Blake
Four sets of eyes swiveled my way as I shoved open the door to the bullpen. “We have a problem.”
I was just leaving the healthplex after investigating the false alarm when Jason had called with the information we’d been looking for. Since Greg Andrews’s alibi had checked out, Jason and I had spent the past day and a half reviewing the recordings from the camera in Victoria’s allotment. A nondescript silver sedan had appeared at relevant times and the license plate had come back on Johnathan Marcus Martin. A far cry from the flashy red Porsche he typically drove, I was furious that the man had managed to slip by us the first time we’d reviewed the footage. Jason had checked the Toyota against DMV records and discovered it was linked to Dr. Johnathan Martin.
After digging deeper into the man’s past, he’d discovered an unsettling history. Martin came from a broken home in West Virginia, and his father had died under suspicious circumstances, as had the aunt who’d gained custody of the young man for several months before he’d turned eighteen and moved out. When the police had investigated the father’s death, the seventeen-year-old had pled self-defense, claiming he’d stabbed the older man when he attacked Johnathan in a drunken rage.
The boy had been sent to live with his aunt, his father’s sister, who, according to friends of hers, had been happy to send the boy on his way. Several years later, the very weekend of Leah’s death, the woman had died of a broken neck from an apparent fall down the stairs.
I was furious for not looking more deeply into the man sooner. It all made perfect sense now—he’d introduced himself to Victoria and Leah using his middle name, then escaped back to college one state over with no one the wiser. Even Monique’s murder was linked to the man—Johnathan routinely made rounds at the hospital where she worked.
I thought of Victoria’s terrified voice, and I prayed it wouldn’t be the last time I had the chance to speak with her.
I palmed the phone still in my hand and thrust it toward Jason. The mute function kept our side of conversation silent so Martin wouldn’t overhear. “He’s got Victoria. I think this is his end game.”
Jason turned back to his computer as Con and the newest addition, Clay Thompson, looked on. “Any idea where they’re headed?”
“No, she just said that they turned right out of her allotment and headed away from town. What’s out that way?” Fury threatened to erupt and I ruthlessly tamped it down, fighting to stay calm.
“What’s her address?” I rattled it off and Jason’s fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up a map of the surrounding area. “What should we be looking for?”
“Someplace secluded, quiet. He’ll need privacy.” I pointed to the screen. “Is this a river cutting through right here?”
Jason enlarged the screen and nodded. I ran my fingers through my hair. “Jesus. That’s it. He’s recreating the past. Find me a crossing point with a bridge—either on the road or the railroad tracks. I’m going after her.”
“Hold up, I’m coming with you.”
Con snatched up three sets of comm devices and fell into step behind me, Thompson on his six. I barely spared them a glance as I jogged from the building and out into the night. Raindrops fell from the dark sky, stinging my skin as I cut across the pavement and hopped into my truck. The other two doors slammed behind the men in tandem as they shut themselves inside.
I tossed my phone to Con. “Make sure the call is still connected. Can you hear anything?”
He held the phone to his ear and listened for a moment. “I can’t make anything out, but they’re still there.” A low thrum of indiscernible conversation filled the cabin as he turned it to speakerphone and set the phone on the console.
The headlights cut a swath through the shroud of darkness swallowing the landscape and rain pelted the earth as we traveled farther into the empty countryside. Heavy tension hung in the air as I gripped the steering wheel tightly, the tempo of my heart increasing with each mile. Rain hammered the windshield and the wipers made a rhythmic swishing sound as they cleared the droplets, but I heard none of it. My thoughts were firmly focused on Victoria.
I couldn’t lose her now. She was everything I never knew I was missing until that fateful day I’d walked into the healthplex. My heart constricted at the thought of her all alone. I never should have left her, damn it. I should have stayed and fought it out, made her understand how much I loved her. I’d waited too long, and now it might be too late. Despair threatened to consume me and I swallowed down the thick lump that had formed in my throat. I had to find her and bring her home safely. There was no other option.
I didn’t realize the chatter inside the cab of the truck had died away until the sound of my name interrupted my thoughts.
“What?” I turned an agitated glare on Con.
He appraised me with a steady look before responding. “You got a plan or we going in hot?”
“I’m gonna kill him.” At the moment, I wasn’t entirely sure if the phrase was just an expression or the truth.
“Good plan,” Con replied drily. He passed me an earpiece and I slipped it into place. “If we could minimize casualties, that’d be great.”
I ignored his snarky humor. “If it’s anything like last time…” White-hot fury rippled through me. The man had raped and killed Victoria’s best friend, and now she was alone with him in the middle of nowhere. “He’s willing to go to any length to finish this. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“They’ve stopped moving.” I could hear the tension in Jason’s voice as it crackled through the headset. “About a mile up Oak Creek Road. Authorities are on their way.”
“You’ll want to take a left up here, past the train tracks.” I lifted my eyes to the rearview mirror and met Clay’s gaze.
“You been briefed on this?”
“Yes, sir.” He leaned forward between the seats. “The next left will be Oak Creek Road. They shouldn’t hear us over the rain. We can head about a half mile up the road and move the rest of the way on foot.”
“We need to get her out of here unharmed.” Con directed his next words at Clay. “I think we should split up.”
The man grunted in affirmation. “Drop me at the tracks. I’ll cut through the woods and come in from the east.”
The railroad tracks came into view and I slowed the truck to a stop, allowing Clay to jump out. As soon as the door slammed shut with a soft thunk, I hit the gas, wheels spinning on the slick pavement. Fittingly, the road crossed over Oak Creek, one of the many small tributaries that met up with a larger river several miles away. It was just far enough away to give the illusion of privacy but not so far that it would compromise Martin’s mission.
Con grabbed for the handle over the door as I whipped the truck onto the old dirt and gravel road. I let off the accelerator and killed the headlights, relying on the moon overhead to guide us. Deciding it was as good a place as any, I yanked the truck to the side of the road. We filed out and jogged toward the bridge, careful to not make any noise, though I seriously doubted Johnathan could hear anything over the steady drum of the rain pounding the earth.
Through the haze of raindrops, the arches of the bridge came into view and I slowed my pace. Pulling the pistol from the holster on my waistband, I loaded a round into the chamber with a quick tug to the slide and Con mirrored my actions. “You ready?”
He gave a sharp nod and we continued quickly toward the bridge. Voices rose on the night air and a red haze filled my vision as I took in the scene. Johnathan held Victoria captive in the middle of the old bridge, and even in the dim light of the half-obscured moon, I could clearly read the fear in her eyes.
Con clasped a hand on my shoulder just in time and I froze in place, closing my eyes for a moment. I needed to keep it together for her. There was too much at stake now; we couldn’t afford even one wrong move.
Clay’s voice crackled to life in my earpiece. “Almost there.”
I wiped the raindrops from my eyes, my heart thudding painfully in my chest as I watched Johnathan force Victoria backward, closer and closer to the rail until her bottom bumped into the rickety wood, gray with age. Her feet scrabbled for purchase on the slippery surface of the old road and she threw a terrified glance behind her at the tumultuous waters below.
The tenuous hold I had on my control snapped and I charged forward. “Let her go, Martin!”
At the sound of my voice, Johnathan whipped around, eyes wild in the moonlight. A torrent of rain pelted down, matting his hair, accentuating his crazed look. Threatened and trapped, he yanked Victoria in front of him for protection. “You’re too late, Lawson.”
Every cell of my body went ice cold and my heart stuttered to a stop as the man lifted a pistol and held it to Victoria’s temple.