Nightmare in the Everglades

By Beverley Armstrong-Rodman

A THRILLER

a DREAM of a day
in the Florida Panhandle
turned into
a NIGHTMARE of weeks
in the Florida Everglades!
When Kate Chandler headed to town with her little boy, the skies were blue, and the sun was
shining.
Why, then, did Kate waken the following morning, to fi nd herself locked in a derelict cabin
on an island in the Everglades?
Who had brought her here?
What did he want with her?
Where was he now?
Where was her son Davey?
Th is was no eccentric millionaires exotic hide-away, complete with closets of clothes and racks
of fi ne wine. No, this was some psychos ramshackle shanty, complete with rickety furniture
and a dirty old coffi n.
Can Kate escape the cabin and the island before her captor returns?
An illustrator of childrens books, as well as a loving wife and a gentle mother, is she capable of
killing the mystery man when he does return?
Can she contend with mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, and even an elusive Florida panther?
Its no wonder Kate feels like Alice who has fallen down the rabbit hole.
Desperate to see her family again, she learns a great deal about herself and her capabilities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462054268

Beverley Armstrong-Rodman

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Bev graduated from the University of Toronto with an honours degree in languages. She worked as a reference librarian in the Niagara Falls Public Library System, married her high school sweetheart, and raised two children. An avid mystery reader, and cat lover, Bev began writing mysteries and thrillers as a hobby. Although she intended to write only one book, A Cold Night in Hell is her sixth. “It’s an insidious hobby. It gets into your blood, and you just can’t stop writing.” She and her friends love to do trivia questions, and brain teasers, while enjoying a glass or two of “the bubbly.”

Book preview

Prologue

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The big man paddled silently through the bluish-black water, and the tall saw grass. He was in no particular hurry. Actually, if the truth were known, he was dawdling a bit. He felt a certain reluctance in returning to the derelict cabin. He hadn’t been there since the awful fiasco with Tammy Sue over a year ago, and at that time he had told himself that he might never return.

That was then, however, and this was now. He needed that old cabin, which his great grandpappy had built about a hundred years ago. It would suit his purposes perfectly, just as it had with Tammy Sue.

The water was alive with an incredible amount of critters. He knew that there were crayfish, frogs, hermit crabs, and minnows swimming in it, and that was just for starters. He also knew that water moccasins, or cottonmouths, were plentiful. Taking a quick look around, he spotted one of the dangerous reptiles skimming the surface along the shore.

He remembered the scene from an old western movie, in which a teenager fording a river, fell off his horse, and was immediately surrounded by several cottonmouths. He could still see the one large snake fastening its fangs on the kid’s cheek. It made him shudder to think about it.

As he paddled along, he wished he had his motorboat rather than this tippy canoe, but at the moment the canoe would have to do. As long as he chose a slender girl weighing not much more than a hundred pounds, he figured that he would be able to manage.

The small motorboat which he owned, was waiting on shore while its motor was repaired. Anyway, paddling the canoe was okay, he told himself philosophically. At least it was quiet, and it gave him time to think, and to plan.

Late afternoon sounds enveloped him. He felt as if he was wrapped in a large plastic bag, along with about a million mosquitoes. They were coming at him in droves, humming and buzzing like minuscule chainsaws. He was so used to them, however, that he hardly bothered to swipe at them anymore.

As a kid, the old decrepit cabin in the Everglades had been his refuge. It had been a safe hiding place from his drunken father, whose favourite hobby had always been beating the shit out of him, just for the fun of it. Early in his childhood, he had learned to put his mind in a different place, a far away place, where he could be totally oblivious to minor annoyances such as mosquitoes and beatings, and dark, lonely spaces.

It was a great trick, a question of mind over matter, and he used it often. It was a mental trick which many abused children had taught themselves, but Chance didn’t realize that. He thought he was the only person in the world who knew how to do it.

There was something so primeval and elementary about the glades. He figured that they hadn’t changed much over thousands of years. The Spanish moss hung like lacy shawls from the ancient cypress trees, and in places, beautifully exotic pink flowers grew, all entwined in the moss. They called it sub-tropical, but he didn’t think it differed much from the real tropics.

