Abbott’s furry head pushed between his arm and body, demanding back in the driver’s seat. Zach glanced between the two animals in his care.
He was coming up on the cemetery now.
What the hell was he going to do with them when he got there?
Hannah’s skin was still crawling with the knowledge she was being watched by a psychopath as she hurried to find the silver Chevy parked on the side street. Seeing one in the distance, she hesitated. What if it was the wrong car?
The phone in her right hand vibrated again.
“You’re almost there. A few more steps. Get in.”
She used the key to unlock the door and slipped into the driver’s seat. Shutting the door behind her, she put the key in the ignition. “What next?”
“Sit there a few minutes. I’ll tell you when to start driving.”
She took a deep breath and glanced around. Where the hell was this guy?
“Are you wearing a wire?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“Do you have a weapon?”
“No, I don’t have anything.”
His voice was a quiet snarl. “If you’re lying, you’ll never see your friend alive again.”
The passenger car door suddenly jerked open and a man slid into the seat beside her, the scent of stale cigarette smoke assaulting her nostrils. A flash of the sun against silver drew her attention to the gun in his hand—aimed straight at her. The black leather gloves on his hands looked odd considering it was seasonably warm outside.
“Eyes on the road, Miss Dawson.”
She briefly risked a look at his face before turning her head and grasping the steering wheel with both hands. He was well dressed in a dark suit and tie with sunglasses covering his eyes and shielding most of his expression from her.
She didn’t recognize him from Adam.
“Start the car and drive.”
Swallowing, she did, moving into the line of traffic with much more ease than she would have expected. Several school buses had pulled up and were parked along the street around them, causing the road to become slightly congested.
“Where’s Sarah? How do I know she’s still alive?”
“Quiet.” His eyes were trained on the cars around them. He must have deduced they weren’t being followed because his shoulders relaxed, but he never lowered the gun. “We’re going to the bank to retrieve a certain precious jewel. Once it’s in my possession and I’m safely far away, I’ll tell you where to find your friend.”
“How do I know I can trust that?”
His breath blew through his nose as he made a sound of laughter. “Do you have a choice at this point?” His hand waved the gun slightly for emphasis.
Hannah’s fingers tightened around the wheel.
Try to find out as much as you can. Maybe you can at least leave clues for the police.
“You’re not Roglitz, are you?” She skimmed her glance quickly over him. “You’re too young.”
His lips twitched. “Please. You thought the old man had orchestrated this?” He chuckled. “Hardly. He was a decent teacher, but I was a much better student. He would have never made it this far if he was still alive.”
Then Alexandra had been telling the truth? Roglitz was dead? The medium had also warned her that the person after her was a dangerous man. A killer.
Keep him talking.
“Did you know Ellie?”
“What’s with the twenty questions? I told you to be quiet.”
“I’m sorry. I’m nervous. I talk a lot when I get nervous.”
“Don’t. I don’t like it.”
She sucked in a breath for courage. “What does it matter? You’re not going to let me live, are you?”
He didn’t answer right away. “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”
“I don’t believe you. I’ve seen you.” She darted another glance at him.
His smile practically engulfed his entire face, and she felt her insides cringe. He sounded amused when he finally responded. “You must think I’m incredibly stupid, if you think this is really my face.” He snorted. “Relax, Miss Dawson. Do as I tell you, and I’ll have no reason to harm you.”
Zach’s muscles were as tight as a coil as he struggled to keep his distance from the silver Chevy.
He’d been circling the cemetery, trying to get around the damn buses full of schoolchildren, when he’d seen Hannah duck into the unfamiliar car. He’d pulled over, watched, and nearly lost his cool when a man dressed in dark clothes had slipped into the seat beside her.
Costello whined, staring straight ahead, focused on the silver Chevy, too. The dog had seen Hannah first. That ear-piercing whine had alerted Zach to her proximity, as had the dog’s pathetic inner turmoil as he’d scrambled to get her attention. I’m here! Oh, I love you so much! Where are you going? I’m right here! Pleaaase!
“Are you still on their tail?” Kellan asked through the phone. Zach had put it on speaker so he’d have better control of the car.
“Yes. I’m keeping a good distance.”
“Any idea where you’re headed?”
Zach took the same turn as the Chevy. “The bank. Bastard is taking her there to get the jewel.”
“I’ll let the others know and try again to get through to Detective Ryan. I’ll head to the bank. What’s the plan?”
The plan? Hell if he knew. If they tried intervening at the bank, the guy could pull a gun and end up taking multiple hostages, or worse. Besides, if they took him down prematurely, they might never locate Sarah. “Let him get the jewel. We stay glued to them like white on rice, and if it looks like Hannah is in immediate danger, we move in.”
“You sure that’s the way you want to play it?”
No, but he was choosing to trust that Hannah could handle herself, and that the police hadn’t let her go into this without some kind of contingency plan. He’d never forgive himself if something he did put Sarah’s life at greater risk. Neither would Hannah.
“That’s the way we’re gonna play it.”
No sooner had Kellan ended the call than Zach’s phone began chiming. He glanced at the caller ID. Detective Ryan. About damn time.
