CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX JACK
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
J ACK
At the sight of his wife, Jack jumps to his feet in the FBI conference room where he’s been sitting across from Agent Pratt for the last half hour, recounting what happened at his condo. Makayla follows a dark-haired agent through the doorway. Her eyes are red, and the grief-stricken shock on her face matches his own.
“Have they found him?” she asks as Jack closes the space between them.
“Not yet.” He envelops her in a hug.
A sob escapes her throat when he draws her against him.
“We’d like to ask you both a few more questions while we wait,” Pratt says after a moment.
Jack lets go of Makayla, and they take seats across from Pratt.
“I’m Agent Ruiz,” the female agent says to Jack.
Agent Ruiz sits next to Pratt as he slides a paper with six photos toward Makayla that Jack has already seen. “Can you confirm which of these men was on the flight? Keep in mind that their hairstyles or facial hair might be different.”
Makayla looks between the six photos before she points to the one on the bottom-left corner. “His hair was shorter, but that’s definitely him.”
Agent Pratt appears satisfied with her choice. “His name is Conner Abrams. He was released from Otisville earlier this year after serving a sentence for third-degree robbery.” The agent slides an enlarged driver’s license photo beside the photo montage. “He used this driver’s license to get through security. Had you ever seen him before today?”
Her mouth quivers as she shakes her head. “No.”
“We’re still working to identify the female parachuter, but we’ll know soon. And we do know she was also traveling under a stolen ID.”
“I think she befriended me online a few months ago, posing as another mom from my mother’s group.” Makayla gestures toward Agent Ruiz. “I told her on the way here.”
Pratt looks at Jack. “Is this Cori, the friend whose contact information you sent me earlier?”
“Yes.” Jack glances at his wife, reading the devastation on her face. He wishes he could comfort her but knows that nothing will. Unless they get Liam back—alive.
“Have you met her in person?” he asks Makayla.
“After she told me she was at our group’s park day, I ... I thought I had. But no, I don’t think I did.”
“Do you have her address?”
“No.” Makayla presses her lips together. “But I told her all about my trip. My travel dates and that we were taking a nonstop flight.” A tear slides down her cheek. “I never suspected anything, and I gave her everything she needed to know. It’s my fault.”
Jack takes her hand. “No, it’s not.”
“We’ll need to see all the correspondence the two of you have had. Text messages, voicemails, online messaging. Everything.”
“It’s all on my phone.”
As Makayla reaches into her pocket, Jack stares at Conner Abrams’s photograph, feeling sick at the thought of Liam’s fate being in this burly criminal’s hands.
“I don’t understand how this could’ve happened.” He tears his eyes from the photo and looks at Pratt. “How did they even get an electric saw through security?”
“They disguised it as an electric shaver,” Agent Ruiz says as Makayla extends her phone to Pratt. “We found it in the lavatory. They used a six-inch saw blade, which is the maximum length you can take through security. Then they attached it to an electric drill custom-made to look like a shaver. They even used the shaver outlet in the lavatory to power it. I’m guessing they packed it as two separate pieces to ensure it would pass through security.”
“This was very well planned,” she adds. “Our CSI team is still processing the plane, but it looks like the kidnappers wiped down the surfaces on their row so their fingerprints wouldn’t be left behind. We would’ve expected several partial prints on the armrests and tray tables, but the only prints were on the armrests of the aisle seat.” She looks at Makayla. “And we believe those will be yours. There were no prints on the electric saw or lavatory, either, so they probably wore gloves at that point, knowing they’d be leaving the tool behind.”
A tall woman wearing a navy pantsuit appears in the conference room doorway.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says. “But they’ve ID’d the female parachuter.” She moves toward the conference table, laying a paper in front of Ruiz.
Jack leans forward and sees another enlarged driver’s license photo of a dark-haired woman.
“Her name is Raquel Cabral,” the woman says. “She works as a nurse at the same hospital as Jemma Neilson, whose ID she stole from her locker and used to board the plane. The two of them look a lot alike.”
Pratt’s phone rings atop the table. “It’s Castillo,” he says.
The woman goes quiet, and every pair of eyes is on him as he takes the call.
“This is Pratt.”
Jack watches the agent intently, trying to read his expression as Pratt listens to the other end of the call. Makayla squeezes his hand. Jack strains to hear what’s being said. The caller sounds male, but Jack can’t make out the words. Pratt gets up from the table, turning his back to them as he moves toward the window.
Jack holds his breath.
“Okay. I’m coming up there. I’ll let you know when I’m close.”
Pratt lowers his phone. As the agent turns from the window, Jack steels himself for the worst news of his life.
“They found your son.”
Makayla gasps. A ripple of fear shoots down Jack’s spine.
“He appears to have been heavily sedated. But he’s alive.”
Makayla emits a whimper.
“He’s being taken to the nearest hospital in Syracuse.”
“Thank God.” Jack wraps his arms around Makayla. He closes his eyes, and a tear escapes down his face. He kisses the top of her head.
He’s alive. He’s alive.
“How—” Jack clears his throat. “How did they find him?”
“Two men were stopped in a truck on a forest service road a few miles from where the woman’s body was found. The men tried to escape on foot after firing at our agents, but they didn’t get far. Liam was discovered in a car seat in the cab of the truck by one of our analysts. Both men are in custody. One has been ID’d as Conner Abrams, who’s also being treated at the hospital for a broken leg.”
“But Liam, he’s okay?” Makayla asks.
“He’s alive. He had no apparent injuries aside from being sedated, but we can find out more once he reaches the hospital.”
Jack grips Makayla’s hand and stands. “Which hospital?” His pulse quickens. It would take them over four hours to drive to Syracuse from the city. Liam needs them now.
“Syracuse General.” He shoots a glance at Ruiz, the corner of his mouth upturning for a moment. “You can ride with us.”
Ruiz is already up from her seat and leads them toward the door. “I’ll drive.”