Page 74 of Chasing Justice
He’d been so pissed when Doug had come to his office a couple weeks ago and told him the truth. He remembered Doug strolling in that day. Wayne was already in a bad spot, still grieving his wife and wishing she were there to help him talk to Maya.
When Doug had knocked on the door, Wayne could tell by his face that something was wrong. He’d assumed it was about Maya. That she’d finally unraveled. Maybe her drinking had earned her a DUI and now Wayne had to bail her out.
“Sit down,” he remembered saying, gesturing to a chair. “What can I help you with?”
Doug had nodded and taken a seat. He stared at the floor, hands in his coat pockets. When he looked up, Wayne was surprised to notice signs of stress and even a few tears brimming.
“Doug, what’s wrong? Is it Maya?” Wayne prodded. He stood up and shut his office door, sitting back down.
Doug stared down at his hands now on his lap, interlaced. “No, it’s me,” he finally answered. “I need to talk to you because I’m in deep shit and I don’t know how to get out of it or what to do.”
Wayne should have helped Doug more. He was like a father or grandfather to him, after all. After Doug’s father died, Wayne and Karen had helped out Doug’s mother. They became family. Family stood by your side no matter what.
But Doug wasn’t a kid anymore. He should have known better. And Wayne wasn’t young anymore either. He stretched his stiff joints again. As his body continued to ache, he also thought about his age. Next year he was back up for reelection, and at sixty-eight, maybe it was time to hang up his badge and take up more fishing and trail riding and most importantly, spending time with Maya.
First, he had to get out of here.
Think, Wayne.
Stop and think.
What had he always told Maya when she was little?Don’t panic. He needed to take his own advice here.
Wind whooshed outside and the old building rattled. Sunbeams highlighted dust particles floating through the air. Wayne moved his feet and straw rustled underneath them. Picking up his hands, he tested the chains. Everything in here was old. Maybe he could pull the chains out of the wall. He strained against the cuffs and they bit into his skin.
Wayne shuffled around and worked to get a closer look at what was holding the chains. He was in some sort of old cow milking barn. The rings and chains were attached to concrete. If a cow couldn’t pull that out, then no human would be able to either. The rest of the barn would probably collapse before the chains gave way. He had to wait until his captor came back.
If she ever did.
Keep thinking, Wayne.
Maybe he could unscrew the tie from the wall. His legs felt like rubber, but he managed to wobble to his feet. There were screws—rusted over. Even with a vat of WD-40 they might not ever move.
He studied the handcuffs around his wrists. If he could find the right tool like a small nail or paper clip, he could probably pick the cuffs loose. That seemed to be his best bet.
Wayne inspected the areas he could reach in the old barn. Most of the nails would be too big. He kicked around the straw, frustration building. What did he expect to find? Paper clips underneath? There was nothing useful here, but he refused to sit down and do nothing.
Wayne tipped his head. He thought he heard a truck. The closer it got, the louder the engine was. Most likely a diesel. He sat back down. He should look like he was waking up.
The truck shut off. After the deafening sound of the engine, the barn seemed eerily quiet. A vehicle door opened and closed. Wayne slowly breathed in and out.Remain calm, he kept telling himself.
The door to the barn creaked open, and for a moment the sunlight blasted through, blinding him. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.
“Nice to see you’re awake again.”
“Out of all the people I would think of who would take me, you aren’t the one I was expecting,” Wayne said.
“I know. It’s time to move you again. I can’t have anyone find you.”
Wayne was ready to stand, but then the person rushed him. There was a prick in his arm, and a few seconds later, everything went dark again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“What next?” Maya asked Josh. They stood outside the sheriff’s office, the sun beating down. Summer had arrived, but some thunderheads in the distance hinted toward afternoon storms. “We don’t have anything to go on. All our leads have been a dead end. Even if Miranda matches Jenna’s print, we can’t do anything until we get a warrant.”
“I know,” Josh said. “You and Juniper could head back out on patrol and watch for the Russian visitor or any sign of Jenna. We can follow them. Maybe if the Russian or the Rays took your grandfather, they will lead you to his location.”
Maya knew that Josh was giving her busywork to help her out. She wanted to figure out who the informant was from the department. Her grandfather might have more information in his office, but she didn’t want to tell Josh what she was up to. “Going back to patrol sounds good, but keep me in the loop.”
