Tainted Waters

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Keegan came out of the bush, stretching his arms over his head.

What the hell is going on?

Everything that had happened seemed to be linked to this lake. To the people who lived around it.

Why?

Realizing that Sam wasn't on the deck or in his view, he turned his head, looking in all directions. Unusual sounds like people wrestling and grunting caught his attention. Not expecting to see much, he peered around the corner of the building. Some guy was trying to stuff a fighting Sam into his car, but she kept planting her feet on the side and bottom of the door, preventing him from loading her in the back seat.

Keegan's first instinct was to race over and pummel the man but thankfully his brain kicked in, letting him know that wouldn't be a good idea as the guy was twice his size. Keegan would be the one to end up being punched or worse, shot. The handgun tucked in the back of the man's pants was sitting there like a gift waiting to be stolen. Only he was not going near him without some sort of weapon first. Praying that this house was set up like his, he went around to the front of the deck and lifted a panel. It differed from his but there was a narrow boxed-in area filled with garden implements. He grabbed the nearest item that was long and could carry a wallop.

Once he'd moved around the edge of the deck, he could see that the guy had shoved her arms high in the middle of her back, effectively stopping her movement. The man was determined to get her into the vehicle; he was wrestling with her, wrapping his arms around her, trying to use brute strength. But he wasn't really making any headway. Sam was squirming and kicking and contorting her body to make it harder for the guy.

Since the guy was so preoccupied, Keegan was sure he could approach unseen. Running as softly as he could, he raised the rake and swung it like a baseball bat.

"Unggggh." The guy tumbled over like a dead weight. Sam slammed into the car but quickly regained her feet and took off running.

"Sam. Sam! Stop. I need your help. Sam!"

She was at the road before she looked behind her. Keegan had debated about chasing her, but felt it was more important to make sure their friend on the ground couldn't chase after them. And he wanted to know who the hell he was before he came to. There was no wallet, nothing on him other than the gun which Keegan slid out of the back of his pants and tossed several feet away. Sliding into the driver's seat, he flipped the visors, opened the glove box, and checked the cubby hole between the seats. No paperwork. Nothing.

Climbing out, he leaned down over the body again and checked the man's pulse. There was a steady beat. It was a grunting sound that had him looking up. Sam had returned and was standing a few feet away, giving him a fierce look. When he didn't move right away, she started twisting and mumbling, getting more and more agitated.

He pulled the gag out. "Let me find something to cut those ties."

"What took you so frickin' long?" she croaked out.

Not wanting to get into that argument, he looked through the trunk, finding more ties and a few knives. The long blade on the hunting knife was sharp and easily cut through the plastic holding her wrists behind her back. She immediately rubbed her wrists. He took a few of the spare ties and used them on the still unconscious man.

"Water," she mumbled, before stumbling off to the house.

By the time he followed her, she was downing a bottle and was pacing the deck.

"Who the hell is he? Why did he want me?" She walked across to the railing, spun, and walked back.

"Sam."

"Are you in on this? Do you know who he is? Why'd he want me? I haven't done anything. So why me? Who the hell is he?"

"Sam."

"I don't have any money, so he couldn't have wanted that." She changed direction, seven quick steps toward the lake and then back toward the house.

"Sam."

"Is he dead? What are we gonna do with him?" She spun and was ready to keep going when he stepped in front of her and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.

"Ow. My shoulders are sore."

His hands dropped to his sides. "Sorry. Look, I need you here. Now. We need to do something. Like, get out of here. This guy isn't dead. He's just out. For how long I don't know, but I don't want to be here when he wakes up. Get your stuff. Lock up and let's go. Where's your car?"

Sam pointed in the direction behind the house.

"Keys?"

"In the glove box."

He sprinted around the cabin, stopping to pick up the gun and the knife on his way by. After finding the hidden vehicle, he tossed the weapons as far into the trees as he could before getting into the car and driving it out of the hiding spot. The man was groaning and wiggling back and forth on the lawn. Keegan rolled down the window. "Sam. Now. He's waking up."

She came barrelling around the corner of the house, carrying her overnight bag, her purse, and a plastic bag.

She stuffed everything into the back seat but rather than get in she turned and ran back toward the man on the ground. Pulling her right leg back, she let it swing forward with full force, connecting with his ribs. He grunted in pain. She pulled back her foot again; only this time, she aimed a lot lower. That got his attention. His eyes popped open. He curled into a ball or as best he could. He grunted in agony. She stood there for a few seconds, as though deciding if she should give him a third, when she suddenly turned and raced back to the car.

