Alice Carpenter Read online

  McKay’s Heroine

  by

  Alice Carpenter

  copyright November 2000 Maxine Wheeler

  New Concepts Publishing

  Cover art by Eliza Black

  ISBN 1-58608-158-6

  http://www.newconceptspublishing.com

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or similar names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention; in other words, this is a work of fiction.

  Chapter 1

  The dry heat in the Sacramento Valley made Nikki’s emerald green silk shirt cling to her back. By all indications, the temperature would easily reach over one hundred degrees by mid-afternoon. For the fifth day in a row.

  Usually so organized, Nikki wished the gas tank would fill faster and the day would be cooler than yesterday. Why did everything have to go wrong this morning of all mornings? It had already been a bad morning, and now she would be late to a very important meeting.

  The gas tank was almost full when she overheard the young, fresh-faced gas station attendant argue with another customer. "I’m sorry sir, you have to have either cash or a credit card. I can’t take an out-of-town, two-party check to pay for your gas. That’s the policy management has made."

  Nikki looked across the parking lot and felt a chill go up her back. As Aunt Lainey always said, he was creepy enough to make you go out of your way, cross the street and walk on the other side just to avoid him. The long, dirty brown hair, the scraggly beard, and the unkempt, ill-fitting clothing, along with his personality, all contributed to her instant dislike of the man. Even though she knew she had never seen him before, he seemed oddly familiar.

  He towered over the unfortunate gas station attendant. "Well, Ron." He sneered the words as he looked down at the attendant’s name tag. "I think you need to make an exception to your policy, don’t you?" The man stepped closer to the attendant, which made Ron step back nervously.

  Nikki grimaced. The attendant probably stepped back to avoid the smell. It looked as if the customer needed a bath and a change of clothes. Desperately.

  "I’m n-not authorized to d-do that, Mr. Davies," Ron stammered. "I’d l-l-lose my job if I made any exception to the p-policies."

  "You might just lose more than your job if you’re not careful," the customer named Davies threatened, as he stepped closer still.

  The gas pump clicked off just then. Nikki turned her attention back to her own problems. She turned off the pump, put the nozzle away, and grumbled under her breath when gas dribbled onto one of her new shoes. With the gas cap in her hand, she turned back toward her car and froze.

  Directly across the island and facing her, sat an old rusty Datsun. It must belong to Davies, as it was the only other car at the gas station. The car, however, wasn’t what caught her undivided attention. In the passenger seat, a little girl huddled fearfully, tear streaks stained her grubby cheeks.

  Nikki had seen a picture of this same little girl, minus the dirt and tear stains, on TV this morning. Briana McKay, five years of age, had been abducted less than an hour before from her own front yard. Her father, a local businessman, spoke to a reporter with the local news and pleaded for his daughter’s safe return. "Please, help me find my daughter. She’s just a little girl."

  Jarrod McKay’s pleas echoed endlessly as her mind raced. Should she call the police? Should she call attention to the fact that she knew what had happened and hope she and Ron could handle any complications? Would the man harm the girl rather than give her up or hold her hostage in an effort to make a getaway? And if he got away with the child, what would he do to her? He didn’t look like the type to leave a witness, regardless of age, to testify against him. Anyone who would abduct a child, then stop for gas and try to pay for it with a two-party check, and leave the abducted child in the car with the window wide open, couldn’t possibly be entirely sane. Or very bright.

  Nikki swallowed nervously. Her stomach churned as all the possible outcomes of the situation, none of them good, came to her. Due to her prior career of stunt driving, she automatically plotted the course to the nearest police station, the possible traffic conditions, and her odds of success. She took her receipt from the automated gas pump and put the gas cap back on her classic 1971 ‘Cuda securely. She knew there was only one choice she could make and still live with herself - she had to try to get Briana McKay away from the man who abducted her and get her to the authorities.

