Truth is in the Darkness (Paynes Creek Thriller Book 2) Read online

  The fact that I could cycle through these thoughts proved that I watched way too much crime television. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Those shows had taught me I needed to be very careful.

  “I was with Lily last night,” I said. “We met at the Kuster farm out on North Midland Road.”

  “What?” My mom’s voice was almost a whimper.

  “Let him talk,” Dad told her, placing a calming hand on her arm.

  The officers looked at each other again. I was positive they were telepathic and were judging me guilty for whatever had happened to Lil.

  “She left me around two a.m.,” I said. “We were happy. She was happy. I was back home and was in bed by two thirty. I want to help you figure out what happened, but I’m not sure how helpful I can be.”

  Officer Bale made notes on his pad. “Did you drive her home?”

  “No. She insisted on driving herself. We both drove our own vehicles and met up at the gate to the Kuster farm.”

  “And she was driving her car when she left the Kuster farm?”

  “Yes.”

  “And that was the last time you saw her?”

  “That’s right.”

  Officer Bale looked up. “That gives us a starting point.”

  “We’ll still need you to come to the station,” Officer Rankin said. “As you were the last person to see Lil, we’ll need you to come in for a formal interview and to make a statement.”

  My dad stepped forward and placed a hand on my arm. “Say nothing more, son.” He faced Rankin. “We’ll be there with our attorney as soon as we can.”

  When the cops were gone, I shuffled over to the living room sofa and sank down into the cushions. I dropped my face into my hands, and my body shook as I let go of the emotions I had held in while the police were here.

  “Honey?” my mother said. She sat next to me and placed an arm around me.

  My dad sat on the other side of me. “Son,” he said, “you can tell us anything. Nothing you say will change how much we love you. Let us help you.”

  I lifted my head and looked from Mom to Dad. “I didn’t hurt Lily. I couldn’t. Everything I just said is the God’s-honest truth. But I have to know she’s okay.”

  “Then I’ll go to the hospital right this second and find out how she’s doing,” Mom said. She hugged me tightly.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Now go wash up and put on some clean clothes while your father calls the attorney.”

  Six

  Lil

  The sound of moaning stirred me from my sleep. I struggled to open my eyes. My head throbbed.

  “Lily?” a man’s voice said. “Can you hear me?”

  I heard the moaning again. This time I realized it was coming from me. “My head,” I said, but my voice sounded foreign, and my words were muffled, even to me.

  “Can you open your eyes?”

  I lifted my hand and pushed at the man’s hand. I tried opening my eyes, and as I did, memories came racing into my head of a man grabbing me and sticking me with something—a needle and syringe.

  I began fighting harder. “Stop! Don’t touch me!” I yelled. “Leave me alone.”

  “Lily,” the man said, his tone authoritative. I felt pressure on my arms. “I’m Dr. Jamison. You’re safe. You’re at Hopewell General. You’re in the hospital.”

  I stopped struggling and opened my eyes wide. I stared into the dark blue eyes of a man with salt-and-pepper hair.

  “There she is.” He smiled when my eyes met his. “You’ve given everyone quite a scare.”

  I looked around the room. I was definitely in a hospital. And most importantly, the doctor holding me gently in place was not the man who had nearly kidnapped me.

  “How—how did I get here?”

  “We’ll get to that.” He leaned over me and pushed a button on the wall. “Let’s get a nurse in here to help.”

  Seconds later, a female nurse walked in. She wore pink scrubs decorated with Wonder Woman Band-Aids. “Hello, Lily. I’m Betty Ruth.”

  “I know you,” I said. My voice cracked as if I’d woken with a sore throat. “You’re Amy’s mom.”

  “That’s right.” She explained to Dr. Jamison. “Amy goes to school with Lily.”

  “Oh, well, good.” He looked down at me. “Can you tell me what day it is, Lily?”

  “I hope it’s Saturday.” If it wasn’t, I’d been sleeping for longer than one night.

