The Girl Who Was Taken Read online

It took twenty minutes to finish her joint. She closed her eyes and swung for twenty more. Full swings like she was ten years old—knees cocked back and then flung forward to increase momentum, fists gripping the chains. She stared up at the night sky dotted with stars that blurred together. Finally, Nicole stopped kicking and let the swing slowly ease until she returned to a smooth rhythm where her feet dangled lazily, her toes barely touching the ground.

  She heard a whistle that startled her. It came again.

  “Roxie!”

  It was a man’s voice.

  Nicole checked the ground to make sure she’d snubbed out the end of her joint.

  “Roxie!”

  From the shadows, a man emerged holding a leash.

  “Come here, Roxie.”

  The man noticed Nicole on the swing and came over.

  “Excuse me. Did you see a dog run through here? A little Jack Russell terrier?”

  Nicole shook her head. “No, sorry.”

  “You been in the park long?”

  “Half hour, maybe.”

  The man stood and turned in a circle as he surveyed the dark playground. “I knew I shouldn’t have taken her off the leash.”

  Nicole stood from the swing, dizzy. The swaying had magnified the effects of the cannabis. She righted herself after a second. Felt good. “Roxie is her name?”

  “Yeah,” the man said. He pulled out his phone. “Here’s a picture. Have you seen her before?”

  Nicole moved closer to look at the man’s phone, which glowed like a flashlight in the dark night. Her eyes narrowed and her lips separated when she looked at the photo. She stuttered her words until they finally formed.

  “That’s my cousin. Julie.”

  “It is?” the man said. “That’s a shame. She’s missing, too. And she’s never coming home.”

  Before Nicole could react, a burlap bag came down over her head. Her muscles flexed and tensed, but the element of surprise was too great to overcome. Hands groped her and pulled her until she was shoved into the backseat of a car. She felt the momentum pull her into the seat as the car lurched from the parking lot and sped away.

  The ride was twenty minutes, during which her hands were duct-taped behind her back and the burlap sack secured over her head. She cried and pleaded but got no response from the man who’d taken her. She knew there were others in the car.

  “Why do you have that picture of my cousin?”

  She heard the roll of duct tape unpeel. Then two hands reached inside the burlap and sealed the tape across her mouth. She bucked in the backseat, only to be subdued roughly by the man next to her.

  Nicole finally gave in. Stopped moaning and fighting and kicking. She lay still under the weight of the stranger until the car ride ended and they lifted her from the backseat and dragged her through the woods. Nicole could feel the moss and sticks and leaves as they pulled her along, her feet barely working. She thought she felt train tracks under her shoes. Down a steep slope, eventually the rattle of a metal lock filled her ears, and then a door squeaked open. She was dragged through an entryway and forced to her knees, with the man behind her. She closed her eyes despite the burlap sack over her head. His mouth was by her ear and his breath penetrated the sack.

  “How do you like it? Same as your cousin? What was her name? Julie?”

  His hand slid along her waist and over her abdomen, then up to her chest, where he grabbed her breast and moaned into her ear.

  Nicole tried to scream through the tape as she bucked wildly away from his grasp. The man released his grip and pushed her forward. She fell face-first to the cold ground, hands behind her back and unable to break her fall. The burlap was yanked from her head.

  “We’ll wait until you calm down. Ain’t no fun when you fight the whole time.”

  The door closed before she could see his face. She stayed on her stomach and listened. No voices. No footsteps. Just silence. After a minute, she rolled onto her back and pulled her taped hands behind her legs and over her feet until her arms were in front of her. Then she ripped the tape from her mouth—a slow pull that distorted her lips and ruined her skin. She licked her lips and felt the sticky remains of adhesive.

  Several deep breaths helped rid the shakes brought on by the man whispering in her ear. She tried to think, to pull reason from the darkness around her. The effects of the joint were not helping. On her feet now, she walked slowly to the door, feeling her way through the dark until her bound hands grasped the door handle. She shouldered it hard but found no trace of give. She threw her hip into it, then a wild front kick that knocked her backward and landed her on the ground. Then she cried. All she could imagine was Julie, young and scared and shoved in some dark place like this. Her stomach swam with nausea. Finally, Nicole sat up, pushed herself into the corner, and allowed the damp earth to seep through her jeans and suck the warmth from her body.

