Kidnapping Cold Case, page 8
“There’s no sign of him,” Cash muttered. “I wish I could take off after him. I don’t want this guy to escape justice!”
She reached out to grab the edge of his jacket. “Don’t leave me here.”
“I won’t.” He gave her a quick, reassuring smile, before turning back to peer at the ridge. “But it’s beyond frustrating to know he’ll get away with this.”
Frustration was putting it mildly. This guy had tried to neutralize Cash with a tranquilizer gun, twice. It was difficult to comprehend how they’d managed to get away.
Unless Cash was right about God watching over them. Humbling to realize it was the only explanation she could come up with for how the dart had gotten stuck within his leather jacket rather than going into his shoulder.
“I don’t see any movement along the ridge, do you?” Cash asked.
“No.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sure he’s long gone.”
“Yeah.” Cash’s tone rang with disgust. He turned to look at her. “This is my fault, Jacy. I should have anticipated the assailant would stake out the ravine.”
“It’s not your fault, Cash. There’s no way we could have known this would happen.”
“Yeah, but the fact that you escaped the assailant ten years ago, ending up right here, is key.” He turned to stare at the ridge again then reached up and took the dart out of the tree, putting it in his pocket with the other one. “I’m more convinced than ever that the assailant who took you ten years ago is the same one coming after you now.”
The same assailant. She didn’t want to believe it, but the way this guy had showed up here, where it all started, was impossible to ignore.
The sound of police sirens filled the night air. The hour wasn’t late, but the darkness made it feel as if it was after midnight.
When they could see the red and blue lights flashing over the top of the ridge, Cash rose to his feet. He gave her a hand up and then surprised her by pulling her tightly against him.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered against her hair.
“Ditto,” she managed to sigh, burying her face against his neck.
They clung to each other for a long moment. She didn’t want to let him go, but knew the cops were there, searching for them.
She lifted her head to look up at him. They stared at each other for a long moment, but while she anticipated his kiss, he turned away. She swallowed the stab of disappointment.
“Here,” Cash shouted, turning to walk toward the hill. He kept his arm around her waist. “We’re here!”
Two officers appeared up top, the beams from their flashlights raking over them. “Detective Rawson?”
“Yeah. And this is Jacy Urban.” He turned to her. “Do you think you can get back up to the top?”
“Yes.” She hugged him then stepped away to begin the climb.
Going up wasn’t nearly as easy as falling down. The damp earth from areas of melted snow made her slip several times.
When she finally got near the top, the police officer closest to her helped pull her the rest of the way. The other cop did the same with Cash.
“What happened?” The officer raked his scrutiny over their muddy clothes. “Did you fall down the hill?”
“We were shot at twice by a perp with a tranquilizer gun.” Cash pulled the two darts from his coat pocket. “Thankfully, neither of us was drugged by whatever is inside these darts.”
The two officers looked at each other in surprise. “I never heard of anyone being shot with a tranq gun,” one said.
“Here, let’s take those as evidence.” The other officer tucked the flashlight under his arm to pull out an evidence bag. Cash dropped the darts inside. “Sorry, I had to handle them.”
“It’s fine, we’ll get them tested at the lab.” The cop tucked the evidence bag away. “I don’t suppose either of you got a good look at the perp?”
“No. I took a shot at him, though.” Cash held out his hand for the flashlight. The officer handed it over and he aimed the light along the top of the ridge. He walked the entire area then heaved a sigh. “There’s no blood trail. I must have missed.”
“Hey, we’ll get something off the darts,” the officer assured him.
“Yeah, maybe.” Cash didn’t look convinced. She understood his concern. So far, the assailant had been wearing gloves during every attack. No reason to think tonight’s attempt was any different.
“We’d like you to come down to the station to give a statement.” The officers stood side by side. “We can give you a lift if you’d like.”
Cash glanced at her and gestured toward the SUV. “If you don’t mind, we’ll use our own vehicle.”
“Okay.” The officers turned away.
Cash took her hand as they made their way to the SUV. When they reached it, he abruptly stopped and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” The SUV looked fine to her.
He dragged his hand through his hair. “We’ll need to swap rides again. I can’t risk this guy having our license plate number.”
“Maybe we should ride with the cops.”
He shook his head. “I doubt the assailant is anywhere nearby. He’s long gone by now. But once we’re finished giving our statements, we’ll need a different set of wheels.”
“Okay.” She pulled open the passenger’s-side door, feeling exhausted. The aches and pains from tumbling down the hill were minor compared to the feeling of despair that threatened to overwhelm her.
No matter how hard she tried, her memory remained stubbornly blocked. Jacy had very little hope of remembering anything that would help put this guy behind bars.
And save the lives of the missing teenagers.
* * *
Guilt rode his back like an angry gorilla. Cash knew he shouldn’t have underestimated the assailant, but he had mistakenly believed the assailant was still back in Appleton.
Not waiting for them here in Madison, at the scene of the original crime.
