Hostage! Read online

  HOSTAGE!

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  HOSTAGE!

  Jessica hurried up the porch steps and leaned over the small railing to look into the living room window.

  She wasn't certain exactly what she expected to see. But she almost gasped in surprise when she saw Mr. and Mrs. Morrow, right there in the kidnappers' living room.

  Mrs. Morrow jumped to her feet the minute she saw Jessica's face in the window. "Wait!" Jessica mouthed at her, but the next instant Mrs. Morrow was pulling her husband out of sight.

  Just then Jessica heard a footstep behind her. "What are you staring at?" a cross voice demanded.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  One

  "I don't care what you say, Jessica," Elizabeth Wakefield protested, her aquamarine eyes darkening with concern. "I think something peculiar is going on over at the Morrows' house. And whatever it is, I just want to make sure Regina Morrow isn't in trouble!"

  Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield were stretched out on beach towels on the white pavement encircling the pool in the Wakefields' backyard, the late afternoon sun still warm on their backs. The twins were enjoying a rare hour of total relaxation between school and dinner, catching up on the events of the past week. It felt as if so much had happened that they hadn't been able to share lately! Partly that was because the twins' grandparents had just left Sweet Valley after a three-week visit. Moreover, lately Jessica had been putting in more hours with the cheerleading squad, and Elizabeth had been hard at work on an article for Sweet Valley High's student newspaper, The Oracle.

  Jessica sat up on her towel, tossing her golden hair off her shoulders. From the expression on her face, it was clear that Jessica thought Elizabeth was jumping to conclusions about the strange woman who'd answered the door on Saturday at the Morrow estate. "I still don't get it," she said at last. "Why do you and Bruce think Regina's in trouble? Maybe Regina just doesn't want to see Bruce," she suggested mischievously, reaching past her twin for the bottle of baby oil on the lawn. "The poor girl's been through enough lately without having to face Bruce Patman the minute she's back in Sweet Valley!"

  Elizabeth laughed. There was no love lost between Bruce Patman and her extremely opinionated twin sister Jessica. Elizabeth could remember when Jessica had felt differently about the handsome, but conceited, senior. In fact, Jessica had fallen hard for the wealthy Bruce Patman. But he had treated her badly, and Jessica, who wasn't used to being given a hard time, had retaliated. From then on it had been open war between those two.

  Thinking about it, Elizabeth shook her head. She and her twin certainly responded differently.

  In looks, the sixteen-year-old twins were mirror images, from their blond hair and wide-set, blue-green eyes to their slim, size-six figures. But their personalities and the ways they reacted to situations were not similar at all.

  Elizabeth always tried to look and listen before she leaped. Thoughtful, dedicated, and hard-working, she had earned a reputation among the other juniors at Sweet Valley High as a good friend and a sympathetic listener. Jessica thought her sister was too thoughtful and dedicated. Not that Jessica didn't love her sister with all her heart, but Jessica was always looking for adventure. The fast lane appealed to her much more than the slow, cautious route. Jessica loved to tease her more serious sister, and from the expression on her face just then, it was obvious Jessica wasn't taking Elizabeth's concern over Regina Morrow seriously.

  Regina was sixteen years old too, and in the junior class with the twins at Sweet Valley High. The Morrows had moved into the sumptuous estate in the most exclusive part of the Valley earlier that year, and Regina had quickly been accepted by her new classmates. Of course, Elizabeth reflected, it would be hard to imagine Regina not being well liked. Beautiful, soft-spoken and sweet-natured, the raven-haired girl had gone out of her way to be friendly. From the way she acted, you'd never guess she was the daughter of one of the wealthiest computer manufacturers on the West Coast or that she'd been approached by a local modeling agency soon after moving to Sweet Valley and had appeared on the cover of Ingenue magazine.

  Most important, Elizabeth reflected, one couldn't tell Regina had a serious handicap. Years of training in a special school in Connecticut and work with private voice therapists made it almost impossible to tell that Regina had been born almost completely deaf.

