Anybody's Daughter

By Charles Abood

Following a small courthouse wedding, criminal defense attorney Adam Kennedy and his bride Ellen, a high-school teacher and tennis coach, set sail for a weekend, honeymoon cruise to Kelleys Island. Their idyllic bubble bursts when hijackers board their sailboat in the middle of the night and order them at gunpoint to make it to a rendezvous poin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles D. Abood
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9798218033316

Charles Abood

Charles Abood graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Psychology and the University of Toledo College of Law. He worked as an assistant prosecutor before serving as a trial judge and then an appellate judge in Ohio. His years in the criminal justice system combined with his love of sailing influenced his debut novel, Anybody's Daughter. Now a full-time writer, he lives in Toledo, Ohio, with his wife Gail. They have two adult daughters. In the summer he can be found sailing on Lake Erie, with occasional trips to Lake Huron and beyond. For a break from northern Ohio winters, he and Gail have enjoyed several sailing adventures in the Virgin Islands.

Book preview

Chapter One

Footsteps on the stairs.

Eyes now wide open, Traci sat straight up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The heavier steps were Jason’s, for sure. She hoped the others were Belle’s. She had been gone a long time, longer than she should have been.

The door slammed open, and Jason shoved Belle into the room. We leave in two hours. Scrub up, get some food. Tonight, you’re a couple of cute little high-school girls. Do the uniform thing.

Belle fell onto the bed. Fuck you, asshole, she mumbled.

Before Traci could blink, Jason was across the room with his right hand clamped on the back of Belle’s neck pushing her face into the mattress.

What did you say? he screamed at her ear.

Belle fought to lift her head.

I asked you a question.

Gasping for air, she squeezed out a choked, That hurts…please stop.

Jason tightened his grip on Belle’s neck, and she started gagging. Traci wanted to reach out to help her but, instead, sat frozen, cowering in the opposite corner of the bed. She had seen Jason’s explosive rages and knew better than to interfere.

Don’t you ever talk back to me.

I won’t… I won’t, please stop… I can’t breathe.

You’re only alive as long as I say you are, you got that?

Yes… I got it.

And don’t you forget it. He let go, gave Belle a slap across the back of her head, then banged the door shut behind him.

Traci reached out but hesitated a moment before gently placing her shaking hand on Belle’s shoulder. She knew that sometimes the last thing Belle wanted after being out with clients was to be touched—by anyone.

You, okay? Traci asked.

Belle sat up and rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. Oh, yeah, I’m real fucking okay.

Traci had been noticing Belle growing more and more fragile over the past few weeks. No surprise. When she arrived at the house, Belle had already been there for over six months.

So, what am I going to be like after another six months of living like this? Probably dead…like for real…dead.

When Belle turned to lie back down, Traci scooted closer to her. Belle flopped her arm around Traci’s waist and snuggled up next to her. I wish I could just fucking go to sleep and never wake up.

Traci closed her eyes and stroked Belle’s hand. I told you…you have to stop saying that.

I don’t know how much longer I can do this.

No…we have to…this can’t be how we—

Get fucking real, Sweet Pea. We’re going to die doing this shit.

Traci tried to think of a response but had nothing to offer.

At least this time we’re going out together. Even though she knew it wasn’t true, Traci always felt safer when she wasn’t alone with the clients.

In search of a few minutes of escape, Traci closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

Chapter Two

I can’t believe how beautiful it is, Ellen whispered, and how peaceful.

It was twenty minutes after sunset and the western sky was a stunning dark pink, turning to purple. There was a decent breeze from out of the south, and the forecast was for it to stay that way for the next two days. Perfect conditions for being at anchor in the north bay at Kelleys Island.

That’s the best part of September sailing, still warm but not many people, Adam said. He wrapped his arm around Ellen’s waist, and she snuggled back into him. With the sun gone, it’s going to cool down pretty fast.

No problem, I’m counting on my freshly minted husband to keep me warm.

Adam smiled. That’ll work. He pulled her closer.

Gazing out over the water, Adam thought back to the night almost three years ago to the day when his lifelong friend, Jon Evans, and his wife, Samantha, first suggested he meet Ellen. They were having their usual Sunday evening pizza at the Stardust Inn, a corner bar downtown, when Sam took a swig of beer and said, She’s great, I think you two would get along.

