The B Girls

The Sound of Other Voices





Mae's phone started chirped again. Just like it had every ten minutes since she'd taken it off silent mode when they got back to the van.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Lucy asked.

Mae shook her head. "I talked to Chip twice before we left this morning. He probably wants to ask me something earth-shattering like where to find extra batteries for the remote. I'll call him back later."

"You mean to tell me you're not stressed about not being there to manage your family?" Jane said.

"Given the fact that this morning's calls were about clean socks and orange juice concentrate, I'm not exactly fearing the worst."

Lucy bit her tongue to keep from blurting out something unflattering about Chip. Clean socks and orange juice? More like guilt and shame. At least it didn't seem to be working. Mae hadn't started talking about going home.

"I have one priority and that's finding out what happened to Belle," Lucy said. "I don't know if it has anything to do with the Declaration but that's all we have to follow so I'm taking it as far as I can."

"It'd be a serious kick in the ass if she's at home waiting for us after we spent another day sweating and scratching," Jane said.

Lucy wasn't so hopeful. Belle would never have stayed away voluntarily after learning about Gary's defection.

And that was the first thought she'd had about Gary for hours. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Probably it meant that her worry about Belle was more urgent. After all, no matter what else happened Gary and the divorce would be waiting for her when it was all over.



###



Belle wasn't home waiting for them, but the message light on the phone was blinking.

Lucy dialed the voice mail and waited through the mechanical woman telling her there was one new message in Belle's mailbox.

The message voice was also mechanical and Lucy nearly discarded it thinking it was a sales call. Her finger was poised over the 3 when she realized what she was hearing.

"Belle sends her greetings. Unfortunately she's unable to speak to you right now. I will call again with instructions for her safe return home. Do not report this call to anyone."

Lucy pressed one to repeat the message, praying she'd heard wrong.

She hadn't.

Someone had kidnapped Belle.

She turned off the phone and tried to wrap her mind around the concept that someone she loved was in the hands of a criminal--or a crazy person.

What the hell was she supposed to do now? Call the police? Now that she had proof that Belle hadn't disappeared willingly, they'd have to do something.

But the caller warned her not to tell anyone and the police were obviously at the top of the "do not call" list.

Okay, scratch the call to the police at least until she had a better idea what the kidnapper wanted.

Don't be stupid, she told herself. You know exactly what they're after-the Declaration.

And she didn't have it. Therefore, the obvious next move was to make a plan to get the Declaration and wait for the next call from the kidnapper.

She dropped the phone onto the kitchen table. "Damn. Damn and double damn."

"What?" Mae said. "What's wrong?"

"Someone has Belle."

"What do you mean someone has her?" Jane said.

"The message. Someone saying they have her and will call with 'instructions' for her return."

"Oh God," Mae said. "That's bad. We have to call the police." She reached for the phone.

Lucy stopped her. "No. We have to think about this. No mistakes. Until we find out what they want, we have to sit tight. They might hurt her if we call the police."

"I'm sure what they want is the Declaration and we don't have it to give them," Jane said.

"Then we'll just have to get it," Lucy said. "Whatever it takes."

"We should let the police handle this," Mae tried again.

Lucy stood and started pacing. "No. I don't have much faith in the system at this point." She stopped, gripped the back of the chair, fear and determination in her eyes. "No. I'm going to find out as much as I can about Perry Thiel and the Declaration. And I'm going to figure out how to get that map back from the ranger. I'm not putting Belle's life in the hands of people who don't care about her," Lucy said. Tough talk from a woman who's biggest adventure to this point in her life was shooting a few dead fish and getting tattooed.

"Find out about Perry Thiel?" Jane said. "I say we track him down and kick his weaselly little ass."

"We don't know if he's the one who has her," Lucy said. "Or if he's the only one involved."

"Who else?" Jane said.

"Somebody he blabbed to," Mae suggested.

"Maybe," Jane said.

"It doesn't matter," Lucy said. "We have to be smart about this. Once we know for sure it's the Declaration they're after we do whatever it takes to find that document."

"Okay. Okay. No need to get your panties in a twist. We'll help you. Won't we Mae?" Jane said.

Mae didn't look too sure.

"I said won't we Mae?"

Mae looked from one to the other and finally nodded her head yes. "I guess the B Girls are going all the way."