A sudden splashing near the shore caught his attention. It told him that an alligator had likely slithered back into the water, after basking in the sun. They were plentiful in this part of the Everglades. Alligators and water moccasins abounded, along with all the wading birds and fish. Anyone tipping out of a canoe, and falling into that dark water, wouldn’t have a chance.

He liked that about his little cabin. It might be old, it might be weather-beaten, it might be falling apart, but it was so isolated, and so surrounded by waters teeming with strange and dangerous creatures, that it made a perfect hide-away. Even if the latest girl, whoever she might be, did manage to escape from the cabin, which was possible, where could she go? The answer was nowhere.

Tammy Sue had discovered that very quickly, much to her detriment. A person could scream all she wanted, but the chances of anyone hearing her were about as good as the chances of the president making a visit to great grandpappy’s cabin. There was no boat on the tiny island, ipso facto, there was no means of escape.

His thick black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he flicked it from side to side, as he took a careful look at the overhanging branches. One never knew when a snake might decide to drop down unexpectedly.

That had happened to Chance once, and it hadn’t been a happy experience. He grinned as he remembered the time he had been coming out to stay a few days, to hide from his father. The old man hated the Everglades, and never came into them, so the tiny cabin was a logical hiding place for a young kid desperate to get away. He had been paddling along, minding his own business, when a small snake had fallen off an overhanging tree, and had fallen right down the back of his shirt. Luckily it hadn’t been poisonous, but at the time there had been no way for him to be sure.

He had been so scared, that he had jumped up, accidentally tipped the canoe, and pitched into the water. Luckily, his shirt tail hadn’t been tucked in, so the snake had escaped, but not before biting him.

Chance now had a very healthy respect for all snakes, large or small, and for anything that might be lurking in the water.

The suntanned man was attractive without being handsome. His large, strangely gray eyes were a bit too close together, and at times there was a slightly vacant look to them. His nose was large, but fit his face well.

His hair was thick and black, and he took pride in the diamond stud always worn on his earlobe. Two huge dimples appeared every time he laughed, or displayed his boyish grin. More than one woman had been fooled by those dimples and that grin, and more than one woman had not lived to tell the tale.

Chance Butler was a man of many faces. He was as difficult to read as a book left out in the rain. There was something not quite right about him. Actually, Chance Butler was a little bit crazy, and smart women knew instinctively to keep their distance. Unfortunately, not all women were smart, and Chance could be charming when he put his mind to it.

The truth was that although Chance might have been close to being a psychopath, in reality, he was simply a mean-spirited man, capable of evil when the situation demanded it. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and had no feelings of guilt. Sometimes he was more puzzled than anyone else about his actions. He got through life by being charming, flashing his boyish grin and his dimples, and knowing when to back off.

He was a man who lived for his own pleasures. Consequently he had few friends.

When he was small, his father, in a drunken rage, had wrapped a plastic bag over his head. He would certainly have died if his mother hadn’t appeared at that moment, and rescued him. Neither parent realized that deprivation of oxygen had killed off some of the child’s brain cells. He was never quite the same, and although he looked and acted fairly normal, there was a certain vacancy in his eyes, and a certain cruelty, which he had learned to hide most of the time. Whether due to nature or nurture, the unfortunate truth was that Chance was not a very nice man.

As an adult, he was lonely and frustrated, and he had little or no conscience. Although he liked women, he didn’t understand them. Most of his dating attempts had been unsuccessful. The women he wanted to date, usually said no, and even the available women in whom he had little interest, soon backed off. It was maddening and puzzling.

Guys not as good looking as he was, managed to get themselves attractive girlfriends. It made no sense to him, and it was demoralizing. He watched other couples together, trying to figure what it was that the men did to keep their women, but he just couldn’t get the formula.

In the past couple of years, he had begun kidnapping women, and keeping them captive in the old broken down cabin. His rather vague hope was that after he had tamed a woman, she would be happy to be his girl, or his wife, and he could bring her back to civilization and live a happy life with her. He wasn’t sure just what a happy life actually entailed, but he thought it might be what he wanted.

