Pepper Jack tugged on the leash, veering off the path and toward the trash can. I redirected him back to the path, away from whatever food he was smelling in the trash that he wanted to go digging for.
We walked a few laps on the trail. I glanced at my phone. The last appointment should be wrapping up soon, and it was about time to close up the office. I led Pepper Jack back toward Caroline’s clinic, pushed open the back door, and went straight into Caroline’s office.
I laughed when I walked in. She wasn’t in there. Either she couldn’t resist peeking in on Dr. Townsend to see how he did when he was alone with a patient or he’d needed her help with something. I figured it was the former, and I should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to hold out.
I unleashed Pepper Jack, and he drank water from his bowl before plopping down on his bed for another nap. I shook my head and sat in front of my laptop, opening it and bringing up a travel site. I’d never told a woman I loved her. I hoped Caroline would be the only person I ever shared that with, so I wanted this to be perfect. And once the idea had been planted in my head that I should do it on a beach, there was no other option.
I heard a door open and shoes squeaking against the tile, closer and closer to Caroline’s office. I exited the website I was researching vacations on and smiled, waiting for Caroline to appear. The smile slid off my face when Dr. Townsend knocked on the doorframe.
“Is Dr. Conroy in here?” he asked. “She told me to meet with her when I was done with the patient.”
“She wasn’t with you?” I asked, slowly rising from my chair.
Dr. Townsend’s brow furrowed and he frowned. “No, she let me handle the last patient by myself and told me to meet her in her office.”
I stalked past him and looked up and down the hall. “Caroline?” I called out. I took a left, heading toward the front of the office. “Caroline?” I called again.
There was no answer from her. Each door I passed, I opened. All the examination rooms were empty with the lights off. The break room was empty. “Caroline?” I called again, a little louder this time.
My heart started to pound and I jogged to the lobby. The receptionist was closing out of computer programs and shutting down for the day. “Have you seen Caroline?” I asked.
She turned toward me, smiling. “Nope. Last time I saw her, she was in her office, and Toby was making his way over there. Hers was the last computer to back up. Have you checked in her office?”
I didn’t answer her and ran back to the office. Dr. Townsend was still standing there, waiting for Caroline to show, but I was scared that she wouldn’t. I opened her computer and brought up the security cameras going back to the time that I’d left the office. I watched myself walk out with Pepper Jack at my side, and Caroline spoke to Dr. Townsend in the hallway outside of one of the examination rooms.
“Is everything alright?” Dr. Townsend asked. His tone was worried and unsure.
“Caroline isn’t here,” I said.
“Did she leave?” he asked.
I didn’t answer him. I was watching the footage closely. Caroline went back into her office, Toby left the server room, and then nothing. There was no activity in the hallways, in the lobby, or in either parking lot. Everything was empty and still.
I rewound the footage and watched it again.
And again.
And again.
On the fourth time watching the footage, I noticed a tiny glitch appear and reappear every few seconds. It wasn’t static or missing pixels. A fly landed on the rear parking lot camera, in same spot, every few seconds.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered. “They’re fucking looped.”
“What?” Dr. Townsend asked. Again, I ignored him. I didn’t fucking have time to answer his questions. Caroline was missing. Someone had taken her, and I was going to find out who. I stood and grabbed my laptop. Pepper Jack left his bed and crossed the room to me. He was standing still, and his tail was sticking straight out. He looked like he was ready to pounce.
I connected my laptop to Caroline’s computer and brought up the security footage’s memory, finding where it had been rewritten and someone had tried to erase data, but it wasn’t fully done with the code that was running.
“Got you, motherfucker,” I whispered as I pulled up the footage that hadn’t yet been erased. It wasn’t much, but it had to have some type of answer. I played it, scanning each room until I spotted her.
Toby carried an unconscious Caroline through the back door and loaded her into a car. Then the screen went black. “Fuck,” I yelled, slamming my fist down on the desk.
I grabbed my phone, dialing Maddox as I stood to leave. I shot Dr. Townsend a look. His face was pale. He’d seen Caroline being taken as I watched it. “I need you to take Pepper Jack.” I rattled off my number and told him to message me his contact info. I rubbed a hand over Pepper Jack’s head quickly. “I’ll get her, I swear.”
I ran out of the office, listening to the line ring as I waited for Maddox to answer. I hopped up into my truck just as he picked up. “Toby Spear. He is Caroline’s IT guy, and he just fucking kidnapped her from the office, while we were there. He’s getting more reckless, which means he’s getting more dangerous.”
“I’ll work on
