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Now we’re back to offer our weekly free Thriller excerpt:
A Mind Abducted (Book 1)
by Corinne Leigh Donovan
Josie, responsible beyond her age, is helpful around the house, takes good care of her younger sister, and always follows the rules.
This is not enough to prevent her from being abducted by a madman. Making it her mission to fight back, she gives everything she has to outsmart her abductor.
With the help of an unexpected ally, she learns how to keep herself alive long enough to come up with a plan. But, will the plan work?
Will she die at the hands of her captor? And if she survives, will she make it back to her family?
CONTINUE JOSIE’S STORY IN A DETERMINED MIND.
And here, for your reading pleasure, is our free excerpt:
6
At 5 minutes till 4:00, she shouted, “I’m going to meet Josie now!”
Her mom ran down the stairs. “Lacey, are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?” she asked.
“No. It’s fine,” she answered, as she gave her a quick hug and kiss.
Grabbing her heavy coat on the way out, she set her duffle bag down to pull the coat on, buttoning it up to the top before placing the duffle bag crosswise over her body. She tucked her pillow under her arm and started on her way.
Five minutes later, she was waiting for Josie at their usual meeting spot. Feeling the temperature plummet, she cinched up her coat and pulling a knit cap from her pocket, she pulled it over her ears and readjusted the coat’s hood, allowing it to double up the warmth. Her teeth chattered as her body convulsed from the prickling cold.
She began to move, aerobics-like, in an attempt to warm up her body. Five minutes later, she looked at her watch, wondering how much longer she’d have to wait. Replaying their conversation in her head, she thought, did she say I should just come all the way to her house? No. She was going to meet me halfway to make sure I could make it with my stuff.
She continued to wait as the sun started to descend into the trees.
The chilling, wet snow seeped into her boots, leaving her toes cold and stiff, she contemplated whether she should go back to her house or walk the rest of the way to Josie’s. My house it is. At least I could get some new socks. Mine had become soaked, after all, she considered.
She shot in through the door and went right for the vents, ripping off her boots and soaked socks in one swift motion. She felt the thaw, and a yelp of pain erupted from her lips.
Her mom ran into the room in angst.
“Oh, it’s you! What are you doing home?” she asked, with her hand over her chest.
“Josie never showed up,” Lacey answered.
With a puzzled look she said, “That’s weird.”
“And it’s not like her at all,” she added.
After walking out of the room, Lacey’s mom behind her, “be back in a sec!” A moment later, she called from the kitchen, “How long did you wait, Lacey?”
“Like 15 minutes. At least.”
A few moments later, she heard her mom’s heels click against the linoleum. Looking up, she sighed as she spotted the warm mug of hot chocolate. Wrapping her cold hands around the mug, she allowed the warmth to enter her fingertips.
Lacey’s mom kicked off her heels and sat next to her daughter on the floor. Wrapping her arms around Lacey’s trembling body, she slid her hands up and down Lacey’s arms to generate heat. After handing her the phone, she said, “You’d better call. Maybe she was running late. Tell her mom I’ll drive you. It’s too dark to walk now.”
Lacey couldn’t help but wonder if she had the plans wrong. The sick feeling she’d been suppressing sunk deeper into her stomach as she slowly dialed the phone number.
7
“Hello?” Mrs. McIntosh answered.
“Yes, Mrs. McIntosh, um, this is Lacey.”
“Oh, hello, Lacey! Where are you girls? Did you forget something?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” she said. “I waited for Josie, but she never showed.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Mrs. McIntosh?” Waiting for an answer, she looked to her mom for direction.
“Lacey, you met Josie at the park, right?” she recalled.
“I went to the park, but she wasn’t there. I thought maybe I got the time wrong or something and came back home.”
Mrs. McIntosh yelled for Eric as Lacey’s mom tugged the phone from her hands.
“Angie,” she interrupted. “Angie, it’s Kathy… What’s going on?”