He didn’t really see or understand the myriad flaws in this inchoate plan, so it was to be expected that up to this point, he had experienced no success. Capturing a woman, however, and hiding her at his cabin, gave him an amazing feeling of power.

The first victim had been a crazy teenager with dyed pink hair and a serious drug problem. He had snatched her off the street one night, knocked her out with a good punch to the side of her head, and wrestled her limp form into the boat. Making that trip in the dark had been exciting and scary. He was afraid that she would waken up, start struggling, and maybe even tip them out of the small boat. He didn’t want to be in that murky water at any time, but specially in the dark. Small boats or canoes were definitely not the best method of transportation in the Everglades, but Chance made do with what he had.

He needn’t have worried about her waking, however. By the time they reached shore, and he had carried her limp body up to the cabin, he realized that she was quite dead. He must have hit her harder than he had intended.

Chance had bellowed with anger at this unexpected development. He loved to take chances, hence his nickname, and he had always been quite lucky in the foolhardy things he did. This time, however, he became panicky, wondering what he should do with her body. He soon calmed himself, though, with the realization that he was sitting on the biggest disposal site in Florida, maybe in the entire country.

Before dawn, he had shoved her body into the water. The gators would do the rest. He was home free, but still without a woman. He realized that his next attempt had to be planned more efficiently.

Another candidate for wifehood had been Tammy Sue. He had snatched her from a lonely little park up near Clearwater. He had been watching her and her boyfriend, as they sat by their campfire, drinking beer and arguing. She had finally wandered into the bushes to take a pee, and he had grabbed her. Lady Luck had been with him that night, and everything had gone smoothly.

The drunken boyfriend had fallen asleep by the fire, and wasn’t aware that she was missing until the morning. By that time it was far too late. The police spent many days and all their resources looking for her in the park and on the beaches around Clearwater. They had no idea what had happened to her.

Tammy Sue had been a feisty and disappointing captive. She had been unwilling to cooperate in his little dream of romance and domesticity.

Chance ran a rather haphazard and lackluster pool cleaning business in the Everglades City area. It was close enough to Naples, that he could have made a decent living if he had put more enthusiasm into the job. Unfortunately, it was far enough from his cabin, that he found it a lot of trouble going back and forth by canoe. That was why he had bought the small motor boat. It wasn’t much faster than the canoe, but it was a lot more stable.

His solution to the problem of the long trip out to the cabin, was to leave Tammy Sue there for a week at a time, with very little food and water. He visited her when he felt like it, and was aggrieved to see that she was rapidly becoming nothing but skin and bone, and was no longer the least bit attractive.

That last day he had gone out to the shack, wondering what he was going to do about her, when she solved the problem for him.

She had sweet talked him into taking her outside for some fresh air and a little exercise. He had agreed, because the cabin was stifling, and there was really no way she could escape. He thought that maybe being nice to her would sweeten her disposition. How could he have known just how devious and desperate she was?

As they had walked along, she suddenly pointed in fright at something in the bush. He stopped to take a look, thinking it might be a snake. Picking up a large stick, Tammy Sue had hit him right across the face. He howled in pain, and she, wasting no time, took off running, heading for the boat.

She had almost reached it, when, taking a hasty glance over her shoulder, to see how close he was, she had stumbled over a mangrove root. She had tumbled right into the water, not too far from where old Oscar, the twelve foot alligator, was sunning himself.

It had all been over in a matter of minutes. There had been some frantic splashing, an ear piercing scream, then silence, except for the ever present buzzing of millions of mosquitoes, and the squawking of thousands of birds.

He had been temporarily shocked and annoyed, maybe even regretful, but then had told himself that Tammy Sue just hadn’t been what he wanted. She would never have been the compliant, fun companion he envisioned.

You had to give that gator credit. For an old guy, Oscar surely could move fast. He had thrown himself into that water so quickly, that Tammy Sue had no hope of escape. He had grabbed her, then done the old alligator roll, over and over, until she had drowned. Then Chance figured that the gator probably had taken her to his underwater storage place, where he would keep her till she was all rotten and soft, and good for eating.

Momentarily Chance had felt sorry for her. It was a helluva way to die, but it was nice for him that she was gone without a trace, and he was now free to try again.