Giving their statements to one of his colleagues, Detective Hank Singleton, didn’t take long. When they finished, Cash was able to convince an officer to give them a ride to their motel, using the back door of the precinct to avoid being followed. It was too late to get another rental vehicle. And from the way Jacy was shivering in her damp clothes, a hot shower was more important.
“I’m going to order a pizza,” he said when they were back at the motel. “Anything in particular you don’t like?”
“I’m fine with everything except anchovies.” She looked pale and fragile in the dim light.
“I can work with that,” he assured her. He watched as she disappeared into her room then turned to put in the order. When that was finished, he took a quick shower, too. Changing into clean and dry clothes felt wonderful.
While he waited for Jacy and their pizza, he opened the laptop. He’d found George Voight’s address and his location using a map app. Tonight had been a colossal failure, but he was determined to keep pushing forward.
Giving up wasn’t an option.
The pizza arrived fifteen minutes later. Cash paid the kid, adding a nice tip, and set the pizza on the table. There was no sound from Jacy’s room, so he tentatively approached the connecting door.
“Jacy?” He rapped on the frame.
No answer.
“Are you okay?” He took a quick peek inside, but the room was empty. A flash of panic hit hard, until he noticed the bathroom door was closed.
Her sketch pad was on the bed, but her overnight bag was missing. She’d probably taken it into the bathroom with her.
He’d turned to head back to his room when the partially finished sketch caught his eye. He stepped closer, his eyes widening in surprise when he realized Jacy had sketched him.
She’d made him look more handsome than he was; he knew his nose was too prominent and his hair a little too long and scruffy. But he was impressed by her skill just the same.
The bathroom door opened, startling him. He hastened toward the connecting door. “Sorry,” he called. “Didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”
“No worries, I’m decent.”
He glanced over his shoulder in time to see her drop her bag on the bed. She flushed when she realized he’d seen her drawing.
“You do amazing work, Jacy.”
“I was just practicing.” She brushed off his compliment, even though clearly her job of sketching bad guys had resulted in several arrests. “Is the pizza here?”
“Yep, please come join me.” He gestured for her to follow him into the room.
“Oh, I’m glad you got some bottled water, too.” She reached for one, twisted off the cap and took a long drink. “Thank you.”
She shouldn’t be thanking him for almost getting her killed. Once they were seated, he reached for her hand. “We need to thank God for keeping us safe, tonight.”
“Yes, we do,” she agreed.
“Dear Lord, we thank You for providing us safety tonight against those who seek to do us harm. We also ask that You continue to watch over the missing girls, Claire and Suzanna. Please provide us the strength and wisdom we need to find them, in Jesus’s name, Amen.”
“Amen,” she whispered. “Oh, Cash, I really wish we could find those poor girls.”
“Me, too.” Thinking of the two teenage girls put a damper on his appetite, but he did his best to dig into the pizza, knowing he needed the sustenance to keep Jacy safe.
A task he’d nearly failed at. If that dart had impaled his skin, he’d probably have fallen unconscious, leaving Jacy alone and vulnerable.
Exactly as the assailant had intended.
The pizza tasted like sawdust, but he chewed and swallowed, anyway. He was relieved to see Jacy was eating, too. This had been an incredibly long day, filled with danger from early this morning until tonight.
Despite his failures, they were safe now.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Jacy sighed.
“I’m sorry my memory hasn’t returned.” She frowned, adding, “I think it’s time to try hypnosis again.”
He eyed her thoughtfully. “That might help. Especially if you’re determined to break through your buried memories.”
“I have always wanted that,” she snapped. But her anger quickly faded. “You’re probably right about me subconsciously resisting the hypnosis. At the time, I was young and scared. I’d like to believe I’m older and wiser, now.”
“Hey, I don’t blame you, Jacy.” He patted her hand. “I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you.”
“But those other women...” Her voice trailed off. “I’m afraid they’re dead, Cash. And that hurts more than anything.”
He’d always suspected they were dead, but hadn’t wanted to put additional pressure on her by mentioning it. To his mind, the fact that Jacy had managed to get away had caused this guy to make sure the others he grabbed never did.
He was no psychologist, but the way the teenage girls all looked the same was definitely a big part of this perp’s MO. Cash didn’t doubt that this assailant was looking for a Jacy replacement.
And wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Jacy in his clutches again.
He cleared his throat, tearing himself from those grim thoughts. “We need to think positive, Jacy. To have hope that we’ll find them alive and unharmed.”
“I pray you’re right.” She stared down at her pizza for a long moment then lifted her green eyes to his. “We need to find someone to hypnotize me first thing in the morning. The more I think about it, I wish we had done that already.”
That might not be as easy as it sounded, but he nodded. “We’ll get a replacement vehicle then stop by to visit George Voight. Once those two things are done, we’ll find someone to do the hypnosis.”
“Good.” She gave a tiny nod. “I know you thought going over the scene would help, but it hasn’t. I think it’s time we take more drastic measures.”
