Page 49 of Traces of Kara

“You stole my sister and cast me away.” Determined footsteps pounded the ceiling above Jackson.

“No!” Mimi yelled.

Jackson moved toward the grate. If he reached up, he could touch it.

Mimi screamed, and suddenly her body landed heavily on the grate in the ceiling, her contorted face mashed against the metal. Her eyes locked with Jackson’s.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“They found his vehicle.” Detective Grant sat across from Sergeant Agnew in the conference room of the police station. “Over in West Virginia.”

“West Virginia?”

“Right over the line, across the Route 11 bridge.” Detective Grant weighed his options. The FBI had already been alerted about Greer, and without an active PFA, who knew if they’d even take the event seriously. If they did show up, all hell would break loose. He had no choice. As much as he hated the idea of worrying Mimi, he had to alert her. He picked up the phone and dialed her number.

Voicemail answered and he hung up the phone. He pushed the intercom button. “Get me Jackson Darner over at the power plant.” He released the button.

“Power plant?” Sergeant Agnew asked.

“Kara Knight.” He waved the words away with his hand. “Marissa Greer, she works at the plant. I gotta see if anyone’s heard from her.”

The intercom buzzed. “Sir? No one answered at the plant. Seems there’s a total shutdown of power from the storm. That whole side of town is down.”

Detective Grant stood and pushed the intercom button again. “Get on the horn with Nancy Darner, find out Jackson’s cell phone number. Call HCC, find out who Kara Knight’s professors are. I want to know if anyone’s heard from her, and check the local garages. Her car was being fixed. Find it, see if she picked it up. I’m heading over to the plant. When FBI shows, you know the drill.”

“They’ll be hours. Held up on a case in P.G. County.”

Detective Grant sped down Route 11 toward the bridge, his cell phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear. “Ted, Mitchell Grant.”

Ted gripped the cell phone between his cold, wet fingers. “Mitch?”

“Is Mimi with you?”

Ted shook his head, and pulled into his driveway, calculating how much time it would take him to change his clothes and get back to bring Jackson his dinner. “No, she’s at the plant.”

Hope swelled within Detective Grant. “Did she find Kara?”

Ted sighed, “No.” He got out of the car and dashed through the rain toward the front door. “She wanted to talk to Jackson. Plant’s got no power. I went to get dinner and couldn’t get back in.”

Detective Grant nodded. “What’d Darner say?”

“Nothing, really.” Ted fumbled with his keys. “He hasn’t heard from Kara.”

Silence filled the space between them.

“Mitch?” Ted asked.

The line went dead.

Chapter Forty

Mimi stared into Jackson’s eyes. The urge to call out to him swelled in her throat. Roland stood behind her. She prayed he didn’t see Jackson. She pushed off the grate and turned to face Roland.

“Kara will die without help!” she yelled, hoping Jackson would take the hint and go get help. “Roland, she’ll die.”

Roland gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet, propelling her away from the vent.

“She’ll die! She needs help!” she yelled.