Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
A sick sensation twisted Aiden’s stomach into knots as he stared at the coffee shop. To think he had just been here yesterday. Now she was missing, apparently abducted after her shift last night.
He glanced at the other agents and policemen standing in the parking lot in front of the coffee shop. “What are you thinking?”
“She never made it to her car,” one officer said. “It’s still locked, and her purse and keys were found on the sidewalk this morning by the manager.”
The local police had called the FBI first thing this morning as soon as Maya Danvers had been reported missing. Normally, they would have waited since she was of legal age, but considering the circumstances, they weren’t taking any chances. They were treating it as an abduction.
Like the previous three victims, Maya had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Three months earlier, Kelly Greene had been the first woman to disappear from the Chicago area. Her boyfriend had reported her missing when she hadn’t come home after work.
A month later, Jacqueline Howard had gone missing. The young nursing student lived alone, and she hadn’t shown up for her shift at work. After a couple of days, authorities found her house empty. They still weren’t entirely sure when she had been abducted or from where.
The third, Caroline Alsept, had disappeared the previous month, reported missing by her parents when she hadn’t come home. No one had seen her since.
When the locals got the call about Maya, they had immediately assumed the worst. It appeared that whoever was targeting these young women had crossed state lines, elevating the case from state to federal level. That was where the FBI came in.
There were enough similarities between the victims to believe it could very well be the same person who had taken them. Speculation had been flying around all morning, everyone trying to guess who the man could be and what had happened to the women.
Maya’s car sat at almost a ninety-degree angle from the front door, and unfortunately, none of the cameras pointed in that direction.
Aiden glanced around, then gestured toward a small ballet studio across the narrow alley. “Anyone check with them yet?”
“They just opened,” replied the detective from the local precinct.
Aiden nodded to his partner. “Let’s go check it out.”
He scanned the facade of the building as they crossed the street and winced internally when he saw no evidence of a camera mounted outside. A little bell over the door jingled as they stepped into the lobby, and a middle-aged woman greeted them with a smile.
“Can I help you, gentlemen?”
Aiden nodded to the woman. “I’m Agent Aiden Taylor from the FBI,” he said, flashing his badge. “This is Agent Sean Kennedy.”
Her brows drew slightly together in question. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mary. What can I do for you?”
“Would you happen to have any cameras that overlook that parking lot?” he asked, pointing toward the coffee shop.
She gestured to a camera positioned near the counter. “I have this one, but it’s mostly just to keep an eye on the door. I don’t know if you’ll be able to see much.”
“Anything you have may help.”
He briefly explained what had happened the night before. As he spoke of Maya’s disappearance, a lump formed in his throat.
He still couldn’t believe it. Even though he didn’t know her all that well, he had met her. She was real. She wasn’t just another name on a case file, and that made the case feel that much more personal.
Aiden shoved the thought to the back of his mind and forced his emotions back in check.
“Would you mind if we take a look?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks, Mary.”
She stepped out of the way as they rounded the counter.
“Is this the recording from last night?”
She nodded. “It keeps about a week’s worth of footage before it starts recording over it.”
Aiden was familiar with the system, so he rewound to the previous night around 8:00 p.m., when the coffee shop closed. The black-and-white image on the screen was grainy, but the angle through the large bay window was surprisingly good.
Aiden watched on the screen as a young woman left in a small sedan. The minutes ticked away until he finally watched Maya Danvers exit the coffee shop.
As she approached the corner of the building, a lumbering shadow moved in front of her.
He watched as she struggled against the man’s hold until she went limp. The man dragged her backward, pulling her off-screen, and anticipation raced through his veins.
A minute later, a light-colored van drove down the alley separating the ballet studio from the coffee shop.
A streetlight illuminated the passenger-side window, highlighting the man’s profile, and Aiden caught a glimpse of the person who had abducted Maya. He wore a ball cap, but with the light behind him, it was too dark to make out his features.
“There’s our guy,” he murmured. “Now let’s figure out who he is.”
Aiden rewound the tape to around 7:00 p.m., watching intently for the van.
It never came.
“Wonder if he came in from another direction,” Kennedy mused.
It was entirely possible. Aiden glanced at Mary. “I’d like to review this a little closer.”
“Whatever you need,” she agreed readily. “I hope you find something.”
As he took the disc, thoughts swirled through his mind. They were already sixteen hours behind whoever had taken Maya. The seconds were rapidly ticking away, and he could only hope they would find her before it was too late.