Desperate Rescue - Janet Feldman Series

Desperate Rescue

  Peggy Lea Baker

  Copyright 2011 Peggy Lea Baker

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental. Actual locations have been used either with permission, or due to rights within public domain rules and regulations or law.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

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  Chapter 1

  Leave her alone! Janet awoke with a start and in a panic. She felt stiff and uncomfortable. Staring straight ahead, she realized she was sitting in her car, in the middle of nowhere—if there really were such places. Still trying to wake up, she peered through the windshield and realized she was parked at the side of a narrow, paved road, bounded on each side by weatherworn wire fencing clinging to misshapen and rotting fence posts.

  Groggily, Janet stepped out of the car to straighten up and work out the kinks. Gazing ahead to the east and a rising sun, the landscape was stark and forbidding. Distant hills interrupted the otherwise open and desolate terrain that supported only scrub brush and a few short and misshapen trees struggling to survive in the stark landscape.

  Turning around, she was immediately overwhelmed by the unexpected presence of towering snowcapped mountains behind her and to the west. A chilly gust of wind emanating from deep mountain canyons tossed her mangled hair and she shuddered in response. Pulling a thin sweater around her shoulders to get warm, she absently ran her fingers through tangled hair.

  Overhead, the sky was a sparkling blue and the mountain peaks glowed in the bright morning sunlight, some of them still capped in stubborn snow packs. Momentarily, she was struck with contrast and stark beauty of it all as she struggled to organize her thoughts and remember why she was even here in the first place.

  Frantically driving through a dark and moonless night in pursuit of her best friend, she had given little thought about where she was going or where she would eventually end up. All she could think of was rescuing her lifelong friend Sally. As foggy thoughts cleared, and recollections of the previous evening flooded back, her resolve to find Sally returned with great clarity and committed defiance. No one was going to get away with this.

  It had all started with a nice dinner…just the two of them at a favorite restaurant. Afterward, they were to meet up with a couple of guys they knew casually at a glamorous party in an exclusive and prominent hillside home. She and Sally had been so excited! To be able to rub shoulders with notable people was like a dream. It wasn’t as if she and Sally were “party girls”, but when an invitation to an affair like this is offered, even by some casual acquaintance, you just don’t say no. That would be unthinkable!

  Although they never did find the guys who had invited them, they had not been disappointed by the atmosphere or the guest list. It was like being Cinderella—sorta. And they really hadn’t expected to be swept off their feet by any Prince Charming, but then, anything could happen at an occasion such as this, right?

  Janet never considered herself or Sally to be especially naïve or unsophisticated, but when they were invited to join some others in a different room of the house, they both soon realized that there was a lot they were not completely prepared for. Somehow, compared to what you see on TV or in a movie, the reality of what was happening at this very moment hit them both like a ton of bricks!

  Once inside the room, other guests were excitedly moving toward one particular area. Two matching sofas faced a large glass-topped coffee table set in expensive carved oak. On the table top were several neatly arranged short and narrow rows of white powder. In an instant, both she and Sally knew exactly what was going on and what all the excitement was about.

  Although this particular room would ordinarily feel grand and spacious, with the press of people it felt small and closed in even with the large glass windows on the opposite wall. The darkness outside was barely illuminated with low wattage landscape lighting and the room itself was dimly lit…except for the coffee table. A single canister lamp recessed in the ceiling overhead cast a bright glow onto the table top producing an eerie feeling. It was almost like looking at a shrine or even an altar as a couple of people knelt down to partake of the addictive substance.

  The group had grown in numbers, and so had the level of anxious anticipation. Fortunately, with so many people crowding in, it allowed Janet and Sally the opportunity to ease their way to the back of the room and toward the door. No one seemed to notice or even care. The door opened again, and a couple of other people came in. Janet and Sally took advantage of the moment and slipped out at the same time carefully closing the door behind them.

  “My gosh!” Sally whispered excitedly to Janet. “Do you know what that stuff was?”

  “Cocaine,” Janet had whispered back, looking around and hoping no one was paying attention to them. “I don’t think I want to stay any longer, do you?”

  Sally shook her head in response. “So what should we do?”

  “Let’s just leave.”

