Out in the Dark Read online

  “What?” Shelley asked. She hadn’t been watching.

  “That man, the one who just got into the pickup.” Jake pointed. “Who is he?”

  “We’ll find out,” Shelley said with a sigh. “I don’t suppose he looked near death enough to be a client in need of a mortician?”

  “No, not exactly.”

  “Bummer. Guess we may need to make a run for it after all.” Shelley sank back in the seat and sighed dramatically. She was getting so tired of the chases and the danger.

  An arm came out of the passenger window and waved for them to follow. Jake put the car in gear and slowly pressed the accelerator.

  Chapter 26

  A burly man climbed out of the pickup truck, now parked behind an old, dilapidated farmhouse. “Portia, darling, I’m so glad you stopped off at Louise’s.” The cedar siding showed traces of pink paint. The window frames had been red once upon a time and the front porch sagged precariously. Inside the place was decorated like an old-style brothel, all brocade, red velvet and ornate gilt mirrors, and beaded lampshades. But everything was faded and threadbare now, many years past its prime.

  “Johan?” Shelley tentatively stepped over the threshold and peered at the man suspiciously. “Johan? What are you doing here?”

  “I always stop off at Madame Louise’s. She’s no longer in business, but things were swell when she was. I never did anything, you know that, but it was a fun place to be and a clean establishment. I always stash my rig at the warehouse after I make my deliveries and spend a few days with Louise before hitting the road again.”

  Shelley put her hand to her head and tried to stop the dizziness. Jake could not think of anything to do to support her. He was as stunned as she was. Not just by the appearance of the friendly trucker, but also what they had just walked into.

  “Will we be safe here?” he asked.

  Johan turned to him and looked him up and down, nodding. It was almost as if he understood the dangers they had already faced. “Yes, you’re safe here.”

  “Why, are you two in trouble with the law?” Louise seemed all business again, her face stern.

  “No, some rogue military group is after us, well, after Jake, because of his father.”

  “What are you doing?” Jake yelled at Shelley. “You can’t just tell them that. It puts them in danger too.” He gestured toward Johan and Louise. Then he threw up his hands in despair. “Oh, whatever!” And dropped down on one of the old sofas. The springs creaked and sagged. A couple of well-fed cats sauntered into the room to see what all the fuss was about and joined Jake on the sofa. He absentmindedly started stroking one of them.

  The cat looked him over and sniffed in his general direction. Jake smiled; he probably did reek after a few days without a shower. The cat seemed to take pity on him and climbed on his lap, purring loudly.

  “Well, I think you’ve gotten the seal of approval from the boys,” Louise said, all signs of anger gone. “You two can stay the night, get cleaned up and rested.” She left to prepare rooms upstairs and then cook dinner.

  Shelley, looking pale and tired, dropped down on the other sofa and held her hand out to the second cat. She felt like she might have been in that house before, a very long time ago, before Melvin. Johan looked on briefly, nodded, and then disappeared into the kitchen at the back of the house, leaving the kids alone in the front parlor.

  “I’m sorry,” Shelley said. She kept looking at the cat who had moved a little closer to her and was now sniffing her fingers. Shelley was not familiar with cats, never having had a pet of her own, but she liked them and often dreamed of having one.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jake said. “We’re screwed anyway.” He felt a hopelessness he hadn’t experienced before. His optimism that he could free his dad was fading after their last encounter with Paul Thomson. Paul was right. How were they going to get past a heavily secured perimeter? “Guess I’ll go take a shower.” Jake got up and went upstairs where he found Louise pulling towels from a shelf in the linen closet. Without a word she put a hand on Jake’s shoulder, then she gently pushed him toward the bathroom. She closed the door behind him and soon Jake was standing under a soothing stream of hot water. For a few moments he was able to let his guard down and breathe in the hot steam filling the ornate bathroom.

  When he was done he wrapped himself in the plush red towel and sat on the edge of the bathtub, not thinking anything in particular. Without warning he saw his father again.

  He looked terrible, one eye shut by an ugly black-and-blue bruise, his lip bleeding and his clothes torn. Why did they think this would entice him to work with them?

  “Because violence is the only response they know,” he heard his father saying in his head.

  “Dad, how can I get you out?” Jake asked, mouthing the words as he thought them. A wave of helplessness washed over him.

  “You can’t.”

  “Dad!” Jake cried out. “Dad, I can’t just leave you. Please…” he pleaded. The image of his father started to fade and Jake reached out his arms as if he could hold on to it, but it was like trying to catch a cloud.

  With extreme concentration he was able to again see his father, who now lay curled up in a fetal position, shivering. He hadn’t wanted his son to see this, which is why he had broken off the connection.

  “Dad, where are you? Show me,” Jake pleaded. “Please, show me.”

  With great difficulty his father was able to show him on a map where the compound was and where he was being held. It was only a brief image and Jake made sure to memorize it. It gave him the strength to stand up and get dressed. He just needed a map now.

  His phone dinged with a message. It was a text from James asking where he was and if he needed anything.

  “Not yet. Give me a few minutes, buddy,” Jake said out loud.

