Chapter 26
26
M ason grew irritated with the questioning. They weren't looking for her. "Please, please get out there and look for her. She's not here. She needs help."
Both Tray Fielding and Erin Moody stared into his eyes. They were just doing their jobs.
Trey said, "Mason, we understand, and we're doing all we can, but we have to gather as much information as we can so that we can help her."
Quinn rushed into the building. He stopped at the table where they sat and looked down at him.
"Are you alright?"
Mason shook his head, closed his eyes, then said, "She's out there. Somebody has her and I'm stuck here answering questions as if I've done something wrong. We need to find her, Quinn."
Quinn nodded. "We'll find her. Luckily, I do have some security footage. At least I have a bit. I managed to see it on my phone."
He motioned to Tray Fielding. If you follow me, the security closet is over here. Mason got up to go but was halted by Officer Moody. "I'm sorry you have to stay here with me."
"I want to see. I might be able to help. I might know the person. I might be able to identify him."
"In due time," she responded. "First, let Chief Fielding see what he can see."
Frustrated, Mason sat back in the chair. "This is ridiculous."
It wasn't long before Chief Fielding and Quinn came back into the room.
Mason sat up straighter. "Can I see? Did you see him? Did you see somebody? Do you know who it is?"
Quinn glanced at Tray and then back to Mason. "We can see a man. He's wearing a dark jacket. His hair is lighter. Military cut. He was sitting in his car a couple of cars away from where Carley parked. He got out as she was digging her paperwork from her car. He caught her by surprise. And it looked like he injected her with something. We don't have his face, though. I don't know if he realized that there was a camera watching the parking lot or if it was dumb luck on his part. But she was definitely taken."
Mason's stomach turned. What to do now? What if she needed him and what did he inject her with? Things started running through his mind. The different drugs that would render somebody unconscious or unable to move. "She might need medical help. We don't know what he injected her with."
Chief Fielding nodded. "Yes, we've taken that into consideration but first before we can do anything else we need to find her."
"So what do you have to go on?"
We have the car on camera. We managed to get the plate number, and I've called it in. Blossom Springs PD is running it now. I've called in the state police. We're running the photographs of the car, the plates, and his picture through the database. Hopefully, someone will be able to identify him. But in the meantime, we'll be patrolling, and so will state and county police. Do you have any other questions?"
Mason's breathing was ragged and measured. His hands shook slightly. He picked up the water bottle Jace had brought him and took a healthy drink. She needed help. She needed someone to help her. This all seemed slow and agonizing.
Then he blurted out, "So we're supposed to just sit here and wait and hope that you see a car driving by? What if he's already got her somewhere?"
"Mason, we know this is difficult. Believe me, we know, and we're doing the best we can. We have protocol we have to follow, and we're doing everything we can to move as expeditiously as possible."
Mason swallowed. His eyes moved to Jace who sat alongside quietly. His jaw was tense as if he was gritting his teeth. That gave Mason some comfort at least. Jace cared as much as he did. At least somebody else was also irritated with the slow process.
Police officers left and Mason turned to Jace. "We have to do something. We have to do something to help her."
"I agree. Do you have thoughts?"
"I do, actually. I have a friend, Mitch DeMario, who is in the security business. He's going to be in town soon to pick up the thumb drive from you. I want to bring him in since he'll be in town anyway. I want him to help with this. Before you give him the thumb drive, let's talk to him."
Mason's phone rang and he quickly grabbed it off the table hoping Carley had managed to get to a phone.
Jace said, "Answer it, Mason. What if it's the kidnapper?"
Mason tapped the answer call icon and put it on speaker. "Mason Thompson."
"Hey, Mason, it's Mitch DeMario. I'm fifteen minutes away from Blossom Springs. Ethan Dougherty gave me your phone number. I'm not sure if you remember who I am; we serve..."
Mason interrupted him. "I know exactly who you are. Listen, Mitch, I'm sorry to throw you into this so abruptly, but my girlfriend was kidnapped about an hour ago. I could really use your help on this. It's gonna take the police forever while they’re following protocol. We have some video footage, a visual of the vehicle, a plate number, and that's about it. We could sure use your help."
Mitch was quiet for a moment. When he responded, Mason felt immediately relieved. "Okay, well, I'm sorry to hear that first of all, but it’s a good thing that you have some video footage. Where can I meet you, and what are we doing?"
"I'm at the Barracks Condos at the end of Main Street. When you get to Blossom Springs turn down Main Street and head all the way to the end. Main Street actually ends in our parking lot. I'm here with Jace Marriott and Quinn Kurtz. Quinn is the developer of these condos, and he has the video footage here."
"Ten-four. I'll be there in just under 15 minutes."
Mason stood and took in some deep breaths. He felt stronger now than he had in a long time. "Okay, so here's what I propose. We're gonna get Mitch here and we’ll get that video cued up so he can see what you have. We're gonna work this our way. The way we would do in the military when we're looking for someone. The way we know how. That's what we're gonna do."
Quinn turned his eyes toward Jace.
Jace to his credit, didn't patronize him or say anything other than, "I'm with you. Let's do this."