“Go on.” Reese gave a nod. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Still shirtless, Cody turned and hurried to his truck, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Carilyn’s number as he ran.
The phone rang several times and the call went to voice mail. He tried again then jammed the phone back into its holster. The drive to the hotel took too long as far as he was concerned. He couldn’t get there fast enough. When he arrived, he brought the truck to a hard stop, parking haphazardly near the front entrance of the hotel and bolted inside. Instead of waiting for the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time to the second floor where their room was.
When he reached their room, he pounded on the door with one hand while digging in his pocket for the keycard. “Carilyn, it’s me,” he shouted. He pulled the keycard out of his pocket and swiped it in the card reader.
A loud click and the door unlocked, and Cody shoved the door open. He didn’t see her. He shouted her name and went into the bathroom. She wasn’t there. His heart pounded and he tried to calm his breathing. She could have gone down to the coffee shop and he just hadn’t seen her as he tore through the lobby.
Her purse and wallet were lying on the bed. He checked her wallet and saw that there wasn’t any cash in her wallet. Everything else looked undisturbed.
The new laptop she’d been working on when he’d left was open. He went to it and saw that a program was open and lines of code were rolling by. He wasn’t a computer techie so he wasn’t sure exactly what it was doing. It was probably the tracking program she’d said she’d be working with.
He’d worry about the program later. Right now he needed to find Carilyn. As he pulled on a clean T-shirt, he dialed her number again. He rushed out of the room and skipped the elevator again. He hurried down the stairs, burst out into the lobby and practically ran to the coffee shop.
A young barista with Dahlia on her nametag was at the cash register, and she looked up and smiled as Cody came in. Her smile faded into a look of concern when she saw his expression. “Can I help you?”
Cody went up to the counter. “Did you see a redheaded woman, about five-five, wearing jeans and a T-shirt?”
“Yes.” Dahlia didn’t hesitate. “She ordered coffee and a cheese Danish, but only took a bite out of the Danish and left her coffee behind when she left.”
His heart was pounding hard as he spoke. “Did you see where she went?”
“She left with some weird looking guy,” the barista said. “I would never have guessed that she’d be attracted to a man like him, but they walked out with his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t look happy. He did have a red mustache, though, so maybe they’re related.”
Cody tried to calm himself. “What did the man look like?”
Dahlia tilted her head to the side. “I’d say he’s around five-nine because he wasn’t much taller than me and I’m five-seven. He wore a funny felt hat and a tweed jacket with leather on the elbows, and a white T-shirt under that. I didn’t see his eyes.”
“Anything else you can think of?” he asked, his whole body vibrating. “Was he wearing a ring?”
“Yeah.” She screwed up her face, clearly thinking about it. “I noticed it because the stone was such a pretty blue. It looked like silver snakes or something around the stone.”
Cody’s blood had gone colder with ever word she spoke. “Did you see which way they went?”
“All I saw was them walking out the door to the left. So they either went to the elevators or out the back exit.” Dahlia was frowning. “Is something wrong?”
Cody’s body was as tight as piano wire. “How long ago did they leave?”
Dahlia thought about it a moment. “I’d say close to an hour.”
Cody bolted out of the coffee shop and headed toward the back exit, pulling his cell phone out of its holster as he ran. He pressed the speed dial number for Reese and held the phone up to his ear. “He’s got her,” he said as soon as Reese answered.
“What happened?” Reese asked in an urgent tone.
Cody explained all that he knew and gave the man’s description as he burst out the back exit into the warm sunlight. He hadn’t expected to see anyone, but he’d had to look.
“She left a tracking program running in the hotel room,” Cody said. “Maybe one of your computer guys can see if it managed to find the bastard.”
“Right away,” Reese said, his voice sounding grim. “I’m at the hospital but as soon as they get my fingers, what’s left of them, taken care of, I’ll be right there. In the meantime I’m sending my guys to the hotel and we’ll put out an APB.”
