Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

"Shhh. Don't say anything."

She felt someone's hand over her mouth and started to struggle. Then she realized that the voice was familiar, and she relaxed.

"I'm not going to give you your medication this evening," she whispered. "But you've got to stay still. Pretend to be asleep. When it gets dark, I'll come back. You've got to get out of here. I overheard the doctor talking to someone on the phone. I'm afraid they want him to make you disappear. Permanently. Someone might be trying to find you, and they can't allow that. If you understand, nod."

It took all her strength and concentration to move her head up and down. Was this real? Was someone actually going to help her? She'd given up since her last attempt to escape had failed. She felt a tear roll down the side of her face.

"Oh, hon. I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I want to call the police, but I can't risk it. I'm afraid he'll find out. Never mind. I'm giving you too much information. I just need to get you out of here. We don't have much time. Wait for me tonight. Don't let them know you're lucid."

There was a noise that came from somewhere down the hallway. The nurse withdrew a syringe from her pocket. For a moment she was afraid it was a lie. Just another way to torture her. Then the nurse stuck the needle into the mattress and pushed the plunger. After that she put the empty syringe back in her pocket.

"Don't worry. I won't let you down."

She closed her eyes and listened to the nurse's shoes slap against the cold tile floor as she walked away. Then the door closed, and she flinched as the deadbolt lock slid shut.

Was it possible? Was she really going to finally be free? She couldn't stop the tears. She'd actually given up. She prayed silently, asking God to keep her hope alive. She couldn't take it if she was disappointed one more time. She just couldn't.

But that probably wasn't a problem. If she didn't make it out this time, it sounded as if she'd never get another chance.

"READY TO GO OVER some of these other cases?" River asked.

Tony nodded. "I guess we have to."

River flipped through her notebook. "Okay, another case mentioned on April's site was the case of the Missing Mother. This happened almost ten years ago. It seems that Emily Smallwood left her house one night and never came back. She left her teenage son, Brandon, and her nine-year-old daughter, Stephanie at home. When she hadn't returned home by ten that night, Brandon called the police. They found her car in the parking lot at the grocery store. The car was locked, but Emily was gone. They've never found her. Her children are now in Colorado. Stephanie is living with Emily's ex-husband. Of course, the police checked out the husband, but it wasn't him. He had an airtight alibi. He was at work when Emily went missing. The police had no other leads, and the case went cold."

"Where did this happen?" Tony asked.

"In Michigan."

River frowned. "It's a long way away, but I guess we should still look into it."

"I agree. Did April get any leads?"

"Yes. A few months before April disappeared, someone who claimed to once be a friend of Brandon's called and told April that he thinks a couple of Brandon's friends killed Emily. It seems she was abusive. Stephanie had frequent bruises on her body. She told one of her friends that her mother beat her and burned her with cigarettes. It was never reported because Stephanie was afraid to tell anyone. The caller, who was anonymous, it seems, thinks Brandon had Emily killed to save his sister." She sighed. "It appears that Emily had recently inherited a nice amount of money from her mother after her passing. Emily had a little over a hundred thousand dollars in the bank, as well as a home that was completely paid off. Not long after she disappeared, Brandon turned eighteen, so when she was declared legally dead five years later, he inherited everything. She wasn't certain how much Brandon got when they sold the house, but she guesses it was at least three-hundred thousand dollars. It would seem like a fortune to those kids."

Tony shook his head. "First of all, I have to assume the police checked out all these leads. Killing for an inheritance is common. If the police had found anything, they would have arrested Brandon."

"But what if they didn't know about the abuse?" River asked. "I think it gives him an even stronger motive. It doesn't sound like the kids mentioned that. And if Stephanie never saw a doctor or was taken to a hospital..."

"Did April contact the police in Michigan?"

River shook her head. "Like I said, she got these tips not long before she disappeared. I don't think she had time. Besides, the tip came from someone who wanted to stay anonymous. She didn't have any follow up notes in her notebook, and there wasn't any update on her podcast."

"Okay, let's call the police in..."

"Walker. Walker, Michigan."

"Okay, we'll contact them and give them April's information. Then we keep looking." Tony prayed silently that they'd find something sooner than later. If April was alive, they needed to find her before it was too late. Someone was nervous, and Tony didn't want April's captors to decide they couldn't afford to allow her to stay that way. Going through her notes and reading the pages on her podcasts was rather surreal. If April was already dead, it was as if she was helping them crack cases from the grave.