He was learning from his mistakes. To begin with, he would have to lay in a better supply of food for his next captive. He didn’t want her to become as scrawny and scraggly as Tammy Sue. Of course the point of starving her, was to keep her weak, so that she couldn’t fight back, or try to escape.

This time he would have to put more thought into the planning, so that he could get himself the right girl, and treat her properly. Although he didn’t like to admit it to himself, he had been really grossed out by watching old Oscar catch Tammy Sue. She hadn’t deserved that kind of an ending. This time had to be better for all concerned.

Women had been disappointing Chance all his life, starting with his mother. Would it happen again, or was he about to break the run of bad luck? Ever the optimist, he figured that he would get it right this time. For starters, he was going to look for a blond, a real blond, not one with a phony dye job. He convinced himself that Tammy Sue and the pink haired teenager, plus a couple of others in between, had just been practice runs, and now he was ready for the real thing.

As he paddled determinedly through the water, he wasn’t really aware of his surroundings. He didn’t notice the ever present smell of decay. He didn’t care about the wading birds, the herons, flamingoes and egrets, all looking for a meal in the blazing sun.

The rubber trees and date palms, and the water hyacinths were of no interest to him, as he tried to picture the woman of his dreams. Not only would she be blond, but she would be good looking, slim, athletic, and not too smart. She would be obedient, and appreciative, and very loving.

Approaching the pathetic little shack, which was standing shakily on stilts, and looking as abandoned as a forgotten outhouse, he felt a quickening in his stomach. He was simply coming to check it out, to see if it was still standing after a year of neglect. Today he was alone, with just a couple of supplies, but soon he would be bringing a woman, a very special woman.

Chapter One

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That sunny Florida morning, bright with the promise of a normal, happy day, certainly gave no warning of the dramatic event which was about to descend on the Chandler family.

Kate Chandler pulled a plain blue tee shirt over her head, and zipped up a pair of white capri pants. Quickly brushing her reddish-blond shoulder length hair, she added gold hoop earrings and two gold bangles, before heading out to the kitchen in bare feet. Kate never wore shoes when she didn’t have to. She liked the feel of the carpet, or the tiles, or the sugary white sand on her toes. She also felt it was safer for the three kittens, Tom, Dick, and Harry, (short for Harriet). In bare feet she was less likely to step on an unsuspecting tail.

Kate really didn’t feel like going shopping today, but she had promised Davey, and she hated to break a promise. As it turned out, she should have broken her promise!

Davey, her soon-to-be five-year old, was already sitting at the table, eating his cheerios and a banana. Mac, her husband, was staring into the toaster, as if his determined glare could make it toast faster.

As yet there was no sight of the twins.

We should pitch this damn thing right into the gulf. It’s too slow, Mac muttered, as the toast continued to hide.

It’s fine. You’re just too impatient, laughed his wife, kissing Davey on the top of his head, before turning toward her husband.

Quickly and efficiently she pushed Mac aside, plucked out the two offending pieces of toast, which had finally appeared, and popped in two more.

Florida sunshine flooded the condo, and it looked as if it was going to be another glorious day in paradise. It may have looked that way, but looks can be deceiving.

The Chandler family had been in this three bedroom wrap-around condo at Edgewater Beach Resort (fondly called EBR by residents and guests), for over four weeks now, and were settling in nicely. Mac was on a joint Canadian-American team of marine biologists, who were studying the effects of the giant BP oil spill on the marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. The area in question stretched right from Pensacola to Apalachicola.

Although Toronto was their home, they expected to be here for a year, so they had bought the condo at EBR, planning to keep it as a vacation home after their return to Toronto.

They had considered buying a home in the Glades, a lovely subdivision just north of Edgewater. There were beautiful homes there, many of which faced the Hombre golf course. It had been tempting, but the resort had prevailed. The family agreed that they all wanted to be right on the beach, so that they could enjoy the panoramic view of the Gulf of Mexico, and walk on that sugary sand every morning.

Kate was an illustrator of children’s books, and she could do her work any place, so the move to Florida had been no problem for her. Although the twelve year old twins, Paige and Peter, had been reluctant about the move at first, not wanting to leave their friends, they had adjusted quickly. Now they were enjoying the delights of summer in Florida.

