Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Four sets of eyes swiveled toward Luke as he shoved open the door to the bullpen. “We have a problem.”
He had just left the health center after investigating a false alarm when Aiden had called with the information they’d been looking for. Since Steve Iverson’s alibi had checked out, Aiden and Luke had spent the past day and a half reviewing the recordings from the camera in Hannah’s allotment.
A nondescript silver sedan had appeared at relevant times, and the license plate had come back on Andrew Thomas Chandler.
A far cry from the flashy red Porsche he typically drove, Luke was furious that the man had managed to slip by them the first time they’d reviewed the footage.
Aiden had checked the Toyota against DMV records and confirmed it was linked to Dr. Andrew Chandler.
Digging deeper into the man’s past, Aiden had discovered an unsettling history.
Chandler came from a broken home in West Virginia, and his father had died under suspicious circumstances, as had the aunt who’d gained custody of the young man for several months before he’d turned eighteen and moved out.
When the police had investigated the father’s death, the seventeen-year-old had pled self-defense, claiming he’d stabbed the older man when he attacked Andrew in a drunken rage.
The boy had been sent to live with his aunt, his father’s sister, who, according to friends of hers, had been happy to send the boy on his way.
Several years later, the very weekend of Selah’s death, the woman had died of a broken neck from an apparent fall down the stairs.
Luke was furious for not looking more deeply into the man sooner.
It all made perfect sense now—he’d introduced himself to Hannah and Selah using his middle name, then escaped back to college one state over with no one the wiser.
Even Monique’s murder was linked to the man—Andrew routinely made rounds at the hospital where she worked.
He thought of Hannah’s terrified voice and prayed it wouldn’t be the last time he had the chance to speak with her.
He palmed the phone still in his hand and thrust it toward Aiden. The mute function kept their side of the conversation silent so Chandler wouldn’t overhear. “He’s got Hannah. I think this is his end game.”
Aiden turned back to his computer as Knox and the newest addition, Mason Kane, looked on. “Any idea where they’re headed?”
“No, she just said that they turned right out of her allotment and headed away from town. What’s out that way?” Fury threatened to erupt, and Luke ruthlessly tamped it down, fighting to stay calm.
“What’s her address?” He rattled it off, and Aiden’s fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up a map of the surrounding area. “What should we be looking for?”
“Someplace secluded, quiet. He’ll need privacy.” Luke pointed to the screen. “Is this a river cutting through right here?”
Aiden enlarged the screen and nodded. Luke ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s it. He’s recreating the past. Find me a crossing point with a bridge—either on the road or the railroad tracks. I’m going after her.”
“Hold up, I’m coming with you.”
Knox snatched up three sets of comm devices and fell into step behind Luke, Kane on his six.
He barely spared them a glance as he jogged from the building and out into the night.
Raindrops fell from the dark sky, stinging his skin as he cut across the pavement and hopped into his truck.
The other two doors slammed behind the men in tandem as they shut themselves inside.
He tossed his phone to Knox. “Make sure the call is still connected. Can you hear anything?”
Knox held the phone to his ear and listened for a moment. “I can’t make anything out, but they’re still there.” A low thrum of indiscernible conversation filled the cabin as he turned it to speakerphone and set the phone on the console.
The headlights cut a swath through the shroud of darkness swallowing the landscape, and rain pelted the earth as they traveled farther into the empty countryside.
Heavy tension hung in the air as Luke gripped the steering wheel tightly, the tempo of his heart increasing with each mile.
Rain hammered the windshield, and the wipers made a rhythmic swishing sound as they cleared the droplets, but he heard none of it.
His thoughts were firmly focused on Hannah.
He couldn’t lose her now. She was everything he never knew he was missing until that fateful day he’d walked into the health center.
His heart constricted at the thought of her all alone.
He never should have left her. He should have stayed and fought it out, made her understand how much he loved her.
He’d waited too long, and now it might be too late.
