Page 50 of G8
23SPECUL8
They were finishingtheir meal when Sheriff Biggs rushed inside the tent. His face was flushed and he was out of breath. But what alarmed them the most was the expression he wore.
“Quick! We need to get back to Heathfield! Back to your campground!”
“Why?” P8 asked, getting to his feet.
“What happened?” Ingrid demanded as she and P8 helped G8 to stand.
“My office just got a call from K8. Some men entered the campgrounds and attacked her. They took off with her other self, along with the infants.”
“What?” F8 cried out.
“Come on. A couple of my men are heading out there. You follow behind me.” He waved his arm as he hurried out.
They exited the tent and ran to Ingrid’s vehicle. G8 noticed she stayed with him as he limped behind. “You go on and get the car started,” he told her. “I’ll catch up.”
Checking where she’d parked, she looked back at him. “I have a better idea. You stop here and give that leg a rest. I’ll pull up to get you.”
He nodded in answer and halted. He wasn’t going to tell her he’d reopened the wound and could feel blood oozing down the back of his calf.
A short distance away, the eighteen-wheeler with the load of boxes was just beginning to exit the parking lot. He saw the sheriff pull up next to it, roll down his driver’s side window and exchange a few words with the truck’s driver.
They piled into the SUV, and Ingrid drove up to let him in. As soon as he closed the door, he heard F8 sniff audibly. Fortunately, she kept her mouth shut although he did glance back at her to see her worried look.
Sheriff Biggs was waiting for them at the end of the parking lot. When they reached the highway, he turned on his lights. Ingrid kept a careful distance behind them as they clocked a good fifteen to sometimes twenty miles over the speed limit. No one spoke as they raced home, but G8 noticed how she glanced at the little restaurant gas station where they’d been attacked when they passed by.
Deputy Sowels was still at the campsite when they arrived. P8 and F8 jumped out the car the instant Ingrid cut the engine and ran inside the main lodge. Ingrid waited for G8 to join her, and they made their way up the pathway together.
K8 was still hugging the other two when they entered. Sowels and Biggs spoke in hushed tones over at the other end of the room. When K8 spotted G8 and Ingrid, she went over to embrace them both. The woman was still trembling from the encounter.
“Tell us everything,” G8 gently insisted and parked himself at the closest table. Behind him, F8 and P8 also took a seat.
“Where’s N8 and T8?” F8 inquired before K8 could get started.
“They’re still at work,” the woman confessed. “I haven’t called to let them know.”
“Why not?” Ingrid asked.
“Because we need the money,” P8 admitted. “Besides, what can they do here? We’ll fill them in after they get off work and come home. Now tell us what happened.”
As the woman sat next to F8, G8 noticed K8’s two blue eyes, verifying they were speaking to the person they referred to as “K8 First.”
“I never heard them drive up. I and the second me were busy showing the guys who’d arrived in a big truck where to unload all that meat. Oh my goodness, there was so much of it, but we managed to get it all packed inside. By the time they were done, the boys were awake because of all the noise and unpacking. So the second me remained here in the main lodge while I went over to our cabin to get some diapers.” She took a deep breath. “I heard an engine, but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought it was the truck that had been here. And then I heard myself scream.”
Ingrid reached over to lay a hand on K8’s arm. “Go on.”
“I looked out the window and saw three men. Two of them had her. The other one was carrying the babies under his arms like they were sacks. Their little heads dangling downward. Myself was struggling. Screaming at them to let her go. One guy punched her in the face, and she went limp. They took her and put her in the back of a white van.”
“What about the babies?” Ingrid urged.
“That guy went somewhere where I couldn’t see him. I wanted to go after them and try to rescue them, but I knew I had to remain hidden so I could call for help after they left.”
K8 broke down in tears. F8 embraced her with one arm, and Ingrid clutched her shoulders.
“K8, did you notice if they were armed?” the sheriff inquired.
“Not that I could tell.”