  He smiled. “That’s right.” He lifted a penlight and shined it in my eye. “Can you follow the light?”

  I did as he instructed.

  “That’s good.” He grabbed my wrist and took my pulse. There was an IV drip attached to my right arm, and a thick bandage wrapped around my left.

  “There are quite a few people who want to speak with you,” Betty Ruth said.

  “Is my Grammy here?”

  “She is. She’s desperate to know you’re okay.”

  “Betty Ruth will get the rest of your vitals,” Dr. Jamison said. “Can I ask you a few questions while she does?”

  I nodded, and Betty Ruth slid a blood pressure cuff over my arm.

  “Do you remember what happened to you last night? I just want to make sure I’m taking care of everything you need to be treated for.”

  “Someone grabbed me in the bathroom of the Stop & Go.”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  I lifted my left arm, which was bandaged from my hand to my elbow.

  “That’s a sprain,” the doctor said. “We’ll get you a much more comfortable brace when the swelling has gone down a bit. We’ve been icing it off and on. Did the person who grabbed you do that?”

  I considered the question. “I don’t think so. I must have done it when I fell from the car.”

  “You fell from a car?”

  “Yeah.” I paused as I tried to remember exactly how it happened. “A man grabbed me in the bathroom. He stuck a needle in my arm.” My eyes widened, and I felt the panic welling up again. “He drugged me.”

  The doctor placed his hands on my arms again, as if to hold me in place, much like the man had last night. “Lily, listen to me. You’re okay. You were drugged, but we flushed it from your system.”

  I looked down at the doctor’s grip on my arms, and he quickly released me.

  “He stuffed me in the trunk of his car,” I said. “I was sluggish. It was hard to move. Hard to stay awake.”

  “Honey,” Betty Ruth said. “Did this man force himself on you?”

  I angled my head. “You mean, did he rape me?” Betty Ruth was clearly not trained in helping assault victims.

  She nodded with a look of pity.

  “No. He didn’t get a chance. But he kept telling me to be a good girl. And that I’d be rewarded if I was good.” I shivered at the memory of the man’s thumb across my breast, and I crossed my arms over my body, being careful not to knock my wrist, which was throbbing.

  Both the nurse and doctor seemed to relax a little, but they traded a look.

  “What is it?” I asked. “You’re not telling me something.” Was I not remembering everything right. Had the man raped me?

  No. I would remember that.

  “It’s nothing, honey,” the nurse said. “Would you be up to speaking with the police? They’re working hard to piece together what happened to you.”

  I didn’t want to speak with the police—I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. I wanted away from this hospital. I wanted my Grammy. And Coop. Oh. God. Did Coop even know I was in the hospital?

  “Can my Grammy come in while they do?” I asked.

  “Of course.” Betty Ruth patted my good hand.

  “I’ll go let your mom and grandmother know you’re awake,” Dr. Jamison said. He turned and left, leaving me alone with Betty Ruth.

  “What are you and Dr. Jamison keeping from me?” I asked.

  Betty Ruth tilted her head to the side and smiled warmly. She sat gently on the edge of the bed. “When you came in last ni
ght, you were unresponsive, so we gave you a full examination.”

  “As in…” I paused. “That’s why you asked if he had forced himself on me.”

  There was a knock on the door before Betty Ruth could answer, and Grammy rushed in.

  “Oh, my poor dear.” She hurried to my side and scooped up my uninjured hand.

  My mother came in right after. From the hall, the voice of a male nurse shouted, “Ma’am! One person at a time. She shouldn’t be overwhelmed with visitors.”

  My mother practically knocked Grammy out of the way. “That boy is never going to touch you again,” she said. “My sweet Calla Lily. I promise he’s going to pay for this.”

  Boy? I looked from my mother to Grammy. “What is she talking about?”

  Grammy pulled my mother back and guided her to a brown leather chair. “Have a seat, Linda. You’re not helping.”

  “Well, I never,” Linda said, irritated.

