Sweet Revenge
by Allyson
Book 1, chapter 31 - 40
Chapter 31
Sara hears a click on the other line.
“I wonder what that was all about,” Sara says out loud.
“What are you talking about honey?” Joan asks as she walks over to the counter.
“Ben, just called and he was looking for Meg,” Sara says.
“I know hon, but why do you look so worried,” Joan asks.
“Mom, Meg was supposed to meet Ben at the house earlier and she never showed up. He hasn’t heard from her either,” Sara says.
“Honey, I am sure there is some explanation, but this does worry me. It’s not like Meg to be gone for so long and not call anyone. You know, I think she was supposed to be here a little while ago to help you, wasn’t she?” Joan asks.
“Yeah, she was. Mom, I am really worried about her,” Sara says.
“I know honey. Me too,” Joan says.
“Mom, I’ve got to do something, but I don’t know what,” Sara says.
“Honey, I don’t know if I would do that. I would wait until I hear from Ben if I were you,” Joan says.
“Mom, I can’t wait that long. I am going to go find Casey,” Sara says as she takes off her apron.
“Honey, be careful please,” Joan says.
“I will,” Sara says and she grabs her purse and heads out the door.
Ben’s House
“Benjy!” Ben yells.
“Yes daddy,” Benjy says from the top of the steps.
“Benjy, I need to take you to grandma Carmen’s for a little while. I have some…business to attend to,” Ben says putting on his jacket.
“Can you wait till mommy comes back?” Benjy asks.
“No, I…wait a second, did your mommy tell you where she was going?” Ben asks.
“She said she was going to visit some friends,” Benjy says.
“Where? Do you have any idea where?” Ben yells.
“No daddy,” Benjy says in a small voice.
“I am sorry son. I did not mean to yell. It is just important that I know where she went,” Ben says.
“Okay daddy, but I don’t know,” Benjy says.
“Okay then. Get your jacket and a toy and lets go to grandma’s,” Ben says.
Chapter 32
Surf Central
Sara unlocks the door and walks in. No one is in sight.
“Hello, Casey? Anyone home?” Sara yells.
“Yeah, I am in the kitchen,” Casey yells.
Sara goes into the kitchen and finds Casey eating pizza.
“Have you heard from Meg today?” Sara asks.
“No, I haven’t. Is something wrong?” Casey asks worriedly.
“Yeah, Ben called me very worried about Meg and he said he had not heard from her all day and he could not reach her anywhere,” Sara says.
“Sara, I am sure she is fine,” Casey says.
“Casey, I am not so sure. No one has heard from her all day and…there are some things you don’t know,” Sara says.
“Sara what are you talking about?” Casey asks.
“Casey, it’s a long story…” Sara says hesitantly.
“Sara, what’s going on? Are you trying to tell me that you think Meg is in danger?” Casey asks.
“Casey, I think she is. I am so worried,” Sara says in a shaky voice.
Casey walks over and hugs her.
“Sara, you need to tell me what is going on,” Casey says. “I can’t help you until you tell me what is going on.”
“Okay,” Sara says. “Lets sit down and I will tell you the story.”
Ben’s House
“Benjy, lets go!” Ben yells up the steps.
“Okay daddy,” Benjy says as he comes down the steps. “Daddy, I was bad.”
“Son, how were you bad?” Ben asks.
“Mommy told me not to play with your keys, but I took them anyway and she said she needed them,” Benjy says handing Ben the keys. “But she left before I could give them to her.”
“Benjy, these are not my keys,” Ben says.
Then he realizes the keys are the ones he found outside.
“Benjy, are you sure your mommy did not tell you where she was going?” Ben asks.
“Mommy didn’t tell me. She said she and Tess had somewhere to go and that I needed to stay here with you,” Benjy says.
“Maria and Tess?” Ben thinks to himself. “What the hell is going on?”
“Daddy, are we going?” Benjy asks.
“Yes son. Lets go to grandma’s,” Ben says.
Chapter 33
Surf Central
“Sara, are you trying to tell me that you think Maria is involved in all this stuff and that is why you all came up with the idea to put a wire on Ben and see if he could get something out of her?” Casey asks.
“Yes, and that is why I am worried about Meg. She was supposed to meet Ben, but he had to leave before she got there and he has not seen or heard from her since last night,” Sara says.