  For sixteen years Regina had lived in a world that was almost entirely silent. Her greatest aspiration, she'd confided in Elizabeth soon after the girls met, was to lead a normal life. But that wasn't easy. "When people find out I'm deaf, they back off," she'd continued shyly. And Elizabeth's heart had gone out to her.

  Almost from the first, Elizabeth had felt protective of Regina. She could see why Nicholas, Regina's eighteen-year-old brother, got such a fierce look in his eyes whenever Regina seemed to be in a jam. The girl was so vulnerable! Elizabeth couldn't stand the thought of anything or anyone hurting her. That was why she'd been less than thrilled when Bruce Patman had started dating Regina. But as time went on, Elizabeth realized that Bruce had changed, and that he cared about Regina as much as she did.

  Or more, Elizabeth corrected herself, remembering how selfless Bruce had been when he learned that a doctor in Switzerland had discovered a treatment that could restore Regina's hearing. The treatments were time-consuming and expensive. Worse, they had to be done where Dr. Friederich was—in Bern, Switzerland. Regina was faced with a terrible choice. Leave Bruce or lose the chance to regain her hearing.

  For Regina it had been a deep conflict. If Bruce had interfered, who knew what she might have done? But by holding back, Bruce had allowed Regina to take Dr. Friederich up on his offer. For the past few months, she'd been in Switzerland, relying on frequent letters to stay in touch with her friends in Sweet Valley. Bruce heard from her at least once a week, usually more often, and Elizabeth had also received quite a few letters. She knew Regina was adjusting fairly well to her new home. Her private tutor was excellent, so she was keeping up with her studies and was hoping to be able to begin her senior year next fall with her classmates. Most important, the treatments were working. "I can't hear everything," her last letter to Elizabeth had reported, "but I'm definitely getting better. Some sounds are less distinct than others, but Dr. Friederich is convinced that eventually I'll have normal hearing. And the treatments are working much faster than he expected!"

  But Regina hadn't said anything about leaving Switzerland. That was the strange thing. She hadn't written to Bruce about it either. So a few days before, when Eddie Strong reported that Regina was back in town, Elizabeth had been surprised.

  Eddie Strong was a sophomore who was working as a part-time delivery boy at the Thrift Mart, a twenty-four-hour supermarket in Sweet Valley. Elizabeth had run into him at the store when she was buying a carton of milk for her mother. And Eddie had asked if she'd seen Regina yet.

  "Jessica, you have to listen to me!" Elizabeth said urgently, frowning as she remembered the chain of events that had led up to her hasty meeting with Bruce the day before. Assuming Regina had flown home for a surprise visit, Elizabeth had driven over to the Morrows' estate just to pop in and welcome her home. To her surprise, the gates at the end of the long driveway had been locked. Apparently no one was home; the place looked deserted.
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  Her next step had been to consult Bruce. If Regina really were back, Bruce would surely know about it, Elizabeth had reasoned. But Bruce had looked completely blank. As far as he knew, Regina was in Switzerland. He thought Eddie Strong had been mistaken.

  Just to be sure, Bruce had phoned the Morrows. A strange woman had answered the phone. She said Regina was sleeping and the rest of the Morrows were away. And when Bruce asked her who she was, she said she was Regina's aunt. But Bruce knew that both of Regina's parents were only children.

  Jessica looked at her twin as if she'd gone mad. "I'm listening, I'm listening. But I still don't see what—"

  "Look," Elizabeth cried. "Eddie went over to the Morrows' to make a delivery, right? And he saw Regina there. But nobody else knew she was in town. She didn't write anyone about it! And when I drove over there, the whole place was locked up. Then Bruce called, and some woman lied to him about who she was! It's creepy," she concluded as she remembered the way the Morrows' house had looked behind those locked gates.

  "You're getting a Nancy Drew complex, that's what I think," Jessica said critically, frowning up at the sun. She giggled suddenly. "Only I can hardly imagine Bruce as Ned Nickerson!"

