Chapter 32
They waited by the side of the road until both the Vermont police cruiser and Seth’s vehicle had disappeared. Jack kept his eyes glued to the glowing red dot on Tina’s phone. She was driving now, having given into his anxiety by allowing him to monitor the app.
Somehow that little dot felt like a lifeline, like his one fragile connection to Jessie.
“Do you think it would be possible to identify a specific foghorn?” he wondered out loud. “I know every buoy has specific markings, but what about the foghorns?”
“Good question. Go ahead and google it if you like.”
“No. I don’t want to lose the dot.”
“You won’t lose the dot. My phone can multitask.”
“Not swiping away from the dot,” he said stubbornly. “Shit. It just turned onto the highway. Let’s go.”
She picked up the pace and they got onto the next entrance of Route 11.
“It looks like he’s heading east. Back towards Maine.”
“Okay then. I’m going to stay far enough back so he can’t see us, but there’s a chance he’ll ditch this vehicle now that we’ve spotted him in it. Let me know whenever the dot stops.”
They drove for a few miles.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Tina. “We need to decide what to call this dude. He has so many names it’s getting hard to keep track. I’ve been thinking of him as Adam, but Celine calls him Lloyd, and he’s currently using a Seth Baker driver’s license.”
“I vote for Seth,” he said decisively. “That’s what Jessie knows him as.”
“Seth it is.”
The red dot took a turn and slowed down.
He expanded the map to see where it was currently located. “Seth exited the highway. Looks like Seth is heading for a strip mall.”
She laughed as she hit the gas pedal and they zoomed down the highway. “You don’t have to call him Seth every time. I know who you’re talking about. Exit?”
“This one works. Go.”
He guided her off the highway into a small town just over the New Hampshire border. They found the blue CRV parked outside a store that sold cell phones. “I bet he’s picking up a burner phone,” Tina murmured.
“I’m going in.”
“No!”
But he was past the point of listening to caution.
He had to see this guy face to face. He had no idea if Seth would recognize him.
Had Jessie told him that her brother was on TV?
Just in case, he pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on, even though the day was overcast and he probably looked like a jerk wearing them.
Inside, Seth was in the midst of completing his purchase.
In cash, Jack noticed. He waited a few steps behind him, scrutinizing every detail of his appearance.
He wore newish blue jeans and tan suede work boots that didn’t look as if he’d worked in them at all.
And yet just a few hours earlier, he’d been near a boat packing crates.
Maybe he oversaw the operation rather than hammering nails himself.
That would fit with the state of his hands, which looked as if they’d seen more computer keys than hammers.
When Seth turned away from the counter, shopping bag in hand, Jack stepped forward so they nearly bumped into each other.
“Sorry, man,” Jack said. Seth shrugged and tried to step around him, but Jack said, “Hang on. Don’t I know you?”
“Don’t think so—”
“Yeah, you’re Seth. Seth Baker from Sea Smoke Island.”
Seth’s head jerked up. That quick glance told Jack a few things. One, he was on edge, just like Tina had predicted. Two, he wasn’t used to whatever criminal shenanigans he was involved in. He didn’t have control over his reactions. His brown eyes filled with alarm as they darted toward the door.
“You got me mixed up with someone else,” he finally said. “What’s Sea Smoke Island?”
More signs of inexperience. Never say more than you have to. Even Jack knew that much.
“Really? Man, you look like Seth. Guess you have a doppelg?nger. I swear it was you that I saw with Jessie.”
Another flinch from Seth. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”
Of course he did. A flashing neon sign would have been less obvious than that guilty expression on his face.
“Too bad for you. She’s a cool girl. If anything happened to her, she’d have an entire island looking for her. That’s how Sea Smoke rolls.”
Seth’s face—good-looking in an eager, puppy-dog way—paled as he tried to edge around Jack. “Whatever, dude.”
Jack shifted his position, refusing to let him pass. “You should drop the act. You’re in over your head and you know it. Let us help you. I figure if Jessie liked you even a little bit, you must have some redeeming qualities.”
“I don’t know—”
“Lloyd Mansfield, right? Also known as Seth Baker and Adam Johnson? I know all about you, and so does she.” He waved his hand toward the Uber that Seth had parked just outside the store.
