Chapter 32 BREE

Chapter 32

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Bree ran with full lights and sirens, pushing the SUV to its limit. Tires squealed as she took a turn at the maximum speed. It felt as if two tires left the pavement for a second. Then the vehicle settled back on all four again. She straightened the wheel, her heart hammering as she pressed down on the gas pedal even harder. Next to her, Mercy held the chicken strap with a white-knuckle grip.

She slowed as traffic thickened near the mall. Cars ahead pulled over to let them pass. Bree's hands ached from the tight hold on the wheel.

A single mantra kept rolling in her head.

He's got another one. He's got another one he's got another one.

How could this be happening again? Her stomach rolled with mental images of the two dead women, then the photos on the CuffMe site, Paige with the heavy makeup, the nudes, and the dick pics from TheMaster. She had been a cop for over fifteen years. She knew all about abduction and human trafficking, but seeing it still made her physically sick.

It was that easy to grab a woman. Even a senator's daughter wasn't immune. Was there anywhere women were actually safe?

She swallowed hard and shouted over the sirens, "There are times when the frustration of not being able to prevent a crime feels overwhelming."

"This is definitely one of those times," said Mercy.

On the radio, dispatch coordinated deputies and SFPD patrol units. "All units in the vicinity of the Scarlet Falls Mall. Suspect is driving a white Audi sedan, four-door." That was all they had?

Bree used her radio to update dispatch. "Sheriff Taggert, ETA one minute."

Other units in the vicinity responded with their expected arrival times. No reports of the white Audi came in.

"Looks like we'll be the first on scene." Bree braked, then accelerated through a turn. "We were closest." She scanned their surroundings for the suspect's vehicle.

Mercy leaned with the roll of the vehicle. "Let's hope we get there fast enough to make a difference."

But they both knew the call had specified a woman had been kidnapped, past tense.

"He could be a few miles away from the mall by now," Bree said.

Mercy put a hand on the dashboard to steady herself. "We don't even know that this incident is related to our case."

"Nope. We don't know anything."

The agent's comment was a good reminder not to make assumptions, but any potential kidnapping deserved the same amount of attention, even if it was unrelated.

Bree made the sharp turn into the parking lot entrance. She cut across the empty rows until she spotted a security guard waving his arms. She pulled up next to him, barely shoving the shifter into park before leaping out. Mercy kept pace with her.

The guard ran closer, pointing toward the other side of the parking lot. It was Don Dutton. But instead of the semibored guard in his air-conditioned office, he was a mess. His face was red with exertion. One of his shirttails hung out. Sweat gleamed on his forehead and stained the armpits of his uniform.

"What happened?" Bree yanked her notebook out of her pocket.

Dutton's breath was ragged. He inhaled hard, then began, the words coming out in a rush. "I was doing my rounds inside the mall. Heard a scream. Looked outside. Saw a woman struggling against a big man. He had her by the wrist and was dragging her toward a sedan. I ran out the door and yelled for him to let go of her, but I couldn't get there fast enough. He took her."

"The vehicle?" Bree tapped her pen on the paper. He'd already given a make and model, but maybe he could remember more now that he was processing the incident.

Don pressed a fist to the center of his chest and made an attempt to regulate his breathing. "It was an Audi sedan, four-door, white, fairly new. I didn't get the plate. The car was facing the wrong way, and I was too far away. I wasn't close enough to see the guy's face either, but he was tall—I'd say at least six feet—and blond. He was wearing dark pants and a light-blue shirt." He stared at the pavement for a few seconds, then shook his head. "That's all I can remember."

Bree wrote down the details. "How about the woman?"

"Didn't see her face either. She seemed small—or at least a lot smaller than the guy—and she had a long ponytail. Brunette." Don closed his eyes, as if trying to summon more details. Opening them, he nodded. "She was wearing denim shorts and a blue shirt." He turned up a palm and put it just above his waist. "One of the short ones that show some stomach."

"A crop top?" Mercy asked.

Don shrugged. "I guess. I don't know what they're called."

"You didn't see her face?" Bree asked.

"No." He shook his head and propped his hands just above his belt. "But she was screaming bloody murder and trying to resist, using her whole body as deadweight. Like this." Don demonstrated, extending a hand in front of him and sinking his butt toward the ground. "But he was bigger. He just scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder, and tossed her in his trunk." He shuddered. "I tried to stop him. I really did, but I wasn't fast enough."

"What about shoes?" Bree prompted.

Dutton rubbed his forehead. "I don't know what the guy was wearing on his feet. I think the girl was in white sneakers, but I'm not sure."

"Which way did he go?" Mercy asked.

"That way." Don pointed.

"West." Bree hurried back to her SUV and updated the BOLO on the vehicle and driver to include more details. They still didn't have enough information to issue an Amber Alert. When she returned to Don, Mercy was asking him if he had security footage.

"We should," he said, brightening, as if the thought of being helpful eased some of his guilt for not stopping the abduction.

More sirens approached. A sheriff's department patrol unit pulled into the lot. Behind it were two Scarlet Falls PD cars.

"Before we go to your office, show us exactly where his car was parked," Bree said.

Don led them to a parking spot near the end of the row. "He was under the light."

Mercy turned in a circle. "Where was the woman going? I don't see another vehicle parked near here."

Don gestured across the lot to a glass-walled bench. "Probably the bus stop. Next bus comes in about ten minutes."