She could only hear one side on the conversation now as her mom stood up and started walking away. She spoke calmly into the phone, “Yes, 20 minutes ago at least… Yes, she said she waited for over 15 minutes for her. I’m sure… We’ll be right there.”
Moments later, they were at Josie’s house. Questions spewed from all directions. Lacey’s stomach hurt. Her lips were trembling and her legs felt like jelly. She could barely stand. Lacey covered her face with her hands and started rocking back and forth on her knees, trying to stifle the ringing in her ears. Maybe she fell down. Was she freezing in the snow? she wondered.
Lacey’s dad arrived shortly after her mom called him. He and Eric agreed to walk the path Josie would have taken. They walked out the back door, blankets in hand, both gripping flashlights.
Eric turned and said to Angie through the door, “We’ll find her. Don’t do anything until we get back.”
With her arms outstretched before her, she brought one up to her lips. “The police,” she said with her eyes wide. “We should call the police.”
“Not yet, Ang,” he said. “They’ll say it hasn’t been enough time anyway. Wait–just until we get back.” With that, they turned and began retracing Josie’s steps.
Mrs. McIntosh grabbed her keys from the counter and ran out the garage door stammering, “I—I can’t stay here doing nothing.”
“Don’t worry,” Lacey’s mom said with her hand on Angie’s. “We’ll stay here in case she calls or comes home. Lacey can help me watch Em, too.”
Lacey opened the door just a crack. While the garage door muted her voice, she could still see Angie’s face from the car. Her thumbs drummed nervously on the steering wheel; lifting them every few moments she wringed her fingers in distress. Her eyes were heavy with tears pouring down her cheeks. She put her head down on the steering wheel.
When the garage door had finished squealing, Lacey put her ear to the opening and heard her mom say, “Angie, you aren’t fit to drive. Wait for the guys to get back and I can go with you.”
“I can’t leave my baby out there, Kathy,” she answered, sobbing. “What if she’s cold? Or scared?” she added.
Seconds later, Lacey’s mom backed up from the car window and watched Angie back out of the driveway. She yelled to her, “We’ll find her, Angie. If she’s not back by the time you get home, we’ll call the police.”
Ten minutes had passed. Em was playing with blocks, and although Lacey was supposed to be playing with her, she couldn’t stop worrying about Josie. Biting her upper lip, trying to convince herself that Angie would return with Josie any minute, she prayed.
There was a knock at the door. Lacey and her mom looked at each other before dashing to answer it.
Lacey held her breath as she turned the knob. She opened to see Jessie and her mom. Shawna, Jessie’s mom, walked in exclaiming, “I just heard! What can we do?” with Jessie trailing behind.
“She never showed,” Lacey said to Jessie. “I was supposed to spend the night, and she never showed to meet me.”
“They’ll find her,” Jessie assured Lacey.
Shortly after, Lacey’s dad came back with Eric. She could tell Josie was not with them, as she saw sorrow in her dad’s eyes.
“She was nowhere to be found, Lacey. There aren’t even tracks in the snow back there. Are you sure she was going to meet you?” he asked.
She nodded and managed only to ask, “then where is she, Dad?”
He reached a comforting warm hand over her head before guiding her gently to his chest. She held her breath, willing herself not to cry.
He stroked her hair and in a shaky voice said, “It’s going to be alright.” At that, he quickly backed up as they heard the garage door rise.
Lacey looked up at him. “The garage,” he said, with his eyes wide. They ran to the garage door and watched as Josie’s mom exited the van and shook her head, covering her face with her hands. Eric took Josie’s mom by the arm and eased her into the house; looking fearful she would break.
8
(Four Hours Missing)
“Ma’am, please calm down. I realize this is difficult, but you need to stay as calm as possible. It’s imperative you are able to give us as much detail about your daughter as possible,” the Detective said.
He took a seat beside Josie’s mom and said, “My name is Detective Falcor. I know this is an unimaginable situation, but I am here to help. The more information we can gather about your daughter, the arrangements she had today, the people she hangs out with, and the family and friends she comes into contact with, the better.”
