Michael's cell buzzed, waking him from a dead sleep. He turned his head and watched it move with each vibration, threatening finally to fall off the side of the bedside table. He grabbed it and checked the call display.
It was Nick. The clock read after seven in the morning.
"Hey, Nick," Michael said and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, Michael. Sorry to call so early, but I thought you'd like to know we got things set up with Missoula police. Detective Williams will be your contact there.”
"That's good to know. Rachel was pretty reluctant to come back to the states, but if she knows she doesn't have to testify in court, she's willing to return."
"Good. You'll probably be interested to know that we got some new info on Kincaid."
"What's up?"
"The girlfriend's van was seen leaving Seattle, but we lost it on one of the secondary highways south."
"Crap..." Michael sat up, fully awake. "What's next?"
"We'll notify law enforcement to be on the lookout for the vehicle. We've also been talking with the ambulance attendant who drove that night. The driver was new and apparently, he made a wrong turn and got lost. He stopped to check his GPS and that must have been when Kincaid escaped. Could be the guard who helped get Kincaid secured might have been a little too lax with the restraints."
"Sounds pretty fishy to me. Do you believe this guy?"
"Yes, I do. He said he let the guard restrain Kincaid while he called it in."
"How did Kincaid escape his restraints?"
"We spoke to the guard. He was new and apparently, he didn't fasten the restraints properly. Kincaid managed to escape them and when the ambulance stopped, he must have jumped out."
"I hope you're firing the attendant and the guard. What about the police escort?"
"They lost the ambulance and didn't find it until after Kincaid was gone. They did a search of the area but there was no trace of Kincaid."
"Unbelievable," Michael said, shaking his head. "How the hell did that happen? Sounds like incompetence -- or someone was paid off."
"I'm thinking the latter, but we'll see. The attendant is suspended pending an investigation and the same with the guard. We sent a team out with dogs that searched the area, tracking Kincaid to a local house, but we lost him after that. He's could be anywhere by now."
"Kincaid is pretty resourceful. He eluded detection for decades."
"He took the girlfriend's vehicle and escaped the city without being identified."
Michael exhaled in frustration. "Like I say, he's pretty resourceful. Don't underestimate him. He could be out of state by now."
"We're doing what we can to find him. How are Rachel and Sadie?"
"Good," Michael said. "We're heading up to Salt Lake today. After breakfast, we'll go together. We still have our GPS tracker on Craig's vehicle, so no matter what, we'll be able to track their movements."
"You didn't tell me that, right?"
Michael laughed. "Tell you what?"
"Exactly. See you when you get back. I've arranged everything so when you reach Missoula, go to the main police department and talk to Detective Williams.”
"Will do." Michael ended the call.
He turned to see that Tess was now awake and was watching him with interest.
"What's up?"
Michael took in a deep breath and forced a smile. "Kincaid's jailhouse girlfriend's van was seen leaving the city, but they lost the vehicle after it turned off one of the side roads south of Seattle. The Sheriff's Office sent out several units to search the area but still haven't found sign of the van, but they have a pretty extensive manhunt going on. Nick's afraid he might have had some outside help and could be long gone."
"Great," Tess said and frowned, turning over to lie on her back. "If he had help, he could be anywhere."
"I know," Michael said and pulled Tess into his arms. "Forewarned is forearmed. Better make sure you have your sidearm."
"This time, if I get a chance, I'll kill the bastard."
Michael smiled to himself and squeezed Tess. "If I don't first."
They got up and had showers, then Michael went next door to check on Craig and Rachel. When he glanced around the motel parking lot, he couldn't find Craig's vehicle. He knocked on the door to their room, but there was no answer.
He swore silently, and went back to the room. Tess was gathering up her things in preparation to go for breakfast.
"They're gone," he said and closed the door behind him.
She checked the GPS tracker app and then held it out for Michael to see. It showed that the vehicle was still in the parking lot. "The GPS says the car is still here. Maybe they're at the restaurant?"
"They're gone. I checked for Craig's vehicle."
She checked her cell for messages and shook her head. "They didn't send a message." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I really thought they'd cooperate."
"They must have removed the tracker," Michael replied, gritting his teeth. "Rachel really didn't want to come back. Do you suppose they're going back to Mexico? Maybe with the intent to go to Montevideo after all?”
Tess shrugged. "Maybe Rachel was afraid she'd be forced to testify. She's been through a lot."
Michael went right out to the parking lot and glanced around, looking for the GPS tracker. He rustled through a trash can in between the wings of the motel and sure enough, there it was -- stuck on the side of the bin. He grabbed it and returned to the motel room where Tess was waiting.
"Here it is," he said and handed it to her. "We might as well leave."
"I guess so."
Michael picked up the suitcases and took them both to the car. "Let's grab something to eat and head out. I guess Rachel will contact us when she wants. If she wants."
"Can't say that I blame her," Tess said, making one last check of the room. "She's had a hard life. Probably doesn't trust anyone."
Michael nodded, and took the suitcases out to the Jeep. After Tess closed the door, he slipped his arm around Tess's shoulder as they walked along the rooms to the restaurant.
"Whatever the case, I'm not looking forward to telling Nick."
"He won't be happy, but seriously, there was nothing we could do."
"I could have stayed with them in their room, to make sure they were still here."
"They seemed willing to come back," Tess said and squeezed Michael's arm. "There's nothing we can do now, other than put out a BOLO for Craig’s car. Let's get some breakfast. We've got a long drive back.”
