by Kim McMahill
Checking each bathroom stall and shower stall, Nick froze.
“What is it?” Devyn asked.
“She was here.” Nick picked up Morgan’s purse and clothes. Checking her purse and then her pockets, he found her cell phone. “Where did you two park?”
“Just at the end of the row outside this door.”
Nick rushed out of the break room and pushed through the exit, setting off alarms since he hadn’t swiped an employee card, with Devyn at his heels.
“It’s gone,” Devyn gasped as she caught up to him.
For a moment, both agents stood, not speaking, staring at the empty spot where Morgan had parked her car earlier that morning.
Devyn wasn’t sure what to say, but thought she should offer something. As she opened her mouth to speak, Nick held up his hand, silencing her.
They listened for a moment, honing in on the sound of a dull thud nearby. They isolated the sound coming from the trunk of a parked car.
“Tanner, send someone out to the parking garage with a crowbar immediately, and have this license plate run so we know who this car belongs to,” Nick ordered into the tiny mic pinned to his lapel.
He provided Agent Tanner with the car’s license plate number, and within moments, two security guards arrived with a crowbar. “Whoever’s in there, we’re FBI. We’re going to pop the trunk, so watch yourself,” Nick stated.
The pounding stopped, and he nodded to the man holding the crowbar. With one firm push on the crowbar, the trunk popped open. The half-naked woman staring back at them was not Morgan.
Nick turned his back, disappointed not to find Morgan, but glad the woman appeared uninjured. He stepped away from the group and briefed Tanner.
Devyn gently pulled the tape off the terrified woman’s mouth.
“Are you okay? Anything broken?”
The woman assured them she was unharmed, so they helped her out of the trunk and cut her bindings. By the time she was freed, two more hospital staff arrived with a blanket and a wheelchair.
“Just a second,” Devyn said interrupting the hospital workers fussing over their co-worker. “Did you see who did this to you?”
“Yes. It was a woman. She seemed to come out of nowhere and knocked me out before I knew what hit me. I woke up in the trunk, bound, and without my clothes and ID.”
“Is this her?” Devyn asked as she held up her phone with a picture of Candace.
The woman studied the image for a moment. “Her hair was more my color, but yes, I think this is the same woman.”
“Devyn, stay with her and see if she knows anything else and then tie in with Tanner. He’s checking the hospital’s garage and exterior cameras. Work with him and his team sorting through traffic cams until we find her. He’s already put an APB on Morgan’s car.”
“Where are you going?” Devyn asked.
“To find her.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Sofia directed Morgan to the abandoned warehouse she had previously scoped out. She had chosen it not only for its location away from any street cameras she could locate, but because it also had a garage bay. Pulling Morgan’s car inside, she quickly went to work.
“Put this t-shirt on,” Sofia demanded.
Morgan complied.
“Sit. Put your hands behind the back of the chair.”
Morgan obeyed and was surprised by the speed in which the woman secured her hands with a plastic zip-tie.
“What do you want from me?”
Silence.
Morgan hated the silence. “Does this have to do with Giant Cactus Foods and Aaron?”
The mention of Aaron’s name made the woman pause. She looked up and Morgan wasn’t sure what she was seeing in the woman’s eyes. There was definitely recognition, and maybe even pain.
“I just needed you to get me off the hospital grounds, and now, you will help me get out of the city. If you cooperate, I may let you live. No more talk.”
“Did you kill Aaron?” Morgan wasn’t sure why she asked the question. She didn’t even know if Aaron was dead, but she assumed that was what created the chaos Devyn responded to as she left.
The backhanded slap came so hard and fast, Morgan didn’t have the opportunity to brace herself for the blow. The force toppled the chair, slamming Morgan hard to the concrete floor. She lay on her side, cheek plastered against the greasy, dirt-covered floor, rodent excrement only inches from her nostrils.
“Another word, and you’ll get a piece of this across your mouth,” the woman said as she shook the roll of duct tape clenched in her fist.
Morgan remained still, trying to block out the pain. Her nose bled, but she feared if she inhaled to stop the outpouring, she’d breath in rat droppings, so she tried to keep her breathing as shallow as possible. She spotted a live rat studying her from behind a crate and prayed the animal would keep its distance.
The woman changed into jeans and a collared, short-sleeve shirt. Next, the woman removed the license plates on Morgan’s car and replaced them with Nevada plates. In the car’s back window, she affixed a basic cat decal along with three paw prints suggesting the car owner had three cats at home. Picking up an iron rod from the floor, the woman battered the front fender of Morgan’s car, causing multiple large dents.
Morgan cringed each time the rod connected with her new luxury cross-over. It could be fixed if she lived, and if she didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. If Nick realized she was gone, the authorities would be looking for her car, but would they recognize a dented-up car with cat decals in the back window and Nevada plates?
The woman righted Morgan’s chair and held a bottle of water to her lips. “Drink up. This will be your last chance for a while.”
