Chapter 70

“This can’t be happening,” Derek muttered incredulously after a frightened Elaine came to announce to him that Rachel had been abducted at knife-point by Sam.

“Oh, God! What have I done?” Yasmin wailed.

“Calm down, Mom. I’ll call the security guys at the gate right away,” said Derek briskly. “He can’t have gone very far with her, so we can still find them.”

“We should call the police too,” Elaine suggested. “What’s their emergency number here?”

“Where the heck is that ambulance?” Yasmin demanded irritably. “Javier has slipped into unconsciousness. He needs to be taken to the hospital immediately.”

As they scrambled around the house to make phone calls from different phones, Zoe who was now awake, walked across the room and placed her favorite stuffed toy, Binky, on Javier’s chest.

“Don’t be scared, Binky is going to help you,” she whispered to the unconscious chef.

Just then, they heard the wails of an ambulance siren as it sped through the driveway.

“Finally!” Said Yasmin, throwing her hands up in relief. She went to the front door to open it and let the paramedics in. They quickly checked Javier’s vitals, asked questions about what happened to him, and then strapped him on a gurney and carted him away.

“Should I go with him or do you need me to stay here with you guys?” She asked Derek.

“Yeah, please, go with him. It would be nice for him to wake up and see a familiar face around him,” he said.

“What did the security guys say?”

“They saw Sam and Rachel leaving the resort a few minutes ago and one of them said he saw them heading toward the Manaka Forest Reserve. It’s a short distance from here and they are calling the police right now as we speak.”

“Thank goodness!” Said Yasmin in relief. “I hope they catch that monster and lock him up forever. How could he do this to us?”

“I’m sure he’ll be caught. Now, off you go with the ambulance. They’re already leaving.”

She hugged him tightly and whispered, “I am so sorry for this, darling. So sorry.”

He hugged her back and said, “It’s ok, Mom. Everything will be fine.”

When she left, he turned his attention to Elaine. “Listen, I am going out now to join the search party. Please, make sure you lock all of the doors and windows as soon as I leave and never let Zoe out of your sight.”

“B – but I thought you said the security guys are calling the police? Why do you need to go too?”

“You don’t expect me to sit here and wait when my wife is out there and possibly in danger?” He said in a tone that implied that Elaine’s question was silly.

“But Sam – “

“Will be outnumbered shortly,” he said, cutting off her protest. “Stay here with Zoe and lock everywhere up.”

“Daddy, where’s Mommy?” Zoe asked him.

He crouched so that he can be on the same eye level as her. “Mommy is outside and she is waiting for me to come and get her, so I need you to be a good girl and stay here with Elaine while I’m gone. Mommy and I will be back before you know it, ok?”

“Ok,” she said with a nod. “Come back quick, ok?”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” he said and gave her a hug and a kiss. “See ya.”

“Please, be careful,” Elaine whispered to him as she accompanied him to the door on his way out.”

“I will,” he replied with a warm smile. The nanny had become a member of his family and he appreciated her concern for his safety.

Once outside, he saw the resort manager approaching the house in a bright yellow golf cart.

“Mr. Fraser, where are you off to? I was just coming to inform you in person that the police are already on their way to the Manaka Forest Reserve to find your wife and arrest the kidnapper,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Derek replied with zero enthusiasm. “If you don’t mind, I would like to borrow your cart.”

“For what?” Asked the manager.

Derek sighed impatiently and said, “Listen, you are either going to drive me to the Forest reserve or get down from that thing and let me drive down there by myself because I am not going to sit inside the house and gnaw my nails to the bone while worrying about my wife’s safety.”

“Oh, sir, you have nothing to worry about,” said the manager confidently. “Our police force is very efficient and I am confident that they’ll track down the kidnapper in no time. This is a very small island, after all.”

Tired of the manager’s rambling, Derek marched forward and dragged the lanky man out for the cart with one hand and then hopped inside the cart, grabbing the steering wheel firmly.

“Are you coming or what?” He asked the dazed manager who was staring at him in surprise.

“Absolutely! I know the terrain better than anyone else,” he said and hurried into the passenger seat before Derek zoomed off.

**********

The forest was dark, wet, and filled with night noises from crickets and other nocturnal creatures but Rachel was more afraid of the maniac dragging her along than anything else.

“Where are we going?” She finally asked him when they had been walking for nearly ten minutes with no bike in sight.

“Here!” He said gleefully, pointing at a large mound covered with grasses. “That’s my rental bike, baby.”

“Yay,” she replied dryly.

“Aw, cheer up, buttercups. We are about to go on an adventure,” he laughed. “Trust me, your life is about to get really exciting. I could tell that you were bored to death with that Ken doll husband of yours and I’m here to rescue you, Rachel. You should be thanking me.”

She hated the condescending way he spoke about Derek and her marriage but she knew that if she lost her temper right now, things would go sideways quickly and she didn’t want that.

“I don’t need rescuing, Sam, and there’s still time for you to walk away from this,” she said calmly. “Once Derek finds out that you’ve kidnapped me, he’s going to call the police and things are going to go south really quickly, and I’m sure you know what that means.”

“Then we better get going,” he said nonchalantly and inched toward the bike. “Now, I’m gonna clear out this bike, and then we’ll be on our way to the dock. In the meantime, don’t try anything stupid like running away because I’ll catch you and cut you up right here and you’ll totally miss out on all the fun things that I’ve planned for us. But guess what? I’m still gonna collect my ransom cash from your darling hubby anyway, so either way, I still win.”

Rachel’s blood ran cold when she heard that awful speech from him because she knew that he meant every cruel word he had uttered.

As he began to clear off the grasses from the bike, they heard the sound of approaching vehicles and a male voice calling out, “Mrs. Fraser! Can you hear me?”

“Don’t you dare make a sound,” he threatened her in a low voice and waved the carving knife at her for added effect. “Now, come here.”

“Mrs. Fraser!”

She looked in the direction of the voice but she couldn’t see who was calling her because the person was still far away from her. She debated whether to damn the consequences and respond to the call, or be a good girl and follow Sam with hopes that the police or whoever was looking for her would catch up with them in time to rescue her.

“Get over here!” Sam snapped, getting impatient. He had one hand on the bike and the other holding his gleaming weapon. “Don’t make me come after you.”

“Mrs. Fraser! Can you hear me? This is the police!”

“Fuck it!” She said and began to run.