Chapter 20 Sully #2
“Evan hacked into the security system at the home. There was a flower delivery earlier that afternoon to a neighbor down the hall from Lynn’s place that Autumn is clearing out.
A van was parked out front with the flower shop logo on it.
The guy signed in as usual. Went upstairs.
Then it got interesting. The security guard was called away for a fire alarm, which turned out to be false.
When he got back a short time later, the van was gone, but the delivery guy wasn’t on any footage leaving the building.
We assumed Blane paid someone to drive the van away and maybe even set off the alarm.
We checked, and the van was reported stolen that morning.
Found dumped and clean later. The apartment the flowers were for was searched.
The resident was actually out of the building for the day on a bus trip and had no idea someone had been in her place.
” Niall grunted. “Lucky for her, I’d say.
He’s unstable, so God only knows…” He trailed off.
“He knew where she was. He’s been planning this.”
“Afraid so. He changed his appearance. No longer the clean-shaven, light-haired guy that Autumn knew.” He handed me a picture. The man in the photo had longer, dark hair. A beard and mustache. Glasses. His skin looked tanned, and the jacket he wore made him look bulkier.
“Jesus, he could have walked past us a dozen times.”
“I think he did. Dressed as an orderly in the hospital. A regular visitor. He could have overheard conversations. Plotted. We think he waited until he knew she was alone. Evan did some digging, and the girl’s Facebook account was real but hacked.
We’ve confirmed she never communicated with Autumn.
He set it all up. He’s been biding his time. ”
“Jesus Christ, Niall.”
He leaned forward, gripping my shoulder. “We’ll find her. I swear it. We’ve called in favors. We’ve got the power and reach of the syndicate behind this.”
“Finn said there was blood.”
“I think she fought. There was broken glass. Blood on the counter and her phone on the floor. We assume she was trying to grab it.” He reached into his pocket, handing me Autumn’s necklace. The chain was snapped, the links torn apart as if it had been ripped off her neck.
I shut my eyes. “I want him buried so deep, Satan is already there waiting for him.”
“Done.”
We reached the hotel and went straight upstairs. Finn bear-hugged me, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. “We’ll find her,” he vowed.
I gripped his arm. “I need everything you’ve got, Finn.”
“It’s yours.”
Finn took me to the control room. It was frenetic with men and women bent over keyboards, talking, one person at a whiteboard writing information down. Evan looked up as we walked in.
“We’ve patched into the street camera from around the time we think she went missing.
There is a car we can’t account for leaving from behind the building just after the time Davey went upstairs.
We checked the security feed, and the camera at the back was repositioned away, but we caught a corner.
I think he took her down the back stairs, out the rear door, and left in a hurry.
We followed the car until it disappeared off the cameras.
We’re tracing the plate.” He brought up an image. “Only one person in the car.”
We peered at the grainy image. The person had dark hair and a beard, but you couldn’t say for sure it was him, although we were certain.
“Only one person? Where is Autumn?” I muttered, then clutched the edge of the table as realization sank in.
No one spoke, but we all knew. He was driving. She was in the trunk.
I shut my eyes.
Was she unconscious? Hurt? Awake and terrified? Crying for me?
Niall stepped beside me. “Calm, Sully. We need you calm.”
I looked down, seeing I had torn the trim from the desk, crushing it in my hand.
I tried to take a deep breath, the oxygen struggling to fill my lungs.
“What can I do?”
There was a shout and a curse behind me. “The car was stolen and found ditched. He must have switched vehicles.”
“Start checking other feeds,” Evan ordered, walking to an image of a map. “He was heading toward cottage country. He must have a place there. Someone check land titles up north for his real name!”
If it was possible, the noise grew louder. Everyone was talking, Evan shouting out orders. It was chaos, yet I knew it was controlled. No one was panicked or looking confused. They were all concentrating, doing what they did best.
“Let’s go to my office,” Finn said, pulling on my arm.
“There must be something we can do.” I looked around, feeling powerless. Not a sensation I liked.
“They need the room,” Niall assured me. “Without distractions. And the way you’re pacing, you’re a distraction.”
I hadn’t even realized I was moving. I let them lead me to Finn’s office.
A glass with a shot of whiskey was pushed into my hand, and a plate appeared before me.
“Drink this. You need it. And eat. We all need to keep up our strength.” Niall poured a mug of coffee for each of us after tossing back a shot himself. “Now, Sully.”
I did what he told me to do, the whiskey burning its way down my gullet and into my empty stomach. Its warmth was immediate. I forced myself to eat a sandwich, tasting nothing.
Was Autumn hungry?
Scared?
Cold?
I opened my eyes, forcing the vision of her tied up and injured in a trunk, being dragged God knew where, out of my mind before I went mad.
“Sully.”
I met Finn’s gaze. “I just spoke with Roman Costas.”
I knew the name. The reputation. His brother was one of the former heads of the syndicate, and Finn had taken over his jurisdictions and place in the organization. He’d purchased this hotel and casino from Roman, and they had become friends.
“He is trying to help. Using his IT team with Evan to make the search go faster. He’s offering men and anything else we might need.”
I nodded.
“He’ll come if I ask him. Bring reinforcements.”
I was about to reply when Evan burst through the door. “I think we got something.”
We were all on our feet instantly.
“And?”
“We need to move. We need two vans and a shit-ton of equipment they’re already packing up.”
Niall put his phone to his ear, talking rapidly.
“What did you find?” I demanded.
“An out-of-the-way cottage and—” he grinned “—a signal from Lynn’s safety watch.”
“What good does that do us?” I asked.
“We didn’t find it at The Haven, and Davey recalls Autumn slipping it into her pocket. I think she somehow managed to press the button that sent the signal. The coordinates match.”
A signal meant she was alive. And we knew where to look.
“Let’s go.”