A/N: Sorry about uploading the wrong chapter previously. Here is the right version!
Chapter Thirty-Two
She’d let her guard down – this was entirely her own fault. She shouldn’t have been so cocky, so confident. If she’d only just looked before stepping outside, she would have probably spotted something suspicious, out of the ordinary.
Emma wondered how long it would take for Hunter to realise something was wrong. If he would even notice that she was missing. What if he thought she’d just skipped town? No, Sarah would alert him – but she didn’t know how long it would take until Sarah realised that she was missing. Sarah was always carefree, disappeared one day from the next to chase adventures and she offered the same liberties to her friends.
She sat up, leaning against the hard wall. She hoped someone would realise she was missing – and realise fast. She didn’t know how long she had with this psycho.
“Hello?” She yelled out, her voice coarse and dry from the lack of water. “I’m fucking thirsty you moron!”
Nobody replied. The walls absorbed her shout, and the sound disappeared into the snowy abyss outside.
This was so ridiculous. And unfair. There were so many steps this piece of shit human could have taken before kidnapping her. Maybe a phone-call. Or a text conversation, laying out what it was that they wanted before getting to this level. They might’ve been surprised. She was a fairly cooperative person.
“Are you just going to leave me here until I die of boredom!?” she stomped her feet against the ground, “we could speed this up by simply having a conversation you know!”
She knew she was being a little sassy but she figured being rude wouldn’t affect the outcome of this. If the person had gone to such lengths to kidnap her, they probably had an idea of what they were going to do with her. All she felt at this point was anger.
“Hellooooooooo!” She yelled out again, making sure to scream as loud as she could.
She jumped as she heard something move outside the door then, and she held her breath as she heard a key rattle in the lock.
Straining against her restraints, she craned her head to see who it was. She was finally going to find out. Months of fucking misery, stalking, harassment – and she’d finally get to meet this asshole or bitch in the face.
The two of them walked in, looking nonchalant and nonplussed.
Her mouth fell open, shock reverberating through her body. “Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”
x.x.
The fog was finally lifting from his head and he had officially never felt this stupid in his entire life. If his pride hadn’t been so battered, he probably would have clued in sooner to the fact that she wasn’t just gone, but that she was missing. “Fucking hell,” he muttered under his breath as he drove into the police station. God, he felt so stupid. He didn’t want to believe it but there was a very large part of him that was sure he would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to her.
He’d alerted the police cell of Emma as a missing case, but due to standard protocol, there was only a limited amount that they could do until the 72 hour mark – which was when protocol officially acknowledged an individual as missing and released all resources to find them. It was a flawed system, since chances of finding someone after the 72 hour mark had passed dropped significantly. But he would do whatever he could and turn the entire town on its head if it meant finding her.
Ignoring the grim reality that whoever had her could harm her, since the thought of it made him sick to his stomach, he screeched his car to a halt and barraged into the station.
Officer Robbie was already waiting for him at the front, “you really think she’s been taken?
“Without a doubt.”
“Shit.”
“Get everyone in the conference room in five.”
“Should I call Officer Jackson too?”
“Of course you should,” he nearly growled, “get Adamson to pull CCTV footage of street 36, road 5 and the interstate leading into town before he meets us in the conference room.”
“On it.”
Hunter tried to steel his nerves, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He hated this feeling. It made him feel weak. The feeling that something so completely out of your control could have such a significant impact on you. This is why you didn’t care about people. It made you vulnerable. God, he wanted to punch a hole into the wall.
He had just gotten into the conference room when Officer Diana ran in behind him, “Sheriff, you have to hear this.”
He gritted his jaw, knowing at once it was about Emma. “What is it?”
“Somebody left a voice mail. It’s really bizarre.”
x.x
Emma stared up at the two of them, not knowing whether to cry, or laugh, or scream. Somehow it made sense, and yet, at the same time, it made no sense at all.
“Sorry, Emma,” Clayton gave a tight smile, his face looking morose and regretful. He brushed his hand through his ruffled hair, looking to his side at Officer Jackson, who stood by the other end of the room with his arms crossed. “I know this seems a little crazy.”
“A little?” She yelled and spat as close to his feet as possible. “You asshole, I fucking kissed you.”
“I mean, I still do like you.”
“In your dreams, Clayton,” she didn’t even have time for him, “And you?” She said to Office Jackson, feeling something swell up in her throat, “Why?”
The usual warmth his face carried had dissipated, replaced by something stoic and nonchalant, “it’s nothing against you Emma, you just came back into town at the wrong time.”
She groaned, “god, if I survive this, I’m going to have trust issues for the rest of my life.”
“We’re not going to kill her, right dad?”
“Dad?” She nearly lost it right then and there, “you’re his son?”
“Biological, yeah,” Clayton kneeled down to sit down in front of her, “I only found out when I was around twelve. I was adopted at birth, and dad reached out via email around twelve.”
He was saying this so matter-of-factly, that she almost wanted to slap him. “I don’t care about your life story Clayton.” God she felt angry. And betrayed, but mainly angry. “What am I doing here?”
“Okay, no need to be rude, Emma.”
