“They’re here.” He didn’t bother to mention he wasn’t impressed with Braun’s work on the case so far. The guy had an entire office of agents to help him, and Griff was giving him results faster. “Please keep me updated if you find anything.”
“Who was that?” Braun asked with a frown.
“Griff Flannery.” Grady held the agent’s gaze. “His tech guy was able to find the black SUV at two intersections.”
Braun’s face flushed, but he simply nodded. “That helps.”
You think?It took all of Grady’s willpower not to snap. “I want the local police to go knock on the doors of every motel and hotel within a mile of the pinpointed location of the call.”
To his credit, Braun didn’t argue but reached for his phone to do as Grady demanded.
“We need to search property records too,” the tech guy said. “We can find out if any are rentals.”
“That’s a good idea.” Grady liked the fact that each tech expert was working a different angle. Dom was looking for links to the Cromwell name, but searching for rentals in the area was a good plan too.
He glanced at Lauren, who had covered her face in her hands. His heart ached for her, and he wished he’d insisted they stay home from the stupid charity event.
“I think I found something,” Rex said, breaking into his thoughts. Grady spun from the table to join his boss. He bent to look over Rex’s shoulder to see his laptop screen. “There’s a small rental property near the location of the cell tower signal. Looks to be a small house nestled between apartment buildings. It has a red-brick exterior with black shutters.”
“What’s the address?” Grady asked, his heart thumping with anticipation.
“The address is 910 South Miller Street. It’s a few blocks from the last place the car was seen,” Rex added.
Grady turned toward the tech analyst. “Any chance we can figure out who rented it?”
“I’m not sure.” The lack of confidence was not inspiring.
Grady couldn’t stand the idea of sitting there a moment longer. He stood and reached for his coat.
“Where are you going?” Braun demanded.
“I’m going to check the area for myself.” He pulled his rental car key fob from his pocket. “I’ll call you if I see anything suspicious.”
“I’m coming with you.” Lauren jumped up from her seat at the table. “I’ll get my shoes.”
“You can’t,” Braun protested. “You need to be here to answer your phone when the kidnapper calls again.”
“It’s not like you were able to trace the call. Besides, I’ll call my father on the way.” Lauren stared at Grady, her gaze pleading with him. “He may be able to access money from an overseas account to make the ransom.”
“Are you sure about this?” He didn’t blame Lauren for wanting to ride along. Sitting and doing nothing was painful. But having her there meant he needed to be extra careful. When she nodded and shoved her injured feet into a pair of running shoes and pulled on her leather coat, he sighed. “Let’s go.”
“You can’t just leave...” Braun’s voice trailed off as they left the apartment, letting the door close softly behind them.
Lauren was silent as they rode the elevator down to the parking garage. He didn’t know what to say to make her feel better. He unlocked the car, then opened the passenger door for her. Once they were out on the road, he finally said, “You know the area the best. What’s the quickest way to get to the west side of Chicago?”
“Take a right at the next intersection.” Lauren’s voice was tight but calm. “I need to believe we’re going to find her.”
“We will.” He frowned. “Are you really going to call your father?”
“Yes.” She pulled out the new phone and made the call. Her father must have answered, because she said, “Dad? Lucy’s been kidnapped, and I need twenty-five million dollars.”
Grady focused on driving, mentally reviewing the map he’d looked at earlier in his mind. That Lauren could casually discuss handing over such an astronomical amount of money to a kidnapper was difficult to comprehend. He understood money was nothing compared to a child’s life, but he silently vowed there was no way he was letting the Cromwells get away with this.
Kidnapping a wealthy woman’s child because you feel as if you were owed something was unacceptable.
“I understand, Dad. I appreciate your efforts.” There was a pause, then Lauren added, “I will call you as soon as I hear from them. Thanks.”
“What did your dad say?” He couldn’t imagine getting money, even from overseas, was possible on a weekend.
