Chapter 4 Mitch #2
“What about the car behind Jackie’s medical practice? Any luck with the security footage?”
“The car was parked in a blind spot,” Glory said, frustration evident in her voice. “Jake and I checked every camera from the businesses nearby. Nothing. Whoever’s doing this knows exactly where the cameras are and how to avoid them.”
Mitch ran a hand through his hair. “Alright. Lori and I are coming back to the hospital. We need to regroup and figure out our next move.”
“I’ll get Jake to go to Seabird then if that’s okay,” Glory said. “He’ll take the evidence.”
“That’s a better idea,” Mitch agreed. “We all know Jake and Ryan’s history.
It’s better if you’re there if he wakes up before we get back.
” He hung up and turned to Lori. “We’re going back to the hospital.
Glory’s found the farmhouse where they were held, but the owners have no obvious connection to any of this.
We need to regroup and go through what we know.
I think it will be best to do it at the hospital where we are close to both Ryan and Elias Dane in case he wakes up. ”
“What about Tessa?” Lori asked, her voice desperate. “We can’t just leave her out there. We have to find her.”
“We will,” Mitch said firmly. “But we need information first. We need to know who we’re looking for and where they might have taken her. Right now, we’re flying blind.”
The drive back to the hospital took less time than it should have, with Mitch pushing the speed limit again.
Lori sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window most of the way, not saying a word.
They reached the hospital and made their way up to Ryan’s room.
Glory was sitting in the chair beside the bed, her laptop open, working on something. She looked up when they entered.
“Any change?” Mitch asked, nodding toward his son.
“Not yet,” Glory said. “The nurse said he’ll probably sleep for another few hours at least.”
Mitch pulled up another chair for Lori, and they all sat down. For the next hour, they went over everything they knew. The kidnappings. The threatening messages. The farmhouse. The security footage showed nothing.
“It has to be connected to the Sally Lane case,” Mitch said, pacing back and forth in the small hospital room. “Everything points back to that.”
“But how do I fit into it?” Lori asked. “What did I do that would make someone want revenge like this?” She shook her head. “I’ve been racking my brains. All I can think of is Trevor’s dealings and investigations into the Stansteads.”
A groan from the bed made them all turn.
Ryan was starting to stir, his eyes fluttering open slowly.
Mitch breathed a breath of silent relief once again.
He hated to admit it and knew Ryan needed the rest, but he preferred his son awake and alert.
If it wasn’t for the heart monitors with their steady rhythm, Mitch would be tickling Ryan’s feet or putting a mirror or glass to his nose every few minutes to ensure he was alive.
Because the truth was, Mitch couldn’t shake the memory of another hospital room. Another son. Another monitor that did not beep.
“Hey,” Mitch said, moving to his son’s bedside. “Take it easy. You’re in the hospital. You’re safe.”
Ryan’s eyes focused on his father’s face, then swept the room, taking in Lori and Glory. “What happened? How long was I out?”
“A few hours,” Mitch said. “The nurse gave you something to help you sleep after you tried to make a break for it.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened. “Tessa. Is there any news? Did you find her?”
The question hung in the air, heavy with fear and hope. Mitch saw Lori close her eyes, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Not yet,” Mitch said quietly. “But we’re working on it. We’re going to find her, Ryan. I promise you that.”
Ryan tried to sit up, wincing at the pull in his side. “Tell me everything we know so far.”
“We don’t know that much yet,” Mitch admitted.
Just then, Lori’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her purse as Mitch was about to tell Ryan about the farmhouse, but he was interrupted when Lori looked at him.
“It’s Trent,” Lori whispered as if Trent could hear her.
“Answer it,” Mitch told her. “But don’t tell him about Tessa.”
He saw the worry flash in Lori’s eyes as she nodded and hit answer. “Hello, Trent, how are you?”
Mitch mouthed, “Put it on speaker.” Lori hit the speaker button. “I’m fine,” Trent’s words were clipped and had an urgency to them that immediately alerted Mitch to his stress.
“Are you okay?” Mitch asked.
“Mitch?” Trent asked.
“Sorry,” Lori apologized. “I put you on speaker. Mitch, Ryan, and Glory are here with me in Ryan’s hospital room.”
“Hospital room?” Trent asked incredulously. “What the heck is going on there?”
“Just an accident,” Ryan lied. “No need to worry.”
“Really?” Trent drawled, not convinced. “Is my sister with you?”
“Uh… no,” Lori stammered. “Not at the moment.”
“Do you know where she is?” Trent asked in a tone that felt more like he was interrogating them and already knew the answer.
“W... why do you ask?” Lori was not very good at this. Mitch knew he’d have to take over.
Before he could, Glory jumped in. “I think she’s on a date.”
“A date?” Trent repeated, skepticism dripping from his voice.
“Yes,” Lori said quickly, trying to back Glory up. “She mentioned she was meeting someone.”
Mitch had a funny feeling they were walking straight into a trap. Trent was too calm, too controlled. He knew something.
“Does this man she’s on a date with own a yacht or a fishing boat?” Trent asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
Lori’s face went pale. “No. We all know Tessa hates sailing. Why on earth would you ask that?”
Mitch’s mind suddenly flashed back to earlier that morning, before Lori and Tessa had left for the hospital.
Tessa had appeased his worry for them going off on their own by installing a tracking app that showed where her and Lori’s phones were.
Then she’d installed and given him permission to a tracking app that Trent had set up for the tracker on Tessa’s wristwatch.
He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his apps, looking for the tracker app Tessa had installed.
“Because, about forty minutes ago,” Trent said, his words measured and tight, “an alert from the GPS tracker I installed in Tessa’s watch hit one of the programmed trigger conditions. I should’ve seen it sooner, but I’m in the middle of an operation and wasn’t monitoring closely.”
“What trigger condition?” Ryan demanded, pushing himself further upright despite the pain.
“One of Tessa’s worst fears,” Trent said, and there was real emotion breaking through his controlled tone now. Mitch found the app. His finger hovered over it as his stomach dropped.
“So I would very much like to know,” Trent continued, his voice sharp, “why my sister’s GPS alert is going off for her being eight miles off the coast of Nantucket, and moving farther out into the Atlantic Ocean?”