The B Girls - By Cari Cole Page 0,80

out of the front door.

Lucy took this as a good sign.

She got out of the van and peeked into the garage.

Belle's car was on the other side of the glass.

The front door was locked.

Lucy picked up an ornamental frog doorstop, tossed it through the glass sidelight, reached through and turned the knob. Lucky for her, Professor Dawson hadn't heard about using keyed deadbolts to keep this kind of thing from happening.

No alarm sounded when she opened the door. Since the police should be on the way she was just glad not to have to listen to some loud nerve-jarring horn while she searched for Belle.

"Belle!" Lucy called. "Can you hear me?"

Silence.

Lucy started to call out again when she heard a low sound of fear or pain from the interior. She went through the sparsely appointed living room, surprised at the tattered, outdated furniture. It looked out of place in an expensive new house. Maybe Dr. Dawson had overreached in buying this--presumably--second home.

The distressed sound came again and Lucy pinpointed the source behind a closed door at the end of a short hall.

Caution wasn't high on Lucy's list of priorities at this point. She flung the door open and rushed into the room expecting to find Belle gagged and bound.

"Don't hurt me," the woman in the room begged.

The Why Of It

Lucy stared at the woman on the hospital bed for several seconds before responding to the woman's obvious fear. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The woman didn't look entirely convinced and Lucy realized she must be quite a horrifying sight. Especially in the sterile surroundings of this bedroom turned hospital room.

The woman on the bed looked like she was closer to death than life. "Mrs. Dawson?"

"Do I know you?"

Her voice was weak and dry.

"No," Lucy said. "I know your husband. He told me you'd been ill. I just didn't know . . ."

The woman managed a weak smile. "James likes to act as though I'm going to respond to my latest treatment. I've seen every specialist in the country and tried every treatment protocol available."

Lucy realized the woman must be pretty heavily sedated. It would explain her odd emotional shifts. And the specialists and treatments meant money which was probably the motivation behind Dr. Dawson's actions.

"Where is my aunt?" Lucy asked.

The woman looked confused. "Who? I'm afraid you must be confused. James and I are the only ones here. Where is James? I think it's time for my medication."

"I promise, someone will explain," Lucy said. "But I have to find my aunt. Is there a basement?"

"Yes, a walk-out that opens lakeside."

Lucy left before the woman could ask more questions. She felt bad about the poor woman's situation but surely a man as smart as James Dawson could have found a better way to solve his money problems.

She found the stairs leading to the lower level of the house and pounded down with approaching sirens wailing in the background.

Downstairs she found a media room with no media, two empty bedrooms and bathroom. A third door led out of the media room deeper under the house.

Lucy went through door number three, into a basement storage area and found yet another door with a crudely added padlock.

"Belle! Are you in there?" She pounded on the door and rattled the knob.

"Belle?"

Lucy put her ear to the door and held her breath, listening. She was almost sure she heard a groan and a croaking whisper that could have been her name.

She looked around the storage area for something she could use to knock the lock off the door but aside from some camping gear and a couple of fishing poles, the room was empty. She was about to leave to search the rest of the house for a hammer or a pry bar when she saw a key dangling from a nail in the wall next to the door.

Once she managed to control her shaking hand, the key slid into the lock without a hitch and the lock popped open. She tossed the lock aside and pulled the door open with a racing heart.

A dirty, bruised figure squinted up at the light streaming in from the storage area.

With a small cry of distress, Lucy dropped to her knees and brushed a careful hand over Belle's face. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"

"I've been better but the damage is minor." Belle said. Her lips were cracked and dry and she looked frail for the first time in her life. Her clothes were filthy. She had several