Jon gave a thumb up. I agree, you should meet her.

At the time, Jon had just started dating Sam, a former big firm lawyer from Columbus who moved to Shawnee Falls to take a job as an Assistant Wendell County Prosecutor. Adam knew that Ellen had been Sam’s college roommate and recently relocated to Shawnee Falls to teach at the high school.

How about here for a drink Wednesday after work? Sam asked.

As a thirty-seven-year-old pretty set-in-his-way bachelor lawyer, Adam was used to people offering to fix him up. Usually, he declined, but this time it was Jon and Sam vouching for her, and he didn’t feel like arguing.

He shrugged, Ah, yeah…okay, what’s her last name?

Lane. Ellen Lane.

The following Wednesday evening Adam left his office, made a quick stop at home to change clothes, then drove to the Stardust. Inside, it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the dark interior. He walked past a couple of regulars engrossed in the Cleveland Indians baseball game on the large flat screen TV and waved to owner Bobby Lewis who was stacking freshly washed glasses. Bobby smiled, winked at Adam, and pointed to the high-top table in the corner where Jon and Sam were seated.

Adam had just joined them when they both looked past him and smiled. Adam turned and saw Ellen walking toward them. Dressed in a pink V-neck, short-sleeved shirt, faded jeans, and white tennis shoes, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked like she just stepped off the pages of an L.L. Bean catalogue.

She hugged Sam and Jon then turned to Adam with her hand out. Hi, I’m Ellen.

He stood and stared at her sparkling blue eyes and high cheek-boned, suntanned face.

Jon said, This is Adam. It appears your radiance has caused him to forget his name.

She grinned, and Adam took her hand. Hi, I’m Adam Kennedy. He pulled out a stool, and she sat down. "I hear you’re a high-school teacher.

Ellen smiled. Yep.

After taking a second to untwist his tongue, Adam asked, What do you teach?

Phys Ed, and I coach the girls’ tennis team.

The conversation flowed easily from there, and, by the time they all parted company hours later, Adam was thoroughly smitten. The next evening, he called Ellen and invited her to go sailing the following Saturday on the old Catalina 30 he had purchased the year before. She accepted, and he gave her directions to the Shawnee Falls Yacht Club.

The day was sunny and warm. Ellen arrived at the dock dressed in a gray University of New Hampshire T-shirt, dark-blue athletic shorts, and white tennis shoes with a backpack slung over her shoulder. To Adam, she looked more like a school kid on her way to a soccer game than a high-school teacher and coach.

I think I’m supposed to ask for permission to come aboard, Ellen said.

Adam smiled. Permission granted. He pulled the boat closer to the dock, and she climbed into the cockpit.

I’ve spent a lot of time on water but never on a sailboat. So, you’ll have to show me what to do.

He gave her the thirty-second tour, then they headed out. The wind was perfect and, after they put Rose Marie through her paces for a few hours, Ellen asked, Is there some way we can jump in the lake and cool off?

Adam smiled, I think that can be arranged. He brought down the sails, maneuvered the boat into a protected cove near the shore, and put Ellen behind the wheel while he went forward to drop the anchor. As he came back to the cockpit, Ellen was peeling off her shirt and shorts, under which she was wearing a one-piece Speedo swimsuit. She looked very fit and toned, with a small waist, muscular but shapely legs, and a perfectly rounded butt. She dove off the back of the boat and swam away. Although he had spent his entire life in and around water, Adam knew instantly never to challenge her to a race. It was obvious that, at some point in her life, she had been a competitive swimmer as well as a tennis player.

Once they had cooled off, Adam climbed back aboard and went below to grab a couple of towels. Ellen followed and, when he pulled a plate of cheese slices out of the refrigerator, asked, Do you have any beer to go with that?

Sure do. He smiled, the attraction growing by the second.

Two hours later, in the glowing yellow light of the setting sun, Adam sailed back to the yacht club where they grabbed a table overlooking the water and ate, drank, talked, and laughed until they were politely ushered out at closing time. Deliriously happy, Adam walked Ellen to her car under the shimmery stars, as hopes of seeing her again danced in his head. As it turned out, the attraction was mutual, and they had been together ever since.