  CHAPTER 14

  July 2016

  Four Weeks Before the Abduction

  “Nicole.”

  The voice was far off and jovial, turning her name into a three-syllable word. Ni-coooo-ole.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

  Her eyes opened. She’d fallen asleep. Not sure if she was dreaming, she stood up and listened. The seat of her jeans was soaking wet and her upper thighs numb with cold. She’d been asleep long enough that the marijuana no longer had a hold on her.

  “Oh, little Ni-cooo-ole. Where are you?” The voice was singsongy.

  Nicole waited. The voice grew closer. Then a loud bang on the wooden door.

  “You in there, Nicole? It’s time to come out!”

  The door flung open. Ten people stood outside the shed with flashlights, lighting the night and highlighting their faces like a pack of medieval tribesmen. The first two people to enter the shed were girls Nicole had never seen before, who raced in and bear-hugged her.

  “We love you, we love you, we love you,” one of them said.

  “You fucking guys!” Nicole said.

  “Freaky stuff, right?” the other girl said. “Did you piss your pants?” she asked, feeling Nicole’s wet jeans. “Yes!” The girl turned to the group. “She pissed herself!”

  The crowd cheered. The girls led her from the shed and, once outside, the crowd cheered louder. A man walked from the ranks of the pack. His flashlight pinned under his chin so the light cast his face in an eerie glow. “My little Nicole. You made it.”

  “Casey?” Nicole asked.

  “Who else would save you?”

  “You’re an asshole!”

  This brought the group to hysterics. There were loud whistles and catcalls.

  “What was with the picture of my cousin?”

  “All part of the experience,” Casey said.

  “And who was the guy? He grabbed my tits.”

  This brought more laughter and hoots.

  Casey smiled in the glow of the flashlight. “It wouldn’t be very convincing had we just asked you to jump in the car with us.” He shrugged. “Missing cousins, groping, a little ear moaning. It’s all part of the package you ordered.”

  He moved closer and grabbed her in a giant hug, whispering in her ear. “You did great, sweet thing. Welcome to the Capture Club! I knew you’d love it.”

  CHAPTER 15

  July 2016

  Three Weeks Before the Abduction

  Nicole lay on a beach towel on the bow of Rachel’s ArrowCat. They had anchored an hour earlier and now allowed their bikinied bodies to absorb the warm afternoon sun while other boats slowly settled around them. Not far away was Steamboat Eddie’s, a bar that sat on a very small island in the middle of the bay and served fried food and beer. Most summer days saw boats anchored and floating around the island, music blaring from the live band that played on the patio of Steamboat Eddie’s.

  “So where were you the other night?” Jessica asked.

  Nicole lay on her back with her arms at her sides, sunglasses covering her closed eyes.

  “Bu
sy.”

  “With Mystery Man?”

  “Maybe.”

  “So what do you guys do? Does he, like, take you to dinner?”

  “He’s not that cliché,” Nicole said.

  Jessica and Rachel waited.

  “We hang out.” Nicole didn’t consider telling her friends about her adventure the other night. Not only would they not understand the club, but they’d likely judge her as unstable or demented.

  “God,” Jessica said. “What’s the big secret?”

  “There’s no secret. You guys just wouldn’t get him. He’s not like the guys we hang out with. Like all the losers last weekend who were too scared to drop their shorts at Matt’s party. I mean, what’s the big friggin’ deal? It’s a penis, get over it.”

  Rachel and Jessica laughed.

  “I’ll never forget Chris Harmon’s face,” Jessica said. “He was literally gawking at you on the platform. Like, he didn’t even care that you noticed. I think he was in a trance.”

  “I’m probably the first naked girl he’s seen that wasn’t on his computer screen. Little perv. And, of course, he was the only one who didn’t do it.”

  “Him and Brandon. Thank God,” Rachel said. “Could you imagine his scrawny little body all naked and wet?”

  “Oh,” Jessica said. “Stop!”

