Manhunt

by Tyler Anne Snell

  “I think that’s exactly what happened to her. I think she was running that route and maybe saw Lisa’s car or Nathanial. In his sick mind he saw it as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.”

  “But why did Lisa go to the lot? I mean, I get it was about a party but who called it in? Nathanial? Was Amanda there, too?” There were too many questions surrounding Dolphin Lot. Why hadn’t Lisa told Richard or called Sophia to tell either of them where she was heading?

  “We’ll find out.” He clasped his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. Unlike the electricity of the kiss, his touch held a blanket of comfort. “We found some good evidence in the woods on Dolphin Lot. I’m hoping it can give us some new information to follow.” He proceeded to tell her about the clearing and its creepy contents, including the mass amount of local beer bottles. He put his full confidence in Tom and the captain to sort out the videotapes from Tipsy’s and connect a few dots while Braydon took a much needed break. The news brought forth more hope than she’d had in the past twenty-four hours.

  “Did Cara figure out where Nathanial went next? After he was fired from Microne?” Sophia wanted to know as she cleaned up the empty dishes. Braydon patted his nonexistent gut, appreciative of the power of a good grilled cheese.

  “We still aren’t sure. We checked with the apartment he lived in since he got the job there but he got out of the lease just after he was fired. They have no idea where he went. No forwarding addresses or a valid phone number to reach. He fell off the radar.”

  “That’s not disturbing or anything,” she said sarcastically. “Does he have any more family?”

  “No, ma’am. His mother was the last bit of his family.”

  Sophia didn’t want to empathize with the insane man, but she could do it. If she lost Lisa she would have no more living relatives that she was connected with. She would also lose her closest friend. It was a thought that wasn’t fun to entertain but had to be downright horrible to live through. Although, it didn’t excuse going on a killing and kidnapping rampage.

  The kitchen quieted. Sophia rinsed the dishes off while Braydon pulled something from the freezer. A grin broke out across his face.

  “I may not have all of the necessities but you have to give me credit for this.” He held up a carton of chocolate ice cream. Suddenly, he was more attractive than ever.

  They settled back around the table with bowls filled with frozen deliciousness. Sophia could pretend to have self-control all she wanted, but put some chocolate ice cream in front of her and it was game over. She attacked the sweet goodness with speed and vigor.

  “So, if you don’t mind my asking, what happened to your parents? I haven’t heard you really bring them up.”

  Braydon waved off her discomfort. He didn’t mind her asking.

  “Oh, they’re alive and well. Living in Utah near my father’s relatives. They moved to Culpepper after they married, following my dad’s job at the automotive plant that used to be downtown. They used to love it here but after Amelia died they moved. They said they couldn’t stand to live in a place where their daughter was killed.” He was so candid about it. Sophia wondered if it was easier that way—to state is as a fact.

  “What about you?” she asked, sincere. “Why didn’t you leave, too?”

  “The reason why they left was the same reason I had to stay.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “This town was the last place Amelia was alive,” he said. “I left once and considered never coming back, but no matter how much pain I felt in Culpepper, the good memories outweighed it. Where my parents saw reminders of Amelia’s death, I saw reminders of her life.” His lips turned up in a small smile. “We grew up here so when I’m feeling low and want to remember the good times with her, I have an entire town to help me. I can go to the park and see her playing there when she was younger, the high school stadium where I’d take her to games when she managed to bug me enough for a ride, Jefferson Road where she tried to learn to drive and took out Mr. Jensen’s mailbox.” He let out a breath and licked his spoon. The small smile was still attached. In that moment he seemed years younger—no lives on the line, no killer on the loose, no worries. She quite liked it on him. “It’s true, these memories can sometimes be depressing but they also do the soul good. I could leave Culpepper if I had to, but it’s because of these memories that I don’t want to.” He pushed the last bit of ice cream into his mouth. His eyes shone bright as he met Sophia’s gaze.