  “Do you think anyone will care?” Sally seemed a bit worried.

  “I doubt it,” Janet replied dryly. “With all these people in here, who’s going to notice us? We’re nobodies.”

  “But what about our sweaters and purses?”

  “We’ll just go get them and then we’ll leave,” Janet answered matter-of-factly.

  “Okay,” Sally agreed, sounding relieved.

  The two of them had made their way to the room where they had placed their things when they first arrived. Stepping into the room they headed for a sofa where everything had been piled.

  “What a mess!” Janet was disgusted. “Well, let’s start looking.” Both girls began digging through the accumulated assortment of coats, sweaters, scarves, and bags.

  “We shouldn’t have to dig too far since there were a lot of people here before we arrived,” Sally commented as she continued picking her way through the mess.

  “That’s true,” Janet agreed. “Oh, look! Here’s your purse... and your sweater!”

  “Great! What about your stuff?” Sally was getting anxious.

  “Here! I’ve got them. Okay, let’s go!” Janet slipped on her sweater and clutched her small bag in one hand, tucking it up close. Sally did the same as they moved toward the door. Quietly, they stepped back out into the hallway. It was empty so the two friends stood for a moment debating which way to go. The music and conversation, coming from the main room, was as loud as ever. An excitement was growing and intensifying, making the two friends even more nervous and eager to leave.

  “I wonder if there is another way we could leave besides the front door,” Janet tried to whisper above the noise.

  “Let’s find out,” Sally responded without hesitation.

  They headed down the hallway and away from the crowd. It made a right angle turn and continued for a short distance farther, ending at a glass-paned door that led to an outside walkway.

  “Let’s hope we don’t set off any alarms.” Janet smiled wryly.

  "Who'd even notice?" Sally responded back.

  Janet headed outside with Sally at her heels. They closed the door and heard it click shut then headed alo
ng the darkened walkway shielded by shrubs and a short brick wall. They were skirting the pool and patio area where a group had gathered to drink and laugh at whatever idle conversation amused them.

  A few steps farther and both girls stopped short. The wall and shrubs had ended. They could see a wrought-iron gate a few feet away which led to the street, but to get to it meant walking across an open space clearly visible to the group on the patio. And who knew what amount of noise the gate would make as they unlatched it—unless it was locked! Now that was something they hadn’t thought about until this very moment. How odd, Janet thought to herself, that they felt the need to be so covert in their actions.

  “Do you think it’s locked?” Sally was first to verbalize their collective fear.

  “I have no idea, and I’m not too crazy about trying to find out at the moment.” Janet was wracking her brain trying to think of a solution.

  “Maybe we should go back inside and try a different way,” Sally suggested.

  A loud shriek of drunken laughter startled them both as they huddled together. A couple had separated themselves from the rest of the patio group, and from the bits of conversation overheard, it was evident they were looking for a secluded place to spend some time together.

  Janet and Sally wasted no time scurrying back up the walkway toward the door they had exited a few moments ago. Quickly, they attempted to open it only to discover it was locked! Standing in the shadows, they could see the silhouette of the couple at the other end of the walkway, fully embraced in a passionate kiss.

  “Now what?” Sally whispered.

  “I’m thinking,” was all Janet could say as she tried the doorknob once again. Suddenly it opened, and both women gasped.

  “Need some help?” a smiling and very handsome man asked, almost with a laugh.

  “Um... we got locked out. We didn’t realize we couldn’t get back in this way,” Janet stammered, trying to sound calm at the same time.

  “Well, I guess I’m Prince Charming to the rescue!” He did laugh this time as both women stepped through the door.

  “Thank you,” they said in unison.

  “My pleasure. It isn’t often I get to rescue two beautiful women at the same time.” Again, he smiled. “So what can I do to make your evening unforgettable?”

  “Well, actually, we need to leave,” Janet stated.

  “Leave?” He looked disappointed. “The night is young, and the fun is just getting started! You can’t leave yet.” He kept smiling and doing his “charming” thing.

  Sally seemed suddenly mesmerized by his smile and good looks. She giggled a dimpled smile back at him, “Well, maybe we could stay just a little bit longer.” She was hooked!

