Kenna wandered to the back of the car and looked at the trunk but didn’t see any signs the lock had been picked. “Can one of you pop the trunk?”
The cop by the driver’s door opened it and reached in. A second later, the rear hatch popped up.
Jax strode over as if something was going to jump out at her. Right. Something very well could have, but it didn’t. She waited and let him open it, his gun drawn. The other officers covering him.
“No Wallace.” She stuck her hands on her hips. “Are those zip ties?”
Jax leaned over the open trunk. “Looks like he broke out of them. Possible, but also really painful.”
Kenna winced. “Question is, did he run?”
She surveyed the ground around the trunk of the car and spotted what might be a drop of blood on the ground. “Someonewho can crouch, maybe take a look at this, please?” She made sure they saw it and kept going.
Jax came with her, tracking her while she followed the trail of blood. The lane behind the storefronts was empty of people, but not trash. It looked like a homeless person might have camped back here at some point. There was no sign of them now.
Maybe scared off by the sight of a man, bleeding and stumbling past.
She kept going. The lane spilled out onto a street. Kenna looked for blood on the ground and spotted some in the road. “He crossed here.”
Jax held her hand, and they walked through a gap between cars across the street. Ryson stayed behind them.
“There.”
She looked to where Jax pointed and nodded. “I see him.”
She picked up her pace, but he let go of her and jogged over a berm of grass in front of an office building to where a man lay against a tree. She looked around. “How did nobody see him?”
“Looks like that office is for rent. Maybe no one uses it right now.” Ryson had his radio out. “Jax! Ambulance or coroner?”
Kenna moved close enough to see for herself and saw the rise and fall of his chest just as Jax yelled, “Ambulance!”
She looked at the street, trying to find someone who should’ve seen this man. Looking for a window…a storefront. Someone watching from their house. A crowd gathered on the street. But there was nothing.
If the cops hadn’t discovered the car, and she hadn’t followed the blood trail here, this guy could have bled to death or succumbed to exposure and died out here.
Kenna would have failed.
Jax crouched in front of Wallace Lofton and shook his shoulder. “Wallace? Mr. Lofton, I need you to wake up!”
The guy had blood drips coming from his mouth. He’d been beaten, but there were no lethal wounds, or he wouldn’t be alive now. Who knew how long he’d been sitting here, unnoticed. “He’s got to be hypothermic by now.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe no one saw him.”
“Maybe it hasn’t been that long.” Jax touched the side of Lofton’s neck with the back of his fingers. “He’s hanging on, but he needs to see a doctor now.”
She neededanswersnow. This guy might look like a victim, but he could have information that could help find Ellayna. Kenna lowered in a crouch, far enough that she could put one knee on the cold, hard ground beside the podcaster’s body.
“Wallace.” She patted his cheek. “Tell us where they are.”
The guy groaned. He lifted his head, but it rolled around and flopped on the other side.
Jax said, “Hang in there, Wallace. Help is on the way.” Jax pulled off his jacket and laid it on the injured man, insulating him some from the cold temperature in the air.
Kenna wasn’t feeling quite so charitable. “Where are they, Wallace?”
Jax didn’t react to her question, thankfully. She wanted an answer, and there was enough frustration and powerlessness built up in her after hearing Ellayna’s cry for help to demand information. After all, this guy coerced a twelve-year-old into being a guest on his podcast. Even someone only interested in ratings would think twice about doing that.
“Wallace.” She patted his cheek again, and he finally opened his eyes. “Where are they?”
Air puffed from between his lips. “My…” He started to lose consciousness. “Office.” His head drooped again, and his chin touched his chest.