  "Jess," Elizabeth said, "suppose Regina really is in some kind of trouble. Suppose—"

  "Suppose the sun doesn't set tonight," Jessica said. "Maybe that way I can get some color again. My tan's completely faded."

  "You're heartless." Elizabeth sighed. "Completely heartless. Regina may be trapped inside her own home by some maniac, and all you can think about is keeping your tan up!"

  Elizabeth remembered the agony she'd been through several months before, when she had been kidnapped by an orderly who worked at Joshua Fowler Memorial Hospital, where she and Jessica had been working as volunteers. The orderly was named Carl, and it turned out that he was mentally disturbed. He had never intended to hurt Elizabeth; he just wanted to keep her with him forever.

  All the same, the two days she had spent tied up in Carl's ramshackle house were the worst of Elizabeth's life. It made her stomach feel weak even to think of them now. Thank heavens she'd been rescued! If Regina were in the same kind of trouble . . .

  Jessica seemed to be reading her mind. "Liz," she said patiently, "Regina is not bound and gagged in her own bedroom. I know what you're thinking. You're remembering Carl, aren't you? But this isn't the same thing at all, Liz. There's probably a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Maybe Bruce is losing his hearing," she added, inspired. "Maybe she didn't say 'aunt' at all. Or maybe she's a cousin who just calls herself an aunt."

  "Well . . ." Elizabeth said dubiously. She laughed suddenly, a thought occurring to her. "For once, you're trying to convince me to slow down and be rational. Do you think we're changing personalities?"

  "I hope not." Jessica groaned. "I think," she added, "that all of this is Bruce's fault. Didn't you say his parents have gone away?"

  Elizabeth nodded. "They're in Boston, I think. Why?"

  "Well, Bruce is probably going a bit soft in the head from being alone, that's all. He's the one who's planting crazy ideas in your head."

  Elizabeth laughed. Jessica still wasn't tired of picking on Bruce Patman. All the same, Elizabeth didn't share her sister's lighthearted attitude toward what she suspected was going on at the Morrows' estate.

  Not one to get excited or alarmed easily, Elizabeth found it almost impossible to suppress her concern once it had been aroused. She really did think something peculiar was happening, and she felt a chill creeping up her spine as she tried to put all the pieces together. She didn't care what Jessica thought. Something strange was going on, and she intended to do something about it!

  "Where are you going?" Jessica demanded, her eyes widening as her twin jumped to her feet.

  "I'm going to call Bruce," Elizabeth called over her shoulder as she hurried toward the sliding glass door at the back of the Wakefields' split-level house.

  She had already decided what she was going to do as she dialed the Patmans' number on the phone in the study. Her eyes were still adjusting to the dim light inside when Bruce answered the phone.

  "Elizabeth!" he said. "What's up?"

  "I've been thinking constantly about what happened yesterday," Elizabeth confided, dropping her voice a little. "And I just wanted to let you know that I can't stand sitting around anymore."

  "I know what you mean," Bruce agreed. "I'd pretty much decided the same thing myself. What do you think we should do?"

  "Well, to begin with," Elizabeth told him, "I'm going over to the Morrows' again to have another look around. I keep thinking about the gates being locked, and it's bugging me. I just want to see what the place looks like again before we decide what to do."

  "Why don't you let me meet you over there?" Bruce asked. "The whole thing scares me, Liz. I'd feel better if you weren't alone."

  "Don't worry," Elizabeth assured him, her heart beginning to pound despite the confidence in her voice. "I'll be fine—and it'll be easier to sneak around and do some detective work by myself."

  "Well . . ." Bruce said doubtfully. "When are you going to go?"

  "Right now," Elizabeth said with sudden determination. "I don't see any point in waiting a minute longer. The sooner I get over there, the sooner we'll know exactly what's going on!"

  "Just be careful," Bruce said seriously. "And call me when you get back. I've got a centennial meeting in half an hour, but I should be back around dinner time. OK?"

  "OK," Elizabeth said, replacing the receiver on the hook after she'd said goodbye.

  That was when she realized her fingers were trembling. For the first time since she'd begun to worry about Regina, Elizabeth admitted the truth to herself. She wasn't just worried anymore. She was frightened!