“This is Collins.”
“Please tell me Hannah Dawson is with you right now.”
“What?”
“I checked my messages from the past day. I’m out of town. My father’s funeral. Look, she left messages saying some whack job kidnapped her friend and demanded she meet him this morning, wanted to know what to do. Please tell me she isn’t that stupid that she actually went without talking to us first.”
The police weren’t involved. That meant—
Zach swore and pressed his foot harder on the gas. Like it or not, he was the only help she had coming. No way in hell was he going to let her down again.
Chapter Twenty
“Do you have new security personnel, Miss Dawson?”
The bank manager, the same man she and Zach had gone through a couple of days ago, refused to take his gaze from her companion.
The question threw her, but Hannah recovered fast. “Um, yes, I do. This is Mr.—” Crap, what did she call him? “—James.”
The manager didn’t blink. As she repeated the security code to him, he typed something into the computer. “Very good then.”
He led them to a private room and disappeared to retrieve her box from the vault. Once they were alone, her kidnapper swept a curious look over her. “Well done, Miss Dawson. You might get to see your friend soon after all.”
She lifted her chin. “How did you know Ellie had left the security code on her pets’ collars?”
His right eyelid twitched as his lips tightened. The man she’d named Mr. James shrugged as he appeared to come to an internal decision on how much he was willing to reveal. “Roglitz. He shared all of the Fox’s old tricks with me. Taught me everything he knew.”
“That’s why you broke into my house and tried to take my cat and dog.”
“I didn’t want
the cat and dog. I only wanted their collars.” He shrugged in a what-the-hell kind of gesture. “Roglitz knew the old woman had held onto the LeBeau Diamond and he was going to use that to get back on his feet. Stupid man had a devil of a time finding her. When he saw her picture in the paper with those two rats after she died, he suspected she’d stored the jewel in a vault somewhere here in Atlanta. I thought it would be an easy job, in and out, but that damn dog of hers is more aggressive than it looks.”
A swell of pride for Costello lifted her shoulders.
“You would have never been able to get inside the vault without me. I don’t understand.”
“So naïve.” He tsked. “We could’ve gotten into this vault if we’d known the jewel was here.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Lord, she was going to get herself killed. Then again, her chances for survival were pretty slim. Might as well keep him talking while she could.
The man’s mouth quirked into a half smile as he considered her. “We’re on a bit of a deadline. Roglitz got cocky and promised our buyer we’d turn over the LeBeau Diamond within a month. They’re not the type of people who give extensions, and, well, we never expected you to give us so much trouble.”
“Partners?” So there were others involved? “I thought you said Roglitz was dead?”
The man smirked. “Now he is.”
Hannah instinctively took a step back. “Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard it.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I did him a favor. He spent most of his life plotting revenge, trying to find Ellie Nichols, so when she died, he didn’t have much purpose left. All those years in prison, cluttering up our cell with notes and plans and newspaper clippings—” He suddenly stopped speaking and looked at her with widened eyes. Just as fast, he regained his composure. “Well, let’s just say that when he botched our first attempt to get the collars from you, my patience had run thin.”
Our cell. This man had been a cellmate of Roglitz. There had to be records indicating his identity. And he must have realized that.
“Considering you and I agreed to no questions earlier, you’re good at getting answers, aren’t you?” His eyes gleamed dangerously as they pierced into hers across the small space.
There was a knock and then the manager opened the door and slid the box onto the table.
“I’ll give you some privacy, Miss Dawson.” With a curt nod at her captor, the older man disappeared again.
“Get the jewel,” the stranger told her. “Hand it to me.”
This was it. The moment of truth. She handed him the diamond, and he would kill her and Sarah both. What the hell did she do now?
She removed the bag containing the heavy gem and reluctantly passed it to him, an idea swimming around her head. Could she pull it off?
Probably not, but she had to try.
“I’ve lived up to my end. Where’s Sarah?”
Tugging the diamond out of the bag, Mr. James examined it closely. Then he gave a slow shake of his head. “Not yet. Not until I’m safely away from here, remember?” His fingers pressed into her arm and shoved her toward the door. The creep must think she was dense to believe him.
He kept his grip on her as she spoke again to the bank manager and as they exited the building.
Hannah could have sworn she heard a bark in the distance that sounded like Costello, but that was crazy, wasn’t it? Cars whizzed past them on the busy street, and the only people in sight were all scurrying in opposite directions.
Oh, Costello. And Abbott, too. Would Zach make sure they found a good home as she’d asked, or would he throw them aside now that his paycheck had been cancelled? She hoped she made it out of this, for their sakes alone, but the doubts were crowding her mind.
She had to think fast. No way was she going down without a fight.
The WALK sign came on and, still gripping her arm, the man shoved her forward across the street and snarled, “Pick up the pace. This is almost over.”
As they entered the parking garage, her gaze caught sight of a lime-green Beetle parked a few rows behind the Chevy. The dog she’d just been thinking about stood with his front paws on the dashboard, his toothy smile big and his fluffy tail wagging like crazy as he watched her pass.
Sweet heavens, was that Zach in the driver’s seat, struggling to haul Costello back and out of sight? A surge of hope lifted her chest.