“She’s 13 with brown hair and hazel eyes,” she answered.
Detective Falcor nodded and said, “That’s good, that’s exactly the kind of information we need,” as he wrote the information in his notebook.
“Mrs. McIntosh… Angie, right? Can I call you Angie?”
She nodded.
“I have additional questions for you, and my partner, Detective Silba will be talking to your husband. Is there somewhere she can take him to have their interview?” He asked as her face turned sickly. “Don’t worry. It’s standard procedure to rule out family members in order to move forward with the investigation,” he added.
“I see,” she said and directed Detective Silba with a head tilt toward the left before answering, “Yes, they are welcome to use the den.”
As Detective Silba took Eric into the den, Detective Falcor continued with Josie’s mom.
“Now, what is Josie’s height and weight?” he asked.
“A—about, um… I’m not sure. She hasn’t had her physical yet this year. She wears a 14 in girls,” she answered.
Lacey piped up, “She’s the same size as me. Same shoe size and everything – a 7 ½.”
Detective Falcor gave her a smile and said, “So about …”
She wrinkled her face, trying to think, “About 4 feet, 10 inches tall and 90 pounds?” she answered, not completely sure.
“Great,” he said as he wrote. “Now, where were the girls supposed to meet?” he asked. Angie looked over and said, “Barney Park, right, Lacey? Josie said there is a well-formed path through the woods. Not even a 5-minute walk.”
Lacey looked up. “Yeah, we always meet at the same spot. We’ve been meeting at the park just on the other side of the woods. It’s about halfway between her house and mine. Like Mrs. McIntosh said, it’s like 5 minutes.”
“Okay, and would there be any reason for her to have decided not meet you, Lacey?” he asked.
“No, not at all,” she answered. “We talked about our plans for tonight. Either my mom would bring me over or we’d meet halfway. I know she wouldn’t have left me because I had to carry all of my stuff.”
“Because you were spending the night here,” he finished. “Would she have gone somewhere else? Has she met anyone or talked to anyone new lately?” he asked.
“No, she’s not like that. She and I have gotten really close. She would have told me something like that!” she said angrily, her throat tightening as she choked back tears.
Detective Silba, having finished with Eric, interrupted just then. “Sweetie, we just have to check all avenues. We don’t think she did anything wrong. She’s not in trouble. We just want to find her.”
Lacey stood with tears spilling over her lids, exclaiming, “I swear! She wouldn’t have gone anywhere else. She was excited to have me over.” With that, she crumbled to the couch in disbelief, wondering how this could be happening.
“Okay, that’s good information. Thank you, Lacey,” Detective Falcor said, ending the conversation.
“Angie, did you and Josie fight recently? Is there any reason she would have decided to run away?”
Angie looked straight at him and said, “No, my daughter is a good kid. She is a good student; she doesn’t get in trouble at school. She’d have no reason to run away.” She held her eyes to his, affirmed in her conviction that Josie would never run away.
He paused for a moment, eyeing Josie’s mom. Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he sighed. “Okay, what I need now,” Detective Falcor said, “is a photo of Josie, along with a description of any moles, scars, or distinguishing features. Does she have her ears pierced? Braces? And what was she wearing when she left the house?”
She stood and walked to where picture frames were affixed to the wall. “She has her ears pierced, but doesn’t have braces. She was wearing jeans. And a purple coat – a puffy one – with a fur-lined hood. I don’t remember what shirt she was wearing, a sweatshirt – a pink one maybe,” she said, unsure of herself.
As she frantically collected photos from their affixed frames, laying each one on the table she held her arm over her stomach, as if to stop herself from vomiting.
“This one is the most recent,” she replied with her finger tapping on the image. Her eyes locked on Josie’s smiling face while the tears, about to breech the edge of her lids, threatened to spill with the blink of her eye. “She has a small, light birthmark beneath her right eye. When she was little, I told her an angel kissed her there.” The dam broke and tears spilled freely as she sobbed into her palms.
