Chapter Twenty-Six
Beck
The drive to Gloucester feels like it takes a lifetime, but we eventually pull into the police station in the center of town. I’m out of the car before Finn has even switched off the ignition.
“Beck,” he warns coming to join me. “Just take it easy, dude. We don’t wanna go in there and start bossing everyone around; this is their town.”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice harsh. “And that’s my girl he’s got.”
Finn exhales hard. “I know it is, okay? You think I don’t know that?
This whole thing is driving me crazy too, Beck,” he says, running a rough hand through his hair.
“It’s been going on for fucking months, getting progressively worse and worse and I just…
” he trails off. “I just wish I’d fucking done something more, you know, that I’d locked this fucking asshole up or something. ”
As I watch my brother unleash his frustrations, it occurs to me that all of this was going on before I even got to Rockport.
The only reason I came up here at all is because this Jason guy decided to step things up a notch to the point that Finn decided to call me.
I knew Finn and his team were already stretched thin trying to track this guy down, but he continued to outsmart all of us.
And I also knew that Finn would blame himself for something like this.
Rockport is his town and Kelsey is one of his people, even more so because of her connection to our family.
“Finn,” I say, turning to face him. “You know I don’t blame you for what’s happened here, don’t you?” Finn shrugs, but doesn’t say anything. “I don’t, bro. Really,” I say, walking towards him. “I’m the one who fucked up here.”
“Beck, you had to go back for that trial,” Finn says, cutting me off.
I run a hand through my hair, shaking my head at him. “That’s not what I meant, Finn,” I say. “If I’d never left Rockport in the first place, then none of this would have fucking happened. It’s my fault Kelsey’s in this situation, Finn. Not yours and not anyone else’s. Mine.”
Finn shakes his head as he steps closer and puts a hand on my arm. “Beck, you can’t beat yourself up about leaving,” he says, meeting my stare. “We all know why you had to go. She gets it, Beck, she really does.”
“I don’t know, Finn,” I say, letting out a hard breath. “None of this would be happening if I hadn’t.”
Finn stares at me for a few seconds. “Well, whether you want to blame yourself or not, nothing’s going to change the fact that it has happened, okay?
” he says. “And right now, the only thing we should be focusing on, is finding Kels and getting her back. Nothing else,” he adds, leveling me with a hard stare.
I nod and we turn and walk into the station.
The Gloucester Chief of Police is waiting for us and I watch as he and Finn smile and shake hands. The two of them are old friends.
“Tony, this is my brother, Beck,” Finn says, introducing us. “That’s his girl this fucker’s got.”
Tony nods at me as he shakes my hand. “And you’re a cop in Boston?” he asks, but there’s nothing in his question. No, this is my pool you’re pissing in now, so watch it, tone to it.
“That’s right,” I say. “This guy lives in Boston, although he has any number of identities on the go. She knew him as Jason Henderson, but apparently to you guys, he’s Tyson Carter?”
“Jesus, who the fuck is this guy?” Tony asks, shaking his head.
“An ex-cop,” I say, staring at him. “My partner found some dirt on him. He’s from Florida originally, moved up here when shit went bad.”
“Fuck,” Tony breathes out. “Well, let’s sit down and work out what we’ve got on him. Get a plan in place.”
We spend the next hour going over everything we have on this guy. It’s slow and frustrating and by the time I look up and realize the sun is coming up, I’m about ready to fucking punch something.
“You guys got any coffee?” I ask, standing and stretching my back.
“Yeah, help yourself,” Tony says. “Mike, get a fresh pot brewing,” he adds on, yelling to one of his officers.
I wave Mike off, needing something else to do while I go over the information we have, although so far, we basically have squat on this guy.
The boat might be registered in Gloucester, but no one’s seen it since Rachel went missing nearly a year ago.
Her family says the last time they saw her, was when she and Tyson went out for the day on it.
Apparently she’d thought he was about to propose to her, some last ditch effort to get her back.
Rachel hadn’t wanted to go, but her mom had encouraged her.
Said Tyson had always seemed like a nice man and maybe it was worth a shot.
Unfortunately for Rachel, it doesn’t appear that was the case.
She hasn’t been seen since, and her mom has been living with the guilt of sending her only daughter straight into the arms of a fucking psycho.
I knew exactly how she felt.
I put some fresh coffee on to brew, before heading to the restrooms to splash some water on my face; try and wake up so I can focus on the details.
Rachel’s house turned out to be a dead-end too, with no sign of her or Jason.
Where the fuck is this guy, is he even in Gloucester?
I mean just because the boat was registered here, doesn’t mean he’d actually come back here.
The guy is smarter than that; his actions so far have proved it.
Plus, he’s an ex-cop, a guy with knowledge of police procedure, evidence and following leads.
Surely he wouldn’t be dumb enough to lead us to a town that he has a history in.
“Fuck,” I say, staring at my reflection in the mirror. “Where the fuck are you, Kelsey?” I ask myself. I splash some more water on me, before walking back to the kitchen, making the three of us some coffee and heading back to the guys.
Just as I’m walking back to the chief’s office, my cell rings.
“Ryan, hey, what have you got?” I say, stopping in the doorway.
“Hey, no word on Kels yet?” he asks.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m in Gloucester now and so far we’ve got nothing. I just don’t know what the fuck to do, Ryan,” I admit. “I don’t even know if this fucking asshole is here.”
Ryan exhales through the phone. “Well, I’ve got an idea,” he says. “It might not work, but it’s worth a try.”
“Shoot,” I say, handing Tony and Finn their coffee. “At this point, I’m willing to try anything.”
“Well,” Ryan says. “Remember those walkie-talkies you gave the girls?”