Adam recalled how, for a long time, he felt intimidated by their ten-year age difference. After stewing about it for another two and a half years, he finally convinced himself that Ellen might agree to marry him and forged the courage to pop the question. Even then, he was surprised when she responded with an enthusiastic Yes.

Adam leaned down and kissed the top of Ellen’s head, thinking perhaps he should pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t imagining this, that life really could be this good after such a disastrous beginning to the sailing season. His prior boat, the Catalina, had been destroyed in an arson fire soon after launch in early May. After spending the entire summer looking at boats, he and Ellen decided to use the insurance money, a chunk of Adam’s savings and a low interest rate, to treat themselves to a major step-up. The ten-year-old, 42-foot Beneteau they finally found was everything Adam ever dreamed he might someday own. It had two staterooms, one forward and one aft, two heads, a large galley, and a spacious salon with a table big enough to seat six for dinner comfortably. They had done a few day sails in the three weeks since they purchased her, but this was their first full weekend outing on their new boat.

Are you sure you aren’t going to regret not having a real wedding? Adam asked.

Absolutely not. Spending the last three months trying to plan the wedding of my wacky mother’s dreams has been a real pain. When we get back from our honeymoon cruise, we’ll call my family, break the news that it’s a done deal, and let them throw us whatever kind of party they want. Ellen twisted around and planted a kiss on Adam’s cheek. For now, I just want to wallow in spending my wedding night on our beautiful new boat.

"I wouldn’t exactly call a weekend on a sailboat on Lake Erie a honeymoon cruise."

Sure, it is. The best kind, just us.

Adam lifted his head and surveyed the 360-water view. It is pretty nice out here.

How’d the boat feel on the way over? That’s the heaviest weather she’s seen since we’ve had her.

Amazing. Over eight knots on a broad reach in twenty-three-mile-per-hour winds.

It felt pretty wild to me. I wasn’t sure how much you were enjoying it.

I’ve been out in a lot worse. It gave me a chance to get a feel for the boat in that kind of air. Adam had grown up sailing with his childhood buddies, Jon Evans and Nick Cromwell. As adults, they were still best friends and continued to sail and race together.

Adam and Ellen sat in silence as the last of the color faded from the sky, replaced by a million pinpricks of light wherever there was a break in the clouds.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars, Ellen said.

It helps that the moon isn’t up yet and there’s almost no light from the island.

Ellen gave a little shiver as she turned and snuggled her face into Adam’s neck. I’m glad you closed up when you did to keep it warmer down below.

It shouldn’t be too bad. The water temperature is still close to seventy. It’ll keep it from getting too cold inside.

After about ten more minutes, Adam said, I’m starting to get a little chilly. Are you ready to pack it in?

Ellen hesitated, then said, It’s a little early to go to sleep, but I bet we can find a way to occupy ourselves for a while.

Chapter Three

When Belle rolled onto her other side, Traci curled up behind her. Staring at the peeling yellowed wallpaper with faded tiny pink flowers and green vines, her mind went to how she had gotten into this horrifying mess.

After a couple months of online chatting, she finally agreed to meet Jason in person. When he walked into Starbucks wearing gray slacks, a blue button-down collar shirt, navy blazer, and striped tie, he looked just like the bank accountant he claimed to be. Her first impression: totally geek.

Traci had never been one to push boundaries and, from the beginning, the idea of spending time with this older guy, even just meeting him for coffee or having lunch, was exciting in a way that was different from anything she had ever experienced. Jason listened to her when it seemed like no one else would. He talked to her about her hopes and dreams, encouraged her, and made her feel like she mattered.

For a while, she wasn’t sure if he saw her as a little sister or something more than that. But then he started saying things that made her feel wanted and warmed all over. No one had ever said she was beautiful the way he did, and no one had ever reached across a table and touched her hand as tenderly.

