Chapter 43
Three
Erin tried Kaely’s phone again. She should be off the plane by now. Maybe she’d forgotten to charge her phone.
Erin wasn’t certain why she was worried.
She just felt . . . unsettled. She shook her head.
It must be because she was in law enforcement again.
When Adrian had asked her if she wanted to join the Sanctuary police department, she’d balked at the idea.
But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted it.
It was just part-time, and Sanctuary certainly wasn’t St. Louis.
Sure, they’d once had a serial killer living among them.
But now, things had settled down. The calls were all minor.
No one had been murdered since she’d joined.
The wall those in law enforcement created to protect themselves was almost nonexistent.
So, why did she feel . . . something dark? When the phone rang, she grabbed it, hoping it was Kaely. She didn’t recognize the number, but it might be because Kaely was using a different phone.
“Hello?” she answered. “Kaely, is that you?”
“You should get a pen and a piece of paper,” a man’s voice said. “I’ll count to six.”
“What? Who is this?” Erin asked.
“One,” he said.
“I asked who this is. If you can’t tell me, I’m going to hang up.”
“That’s up to you,” he answered, “but if you do, you’ll never see your friend again. Two.”
Erin felt her body stiffen. What was happening? With trembling fingers, she grabbed a notebook from the coffee table and moved it closer.
“Three.”
She picked up a nearby pen, intending to write down the time in case it might be important later. The feeling she’d had earlier intensified, and she knew she had to take this seriously. She tried to write, but the pen was out of ink. It wouldn’t work.
“Four.”
“Just a minute,” she said, her voice shaking. “I need to get another pen.”
“Five.”
Erin got up and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a pen off the counter. She almost stumbled over the slippers she’d left on the floor earlier.
“I’ve got a pen,” she said as she picked up her phone again. Nothing. No sound. Had he hung up? Was he going to hurt Kaely . . . or even worse?
“I’ll only say this once,” he said. “From now on, when I call, I won’t wait. You need to be prepared. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
The man took a deep breath. “First, you have to travel from riches to rags. Here’s hoping your answer won’t tarry or lag. Unless you hurry, you’ll never get the chance to say good-bye, because your failure will cause your good friend to die.”
Erin wrote furiously, getting it all down. “Is Kaely alive? What have you done with her?”
“You have six days to save her. I won’t change my mind. No police or she dies. No FBI or she dies. Do you understand?”
“No. No, I don’t. Why are you doing this? Where is Kaely?”
There was a brief moment of silence. And then he said, “Six.”