When Logan returned to the apartment, Maggie was standing by the phone. The handset was held against her ear in a trembling hand. She turned and stared at him as he entered, her eyes wide as she told the caller he was home.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“Jenny.” Maggie held the phone out for him.
“You’re kidding.” Logan rushed toward her and snatched the phone from her hand. He was seeing stars, his heart pounding as he hoped for the best. Unfortunately, he also had to prepare for the worst. “Jenny? Where are you? Are you safe?”
“I don’t know,” she said, a whine creeping into her voice. “He’s coming.”
“Who’s coming? The killer?”
“Yes. Please come and get me.”
Logan glanced at Maggie, who was crying into her hands and waiting for an easy resolution that would never come. He focused on the call, doing his best to remain calm. “Okay, you need to stay with me and tell me what you see. What kind of room are you in?”
“I’m in a phone booth.”
“There should be a booth number on a panel.”
“It’s torn and faded.”
“Right. Are there any street signs or houses nearby?”
A brief pause.
“Nothing,” Jenny said, sounding hopeless.
“Do any buildings stand out to you? Churches, post offices, anything like that?”
“No, nothing. Please, I can see him running toward me.”
Logan felt hot, his skin burning up as he fought to make sense of this one last chance. With nothing around, there was no way to locate her. No clues to put together. “Where was he keeping you? Did you get a good look at that building?”
“It was a… a farm of some kind. One of those city farms.”
“An urban farm? That’s great. What about the—”
“Hello, Logan.”
Logan froze, all the hope fleeing his breaking heart. It was a dry, raspy voice that suggested a man possessed. A man fueled only by hate and revenge. His mouth went dry as he tried to speak. “Listen to me, you son of a bitch. If you hurt her, the last thing you’ll ever see is me standing over your broken body.”
“You’re in no position to make threats, Mr. Fox, but if you are so determined, then feel free to come and get me. I won’t tell you where we are, but I can tell you this much: if I see so much as a single cop near this property, I’ll be killing myself and taking her with me.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this. Surely it’s me you want.”
“It is, but you seem to care a great deal about her.”
“I cared about my family, too, but you already killed them. That makes us even.”
“Hardly. I was rebuilding my woman, and you took that as well.”
Logan took a deep breath, trying to stay upright as he realized the impossible situation he was in. It looked as though the only way to get Jenny back was to find where she was and hand himself right over. But then what? The Doctor was hardly a man of honor. Walking into his hands was sure to be the end for all of them.
“You know my terms,” the killer said.
Right before the line went dead.