What had begun as a mild shuffling between the two, intensified into a full-fledged fight, the skirmish banging and kicking against the side of the car. Melanie’s world rocked. The encounter was short-lived. A single gunshot pierced her ears, and a weight fell to the ground just outside her fiberglass prison. Dread consumed her. A killer would momentarily open the trunk, and she would fall victim to his ruthless plot.
A third man spoke. They were standing within earshot, and she strained to listen.
“Trying to bring the world down on us?” someone asked.
“Out here in the middle of nowhere? Not a chance.”
“What are you going to do with Charlie?”
“Dump him in the lake with the girls.”
“Sounds quiet in there. Think they’re both still drugged?”
“No matter. They will die either way.”
“Yeah, well, it makes it easier when they don’t fight back.”
“There are more bullets in the gun. There’ll be no struggling with those two.”
“Feeling trigger happy, I see.” The man chuckled as if taking a life was a joke. “Did you get any information out of them?”
“No, they’re tight-lipped. One looked confused, probably an innocent bystander, but the other definitely knows too much, but after today, she won't be talking to anybody."
“I could have persuaded her to talk if you’d called me.”
“Nope, don’t need the mess. Just help me dump the garbage in the lake and we'll move on with the plan.”
“Everything in place for the end of the month?”
“With our insurance policy tucked away, payday is just around the corner. Enough chatter. Lots to do before the sun comes up.”
Keep our mind fixed on the finisher of our faith. He will always provide a way through.
Chapter 2
The key turned in the lock and the trunk swung open. One man held a flashlight and aimed it at her bag. Even through the prison canvas, the glow blinded Melanie. She closed her eyes and lay still, letting them believe the effects of the drug lingered in her system. She’d watch for an opportunity to run.
Rough hands seized her legs and swung them out over the edge of the trunk. Melanie bit her lip to hold back the shriek triggered by the hasty move. The man gripped her middle and slung her over his shoulder in one easy movement.
“You get the other one,” he said.
Her trunk companion chose that moment to squirm. It was bad timing, for the kidnappers showed little patience. Melanie heard the woman’s muffled scream, and the stern voice threatening her.
“You missed your chance to come clean.” The stifled ranting accelerated. “Now, shut up, or my buddy here will shut you up.”
The man who was holding Melanie swore and dropped her like a sack of potatoes. “Throw that one out here on the ground, and I’ll finish her off. Got no time for a squawking female.”
Could he have meant Chrissy? She’d been in the apartment with Melanie when the doorbell rang, but try as she might, that was all she remembered. Her mind buzzed with confusion, most likely the result of the drug the kidnapper had mentioned.
Melanie heard the shot all too soon, and froze. Chrissy?
Hot tears threatened to squeeze through her closed lids. Melanie had known the girl less than a year, but had taken a vested interest in her plight by agreeing to let Chrissy move into the apartment to save her from becoming another homeless statistic. The heiress was your typical sassy Georgia gal – even more so than Melanie – stubborn, nonconforming, and creating waves wherever she went. That reckless element was what had attracted Melanie to the girl, for hers was dwindling fast, living in her new reality.
Two lives had been slated to end that night – one was already gone, and hers was next in line. The sad thing was that she didn’t know why. Was it because of something she knew? Melanie’s mind drew a blank. Perhaps she had been the one referred to as the innocent bystander. Nothing made any sense inside her buzz-induced brain.
“Get the cement blocks out of the backseat and put them in the bags.”
"Good idea. Bricks are a guaranteed sink. Keep their bodies under the water until this deal is over, and we’re long gone from America.”
The two men moved away. Melanie debated making a move, but they remained too close for comfort. She’d never escape a bullet at that range. Although she feared forfeiting her opportunity, Melanie waited motionless inside her prison bag, praying for another break. Thankfully, the block landed conveniently beside her when it was pushed into her bag. She felt certain she’d have gasped involuntarily had it landed on her stomach.
Melanie remained immobile as the bag re-zipped.
“This one is still out cold. Easy garbage to dump.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Too bad she stayed home tonight.”
It appeared Melanie had been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. Could it be that simple?
She bit her lip as the man dragged the bag away from the car instead of hefting it over his shoulder as he had the first time. The added weight of the brick probably had something to do with that choice. Her body traversed sharp twigs and protruding tree roots as they passed through a cluster of prickly bushes before reaching the edge of the lake. She heard the gentle lapping of the currents and knew the time had come.
Escape might prove easier, given that
