

Dickie checked the clock on the stove. Almost seven. He’d been up for twenty-four hours. He needed some shut-eye before he went to work, so he stretched out on his couch.

Eileen crawled along the bushes to see if she could get a better look at what was going on inside. The kitchen light was still on, and the box was sitting in the middle of the room. About an hour later, she saw a shadow and ducked below the sill.

Dickie unfolded all the flaps of the box so it was now flat. He brought it to the shed, just in case he needed it for transporting something later. He went back into the cabin, took a shower, and left for work, with Eileen following not too far behind.

She sent a message for Avery:

Subject stashed FLAT box in shed. On the move.

Avery conveyed the information to the Sisters, while Fergus and Charles were reading the results of the lab tests.

* * *

The beeping of garbage trucks jolted Bart awake. He checked his watch. It was six in the morning. He’d missed his opportunity to get the machine out of the building. I can’t be everywhere at the same time. He figured the most important thing was to keep an eye on Isabelle. He craned his neck and spotted her car. Let out a sigh of relief. An hour later, he saw Isabelle go into the office, and then she shadowed the remaining housekeeper as she did her rounds.

By noon, Isabelle was anxious to get back to the main office. Kat had already left. Isabelle said her goodbyes and began her trip back to Salem.

Sasha was still on Bart’s tail, who was still on Isabelle’s. Bart pulled into the company’s employee parking lot in Salem, and Sasha moved her car to the end of the visitor lot.

Sitting in a car across from her was Eileen, who had been following Dickie all morning. He was still in his office.

Bart was exhausted. This secret-agent-man existence wasn’t half as exciting as he’d thought it would be. He dreaded having to drive back to Eugene later that evening, but he knew Dickie would split his spleen if he didn’t get the machine out of there stat. He wearily walked to the transportation shed, where Kathryn was checking out some of the vehicles.

“Nice line-up,” she commented, studying the modern Ford Transit Van with a high roof.

“Yeah. Got three of ’em in this year. Makes it a lot easier to haul and move around inside.”

Kat nodded. “I appreciate having room to move.”

Bart made small talk with her, asking the usual questions about how long she’d been driving, her favorite highway, rest stop, diner. Kat thought he seemed like a decent sort of guy. Too bad he’d hit a girl and kidnapped her.