After Reese disconnected the call, Cody stood in the back parking lot and dragged his hand down his face. His whole body felt cold and his heart pounded a mile a minute. He turned and headed back into the hotel, back to his and Carilyn’s room to look for more clues while he waited for the police.
A sick feeling made his gut feel like it was weighted by a boulder. Firebug had taken Carilyn, the one woman he loved more than anything in this world.
So help him, when Cody got hold of the bastard, he was going to rip him apart. And if anything happened to Carilyn, Firebug was as good as dead.
* * * * *
Carilyn’s entire body felt numb as she slouched in the chair against the ropes. Had Cody or anyone else died from the explosion that Firebug had set off? She had no doubt that he had triggered a bomb, no doubt at all.
The rage he had shown, his inhuman screams, had scared her even more than she’d already been. When he’d punched in the phone number for the bomb, her own rage had magnified, but there had been nothing she could do about that but scream behind her gag.
The sound of her phone ringing in her pocket broke the silence and she listened to it helplessly. It had been ringing regularly ever since Firebug had left. She wondered if it were Cody. Prayed it was him, which meant he’d made it and hadn’t died in the explosion.
When the phone stopped ringing, she leaned back in the chair, doing her best to swallow the spit that pooled in her mouth behind the gag. Firebug had left through the front what seemed like hours ago. She’d heard the car starting, had heard the crunch of stone beneath tires, and then there was nothing once the sound of the motor had faded. She wondered what he was going to do. Torch the cabin with her in it?
With a shudder, she looked around the cabin yet again. It was a simple place with a great room that was living room, kitchen, and dining area. There were two doors leading from the room—four if you counted the front and rear doors. She assumed the other two led to a bedroom and a bathroom.
On the fireplace mantel was a picture of a large family as well as pictures of children and adults. She wondered if they were related to Firebug, or if he’d picked out a random spot to bring his victims to play with them, or had selected this spot in which to kill her.
In one corner she saw what looked like supplies someone might use to make bombs or something. She’d watched a show on TV where they used lots of C-4 to blow stuff up, and she guessed that’s what those clay-like blocks were. There were also wires, a couple of cell phones, and tools, including a pair of pliers, and two duffel bags.
She tried to wriggle in the ropes yet again, hoping for some kind of give, but he had bound her far too tightly. He’d also left the zip ties on her wrists and ankles, and she knew there was no way she’d get out of those. Still she’d squirmed and wriggled, chafing her wrists. Somehow she’d have to convince him to take them off and she was willing to bet there was no chance in hell that he was going to do that.
The sound of an engine met her ears and she perked up. It sounded more like a car than a truck. As it came closer she fantasized that it was someone who could help her. Maybe the owners had returned or somehow Cody had found her. She had to hold out hope.
Rock crunched beneath tires again as the vehicle approached, then the engine was cut and all went quiet. Moments later the front door to the cabin opened and Firebug came in, and her hopes vanished.<
br />
He slammed the door behind him with one hand. In his other he had a water bottle that he drank from. The bottle slipped from his hands and bounced on the floor, water spilling over the chalk line he’d drawn. He frowned and picked up the bottle before setting it aside.
The man put his hands on his hips again as he stared at her. The fury he’d exploded with earlier seemed to be gone and he had what might be considered to be a pleasant expression on his face. Pleasant if he wasn’t such a sicko and if she didn’t hate him so much.
“Comfortable?” he asked almost jovially. He gave a sick smile. “I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Nathan. I’m going to have fun with you.”
The anxiety crawling up inside her like clawed hands was sky-high. Her stomach turned even queasier than it had been. She tried to focus her oncoming panic attack and turn it into anger. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. There was nothing else she could do considering she was gagged and bound.
“Sorry to leave you so long, but it was time to visit my mother.” He went to her and she fought to keep from shrinking back as he reached for her. She put every bit of hate she felt into her glare. He reached behind her and untied the gag before tossing it on the floor. “She gets upset if I don’t visit her regularly.”