  She wiped her sweaty palms on her beige linen trousers, straightened her silk blouse, and walked to the window washing stand on the center island. As she picked up the squeegee and swished it in the water, she made eye contact with Briana through the open window. The young girl’s eyes were wide with fright; a bruise on her left cheek looked very recent.

  She tamped down the rage at the thought that Davies had hit a five-year-old child, and swished the squeegee in the water in case Davies looked in her direction. She said in a low voice meant for the child’s ears alone, "Are you Briana McKay?"

  Briana’s big brown eyes opened wide in surprise. She nodded quickly and glanced fearfully at the two men who still argued by the gas station office. With the dripping squeegee clenched in her fist, Nikki said in the same low voice, "Hi, my name’s Nikki. I saw your picture on TV this morning. Your daddy said someone had taken you away from him. Will you come with me? I’ll take you to the police and they’ll call your daddy to come and get you."

  Briana sniffed loudly as a tear rolled down her chubby cheek. "My daddy’s g-gonna be mad at me." Her lower lip quivered as another tear rolled down her cheek.

  "No, he won’t," Nikki promised, and hoped fervently that she was right. "He just wants you home safe. He loves you."

  Briana glanced at the man who’d taken her. He screamed and flailed his arms in the air, which made Ron flinch and take another step back. She swallowed around her tears, nodded a quick affirmative, and reached for the door.

  Nikki put out a staying hand and said softly, "No, not yet. Let me tell you what I want you to do first, okay?" Briana’s response was another quick nod.

  "Does he have a gun?"

  Briana shook her head and swallowed hard. "I d-d-don’t think so, I haven’t seen one anyways."

  "All right. What I’m going to do is open the passenger door of my car and start the engine. Then I’ll come and pull you through the window, put you in my car, then we’ll go to the police station. Okay?"

  Another nod and an almost inaudible "okay" was accompanied by a tremulous smile. Briana pushed the light brown curls off her forehead and scrubbed her tearstained cheeks with her fists, and winced when she touched the fresh bruise.

  Nikki smiled a reassuring smile in return, dropped the squeegee back in the bucket, and unlocked the passenger door. She slid into the bucket seat, leaned over the center console to slide the key into the ignition with fingers that shook, and fired up the engine. She took a deep breath, got out of the car, and walked back onto the center island toward Briana.

  She glanced toward the two men who still argued. To her relief, neither man had looked up at the sound of the engine, they were too busy. Davies intimidated Ron and Ron backed away step by slow step. Ron looked around as if he hoped someone would help him. Sorry, Ron, you’re on your own.

  She strode quickly to the other car, picked up Briana under her outstretched arms, and pulled her out the open car window. With another quick glance at the men who still argued, she ran the few steps across the island to the car, and put Briana down on the passenger seat.

  Briana’s arms tightened briefly around Nikki’s neck, then relaxed and let go.
Nikki smiled down at Briana, who was obviously terrified, and gave her a quick kiss on her grubby little forehead. She then drew the seat belt over the small trembling body and made sure it latched securely.

  Nikki shut the door and glanced at the men to find both of them stared directly at her. Even as the chill of fear skittered up her spine, she ran around to the driver’s side of the car, grateful that it was already started and ready to go. She had the car in gear and her foot on the throttle before the door was completely shut.

  She glanced out the passenger window to see the abductor run toward them as he yelled threats and obscenities. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small blonde woman come out of the rest room and stare in astonishment at the scene as it unfolded before her. Nikki whipped the car around in a tight circle to drive by the startled Ron. She stuck her head out the window and shouted, "She’s Briana McKay and he kidnapped her! Call the police! Now!"

  Unfortunately, in the time it had taken to shout the message to Ron, Davies, livid with rage, had gotten into his car and was after them. He’s nuts! Why would he follow us? That doesn’t make any sense at all!