  Two uniformed police officers entered the room—a man and a woman. The woman spoke first.

  “Lily, my name is Officer Rankin. This is my partner, Officer Bale. Is it okay if we ask you a few questions?”

  What I wanted was for everyone but my Grammy to leave. But I nodded.

  “You tell them what happened, baby,” my mother said. “Tell them what he did to you so they can lock him up and throw away the key.”

  Grammy reached for my mother and tried to lead her away. “Linda, dear, why don’t we go out into—”

  I panicked at the thought of Grammy leaving with my mother. “Mom,” I said quickly. “I’m really hungry. And the thought of hospital food…”

  My mother rushed to my side. “What can I get you, baby girl?”

  “I would love a sub sandwich. Turkey. Do you mind getting that for me?”

  I wasn’t really hungry. I just wanted to give Mom something to do so she would leave and Grammy could stay.

  Grammy caught on quickly and stood back. She always claimed I knew just how to handle my mother. Well… when she wasn’t drinking. When Mom drank, no one “handled” her.

  “Of course, baby.” Mom calling me “baby” like this had me wincing inside. I hated when she called me that.

  “Thank you.”

  When Mom was gone, I looked at Officer Rankin. “Can my grandmother stay?”

  “Of course. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

  Grammy returned to my side and scooped up my hand. Officer Bale sat in the chair Mom had vacated and pulled out a notepad.

  “Can you tell us what happened last night?” Rankin asked.

  I sucked in a labored breath. “I can tell you what I remember.”

  I related everything, starting when I arrived at the Stop & Go. I described the two cars, the people I saw there. I told them how I went into the bathroom, and a man forced me in, injected me with something, and stuffed me into the trunk of his car. I told them how the gas station clerk was helping him—how she came outside and talked to him. And then the car drove off.

  “Somehow I managed to stay conscious enough to find the emergency release latch, pop the trunk, and roll out of the car. I don’t remember anything after that.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut for a couple of beats. I couldn’t believe the man hadn’t stopped. That he didn’t notice the trunk pop open. And I was lucky not to have been hurt worse in the fall. How fast were we going?

  “How did you find me?” I asked.

  “A woman found you. Apparently her dog had woken her up, begging to use the bathroom, so she happened to be standing on her front porch when she heard a strange moaning. It took her a second to realize that it was a person—you—lying on the road in front of her house.”

  I began to shake. “He didn’t come back for me,” I whispered mainly to myself. I turned my frightened eyes to Grammy’s. “What did he want with me?”

  Grammy leaned in and gathered me in her arms. “I don’t know, my darling.”

  “Did you see this man?” Officer Rankin asked. “Could you describe him to a sketch artist?”

  “Yes. I’m sure I could.” I suddenly remembered something else. “And there was a third person too. I didn’t see him—I was already in the trunk. He sounded younger.”

  “Did you recognize his voice?” Officer Bale asked.

  “No.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Not much. The other man ordered him to get rid of my car. Have you found it?”

  “Not yet,” Officer Rankin said.

  “Did either of these men assault you sexually?” Officer Bale asked.

  “No.” Tears burned my eyes. “He would have, though.” I was sure of that. “He said I needed more discipline before he passed me along to a client.”

  Grammy looked up at the ceiling, her mouth moving as if in prayer. The officers traded questioning looks, as if they were surprised. Or doubting?

  Officer Rankin looked down at her watch. She was nervous about something.

  “Grammy,” I said. “What’s going on? Am I saying something wrong?”

  Grammy placed her hands on my cheeks. “Oh, my dear child, no. Everyone is just relieved that you’re okay, and that you’re able to explain what happened.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “The police think Coop raped you last night and left you for dead on the side of the road.”

  “What?” I practically yelled. “Coop would never hurt me! He wasn’t even there.”

  “We don’t think anything yet,” Officer Rankin said to Grammy. “We’re merely considering all possibilities so that we can catch the person who did this to your granddaughter.”