"Let's get out of here. Let's get out of here," she yelled as she jumped into the front seat.

Keegan hit the gas. "Which direction?"

"Left. No road to the right."

He drove for several minutes before either spoke. "Any ideas where to go? We could go to my cabin, but I don't think that's a good idea. Any other suggestions?"

After directing him around the lake, past his place and then onto back roads he didn't know existed, he drove for about an hour before either of them spoke again.

"Pull over."

There was pastureland to their left and forest to their right. The last house he'd seen had been at least twenty minutes away. And they hadn't passed anyone in a long time.

"It's okay. This is all government lease land south of the lake. Hardly anyone comes here this time of year."

She shifted in her seat which made a crinkling sound. She lifted her butt and pulled out the newspapers she'd been sitting on. Setting them in her lap, she stared at the front page.

"Are you okay?"

She looked at him for a brief second, her eyes troubled.

"I thought I'd turned my life around when I'd gotten that job. I even liked it. And I was good. But look where I am now. Out of work and someone's trying to abduct me. Nothing makes any sense. My damn life doesn't make any sense."

Actually, someone is trying to kill you, I just don't know why. "You were a reporter?"

Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah. If you could call it that. I lasted all of three months. Pissed the boss off and got fired."

"Why?"

"Because he's a narcissistic prick who's so crooked he's bent over backward. Okay, that didn't even make sense. He's just an ass. I don't know that anything of truth ever got printed in that paper. I thought I could change that."

"I didn't mean why did he piss you off, I meant why did you get fired?"

"I was trying to have a true story printed in the paper, without him knowing it. He didn't like that. 'Nothing gets printed in my paper without my say-so,'" Sam said in a falsetto, hoity-toity voice.

"What were you writing about?"

She sat up straight and turned to face him. "Wait. Do you think that's why someone is after me? Because I was writing about some rich dude?"

"What was the story?"

"This wealthy guy stole a necklace from his wife, beat her up, claimed it was a home invasion, and then got the insurance money for the stolen merchandise. It was sick."

"How'd you come by this story? How'd you get your information?"

"None of your business." She turned her face away to look out the side window.

"Not even if it might give us some answers about why someone wants to kill you."

Sam turned back slowly to face him, her eyes were wide, her face pale. He took her hand in his. It was cold but she didn't pull away.

"Look, I didn't mean to say that, but you have to admit someone wants to hurt you. We need to figure out why. The story you wrote might be the reason."

"But my write-up never got printed. That's why I was fired."

"What else did you report on?"

She pulled out the top paper, flipped it open and skimmed through it. "That son of a b***h. He didn't print my last article either." She quickly pulled out the paper from the previous week. It wasn't there either. "I check all the time to see if my articles are in the paper. The last two times, I was so wrapped up in finishing that story I guess I forgot. I wrote tidbits about what was happening around town. My last snippet was about the lake—just a funny look at the fact that it's always been called the lake and that maybe we should have a competition to name it. Nothing exciting, that's for sure. Hey, I just realized that he didn't run my article on that divorce case, Spencer vs Talbot, either. He kept saying we had to wait for the right moment. What a liar … and an ass." She yawned a jaw-splitting yawn. Followed by another. Then another.

"Okay, we need to find somewhere to hide out tonight."

She was quiet for a few minutes. "I know where we can go. But I will warn you, don't expect any warm welcome. Okay?"

Her phone rang. "s**t!" She pulled it out of her pants pocket, didn't even look at the display, she just answered it.

"Hello, Meredith."

"Yes, I'm fine. No, nothing is happening. Please call Mom and tell her you talked with me."

"Who's that?" He leaned closer to hear the other side of the conversation.

She turned and glared at him; he sank back against his door.

"It's no one. Yes, it's a guy. It hasn't been that long. Oh, hilarious." She leaned against the window, hunching her shoulders and cupping her hand around her mouth. "Let it go, Meredith. When I get a boyfriend, you'll be the first to know. Call Mom, please. I'm fine." Sam clicked off. Her phone rang again. She ignored it.

"My sister. Now let's go."

He couldn't help but grin; she had her nose out of joint. He just wasn't sure if it was because her sister was curious about her s*x life or if she was embarrassed that he knew she didn't have one. Starting the car, he followed her directions. Thirty minutes later, they entered the city limits of Albertson.

"Care to tell me where we're going?"