“Stay there. I’m coming right now. Love you,” she says in a raw, throaty voice. I wait for her to tell me what’s going on, but I don’t want to know.
“It’s Jamie.”
CHAPTER 26
The Stranger
The Land Rover.
He’s leaving. I didn’t get a good look at the driver, but I saw his door closing.
I slam on the gas, making an illegal U-turn in the middle of the intersection to circle back into the convenience store parking lot. In an instant, he pulls out and floors it.
“No. No. No. Don’t even think about it,” I call out, whipping through the parking lot without stopping. Oncoming traffic be damned. I press harder, trying to catch up with him.
My little girl could be in there.
Eighty miles per hour.
Without warning, he cuts hard to the right, his taillights vanishing down a side street. When I jerk the wheel to follow him, my ’90 Corolla lurches so violently it nearly rips out the axle.
I’m close enough to see his tag. Holding the steering wheel with my left hand, I fumble for my cell phone with the other. The car drifts onto the shoulder, tires chewing against the gravel. I jerk my right arm up and snap the button, hoping I caught something usable. The phone lands in the passenger seat when Itoss it and wrestle the wheel, pulling the car back under control. I stick with him through two more turns.
Then we’re back on the main road.
Bright lights cover the street ahead, and I know where he’s going now—the Castle Light Bridge.
Naples. And then, anywhere.
We sprint for three more miles, ratcheting up the speed until it’s reckless. I’m terrified that we’ll wreck. What if Natalie’s in there?
But the alternative’s worse. I can’t lose him.
The engine screams as I press the gas harder. Now the steering wheel is trembling, and the car’s frame rattles as I push over a hundred miles per hour, trying to keep pace. The car is about to shake apart, but I don’t let up. I can’t. Her life is at stake.
But it doesn’t matter. I’m outmatched. And my car won’t give anymore. Darting off at what must be over a hundred and thirty miles per hour, he soars across the causeway entrance.
Defeated, I ease off the gas and take the shoulder pull-off. I dial Detective Daniels and describe the Rover and where it was heading. I try to think of anything that could be useful. While I have him on the phone, I zoom in on the image I captured during the chase.
Hope surges when I see a clear shot of the license tag.
Washington, D.C.
After I hang up, I start my way to the house. What am I going to tell her? I was right there, but I couldn’t bring our little girl home.
The phone rings.
It’s Crystal.
Natalie’s home, and she’s safe.
I watch her sleep. I had to see for myself that she was safe. The quilt rises and falls with her steady breathing. I smile when I see her little hand resting on the leather band around her neck. For the first time in hours, my heart finally settles down.
Back in the living room, Crystal is waiting for me with some tea. I fill her in on the Land Rover, and she explains the incident with Walter and the call from Hannah.
“All I know is Jamie’s missing. Maddie called me back to give me an update, but she’s got her hands full with Hannah. They’re all out there now, looking for him.”
I didn’t know that Jamie and Hannah were an item.