Tina posed there, one hip leaning against it, her arms folded across her chest, looking like the badass she was.
“She’s a police officer, in case you can’t tell. ”
An expression of sheer panic came over Seth’s face. With a sudden move, he shoved Jack so hard he stumbled backwards, into a display rack of phone chargers. By the time Jack got his balance back, Seth was out the door and racing down the strip mall’s sidewalk, with Tina in hot pursuit.
Jack ran after them, ignoring the shouts of the store clerk.
Seth was fast and desperate, but Tina was holding her own, just a few yards behind him.
He dodged around a table set out in front of a yogurt shop, the pulled it over behind him so it would block Tina’s path.
She hurdled right over it, not missing a beat.
Seth looked over his shoulder to see if his gambit had worked, then nearly collided with a kid holding an ice cream cone. “Hey, asshole!” said the man holding the kid’s hand.
“Sorry,” Seth gasped, and Jack knew he’d been right. Seth did have some redeeming qualities; Jessie hadn’t fallen for a complete jerk.
He kept running, took one more look over his shoulder, then veered into the parking lot. The sound of brakes screeching ripped through the air, followed by a horrifying thud as a Volvo slammed into him.
Seth crumpled to the pavement. Tina raced to his side and crouched next to him. “Call nine-one-one!” she yelled. “Jack! Now!”
As Jack grabbed his phone, she checked Seth’s airway and breathing. Basic triage, he knew. CAB, circulation, airway, breathing.
The driver of the Volvo, a teenage girl, climbed out of the car, sobbing and saying over and over again, “He ran right in front of me. I wasn’t even going fast. I’m so sorry, oh my god…”
Her wails were interrupted by the dispatcher.
“Someone was just hit by a car in…” wildly, he looked around for the name of this strip mall. “It’s a yogurt shop. Humphrey Yoghurt. Come quick.”
Tina kneeled over Seth’s chest and began compressions on his chest. Her movements were so quick and efficient that even the other onlookers who had gathered kept their distance. Someone comforted the teenager, while others held up their phones.
“He’s breathing now,” Tina said after a few moments. She climbed off Seth’s body. “Stay back and give him space.”
Everyone obeyed. Of course they did; Tina’s air of authority came so naturally to her. The sound of incoming sirens grew louder, and a moment later an ambulance pulled up behind the Volvo that had struck Seth. Paramedics ran toward them with a gurney.
Tina briefed them as they did their own assessment. “Officer Chen from Harbortown, Maine. I happened to witness the incident. He wasn’t breathing so I performed CPR. Could be a collapsed lung or a pulmonary contusion. I haven’t checked for other injuries. He’s been unconscious since he was hit.”
“Sounds like he was lucky you were there. Probably saved his life. We got it from here, ma’am.”
Tina stepped back so they could transfer him to the gurney. “Where are you taking him? I’d like to check in on him.”
“Sure thing. We’ll let the staff know. The nearest hospital is in Concord, Concord Hospital.” With that, they whisked him into the ambulance and a moment later it was gone.
“Show’s over, everyone!” Tina called to the onlookers. A few of them actually applauded, which made her scowl. “They think it’s a damn TV show,” she muttered to Jack. “No offense.”
He inhaled long and deep, feeling as if he hadn’t actually breathed in some time. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I’m not a doctor. I have no idea.”
His throat tightened. Not only would he feel terrible if Seth Baker died because they were chasing him, but he was their only link to Jessie.
If he was gone, so was any chance of finding her.
What if she was in one of those underground serial killer dens, waiting for him to bring her food?
What if she died of starvation or dehydration before they could figure out where the hell she was?
Tina snapped her fingers, jolting him out of his spiral of despair. “Focus, Jack. He’s alive for now, and I intend to be in his hospital room if and when he wakes up. But first…”
“What?”
She pulled a set of keys from her pocket and dangled them before him.
His mouth fell open, a rush of hope nearly knocking him off his feet. “You stole his keys while you were doing CPR on him?”
She gave him a wink. “I like to think he owes me for saving his life. Now come on. Let’s see what we can find out from his so-called buddy’s car.”