“YOU HAVE ME TIED UP, CLAYTON,” Emma lost it then, pulling against the restraints, “and what about you, does Hunter know you’re in on this?”
Detective Jackson finally moved then, pushing off from the side of the wall. “I knew your father really well, Emma. It hurts me to see you like this.”
She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Shut up, and just let me go.”
“Hey, what did I say about rudeness?”
Emma sighed then. This was going nowhere. “Ok. Fine. Tell me what you guys want to tell me. I’m sure you both have been dying to reveal all this to me. Go ahead.”
“I know you feel betrayed,” Jackson pulled up a wooden chair, and sat down on it. “But it’s important you understand why this is happening.”
She couldn’t even look at him. She had let him into her home, had fed him, had even trusted him.
“Your father was my brother.”
She felt her stomach drop then, and it felt as if the air had left her lungs completely. Frozen in place, she slowly looked back up at him, gobsmacked. “I’m sorry, what?”
The detective nodded slowly, “you’re my niece.”
Clayton gave her a small smile, “which means we’re cousins.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she suddenly felt nauseous. “Clayton, you hit on me.”
“First cousin relationships are legal in many places around the world.”
Emma closed her eyes, “I’m gonna be sick.”
Jackson’s voice was low, and serious. “Your father was a hard person to get along with. I’m sure you’re well aware of that. His alcoholism destroyed all the relationships in his life, including with you and your mom.”
She kept her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn’t see it, she wouldn’t have to believe it.
“The last time I saw your dad, we were teenagers. He moved to Harbordale, and I stayed in the city. I saw you when you were born, he let me visit then. He was sober for a few years, before the alcoholism came roaring back into his life. That’s when I knew we had lost him for good. If a new baby girl can’t chase away a man’s demons, nothing can.”
“I can’t believe this,” Emma breathed out, squeezing her eyes shut, “can you please stop talking…”
“I tried to make amends with your father. I wanted you in my life,” Detective Jackson actually sounded forlorn, as if he truly cared, “but he wanted nothing to do with me, or his mother, or his grandfather. If we were against his drinking, he was against us.”
“I didn’t know my dad,” Emma replied angrily, and strongly. “If this is about some dumb vengeance against him, you’re wasting your breath. I don’t care about how much you hate him or -.”
“Emma, don’t be silly. This isn’t about revenge. I’m not as small minded as that.”
“Then? What do you want from me? Why have you been harassing me?”
“It’s about money.”
“I’m broke,” she almost wanted to laugh. “Get these god damn chains off me.”
“Your father left a will, and that lighthouse belongs to me. I want you to give it to me.”
She stared at the two of them, shocked. “This is about the deed to the land? For fucks sake, I don’t know where the will is! And even if I did, I wouldn’t hand it over to some murdering sociopaths,” she glared at Jackson, “you lied straight to my face. You swore an oath to protect people. Jesus Christ, isn’t this against the policeman bible – what you’re doing right now?!”
“The land is worth millions, Emma,” Clayton’s voice was soft as normal, his blue eyes eager, “I could go to college, dad could build a gorgeous estate, get the lighthouse up and running again. It would do so much for the town. It’ll just waste away if you don’t hand it over.”
“I don’t give a shit!” Emma yelled, “my father gave it to me and I don’t care if you’re my incestuous cousin, or my deadbeat uncle, you don’t get to terrorize me into handing it over.”
“If you had waited even just a month before moving to Harbordale, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Three months after your father’s death, with no actionable will or claiming family members, the land would have been passed to me. You simply moved back at the wrong time,” Detective Jackson actually sounded conciliatory. “Now where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Emma, don’t be stubborn now,” Clayton tried to touch her leg but she flinched away. “We’ll let you go as soon as you tell us.”
“Oh really?” She scoffed, “you’ve already murdered someone. You think I’m really going to believe you’ll let me walk out of here alive?”
“You get to decide how this moves forward,” Detective Jackson leaned forward, his voice soft. “you’re in control here.”
“Cut the bullshit. I’ve fucked a cop, lived with one, and slept with him; I know the tactics you guys use inside and out. None of your negotiation crap will work on me,” she reeled back, “which one of you did it? Was it you Jackson? Did you kill that jogger while Clayton was lying in the hospital with the broken leg? Was the broken leg even real? Jesus, you guys are both so messed up. I can’t believe this”
“Ok, it looks like you’re still angry. We’ll come back in a few hours and see how you feel then.”
“You’re just going to leave me here?!”
“Hunter’s actually called for a conference call at the station to get the officers together to discuss your disappearance. I have to make an appearance for that lest he becomes suspicious,” Jackson gave her a small smile. “Don’t fret, I’ll make sure to put all his worries to rest.”
She glared at him, hoping looks could kill.
He seemed unbothered, and the two of them left then, shutting the door behind them. It was only when she was left alone that she rested her head back and cried out. This was ridiculous. Insane. She felt sick. If she wasn’t so angry, she might have even felt hurt. If she wasn’t sure she was awake from how thirsty she was, she would’ve convinced herself it was a nightmare.
She was going to kill them both, before they could get to her. And she would expose Jackson for the dirty cop that he was.
She just needed to get out of here first.