Despair threatened to consume him, and he swallowed down the thick lump that had formed in his throat. He had to find her and bring her home safely. There was no other option.
He didn’t realize the chatter inside the cab of the truck had died away until the sound of his name interrupted his thoughts.
“What?” He turned an agitated glare on Knox.
Knox appraised him with a steady look before responding. “You got a plan or we going in hot?”
“I’m gonna kill him.” At that moment, he wasn’t entirely sure if the phrase was just an expression or the truth.
“Good plan,” Knox replied drily. He passed Luke an earpiece, and Luke slipped it into place. “If we could minimize casualties, that’d be great.”
Luke ignored his snarky humor. “If it’s anything like last time…
” White-hot fury rippled through him. The man had raped and killed Hannah’s best friend, and now she was alone with him in the middle of nowhere.
“He’s willing to go to any length to finish this.
We need to make sure that doesn’t happen. ”
“They’ve stopped moving.” Luke could hear the tension in Aiden’s voice as it crackled through the headset. “About a mile up Oak Creek Road. Authorities are on their way.”
“You’ll want to take a left up here, past the train tracks.” Luke lifted his eyes to the rearview mirror and met Mason’s gaze.
“You been briefed on this?”
“Yes, sir.” Mason leaned forward between the seats. “The next left will be Oak Creek Road. They shouldn’t hear us over the rain. We can head about a half mile up the road and move the rest of the way on foot.”
“We need to get her out of here unharmed.” Knox directed his next words at Mason. “I think we should split up.”
Mason grunted in affirmation. “Drop me at the tracks. I’ll cut through the woods and come in from the east.”
The railroad tracks came into view, and Luke slowed the truck to a stop, allowing Mason to jump out.
As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Luke hit the gas, wheels spinning on the slick pavement.
Fittingly, the road crossed over Oak Creek, one of the many small tributaries that met up with a larger river several miles away.
It was just far enough away to give the illusion of privacy but not so far that it would compromise Chandler’s mission.
Knox grabbed for the handle over the door as Luke whipped the truck onto the old dirt and gravel road.
He let off the accelerator and killed the headlights, relying on the moon overhead to guide them.
Deciding it was as good a place as any, he yanked the truck to the side of the road.
They filed out and jogged toward the bridge, careful to not make any noise, though Luke seriously doubted Andrew could hear anything over the steady drum of the rain pounding the earth.
Through the haze of raindrops, the arches of the bridge came into view, and Luke slowed his pace. Pulling the pistol from the holster on his waistband, he loaded a round into the chamber with a quick tug to the slide, and Knox mirrored his actions. “You ready?”
Knox gave a sharp nod, and they continued quickly toward the bridge.
Voices rose on the night air, and a red haze filled Luke’s vision as he took in the scene.
Andrew held Hannah captive in the middle of the old bridge, and even in the dim light of the half-obscured moon, he could clearly read the fear in her eyes.
Knox clasped a hand on Luke’s shoulder just in time, and Luke froze in place, closing his eyes for a moment. He needed to keep it together for her. There was too much at stake now; they couldn’t afford even one wrong move.
Mason’s voice crackled to life in Luke’s earpiece. “Almost there.”
Luke wiped the raindrops from his eyes, his heart thudding painfully in his chest as he watched Andrew force Hannah backward, closer and closer to the rail until her bottom bumped into the rickety wood, gray with age.
Her feet scrabbled for purchase on the slippery surface of the old road, and she threw a terrified glance behind her at the tumultuous waters below.
The tenuous hold Luke had on his control snapped, and he charged forward. “Let her go, Chandler!”
At the sound of Luke’s voice, Andrew whipped around, eyes wild in the moonlight. A torrent of rain pelted down, matting his hair, accentuating his crazed look. Threatened and trapped, he yanked Hannah in front of him for protection. “You’re too late, Stone.”
Every cell of Luke’s body went ice cold, and his heart stuttered to a stop as the man lifted a pistol and held it to Hannah’s temple.