Sean yanked on his driver’s door.“We’re going to see a psycho pharmacist.”
Grace woke up in a fog to sheer silence.Her mouth felt like she’d swallowed a pound of cotton, and her head throbbed.What the hell did I drink last night to get a hangover like this?Heck, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been hungover.
She tried to roll over and find her pillow at the same time, but something was wrong.Not only could she not find her pillow, she wasn’t even in her bed.
Oh, shit!I’m not in a bed at all and can’t move my arms or legs!
It took her a moment to realize her immobility came from her limbs being restrained, although that didn’t make her feel any better.In fact, it was really, really bad.Blinking several times, she tried to bring the surrounding area into focus.She was in a room with no windows.A bare bulb hung above her, and around her, against the walls, were cabinets and shelves.It was a storage room of sorts, and she was lying on a table.
Grace yanked on her arms and legs, but she was securely fastened with leather straps attached to chains.The rattling sent chills down her spine.
Panicking, she opened her mouth.“Help!Somebody, help!Please!Help!”
Tears overflowed onto her cheeks, and she screamed her throat raw, but no one answered.The dryness in her mouth caused her to start coughing, and she tried to clear her throat.
How did I get here?Who brought me here, and where are they now?And where the fuck is “here”?
Wherever “here” was, she hoped Sean or the police would find her—and soon.
But how?Do they even know I’m missing?
Grace resumed her screaming and pulled at her restraints until her arms ached and her voice was hoarse.Her heaving chest hurt, and her face was now wet from a combination of tears and sweat.Her body sagged against the hard table.
“Please, Sean,” she whispered into the ensuing silence.“Please be my hero and find me.”
Barreling into the pharmacy, Sean ignored the startled look on the faces of the employees and customers.Brian, Lynch, and Rafe followed him.On the way there, after Brian had called the car behind them with their destination, the sheriff’s detective had thrown on his lights and sirens and then pulled in front of Sean’s Mustang to lead the way.Either way, the federal agent would have broken every traffic law to get to the pharmacy.They made the ten-minute ride from Whisper to Nags Head, near the hospital, in five minutes flat.
Gripping the photo printout a little too tightly, Sean vaulted over the counter to the pharmacist’s work area.The female pharmacist gasped in alarm, and another woman, who was probably a pharmacy tech, screamed, but it was cut short when Sean shoved the picture in her face.“Who the fuck is this?”
“Sean,” Brian warned from the other side of the counter.“Easy.”He smiled at the tech, who appeared to be in shock, and showed her his department ID.“Ma’am, I’m State Investigator Brian Malone.Can you tell us who the man in the photo is?”
The calm voice did nothing to stop the woman from shaking from fear.Her gaze slowly moved to Brian, Rafe, and Lynch before returning to the scary man in front of her.
Sean waved the picture in her face again but bit back the words on the tip of his tongue.The pharmacist, who was less rattled at the sudden intrusion, stepped forward, put her hand on her coworker’s arm, and gently pushed her out of the way so she could look at the photo.“That’s George.”
“George who?”Sean practically growled.
“Wallace.George Wallace.He’s a pharmacist here.”Her eyes went wide as she concluded that the reason why they were looking for her coworker wasn’t good.“Why are you asking?”
“Where does he live, ma’am?”Brian asked.
“I-I don’t know.”She turned to the other woman.“Sherry, do you know?”
A very pale Sherry just squeaked and shook her head violently.
The pharmacist turned back to Sean.“His address is on file in the office.”She pointed to the door behind him.“If you let me pass, I’ll get it for you.”
He gave her a curt nod and stepped aside, a little too close for comfort for Sherry, who flinched.Finally realizing he’d been scaring the shit out of her, he gave her a tense smile.“I’m sorry, but it’s a matter of life and death.”
Her only answer was an uncontrolled bobbing of her head.Pivoting, he followed the pharmacist into a small office, where she pulled open the top drawer of a filing cabinet and selected a folder toward the back.Pulling out the top page, she held it at an angle so she and Sean could both see the information.The others stood in a small hallway outside the open door because there was not enough room for them all.
The woman pointed to an address located in Nags Head.“Six-one-zero Park Terrace, in the Forest Glen condominiums.”
Sean was about to thank her when something caught his eye.Another address was above that one and had been crossed out.“Did he move recently?”
“Yes.Well, a few months ago.He moved here from Pennsylvania when his aunt died about six months ago.From what I understand, her house needs a lot of renovations before it’s habitable, so he’s living in the condo until it’s done.He said he was doing the renovations himself.That’s the address for the house, I believe.”
Pushing past the others, Sean said, “Thirty-eight Pelican Lane, Manns Harbor.Brad, send units to the Forest Glen condos just in case, but my bet is on Manns Harbor.”
