Unable to argue with the voice in his head, he pulled the phone from his pocket. His blood turned cold as he read the texts from Jessie on its screen.
He found me
He has a gun
Robert’s heart stalled. He looked at the old structure being consumed by the flames. The barn was far enough gone that the firefighters were focusing the spray from their hoses onto the surrounding grass to prevent this from turning into a wildfire. There was nothing he could do to make a difference here. But if he hurried, maybe he could save Jessie.
He turned toward the closest deputy—Brady.
“I need to go. Pendleton’s got Jessie, and he’s armed.”
“Go. We’ve got this.” Brady said without hesitation. “Call if you need back-up. I’ll call Rudy and Vickie, see if they can come on duty early.”
Robert shouted instructions at him about keeping everyone away from the fire as he headed to his Tahoe. He climbed into his SUV and opened the app that tracked Jessie’s phone. He wanted to call her to see if she was okay, but he knew that would only endanger her more.
If she’d been able to send him a text, Pendleton obviously didn’t know she had a phone. He checked Jessie’s location as he started the engine. Her blue dot moved south on U.S. 395.
His heart sank.He’s taking her away.If Pendleton made it to the Tri-Cities area with Jessie, or heaven forbid, back to Seattle, it could make it more difficult to find Jessie.
He started his truck and cranked the wheel, spraying gravel as he floored it. His lights were already flashing, and as soon as he pulled away from the fire, he turned on his siren.
What if I don’t get to her in time?
He checked his phone. The blue dot still moved. That was the only thing giving him hope right now.
She’s going to be okay. She has to be. I can’t lose her again.
He glanced at the blue dot a few minutes later as he entered the interstate. His heart stuttered. The dot had stopped moving.
Keeping an eye on the road, he repeatedly checked Jessie’s location. The dot stayed frozen on the outskirts of Pasco. Robert tried to recall what was in that area. The gravel pit? A trailer park? A seedy motel?
He radioed the office. “Janice, I need you to ping this number and give me an exact location.” He rattled off Jessie’s number and waited several long, tense seconds—his foot heavy on the gas—until Janice got back to him.
He was more grateful than ever that he’d used some of the donation money last fall to invest in the high-tech location services program.
Thank you, Emily.
“It looks like it’s at the Lazy Daze Motel just north of Pasco.” Janice’s voice filled his vehicle.
Motel.Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Pendleton wouldn’t take Jessie to a motel if he intended to kill her outright. Would he?
Imagining Jessie suffering more violence—any kind of violence—at the hands of that man enraged Robert.
“Find out if anyone by the name of Patrick Pendleton or someone fitting his description has a room. And remember he’s got facial hair now.”
“Sure thing. What’s going on?”
“I’ll fill you in after you get me a room number.” Robert ended the call.
He checked again to make sure the dot hadn’t moved, then stuffed the phone into its holder so he could focus on the road. Fortunately, traffic was light, and he quickly closed the distance between him and Jessie.
Please don’t let me be too late.
He jumped when his radio crackled. He snatched it up. “Go, Janice.”
“There’s no one by the name of Pendleton registered there, but when I described him, the motel clerk and he said that sounded like the guy in room twenty-three.”
“Twenty-three. Got it, thanks.”