Morgan obeyed. Moments later, the bottle was taken away and the woman slapped a strip of tape across her mouth. She now struggled to breathe with her mouth taped and one nostril plugged with dried blood. As she fought to take in oxygen, the woman bound her ankles.
“Stand up.”
Morgan complied, and the woman slid the back of the chair through her arms, freeing her from the splintered piece of furniture.
Morgan stood still, fearing losing her balance. With her ankles bound together, the slightest movement would drop her back to the concrete.
She watched as the woman pulled a heavy blanket out of her duffle and spread it over the floor.
“Sorry about this.”
As Morgan tried to make sense of the apology, an elbow came down hard behind her neck and all went black.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Nick felt like he was on some bizarre scavenger hunt. Even though Devyn, Agent Tanner, and other resources from the FBI field office were working fast, Nick was frustrated that Morgan was still missing.
Agents and the best information technology experts in the area poured over camera and satellite footage to identify the route Morgan’s car took as it left the hospital. The process was slow and agonizing for Nick as he feared for her safety.
The team would pick Morgan’s car up on a street camera and Nick would drive to the location and follow the lead as far as he could. Whenever the route divided and there were multiple options, he’d have to pull over and wait until they could find her again. They would have to isolate cameras in all possible directions and analyze footage until they could determine which way she went. He knew it wasn’t the best plan, but he couldn’t just sit in front of a panel of monitors while Morgan was somewhere out there in danger.
Nick tried to make sense of the route. It seemed to be leading him into the industrial part of the city. The area brimmed with abandoned or infrequently used warehouses, which would make it easy for Candace, Janice, or whoever she was, to hide Morgan’s car.
The number of man-hours it would take to search the buildings was staggering. Not only would it be time consuming to search all possible buildings in the vicinity, but it might not be the right path. The area where the clues seemed to be leading him was also close to interstate access. She could
be hidden in one of the buildings or already on the interstate, heading anywhere. Neither option was good.
“What do you have?” he asked Devyn as he answered the incoming call.
“We lost them in the industrial area about three blocks from your current location. There are no street cams in the area. The tech guys are investigating the possibility of accessing satellite images, but so far, they haven’t been able to find satellites that would have been over the area at the time Morgan’s car might have entered the neighborhood.”
“Like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Nick sighed.
“With the computers these guys are using, they can search mountains of data in minutes. It’s not as hopeless as it sounds.”
Nick got out of his car and leaned on the hood. He scanned the area in all directions. There wasn’t a lot of traffic since it was an industrial district, but that also meant there wouldn’t be many witnesses. The chances anyone would remember seeing a black car with two women in it was slim.
“Did the nurse happen to remember Candace saying anything that might give us a clue as to her next move?” Nick asked.
“No. It happened quickly and apparently, Candace didn’t chit chat.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“I’m on my way to you with Tanner and four additional units. The rest of the team is putting together a list of unused or abandoned buildings in the area. I guess we’ll have to do a building-to-building search unless we catch a break and can locate her car leaving the area. If we don’t find the vehicle leaving the area, maybe that means she’s still there nearby.”
Or it could mean that Candace ditched Morgan’s car and they’re now driving something else, Nick thought.
“I hope you’re right, because if she’s already left the city, we’re screwed,” Nick mumbled.
“We’ll find her.”
Nick wished he had the confidence Devyn had. He’d lost Morgan once, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again. He prayed he’d get the chance to tell her how he felt and beg for the opportunity to start over.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Sofia rolled the unconscious woman up in the blanket she had spread on the ground and dragged her to the back of the vehicle. Popping the hatch, she knelt down and wrapped her arms around the bundle. Normally, she’d have no problem lifting this much weight, but dead weight was always more challenging.
Struggling, she finally got Morgan’s limp body into the back of the car. She adjusted her head to the side and pulled the blanket down past her nose to allow her to breath. Sofia slammed the hatch and looked closely at the car. The windows were tinted enough that she doubted anyone would be able to see inside.
Satisfied with the changes to the car, Sofia quickly donned a long, dark brown, wavy wig and sunglasses. She changed her clothes, glad to be rid of Candace Rogers and her brief stint as a nurse.
After making one more phone call, she scanned the old building to make sure she had left nothing behind that might clue someone in to her presence, or worse, her identity. If she found no evidence, neither would anyone else. Backing out of the warehouse, she closed the door and looked around. She spied no potential witnesses, so got in the car and left the area.
As she neared the on-ramp to the interstate, she passed two police cars headed in the direction of the hospital, but neither appeared to give her a second glance. Hopefully, no one would be looking for a dented car with Nevada plates.
Sofia glanced at her watch. She had plenty of time to make it to her rendezvous point. Slowing her speed, she kept a constant vigil on traffic to make sure no one paid her any notice, and she especially didn’t want to get pulled over for speeding.
Despite trying to focus on the immediate need of escaping the area undetected, she couldn’t quite keep her mind from wandering back to Aaron. He had trusted her and she had betrayed him. She tried to convince herself it was for the best. Aaron would have rather died than go to prison. He had told her that on more than one occasion as she tried to teach him how to avoid arrest. Apparently, she had failed in that instruction as well.
