“Jack,” she said, forcing a smile. “Have they given you medical treatment?”
Jack waved off the questions. “I know who has Sarah.” Lauren nodded for him to go on. He noticed her expression wasn’t hopeful. Jack’s words tumbled over themselves, “It’s Janney. Janney and Huckley working together.”
“Sheriff Janney?” Lauren said slowly. “You think the sheriff kidnapped our daughter?”
Jack heard the condescension in her voice. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “Listen, what I have to tell you is hard to believe. I didn’t believe it myself until I saw the evidence. I need you to trust me.” He reached out and gripped her hands. She held on loosely.
“I’ll try. But—”
“No,” he whispered. “Don’t say anything else. Leave it at you’ll try.”
“O.K. Tell me.”
Jack hesitated. He needed to make Lauren understand. “This is Joseph Lonetree. He’s the man who came to the house a few days ago, the same night that I had those hallucinations. He’s who I’ve been with since I left Dr. Moran’s office yesterday afternoon.”
Lauren’s eyes shifted over to the hulking man in the corner. He smiled and nodded as if the gesture alone validated Jack’s story. “Go on.”
“Lonetree’s father and brother were both working on an archeological theory before they were murdered by people interested in keeping their past a secret. He came back to get revenge for their deaths. It just so happens that the people he wants revenge against are the same ones who have been screwing with our lives. The same ones who took Sarah.”
Lauren shook her head. “I don’t understand. They were killed over a theory?”
“This is going to sound crazy,” Jack winced at his own choice of words, “but keep an open mind until I’m done. The theory was the truth. It revolves around an ancient Indian tribe…” Jack gave a short version of the story related by the rock carvings in the cave. He described the cave itself and, finally, the story Max Dahl had told about Huckley. When Jack started telling about Max’s sudden death and his body’s deterioration, Lauren held up her hand for him to stop.
“I can’t do this,” she sobbed, “I just can’t listen to this anymore. I don’t know how this man has made you believe all of this, but it’s sick. You need help.” She gently took his hand again. “And I want to help you. I’ll get the best doctors and we’ll work through this, all right? But right now I need one thing from you.” She pulled his hands until she brought him face to face with her through the bars. “Where’s Sarah? Tell me where she is so I can go get her. Please. Will you just do that for me?”
Jack pushed back away from her. “You still think I took her! It’s Janney and Huckley. And someone they call the Boss. They’re taking her to the cave tonight. They’re going to kill her, Lauren. They’re going to kill our little girl.”
“Listen to yourself. Now there’s someone called the Boss trying to…” Lauren put her hands to her head and squeezed her temples. “Look, I don’t want to argue. I want to help.”
“You saw the numbers Sarah wrote on those papers at the house. Huckley’s room number. You know something strange is going on.”
“I talked to Dr. Moran last night. The psychiatrist. He told me you admitted to him that you wrote those numbers yourself.”
“Jesus. Moran’s one of them! You can’t trust him. He’s lying. Can’t you see what they’re doing? They’re trying to turn you against me.”
“Just tell me where Sarah is. Please, honey. Will you do that?”
Jack shook his head. “I swear to God all of this is true. You have to believe me. You’re the only one who can stop them now.”
With one last pained look, Lauren turned and walked to the door. It opened as soon as she knocked.
Jack shouted after her, “YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM, LAUREN. YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN!”
Once the door slammed shut, Lonetree grunted from the corner, “That went well.”
Jack pressed his head against the bars and squeezed his eyes shut. Never before had he felt so alone. It was already mid-morning. In only a few hours his little girl would die. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
SEVENTY
The day passed with tortuous certainty, each minute followed the next no matter how hard Jack prayed for a reprieve. Lonetree kept a respectful silence and distance from his cellmate, as if he knew better than to offer any consoling words. Jack sat on the top bunk and alternately stared at the ceiling and out the window at the approaching storm.
Low, black clouds came down from the north which this time of year meant snowfall was a possibility. These clouds weren’t the soft grey of early season snow, but the angry darkness of massive thunderstorms the valley was known for. Jack thought it fitting. The growing weather matched his mood.
Around four in the afternoon, the rain started. A soft pat-pat-pat against the Plexiglass rectangle that served as their window. Trees started to jag back and forth as the wind gusted from multiple directions. Thunder rumbled down the length of the valley, far off, but still strong enough to make the Plexiglass shudder like the skin of a beaten drum. Jack peered out of the window. Judging from the sky, it was going to be a bad night. But then again, he knew that before he looked out the window.
The door to the cell block opened and Janney came in to check on his prisoners. He looked freshly showered, his still-damp hair combed back, his face clean-shaven. Like he’s ready to go to church, Jack thought.
“Just wanted to make sure your stay with us is comfortable,” Janney said.
“Don’t do this. I’ll do anything. Just let her go.”
Janney looked pleased, as if he relished taking over Huckley’s tormentor role. “Just let her go, huh? You think that would be a good idea?”
Lonetree pulled himself to his feet. “You’re wasting your time. Huckley and the Boss call the shots. The sheriff here can’t take a crap without asking first, isn’t that right, Janney?”
Janney’s obvious pleasure at Jack’s groveling disappeared and his usual scowl returned. “No one tells me what to do. Not Huckley. Not anyone.”
Lonetree continued to bait him. “Yeah, that was obvious today. Huckley’s a god, right? What does that make you then? His servant? Are you going to worship him when he tells you to?” He sneered at Janney. “Did Huckley ask you to take a shower? He probably likes his worshippers nice and clean, huh?”
“You’re already a dead man, Lonetree. You’re just choosing how painful it’s going to be.”
Lonetree spat through the bars. “You’re pathetic. You’re just going to sit there tonight and watch Huckley acquire more power over you. Him and this Boss character? Who is this guy anyway? Is he even around here? Do you let him order you around too? Maybe that’s your deal. You like taking orders.”
“Shut up.”
“Yeah, that’s you, Janney. Playing the bitch for all the big dogs.”
Janney’s nostrils flared and color rushed to his face. Jack watched him finger his gun and wondered if the temptation would prove too much. Maybe that was Lonetree’s goal. A quick death instead of the slow torture promised them.
“You don’t know anything. The Source gives us all power. Tonight we’ll all get a fix, not just Huckley.”
“But the Boss and Huckley most of all, right?” Lonetree smirked. “God, you’re pathetic.”
Jack thought Janney might pull his gun and shoot Lonetree on the spot. Instead, he slid the palm of his hand over his head, smoothing his hair down flat against his scalp. A broad smile broke out across his face. “You’re something else. A real prize. I’m going to enjoy watching you die. Slowly.” He turned and walked down to the door leading out of the cell block. He called out, “Take care, boys. It might be a rough one for you.” Then he was gone.