  Refreshed and with new courage he went downstairs where the aroma of a good meal greeted him. He found Shelley curled up on the sofa with a cat on her feet and another one on her lap pressed against her torso.

  “Warm enough?” he asked.

  “You could say that,” Shelley said, smiling. “Did you know you can feel the vibration of a cat purring all through their bodies?” Jake nodded. They used to have a cat. Now they just fed the strays, which were too feral to come close enough to be petted.

  After dinner Jake asked for a map of the area, which Johan got from his bags. He spread it out on the cleared table for Jake who closed his eyes for a moment to recall the image his father had sent.

  “Your dad?” Shelley asked.

  Jake silently nodded.

  He opened his eyes and quickly found the area on the map. With his finger he outlined the perimeter and then asked Johan and Louise if it was close.

  Chapter 27

  “You don’t want to go there, son,” Louise said, sternly.

  “I have to,” Jake said, matching her tone.

  “Nobody goes there. Nobody comes back from there,” was all she would say.

  Jake looked at Shelley who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She had no idea either. Johan just shook his head.

  “At least tell me what’s there and where it is,” Jake said again.

  “I don’t think I’d better,” Louise said, and turned around again to continue washing the dishes. She pulled a cup out of the sink, rinsed it and handed it to Johan to dry.

  “I need to know. I’d rather find out from you and be forewarned,” Jake said, his voice steady and strong. “My dad is there,” he added.

  “Then I hope you said your goodbyes,” Louise said callously, never taking her eyes off the suds in the basin.

  “Fine, I’ll figure it out on my own.” Jake pulled out his phone and dialed James’s number.

  “Jimmy-J,” Jake said when he heard his friend’s voice. “Need a favor, dude.”

  “You name it, you got it.”

  “Check out these map coordinates for me. I know where my dad is, but I need to know what the place looks like. Can y
ou still hack into that satellite? Or maybe Google Earth can find it?” Jake gave James the map coordinates and he could hear his friend typing them in.

  “Got it. Let me send you a screenshot so you can see it too. Doesn’t look like much but there are some odd bunker-like buildings. The info on it says it’s an old military ordinance testing site. I’ll see if I can zoom in closer with Google Earth,” James said calmly. If he was at all surprised by the request or by what he saw, he didn’t sound it.

  Jake waited patiently for the picture to come through and then looked at it on his phone. It did look unassuming but it gave him chills nonetheless. This was a place of evil, that much he could sense from the grainy picture.

  “Yep, just as I thought. The place has guard towers. You can’t get in there, Jake, not without a fully armed and armored tank,” was James’s optimistic assessment.

  “Thanks,” Jake said. “If you think of anything useful to contribute let me know.”

  “Will do.”

  James was about to hang up when Jake asked him if he knew anything more about his mother and Coach.

  “I saw her in town at Albertons’s shopping for frozen foods. She said she was safe. She actually came up to me to say that. Weird, totally weird, man.” James sounded like a kid to Jake. It was almost as if Jake had outgrown their easy, off-beat banter, and it bothered him to think his adolescence had been hijacked along with his father.

  “Yeah, weird,” he said to placate James. “Call me if you find out anything more or have a bright idea.” He didn’t wait for a response and just ended the call. “Damn, Fuck, Damn.” Jake swore , staring at the map and then back at the picture on his phone. Shelley looked over his shoulder and felt the same chill Jake had felt.

  “Nasty,” she said softly in his ear.

  “Mind your language, young man.” Louise turned around from the sink and gave him a look of reproach. “I run a clean establishment here.”

  Jake looked up and said, “Don’t you mean you used to?”

  “What?” Louise looked flustered and a million miles away for a moment. A faint smile crossed her lips briefly. “I used to. This place was something back then. Why we even had a girl here who looked a little like you.” She pointed at Shelley, which made her hide her face behind Jake. Somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled hearing that Melvin had found her mother in a brothel.

  “Why, this bright-eyed young man just swept her off her feet and last we heard they went to Vegas to make it big in the magic shows. It was so romantic. As I recall she had a little baby girl stashed at an auntie’s place.” Louise abruptly returned to doing the dishes, plunging her unlined hands into the soapy water and noisily scrubbing whatever she found in there.

  Jake turned to look at Shelley, wondering how she might be taking all this, and found her white as a sheet, trembling.

  He put both his arms around her and held her tight till she stopped shaking. Surely this was not where her mother had come from?

  “You’ll go to college,” he whispered, pulling her close again. “You’ll go to college and be a big-shot career woman. This is not your life. You won’t ever have to turn tricks to feed yourself. There’s a better life for you. I promise.” He knew he couldn’t keep that promise but he wished with all his heart that he could.

  She pulled away and looked at him, searching his face for something to prove that he could keep her from a life of sex-for-hire; she wanted to believe him. She wanted to know her mother had done all she could to give her a better life, despite the hard times.

  She shuddered and put her cold cheek against Jake’s. She wrapped her arms around him and felt him hug her tighter. At least she had Jake.

  In an effort to distract her, Jake turned Shelley’s attention to the map. He saved the picture on his phone and set it down on the table.

