Jack mustered every ounce of strength in his body as he pushed his body to the wall. Pushing up with his arms and good leg, he got onto his feet, slowly moving forward, gun in hand, pushing forward towards the double exit doors. Each movement was excruciating; each second felt like an eternity. Finally, he got to the double doors and pushed them open violently, as blood gushed from his leg and the color escaped from his face. He watched as Kendricks brutally shoved Tristan in the backseat of an old gold Nova, yelling at her to shut up and get down as she tried to fight back. Jack couldn't move any further. He was losing too much blood, and he felt dizzy and as if he would faint at any moment. As Kendricks slammed the driver side door to the Nova, Jack let out a murderous scream, “I will find you, and I will kill you! I will break every bone in your body! If she is harmed, you will wish you were never born!”
Kendricks watched Jack from his rear-view mirror, as his death threat was made, a dread took over his heart, despite the nonchalant look on his face as if he was unfazed. He watched as a monstrous look grew across Jack's face. Shaking the unpleasant feeling, Kendricks kicked his weight into the gas pedal, and Jack watched as the gold Nova fled from the parking lot with his daughter, who was pounding on the glass, hoping to break free as tears streamed down her terrified face.
Chapter Sixteen
Escape Artist
Somewhere on I-80, Western Pennsylvania
October 9, 1997
“I don't know why you insist on making things so difficult, Catherine...” said Kendricks in a calm and charming voice that did not fool Tristan. She rolled her eyes at the name, only becoming more agitated by the second. She sat in the back seat of the Nova bound at the wrists, now dressed in a pair of ratty jeans and blue t-shirt with paint spatter that she kept in the coat closet at school for art days. Kendricks had taken the clothing from the coat room on his last day at Steeplechase, fully aware of what he planned to do in the early morning hours of October the eighth.
Anger raged inside of Tristan. She was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she became more nauseated with each passing mile marker on the highway. The car was barreling westward on I-80, and Tristan had been listening to his neurotic rambling for some time now.
“My name is not Catherine.” Tristan said, gritting her teeth.
Ignoring her, Kendricks continued, “We could have been all settled in by now. South Dakota is a lovely state, you know. Lots of wildlife and open space, quite like Fox Hollow, but without all the distractions.”
“I'm not going to South Dakota, and my name is not Catherine!” Tristan insisted, getting angrier with each passing second.
“You will of course have to decide what your name will be when we get there. He will look for us, of course. At least for a while. He will eventually give up. And while I love your name, Catherine, I must insist that we take on new identities. For our own protection.”
Tristan, scratching at her sore wrists and aching leg, had about enough of Bernard Kendricks’ psychotic ramblings. Did this lunatic actually think she was her mother? Slowly, she had begun to cut through her bindings using the sharp edge of the rusted track under the driver's seat. She did so slowly, and before they left the state line, she would make her move. She had to.
There was no way in hell that I was going to South Dakota, and becoming Kendricks’ little wife on the prairie. Well, forget that! He is insane and if he calls me Catherine one more time, I will kill him myself.
“For our own protection, huh?”
“Well yes, of course, Catherine...”
“Stop calling me Catherine! I am not my mother! And who is to protect me from you?!” The warm, if fake, tone was removed from Kendricks’ voice now.
“I've had enough of your games now, Catherine! What's done is done, it is time for us to move on. We cannot go back. Ever! There is nothing there for us now. If you wouldn't run, I wouldn't have to keep dragging you back. Run again, and you’ll be sorry.”
Tristan stared as she watched his demeanor turn from friendly to dangerous. Slowly, he turned around in his seat, shaking his head in disgust.
*
“On a count of three, we're going to lift... one, two, three...”
Medical staff now surrounded Jack outside of the hospital, lifting his weak body onto a gurney. Someone was already trying to get the bleeding under control, holding rags over his knee that was gushing blood.
“We need to get him into surgery now, before he loses this leg. This knee cap is shattered, and the ligaments are badly damaged.”
Jack, falling in and out of consciousness, could hear the medical staff talk and he managed to yell out.
“To hell with my knee! That man took my daughter! Gold Nova, license plate GA57065... GA57065! Ohio tags!”
“Hennessy!” the nurse who was closest to Jack's head yelled out at the orderly at Jack's feet. “Write that down! He said a gold Nova, license plate GA57065 Ohio. He said that man kidnapped his daughter.”
With all the strength he could muster Jack spat out, “Bernard Kendricks…kidnapped my daughter. Call Sergeant DiNolfo… in Elkhart.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the world went black. Jack could still hear voices around him, but the voices seemed far away, like standing in a dark tunnel and looking for any hint of sunlight. His thoughts were erratic, fast and dizzying. His body couldn't tolerate being awake another second. In the distance, the faint whir of a police siren sounded into the afternoon air.
*
Tristan continued to try to sever the rope around her wrists as Kendricks continued to ramble in the front seat of the car.
“We're just past Reynoldsville now. We'll be in Ohio in just a few hours.”