“Where’re we going?” I demanded to know once he pushed me into the driver’s seat of my truck.
“The same place your grandaddy died. Drive.” He lowered the gun so that no one could see it from outside the vehicle, but kept it pressed against my midsection. I had no choice but to do as he insisted.
I had a shit feeling the moment I turned into Jodi’s driveway. Her truck wasn’t there, but she’d said she was here not even thirty minutes ago. A tremble of fear coursed through me when I saw her front door was wide open. She knew better than that.
I picked up my phone and dialed my father’s number.
“What bo—”
“I need you at Tom Walker’s house now. Call Manny and the rest of my team.” I hung up the phone without waiting for a response. I trusted my father above all else to get shit done.
I removed my gun from underneath the driver’s seat and jumped out of my truck, looking around to see if anyone else was present. Feeling assured that it was only me out there, I made entry into the house, gun first, looking from side to side.
“Jodi,” I called.
There was no answer.
“Fuck,” I cursed and ran to the kitchen when I heard Hound’s shallow breathing. His eyes were barely open, and I could see that with each second that passed, life drained from his body. His bullet wound leaked with blood.
“Jodi,” I called again, hoping beyond reason that she would answer. The desired response never came.
I grabbed a few towels from the drawer and covered Hound’s injury. “It’s okay, boy.” I pulled out my phone and texted my father what I found at the house. I still looked around for any clues as to what was happening.
It felt like fucking forever before anyone arrived.
“Take him to my vet,” I ordered Bass and Manny as they approached, from behind my father.
“But—” Bass started.
“Take him,” I ordered, rising to my feet. I had to turn away from Hound. Peering around, I stepped outside onto the porch and saw what appeared to be the remnants of Jodi’s dinner—a glass of cranberry juice with some peanut butter and jelly crackers on a plate.
“Looks like he snuck up on her as she was eating. The alarm was off before you entered, you said, right?” Joel asked.
I nodded, tension coursing through my veins, too enraged to verbally respond. That was when I spotted a recorder on the chair. Picking it up, I turned it over to see that the record button pushed down.
“She may have gotten it all on tape,” I said, feeling a resurgence of hope.
I pressed play and at first heard an unfamiliar male voice.
“That’s Tom,” Joel said.
I raised my eyebrows.
“Whoever’s listening to this, listen well. I’m a patient of …” He went on, explaining his affiliation with Dr. Greene, McDowell, and the missing girl. Most of it my team had already dug up. The more notable part to me was after Tom finished talking, and I was able to hear the entire interaction between Jodi and Deputy McDowell.
“Brains and beauty, that one has,” Joel commented.
I pushed out a breath. “We need to figure out where he took her.” That was the only thing not available on the tape.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Get the hell up,” McDowell insisted after I tripped and fell for the third time, as he yanked on my T-shirt, pulling me through the woods.
I glanced around, my stomach uneasy by the darkening of the sky overhead. It was getting late, but the ominous clouds moving in spoke of a possible storm on the way. I kicked another rock.
“Why the fuck do you keep doing that?” McDowell grunted. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t help it, you keep pulling on me, and I can’t get my footing right,” I lied and stopped as we came to another tree. I moved my conjoined hands to the tree, conspicuously using my fingers to tear away at some of the tree bark.
