24
Reid raced through town, time ticking like an alarm clock in his head. Loud. Sharp. His hands sweated on the wheel, and his heart raced. His phone finally rang with a call from the hospital. Ingerman. Good.
Reid punched the answer button on his steering wheel. “You better have good news.”
“The kid’s in her room, but the mom is AWOL,” Ingerman said.
Reid’s heart took a dip. “What do you mean AWOL?”
“Nurse says the mom went to the lounge for coffee and never came back. No sign of her in the lounge.”
No. Oh no.Reid’s mind raced, searching for a logical answer. Found none.“You have a camera in that area?”
“Not the lounge, but the hallways.”
“I’m a few minutes out. I want to see the footage of that area and all exits when I get there.” Reid ended the call and careened around a slower vehicle. He called Megan again and waited for her to answer.
Please, let her answer.
Voicemail.
I’m begging You. Please let Megan and Ella be okay.
Reid moved as quickly as he could, but ten minutes passed before he reached the main entrance. He jumped from his SUV and ran to the security office, hurdling a snowbank and being careful not to slip on snowy patches.
A man he assumed was Ingerman sat at a computer.
“What’d you find on the feed?” Reid asked breathlessly.
He frowned. “She left with some man.”
Reid’s heart nearly stopped. “Cue it up for me.”
Ingerman played the feed with a time stamp of less than twenty minutes ago. A man walked next to Megan. His back was to the camera so Reid couldn’t get a good look at his face, but he wore a baseball cap. Rainiers cap? Reid couldn’t be sure. Together, they exited the south side of the building. It appeared as if the man had a gun concealed under his jacket. Made sense or Megan wouldn’t have walked off with him. Unless he was a friend, but still, she would never voluntarily leave Ella at a time like this.
“What about parking lot footage?” Reid asked, desperation settling in.
“Haven’t gotten to that yet.”
“Do it now. Start with the lot this exit dumps into. Cue it up to the same time as this one.”
Ingerman clicked through computer screens until he retrieved the correct parking lot. He rewound the feed to the same time stamp as the exit camera.
“There.” Reid pointed at the screen where Megan and the man walked into the lot. Reid squinted, hoping to see the vehicle they climbed into, but they walked out of camera view.
He slammed a hand on the monitor. “He knows the camera angles and parked out of view.”
Where could this man have taken Megan? Did she leave some sort of clue for him upstairs?
Not likely. Why would she? She thought he bailed on her. But maybe he left a lead for the police or security? He had to find out. “I’m heading to the PICU. Call the local PD and give a description of this man and Ms. Cash. Report that she is under duress and likely being held at gunpoint.”
Reid flew out of the room and to the same stairs he’d climbed after chasing Fowler a few days ago. When he exited the stairwell, he punched Jack’s number on his speed dial.
“He’s got Megan,” Reid explained.
“I’m still a few minutes out.”
“Stop at the gas station where Megan saw Fowler. See if we can get Billy Smith’s address. If we go with William Smith, the WJS could be his initials in the bomb box, and he could be the one behind this. And put in a request to triangulate her cell. She’s not answering, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have it with her.”