Mac took his coffee, and, toast in hand, he wandered out to the wrap-around deck. Kate poured herself a cup of tea, and joined him.

You’re looking very handsome this morning, Mr. Chandler, grinned Kate, as she sat across from him at the small table.

Her six foot two husband was already deeply tanned from his first weeks under the Florida sun. He had dark brown eyes, and short-cropped wavy brown hair. He had an athletic build, and looked like the type of man who could solve problems easily. There were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, and his wife of fourteen years was still crazy about him. Happily, Mac felt exactly the same about Kate. He sometimes wondered what he had done to deserve such a great life. He had a job which he loved. He had a beautiful, fun loving, artistic wife, and three great kids. Even the three little cats were adorable. How much better could it get?

I’ve got to leave in fifteen minutes, he muttered, glancing at his watch. I likely won’t be back till around 6 tonight. What are your plans for today?"

Well, the twins have their tennis lesson this morning, so while they’re doing that, I’m going to take Davey, and drive over to that big party store in Panama City. He’s going to help me pick out the favours and things he wants for his birthday party next week.

Mac shook his head. Can you believe our little guy is going to be five years old? I can still remember bringing him home from the hospital. He was so small, and his head looked all squeezed to a point. I had grave doubts about him at first glance.

They both laughed, as they looked through the open door at Davey, still sitting at the kitchen table. "He’s such a good little fellow, and he’s so smart, not to mention that he’s already very good looking, in spite of his pointy headed start. He loves it here in Florida, and I’m glad that he’s found a few friends already. He’s invited five to his party.

He told me last night that he definitely wants to do the pirate ship thing. They get pirate hats and treasures, and hopefully they’ll see the dolphins. With Paige and Peter to help us, we should be able to manage six rambunctious little boys on a boat for a couple of hours."

Kate said this as if she was trying to convince herself.

That sounds good. Are they coming back here to eat, or are we taking them someplace?

We’re coming back here for hotdogs and other junk. We’ll all swim first, then eat and play some games. Davey can hardly wait.

Just then Paige made an appearance. Although she was only twelve, she already looked very much like her mother, with the same reddish blond hair, cornflower blue eyes, and winning smile.

Behind her came Peter, already two inches taller, and with the same good looks as his dad. Although in appearance you couldn’t tell that they were twins, in actual fact, they were almost inseparable. They argued and teased each other mercilessly, but the bottom line was that it was Paige and Peter against the rest of the world.

Peter was wearing shorts, and no top. He was in his bare feet like his mom, and was suffering from a severe case of bed-hair.

Paige giggled when she saw him. You look as if you’re wearing a fright wig. Is it Halloween and nobody told me?

Ha ha, very funny, he grinned, running his fingers through his hair. I’ll be looking great as usual by the time we leave, he boasted, with no lack of self-confidence.

Okay, guys, you know the rules. If you get back from your tennis lesson before I do, stick around the condo. Don’t even think of going swimming until I get back. Davey and I just have one big errand to do over in Panama City, and we’ll likely be back before you are. Anyway, I’m trusting you to be careful, be sensible, and be good.

Don’t worry Mom, we’ll be fine. I just read my horoscope, and it said, ‘dark clouds are gathering, be strong,’ so I’m going to stay close to home today.

They all laughed.

Are you reading that ‘horror scope’ again? grinned her dad. Paige, you know those things are bunk. You’re too smart to fall for that jazz.

I know they’re not right, but it’s fun reading them. Yours says ‘you will get an unhappy surprise,’ or something like that. I’ve forgotten it now, but it wasn’t that good.

Mac frowned. Who makes up that nonsense?

Paige shrugged as she added, Mom, yours was interesting. It said ‘You would be wise to stay close to home. The planets are not aligned to your benefit.’ I forget now just exactly what it said, but I didn’t like it much.

Good grief. I’d be depressed if I read those things every day, laughed Kate, shaking her head at her daughter. I agree with your dad. You’re too smart to waste your time on that drivel. Do a Sudoku or a crossword puzzle instead.

What about mine? asked Peter, interested in spite of himself.

