George set a cup of coffee and an apple fritter down in front of Jonah. “We’ve barely been working half an hour this morning and already you’re frowning big-time. What’s wrong?”
Jonah glanced up from the report he’d been reading from one of the private investigators Aubrey had hired. “Mostly frustration. It’s like trying to catch a ghost. Even when I find something that might mean something, half the information is redacted.”
“What are you looking at?
“One of the reports Aubrey gave us.” He put a checkmark by the passage and slid the file across the table to George. “This guy did some checking into an incident that happened at a liberal arts college down in Oregon fifteen years ago. I have no idea how this PI even found out about it, but the case involved two girls being taken at the same time. He eventually decided the differences outweighed the similarities, mostly because it was part of a fraternity rush prank.”
Jonah flipped to the second page. “Evidently each pledge had to ‘kidnap’ two girls and bring them to a party at the frat house. Most of them asked girls they knew, who came along willingly. But this one nitwit took the ‘kidnapping’ part seriously and grabbed two random girls right on there on campus and took off. Their friends saw what happened and called the campus cops. The local police caught up with them a few minutes later. The kid was only seventeen, and eventually the decision was made to let him off with a warning.”
George read through the report next. “Might be worth making a call to the investigating patrol officer if he’s still around. There’s a good chance he might not remember the case, especially since it didn’t end in an arrest or anything.”
At this point, Jonah was ready to follow any breadcrumb. “I’ll make the call.”
Lunchtime had come and gone without any response to his inquiry into the case down in Oregon. The detective had been out of the office when Jonah had called. Waiting was never his strong suit, and it didn’t help that they were running into nothing but dead ends.
He’d just finished reading through the last of the private investigator’s reports when his phone finally rang. “Detective Kelly.”
“This is Detective Jouvin. I hear you’re looking for me.”
“Yeah, I’m working on a cold case that’s heated up. Twelve years ago two young women were kidnapped. One was never heard from again, but the second was set free. Now it looks like the same guy is coming after her again. I have questions about a case you handled fifteen years ago. It’s a long shot, but we’re doing our best to run down every possibility.”
“Which one?”
Jonah gave him a quick summary of the investigator’s report. “Sorry that I don’t have more specifics. It sounds like no formal charges were filed, maybe because the kid was underage even though he was in college. I don’t know how the investigator even found out about it. I tried calling him, too, but his phone is out of service, and his website is gone. I haven’t had a chance to see if something happened to him or if he retired and moved. You were my next best chance to find out more about the kid.”
“Give me a second to think about it.”
Finally, the other detective spoke again. “I remember the case. I can’t tell you much because the case never went anywhere. As I recall, the college handled it internally. As far as I know, the kid was let off with a warning, no formal prosecution of any kind. I was only a patrol officer at the time, so it wasn’t my call to make. I figured his age was one factor since he was just shy of eighteen.”
He sighed. “I assumed the fact that his parents had a ton of money and friends in the right places made the real difference. The college ended up accepting the kid’s story that he’d misunderstood what the fraternity brothers wanted him to do. The parents pulled him out of the school right afterward and transferred him to a different college up your way.”
What else could he ask that the detective would be able to answer? “And did the kid manage to convince you he was telling the truth about it just being a misunderstanding?”
Jouvin didn’t immediately respond. Finally, he said, “Off the record, let’s just say the kid was clocked going thirty miles an hour over the speed limit in the opposite direction of the frat house.”
“Thanks, Detective Jouvin. You’ve been a lot of help.”
“Whether he is your guy or not, I hope you find the guy you’re hunting.”
“Me, too.”
As soon as Jonah hung up, he grabbed the file and his notes and headed for Captain Martine’s office. They needed to reach out to the college in Oregon to see if they could learn anything else—like that kid’s name.
Aubrey stared out into the backyard of the safe house. Since the sun had already set, there wasn’t much to see. At the best of times, the view didn’t have much to recommend it—grass dotted with dandelions, weed-infested flower beds, and several half-dead bushes. It was a sad state of affairs that the run-down mess was the most interesting thing she’d seen all day.
Sighing, she lowered the blinds and returned to the living room. She’d finished her last book earlier, and it would be tomorrow before anyone could bring her more. At least there was a movie on soon that would break up the monotony. It was one of her favorite space operas with great special effects and enough romance to make things interesting.
The question was what to do until then. It was a little too early for dinner, not that she was excited about tonight’s menu. One frozen dinner tasted pretty much like another.
