“Damn it.” She renewed her assault on the window, her shoulder muscles screaming as she drove the rod against the glass again. The little starburst began to grow larger as the cracks spread. Then with a savage cry, she drove it against the window once more and the glass finally shattered.
Elle’s breath shot out of her in a relieved burst. Then she used the curtain rod to knock out the jagged shards of glass that remained so she could safely climb out. The sound of a truck door slamming reached her ears. She quickly unwound the material from the curtain rod, draped it over the bottom of the pane to protect herself from any remaining glass, and put her foot up on the sill, pulling herself up and through the window as she heard voices inside the house.
“Shit, shit, shit,” she muttered, throwing the jagged curtain rod onto the ground and grabbing one of the tree branches, pulling herself all the way out of the window. The minute she kicked free, she dropped to the ground and snatched up the curtain rod. Frantically searching for the best escape route, she immediately rejected running toward the road. That would be the first place they looked.
Then her gaze lighted on the cornfield, the corn at its full height. She bolted toward it, her arms and legs pumping.
*
Gabe pounded on Elle’s front door, then paused to listen for any movement inside. Nothing. He walked the perimeter of the house, looking for any signs that she might be inside, but decided she wasn’t home.
He got back behind the wheel of his Tahoe and ran though his contacts until he found the number he sought.
“Mulaney’s.”
“Charlotte?” he said, his voice coming out in a rough bark. “Is Elle there?”
“No, sweetie, she left some time ago,” she said. “She’d had a little to drink so she was taking a cab home.”
“I’m there now,” Gabe said, peeling out of the driveway, not entirely sure where he was heading next but not able to just sit and wait. “She’s not home. You sure she was heading here?”
Now it was Charlotte’s turn to sound concerned. “That’s what she said. Gabe? What’s going on?”
Gabe turned out of Elle’s neighborhood and onto the main road before he answered, “I guess you know what’s going on with Monroe?”
“Yes. Elle told me. I picked her up from her office earlier today and brought her to Mulaney’s with me.”
“Well, Elle called Abby and asked her to let Elle know when Jeb left the department, saying she wanted to keep tabs on his movements, whatever the hell that means. What’s she up to, Charlotte? You need to tell me if you know anything.”
“If I knew more than that, I’d tell you,” Charlotte assured him. “She’s my world, Gabe.”
Gabe gripped the phone so hard his hand began to ache. “Mine too.”
He disconnected the call and immediately dialed Abby’s number at the department. “It’s Gabe,” he said when she picked up. “How long would it take you to get me the GPS coordinates on Elle’s phone?”
“Not long if I can get a search warrant,” she said, her voice taut with concern. “Maybe an hour or so. Why? What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” he said, taking a turn without thinking. “Charlotte says Elle left Mulaney’s some time ago in a cab to go home, but she’s not there.”
Abby cursed under her breath. “You don’t think she’s following Monroe, do you?”
“I don’t know what the hell she’s doing or why she was interested in tracking Monroe,” he told her. “It doesn’t make any sense. She was just telling me to stay clear of them and not engage in any way. I just… My gut’s telling me she’s in trouble, Abby. I gotta find her.”
“I’ll ask Tom to sign off on a search warrant,” she assured him. “I can go ahead and contact her cell provider to save time. Do you know what cab company she used? We can call them and find out where the driver is now. He can at least tell you where he took her.”
“Mulaney’s has an arrangement with Standard Cabs,” he said, knowing their service well. “I’ll give them a call.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I get anything,” Abby assured him. “Keep me posted, Gabe. Please call me as soon as you know she’s safe.”
Gabe dialed the cab company next. “Hey, Frank. It’s Gabe Dawson.”
The guy on the other end chuckled. “Little early to call for a pickup isn’t it, Dawson?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that kind of call,” Gabe told him. “Charlotte Mulaney’s niece, Elle McCoy, called for a ride earlier today but never reached her destination. Could you put me in touch with your driver so I can find out where he dropped her off?”
“Sure, buddy. No problem.” Gabe heard the clacking of typing on the other end of the line. “Huh. That’s weird. Looks like Bobby picked her up all right, but he never checked back in service.”
“What was his destination?” Gabe asked, a massive boulder of dread dropping into his stomach.
More typing on the other end. “Uh…looks like some rural address out in Venice. Want the address?”
Fuck.