She felt the man at her side turn to follow her gaze, so she deliberately stumbled against him. This was her chance. Her fingers slid into the man’s pocket the way E.J. had showed her. He swore and tugged her hard against his side. “Do that again, and I will get very angry. Understand?”
She nodded, holding her breath, but he didn’t glance toward the Beetle again. He kept walking fast.
He had no idea she now had the diamond. Bloody hell, she’d done it!
“Driver’s seat,” he instructed and watched her as she circled the car. They both opened their doors and slid into the vehicle in sync. “Very good, Miss Dawson.” He settled comfortably in his seat. He gestured to his right. “Head that way. Let’s go see your friend, shall we?”
Hannah glanced in the rear view and started the car, feeling comforted now that she knew Zach would be following her.
She should have trusted him.
She hoped she’d get the chance to tell him that.
Zach herded the animals into the tan car Kellan was driving as soon as Hannah and her captor were out of sight. At least Kellan’s ancient Toyota was a hell of lot less conspicuous than the damn Beetle.
Zach saw a single police car turn into the parking lot and creep past the first row of cars, scanning the area with a light. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He reached for his phone and dialed Detective Ryan’s replacement—Detective Flannery—as Kellan drove. “They’re already leaving the damn bank. I’ve known snails who move faster than the APD.”
“We had units on the way to the bank when someone reported a fire four blocks over. Some of our guys had to reroute because it was a public building.”
Zach swore, and a weird thought popped into his head. Deliberate arson. Probably meant as a distraction. This guy’s good. Knows what he’s doing. Must have a partner.
“You think it was meant as a distraction,” Zach asked, wondering if he’d actually picked up on the detective’s mindset.
“Hard to tell. Where are they headed now?”
“Northeast on Peachtree.”
“I’ll have a car pull them over. Stay out of the way, Collins. Do you hear me?”
Zach pressed END without answering.
They tailed the silver Chevy as it drove through the commercial district of downtown. After zigzagging through several streets, it pulled into the parking lot of some kind of industrial building. They kept a healthy distance, but never saw a police car approach.
What the hell was going on with the cops in this city?
Parking on the street, Kellan reached for his phone as Zach pushed to open his door. Kellan grabbed his arm. “We should wait for the police.” With a nod toward the dog and cat in the back seat, he added, “Besides, what about them?”
“Stay with them. Wait a few minutes and then pull in behind the Chevy. Block it in. No way am I letting this guy get outta here.”
Costello whined when Zach shut the door behind him, but he didn’t look back.
The building was obviously abandoned, judging by the broken windows and lack of people around. One of the doors was cracked open, making it easy for him to slip inside. The crunch of broken glass beneath his feet stopped Zach from moving further, praying the sound hadn’t carried far.
A feeling of déjà vu overcame him, and his mind yanked back to six months ago and another warehouse similar to this one. The man Zach had been hired to find evidence against in a white-collar Ponzi scheme had worked in an office inside a warehouse like this in the neighboring suburb of Kirkwood. Three people had ended up dead because of Zach’s carelessness.
He co
uldn’t let something like that happen again.
Voices echoed in the distance. Hannah. He thought she asked, “Where are we going?” but he wasn’t sure.
Carefully, he followed the muffled conversation, playing closer attention to the debris on the floor.
He finally reached a point where he could understand them clearly. He was close. Real close.
“Hannah? I’ve never been so glad to see someone in my life.” Sarah’s broken sob tugged at his insides. “Untie me, please.”
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked.
“I’ve been better. I’ve been worse. You?”
“I’m fine.” There was a brief pause. “You’ve got what you wanted. You brought me to my friend. We’re even now.”
Zach pressed himself to the wall and waited, close to the entrance of one of the old offices inside the building. He listened for a fourth voice or more, but all he heard was Sarah, Hannah and the one man.
“Come on, Sarah. Let’s get out of here.” Hannah’s footsteps were loud and easy to follow.
“Not so fast, Miss Dawson.” The unmistakable sound of a gun being readied to fire filled the space. “I’m afraid we have a problem.”
“W-what kind of p-problem?” Hannah whispered.
“Oh, I’m sure you can figure it out.” More movement, but from who, Zach had no idea. “Perhaps if you had listened and not pried for information, I would’ve allowed you and your friend to walk out of here. As it is, I’m afraid you’ll run straight to the police with what you know, and I can’t have that, now, can I?”
“We won’t tell anyone.” Sarah sounded frantic.
“Shut up.” The man yelled.
There was no sound, no movement, as Zach held his breath, his muscles tight and ready to spring into action.
“On your knees. Both of you.”
“Please.” Sarah whimpered.
“Do it!”
“Wait,” Hannah pleaded. “Maybe you want to think about this. If you kill us now, you’ll never find out where I hid the diamond.”
Zach froze. What was she talking about?
The sound of clothes being shuffled echoed in the space. The man growled, “How did you —?” Zach edged closer to the door and risked a peek inside. Her captor was padding down his coat. With a growl, he grabbed Hannah by the hair and jerked her close. “Where is it?”
On the Scent Page 22