I think yours said something about your hair scaring everybody today, Paige quickly improvised.

Peter laughed good-naturedly, as he gave his sister’s hair a slight yank.

Davey finally joined his family on the balcony. Mom, I have a surprise for you. Which hand do you take?

His hands were clenched behind his back, and he looked up at her with mischief in his eyes.

Before his mother could answer, Mac shouted, Hey, look out there. I see four dolphins playing in the water. Quickly he lifted his son, so that he could get a better view.

No, Dad, there are five of them. Look, there’s another one coming all by himself. I bet he’s the littlest one just like I am.

The little boy seemed delighted at the thought of a dolphin family which was the same size as his own.

They all stood silently, watching the graceful creatures playfully dip and dive, as they made their morning journey from east to west along the shore.

I wish I could swim like a dolphin, sighed Davey, as his dad set him down on his own feet again.

Well, make that wish just before you blow out your birthday candles next week, and maybe it will come true, kidded his big brother. Don’t tell anyone what you wish though, or you’ll be out of luck. The birthday fairies won’t help you.

That’s a good idea, but then, you’ll know what I’m wishing, and it won’t come true. Davey frowned, as he pondered this first problem of the day.

Oh well, he smiled, looking up at his mother, I’ll pretend that I’m wishing for something else, and you won’t know which one is my real wish. Yes, that’ll work, he nodded to himself with satisfaction.

All this time, his small hands had been clenched tightly. He finally remembered why he had come out onto the balcony. Mom, which hand do you pick?

His mother laughed. Oh Davey Doodle, what have you got for me this morning? Is it a handful of diamonds, or some beautiful pearls?

No, Mom, this is real. Which hand do you take?

Kate pretended to be puzzled, then finally pointed to his left hand. I want that one please.

Mom, you always guess right. You’re lucky, he complained, as he opened his hand, and showed her three butterscotch candies individually wrapped in colourful paper. Look at this, ladies and gentlemen. She got three, count them, three delicious butterscotches. You’re lucky you didn’t take this one, because it’s the crust off my toast, he laughed, opening his right hand to show her the jagged piece of crust, now crumpled into an unsavory ball.

You little scamp, trying to trick your poor mother. I surely am glad that I got the candy instead of that old crust, she said, stuffing the three candies into her pocket. I know I couldn’t have made it through the day without them.

Kate had no way of knowing just how glad she would be, when, later on, she would find those three candies in her pocket. Nor could she know that, as she took Davey’s hand, and set out for the car, she was about to meet her destiny. This was a day on which Kate Chandler should have stayed safely at home.

Chapter Two

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Davey kept up a steady stream of chatter, as he and his mother headed over the Hathaway Bridge to the Party Time store in Panama City. As they crossed the bridge, Davey pointed out several sail boats and seadoos. People were having fun in the bay on this glorious morning.

Everything seemed to be sparkling and twinkling. The sky couldn’t have been more blue, and the water in the bay was a beautiful aqua, glimmering and shimmering beneath the brilliant sun. Kate felt some momentary pangs of longing for their cottage in Muskoka. They had rented it to good friends for the summer months, and, in spite of how much she was enjoying Florida and all it had to offer, part of her longed to be back in her own country, at her own cottage.

They took their time in the Party Store, while Davey investigated every aisle and every shelf. Kate was impatient to finish, but she knew how important this birthday party was to her little fellow, so she showed great interest in everything he discovered.

When Davey found the pirate plates with napkins to match, he was about to burst. His cup at that moment, did indeed runneth over.

Kate grinned as she thought how easy it was to please a five year old. If only he could stay this age for years to come. She knew that there would be no more babies. She and Mac had made that decision shortly after Davey was born. A family of three kids was enough. Still, there were times when she longed to hold an infant in her arms again. Thankfully, those times were few and far between.

Okay Mom. We have everything we need, Davey announced seriously. He was anxious to get home now, to show all the purchases to Paige and Peter.

Let’s just run into Publix, Davey Doodle, said Kate. I want to get some chicken and some salad stuff for dinner. Maybe we can get some ice cream bars too," she added, as an incentive.

The little boy skipped along beside her, still thinking about those neat pirate plates. This was going to be the BEST party ever.