9
“Please!” I pleaded, sobbing hysterically. “Let me out! What do you want from me? What did I do?!”
I could hear the echo of my anguished voice as we rounded a corner sharply. One left turn, I thought as my head hit the right side of the truck. That was probably Jennings Street we just turned on. Where is he taking me? The tears blurred my vision. It was dark, so I couldn’t see much anyway. There were cracks in the door of the truck, allowing little light to stream in.
I began stomping my boots into those crevices, hoping against hope that I could widen the gaps enough to stick my fingers through. If I did, would someone even notice?
The steel was strong – too strong. I decided I’d have to make enough noise or commotion for someone to notice. Maybe if we stopped, I could scream, could bang on the side and cause the truck to rock—something to arise suspicion in neighboring cars.
Suddenly the truck slowed to a stop. I banged, kicked, and screamed, just as I had planned, for what seemed like several minutes. We began to move again, this time, veering the other direction. Ok, so that was a right, probably the light on Beemer Street, I subconsciously thought to myself.
I was exhausted from just those few minutes of using every ounce of energy I had in an attempt to free myself from this prison. I decided to sit and pay attention to the directions, resting up for the next stop when I would, again, gather up the will to fight my way out of that dark, confining box.
We stayed in a straight line for several minutes before stopping and continuing forward again. No turns there. I guess we’re still on Beemer. It’s a long road – goes out to the highway, I think.
As small as our town is, it was hard to get a grasp on where we were. Moments later, we came to another stop. I repeated my earlier plan, screaming, “Please! Let me out!! Heellllllp!” I stepped back and ran toward the door using my shoulder in an attempt to bust through, hearing a pop as I did so. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh,” I screamed, as I pulled my right upper arm to my body with my left hand. “Please … somebody!” I implored, as I beat my fists repeatedly on the door, howling as my shoulder ached in rebellion.
The truck lurched forward again. I pressed my back against the wall of the truck, allowing my body to slide downward. I laid my legs out before me and hung my head, shocked by the events. Maybe this was the last light before the highway, I thought. Had we hit all green lights until this one? I pulled strength from deep within myself to focus. Most 13 year olds wouldn’t have the town streets memorized, I thought, but with the level of responsibility I had taken in the last several years since Dad left and mom married Eric, I knew I had it in me. I had no choice, I thought. I have to fight. I pulled the strength God gave me from deep within my gut to make it my mission to return to Mom and Em.
By now, I could tell by the sound that we were going over the river. Sometime later, the truck veered and made several turns before lurching to a stop. I heard the engine cut and cowered in the corner of the truck.
“What do you want?” I pleaded. For several minutes, I heard nothing. I decided to stand up and see if the cabin door would budge. I pulled and felt possibility. I yanked and the door gave, opening to the side. Realizing I was alone, I stepped through the opening. As I adjusted to the blazing white snow reflecting back at my stunned eyes, I saw a vast open space blanketed in snow. Beyond the clearing were snow-covered pine trees.
I can make it, I thought, yet wondering why he unlocked the door to begin with. Fearful that he would be waiting for me, ready to pounce, I convinced myself this was my only chance. RUN!! NOW! GO! I yelled at myself, willing my legs to move forward. The stabbing pain in my shoulder now an afterthought, I jumped out and saw my abductor peeing on the side of the truck.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled. I ran without answering, but even with cross-country training, I was no match for his stride.
He ran for me and yanked me by my ponytail. I crashed to the ground with a hard thud, hitting my shoulder and hearing a new ‘pop!’ I struggled to my feet, ready to run, when the back of his hand connected with my lip. I spit blood into his face as he wrapped his strong hand around my neck, forcing the last breath I held in my lungs to depart from my lips. As darkness faded in, I reached out, fingernails extended. Thank you, God, I thought, as I connected with his face, leaving two long, bloody crevices. I gave one good kick in the groin before he released his grip, simultaneously bringing one hand to his face and one hand to his groin while doubling over.