  “That’s a beautiful way to remember her,” she said. He smiled for a second before his face darkened like a storm surging through blue skies.

  “Nathanial hates me because he knows that I would have killed his brother had Terrance not done it first. Not only would I have killed him, I would have made him suffer. I needed him to suffer—to pay for what he had done—and I didn’t care what that meant for my future.” Braydon grabbed her hand across the table again, urging her to pay attention to what he said next. “That’s how I know that Nathanial won’t stop. Not until he knows I’ve suffered. I don’t think he’s dangerous, Sophia. I know he is. I’m sorry for all that’s happened. If it wasn’t for me, then Lisa and the others wouldn’t have been taken.”

  He tried to let go of her hand but she held firm.

  “Braydon, I’m only going to tell you this once. I don’t and will not blame you for the actions of a psychotic man. You did nothing wrong.”

  “But now I’m afraid he’s after you.” She may not have known Braydon as long as his partner or even Lynda, his ex—according to a conversation she’d had with Cara earlier—but she did know that the vulnerability he was showing now was rare. It pulled at her heartstrings.

  “We don’t know that for certain,” she said.

  “He wants to make me suffer. What better way than to use you?”

  “You care about this entire town and all of its people. He can use any of us.” She said it to lighten the mood. They were skating around saying something significant again. Sophia could feel it. She watched as the conflicted man next to her chose his words carefully.

  “He knows you’re different.”

  Sophia’s stomach fluttered with pleasure as if she was in high school again. Braydon, however, was still frowning. This wasn’t the time for another moment between them. The burden he believed he placed on her seemed to be crushing him.

  “What makes you think Nathanial going after me has anything to do with you? Have you seen me smile? I’m just too adorable,” she joked. He looked as though he was going to argue with her but stopped short as she grinned wide, showing teeth and gums. Braydon squeezed her hand and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Now, if you don’t try to get some sleep I’m going to tell the captain on you.”

  He let out a loud breath, exaggerating his feigned annoyance. “Fine. I guess a few hours might do the brain some good.” They parted hands and stood. “It wouldn’t hurt you to catch some shut-eye, too. You can sleep in my room. I threw on some clean sheets when I got out of the shower.”

  “Where will you sleep?”

  Braydon laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be out here on the couch.” Sophia hadn’t been worried. She could share the bed with the detective, though if they did that sleep may not be what happened.

  “You don’t have to do that. I don’t mind taking the couch,” she said instead.

  “I’d feel more comfortable staying out here.” He motioned to the front door and then the back. “If anyone tries to get in, I’ll be the first to see it.”

  “Ah, Detective Watchdog.” She smiled.

  “That’s my job. If you need anything you know where I’ll be.”

  They said their good-nights and Sophia headed back to the bedroom. She hadn’t noticed how heavy the bags beneath the detective’s eyes had been but she suspected that as soon as he put his messy head of hair down he would immediately fall sleep. She switched out her outfit f
or a matching tank top and shorts combination, wishing for an instant it was sexier, and slid under the cotton covers.

  The next day would mark the seventh day that Lisa had been missing. Seven days with the off-balanced, vengeful Nathanial Williams. If she ever saw that man again, Sophia didn’t know what she would do but she knew it wouldn’t be good. He may have lived through the tragedy of Terrance dying, then the passing of his parents, but punishing Braydon and killing and kidnapping wasn’t the answer. He had lost his sanity. The time for intensive therapy or religious salvation had passed. He had condemned himself the moment he decided vengeance was the answer.

  She crawled farther under the covers and inhaled deeply. Braydon’s scent surrounded her, clinging to the cotton she was nuzzled in. If someone were to tell her she would be in Detective Thatcher’s bed when she first came to town, she would have laughed in their face. Her affection for the man had snuck up on her through the course of the investigation. He was strong, determined and wholly committed. The way he had kissed her tonight...it sent a thrill across her body and soul. She imagined how it would feel to press her lips against his again, to run her hands through his dark hair, to feel the warmth of his embrace, to lose herself completely in him.