Phoenix faded slowly from view as she headed west on I-10. After about forty minutes, she positioned her car between two semis with their blinkers on. She exited the interstate and followed the rigs into a busy truck stop.
She located a spot away from the building to avoid cameras, where Morgan’s car would be obscured between two parked, driverless semi-trucks. She parked and waited. Three minutes elapsed before she spotted a hunter-green pickup pull into the lot. She watched as it stopped several cars away.
Using a handkerchief, she wiped down all the surfaces in the vehicle the best she could. Even if her prints were found, she had never been arrested, so hers weren’t in any law enforcement database. But if she were ever caught for something else, the prints could tie her to Arizona. She exited the car, leaving the keys in the ignition, hoping the car would be stolen.
As she reached the rear of the vehicle, a man with a scruffy beard, grease-stained jeans, and a faded t-shirt emerged from the green truck and joined her. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, but she had no difficulty recognizing him from their long association with Coterie. When he cleaned up, he was a very handsome man who exuded charm and sophistication, but generally, he chose his current unapproachable and slightly dangerous look.
“I took a hostage to ensure I got out of the hospital, the parking area, and eventually out of the city. Besides, I needed a different vehicle. The one Preston procured for me was junk and probably would have broken down on the interstate, and its trunk held a woman I didn’t have time to deal with. Thankfully, I didn’t need a bargaining chip after all and avoided authorities with no issue. See if you can get into that truck.”
The man picked the lock on one of the semi’s trailer with the speed and precision of a professional. As Sofia stood as lookout, he transferred Morgan’s body into the trailer filled nearly to capacity with new televisions. He secured the lock, and then he and Sofia made their way quickly to his waiting pickup.
Sofia slid into the passenger side and remained silent until the man got in, started the truck, and drove away from the truck stop.
“Where are we heading, Max?”
“I’m flying you to Texas. J.R. will meet us when we land. From there, I don’t know, and I always find it best not to ask.”
Sofia’s stomach did a little flip. She had flown in Max’s plane before, but she wasn’t terribly fond of small aircraft. He was a good pilot, but it still didn’t ease her apprehension.
“J.R. said you did your best at damage control, but we’re now a member short.”
“I guess you could say that,” Sofia mumbled.
“What? Surely you’re not sad to see him go? Preston was weak, and he’d become a liability. His cost-cutting measures to increase his profits nearly cost us all.”
She hated being judged by someone who, to her knowledge, had never gotten his hands any dirtier than orchestrating a hasty departure for members in a hurry. “Aaron got caught and had to be eliminated.”
“Ouch, that’s a tough one. I know you had a special investment in him, and you weren’t very happy when J.R. reassigned him to Preston. I think J.R. might have been a little jealous of your relationship, anyway, so Aaron wasn’t long for this world.”
Sofia felt sick. Her emotions were all over the map. She was devastated about losing Aaron, surprised that J.R. would be jealous of anyone in her life, and furious with him for putting her in such a horrible position.
Was he testing my loyalty?
Her mind reeled. If she were smart, she would try to get away. To do so, she would have to disappear, which would mean leaving her foundation and the life she had built from nothing.
“You should be flattered that J.R. takes such an interest in your personal life.”
She had no intention of discussing anything to do with J.R., her personal life, or anything else that happened in Phoenix. “So how’s the stock portfoli
o?” she asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to you and Coterie. It’s nice having friends in the right places.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re friends.”
“I’d rethink that if I were you, lady. You may need all the friends you can get.”
Before Sofia could ask Max what he meant, he pulled up near his Cessna, slammed the truck into park, and got out. She watched him stalk to his plane and begin going through his pre-flight procedures.
Maybe she shouldn’t have insulted him, but she was in no mood to play nice. What had started out as a coalition of like-minded business people working together for a common goal, and a little tactical maneuvering here and there to ensure the markets played out to their advantage, had become increasingly dangerous.
She knew J.R. thrived on playing with fire, and the rest of the group benefitted greatly from the game, but she had paid the steepest price. She felt J.R. tightening the noose around her neck and her freedom slipping through her fingers.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
Morgan woke to pitch black. Not only were her hands and ankles bound, and her mouth taped shut, but she was also cocooned in a thick wool blanket. The bouncing told her she was in a vehicle, but she was clearly no longer in the back of her car.
Fear coursed through her veins as she struggled to understand where she was and what had happened. She wanted to take a deep breath to help calm her nerves, but with one nostril filled with dried blood and her mouth taped, it was difficult to breathe at all.
Forcing herself not to panic, she sucked in tiny bursts of air through her one open nostril until she was confident she wouldn’t suffocate. She wiggled her toes and fingers to try and get the blood flowing and the tingling to subside.
As the fog slowly cleared from her mind, she wondered how long she had been out. The last thing she remembered was trying to stand and keep her balance so that she wouldn’t fall on the floor of that filthy warehouse. Now, she was here, but where was here?