Shallow River

Amelia reported River missing, and I let my sergeant know my suspicions of who the Ghost Killer is and showed him the video of River being kidnapped. Finding River isn’t a solo job, I have several undercover cops patrolling every block in Shallow Hill, keeping themselves elusive. I’ve no idea how much Billy knows about my relationship with River, or if he knows we have one at all. The less Billy suspects about any cops coming for him, the more comfortable he’ll feel walking outside and showing his face around town.

I got a warrant, which allowed us to search any of Billy’s property. He owns one house in Shallow Hill under Benedict Davis. The house was completely barren, devoid of any signs that the house is being used. I’m sure he owns property under false alias’, but that does me no good when I don’t know the names he’s using.

Amar sits next to me, watching Hawk’s closely, waiting for Billy to appear. Amar showed up a few hours ago, walking into the restaurant himself, questioning the owner and eventually getting the stubborn man to admit Billy frequents the restaurant often, with only a single nod. He refused to say anything more than that, and Amar let him be for now.

After going through the surveillance at Ryan’s house again, we caught on one of the cameras a black SUV parked behind the house, where Billy eventually dragged River into. With a partial license plate, we were able to track down the car and confirm its registration to Benedict Davis. We tagged the make, model and license plate across the board. Anytime the street cams tag the car, we’ll get an immediate alert as to where and when.

“Mako?” Amar pushes. I glance at him for a second, before my eyes involuntarily slide back to Hawk’s.

“Barely,” I admit. Amar doesn’t say anything for a moment. I know he won’t berate me. Not when he’d be doing the same exact thing had his wife ever gotten kidnapped.

“He’s going to show up.” While I appreciate his encouraging words, they do nothing to make me feel better. I won’t be able to breathe properly until I have River in my arms, alive and safe. And if there’s one hair out of place on her pretty little head, I’m going to lose my shit.

“Am I going to be held accountable for what I do to him when I find him?” I ask. I’m not asking because I’m worried, nor is his answer going to change anything. I’m asking to get an idea where Amar’s head is.

He’s silent for a few moments. “As long as no one else is around… no. No, you won’t be.” If Amar were anything but a man in love, I don’t know if he’d feel the same way. I’ve never been more grateful for his wife in my entire life. “She’s going to be okay, man. She’s a tough girl.”

That, I know. River McAllister is perfectly capable of grabbing her prey by the throat and tearing them to pieces. She’s the strongest fucking person I know, and no matter what Billy puts her through, my girl will come out the other side stronger than before.

I drag my eyes to his, shooting him a brief look of gratitude before turning my focus back to Hawk’s. Right as I do, my phone buzzes in the cupholder next me. Snatching it up, I look to see that we got a hit. Billy’s car is down the road, heading towards Hawk’s. I angle the phone to Amar, showing him the alert. A slow, sinister smile builds on his face, matching the one on my face.

We got him.

“What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to wait until he leaves and then tail him.” Adrenaline releases into my bloodstream steadily. He’s here. And he’s going to lead me back to where I need to be. I’m so fucking close, I can taste the bloodshed on my tongue.

And fuck, does it taste sweet.

“HE’S LEAVING,” I SAY aloud, perking up from my hunched over position. Billy parked his car in the back, hidden away from street view. It took a few drive-by’s, but Amar and I managed to find a little alleyway to park in, close enough to get an unobscured view but far enough away that Billy shouldn’t notice us.

Billy revs his engine and takes off down the street. I wait until he makes a turn until I pull out behind him.

Eventually, Billy turns into a trailer park—Towner’s Park. The trailers are placed sporadically, each house sporting a different design of rust and rot in the paneling. Overgrown, brittle grass lick at the sides of the trailers, with more rusted items cluttering the beds of grass. Cars, trinkets, kid toys. Everything about this place looks rundown and beaten.

Five minutes. River was five minutes away from me this entire time.

Ahead of me, Billy speeds up and whips around a corner. Not wanting to seem ob

vious, I force myself to keep the same pace. Turns out, this park is more elaborate than I gave credit for. Once I turn down the road, Billy’s car is no longer in sight. Various roads and dead ends break off from the street.

“Fuck me,” I spit, stepping on the gas harder. I no longer care if Billy sees me coming. The last thing the fucker will see is my headlights before he turns into a mangled mess beneath my tires if I have it my way.

“Do you see him?” I bark, my voice nearly rising hysterically. My heart is pounding so hard, it’s all I can hear. I barely hear the words come out of Amar’s mouth.

“He can’t be too far. Turn here,” he directs.

I follow his directions a little too eagerly, jerking the car roughly to the left and squealing the tires. I speed past several homes, searching down every side road, desperate to find even a glimpse of Billy’s car. In the streets or parked by any of the homes. But his car has completely vanished. The tension in my body rises until all my body can process is unfiltered hysteria.

“FUCK!” I roar, banging my fist on my steering wheel several times, causing the car to swerve. Amar grabs my hand before I put my first through the wheel and engage the airbag or run us straight into a trailer. Whichever comes first. Straightening the car, I force myself to calm down as I take more turns, getting lost in the maze of this shitty ass trailer park.

“Turn here,” Amar says again, his voice barely penetrating the blood rushing through my ears. I follow his directions and will myself to calm down. Losing my shit isn’t going to find her any faster. I need to fucking focus.

I’m searching every yard and driveway, my eyes sweeping one side of the road while Amar inspects the other side. For another hundred feet, I don’t see anything. Just as I’m casting my eyes forward to see which way to turn, I notice off in the distance a lone, dilapidated house. It doesn’t look like it’s part of the trailer park, but it appears to be on the land. I see a car poking out from behind the house, but it’s not revealed enough for me to tell if it’s Billy’s car or not.

“Do you see that?” I ask. Amar directs his eyes towards where my finger is pointing.

“Let’s check it out.”