  It was enough to temporarily ease the emotional turbulence over Nathanial Williams.

  * * *

  SOPHIA BOLTED AWAKE, terrified and disoriented. This isn’t my bedroom, she thought. This isn’t Lisa’s bedroom, either. She looked around the dark space with wide eyes trying to figure out where she was and what had woken her. The dresser opposite the bed had a pair of men’s jeans folded on top. I’m at Braydon’s. She remembered. But what woke me up? Sitting still, she listened.

  There was a faint noise that was coming from the living room. It came in rhythmic bursts but she couldn’t quite place it. Pushing her legs over the bed, she crept across the wood floors and opened the door slowly.

  The mystery sound belonged to Braydon. He apparently was a man who snored quite heavily. She tiptoed toward the living room and looked at the prone man.

  “Oh, my.” She said out loud before slapping a hand over her mouth. Braydon had shed his shirt and shorts after she had gone to bed. Now she had an uninhibited view of a rock-hard six-pack with a smattering of dark hair that led from his pecs down to a region the blanket just barely covered. There were muscles everywhere, it seemed. She stood there looking at them, bathing in all of their sexy glory. And to think, I was kissing that earlier.

  Feeling as if she was getting close to being creepy, Sophia turned to retreat back into the bedroom when a loud thump stopped her. She froze in the hallway. Then the sound of a car door slammed. She turned and walked to the front window, moving the curtain to the side. The road outside was void of people and cars but there was a large lump on the front porch. With dread filling her veins, Sophia turned on the light.

  “Braydon!” she yelled before opening the front door. Behind her she could hear the man jump up. She was already on the porch when she called for him again. “Braydon!” She dropped to the ground next to the body. Fear cascaded down every inch of her, pooling along with the blood that surrounded the woman. Immediately Sophia knew it wasn’t Lisa. This woman was too short. A small ounce of relief sprouted. “Braydon!” she yelled again.

  Braydon ran through the living room to the front door, bare feet slapping against the hardwood. The man always came to her when she called, but this time it wasn’t her who needed him. He flung the screen door wide.

  “What the—”

  “I think it’s Amanda.” Sophia moved the woman’s long hair aside to feel for a pulse. She ignored her shaking hand as she felt a faint beat. “She’s still alive!”

  Braydon ran back inside to grab his phone. He was back in a flash, phone to his ear.

  “Find out where she’s bleeding from,” Braydon commanded. “We need to see if we can stop it.” Sophia looked down at the woman resting on her stomach. Her cheek was pressed against the wood of the porch, eyes shut and lips downturned. In the poor light of the porch’s singular bulb, Amanda looked unnaturally pale. Sophia surveyed her back and legs but couldn’t find the source of all of the blood.

  “Help me turn her over.” Braydon put the phone on speaker and told the operator his address while they grabbed Amanda and flipped her over as gently as they could. Blood had soaked into the front of her shirt yet there were no holes or tears in the fabric. Sophia grabbed the hem of the shirt and pushed it up. The source of the crimson made her gasp.

  Braydon swore. He finished up with the operator and ran inside to grab a towel. “We need to stop the blood flow!” he yelled back.

  Sophia’s body had gone numb. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Carved into Amanda’s stomach was her name.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Culpepper hospital was a twenty-minute drive across town. Sophia rode it in the back of an ambulance while Braydon sped behind. If there were any doubts of Nathanial’s intentions to use Sophia against the detective, they were gone now. Even Sophia couldn’t deny that the crazed man had targeted her. After Braydon had returned with the towel he gave Sophia his gun and all but pushed her inside. There she had waited until the sirens came closer.

  Braydon was so visibly shaken and equally on alert that Sophia was surprised she had been able to talk him into letting her ride in the back of the ambulance at all, but there had been no way she was going to let the poor woman ride alone. Plus, if she woke up, Sophia had to ask the one question that had burned inside her chest since she had come to town. Where was Lisa?