As they walked past CiCi’s pizza place, Davey’s face lit up with hope. Mom, could we have lunch here? I really could eat some pizza. Shopping makes me hungry.

Kate laughed. Davey, we promised the twins we wouldn’t be long. It wouldn’t be fair to have lunch here, and leave them waiting for us.

Seeing the disappointment on his face, she added, I’ll tell you what. We’ll go and get our things at Publix, then we’ll get you a couple of big slices of pizza, and you can eat them in the car. How about it?

Cool, agreed Davey, grinning up at her.

As usual, the quick trip to Publix turned into a twenty minute adventure, with both of them seeing enticing packages and boxes which they just had to have.

With her son’s eager help, Kate got all the purchases packed neatly into the back of their SUV. The shiny black Enclave had been purchased just before they left Toronto, and they were still getting used to its size and comfort.

Do you want to take the cart back? suggested Kate. She was parked further from the store than she had realized, but she knew how much Davey enjoyed returning the shopping carts. He was always very careful, and very deliberate about making sure to fit his cart into the one ahead of it. Sometimes it took him a while, but his satisfied grin was always worth the extra time he took. She could have walked back with him, but she understood that he liked to do this little chore by himself. It gave him big boy status.

Kate quickly rearranged a couple of packages in the rear of the vehicle, before turning to watch her son, as he made his way back to the front of the store. It was likely because she was concentrating on Davey’s progress, that she was only slightly aware of the van, which pulled in. Taking her eyes off Davey for a moment, she bent further into the SUV, looking for a parcel which seemed to be missing.

She had paid absolutely no attention to the van which was now close beside her. The driver was out of his vehicle in a second. Before Kate could straighten up, he grabbed her, and covered her face with some kind of rag. Then he half pushed, half lifted her into his van. His arms were powerful, and the rag smelled dreadful.

As she tried to fight off her attacker, her last conscious thought was that she was inhaling chloroform, and that Davey was all alone in the Publix parking lot, far from his family and the safety of the condo.

Davey, totally oblivious to the drama being acted out behind him, finally got the cart fitted perfectly into the one ahead of it. With a happy grin, he turned to look back at his mom. She was usually standing right beside their Enclave, waiting for him, and watching his progress. She had explained to him that returning the carts properly was an important job, and that if he wanted to do it, he had to do it correctly. He liked pushing the big carts, and he liked knowing that her eyes were always on him, so that he was safe from any of the terrors out there in the big world. She would give him two thumbs up for the neat way he had done his task.

This time, however, when he turned to wave at her, he realized that his mom wasn’t there, at least he couldn’t see her. Instead, there was a big white van with a swimming pool picture on it, cutting off his view of his mom and their black Enclave.

Davey checked the cart again to be sure it was nicely tucked into the one ahead. Then he had to pet a darling little dog on a leash. It licked his hands and face, and made him laugh. Regretfully, he left the dog, and started hurrying back to where his mom would be waiting. He hoped that she had seen what a nice job he had done.

Looking ahead, he realized that the swimming pool van was gone, and he could now see their Enclave, but where was his mom? She wasn’t standing watching him.

Davey felt disappointed. She must be sitting in the vehicle, not even watching to see that he was safe. That wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Opening the passenger side door, which was almost too big and heavy for him, he began to climb in, before he realized that his mom wasn’t sitting there. Had he made a mistake, and come to the wrong car?

Quickly getting out again, he looked around, a puzzled and worried look on his face. Maybe he was in the wrong lane. He cut through the cars into the next lane, but there was no black Enclave there. The one he had been in must be the right one. Returning to it, he opened the back door, and was reassured to see his Curious George book on the seat. Good. At least he was in the right car. Climbing inside, he sat quietly and waited for his mom. While he waited, he thought about what he was going to have on his pizza slices.

His stomach was starting to feel a little strange. Where was she? She never ever left him alone in the parking lot, or in the car. Had she gone back into the store? Should he go in to look for her? He wasn’t sure just what to do, so he did nothing.

Ten minutes can be a very long time to a little boy. After ten minutes of waiting, Davey decided that it had been at least an hour, and now he was mad at his mom. She had gone back