Taken

The house was silent as a tomb.

Once in the master bedroom, she flicked on the overhead light and moved quickly toward the walk-in closet. Dropping her makeshift weapons, she rifled through the racks, looking for something she could put on.

She grabbed a black blouse, which she tucked into a long skirt with pockets sewn into each side. Grabbing a belt, she looped it around her waist to keep the skirt from sliding down her narrow hips. Finally, she slipped her feet into sandals with Velcro straps, making them as tight as they would go.

She caught her reflection in the full-length mirror and looked quickly away from the too-thin girl with tangled hair. Leaving the closet, she went into bathroom and grabbed a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush, along with a hairbrush to take with her. Before she faced the world, she’d try to make herself a little more presentable.

But her first priority was to find the financial means to get away. Returning to the bedroom, she hurried to Brenda’s vanity. Amidst a jumble of costume jewelry, she found several thick gold chains. She opened the jewelry box and rifled quickly through more costume pieces. Amidst the junk, she found a diamond tennis bracelet and a pair of diamond studs, which she added to the cache in the pockets of her borrowed skirt.

She noticed a small drawer at the base of the jewelry box and she yanked it open. Inside it were various receipts and bits of paper, an expired driver’s license on the top. Her eyes skimmed automatically over the license, which was for Brenda Snider Harris, date of birth August 2, 1982.

She pocketed the license, automatically memorizing their address. As she’d suspected, they were out in the country, maybe forty miles from her town. There was something important about Brenda’s birthday that niggled in the back of her mind.

What was it?

Thrusting aside the thought for the moment, Jane yanked open various bureau drawers, hunting for a money clip or anything else of value. No luck.

What about Robert’s fancy Rolex? Had he left that behind?

The sudden memory of an overheard conversation leaped into her brain.

“Where’s my watch? The gold Rolex you got me for Christmas?”

“In the safe.”

“What’s the combination to the safe, again? I forget.”

“It’s my birthday, stupid.”

Abandoning her search in the bureau, Jane raced back to the closet. Crouching by the safe set into the carpet, she pulled out the license and examined the birth date again.

Jane, whose mind had an analytical, mathematical bent, immediately turned the date into a series of numbers: 08021982. She punched the matching keys, panting with excitement.

Nothing happened.

“Okay, think, think, think,” she muttered. “There are different ways to write a date.”

She punched in 1982.

Nothing.

0802.

Zip.

8282.

There was a small beep and the sound of a lock releasing.

The lid popped open.

Nearly sick with anticipation, Jane reached inside the space. Her fingers closed around the handle of something heavy. She pulled it out and opened the lid. As she stared down at the contents, she drew in a long, quavering breath. Stack upon rubber-banded stack of hundred-dollar bills filled the box. Jane had never seen so much money in one place in her life.

No matter how much was there, it would never be enough to repay her for what they’d done.

She set the box down and reached again into the treasure trove. Her fingers closed around soft handles of something light. She pulled it out and stared, her mind taking several seconds to make sense out of what she was seeing.

It was her purse—the bag she’d been carrying when those monsters had tricked and kidnapped her. Unzipping it with trembling fingers, she saw her wallet, her license still tucked into its plastic sleeve, along with her cell phone and little makeup bag. Why had they kept it?

Whatever the reason, she was grateful they had. She hugged the purse to her chest. It was proof she’d actually existed before this nightmare had upended her life. It was time to take her life back, once and for all.

Jumping to her feet, she rifled through Brenda’s pocketbook shelf until she found a huge leather tote with Coach stamped on the side. Pulling it down, she crouched beside the metal box. Hoisting it over the open bag, she dumped in the contents, nearly filling it to the brim.

Unable to resist, she reached once more into the safe. Her fingers closed around several velvet boxes. She pulled them out and opened one. It contained a diamond necklace, the faceted gems sparkling. She dumped the necklace into the tote. Grabbing the other velvet boxes, she emptied their contents into the bag without even looking at them and hurled the empty boxes away.

Tamping down the loot, she just managed to zip the tote closed. Time to get moving. Jumping to her feet, she lifted the heavy tote and arranged it over one shoulder with the straps across her chest for additional support. Slinging her own bag over her other shoulder, she tore out of the bedroom.