“Yeah,” I say, glancing at Finn.
“Have you tried searching the GPS on Kelsey’s?” he asks. “Erin told me she can’t find Kelsey’s radio anywhere. We wonder if maybe somehow, she managed to take it with her.”
“Fucking hell,” I practically shout, stunning Tony and Finn. “Why the fuck didn’t I think of this?”
“Beck, you’ve got a lot going on, dude,” Ryan says. “You want me to start a trace? Erin’s given me the details, shouldn’t be too hard to check it out.”
I exhale hard, nodding as I say, “Ryan, that would be fucking amazing, yes, do it.”
“Will do,” he says. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Thanks,” I say, hanging up. Fuck, I am glad I have this guy for a partner.
Apart from the fact that he’s smart and always thinking outside the box, he can always be relied on to have my back too.
And apparently him hooking up with Erin has other advantages, like the two of them coming up with a plan that the three of us didn’t even fucking consider.
I relay the information to Finn and Tony, both of them nodding and saying it’s worth a shot. It takes forever for Ryan to call me back, but when he finally does, I answer it on the first ring.
“What have you got?”
“Batteries are dead, obviously,” he says. “It was the first thing Erin tried, but we managed to pick up the GPS signal,” he adds.
“Fuck, tell me you’ve got a location?” I say, standing and pacing the room.
“I’ve got something better than that,” Ryan says. “I’ve got a location in Gloucester. She’s there, Beck, she’s somewhere in Gloucester.”
“Oh fuck, thank god,” I breathe out, collapsing into my chair.
“It’s a twenty mile radius, but from the maps, it doesn’t look like there’s much out there. A couple of farmhouses, all next to the water. Shouldn’t be too hard to find her.”
“Ryan, shit, thank you,” I say, my eyes closing as I start to believe I really might get her back. “I owe you big time for this.”
Ryan chuckles. “Dude, I’ve told you, you don’t owe me shit for this. I’m just doing my job and I’m glad I could help you out.”
“Well, thank you anyway,” I say. “And if you ever need anything, anything at all. A good word put in with Erin or something, just let me know.”
Ryan laughs now. “I think I’m good with Erin, Beck. She can’t resist me, but thanks anyway.”
I finally smile. “Cocky bastard.”
“You know it,” he says. “I’m sending you this info now. Go find your girl, Beck. Let me know when you get her.”
“Will do.”
I hang up and ten minutes later, we have a search area for where this fucker might be. Tony gets out a map of the area, circling the search site and highlighting the three potential cabins where Jason might be keeping her.
“We should go together,” he says. “Starting here,” he adds, indicating the closest cabin. “And moving through them. I don’t want anyone splitting up. This guy clearly knows what he’s doing and should be considered dangerous. No one’s getting shot on my watch, clear?”
Finn and I both look up at him. As much as I think the three of us should split up, take a couple of guys each and go our separate ways, I know he’s right.
Part of the reason Kelsey got taken in the first place is that some young rookie with no experience, was left in charge.
I don’t want that happening again. As much as I want to believe these guys know what they’re doing, I can’t bring myself to trust Kelsey with anyone but me or Finn.
“Clear,” Finn and I both say.
“Right then,” he says. “Let’s get our shit together and go.”
It takes another thirty minutes for us to get ready.
Like Rockport, Gloucester doesn’t normally see this kind of action, especially on a weekday.
It’s bigger than Rockport, but still, the most they can hope for is a couple of break-ins or the occasional car accident, maybe a fire or two.
Rarely do they see an ex-cop stalker who’s now wanted for kidnapping and a potential murder.
“You doing okay?” Finn asks, as we walk towards his car.
“Yeah,” I answer, giving him a quick nod. “I just wanna get there, you know. Find my girl and make this fucker pay for what he’s done to her.”
Finn doesn’t start the car and I turn to glare at him, tell him to hurry the fuck up, but his look stops me. “What?” I ask.
“Just take it easy, okay?” he says. “I know you want to find her, we all do. But you going in there, all guns blazing, isn’t going to help Kelsey. She’d die if something happened to you, Beck,” he says. “So don’t make me have to go through that.”
I nod once, not saying anything.
The drive out to the first farmhouse takes about forty-five minutes. We park about a mile down the drive, leaving the sirens off and our cars on the side of the road. Finn, Tony and I, all take flanking positions, each of us with two of Tony’s guys.
But the farmhouse is empty, nothing but boarded up windows and a roof that’s half caved in. It doesn’t look like anyone has set foot on the property in years and there’s definitely no sign of activity or the boat.
“Fucking shit,” I say, getting back into the car.
“Beck,” Finn warns. “Just take it easy, remember, it’s only the first place.”
“I know, I know,” I say, impatient. “I just, fuck, I just wanna find her.”
We head towards the second house in the search zone.
This one takes another twenty minutes and turns out, is set even further back from the road.
It’s the perfect spot for holding someone, because it’s isolated, close to the water and nobody would ever drive past it.
You’d have to be specifically coming to visit to even notice the drive in the first place.
We do the same as before, leaving our cars on the side of the road, before heading up to the house. Finn and Tony take the sides and I head up the middle, straight towards the front of the house.
It's a single story, possibly three bedrooms. All of the windows are shut, about half of them covered with blinds. To the side of the house is a shed and in front of that sits a dock, the Lucky Lady tied to it.
“Shit,” I exhale. “We’ve fucking found her.”
I turn to the guys with me, signaling for them to be silent as I flick the safety off my gun and get ready to move. Just as we approach the house though, I hear a woman scream.
“Fuck! Kelsey!” I shout, ignoring everything we talked about and bolt for the house.