  Janet immediately tried to get her friend to focus on their previous plan. “Um, Sally, I thought you said you needed to get going because you have an early day tomorrow, remember?” Janet was desperately trying to urge her friend to reconsider her remark so they could just leave.

  “What?” Sally glanced at Janet for a split second and then back into those charming eyes. “Oh, yes, well... I guess we really should be going.” Again the dimpled smile. She really needed to cut that out!

  “How about a dance first. Just one dance?” His eyes were fixed on hers, and there was no way Janet was going to be able to break that spell! He took Sally’s hand and led her back into the large room where most of the crowd was still in the process of working into an ultimate frenzy.

  Janet followed at a discreet distance, not wanting to embarrass her best friend, but still trying to figure out a graceful exit for the both of them. Meanwhile, Sally and her newly found “prince,” were quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Janet struggled to keep an eye on her best friend, eventually losing that battle completely. They had disappeared from view. Janet was jostled and bumped from every direction as she attempted to work her way around the room. A couple of times, she was encouraged to join in the dancing but shook her head and kept pressing through the crowd until she found herself at the foot of a sweeping staircase she had noticed when they first arrived that evening.

  Janet pushed and shoved her way until she managed to get halfway up straining to see the dance floor in the mix of colorful strobe lights pulsating to the rhythm of the raucous music. Eventually, she managed to make her way to the top and stood at the balcony rail. The dance floor was a crush of excited and fanatic people. Janet was becoming increasingly agitated and very concerned for Sally’s welfare. Something just wasn’t right. She should be able to see her on the dance floor from this vantage point.

  A muffled noise down a hallway caught her attention. Taking a few steps away from the railing, she peered in that direction. A man stood at the door of one room, obviously guarding it. She heard the sound again, but this time it seemed more like someone struggling. She began to move in that direction, until the man standing at the door gave her a look that sent a chill down her spine, and she froze on the spot, turning away. However, she didn’t go far. Trying to appear disinterested, Janet pretended to be enjoying the freak show below her but still kept her ears open for any other sounds.

  Suddenly she had an idea. With boldness, she turned and walked up to the guard at the door and asked a simple question, “Excuse me, but could you direct me toward the powder room?”

  “The what?” he snapped at her.

  “The bathroom,” she replied in a more droll tone and attempted to give him a look that indicated how stupid she thought he was.

  “End of the hall!” was all he said with a jerk of his thumb and reassumed his stance.

  “Thanks,” Janet mumbled back with a slight tone of disgust. Though terrified inside, she felt she had pulled that off pretty well as she stepped into the bathroom, locking the door. Okay, so now what? After a couple of minutes staring into the large beveled mirror, she flushed the toilet and then ran the water in the sink, just in case anyone happened to be listening. Taking one last look in the mirror, she said quietly to herself, “I guess I just have to go back downstairs and keep looking for Sally so we can get the heck out of here!”

  Janet took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and stepped into the hall. To her surprise, the guard was gone! The door to the room he had been guarding was ajar, so she approached cautiously and glanced inside. The room was empty, but the bed was in disarray. She didn’t have to think twice about that. She started to leave but something caught her attention. Stepping inside, Janet picked up an object nearly concealed under the foot of the bed and gasped. It was Sally’s handbag! She spun around, staring at the door. It was Sally that she had heard struggling with someone.

  With angry determination, Janet headed for the stairs again, gripping Sally’s handbag along with her own. Pushing and shoving people out of her way, she descended the stairs and made her way to the front door. A guy stepped in her path and asked where she was going but, just as quickly, got out of her way at her descriptive threat of injury to his family’s jewels. In her fury, she had no idea what she was going to do or where she was going—except maybe to the police. Yes! She would call the police and tell them about the drugs! And when they arrived, they could help her find Sally!

  Janet headed for her car hurriedly reaching for her cell phone when a scream a short distance ahead immediately caught her attention followed by the sound of a car door slamming shut and a car engine starting. Janet ran in its direction to get a better look. She managed to catch up to it just as it pulled away, but not before she caught a glimpse of the occupants—two guys in the front seat and Prince Charming in the back, struggling with someone. As the car sped away, the face of a terrified and crying young woman appeared in the rear window. It was Sally!

  Chapter 2