  Grammy stood. “Then why don’t you go call that sketch artist. My granddaughter needs to rest before talking to you further.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” said Officer Bale, “but you’re not her legal guardian. You can’t—”

  Grammy took a step toward the officer. “Lil, sweetie?” she said, without taking her eyes off Bale. “You mind tapping the button for the nurse on the side of your bed? I’m sure you’re feeling some mild discomfort.”

  Officer Rankin held up both hands. “No need. We’ll step out for a minute and make that phone call. But when your granddaughter’s discomfort subsides, we’d like to get more information so we can get to work finding this guy before he hurts anyone else.”

  The officers left, and my grandmother smiled sweetly at me.

  “Where’s Coop?” I asked.

  “They’re holding him at the police station.” She held up a hand when I started to react. “I’m sure they’re just trying to get whatever information they can.”

  “You’re downplaying this. I saw how everyone was looking at me, talking to me. The doctor and nurse, too. They all think Coop…” My voice trailed off, and I reached for Grammy’s arm. “You have to make sure he’s okay.”

  “Coop will be fine. His father is with him. You just need to concentrate on getting better.”

  Tears fell from my eyes. “Grammy… that man… he was going to do exactly what the police think Coop did to me. And so much more. The way he spoke—calling me ‘little girl.’ It was creepy and terrifying. And… he acted like he knew me.”

  Grammy cocked her head. “Knew you? How?”

  “I don’t know. It was something he said.” I closed my eyes and tried to remember. “I can’t remember exactly. Did he say he knew me? Or that he’d been waiting for me?” I knew that didn’t make sense. How could anyone have known I’d be stopping at that gas station at that time of night?

  Seven

  Coop

  “Did they give her something?” I asked Lil’s grandmother, Barb. “Why won’t she wake up?”

  I was sitting in a chair beside Lil’s bed, holding her hand. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her face. I was just praying she was really okay. The doctors had assured us she was fine, but I wouldn’t believe it until she woke up and told me so herself.

  Barb laid a hand on my shoulder. “She’s just worn out after all she’s been through.”


  Barb was my mom’s best friend. She was a young grandmother, having had Lil’s mom when she was barely twenty, and Mom had had me late in life after years of infertility issues, so the two of them were close in age. And Barb had always been kind to me. In fact, if it weren’t for her, I’d still be in the dark about what was going on. The cops had apologized to me for their ruthless interrogation, giving me some “We were just doing our job” bullshit, but they still wouldn’t tell me what had actually happened. Barb had. It was horrible. But it was better knowing the truth than imagining something even worse.

  “Was she able to give the sketch artist enough details?” I asked.

  Barb laughed. “She even took the sketchpad and drew part of the sketch herself when the artist couldn’t get it right.”

  “That sounds like her.” I smiled, leaning my head against our clasped hands.

  “She’s going to be fine. She’s strong,” Barb said. “We just need to be grateful that she was able to break free. She says she knew how to open the trunk because of some idle conversation with Drew last summer. I’ll have to thank that boy.”

  “I will too,” I said, still analyzing every twitch and movement in Lil’s face. There was a bruise on her temple. The doctors hadn’t said anything about a concussion. They would have checked, right?

  “This is all my fault,” I said. “I never should have talked her into meeting me. We were reckless.”

  “Cooper Adams, look at me.”

  Barb’s voice took on an edge. I had no choice but to lift my head and turn to her.

  “You and my Lily are two young adults who did what young people in love do. Hell, you did what any couple in love does. You looked for a way to be together. The only person responsible for Lily lying in this hospital bed is the man who tried to kidnap her.”

  I nodded, pretending I agreed. When Barb Kaufman spoke, you listened. Period. But I still felt responsible. If I hadn’t talked Lil into sneaking out of the house to meet me, this never would have happened.

  The door to Lil’s room opened, and Linda walked in. “You,” she said through gritted teeth. “This is all your fault.”