  “You’re going to make me puke,” Nicole said as she pushed herself up onto her elbows and surveyed the growing pack of boats around them. It was Friday afternoon and the bay was packed. “What I’m more shocked about,” Nicole said, “is that those prudes actually got naked.”

  “Who? Megan?”

  “Yeah. Blew me away.”

  “She was cool that night,” Rachel said. “She hung out with all of us.”

  “She only came out to the platform because of Matt. She couldn’t stand the thought of him out there all alone with me. God forbid!”

  “Just tell her you’ve got a mystery boyfriend,” Jessica said. “Then she won’t be so worried.”

  Just as Jessica said this, a water balloon fell from the sky and splattered on the deck next to them.

  “What the hell?”

  They looked around and saw Matt with his friends on the boat across from them.

  “Bombs away!” Matt yelled.

  Nicole raised her middle finger to them.

  “Better put that away,” Matt yelled from across the water. He stood shirtless on the bow of his boat, his toned stomach tapering to his swimsuit, the band of which rested low on his hips. His chest hair ran to his navel and then down to the band of his trunks. Nicole admitted, as tired as she was of high school boys, Matt Wellington still piqued her interest. She’d secretly watched all the boys last weekend, determining Matt to be the only man among them.

  “Or what?” Nicole shouted.

  “Or I’ll come over there and put it away for you.”

  Nicole simply smiled behind her big aviator sunglasses and kept her middle finger raised, then lifted her hand higher. Without hesitation, Matt dove into the bay and freestyled over to Rachel’s boat, lifting himself effortlessly out of the water and onto the back platform. His body poured water as he climbed onto the boat. Jessica and Rachel laughed as he approached.

  “You’re screwed, Nic,” Jessica said.

  “Don’t fucking touch me,” Nicole said, but her smile betrayed the aggressive voice she fronted. And she meant for it to. She wanted his hands on her.

  Matt picked her up, towel and all, while Nicole screamed. With her in his arms, he jumped into the water. This brought some hollers from the surrounding boats as everyone watched the show. They splashed into the bay, Nicole grabbing for her sunglasses before they sank, Matt collecting the towel as he surfaced.

  “You’re an ass,” Nicole said in the water.

  “You gave me the finger. Next time, heed my warning.”

  Nicole rolled onto her back and floated, her sunglasses back on her face. “I’m too tired to swim. Float me over to your boat.”

  Matt came up behind her, grabbed her lifeguard-style, and swam her to the back of his boat.

  “You guys have beer?”

  “Yeah,” Matt said. “We snuck a few from my dad’s stash in the garage.”

  Nicole rolled over in the water and wrapped her arms around his neck, her chest against his back. “Good. Carry me up, I need a one.”

  Matt pulled his athletic frame up the boat’s ladder with Nicole hanging on him. Once up, Nicole released her grip and Matt wrung out her towel, laying it over the railing to dry. He high-fived his two buddies when he walked into the cockpit.

  “Meatheads,” Nicole said. “Get me a beer.”

  Matt walked down three steps into the cabin and opened a cooler that was built into the countertop. He popped the top on a Bud Light and handed it to Nicole as he walked back up the stairs.

  “Keep it low just in case the cops come around.”

  Nicole sat on the seat in front of the steering wheel. She chugged half her beer in a series of five swallows meant to impress Matt and his two wrestling buddies. She belched loudly.

  “So what are you losers doing tonight?”

  “Hanging here this afternoon,” Matt said. “We might go to Sullivan’s, he’s having people over. Or maybe into town. The street festival’s going on. Supposed to be live music. How about you guys?”

  Nicole shrugged. “Don’t know yet. We’re just hanging at Rachel’s. We talked about the street fest.” She chugged the rest of her beer. “You have enough for Jess and Rachel?”

  “Yeah,” Matt said.

  Nicole looked over at Rachel’s boat, which was twenty yards away. “Why don’t you two sneak up on them. They’ll freak,” Nicole said to Matt’s friends.

  Matt’s buddies laughed and then looked over at Jessica and Rachel, who were sunbathing, eyes closed and lying on their backs. Like two obedient dogs, Matt’s friends nodded at Nicole’s suggestion and quietly slipped into the water to start their stealth approach.

