Heart pounding, she headed for the woods, spurred on by the sound of the back door of the building opening. A glance over her shoulder sent panic racing. It was him and he’d spotted her.
She tripped over an exposed root and stumbled. Tried to catch herself and failed. She fell to her knees. Scrambling, crab crawling, she tried to get to her feet while moving, but lost her momentum. A foot caught her in the ribs, and with a gasp of pain, she rolled to her back to get away from another kick.
And felt the liquid hit her in the face.
“No.” Tears leaked down her cheeks even as the darkness closed in.
Fifteen minutes out, Blake’s phone rang. “Yeah.”
“This is Chief Sharpton. Two of my officers responded and are currently at the address you reported your daughter to be.”
“Is she all right?”
“We’re not sure. She’s not here.”
“What do you mean she’s not there?” Though his voice was low and even, Blake seriously thought his head might explode.
“Two people are on the floor unconscious. No visible wounds, but none of them resemble your daughter. We’ve got EMS en route and officers searching the perimeter. We’ve also got tire tracks at the back of the store that are fresh. The rain hasn’t washed them away and the mud has left a good outline. I’ve got a crime scene unit on the way. We’ll get a cast of that tire print.”
“They got to her,” he whispered. “They got her again. How?” He punched the dash. Ignored the pain that shot up his arm.
“Sir?”
“I’m going to need any security footage you may have.”
“I don’t think we’re going to have much. I’ll have to check with Deb when she wakes up.”
“Deb?”
“Deborah Mann. She’s the owner and was hit with whatever stuff this guy is using. Chloroform, is my first guess. I see two cameras. One facing the gas pumps. The other one facing the front of the store. We’ll see if we can get anything, but don’t hold your breath. This is a sleepy little town and this gas station is literally in the middle of nowhere. Not much goes on out here.”
That he knew about anyway. Blake pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed silently while he tried to corral his fear. “Any idea where they could have gone?”
“No. Unfortunately, we weren’t looking for anyone, so they could have passed us on the way here and we never would have known it.”
Blake ended the call and started tapping into the notes section of his phone. He wanted to get down the conversation he’d just had with Rachel to the best of his ability. She’d given clues. A few anyway. A house with a barn and a walking trail that went in circles. How common could that be?
Several minutes later, they pulled into the middle of organized chaos. Two ambulances sped out of the parking lot. No doubt headed to the nearest hospital. Blake jumped out of the SUV before Chloe even had it in park. He ran to the officer who looked like he might be in charge. “Chief?”
“Yeah.” The officer turned. A man in his early sixties with sharp blue eyes peered at him.
“I’m Blake MacCallum.”
“The dad?”
“Yes, sir.”
The man nodded. “This way.”
Chloe slipped silently up beside them and followed them inside. Linc did too. Blake paused at the entrance. To the right was the counter.
“That’s where we found Deb.”
He pointed to the other side of the counter in front of the register. “Maya Manning was paying for her goods. Krissy Austin was in here as well, in the aisle across from the register. He got her last. She said her back was to him, but when she heard the other two drop, she turned and he sprayed her.”
“Wait a minute, she’s awake and talking?”
“Yep. But still on her way to the hospital. Bobby, her husband, broke her nose. Which was why she was in here looking for some pain medication.”
“And she didn’t breathe in the spray because she couldn’t.”
“Right. Completely clogged. She got a little through her mouth, but not a full dose. She went ahead and dropped to the floor so he wouldn’t realize the spray had almost no affect.”
“Quick thinking.”
“She’s had to learn to think on her feet.” The man scowled.
“Can’t talk her into leaving him?”
“Nope.”
“So, she heard everything that went on with Rachel?”
“Probably. I tried to get it out of her, but she was in so much pain, she just kept asking for someone to make it stop. Figured I’d let her get on to the hospital and get that nose taken care of. You can question her once she’s seen to.”
“I’ll plan on that. One more question.”
“Sure.”
“Do you know of a property around here that’s got a barn and a walking trail that circles the property?”
Chief Sharpton rubbed his forehead. “Not right offhand. I can ask around, though. I’ve got a friend who’s a realtor. She might have some suggestions.”
“Good. Try her and let me know.”
“Will do.” The chief’s phone rang. “As soon as I get this. Excuse me.”
“Of course.”
Linc stood looking at the back door.
Blake stepped over to him. “What is it?”
“How did he manage to incapacitate three people without Rachel seeing him or you hearing anything on the phone?”
Blake’s eyes landed on the device resting on the floor near the wall adjacent to the checkout counter. Rachel had been on that phone. And when her attacker had overpowered her, she’d dropped it. He wanted to grab it but knew CSU would need it for evidence. He curled his fingers into fists.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I need to get to the hospital to talk to this Krissy person.”
“We’ve got officers going door-to-door, checking homes around here. Not sure how big of a radius to cover though,” the chief said.
“Do at least five miles,” Blake said.
Linc nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. Maybe even six or seven.”
The chief nodded and went back to his phone.
Blake raked a hand through his hair. “We need a chopper in the air. See if they can spot a property that sounds similar to what Rachel described.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that. They can cover more area faster.” He walked off, phone pressed to his ear.
A soft hand landed on his bicep and he turned to see Chloe looking at him with those blue eyes of hers. “I want to ask if you’re okay, but I already know the answer. I guess I’ll ask what’s going on behind the tough cop facade.”
“I’m terrified.” His voice shook and he cleared his throat. “I’m scared I’m not doing enough, that I’m missing something, that I’m never going to see her again because we won’t figure everything out before it’s too late.” He needed to stop talking. Airing his fears wouldn’t do him or anyone else any good.
“Yeah. That’s kind of what I figured.” She squeezed his hand. “Don’t give up. We’re going to find her.”
“Like you’ve found Penny?”
She flinched and stepped back.
He moved forward and grasped her arm. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”
“No, I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand what you’re saying. And this situation is very different from Penny’s in a lot of ways.”
“Like what?”
“Like we haven’t heard from Penny in almost six months. You talked to Rachel today. We have video footage of her getting into the back of a vehicle. We’re tracking down Ethan Wright, who could be a very good lead. We don’t have anything like that with Penny. Except for the fact that Rachel had on her blouse. I find that encouraging in some weird way. Like if we can find a dumb shirt, we’ll find Penny.”
“You’re right. Very right. It’s just, that’s twice now that I feel like she’s been within reach and then . . . she’s not. This shattered hope is killing me.”
“I imagine she feels the same.”
He blinked, then groaned and dropped his face into his palms. “I’m a selfish pig, aren’t I? Only thinking about myself and how this is affecting me.” He looked up to find Linc striding toward him.
“We’ve got a chopper in the air. Should be in the area within the next five minutes or so.”
“Good. Let’s figure out where Rachel was trying to send us and get there.”