"Have you ever seen the woman before?" Bree asked.

"I don't think so," Don said. "But I didn't get a good look at her face, so I can't be a hundred percent sure."

Mercy jerked a thumb at the mall. "Her shorts and top didn't look like a uniform or the typical clothes of any of the employees of the stores inside?"

Don considered the question with a tilt of his head. "I don't know. You're thinking she worked here?"

"It's possible." Mercy nodded.

Don lifted a shoulder. "She looked more like a typical older teen, young twentysomething shopper to me, but there are a couple of stores that sell clothes like what she was wearing."

Bree updated the responding officer and directed Deputy Zucco to tape off a square of pavement around the overhead light. "Go over every inch of pavement in case either one of them dropped something."

"Yes, ma'am," Deputy Zucco said. The two SFPD cops pitched in immediately.

"Let's see that video feed." Bree turned toward the long building.

The three of them hustled across the hot pavement. Sweat soaked Bree's uniform by the time they entered the mall. Mercy's face shone, and the hair around her face was damp.

An overhead air-conditioning vent gave Bree goose bumps. Don shoved into the security office and rushed back to his desk and bank of monitors. Bree and Mercy stayed close. The three of them crowded behind the desk to view the screens. His hands shook as he called up the image. When they'd seen him previously, he'd seemed calm and collected, but the incident had clearly rattled him.

A video feed appeared on-screen, gray, grainy, and full of static.

"Fuck!" He pounded a fist on the desk, jolting the equipment. The feed was blank. "I know that camera was working when we ran our checks a few days ago." He swept a hand over his sweat-damped buzz cut. Then he returned to the mouse and keyboard. "See? It was working yesterday. The camera went out at midnight last night." He clicked a few more buttons. "There are three more cameras out." He swore again. "I didn't have a chance to run any diagnostics today. I started with my rounds." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I should have, though. Sometimes this job is too easy, and we get a little complacent. Usually, we don't see much beyond a little vandalism or shoplifting. Occasionally, a car gets stolen."

"Check the video of people exiting the mall at the doors closest to the spot she was taken," Mercy suggested.

"Good idea." Dutton worked his keyboard. Then he pointed to three windows on his screen, each showing a door. "Here are the three closest exits." He clicked on the REWIND button to move the feed backward in time. "I don't see anyone who looks like her." He put an elbow on the desk, looking confused, then he straightened. "Maybe she was coming to the mall. She could have gotten off a bus or someone could have dropped her off."

"Let's go look at the cameras," Bree said.

Don's steps were slower as he led them back outside. The heat hit Bree like a slap. Another deputy and several more SFPD cars had arrived. The responding patrol vehicles were parked at angles around the abduction location.

Bree stared up at the camera mounted high on the pole. She could see the broken camera lens from the ground. "Looks like someone took it out with a rock or a BB gun or something like that."

Mercy looked around. "Could have been a regular handgun. Is this area busy overnight?"

"Not very, and gunshots can sound like a car backfiring." Bree turned toward Deputy Zucco walking toward her.

"We found some litter on the ground." She gestured. "A cigarette butt, some gum, and a hamburger wrapper. Also, the SFPD captain is here."

The captain was second-in-command to the Scarlet Falls chief of police.

"The trash is probably unrelated, but let's bag and tag it anyway." Bree always erred on the side of caution. You couldn't go back and recover evidence after a day's worth of mall shoppers walked across the same ground.

The SFPD captain approached, and Bree faced him. Technically, even though the mall was in the SFPD's jurisdiction, Bree could have demanded to run the operation. She outranked the captain as the highest law enforcement officer in the county, but she'd rather play nice. Besides, they needed more bodies for legwork. Cooperation could be key for an investigation of this size. The incident could have been an entirely separate crime: an angry boyfriend or a run-of-the-mill human trafficker. In which case, Bree was happy to let the SFPD run the investigation.

She filled him in on what had happened so far. "We need to canvass the stores in the mall. See if anyone knows a woman who meets her description. I know it's vague, but we have to try."

The captain nodded. "I'll put men on that. We'll also contact the bus company and get their surveillance tapes of the buses that let off passengers here today."

"Great. Keep us posted?" Bree asked.

"Of course." He turned away.

She caught up with Mercy just as the first news vans appeared. "There's Ken."

Mercy pursed her lips. "He must have someone manning the scanner 24/7."

"What do you think of all this?" Bree circled a hand in the air.

"I don't know." Mercy scanned the area. "We know he lured Paige, but we don't know how he nabbed the other women. He could have used a variety of methods."

"We don't know how many victims he's taken." Bree surveyed the chaotic scene. People had gathered outside the mall doors to watch the police activity.

Ken Wells climbed out of his van, smoothed his hair, and approached Bree. "Has another woman been kidnapped?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Bree held up a palm, stopping the reporter in his tracks. "Please back up. This is a crime scene."

She turned away from the press.

Unless proven otherwise, they would treat this incident as a possible kidnapping by the killer.

The noise, heat, and activity suddenly felt overwhelming.

"I need some water." She headed for her vehicle. Mercy fell into step beside her.

Bree slid behind the wheel and started the engine. A pathetic stream of warm air leaked from the vents. She grabbed a bottle of water and drank. "How many women could he kill before we stop him?"

Mercy didn't answer, just drank from her own bottle.

For the first time in her life, Bree wondered if she was up to the job.