Her jaws felt sore as she clenched her teeth and looked at him.
“Not so perky now, are you?” he said with an amused look. “I’ve got you where I want you.”
“Let me go.” She croaked the words.
His mouth split into a grin. “Yeah, right. And I’ll order a limo to take you to your door with a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a dozen red roses while I’m at it.”
Her face flushed at his sarcasm and she clenched her hands into fists, wishing she were free so that she could lunge at him and claw his eyes out.
“Oh, let’s see.” He went to the duffel bags and pulled out a pink box. “Yes, we’ll start with this.”
Her skin went from hot to cold as she saw that the box was about the same size as one that a Barbie would come in. He busied himself opening the box and eventually pulled out a redheaded doll.
Her heart pounded in her throat as he brought the doll to her and set it on the arm of the chair that she was sitting in, so that it was beside her.
“What are you going to do?” Her voice trembled. She’d asked even though she was sure she knew, but he ignored her question anyway.
“You’re just as superficial as this doll, aren’t you?” He had a hard edge to his voice and a nasty look on his face. “Too good for someone like me.”
She barely heard him as she stared at the doll, horror filling her. In the video with the woman he’d set on fire, there had been a Barbie next to her. Carilyn’s stomach churned. Was he going to burn her along with the doll, too?
Nathan returned to the pile of bomb stuff and opened the other duffel. He brought out another box, smaller this time. When he turned to face her, her stomach dropped. It was a box of matches.
He took a match out and struck it on the side of the box. The match burst into flame.
***
Chapter 25
Arnie, the computer forensics tech, examined Carilyn’s laptop as Cody talked with Reese in Cody and Carilyn’s hotel room. They’d just searched the room for anything that could be a clue to Carilyn’s whereabouts, but it looked like all they had was the barista’s description and Carilyn’s laptop.
Reese’s hand was bandaged and spots of blood had appeared where his fingers should be. If he felt pain, he didn’t show it. His partner, Detective Petrova, had been ordered to take time off because of the severity of her concussion and the wound to her head. According to Reese, she’d fought with the captain over it, but in the end lost the battle.
“There’s got to be some place that we can start.” Cody dragged his hand down his stubbled jaws. “The longer it is until we find Carilyn, the greater the chance that we’re not going to find her alive.”
“We’re working on it,” Reese said, looking grim.
Cody wanted to tear something apart, anything. He wished Firebug were here so that he could let the bastard have it.
“We’ve got something.” Arnie set a cell phone down on the desk and motioned Cody and Reese over.
Cody’s heart rate jumped as he strode to where Arnie sat. “Whatever this program is, it’s powerful,” Arnie said like an excited kid with a new toy. “Unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It gave me exactly what I needed.”
“Get on with it.” Cody couldn’t help the gruffness in his voice.
“This Firebug guy hid his tracks so well that it’s just amazing that this program got to him,” Arnie said.
“Just tell us what you found,” Reese said, sounding as impatient as Cody.
“Got his IP address.” Arnie handed Reese a piece of paper with a number on it. The name Nathan Morris and a Prescott address to a nearby apartment complex were on the paper.
“You got all this from that program?” Reese asked.
Arnie shook his head. “Had to do a little digging of my own and make some calls too, but I’m ninety percent sure this is your man.”
“Ninety is good enough for me.” Cody started toward the door.
“Good job, Arnie,” Reese said over his shoulder as he followed Cody. “Now check out that other ten percent.”
Arnie saluted. “You’ve got it, Detective.”
Cody looked at Reese who was grimacing as they headed out the door. “Sure you’re okay to go anywhere with the injury to your hand?” Cody asked.
“Think I’m going to let you go after this guy without me?” Reese scowled. “No way in hell.” He took out his cell phone and called for backup, giving the suspect’s name, the description the barista had given Cody, and the physical address.