  Nicole watched them for a minute as they made their way over; then she looked at Matt. “I need another beer.”

  “You drink like a sailor.”

  Matt headed below deck. Nicole stood from the captain’s seat and followed him. There was little below deck, just a small space occupied by a half fridge, a small counter and sink, and cabinets for storage. But for Nicole, it was perfect.

  “Boo,” she said just as Matt was reaching for a beer.

  He turned quickly and they were face-to-face in the small area. Nicole’s body had partially dried in the sun while she drank her first beer, but her hair was still wet and slicked back and dripping down her shoulders. Quickly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her fingers.

  Instinctively, he put his hands on her waist. “What’s up, Cutty?”

  “You didn’t even look at me the other night,” she said in a pouty voice.

  “When?”

  “At your party when we all went out to the platform.”

  Matt laughed. “Trust me, everyone was looking at everyone. It was too dark to see anything.”

  Nicole smiled and raised her eyebrows. “So you did look?”

  Matt nodded. “Guilty.”

  “Did I look fat?”

  “That’s a stupid question.”

  “Then how come you ended up hooking up with what’s-her-face?”

  “Megan? She’s cool. We’re both off to Duke after the summer.”

  “So she’s your girlfriend?”

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Good,” Nicole said as she leaned forward and kissed his lips.

  Matt kissed back for a few seconds. “This is not a good idea,” he said.

  “Why?” Nicole stared into his eyes. “I mean, if you don’t have a girlfriend.” She kissed him again and ran her hands down his back and then around to the front of his suit, pinching her fingers between his skin and the band of his trunks.

  He grabbed her hands and laughed. “What’s gotten into you?�
��

  “You wanna go to college without getting any this summer?”

  “Who says I’m not getting any? You don’t know my history.”

  “True. But I know your future if you keep hooking up with Megan McDonald. It’s called celibacy.” She leaned in and kissed him again, biting his lower lip. “But . . .” More kissing as she pulled her hand free from his grasp and ran her fingers over the front of his shorts. “If you need some action before you leave for school, just remember, not all Emerson Bay girls are prude princesses.”

  They heard screaming and laughing as Matt’s friends ambushed Jessica and Rachel and tossed them into the bay.

  “Uh-oh,” Nicole said, flicking him in the crotch, which caused Matt to flinch. “You missed your opportunity.” She pulsed her eyebrows and licked her lips, tilted her head and gave a sad face. “Too bad. Would’ve been fun.”

  She reached past him into the cooler, grabbed three beers, and walked up the steps and into the sunlight.

  CHAPTER 16

  July 2016

  Three Weeks Before the Abduction

  Coleman’s Brewery was abandoned in the 1930s, ravaged by Prohibition and unable to overcome the Great Depression. The brewery tried to stay afloat by offering its customers a place to smoke cigars and play billiards and snooker. Of course, the unspoken promise of bootlegger whiskey was the real draw. The occasional pint of Coleman’s lager, which was secretly brewed and greatly sought after, made an appearance from time to time. It was just enough to keep the doors open during The Noble Experiment. But when the Depression hit, Cole Coleman was unable to stay current on bribes. By the mid-thirties, Coleman’s closed its doors for good.

  Eighty years later, the abandoned shell of the brewery still stood in the old industrial section on the west side of Emerson Bay. The Roanoke River ran north-south through Emerson Bay and separated the city into east and west halves. The east side flourished as a bayside community with yacht clubs and waterfront homes and beach access and a hip downtown area. The west side fell into disrepair. It was a place where freight trains passed in the dead of night, where streetlamps long ago spent their filaments and were never considered for replacement. West Bay was where weeds pushed through sidewalk cracks and potholes grew deeper in the streets. The police had given up patrolling the Cove, where Coleman’s was located along with other forsaken buildings from long ago, because nothing much happened there besides winos taking shelter in the crumbling buildings and an occasional stray dog walking the streets. Dark and isolated, it was the perfect place for the Capture Club’s meetings. And scary as hell, Nicole was discovering.