  Two

  The last light of afternoon was fading as Elizabeth drove through the winding streets leading up to the hill, the most exclusive part of Sweet Valley. Turning on the radio and humming along to keep up her courage, Elizabeth noticed that her hands were slipping on the steering wheel of the red Fiat Spider she and Jessica shared. She barely noticed the dappled shade trees overhead or the spectacular glimpses of the sapphire-colored ocean as the Fiat inched its way uphill. All she could think about was what she might find up ahead.

  Her nervousness increased as she approached the Morrow estate. She could feel her heart begin to pound as the Fiat rounded the corner of the road and the estate suddenly loomed into view. "The gates are open!" Elizabeth exclaimed aloud, braking at the foot of the long driveway leading up to the main house. After a minute's hesitation, she touched her foot to the gas pedal again. "No time like the present for solving mysteries," she told herself, turning the Fiat into the Morrows' drive. Her heart pounding loudly, Elizabeth drove up the drive, parking at the top of the circular driveway as close as possible to the Morrows' front door.

  Maybe it was just because she was nervous, but the estate looked spooky that afternoon. Ordinarily Elizabeth loved the Morrows' mansion. Despite its size and grandeur, there was something welcoming, almost homey, about the place. Cypress trees, bushes, and flowers lined the walkway to the front doors. Today, Elizabeth noticed, the flowers looked uncared for, almost straggly.

  Well, here goes nothing, Elizabeth thought, pressing the door bell. Remembering Jessica's skepticism, she felt a bit embarrassed by the way she was acting. Jess would really think I was being a moron if she could see me trembling out here on the doorstep, she thought.

  But just then the door opened. A stern-faced woman stood there, looking Elizabeth over from head to foot. "Can I help you?" the woman asked coldly.

  Elizabeth gulped. "I'm a classmate of Regina's," she said, trying to get a good look over the woman's shoulder at the Morrows' front hallway. "I mean, I used to be a classmate of hers before she went to Switzerland. I heard she was back in town for a visit, so I thought I'd just drop by and—"

  "Regina isn't here," the woman snapped, starting to close the door. She had
a tense, nervous expression on her face. Using her reporter's skills, Elizabeth tried to absorb as many details as possible about her. She wondered if this was the woman who told Bruce she was Regina's aunt. The woman appeared to be in her middle to late thirties. She had gray-streaked auburn hair and pale skin. But her eyes were her most unusual feature—gray and slightly slanted, with an expression that made Elizabeth shudder.

  "Are you sure she isn't here?" Elizabeth asked again, her confidence returning. "I'm sure I heard that—" Suddenly her voice failed her. To her surprise, Regina had entered the foyer!

  "Regina!" Elizabeth cried, waving at the raven-haired girl. "When did you get home? Bruce and I have been trying—"

  A strange expression came over the woman's face as she turned and regarded Regina. "I thought I told you to stay upstairs," she said to Regina, her voice low and harsh. Regina stared helplessly out the front door at Elizabeth, her blue eyes burning with an urgency Elizabeth couldn't interpret. Regina stood frozen in the foyer for almost a minute. Then, a look of utter helplessness on her face, she turned in the direction of the stairway.

  The woman appeared to be struggling to keep her expression normal as she faced Elizabeth again. "Regina hasn't been feeling well," she said quickly, starting to close the front door. But Elizabeth had her foot in the way. "She can't see anyone right now. She isn't well," the woman repeated, an angry flush beginning to creep across her face.

  Elizabeth ignored her. She had tried frantically to signal to Regina with her hands, but either Regina hadn't wanted to signal back or she was afraid to. In any case, the look on her face had said more than anything else could. She looked so helpless—and so alone. Elizabeth couldn't stand the thought of leaving her alone with the severe-looking woman in the doorway. But it didn't appear that she had much choice.

  Without another word, the woman succeeded in forcing the door closed, and Elizabeth was left alone outside, staring helplessly at the heavy door, Regina locked in behind it.