  Nikki’s mind raced faster than the high performance engine of her classic muscle car. She made an illegal U-turn at a red light at high speed. There was a tremendous shriek of tires on asphalt as the tires spun and tried to get purchase. The screech of car brakes and horns added to the cacophony as traffic tried to avoid her.

  She had to get on the freeway to get to the police station. Hopefully she could get up enough speed on the freeway to leave Davies behind. The car was capable of some incredible speeds on the local racetrack, but on the freeway with other vehicles, and a small child as her passenger . . . she couldn’t push her luck too far. Especially since she hadn’t had time to put on her own seat belt before she peeled out of the gas station, and there was no way to get it on now with both her hands on the steering wheel. She wouldn’t take the risk. Briana’s safety was the important thing.

  A flash in her rearview mirror just as she turned onto the freeway on-ramp caught her attention. Unbelievably, the rusted out Datsun closed in fast behind them. Amazed at the speed the rusty import was capable of, she shifted into fourth gear and pulled away with no apparent effort into the far left lane. Why, she asked herself, would someone be crazy enough to follow me and risk getting caught? Why doesn’t he just go the other direction and try to get away? What’s so important about Briana McKay that he won’t leave her alone?

  She glanced in her rearview mirror once again and saw the Datsun fall back rapidly. She thought with extreme satisfaction that the extra horsepower her classic car was capable of more than made up for the extra gasoline she had to buy.

  She shot a glance and a quick smile at the little girl in the passenger seat. Briana clung to the edge of the center console with one hand and the armrest with the other. Her eyes were wide with fright and her lower lip trembled, but her smile wavered only a little. "It’s going to be all right," Nikki murmured softly. "We’ll be at the police station in a few more minutes."

  The girl is amazing. Nikki shook her head mentally. Briana had to be scared out of her mind, but she didn’t cry or make a fuss. She trusted Nikki to get her safely back to her father and that is exactly what Nikki would do.

  The French braid Nikki had fashioned so painstakingly an hour before had started to come undone with the wind that whipped through the open windows. She pushed the long, curly red strands out of her face and glanced in the rearview mirror again. The rusty import fell further behind, but with Nikki’s ‘Cuda being bright pink, it would be easy to see and follow.

  She ruefully considered the wisdom of her choice to have the car repainted last month and keep the original hot pink color. Oh well. She shrugged mentally. How was I to know I would try to out-race a bad guy and need a nondescript car. Besides, the ‘Cuda was her pride and joy and she loved it just the way it was.

  Nikki wove in and out of traffic in an effort to leave the Datsun even further behind. The nearest police station was at the next exit less than a mile off the main boulevard. Nikki eased up on the accelerator and started to merge over to the right-hand lane so she could take the next exit.

  Another glance in her rearview mirror showed that the Datsun was much closer. He obviously wasn’t concerned with anyone’s safety, not even his own.

  Nikki gritted her teeth and swore silently. So much for the idea of him being smart enough to drop the chase or to lose interest before the police arrived. If they arrived at all.

  Did Ron really call the police as I asked? If so, what did he tell them? He probably told them I kidnapped a kid out of some guy’s car, she decided wryly. It would be just my luck. It has certainly turned into that kind of day.

  She could have kicked herself when she thought of the cellular phone in her briefcase, along with her laptop computer, locked in the trunk of the car. Too bad she didn’t have the phone in the front seat with her, then she could call the police herself and have them intercept the abductor.

  Yeah, right, she told herself sardonically. And then I could call Carl Jacobs at Techtronics, explain that I am involved in a high speed chase, and could we please reschedule the appointment for a more convenient time. It would have been a lucrative contract, but some things were just more important. With that, she pushed the unworthy thought out of her head.

  Even though Nikki slowed down even more, she still took the exit at well over the legal speed limit. Another glance at Briana showed she was still all right. "Only another mile or so, Bri, then we’ll be at the police station, and we can call your daddy."