Still too restless to relax, she moved the coffee table closer to the couch and the two upholstered chairs out of the way to make enough room to go through her yoga routine. After that warmed up her muscles, she’d do the routine her self-defense instructor had taught her. She’d started taking classes not long after she’d been released. Not only did the two disciplines keep her physically fit, they gave her a sense of empowerment and some hope she’d be able to protect herself in the future.
She’d barely gotten started when a strange noise from out front caught her attention. A weird popping sound was immediately followed by the sound of breaking glass. By that point, Aubrey’s heart was pounding so hard she couldn’t hear anything at all. That didn’t stop her from crawling the few feet to the coffee table to where she’d left the phone. She called her guard’s number and held her breath as it started to ring. When someone answered, it wasn’t Officer Goff.
“Well, hello, Aubrey. It’s been a while since we last talked. I’m guessing you didn’t miss me, but I suppose that is only understandable.”
She was pretty sure it was a male voice, but the mechanical distortion made it impossible to know much more than that. “Where’s Officer Goff?”
“She’s bleeding all over her car, but she’s still breathing. Tell her you’re alive, Officer.”
There was a soft moan. “Aubrey, call 911. Don’t open the—”
“Do that, and your cop friend is dead for sure. Come along peacefully, and she might survive until someone finds her. Either way, you’ll still end up leaving with me. It’s your choice. Do you really want to be responsible for her death?”
No matter what he said, Aubrey wouldn’t really be the one who killed Officer Goff. There was also no guarantee that the kidnapper wouldn’t kill her even if Aubrey did cooperate. Regardless, there was only one option that she could live with. Aubrey closed her eyes and prayed hard for Officer Goff’s safety. Please, Father, hold her in Your hands until help can arrive.
At the same time, Aubrey dialed 911 and whispered her name and begged them to send help quickly because Officer Goff had been shot. And finally she asked the operator to tell Detective Kelly that none of this was his fault. He wouldn’t believe that, and she hated knowing her disappearance would cause him more pain. He was already living with the guilt of his friend’s death, and she didn’t want him to shoulder the blame for whatever happened to her. Aware that time was running out for Officer Goff, she shoved the phone out of sight under the sofa in case the man came inside. There was no telling what he’d do to her or Officer Goff if he checked her call history and learned that she’d defied his order not to call the authorities.
Then she pushed herself up to her feet and unlocked the door.
Jonah had the responding officer on speakerphone as he drove like a madman toward the safe house. He’d been on his way to pick up dinner when the call about Aubrey had come in. “How long has Ms. Sims been gone?”
“Near as we can figure, forty minutes tops. Her call came in less than half an hour ago. We arrived on scene less than ten minutes after that.”
“How is Officer Goff doing?”
“In pain, but alert. She refused to let them transport her to the hospital until she speaks to you. The EMTs aren’t happy.”
That was understandable, but he was grateful he’d get to talk to her before the ambulance whisked her away. If she needed surgery, it could be hours or maybe even tomorrow before he’d have a chance to talk to her again. “I’m almost there.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Jonah swerved in and out of traffic with his lights flashing for the last few blocks to the safe house. Once there, he’d talk to Officer Goff first and then check out the scene to see what he could learn. If the kidnapper was as careful as he had been so far, Jonah wasn’t expecting to find much. The only good news was that the nature of Officer Goff’s injury wasn’t life-threatening. She’d taken a bullet to the shoulder and some minor cuts from broken glass.
He reminded himself to be grateful and give thanks for that much. Hopefully, she’d be able to give them something to go on, preferably a description of her attacker or a license plate. They’d need every possible detail they could get in order to start tracking Aubrey’s whereabouts. It killed him that even now she was reliving her worst nightmares. He railed against the injustice of it all. Aubrey had to be scared out of her wits, and yet she’d asked dispatch to tell him that none of this was his fault.
Yeah, he got what she meant. It was her kidnapper who had set all of this in motion. Her intentions were good, but the truth was that once again Jonah had failed to protect someone who had depended on him. He wasn’t sure how he’d survive if he failed to bring Aubrey home safely. If he lost her, he wasn’t sure he would even want to. That was an awful realization, but that was where his head was right now. The truth was that somehow she’d become the center of his universe in the short time he’d known her. If he didn’t trust his own ability to find her, then he needed to put his trust in a higher power. Father, I know You brought Aubrey into my life for a reason. Please watch over her until I can find her.