“Wait…you said she was supposed to get the wire. Do you know that she actually got it?” Casey asks.
“Well, when I talked to Ben earlier, he told me found a broken wire sticking out from under the sofa. He thinks it is the one she was bringing and then he said something about some keys and he got off the phone really fast,” Sara says.
“Something strange is definitely going on. Maybe we should try to get Ben on his cellphone and see if he has found out anything,” Casey says.
“Okay, I’ll call,” Sara says. She sits down on the couch and gets the phone and dials his cellphone number. Ben answers.
“Hello.”
“Hi Ben. This is Sara.”
“Hi Sara.”
“Ben, have you found out anything?”
“Yes and no. Can I call you back? I am taking Benjy to his grandma’s.”
“Sure. I am at Surf Central.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Sara hangs up the phone.
“What did he say?” Casey asks as he joins her on the sofa.
“Not much. He had Benjy in the car and he was taking him to Carmen’s. I got the feeling he didn’t want to talk in front of Benjy,” Sara says.
“Probably not. Something is just not right,” Casey says.
“I know. I am so worried,” Sara says.
She lays her head on his shoulder and waits for Ben to call back.
Chapter 34
The dimly lit room
Meg was still sitting against the door when she hears someone unlocking it. She gets up really fast and goes to the mattress and sits down.
“Hello there,” Derek says as he opens the door. “I brought something to make sure you don’t get away from me.”
In his hands, Derek is holding two pieces of rope.
“Derek, please don’t, please…” Meg says with a frightened look as she stands up.
“I am afraid you don’t have a choice,” Derek says.
He goes over to get her, but she dodges him and runs toward the door. She manages to get out the door, but she does not know where to go. She runs straight ahead, but Derek catches her and takes her back to the room kicking and screaming.
He puts her down on the mattress and holds her down as he ties her hands together in front and then he ties rope around her ankles.
“Now you won’t go anywhere,” he says with an evil grin.
“Derek, please don’t leave me like this,” Meg cries as she sees him heading towards the door. “Ben, please find me,” she says sobbing.
Carmen’s
Ben is about to leave Carmen’s when he hears a voice, a very familiar voice, sobbing and asking for him to find her.
“Oh my god,” Ben says putting his hands on his head. “I hear you baby. I’m coming. I promise.” He backs out of Carmen’s driveway and heads for Surf Central.
The dimly lit room
Meg had closed her eyes, but opened them wide when she heard his voice.
“He heard me. He really heard me. I love you Ben,” she whispers as she falls into a troubled sleep.
Ben’s car
“I love you too Meg,” he whispers through his tears as he pulls into the driveway at Surf Central.
Chapter 35
Surf Central
Sara and Casey hear a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Casey says.
The door opens and in comes Ben with a worried look on his face.
“Ben, what is it? What’s wrong?” Sara asks.
“I could hear her,” Ben says.
“Ben, what do you mean?” Sara says as she walks over to him.
“I could hear her calling for me and I responded and……she heard me,” Ben says.
Sara and Casey look at each other worriedly.
“I promised her I would find her. I have to find her,” Ben says looking up at Sara and Casey.
“But where do we start?” Casey asks.
“We start with Maria,” Ben says. “We should probably go to my house and wait for her to come back.”
“Why Maria? What does she have to do with this?” Casey asks.
“She’s been acting very strange. First, I found a set of keys outside of the door and I showed them to Maria to ask her whose they were and she looked like she had seen a ghost. She said she didn’t know whose they were and ran into the house. Later, after she left the house, I was talking to Benjy and he mentioned he had been bad because he took “my” keys to play with them when Maria told him not to,” Ben says. “The catch is, those were not my keys.”
“That is strange,” Sara says. “I understand what you were trying to tell me on the phone now.”
“Exactly, which is why I think we should go to my house and wait for her to come back. She left without a word today which leads me to believe something is up. She always tells me when she is going somewhere so that we have arrangements for Benjy,” Ben says.
“I see what you mean. I think we should do that,” Sara says. “Should I let my mom know whats going on?”
“Sara, I don’t know about that,” Ben says. “I just don’t want to worry them, and they may want to call in the police, but I am afraid to do that.”