It was hard for Traci to recall just exactly how she ended up in that hotel room with him a few months later. She did remember, though, how nervous she was, but how her fears were calmed by his soothing voice and gentle touch. When they made love, it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The way he touched her, the ways and places he kissed her, what he did with his hands and his fingers took her to places she never knew existed. She had no idea anything could feel so good. Everything about it was the exact opposite of the bumbling, thirty seconds of grunting and panting she allowed her boyfriend, Zack, on the few occasions she snuck him into her room when her parents weren’t home.

Traci recalled thinking that Jason was the most amazing person she had ever known. By the third time they made love, she was thoroughly under his spell. Nothing mattered but being with him. She thought about him night and day and was convinced he was telling the truth when he said he loved her—the real her—in a way that no one else ever had or ever would. In her sixteen-year-old mind, Traci believed to her core that she was in love with Jason and couldn’t live without him. She trusted him completely and believed him when he told her he would take care of her better than anyone. By the time he asked her to run away with him, she was powerless to say anything but, Yes.

Traci’s thoughts were interrupted when Belle let out a long, low moan, rolled over onto her back and asked, How much more time do we have?

Probably about a half hour. Don’t worry, it’s not like he’s going to let us oversleep.

No shit. Belle threw her arm across her eyes and said, You know…I’ve been thinking…how about we just kill that fucking asshole? Like maybe when he’s not looking, we sneak one of those big knives out of the kitchen. When he turns his back on us, we stab him, cut out his heart, and feed it to a pack of rabid dogs. I mean, after all the fucked-up shit he’s done to us…

After all the fucked-up shit he’s done to us. Belle’s words echoed in Traci’s head. She felt her entire body shudder when she recalled how everything changed the minute Jason pulled his car up beside the farmhouse. With no warning, he snatched her phone out of her hand then dragged her inside and up the stairs where he dumped her into the bedroom she now shared with Belle and locked the door.

The house itself, which Jason had assured her would be her wonderful new home with him, was a disgusting dump. There was a small bathroom and another bedroom that was shared by two other girls on the second floor. Jason’s bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and kitchen were on the first floor.

His associates, as he called them, were coming and going at all hours of the day and night. They slept on recliners in the living room, with a huge flat screen TV and a collection of laptop computers lined up on a long table on the opposite wall. One of the associates was a big, burly guy named Ramone. He had a round face and a shaved brown head that reminded Traci of a giant Q-ball. Another, a tall, lean woman with short-cropped black hair, called herself Spade. Sometimes she cooked for the girls, regularly reminding them how important it was for them to eat well so they look good for the clients.

There was one other guy who hung out at the house. His real name was Daveed, but he called himself Denzell and claimed he was only working with Jason temporarily, until he headed off to his real career in Hollywood. He, along with Ramone, took care of some of the nastier parts of Jason’s business. Daveed was short and stocky, with coal-colored skin and sparkling white teeth. Traci knew about the teeth because he always had a stupid fucking smile on his face whenever he was doing those things that caused so much pain to the girls at the house. Jason or one of the other three was always there and awake, making sure the doors to the outside were kept locked with keyed deadbolts.

Traci felt her heart rate increasing when she recalled how devastating it was to come to the realization that Jason, this person in whom she had placed so much faith and trust, was really a monster who took pleasure in forcing her to do gross, demoralizing sex acts, first with him and then with Ramone, Spade, and Denzel joining in. When she screamed, cried, and tried to fight them off, they told her it was part of her training and to get over it. Anytime she refused to do something they directed her to do, they hurt her.

Day after day she begged Jason to take her home, but he just laughed at her. When he started sending her out to the clients, her feelings of despair bottomed out and her hopes of ever being rescued from this terrifying nightmare became harder and harder to imagine. When she was with the disgusting men she was sent to by Jason, her very survival depended upon her ability to separate her mind from her body and envelop herself in a brain numbing fog until it was over.

Traci turned her head and stared at the dust particles dancing in the shards of light sneaking around the edges of the blackout blind that hung on the only window in the room. She recalled her conversations with Belle about trying to escape when Jason left them with one of his clients. Belle’s response was always the same. I’ve tried it, and you can fucking forget it. He’ll find us and, trust me, the price you’ll pay isn’t worth it.

After a few minutes, Traci tired of watching the random movement of dust floating in the air and rolled over onto her other side. The old mattress was hard and lumpy. She