The Night Monster_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [102]
“Here. Let me help you,” I said.
I pulled Seppi to her feet. Her hostess uniform was covered with dirt, as were her face and hands. She looked terribly vulnerable, and I felt sorry for her. She glanced up and down the street, and I saw something resembling anger flash across her face.
“Don’t tell me you came here by yourselves,” Seppi said.
I nodded, and so did Linderman.
“Oh, Jesus Christ,” she said.
CHAPTER 52
he three of us piled into my car. Linderman sat in the backseat with a shotgun lying across his lap, while Seppi sat in the passenger seat next to me. When I told her to fasten her seat belt, she let out a nervous laugh.
“You’re funny,” she said without humor.
I turned my Legend around, and drove back to the town’s main drag. I stopped at the intersection, and looked both ways. The streets and the sidewalks were deserted, the stores shut down for the night. I glanced in my mirror at Linderman.
“Which way?” I asked.
“What’s the closet city?” Linderman asked.
“Daytona Beach. It’s about a thirty-mile drive.”
“We’ll go there. I’ll call my counterpart at the FBI’s Jacksonville office, and have him meet us.”
I pointed my car east. A part of me wanted to floor the accelerator, but I knew that it was better not to run when you weren’t being chased. We reached the edge of town without any problems, and I felt myself relax.
“We’re not going to make it out of here,” Seppi suddenly said. “Sheriff Morcroft comes by my house every night to make sure I’m home. If he doesn’t see my car in the driveway, he’ll know something’s wrong, and he’ll come looking.”
“What times does he usually come by?” Linderman asked.
“Twelve-fifteen on the nose. Sometimes he even knocks on the door, and makes me come outside.”
“How long has he been doing that?” Linderman asked.
Seppi started to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. Her hand wiped away the tears running down her cheeks. The questions were tearing her apart, but we needed to know.
“Since you escaped from Lonnie and Mouse?” I asked.
Her head snapped. “Who told you about them?”
“We’ve known about Lonnie and Mouse for several days,” I said. “They recently kidnapped a young woman in Fort Lauderdale, and brought her back here. She was a nursing student, just like you were.”
Seppi’s chin fell on her chest, and she fought back a sob. I stared at the darkened road in front of me. An uneasy silence fell over the car. For a few minutes, no one said anything. Buster stuck his head between the seats. Seppi broke out of her funk, and started to pet him.
“I wanted to tell someone about them—I swear to God, I did,” Seppi said. “But Sheriff Morcroft threatened me. He said that if I contacted the police and told them about Lonnie and Mouse, he was going to the nursing home where my mother lives, and put a pillow over her face. I couldn’t let him do that. Do you understand? I couldn’t.”
“How long did they hold you prisoner?” I asked.
“Two and a half years,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“You want to know something? It felt like ten.”
I had a dozen more questions I wanted to ask Victoria Seppi, and I’m sure Linderman did as well. But I never got the chance to. Five miles outside of town, I spotted the outline of a car parked behind some pine trees by the side of the road. It could have been an abandoned vehicle or a pair of lovers, but my gut told me it wasn’t. Moments later, a pair of headlights appeared in my mirror, and I knew it was trouble.
“We’ve got company,” I said.
Linderman turned around in his seat and looked behind us.
“Pickup truck. Could be anybody,” he said.
I was doing sixty-five. I punched the gas, and my Legend spurted ahead. The pickup quickly caught up.
“Better lose them,” Linderman said.
“I’ll try.”
Seppi clasped her hands together and started to pray. I did not want to die in this little podunk town, and I floored the accelerator. My Legend was old, but still had