A new sense of calm washed over him, letting him think clearly for the first time since the call had come in. He turned down the street where the safe house was located but had to park two blocks away. The responding officers had blocked off traffic up ahead, and the emergency vehicles took up most of the road. He locked his vehicle and took off at a slow lope.
It was tempting to rush inside the safe house and look around, but he owed it to Officer Goff to check on her first. He flashed his badge at each cop he passed and kept walking. He wasn’t surprised at the number of officers swarming around the crime scene. One of their own had been shot, and a person under their protection had been taken. No one would rest until the culprit was found and brought to justice.
It was another reminder that Jonah wasn’t alone in this.
A few seconds later, he approached the EMTs who were riding herd on Officer Goff. Jonah nodded at them and waited for their permission to approach their patient. “Make it quick, Detective. She’s hurting and might need a transfusion.”
“Will do.”
He moved up to stand next to the gurney. “Officer Goff, what can you tell me?”
She looked like roadkill, her eyes dull with pain. That didn’t stop her from trying to sit up to make her report even though she couldn’t stifle a whimper when she moved. The EMT started forward, but Jonah waved him off. “Easy does it, April. Lie back and relax. You don’t want to make the bleeding worse. I’m right here. Tell me what happened so these folks can get you the care you need.”
Latching on to his arm, she tugged him down closer and spoke in fits and starts. “No idea where the guy came from...appeared out of nowhere and shot through the window. Best guess...he used a silencer since no neighbors came running out...must have parked on a side street. I did see a big sedan...older model, silver or gray...pull out of the street behind me a few minutes later. No way to know if it was him...it turned the other direction, so it didn’t pass by me.”
“Can you give me any kind of description of him?”
She started to nod, but winced again as if even the smallest movement hurt. “Tall. Maybe six feet, six-one. Wore all black, including a ski mask. Used something to distort his voice. Definitely male, though. Looked fit. Swimmer’s build, not a body builder. He cuffed my hands to the steering wheel so I couldn’t call it in. Aubrey must have heard something, because she called me. He grabbed the phone and answered. She asked if I was okay. He held the phone so I could speak. Tried to tell her to call it in. He threatened to kill me if she did. She called anyway.”
Tears trickled down her face. “She’s a brave woman. She let him take her to keep him from killing me.” Her eyes glittered with tears. “I’m so sorry he got her, sir.”
“We are all.” Jonah patted her gently on her uninjured arm. “It’s time you head to the hospital. I’ll take over from here. You concentrate on getting better.”
She let her eyes drift closed. “Get her back.”
“I will do my best.”
And pray that his best was good enough.
It didn’t take long for Jonah to walk through the safe house. There was no sign of violence. That was the good news. The bad news was that he suspected it was true that Aubrey had surrendered to her abductor hoping to save Officer Goff’s life. He would’ve done the same thing. That didn’t mean he was happy that she’d made that decision. She had known help was on the way. If she’d stayed barricaded inside the house, she might’ve been able to hold out until the officers responded. They’d arrived on scene only minutes after she’d made the call.
But there was no way she could have known how fast they would get there. If the kidnapper had made a determined effort, he could have broken in through a window or even kicked in the door. Disobeying his orders would have only increased the likelihood that he would have executed Officer Goff in retaliation. Who knew what he would have done to Aubrey herself?
The front door opened. He looked to see who had arrived and wasn’t surprised to see it was Captain Martine. “What’s our status?”
“Officer Goff took a bullet in the shoulder. She insisted on staying here until she talked to me. If the wound was life-threatening, the EMTs would have taken her to the hospital right away.”
“At least there’s that much good news.” Captain Martine looked around the living room before continuing. “My next stop is to speak with her parents. After that, I’ll be at the hospital.”
Jonah was relieved he wasn’t going to have to face them, but he felt compelled to offer. “If you’d rather I talked to Mr. and Mrs. Sims...”
His captain shook his head. “No, I want you focused on the case. Keep me posted.”
“I will.”
A second later, his phone rang. A glance at the screen told him it was George Swahn. The older man had remained at headquarters, figuring he’d do more good there.
“What’s up?”
“I think we may have something. That detective you talked to from Oregon called again. How soon will you be finished up at there?”
Jonah looked around. The techs were still processing the scene. Other officers were working their way through the neighborhood canvasing the area for witnesses. Deciding there wasn’t much he could contribute to the effort, he started for the door. “I’m on my way.”