“Okay, I understand. Casey, are you ready to go?” Sara asks.
“Yes, lets go,” Casey says.
They all head out the door.
Chapter 36
The Dimly Lit Room
Meg is awakened by the creak of the door as it opens. She opens her eyes and sees two people standing in the doorway. She struggles to see who they are, but she gets hit by a sudden wave of nausea.
“Whats wrong with me?” she thinks to herself.
Meanwhile, her two visitors are watching intently.
“I can’t believe he did this,” Maria says.
“Oh cut out the “feeling sorry” crap,” Tess says. “She is getting what she deserves.”
Just as Tess finishes her sentence, they see Meg put her head over the side of the mattress and get sick on the floor.
“Oh, disgusting,” Tess says as she turns her face away.
Derek walks up behind her and Maria and sees Meg getting sick. He walks over to the closet in the hall and finds a mop. He turns around and hands it to Maria.
“Clean it up,” Derek says.
“Why do I have to?” Maria asks.
“Because I said so. Now do it,” Derek yells.
He and Tess turn around and walk out of the room.
“Derek, what the hell did you give her?” Tess asks.
“I didn’t give her nothing but Tylenol and water. I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Derek says.
“Derek, what are we going to do if she gets really sick? Are we taking her to the doctor or what?” Tess asks.
“She isn’t going to any doctor. She’ll get over it,” Derek says.
Meanwhile, Maria is cleaning up. She looks over at Meg who is sound asleep.
“Maybe I should see if she has a temperature,” Maria says to herself.
She reaches over and places her hand on Meg’s head. It was a little warm, but she didn’t have a fever.
“That’s good,” she says out loud.
“Maria, what are you doing?” says Tess who is now standing at the door.
“Uh, finishing up,” she says mopping up the rest. “By the way, what time is it Tess?”
“Its getting close to 8,” Tess says.
“Oh, we need to go soon. I have to put Benjy to bed,” Maria says.
She picks up the mop and walks towards the door, closing it behind her and Tess.
Chapter 37
Ben’s House
“How much longer do you think she will be?” Casey asks.
“She should be here soon. She usually gets Benjy ready for bed around 8:15,” Ben says.
Sara, Casey, and Ben sit silently, watching the hands on the clock for what seems like eternity when they hear a key in the door. They all stare at each other and then at the door.
The door opens and in comes Maria who is startled to see three faces staring at her.
“Uh…hi,” Maria says and then walks over to the steps.
“Not so fast,” Ben says. He walks over and gets her by her arm and leads her over to the couch.
“You have some explaining to do Maria,” Ben says.
“Explaining? What do you mean?” says Maria with her best confused look.
“Maria, Meg is missing and I have reason to believe that you know something about it,” Ben says.
“Oh no! Are you sure she is missing and not just off somewhere?” Maria asks.
“Yes, we are pretty sure,” says Sara.
“I…uh…I don’t know anything,” Maria stammers.
“That’s it. I knew you knew something,” Ben says. “Where is she?”
Maria looks from face to face while willing herself not to spill the beans. Meanwhile, Tess is in her favorite eavesdropping place on the deck and she can tell that Maria is about to confess.
“Oh no! I have to warn Derek,” Tess thinks to herself.
She slowly gets off the deck and makes her way to her car and takes off.
Inside, Maria and the others can hear the roar of the engine.
“Who is that?” Casey says outloud.
“I have no idea. Why don’t you go check Casey?” says Ben.
Casey looks out the window and is in time to see the car going down the road, but he is not quite sure of who’s car it is.
“I just saw a little blue car,” Casey says. “I don’t know whose it is.”
“A little blue……Tess, dammit she was here to,” Ben yells.
Ben then turns to Maria with a burst of anger.
“Where is she Maria?” he snarls.
Maria finally breaks down.
“I know where she is,” Maria says.
“Where?” Ben yells as he shakes Maria, who is in tears.
“I’ll take you there,” she says between sobs.
“I’ll get the car,” Casey says.
Chapter 38
Ben’s House
Tim walks onto the deck and opens the sliding glass door just in time to see Ben and everyone leaving.
“Where’s everyone going in such a hurry?” Tim asks.
“Oh great!” Sara says to herself. Then she turns around to face Tim.