  However, Amanda didn’t wake up. The EMTs bustled around her, strapping an IV on and checking her vitals. They didn’t talk to Sophia the entire ride, but after they saw her name carved into the young woman’s flesh, they couldn’t keep their eyes off her. She didn’t blame them one bit.

  In the back of the ambulance, Amanda looked a lot worse. Her clothes, a band T and cargo shorts, were fully intact but covered in blood and dirt. Her feet were bare and stained with a mixture of red and brown while her hair looked as though it was wet with sweat or grease. The pulse Sophia had felt was weak and, as one of the EMTs said, Amanda had lost a lot of blood. Seeing her lying on the stretcher, body sliced and bleeding, Sophia hoped that Amanda had at least been unconscious when Nathanial decided to brand her stomach.

  When the back doors of the ambulance opened, Braydon’s face was the first that swam into view. He helped lower Amanda’s stretcher down and ran alongside her, telling the nurses inside the situation. Sophia ran behind them, keeping out of the way but just within earshot. A doctor came out, evaluated Amanda and told an orderly to start prepping a room for surgery. Apparently her condition was worse than Sophia had thought.

  “He cut her too deep,” Braydon said after the chaos had died down a fraction and the woman was being taken into surgery. He gave Sophia a significant look. “There was a bump on her neck.”

  “From the drug,” she stated. Instead of nodding he threw his fist into the wall of the waiting room. A few nurses eyed him warily before turning back to their jobs. Sophia reached out and grabbed the fist. He met her eyes, the fire in them almost burning her.

  “I’m going to make him pay,” he said. “You just wait.”

  Sophia couldn’t blame him for the reaction. Now Lisa was alone with the man, if she was even still alive.

  “So what now?”

  Braydon ran a hand through his hair. At least the bags under his eyes had lessened with the few hours of sleep they were able to get.

  “Amanda is going into surgery in the next twenty minutes. There was a welt on the back of her neck, so I told them about the drug we suspected she was injected with. They are trying to figure out what it is before they put her under. If they can’t, then it could kill her.” His frown deepened. “I called the captain and Tom on the way here. They’ll look for him whil
e an officer stays with the surveillance tapes. I also called Marina Alcaster. She needs to be here just in case Amanda doesn’t make it, so she can, I don’t know, see her daughter alive once more.” His jaw tensed and Sophia was afraid he was going to strike the wall again. “I’m going to go downstairs to talk to the ME. She took a night shift so she could examine Officer Murphy’s body and wait for the blood results.”

  “Can I stay here?” Sophia asked, eyeing the room they had Amanda temporarily in. “I think Marina might need a little support.”

  Braydon’s phone vibrated in his hand. He looked down at the number and back at her. She could tell that, if he could, the detective would shrink her and place her in his pocket for protection. However, seeing as she was a full grown woman, he couldn’t very well do that. Though he looked as though he was about to try.

  “Detective,” someone called. “Detective?” They turned to see the doctor standing in the doorway of Amanda’s room. “She’s conscious.” He didn’t have to say anything else. Braydon and Sophia were already running toward him.

  “She’s awake?” Braydon asked, stopping as the doctor held up his hand to halt them.

  “Just barely. You have less than one minute before we wheel her out.” He turned to Sophia. “You need to stay out here.”

  “But—” Sophia started to complain.

  “This woman has been put through hell. The only reason I’m even letting the detective in is because it could potentially save another life.” Braydon went into the room without a look back. Sophia nodded and moved against the wall to try and listen. Thankfully there were no other patients in the rooms on either side making the task easier. More than anything she wanted to be in that room, but she stayed strong, remembering that it wasn’t just Lisa’s life on the line.

  “Amanda?” Sophia heard Braydon ask. “Was it Nathanial Williams, a man with dark red hair, who took you?”