Ponytail helped me out of the backseat and we all went inside the shack through a squeaky half door. The place was completely empty—no furniture, no old appliances or stoves. Nothing. But it was cool and smelled of the surrounding pines.
Johnson carried in a blanket from the Jeep and laid it out on the filthy wood floor. "Time to talk," he said.
Talk? I love to talk. Beats getting killed every time. And talking required that they remove this miserable gag. Tethered hands held out in front of me, I squatted, then sort of fell back on my bottom. That's when I realized they might be the ones doing all the talking.
"You have been a thorn in my side, Abby Rose," Johnson said as he joined me on the floor. "No pun intended."
A funny guy. Great.
Estelle and Ponytail sat on either side of me, and that's when I realized Estelle held my bag. Now I was getting pissed off. First my car and now my purse?
She opened the bag and took out my gun. "I found this in the glove compartment."
Joe held out his hand and Estelle handed him the Lady Smith. He looked at the .38 with disgust and set it down behind him. Then he said, "My brother will remove the gag. Trust me, no one can hear you cry out from this spot in the woods. But the cuffs have to stay on. I know about your exploits, what a capable young woman you are. You might run."
Ponytail removed the gag and didn't seem bothered by handling the slimy ball of whatever from my mouth. He tossed it in a corner and stuffed the bandanna in his jeans pocket. I wished I were wearing jeans rather than capris, because the mosquitoes were already on the attack.
"Thank you," I said. I am not usually polite to my abductors, but I'd learned from experience not to make them unnecessarily angry. They can usually get worked up without my help.
Estelle removed the necklace picture and the drawing of Ponytail from my bag now.
"The Altoids are way at the bottom, if that's what you're looking for," I said. "Ponytail here could use one."
She smiled as she smoothed the papers in the middle of our little circle.
Johnson looked at his brother. "Way too good of a likeness, Nick. This worries me."
"Why?" I said. "Is he in some database? Are you worried the police will find him? Because they will, you know."
Johnson said, "Unfortunately, that's not the kind of database he's in." He pointed at his temple. "He's in this kind of database, in someone's memory. Now, can you keep quiet so I can tell you something important?"
Me? Keep quiet? Guess he didn't know me as well as he thought. "Answer this first. Why did you do it? Had she conned you out of money?"
Johnson looked completely confused.
"That's her thing," I said. "You know, that girl in the coma? The one you wanted to sneak in and finish off? She's a con artist."
Johnson's neck reddened. Didn't I just tell myself not to piss off my kidnappers? And yet I'd gone and done it anyway.
"You don't know the first thing about her," Johnson said. "You listen to me or I'll put the gag back on. I am being forced to trust you, something I did not wish to do. But circumstances and your persistence have forced me to take these measures."
He talks funny, I thought. Stilted . . . with a trace of an accent. Nick, too, now that I'd heard him say more than a sentence.
Estelle said, "I followed you when you said you wanted to meet with Simone. I listened at the door. The girl is clueless. You should have left her out of this business."
"I'm feeling pretty clueless myself right now," I said.
"Then let me clear things up for you. I am JoLynn's father," Joe Johnson said.
I blinked, too stunned to speak. Her father?
"And," he went on, "if this investigation of yours goes any further, you will be putting her in serious danger. I might not be able to protect her again."
"Protect her?" I said, trying to figure this out.
Johnson said, "This is her uncle—you heard me call him Nick, but that is not his real name. Estelle is Nick's daughter."
"Let me guess? Not her real name, either." Three mosquitoes were feasting on my calf and I slapped at them awkwardly with my tethered hands. "So you're all JoLynn's biological family?" I took a look at the three of them and saw a hint of resemblance to JoLynn— especially in Estelle, who I was betting wore all that makeup and changed her hair color for that very reason. What the hell was this about?
"Yes, we are her family," Johnson said.
"The family that abandoned her in a bus station eleven years ago?" The anger that rose in my throat surprised me. "What kind of people are you?"
I could tell my words stung Johnson, and Nick bent his head.
Estelle was the one who spoke. "JoLynn knows she wasn't abandoned. She knew her parents were protecting her."
"How's that protecting her? She's been through hell." Yup, I was eating fire and spitting smoke now.
"If you promise never to speak of this conversation again, speak of it to anyone, then I will tell you her story. But I must have your word." Perspiration dampened the front and underarms of Johnson's T-shirt, and thin rivers of sweat wound down from his head to his neck.
"What will you do if I don't promise? Kill me?" Maybe defiance wasn't the right approach, but I couldn't understand why they'd done this to a child. No explanation could possibly be acceptable.
"If you won't promise us this, then we will disappear. We must go soon anyway, get away from JoLynn. Sadly, if you speak of us to others, JoLynn's blood may be on your hands." Johnson's eyes held mine, waiting for my answer.
"On my hands?" I said. "Let me get this straight. You want me to give up on this case, let a killer go free?"
"You mean Kent Dugan's killer?" Johnson said.
"Yes," I said. "Which one of you got rid of him after he harmed JoLynn?"
"We don't kill people, Ms. Rose. We do not know who was responsible for his death. And if you promise to remain silent, you will understand why we have no interest in harming you."
He could be lying, but I didn't think so. No matter what, I'd do what was right, promise or not. "I promise. Now tell me the truth."
"I see the skepticism in your eyes, but once you hear what we have to say, I believe you will keep this secret," Johnson said. "You are a good person."
"You get a kick out of drugging and kidnapping good people?" I raised my eyebrows in inquiry.
"That was unfortunate, but we thought a warning might make you give up," Nick said. "We were wrong."
"Tell me this big secret," I said. "Because people are probably already looking for me. I'm supposed to be at the ranch."
"Estelle left a note for Mr. Richter before she went to see what was happening between you and Simone. She wrote that you wanted to see the town and since Estelle's work was done, she agreed to show you, and then perhaps the two of you would get something to eat."
"You think they'll buy that? Pretty lame, but go ahead. Talk." I no longer felt afraid. Maybe this was another form of denial, a way to feel safe while I was wearing plastic handcuffs and sitting in a shack in the woods. At least Nick left the chloroform in the car.
"First let me tell you that my brother and I came from Europe when we were young men, brought to the country by a man in Chicago who wanted us to work for him. We were jewelers by trade, like our father and his father before."
I glanced at the picture of the little jeweled owl.
Estelle noticed this and said, "JoLynn's father made that for her. He didn't want her to forget she was a wise and special girl." She looked at Johnson. "Can I show her?"