  At Briana’s nod, Nikki smiled. "He’s going to be so glad to see you, just wait and see." To herself she added, I hope he deserves a wonderful kid like this, but most people don’t seem to cherish what they have. She dismissed the image of her own father’s face.

  The interview she’d seen that morning when he asked for the safe return of his daughter had been enough to warm her heart. He’d been distraught and almost frantic. His dark hair had stood on end where he’d run his fingers through it countless times in agitation. He was either a very good actor, or he loved his daughter to distraction and would do anything to get her back.

  For a split second Nikki wondered wistfully what it would be like to have a parent like that. She dismissed the idea firmly and reminded herself that she had Lainey, which was more than a lot of people had.

  Chapter 2

  The stoplight at the end of the off-ramp had just turned from yellow to red when Nikki took the right turn. They were still moving so fast that the back end of the car started to slide. Automatically, Nikki counter-steered and downshifted to slow the car and bring it out of the skid.

  She murmured, "It’s okay," to Briana, but didn’t have time to glance over to see how the little girl coped with the situation.

  The screech of tires, the shriek of rending metal, and indignant horns sounded as the Datsun tried the same maneuver with considerable less success. She apologized mentally to the other drivers and hoped they were all unharmed. She glanced in the rearview mirror and her jaw dropped in disbelief. The rusty import had just shot between two cars, sideswiped one and narrowly missed the other, and now careened down the street in an attempt to catch up with them.

  Three more blocks, Nikki told herself fiercely. We’re going to make it. Too bad I didn’t have a chance to put my seat belt on . . . I think I’m going to need it. Oh well, at least Briana’s got hers on.

  She stole a quick glance at Briana’s grim face, then took a deep breath. "Briana, sweetheart, I want you to listen very carefully, okay?"

  She waited for the child’s nod before she continued, "We’re almost at the police station. I’ll make the car slide sideways to a stop. When we stop, I’ll undo your seat belt and open your door. As soon as the door’s open, I want you to run as fast as you can into the police station and find the nearest police officer. Tell them your name and ask them to call your daddy, okay?" Again Briana nodded.
/>   One more glance in the rearview mirror showed the Datsun was indeed closer and it would be a tight race to get Briana safely into police protection.

  One way or another Briana is going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.

  She made the turn into the parking lot at twice the recommended speed, and winced when she heard and felt the undercarriage of the car strike the pavement. Nikki caught a glimpse of Briana’s white knuckles clenched to hold her in place. She took another deep breath she said to Briana, "Are you ready, sweetie? Hold on tight, here we go."

  As she spoke she downshifted, hit the brakes, and jerked the wheel sharply to the left. Nikki could see the surprised stares of several police officers in the parking lot as she roared by them and came to a screeching sideways halt with the passenger door toward the front door of the police station. The engine stalled and died as the car rocked back on its shocks and then was still.

  Nikki’s eyes widened as she looked up to see the rusty import come through the entrance into the parking lot and head straight for the driver’s side of the car. She shouted to Briana, "Cover your head with your arms and close your eyes and mouth!"

  She had just started to bring her arms up to cover her own head when the Datsun slammed into the driver’s-side door. She caught a glimpse of wide eyes with the wild look of insanity before she was jerked to the right then forward into the steering wheel. Then all she saw was stars as the left side of her head impacted with the top of the door frame.

  She blinked away the encroaching blackness from her vision in desperation. Briana wouldn’t be safe until she was literally in the hands of the police. As she fumbled for the seat belt release for the passenger seat, she heard Davies swear and kick at his door as he tried to get it open. When the seat belt finally released, she leaned across Briana’s lap to open the door.

  Briana looked into Nikki’s eyes and blinked in confusion. She seemed dazed but unhurt. Nikki took her by her shoulders and gently shoved her out the door of the car. "Run inside and find a cop like I said." She put the flat of her hand on the child’s back and gave her a gentle push to get her in motion. Briana looked back at Nikki and then ran for the front door of the police station.