“Tim, we are in a really big hurry and I don’t have time to explain, so please just go away,” Sara says.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” he asks.
“Tim, you heard the woman. Leave!” Ben yells.
“Wait…where’s Meg?” Tim asks.
“Tim, I swear I am gonna…” Ben snarls.
“Okay, okay. Cool your jets. I’ll uh…tag along,” Tim says.
“Tim…” Ben yells.
“Ben, we may need him. Maybe we should let him come,” Sara says.
“Okay…we will explain in the car,” Ben says reluctantly.
“Now that’s more like it,” Tim says.
“Tim, if I were you, I wouldn’t push anymore buttons because not only will Ben get a hold of you, but you will also experience the wrath of Sara!” Sara says angrily.
“Okay, okay!” Tim says.
They all get in the car and take off.
Meanwhile…
“Derek? Where are you?” Tess yells as she enters the building.
“Tess, stop yelling. I am right here,” Derek says.
Tess walks around the corner and comes face to face with Derek.
“Derek, we have a problem,” Tess says.
“What do you mean?” Derek says angrily.
“Ben got Maria to crack. They are on their way here,” Tess says.
“Great! I knew I could not trust her,” Derek says. “It looks like its time for Plan B.”
Chapter 39
“Tess, this is my plan. We are going to get Meg and take her to the caves and hide out there for now. You have to maintain an extremely low profile because if Ben finds you, he is going to make you take him to Meg. We can’t let that happen. I have plans for old Benny Boy,” Derek says with an evil gleam in his eye.
“Okay, Derek we need to get out of here. They are probably on their way,” Tess says.
“Alright. Lets get out of here. I will go get Meg and you go around and make sure you remove all traces of us being here. Got it,” Derek says.
“Got it. Let’s do it,” Tess says.
Derek goes to the dimly lit room and opens the door. He finds that Meg has gotten sick once again.
“What in the hell is wrong with you?” he says to Meg as he picks her up.
He studies her face and notices she is very pale and for a second, just a second, he feels a sort of tenderness he is never felt before. He gently strokes her hair and then he touches her face with is finger, noticing the hotness that brings him back to reality. He realizes she is very sick and as much as he wants to take her to the hospital and get her better, he knows there is too much at stake to do it now. He walks out of the room with her in his arms and goes to the closet to look for a blanket. He finds a torn blanket and carefully drapes it over her. Then he goes to find Tess.
“Are you ready Tess?” he says meeting up with Tess.
“Yes, I’m ready,” she says. Then she notices Meg who is sound asleep in Derek’s arms and wrapped gently in a blanket.
“Derek, please tell me you aren’t going tender on me?” Tess says.
“I am not going tender on you. She’s just…sick,” he says looking down at Meg’s face.
“Whatever! Lets get out of here,” Tess says.
They go outside to her car and leave.
Meanwhile…
“Okay, take a right,” Maria says to Casey. “Then go about a mile and when you hit the fork in the road, take a left and it should bring you up to the building.”
They drive about a mile and get to the fork and take a left. They proceed on down the road and at the same time, Tess and Derek are going in the opposite direction and have just gotten to the fork in the road. They miss each other by seconds.
“Okay, we are here. Let’s go in,” Casey says.
Ben jumps out of the car with Tim, Sara, and Casey, who has a firm grip on Maria, behind him and runs into the building.
“Meg!” he yells.
There is no answer.
“Ben, lets split up and look for her,” Sara says.
“Okay, Tim come with me. Sara, go with Casey. You two keep an eye on Maria,” Ben says.
“Okay,” Sara says.
They split up and look all through the building, but there is no sign of Meg. Finally, Maria speaks up.
“I know what room they were keeping her in,” she says.
“Where? Take me there now,” Ben says.
Maria takes Ben to the room and to her surprise, the door is wide open and Meg is gone. Ben notices the mattress, which is the one thing in the room and then he sees what is beside the mattress.
“Oh no. She’s sick!” Ben says, more worried than ever. Then he turns around and goes to Maria.
“Where did they take her? I have to know,” Ben says angrily.
“Ben, I don’t know. I don’t know where they were going,” she says.
“You better not be lying to me,” he yells.
Maria bursts into tears.
