River ended the call.
A calm washed over Lydia as she stepped toward the man who knew where her daughter was. “Please.” Tears streamed down her face. “Please,” she whispered.
The Ridge police officer came to a stop.
Lydia persisted. “What if this was your child? You can imagine what I’ve been going through.”
Gregory’s expression softened as he stared at Lydia for a long moment before speaking. “They’re at the defunct outlet mall on the old highway outside of Ridge.”
“That property wasn’t on your website.” River shifted his weight.
“I haven’t officially gotten the contract to list it. I just knew it was vacant. I didn’t want this to be traced back to me. I’m in debt up to my ears. Once I did my part, I was supposed to get a big paycheck.”
Lydia shuddered, knowing that Gregory’s “part” was to kill her.
“You better hurry. They’re planning on driving out of state tonight to an airport. They knew you’d be watching the Colorado airports.”
“What airport?”
“I don’t know.”
The police officer approached them.
As he was led away, Gregory angled around, shouting back at River, “You’ll let the DA know I cooperated?”
River waved his hand and nodded in response. He turned toward Lydia. “Let’s get out there. You can call the other members of the task force on the way.”
The sky had already turned gray. They didn’t have much time before Sheryl and Norm left with Elsie under the cover of night.
* * *
As they drove toward the outlet mall, River knew that his colleagues were not far behind him. The mall had been built in anticipation of a bigger highway going through this part of Colorado. Growth had turned in a different direction and the mall had gone bankrupt.
By the time he took the turn that would lead to the building, the sky had grown dark. They passed several warehouses and then drove past open fields.
“I remember that mall being quite large. How are we ever going to find her?”
“I still have Elsie’s coat in my car. The dogs will get a scent off that easy. We’ll find her.”
“Do you remember at your house? There were two people shooting at us. Norm must have gotten a gun from Gregory.”
He had thought of that, too. “Yeah, Gregory must have given him some lessons.”
The mall came into view, just a dark silhouette of a long, narrow building. When he peered in his rearview mirror, he saw headlights behind him. He would not be going into this alone. He glanced over at Lydia, whose jaw was set. She’d laced her fingers together. When she looked at him, he saw total trust in her eyes.
He hoped that trust was not misplaced just like it had been with Noah’s mom.
As he drew closer to the parking lot, he slowed and turned off his headlights. Norm or Sheryl might be watching. There were no cars in the parking lot and the building was dark. The two cars behind him had turned off their headlights as well and had rolled into the far corner of the lot where he’d parked.
Tension suctioned his chest. The deep breath he took to relax seemed to get stuck in his lungs.
He reached over and put his hand on hers. She turned slightly and leaned toward him, resting her hand on his cheek. His lips pressed against hers then he rested his forehead against hers.
“Stay safe,” she whispered.
He could smell her floral perfume as the warmth of her hand permeated his skin. Her touch and her closeness gave him courage.
He straightened and stared through the windshield. The total darkness of the facility and the fact that he didn’t see a car anywhere was concerning. He hoped they weren’t too late. Not a thought he would vocalize to Lydia.
