Jenna glanced up at Kane. “Okay, who do we visit first?”
The next moment her cellphone chimed a message. “This may be a lead.” She moved away from the line of townsfolk and led the way back to Kane’s truck.
Jenna leaned against the door of Kane’s truck and opened the message. Confused, she stared at the message with a video file attached.
Have you ever been afraid, Sheriff?
You should be.
I am the spider and I’ve caught a sweet fly in my web.
Now the game begins.
You have six hours.
Tick tock, tick tock.
A storm of mixed emotions rolled over Jenna. She swallowed hard. “Is this someone’s idea of a sick joke?” She held up the screen to Kane.
“Nope, that sure looks like a threat to me.” Kane frowned.
Jenna’s heart thumped in her chest as she stared at the cellphone. She had six hours to find Lindy and if she didn’t reach her in time – then what? If this lunatic had involved her in some crazy game and she lost, would Lindy pay the penalty with her life?
Four
Trying to formulate a plan to find Lindy was Jenna’s first course of action. She passed her cellphone to Kane, unable to look at the message a moment longer.
“There’s an attachment. Let’s see what he’s sent you.” Kane gave her the phone.
Unease slid over Jenna as she opened the file and shielded the screen to view the display. As the video file played, she stared at it in horror. “Oh, dear Lord, it’s Lindy.”
In a dark dingy room, Lindy sat tied to a chair. The young girl’s head hung down. Ropes bound her but Jenna noticed a slight movement of her head. “I think she’s alive. Someone is holding her prisoner. Holy shit, this place could be anywhere.” She glanced at her watch. It was nine-thirty.
“Show me.” Kane took her cellphone and replayed the video. “Dammit, it’s a private number, probably a burner. If we take it to Wolfe, he’ll check it out and be able to enhance the video. He might find something in the background to link to the kidnapper. What the hell does he mean by, ‘you have six hours’? Is he giving us a time limit to find her?” He handed her back the phone. “And if we don’t?”
“I don’t know but it sure doesn’t sound good. I don’t like playing games with kids’ lives.” She stared at the TV crew. “I’ll make an announcement only the kidnapper will understand. I’ll say we’re open to negotiation for Lindy’s safe return.”
“Yeah, if we get a dialogue going we’ll know what kind of a person we’re dealing with.” Kane followed her to the TV crew. “Make sure you keep using her name. To him she’s a commodity and her life’s worth nothing.”
Jenna explained to the reporters what she needed and made the statement live to air. She walked away from the persistent questions and went to Kane’s side. “I hope I’ve gotten the message across.”
“You did great.” Kane led the way to his truck.
“We’ll know if he calls again. Come on, we need to get this video to Wolfe; the clock is ticking.” Heart racing, Jenna pulled open the door to Kane’s truck. “I’ll call Wolfe. I gather he still has his tech gear at home?”
“As far as I know.” Kane slid behind the wheel.
Jenna nodded. “Do you still have some of Lindy’s clothing for a scent for Duke to follow?”
“Yeah, in an evidence bag in the back.” Kane patted Duke on the head. “He’ll find her if we get close to her location.”
Panic rose in Jenna’s throat. Lindy could be anywhere in the vastness of Black Rock Falls. In spring, the air temperature was cold to freezing. Patches of snow still lay in the forest and covered the mountains. Intricate patterns of frost swirled over the windows each morning. The kidnapper had taken Lindy hours ago; she was alive but dressed in PJs and with nothing on her feet, she could die of exposure. “Drive.”
“From what I can see, the kidnapper’s holding Lindy in a disused cellar or old building.” Kane started the engine and turned onto the busy main street. “When you’re chasing down the people who visited the Rosens’ home, find out if they own any old properties.”
“There are hundreds of possibilities in town and in the forest. I’ll call Wolfe, then Maggie. I’ll ask her to make up a list of any possible places and we’ll search them first.” Jenna listened impatiently for Wolfe to pick up then brought him up to date. “How long will it take you to finish up? We need info on this video yesterday.”
“I’m on my way.”