He arched a brow. “We’re doing our best here. Let’s stay the course, okay?”
“That’s not good enough.” She jerked away from the table and turned to pace the room. “There has to be more we can do, Cash.” She shoved her hands through her hair.
“We’re going to find him.”
She whirled to face him. “I know that’s what you believe, but it’s not happening fast enough. Not when two young girls are missing. If we don’t stop him, he’ll keep coming after me, or worse, he’ll grab another girl!”
“Hey, don’t torture yourself over this.” He stood and crossed to her. “Please, Jacy, I know this has been a difficult day, but none of this is your fault.”
“Really? Then why does it feel like it’s my fault?” Her tormented gaze clung to his. “Why do I get the impression that if this guy had killed me ten years ago, these other women would be alive and living with their families, rather than missing with their whereabouts unknown?”
He pulled her into his arms. “You’re taking on way too much responsibility. None of this is your fault. You didn’t cause this guy’s obsession. You should know that most serial killers aren’t satisfied with only one victim. Even if you had died that night ten years ago, I highly doubt he’d have stopped.”
“I hate thinking I may have contributed to his obsession,” she whispered.
“You didn’t cause this,” he repeated, aching for her. “I know it’s hard not to take this situation personally, but his twisted mind is not your fault.”
She rested against him for a long moment. When she lifted her head, their eyes clung, the same way they had when they were out on the ridge.
He’d wanted so badly to kiss her, but hearing the cops coming toward them had been a distraction.
There was no such distraction now.
“Cash?” Jacy’s voice was low and husky. Then she reached up on her tippy toes and kissed him.
He instinctively pulled her closer, kissing her back, the way he’d longed to do since reconnecting with her. For a long moment, there was nothing but Jacy, but then she pulled away and stepped back.
“I—uh, sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She avoided his eyes. “I’m not hungry anymore. I should get some rest. Good night, Cash.”
“Jacy, wait...” But she was already across the room and through the connecting door.
He jammed his fingers through his hair, wondering if he’d come on too strong.
Or if she’d only kissed him out of gratitude, while he’d secretly longed for something more.
EIGHT
Kissing Cash was a big mistake. Jacy covered her heated cheeks with her hands, her gaze landing on the sketch she’d done of him. With an inward groan, she picked up the pad and flipped the pages to hide the image from view.
There was no point in thinking about Cash Rawson on a personal level. This weird closeness wasn’t normal. They had come to Madison to find the assailant who’d taken several teenage girls from their homes.
Falling for a handsome detective was out of the question. They had different lives, in different cities.
Once this guy was caught and arrested, their paths wouldn’t cross again.
Besides, Jacy was leery of dating another cop. True, Greg’s cheating didn’t mean other officers would, but after they’d broken up, she’d decided it would be better to find someone outside law enforcement to spend time with.
That, however, was a project for another day. Impossible to think of having a personal relationship when running from an assailant.
Jacy washed up then crawled into bed. But sleep didn’t come easily. The events of the day, the early morning smoke bomb and the near miss on the ridge replayed in her mind.
And now they needed to rent a different car. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering if she shouldn’t just use herself as bait to catch this guy.
After all, she was the one he wanted. Horrifying to see firsthand how this fiend would have hurt or killed Cash in his quest to get to her.
Her thoughts refused to settle, so she prayed for peace and rest. The next thing she knew, light filtered through the opening between the curtains.
The hours of sleep helped her to feel refreshed, although her muscles were still stiff and sore when she rolled out of the bed. Apparently tumbling down the hill to the bottom of the ravine had only added to her previous aches and pains.
A hot shower helped, as did a couple of ibuprofens. When she crossed over to the connecting door, she heard Cash speaking to someone. Curious, she pushed the door open to step inside.
His glance caught hers and his warm smile knocked her off balance.
Not that she’d ever been on balance around Cash.
“Thanks, Vargas. Keep us posted.” He lowered the phone and stood. “You look great.”
The compliment warmed her cheeks. “I—uh, it’s amazing what getting a few hours of sleep can do. What did Vargas want?”
“I called to fill him in on the incident last night at the ravine.” Cash grimaced. “I wanted to make sure he was in the loop on everything that’s been happening, since the attacks started in his jurisdiction. He was going to talk to Detective Hank Singleton, so they can compare notes on this guy. Maybe between the two of them, we’ll learn something new.”
“That would be good.” She eyed the leftover cold pizza. “Is that breakfast?”
He looked chagrined. “It works for me, and I still have chips, too, if you’re interested. But if you’d like real breakfast food, we can stop somewhere after we rent a replacement vehicle.”
She managed a wan smile as she sat beside him. “No need, cold pizza is fine. We shouldn’t waste food, anyway.”
“A woman after my own heart,” he teased. Then he took her hand in his. “Dear Lord, we thank You for keeping us safe in Your care. We ask that You bless this food we are about to eat and to continue guiding us on Your chosen path to the truth. Amen.”
