“That means Jeff Lamb was still in his neighborhood,” added Cate. “I wonder if they had much contact.”
“This is an odd twist,” said Tessa. “But it does give us a logical connection between the men. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Cate checked the time. It was nearly eleven. “I’m going to give Sam a quick call. See how she’s doing.” Logan or Jane would have called immediately if there’d been a problem, but Cate still wanted to hear Sam’s voice.
Cate’s phone rang and rang as her grip grew tighter on her cell.
Dammit, Sam. Answer.
“Hello.” Sam was out of breath.
“Is everything okay?” Cate asked as her heart pounded in her chest.
“Yes. I was putting Mickey to bed, and my phone was in the other room. Has anything happened yet?”
“No. I’m just checking in.” Cate paused. “Logan’s still awake, right?”
“Is that a serious question? I think he’d stay awake for three days if needed.”
“Sorry. The responsible Logan of today doesn’t line up with the teenage brother I remember.”
Sam laughed. “I get it. I knew him then too.”
“I’ll let you go. Stay safe,” said Cate.
“You too,” Sam answered in a serious voice.
Cate returned to her book, fully aware that there was only one hour left until midnight.
Maybe he is waiting until next month.
She would be okay with that. It would give Mike and Tessa more time to investigate and build a case. And it would mean she wouldn’t have to immediately worry for Sam.
Time slowly ticked by. Kurt and Bruce checked in every fifteen minutes, and Cate chatted with Henry occasionally.
“What will you do if nothing happens by midnight?” asked Henry.
“Breathe easier? Actually I won’t until we—they—make an arrest.”
“Are you having doubts about Chris?” he asked.
She’d been thinking of nothing else for the past several hours. “After everything we’ve learned and seeing those photos of Sam on his desk, I’m positive we have the right person.”
“Agreed.”
Tessa’s voice sounded from the bedroom and then grew louder as she walked toward the kitchen, talking on her cell.
“I’ll call you back in a bit,” Cate told Henry and then ended the call, wondering what was up. Tessa hadn’t stepped out of the bedroom all evening.
A new female voice sounded in the kitchen as Tessa entered and switched over to speaker. Mike was right behind her. “I can connect the call,” the female voice said.
“Please do,” said Tessa.
“What’s going on?” asked Cate.
“It’s county dispatch. They got a call from a child that her mother is missing.”
Cate froze. “What? Who?”
“I have the police on the phone with us now, honey,” said the female voice. “Tell them what you told me.”
“He made Mommy leave,” said a child’s voice. “She didn’t want to go.”
We’re watching the wrong house.
“What’s your name?” asked Cate, with her heart in her throat.
“Abby.”
“Abby Dean?” Cate exclaimed. Emma’s daughter? She stared at Tessa with wide eyes.
“Yes.”
“This is Cate Wilde, Abby,” she said in a shaking voice. “Tessa is here too. We saw you today at your mom’s work.”
“I remember.”
“Did Chris take your mom? Was it her boss?” Cate held her breath.
“Yes. She argued with him, but he made her go, and then I think I fell asleep, but I just went in her room, and she’s not there.” Her little voice cracked. “She’s not anywhere in the house.”
“Hang on a minute, Abby.” Tessa muted her phone. “He wasn’t planning to take Samantha. He wanted Emma.”
“Or he was planning on Samantha but realized we were with her,” said Cate. “Dammit.”
“Call Kurt for me,” said Tessa, her phone still connected to Abby and dispatch. “Tell him to get to the Dean house and get Abby.”
“He can take her to Jane’s,” said Cate as she dialed Kurt’s number.
“I’ll send Bruce to Chris’s home,” said Mike. “We’ll meet him there.”
Cate pulled the towel off her head, her phone to her ear. “Let’s move. Now. We’ve got to find Emma.”
I hope we’re not too late.
“The house is still empty,” said Bruce as Cate, Mike, and Tessa arrived at Chris’s home.
“It appears no one has been here since we found those photos,” added Henry, who’d driven Bruce to the home.
The group looked at one another.
Where would he go?
“The rock,” breathed Cate. “Why didn’t I think of that first? He’s taken her to the rock.”
“Let’s go,” ordered Tessa.
12
The five of them tracked into Bishop State Park at a jog. It would take forty-five minutes to walk to the clearing, and Cate hoped to cut that time in half. At first they’d had light from the nearly full moon, but as they entered the trees, it was little help. They rotated three flashlights, keeping an eye on the rocky trail.
Cate felt as if they were running in a spotlight, creating perfect targets.
Kurt had stayed with Abby at Jane’s home, keeping watch with Logan. Trekking through the woods, Mike, Bruce, and Tessa were armed; Henry and Cate were not. At least they had ballistic vests, but the extra weight made the jogging all the more difficult.
“There’s a tire mark.” Tessa stopped and pointed with her flashlight. It was narrow like a bicycle tire and weaved between the rocks. “He pulled her in on something.”
Cate wished they could have used ATVs, but the trail in was cramped and rocky. Somehow Chris had found something to make his journey a little easier. “He probably crafted something to get around the rocks. I’ve wondered how he physically got the women in. I’ve assumed they were drugged and needed to be carried somehow.”
They kept moving, their breath showing in the cold air.
Don’t let us be too late.
“What’s the plan?” Bruce asked Tessa as they jogged around a boulder.
“Get Emma.”
“No. Really.”
“Really,” panted Tessa. “I’ll figure out a plan when I get there.”
None of them knew what they were running into. Cate forced the thought out of her mind.
Keep moving forward.
“Almost there,”
