Soreness in her arms awoke Beth. Her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings. She glanced up, blinking to shake off the effects of the chemical her captor had used on her. Her wrists were bound behind her, and her ankles were tied.
She was in a barn. That much she knew. The floor consisted of packed dirt with traces of hay mixed in. Any hay bales were long gone, and the barn was otherwise vacant of farm equipment or supplies. It was now daytime, or at least dawn, evidenced by the dim light seeping underneath the large door at the end of the building.
Her abductor, the stocky man, sat ten feet away on a folding chair, thumbing through his phone. He hadn't notice she was awake yet. Another folding chair rested a few feet away from him. Her bag sat on it.
The sight of her bag gave her hope. But it was a teasing, false hope. Her costume and necklace were in the bottom of that bag, and would help her out of this situation. But bound as she was, the bag could have been 100 miles away.
The man's phone rang, startling him almost as much as it startled Beth. He noticed her movement, and a grin crossed his face as he met her eyes. He tapped the screen of his phone to answer. He listened before speaking.
"Yes, I've had her for a while," he said into the device. "She's just waking up. Where have you been?"
She couldn't hear what the other party to the conversation was saying. The man replied.
"Sorry, boss. I knew you were anxious to get your hands on this girl," the man said. He sounded as if he was defending his actions. Clearly this man wasn't running this operation.
"Yes, a bag," he said after listening again. He nodded and reached for her bag.
Beth breathed in, afraid he would dig into the bottom of the bag, but he pulled out her wallet, which had been sitting near the top. He found her driver's license and held it up, looking between it and Beth. He moved the license closer to his face and studied it before speaking.
"Elizabeth Harper," he said into the phone. There was more silence as he listened.
"No idea who she is," he said. There was another delay as the other person spoke. Finally the man nodded. "Okay, see you soon."
He hung up the phone before placing the bag, her wallet, and her license on the other chair. He rose from his seat and walked toward her, like a cat stalking its prey. His eyes traveled along the length of her body as he approached. She squirmed under his gaze.
When he got close, he circled behind her. She tried to follow him with her eyes, twisting her body on the ground. He finished the circle, coming around in front of her again.
"You're one of them fancy college girls, huh?" he remarked.
Beth met his eyes with a glare. Her look only caused him to laugh.
"You and I could have some fun, you know," he said, chewing on his lips. "Except then I'd have to answer to my boss. So that will have to wait."
He walked away, heading back toward the chair. He took her bag in his lap, opened it, and fumbled around inside.
Beth swallowed, praying he would put the bag aside before discovering the secret that lay within it. But it was not to be. After setting aside a brush, her car keys, and some lipstick, a curious expression came over his face. He leaned in closer and peered into the bag, and withdrew his hands.
Her blue and white costume was draped between his fingers. His eyes widened in recognition, and he tossed it on the nearby chair as he thrust his hands back into the bag. Within seconds he had withdrawn her boots, gloves, and necklace, and stacked them upon the chair.
He hopped to his feet, an excited look on his face. He took the blue and white costume from the chair and approached Beth.
"Well, well, well," he said, letting out a soft whistle. "Looky what I found."
Beth didn't speak, maintaining her glare. He used a toe of his foot to push Beth onto her back, causing her to grunt with the pressure of her body against her arms. He crouched close to her and laid the costume on top of her, arranging it so it covered her torso. He nodded.
"Looks like just the right size," he said approvingly. His eyes went between the costume and her face. He shook his head slowly and let out a soft whistle. Without warning, his free hand lashed down in a balled fist, drilling her in the stomach.
Beth grunted and her body flinched. She bit back a soft whimper as pain flooded her abdomen. Then he flashed a backhand across her cheek, whipping her head to the side in a cascade of blond hair. She groaned, trying to catch her breath as she lay on her side staring sideways at the floor. The room was spinning.
He grabbed her by the hair, tugging her head a few inches off the ground.
"I owe you some payback. For me and some of the other guys you hurt. Sapphire Angel." He spat the name of her alter ego like a taunt. "But my boss said not to hurt the merchandise, so that will have to do for now."
He turned, costume in his hands, and walked back toward the two chairs. Beth clenched her eyes shut, fighting back the tears that were forming. Despair and fear flooded over her.
What had she expected? She was a college girl, and had gone out in a skimpy costume and crossed paths with these terrible men. She should have left the police work to the authorities. And now she would probably die, just like John had.
The thought of John triggered something deep within her. An anger, or fire. At that moment, she decided she couldn't give up. She couldn't let John's death go unavenged.
But right now she didn't like her chances. She was bound and helpless, and this man had discovered her secret, which had been her one chance at escape.
She watched as the man retrieved his phone and dialed. Seconds later he spoke, holding her costume out in front of him.
"Boss, you might want to move up your plans and get here ASAP," he said as he stared at the costume dangling from his hand. "I have something to show you that will solve another one of our problems."