But at least he was taking action.
His phone rang through the car speakers.Jason. “What do you know?”
“Reddy and Hamilton reported that Lindsey was seen getting into the passenger side.”
“Willingly?”
A pause while Jason spoke to someone in the background. “Appears so. No one was with her.”
Why would she do that?
Somehow Megan had lured her outside and convinced her not to tell him or anyone. His gut tightened and he punched the gas pedal to make the light as he raced toward one of the busiest commerce centers in NOVA.
There was more muffled conversation on the other end of the line before Jason said, “Uh, she left you a message on the bathroom mirror.”
Todd’s heart dropped into his stomach. “What?”
“It looks like it was written in eye liner, and it says, ‘Todd: Sorry. Had to go with M. Be safe.’” Jason cleared his throat. “‘I love you. L.’”
She loved him? And this was how she chose to say it? What. The. Actual. Fuck?
Fear grabbed him by the throat. Did she think she’d never get to tell him in person?
“Kurt’s alerting the police that Megan might be in town, though we can’t confirm she was the driver,” Jason said.
Todd gripped the steering wheel so hard his fingers hurt. “We need to find that car. And we need to figure out what kind of leverage Megan has over her to make her leave without telling anyone.”
“Kurt’s on the phone with her parents now,” Jason said.
She’d hate that. She never wanted them to worry.
He banged his palm on the wheel. He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t. “Any idea how Megan contacted her?”
“Dan found Lindsey’s purse and phone in the neighbor’s front yard. Valerie’s working her scary hacker magic to check for messages and track the sender.”
Todd pushed the accelerator as much as he dared. Traffic thickened as he headed into Tysons Corner, and despite his desperation, he forced himself to take care. A mistake could hurt or kill someone innocent. Not to mention, if he got in an accident, he’d be no good to Lindsey.
“I’m putting Valerie on,” Jason said as Todd got stuck at another traffic light.
A second later, Valerie’s voice filled the car. “Todd, I was able to trace back the sender of the messages that convinced Lindsey to leave. Bottom line: the sender threatened her parents if she didn’t comply, and sent an ominous photo.”
A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Lindsey was sacrificing herself.
He took a deep breath and waited for the traffic signal to turn, every muscle poised.
“The important part,” Valerie continued, “is that I can use the cell towers to triangulate that sender’s location. It’s not quite as precise as GPS but—“
“Where?” Todd asked.
“Heading east on Chain Bridge at International. Currently, they appear to be stopped.”
Thank you Jesus, they were so close. His body thrummed in anticipation. “I’m two intersections back. Keep me posted.”
The light glowed green and Todd followed the car in front of him, forcing himself not to ride the Audi’s tail. At the first opportunity, he swerved around the guy and accelerated toward the massively busy intersection of two major shopping malls and a bunch of strip malls and office buildings.
Traffic in the right lane leading to International Drive was backing up. At the light, he could just make out the black Honda blocking the right turn lane, its doors thrown open.
He relayed what he saw to Valerie. “Something’s going down. Call the cops.”