Fortunately it was a relatively close apartment complex, so it took little time to reach it. Cody wanted to go straight to the apartment and beat down the door, but Reese held him back until backup had arrived, which included John.
When everything was ready, Reese, Cody, and the officers went to the apartment. Reese banged on the door. “Police. Open up.”
No answer. Reese banged on the door and called out again. Still no answer. He nodded to a pair of officers holding a battering ram. It took two attempts to break in the door. Wood splintered and the door swung open, now partially unhinged.
Reese and the officers cleared the small apartment. When they’d confirmed no one was there, Cody joined Reese in looking through the area.
“Sonofabitch.” Cody looked at a bank of monitors. One screen had Leigh’s house in view and another was on the hotel that Cody and Carilyn were staying in. He recognized the homes of Firebug’s other fire victims on screens as well.
“Look at this, Cody.” Reese’s jaw was set in a firm line as Cody looked at him.
He moved to Reese’s side and saw what he was looking at. “Holy shit,” Cody said, his gut clenching. It was a scrapbook filled with pictures of the arsonist’s victims, their homes or places of businesses on fire, surveillance photos, and newspaper articles. There were multiple surveillance pictures of Carilyn, her burning car, as well as the photo of Carilyn, Leigh, and their friend that had been taken from Leigh’s house.
“We found these.” John McBride brought in three duffel bags from the bedroom and showed Reese and Cody the contents. One had several boxes with Barbies in it, another contained glass wool tubes, and a third looked like it had enough C-4 to blow up half of Prescott.
They continued to search the place for clues as to where Firebug might have taken Carilyn, but they found nothing.
Cody looked at Reese. “If her cell phone’s on, we could track her.”
Reese blew out his breath. “With a warrant.”
Cody clenched his hands into fists. “We don’t have time for that.” His mind raced. How could he track her? Then it occurred to him. Carilyn’s ex-boyfriend had tracked her using the Find My iPhone app. He just needed to locate him. What was his name?
Sam…Sam… “Sam Anthony,” Cody said out loud.
“Who?” Reese said with a questioning look.
“I think I know how we can do it,” Cody said in a rush. He explained how Carilyn’s ex-boyfriend had tracked her down. “I hope to God he’s still in town. He said he was staying at the Best Western.”
Cody pulled his phone out of its holster and called information. He didn’t have time to look it up on the Internet on his phone. He was connected to the hotel right away and he asked for Sam’s room.
A man answered on the second ring. “Sam Anthony?” Cody asked.
“Yeah.” Sam sounded wary. “Who’s this?”
“Cody McBride.” His heart was beating faster. “I don’t have time to explain but I’ve got to find Carilyn and I’d like to track her with the app that you found her with. It’s an emergency.”
“Why?” Sam’s voice was instantly filled with concern. “What’s going on? What happened to her?”
Cody started walking toward the door and gave a nod for Reese to follow him. “She’s missing.”
“Missing?” Sam repeated. “Explain.”
“I’m on the way to your hotel with the police,” Cody said as he and Reese hurried to the stairwell and through the door. “We think she’s been kidnapped.”
“Oh, my God,” Sam said. “I’ll meet you outside the front entrance.”
“We’ll be right there,” Cody said and disconnected the call.
Cody and Reese rushed to his car. Reese put on the flashers and siren on his unmarked vehicle and they tore through the streets to the hotel. The Best Western was within minutes of the hotel that Cody and Carilyn were staying in.
Sam was waiting outside like he’d said.
“We’ll take your phone,” Cody said as he rolled down the window and Sam hurried to the car.
“I’m going with you.” Sam jerked open the rear door before Cody could reply.
“Stay in the car when we get there.” Reese spun out of the parking lot. Clearly Reese felt they didn’t have time to argue. “Give your phone to Cody.”
Cody took the phone and examined the location. “Damn. The sonofabitch has her in the Bradshaws.”
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