  “Looks like there’s only one road leading into the compound. I wonder if there’s any cover we can use to sneak in from the back or side.” Jake did his best to keep his voice steady and his mind solely on the task of getting into the compound. “They’ve got to have a weak spot somewhere. My dad told me once that every security system has a back door, a weak spot. Even these guys have to have one.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” Johan said, setting a freshly dried plate in the cabinet. He turned to face Jake and looked him up and down. “You really are determined to go through with this aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” Jake said.

  Johan shook his head. “I don’t know, son, it sounds like a very dangerous place to go.”

  “Nobody ever comes out of there,” Louise said over her shoulder.

  “How do you know that?” Jake’s voice rose a little as his frustration grew.

  “A couple of my former girls went there. They were hired to provide entertainment, but they never came back,” Louise explained.

  Chapter 28

  Jake pulled out a chair and dropped onto it, leaving Shelley standing in the middle of the kitchen, hugging herself. She looked lost.

  Jake sympathized but there really was nothing he could do for her. He had to figure out how to get into that compound, find his dad and get back out, preferably in one piece.

  “I’m going to take a look at the place,” Jake said, standing up.

  “Not tonight you aren’t.” Johan, moving surprisingly fast considering his size, blocked Jake’s exit. “You can go tomorrow morning.”

  “But the darkness will give me cover,” Jake cried out in frustration. These people should just mind their own business.

  “You don’t know the terrain and you could get hurt in the dark. Besides, there’s a snow storm blowing out there. I’m sure we can figure out what we need in the daylight. I have a good pair of binoculars so we wouldn’t need to get very close.” Johan put his hands on Jake’s shoulders and looked at him sternly, the way his father might have. “Maybe Louise can find out something by talking to the business nearby.”

  “What business?” Jake threw up his hands.

  “Now, honey, I can find out lots of things,” Louise joined in. “People tell me things, and I know the girl who runs the coffee stand up the road from there. They let her stay there for some reason.”

  “A coffee stand?” Jake asked skeptically. “Why would they allow that if they’re so paranoid that a couple of hookers can’t even leave?”

  “Can’t tell you what I don’t know,” Louise said firmly. “Now, put all that away.” She pointed to the map and notebook. “And go get some sleep. You and this lovely girl are done in and she’s scared out of her wits. Anyone can see that. No, not another word. Your rooms are the first two at the top of the stairs, across from each other.”

  Jake huffed and left the kitchen, leaving everything except his phone on the table, and went upstairs. He could hear Shelley making feeble excuses before following him.

  She said nothing but gave him a fearful look before going into her room and closing the door.

  Maybe Jake could persuade her to go with Johan and leave him to rescue his father. He knew he could trust Johan to get her safely to Arizona, and perhaps settled into college. He’d miss her, but he also didn’t want to worry about her. This rescue was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

  He closed the door to his own room and tried not to think about what used to go on in it. It was too distracting, though it was hard not to, with the canopy bed and gaudy chandelier, the brass sconces along the wall and the plush but fading red velvet everywhere. At least the sheets were clean.

  Jake turned off all the lights and opened the blinds to look outside. He could see a glow of lights far off through the snow. That had to be where his father was, he could sense it. So close, but how could he reach him?

  Dropping to his knees, he rested his arms on the windowsill, his chin on his hands. He stared out at the furiously falling snow and let his mind wander. He tried to contact his mother, but could only really sense where she was. At least he didn’t feel any fear from her, which told him she
had to be safe. Then he tried his father and sensed him sleeping. He tried to get a feel for his father’s injuries but had to stop as it made his body ache.

  He shook his head to clear the sensations. Just out of curiosity he thought he would try to sense where Paul Thomson might be, but he realized quickly that it could lead the man to him, and another encounter with his father’s supposed best friend was the last thing Jake wanted.

  Losing track of time Jake sat till his legs went numb. If his phone hadn’t announced a message he might have fallen asleep at the window. It was a picture message from James.

  “Helpful?” it said. Jake opened the picture and enlarged it to look at the details. It was a surveillance shot of the compound taken by a drone flying over. Jake was not going to ask how his friend got that picture, but he knew James would have covered his tracks.

  Aside from the details the picture showed, Jake was wondering who in the government was spying on these guys? They might be rogue, but that didn’t mean the government didn’t know about them.

  Switching on one of the sconces near him, Jake got up and walked over to the bed. He switched on the bedside lamp with its sparkling beaded lampshade. He held the phone closer to the light and studied the picture, sliding the image from side to side with the touch of a finger. It looked like the whole compound was fenced, except for one small area in the back where it butted up against a rock formation or cliff face. It wasn’t a very tall cliff but they must have thought it high enough not to pose a danger of intrusion.

  The camp appeared to be patrolled by heavily armed men, and the fences had barbed wire and…Jake zoomed in closer, yes, electricity running through the wires. The picture had captured the warning sign.

  Jake sat back and sighed. This was starting to look more and more impossible. Every time he thought he had something figured out, a new obstacle would present itself.

  He texted James back. “Very helpful. Need help getting in.” He knew there was nothing James could do to make that happen, but it made him feel better to know that James would think deeply on the problem, even if he couldn’t come up with a solution.