"To where?" Jane said. "Jail?"

"If I have to," Lucy said. "I meant what I said. I'll do whatever I have to do to get Belle back. As of this minute, I refuse to let anyone tell me what I can and can't do. And that goes double for the voice in my own head. It's way past time for me to take control of my life and quit letting fear of change hold me back. This time I'm not going to rely on somebody else to fix things for me." Lucy paused for a deep breath. "I'd welcome your help but I don't want you two to do anything you'll regret."

"I'm in to the end," Jane said. "I'm more than ready to prove a few things to myself. Besides, you're right about not going to the police. The kidnappers could be watching the house or even just listening to a police scanner. One little slip-up by the cops and Belle could get hurt."

Mae still didn't look quite as convinced but she nodded her head. "We'll find a way to do this."

"Well then, let's get busy," Jane said.

Lucy got up and started to search for Perry Thiel's phone number. "First I'm calling Mr. Thiel."

She dialed and waited through several rings.

"Hello? Lucy?"

"How did you know?"

"Caller ID. I don't answer the phone unless I know who it is. I don't like the interruptions. Did you find something? Is Belle back?"

"No, we didn't find anything. It's Belle I'm calling about." And why assume from the caller ID that it was Lucy and not Belle?

"She's still not back?"

"No. I was hoping you might have heard from her." It took all of her self control not to cry or scream at him. Control she kept by reminding herself she didn't want Perry to know she suspected him.

"Me? You think she would call me before she called you?"

Lucy frowned. If Perry was behind Belle's kidnapping he was a better actor than she would have given him credit for. "No. I suppose not. Who else knows what you're working on?"

"Only Dr. Dawson, my faculty advisor. He thinks I'm wasting time. He's been trying to steer me toward a more traditional approach."

"No one else?"

"No. Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing for you to worry about. If we find anything we'll let you know."

Lucy hung up and shook her head. "I don't know. He says he doesn't know anything."

"Well, I think we're going to have more success finding the Declaration than finding the kidnapper," Jane said.

"Agreed," Lucy said. "We need to get that map."

"I don't suppose we're going to see Ranger Leonard tomorrow?" Jane said.

Lucy shook her head. "I have another idea."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Jane said.

Lucy shrugged. "I'm going to break into the Forest Service office and make a copy of the map."

"Oh no you're not!" Mae said from the doorway. She was returning after taking yet another call from home. "You'll get arrested for sure."

"Maybe not," Jane said. "You saw that place. It looks like it was built in the twenties. I seriously doubt there's an alarm."

Mae tried a different tack. "But we can't break in. We don't know how."

"I bet I could get the door open with a credit card. And I'm not going to steal anything. I'm just going to make a copy." Lucy pushed up out of the chair. "Besides, we aren't going to do anything. You two shouldn't be involved."

"You're not leaving me behind," Jane said.

Mae made a visible effort to look brave. "I'm coming too."

"Absolutely not. I wouldn't have to worry about going to prison if we got caught, Chip would kill me."

It was the wrong thing to say. Mae bristled like a startled porcupine. "Chip is not my keeper. We all go together or not at all."

"I say we go tonight," Jane said.

Lucy had a sinking feeling things were starting to spiral out of control. Just like the rest of her life. Getting her friends involved in this seemed like such a bad idea. But they really wanted to help and she really didn't want to undertake this rescue mission on her own. "Okay, you two can come. But I'm the only one going inside."

Jane and Mae started to protest.

"It won't take three of us to make a copy. Besides, if I get arrested I'll need someone to answer when I make my one phone call."

"Mae can wait in the car and I'll be the lookout," Jane said.

Mae looked relieved. "I think I can handle being the getaway driver."

Talk of lookouts and getaway drivers gave Lucy a shiver. "Shit. We're probably going to wind up in federal prison. But I won't be able to live with myself if I don't at least try."

"Even if we get caught, we're not going to prison. Like you said, we're not stealing anything," Jane said. She grinned. "If it'll make you feel better, you can leave a dollar for the copy."

It was Belle's map. And she wasn't going to steal anything. Nothing like a little rationalization. Maybe this was how all criminals started out. "We have to wait for Belle's kidnapper to call and then we go to the forest service office."