“Ben, I really don’t think she knows,” Casey says.
“Why did I agree to do this? Why?” Maria says as her cries turn into sobs.
“Maria, I know its my brother behind this. Was it his idea or Tess’?” Ben asks.
“It was Tess’!” she says with a sob. “And she got Derek into it.”
“I should have known. Sara, Casey, Tim, we have got to look all over Sunset Beach and find her,” Ben says.
“Ben, we will, don’t worry,” Casey says with his arms around a now upset Sara.
“Let’s get out of here,” Ben says as he gets Maria’s arm and takes her out the door.
Everyone else follows.
Chapter 40
At the caves
“Okay Derek. Which cave do you want to go into to?” Tess asks.
“Just go to the first one,” he says.
Tess and Derek go the first cave and take Meg in. Derek puts Meg on the ground and covers her with the blanket. Meg starts to stir.
“Where I am?” she murmurs.
“Shhh…go back to sleep,” Derek says softly.
Meg opens her eyes long enough to get a look at Derek and then she falls back to sleep.
“Well, that was a close one,” Tess says.
“No, she’s too weak to do anything anyway,” Derek says.
“So when do we want to try to make contact with Ben?” Tess asks.
“Well, it’s around 10pm now. I will call him at midnight with my request and then give him till noon to get the cash together,” Derek says.
“Till noon? Why 12 hours?” Tess asks.
“Oh I am going to ask for quite a bit and I want to make sure he gets it all and brings it to me,” Derek says.
“What are we asking for?” Tess asks.
“We are asking for 1 million dollars,” Derek says greedily.
“Oh wow!” Tess says and she hugs Derek.
But, what she doesn’t know is that Derek has no intention of sharing his money.
Ben’s House
A couple hours later
“I wish I knew where he would take her. Where in bloody hell did he take her?” Ben yells.
“Ben, listen, yelling is not going to help. Just think about where he might take her,” Casey says.
“I’m thinking,” Ben says in a calmer tone.
Everyone continues to sit in silence and think, when all the sudden, the phone rings.
Ben all but runs to the phone and picks it up.
“Hello.”
“Hello Benny Boy!”
“Derek, you bastard! Where is she?”
“All in good time dear brother, all in good time. But, first, I have a request.”
“What the hell is your bloody request?”
“Well, Benjamin, I would like for you to get me 1 million dollars by noon tomorrow and I will let you have your lady love.”
“I am not giving you 1 million dollars.”
“Oh, but Ben, you are going to give it to me or you can kiss your precious Meg goodbye.”
“You @$$hole, if you so much as touch…”
“Ah, but I won’t if you follow my orders.”
“Where do you want me to bring it?”
“I haven’t quite decided that yet. I will call you at home at exactly noon and let you know where to go and you will find your precious Meg.”
“She better be there…”
“As long as you do what I say and don’t try anything funny, she will be there.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“You can’t…”
“The hell I can’t!”
“She’s asleep.”
“Put her on the bloody phone Derek!”
“Hmmm…let me see…NO!”
The phone clicks.
“Hello? Hello? That bastard!” Ben says.
“Ben, was that Derek? Is Meg okay?” Sara asks coming up behind Ben.
“Yes, it was. He would not let me talk to her. He said she was asleep,” Ben says.
“Ben, she’s sick. She probably is asleep,” Maria says from her spot on the sofa.
“I wish I could just…hold her in my arms and never let go,” Ben says.
“Ben, we are going to find her and bring her home,” Sara says with a tear in her eye.
“You are right Sara, we are going to bring her home and the first thing we need to do is get that 1 million dollars together,” Ben says as he reaches for the phone and starts to dial a number.
“1 million dollars? That man is crazy!” Casey says as he walks over and puts his arms around Sara and takes her to the sofa to sit back down.
“He sure is,” says Tim.
Sara gives him an angry look.
“What?” Tim asks.
“Did anyone say you could talk?” Sara asks.
Tim was tempted to respond, but decided to keep his mouth closed.
Meanwhile, Ben was on the phone talking to someone.
“Yes, I need it by noon. Thank you,” he says.
“Ok, the one million dollars will be here by noon,” Ben says.
“Thank goodness. I suggest we all get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day,” Casey says.
Everyone agrees and they settle in for a long night.