Abigail changed clothes and then found almost new boots in Lexie’s closet. She’d be in the mountains and needed good footwear. Stepping back over Lexie’s body she muttered, “Don’t trust anyone in a federal prison. We’re all there for a reason.”
There was no time to waste. Abigail found Lexie’s gun and took the bat along with the car keys. She’d have maybe a day or two before Lexie was reported missing, assuming her family or a friend didn’t stop by. She’d planned her timing to leave carefully. Lexie was off for the next two days. If Abigail was lucky and no one stopped by, then she’d have some time to finish what she’d started with Maya Thompson and Eric Torres and leave town. She could be gone before anyone knew it.
Abigail found a holster for the gun and then headed out. She trotted down the stairs to the parking lot and found Lexie’s vehicle. Opening the driver door, Abigail tossed the bat inside to the passenger seat and then slid into the driver’s side. It felt good to be the one in charge again. There were no handcuffs. No chains or jumpsuits. She was in normal clothing and could go wherever she wanted.
The thought of just driving south crossed her mind again, but then she thought about her partner. Abigail had fallen in love. He was helping her and she couldn’t leave him behind. And Maya and Eric wouldn’t let things go. They would hunt her down. She could feel it. Taking care of them might mean she would stillbe hunted, but at least she’d be able to sleep better at night.
Abigail turned the car on, put it in Drive and headed out of the parking lot. She found her way to the interstate and then headed west toward the mountains.
Chapter Fourteen
“She’s gone. Everyone from the prison guards to local PD and a few federal officers are looking for her.”
The room seemed to spin for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Maya clutched her phone, letting what Kessler said sink in.No. This isn’t happening.Josh stepped closer to Maya and she put the phone on speaker. “Have they tried using a K-9 to track her?”
“They did. Local PD came with a dog right away. They tracked her about a half mile away to the side of the road, where it appears someone picked her up,” Kessler answered.
“How did this happen? How did she escape? And what about cameras? Were there any in the area? Can you figure out who picked her up?” Maya asked. She knew she was firing off questions faster than Kessler could answer. It wasn’t like he and other officers didn’t know what they were doing.
“We’re investigating who might have picked her up. I found out that her paperwork was changed and she was switched to low security. There’s no fences in that section and you can walk away. No cameras either where she was picked up. Abigail is smart and she knows her stuff from being a detective. She won’tbe easy to find. I’m bringing a couple of agents to help me. One of them specializes in kidnappings and the other worked a bank robbery investigation with Abigail in Montana. He knows her better than we do and I thought he’d be a good asset to have.”
Maya and Josh locked eyes. She knew they were thinking the same thing—could one of these men be Abigail’s partner? Maya also knew that Abigail was going to use Hope to her advantage somehow. “The help will be great,” Maya said, wanting what she was saying to be true. If one of these men or even both were on her payroll, that was going to be a problem. “We need to find our missing girl. ASAP. But we also need to share some information when you get here. Don’t want to get into it while you’re driving.”
“Okay. I’m heading your way soon and we can talk more,” Kessler said. “I wanted you to know because I’m worried she might come after you. Be careful. With Hope in the area, she obviously has a plan and I think she wants you to come to her. Maybe we can even use this to catch Eric too.”
“We won’t need to do that,” Maya said.
“Why not?”
“Because he turned himself in. He still has contacts in law enforcement here and there. He’s been working on another case involving Abigail. One that’s not only personal to him, but would change her prison sentence if she was convicted. She’d never see the light of day.”
“What could do that? She was already looking at a long sentence or maybe even life depending on the judge.”
“This was a murder for hire... of another police officer. A young guy in the department who was going to be an informant against her with the FBI,” Maya said.
“If he has evidence and we could pin it on her then she could be looking at life or even the death penalty in the federal system.”
“I know,” Maya said. “It would certainly add to all her charges.”
“Do you think Eric will talk with us? Or lawyer up?”
“I will tell him to trust you,” Maya said. “I bet I can get him to at least talk to you. But I have a favor to ask.”
“What’s that?”
“If he cooperates, can he stay here in the Western River County holding cells while we look for Hope? We might need him. And I know he’s been on the run and has his own list of things that he’s guilty of, but maybe if he helps, you can work on getting the charges against him knocked down?” Maya’s heart pounded knowing she wanted Kessler to say yes, but also understanding there were no guarantees.
“You know I’m not the prosecutor so I can’t make any promises, but if he helps us, I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you,” Maya said. “See you soon.” She ended the call and stared down at the floor, processing everything. She had to get all the details sorted out and then go to battle. Clearing her mind, she took a deep breath, letting her heart rate slow down.
“Maybe Abigail will leave town and head to Mexico or something,” Josh said, breaking the silence.
“We both know she’s not going to do that,” Maya said, looking back up. “She’s hell-bent on revenge. You know for a while she was sending me letters telling me that Eric’s my father. She wanted me to know about him. She knows that’s a weak point for me and she loves exploiting things like that. No, she’s not leaving town. Abigail has a plan and we need to be ready for anything.”
“I agree,” Josh said. “And that’s why I want you to be careful.”
Maya nodded. Abigail’s first contact was almost six months ago when she’d told Maya that Eric Torres was her biological father. Maya hadn’t known for sure and the letter pushed her to find out if what Abigail said was true. But Maya always knew that there was an endgame with Abigail. She’d always had a plan. By letting Maya know the truth about Eric, she’d opened the doors to Maya discovering she had a half brother and sister—she’d always wanted siblings. Something more Abigail probably sensed and could use against Maya.