They hit the road within half an hour and by noon, had already reached Bakersfield. Tess tried texting Craig, but so far, he had refused to answer any of her messages.
"Tell him that we need to know where they are," Michael said as they drove up to a truck stop for lunch. "Tell them I’m going to put out a BOLO if they don’t contact us. We may need more information from Rachel at some point and as part of the agreement, she promised to let us know where she was."
Tess nodded, including that in her text, but Craig did not respond.
"Maybe they'll reply when they stop later today."
"They better," Michael said, heaving a sigh of frustration. He turned off the Jeep and got out. Tess got out as well and together, they walked to the diner. "Nick was being generous with Rachel by letting her give her affidavit with me instead of demanding she come to Seattle and give it."
"They probably didn't want to be followed," Tess replied. "Rachel seemed really afraid of people knowing where she was. Based on what happened with her father and Sutton, maybe she was right to be afraid to go back to Seattle."
"Nevertheless, we could have put her into the witness protection program if she'd cooperated," Michael said, opening the door to the diner. They went inside and took a booth by the window. Tess sat across from him and they accepted the menus from the waitress. When the waitress left, Michael turned to Tess. "She could have gone to Montana and obtained a new identity there. Now, she's on her own. Neither she nor Craig know the system or how to protect themselves. They'll be in more danger."
"I know, but she doesn't trust the system and I don't blame her. She was betrayed as a child, abused by her father, possibly having seen her mother and her twin sister murdered and buried in the forest. She escaped her father when she was afraid he would kill her, too, and gave birth to her own half-sister. Then, she got into trouble with drugs and prostitution, was rescued and turned her life around. She met Craig, got a job, education and was doing well until Craig looked into her past and her father found her. She's probably afraid that someone else from her past will find her, too."
"I'm worried that she'll get into trouble and neither she nor Craig will be able to protect her. If she came in, became a witness and helped us find these monsters, we could put them away, stop them from hurting others, and provide her and Craig and Sadie with a new life somewhere they will be protected."
"Eugene escaped. Police can't even keep a known serial killer in custody. Maybe Rachel is right to be afraid and not trust anyone."
"Don't say that," Michael said. "Escapes are very rare. I'll find out when we get back how he did it, but whatever the case, police are on it. He'll be caught. Very few escaped prisoners remain fugitives for very long."
"Eugene isn't an ordinary prisoner. He understands police procedure. He understands forensic science. He was able to escape detection for so long because of it."
"He also had Chief Joe to help him, by feeding him info. He doesn't have that now. They'll catch him and put him back in jail. He won't get away with this."
They ate their meal and then hit the road, making it all the way to Sacramento by dinner.
"Should we stop for the night or do you want to drive for a few hours?" Michael asked.
"Let's eat and I'll keep driving to Redding. You can rest."
"Sounds good."
They stayed the night in Redding, back at the hotel they originally stayed in on the way to Mexico. Michael called Nick to tell him about Craig and Rachel leaving without word.
"They left before the sun rose and removed the tracker we put on their vehicle."
"Damn," Nick said. "You shouldn't have told me that either."
"Regardless, we have no idea where they're going. For all we know, they might go to Florida. Rachel said she always wanted to go to Montana, but I doubt it now. Should we put out a BOLO on the vehicle?"
Nick hesitated. “I’ll cut her some slack, given the situation, but if she doesn’t contact you soon, we will. Maybe she'll contact you and let you know she's okay."
"Hope so. What else is new? What about Kincaid?"
Nick exhaled heavily. "According to Kincaid's girlfriend, she's on the way down to Vegas," Nick said. "She's posted a number of photos on the way there, but there's been no further contact with her by family members. I suppose Kincaid could be with her, intending to start over somewhere new."
"I don't believe it," Michael replied. "He's using her as a diversion. There’s no way he'd telegraph his plans on Facebook. He may have sent her off to Vegas to make us think that's where he's going, but he could still be in Washington."
"Yeah, we kind of figured that out," Nick said with a sardonic laugh. "I can't see him staying in Seattle but where would he go? Do you think he'd go back to Paradise Hill?"
"No, not unless he wanted to get caught. If he showed his face there, people would recognize him immediately. They'd call police on him. I think he'll go into hiding somewhere he feels safe. Somewhere in the mountains, but he's been all over the place. Your guess is as good as mine as to where he might head. Whatever the case, we'll be back in Seattle tomorrow. Have there been any developments with Gemma? How is she doing? Is Parkinson in custody?"
"He is, and he's lawyered up and uncooperative. They arrested his accomplice, Mike O’Dell, on charges of abduction and unlawful confinement. They're looking for the woman who Gemma knew as Charice. She hasn't been seen for several days, according to the maid who works at the mansion. We're checking with local airports to see if she flew out of town somewhere, but so far, we've turned up nothing."
"I imagine it's going to take a lot of man hours to go through all the evidence. I'm actually eager to get back and dig in myself."
"I await your return," Nick said with a laugh. "We're up to our necks in evidence."
They said goodbye and Michael turned to Tess.
"Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Boxes and boxes of evidence from the Parkinson mansion."
"I wish I could go through it with you," Tess said and yawned. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."
Michael nodded and got into bed beside Tess. He switched off the lamp on the bedside table and pulled Tess into his arms, kissing her forehead.
He knew one thing -- Kincaid was a threat to them both. He might slink off and try to start his life over somewhere new, but Michael had the suspicion that he would want revenge. He would want to go out with a bang.
He and Tess would have to be ready, in case his hunch was right.