“Soon.”
He seemed nervous, checking his watch every few seconds and going to look out the window. Hannah wondered what he was waiting for. He had her and Caitlin, and there seemed no reason to hang around while the floodwaters rose. Though this old place had been here for years, the forecasters had warned of near-record flood conditions all over the county. Hanging around Sugar Creek seemed a stupid thing to do.
She rose with her daughter in her arms. “Let’s go now. I’m hungry, and I’m sure Caitlin is too.”
His eyes narrowed. “What about me? I haven’t eaten either. You never think about me, Hannah.”
“I’m sorry to complain. I know we’re all tired, hungry, and grouchy.” She smiled up at him. “I’m just eager to get out of here and start our life together, the three of us.”
His glare softened. “Soon.” He turned when the door opened.
Trudy Beitler stepped into the shack. She shut the door behind her. Mud caked the Wellington boots she wore, and debris littered her old jeans and checked shirt. She could have passed for a lumberjack except for the long gray braid hanging over one shoulder. Her gaze perused Reece, then moved on to Hannah, who stood with Caitlin wrapped around her like a little monkey.
“Grandma Trudy!” Caitlin unwound her legs from Hannah and slid down to run to her grandmother.
Trudy shoved her away. “Go back to your mother.”
“Come here, Caitlin.” Hannah held out her arms. The older woman wasn’t here to rescue them. Hannah didn’t know how this whole plan was going to play out, but she realized Trudy was no ally.
Her expression confused, Caitlin glanced back at Hannah, then up at her grandmother. “Are you going to take me home, Grandma?”
“I told you to go to your mother. No, I’m not taking you home. You’re right where you should be.” She dropped the small cooler she carried onto the wooden floor.
“Where were you?” Reece asked. “I did what you said and brought Hannah here. I thought you’d be here to say good-bye. I need to get going before Matt tracks us here.”
“I think not. Sit.” She pointed at the cot. “You’ve done well, Reece,” she said. “You did everything I asked of you.”
“Thanks for helping me figure this out, Trudy. But I didn’t need the kid after all. Hannah came back to me of her own free will.” His triumphant smile beamed from above his beard.
Trudy glanced at Hannah, and the chill in her gaze froze Hannah’s veins. “I need you to run an errand, Reece. I forgot the money at the house. It’s in the cookie jar on top of the refrigerator.”
“I’ve got enough. I don’t need it,” he said.
“I want to make sure you have enough for a fresh start. Run get it, and then you can disappear. It won’t take long.”
Hannah didn’t trust the other woman. She wanted to beg Reece not to leave her alone with Trudy, but he shrugged and went to the door.
“I won’t be long.”
Trudy nodded. “I’ll be here waiting.”
Silence stretched out in the sugar shack. Hannah tried to make sense of it all. Why would Trudy help Reece get Caitlin and lure her here?
THEY WERE ATOP a hillside, so Matt planted one foot on a fallen tree and stared through the gloom in all directions. He caught a break in the trees. “I think there’s a cabin over there,” he said to Ajax. He took out his topo map and consulted it. The map said there was an abandoned sugar shack this way.
“Let’s check it out.” Matt and Ajax plunged down the hillside. “Quiet, Ajax,” he told his dog. He didn’t want any barking to give them away.
As they neared the structure, he recognized it from the pictures in Trudy’s album. He started toward a window, intending to peer inside and see if Trudy was there, but the door opened and Reece stepped out. Matt ducked out of sight, watching as the other man went up the trail toward where Trudy had parked the car. Great, maybe Matt could slip in and rescue his daughter and Hannah without any gunplay.
When Reece was out of sight, he rose and moved toward the shack. The door opened again, and his grandmother stepped out. With a gun. His gaze went to the weapon in her hand. It was pointing at him. “It’s just me, Trudy. You can put that peashooter away.”
“I don’t think I can, Matthew. Ease your gun out and drop it on the ground.”
The hard, inflexible voice she used struck Matt in the heart. “Trudy, what are you doing?”
Her finger tightened on the trigger. “Do what you’re told. You’re too much like your mother, always questioning things. Next time I’ll shoot out your kneecap. Now do what I say.”
Matt struggled to make sense of this world gone mad. His grandmother held him at gunpoint. He’d stepped through a rabbit hole into another dimension. He glanced down at Ajax. Would he obey an attack command? Probably not. The dog had been trained to protect his grandmother, not attack her.
“Drop your gun,” she said again. “And if the dog moves, I’ll shoot him.”
Matt pulled out his gun and dropped it into the mud. “What’s this all about?”
Trudy stepped away from the door and gestured with the gun. “Inside.”
Matt let his contempt show in his eyes. He strode into the shack and stood in the doorway while his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Ajax trotted close beside him.
“Daddy!”
He swung toward his daughter’s voice. He’d never heard such a sweet sound as her voice in that moment. “Caitlin?” Moments later, she was climbing his legs. He swung her up against his chest, and she clasped her arms around his neck. Ajax barked and danced around them as if he wanted his turn with her. “Quiet, Ajax.” The dog stilled and lay down under the window.
“I knew you’d find me, Daddy.”
He buried his face in her hair and fought the sting of tears. “You okay, princess?”
“I want to go home.” Caitlin began to cry.
“We will.” He glanced around and saw Hannah on the cot. He turned to face Trudy. “What’s going on here?”
“It’s the final act in a long play, Matthew. I’m sorry you got caught up in it.” Trudy beckoned to Hannah. “I can’t let her continue the Schwartz tradition of destroying my family. Come here, girl.” Hannah’s eyes widened, but she got up and moved slowly to where Trudy stood. “Tie up my grandson.”
Matt couldn’t let that happen. He’d be helpless to protect his daughter and Hannah. Backing away, he started for the door. Trudy wouldn’t shoot him.
Before he got more than two feet, a shot rang out, and a bullet creased the skin on his arm. “I don’t want to shoot you, Matt, but I will if you force me to,” Trudy said. “Sit in the chair.” She gestured to a rickety wooden chair.
Blood trickled from his arm. He lowered himself onto the chair. “What is going on, Trudy?”
“Shut up. Hannah, tie him up.”
Hannah bit her lip, then picked up the rope on the floor and moved to the chair. She began to wrap the rope around his wrists.
“Get his ankles too,” Trudy ordered. “I’m going to check the bonds, so get them tight.”
Matt flexed his wrists to give himself the most give as Hannah tightened the rope, then looped it down to his feet. Trudy stepped over to test the give, and he kept his muscles flexed until she nodded with satisfaction.
She turned back to Hannah. “You, come with me. Leave the kid here with Matt.”
Hannah glanced up at Matt with an apology in her eyes. Matt had to delay Trudy until he could get free. “I found a photo album. Some things are starting to make sense to me. My parents were never happy. All I remember as a kid was how unhappy my mom was. Dad never smiled. He killed himself. I think he was in love with Hannah’s mother. But that’s not Hannah’s fault.”
“Her family has blighted mine for decades. But no more,” Trudy said.