Chapter 7
GRANT
But not all of the money.
“It’s done,” I say.
A cold silence fills the line. Then: “This isn’t the amount we agreed on.”
“We didn’t agree on anything,” I hiss.
“Your wife is dead.”
A wave of pure terror rolls down my spine.
“Wait—wait!” I plead. “I’ll give you the rest, but not before I get Avery back alive.
” It’s a gamble. A hedge they don’t actually have the long list of abduction targets lined up they say they do.
Compared to my wife, the money means absolutely nothing.
I’d gladly transfer every dollar if it meant getting Avery back safe—which is the problem.
That if. Gunn is right. There’s no guarantee that will happen.
And now that I’ve given them a million and a half, they know I’ll play ball. They’ll want the rest.
Sweat beads on my forehead as I wait for his reply. My entire world will come down to what he says next.
After what feels like an eternity, he speaks.
“Fine. We are not unreasonable people. We will provide you with a location. You will meet us at this location in exactly thirty minutes. Once you are there, you will transfer the remainder of your account to us. If you give us the money, we will return your wife unharmed.”
The floor rocks beneath my feet, and I nearly topple over. It worked.
“But listen carefully,” the voice drones, impossibly deep.
“The same rules apply. If you tell anyone about this, if you contact the authorities or try to seek help in any way, your wife dies. If you don’t transfer the rest of the money when you get to the location we provide, your wife will die.
If you’re late to the exchange, your wife dies.
This time, there will be no second chances. ”
“Hold on,” I say, trying to stall, but it’s too late; the line is already dead.
Gunn is staring at me when I look up, the corners of his eyes creased with concern. “You need to level with me right now.”
I take a deep breath and attempt to swallow my panic.
At this point there’s no longer any reason to lie, not when he’s already involved.
I speak rapidly, moving through the day as quickly as I can, starting with the van.
I tell him about the men inside and how they assaulted me and took Avery.
I tell him how they told me to return here within an hour and then made it next to impossible by shooting out the front tire of my Jeep.
And then I tell him how they forbade me to talk to the police.
“Which is why I lied to you in the first place,” I finish. “You aren’t supposed to know any of this.”
His mouth widens in reply, but before he can speak the phone vibrates in my palm. I glance at the screen. A text message. It’s a location pin. I tap it, and Google Maps opens to a blue and green square full of topography and squiggled roads. I pass the phone to Gunn. “Where is this?”
He studies it for a moment, flattening his lips in concentration.
“Mason’s Quarry. I know the place. It’s condemned.
A party spot for the kids.” He hands the phone back to me and it buzzes with another text.
Two words: Thirty minutes. It’s two o’clock on the nose. I show Gunn. Then I start past him.
He grabs my elbow. “Wait. I need to call this in first.”
I shake free, heat flooding my cheeks. “Did you not hear a word I said? You can’t do that!”
“I already did.”
“When?” I ask, stunned.
“When I saw your front door was kicked in. But one extra cop won’t be enough to handle a situation like this.”
“They’ll kill her for sure.” I suddenly feel unsteady on my feet.
Gunn claps his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, stay with me. They won’t.
These guys aren’t that sophisticated. Think about it.
If they were, they’d already know I was here.
But they didn’t. Which means no one has eyes on us right now.
And they damaged your car, which made it more difficult for you to do what they wanted.
They obviously haven’t fully thought this through.
They sound like amateurs. But amateurs can still be dangerous. We need backup.”
“We don’t have time to wait for backup!”
“We don’t have to.” Gunn nods at the window, and I turn in time to see another squad car pulling into the driveway.
Despite what he said, this new development rattles me.
Gunn’s probably right. Avery’s kidnappers must not be surveilling the house, but seeing this second cruiser feels like setting off a smoke signal and screaming for them to take notice.
I’m so lost in the thought it takes me a moment to realize Gunn is still talking about radioing in for more support. More cops.
I spin to face him. “No! This is my wife we’re talking about here. They might be amateurs, but you didn’t see the guy who took Avery. If we roll up to this place in a bunch of squad cars, they’ll kill her for sure!”
I blow past him and this time he doesn’t try to stop me. The second cop is climbing out of his car when I walk outside.
“Grant,” Gunn says, hurrying to catch up. “This is Officer Holston.”
He’s young, early twenties if I were to guess, with close-cropped blond hair and muscular arms. I nod at him, but the kid doesn’t return the gesture. He just glares. And something about his eyes makes me shiver. They’re flat and empty.
“What’s the situation?” he asks, turning to Gunn.
“I’ll explain on the way,” Gunn says. “Leave your car. We’ll take mine. Come on.”
“Where we going?” Holston asks.
“Did I not just say I’ll explain on the way? Now move your ass.”
Holston grumbles something about Gunn being the boss and follows us toward Gunn’s cruiser.
We get in. Gunn and Holston take the front while I slip into the back.
I search for the clock the second Gunn cranks the engine.
It glows to life on the dash: 2:03 p.m. We have twenty-seven minutes, and I already feel the weight of every single one. We need to go.
Gunn reaches for the radio instead.
I lean forward in alarm. “Don’t! They could have a police scanner.”
“They would have heard me before if they did,” Gunn replies.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, noting the silver band on Gunn’s ring finger. “I don’t want to put Avery in any more danger than she’s already in. I can see you’re married. What would you do if it were your wife in this situation? Would you be willing to risk her life on an assumption, too?”
Gunn hesitates.
“My wife is pregnant,” I add. “It’s too dangerous.”
He returns the radio to the dash. The clock reads 2:05 p.m.
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Holston asks.
“We have a hostage situation,” Gunn replies. “This man’s wife was abducted earlier today.”
“Wow, seriously?”
I can’t help but note the excitement in the kid’s voice, like Gunn just told him today was Christmas morning instead of the worst day of my life.
“Yes, we need to get to Mason’s Quarry by two-thirty for an exchange.” He hits the gas, and we tear down the street. “Who else is on shift today besides us?”
“Only John. Craig’s off.”
“Shit,” Gunn mutters. “What about Mark?”
“Mark’s on PTO this week. Disneyland with the family.”
Gunn shakes his head. “Call dispatch. Have Cathy get ahold of John and tell him to get his ass up to the quarry. Same with Craig. I don’t care what he’s doing.”
I tense. “You just said you wouldn’t call it in.”
“I didn’t say shit,” Gunn replies, his eyes catching mine in the rearview mirror.
“Look, I won’t use the radio, but there’s no way I’m not alerting the station.
We aren’t trained for this kind of thing.
We’re a small department. We’re going to need as much support as we can get.
” His gaze shifts to Holston. “Make the call. Tell Cathy to keep it off the air. Have her use her phone. Tell her John and Craig need to bring their personal vehicles. No squad cars. And tell her they need to call your mobile as soon as they’re on their way. ”
Holston pulls out his cellphone and dials, and I sit there hyperventilating as he relays what Gunn said.
By the time he hangs up, he’s wearing a frown.
“Bad news. Craig’s up at Alta Lake fishing.
He’s completely out of pocket. Cathy said she can probably get John to the quarry, but he’s right in the middle of a nasty domestic at the moment. She said it’s going to be a bit.”
The back of Gunn’s neck reddens. “Fuck.”
“What’s the plan? Do we wait?” Holston asks.
“No. We go to the quarry. But we make a stop first.”
My eyes hit the clock again: 2:08 p.m. “We don’t have time to make a stop!”
Gunn glances over his shoulder. “You said it yourself. We can’t go up there in a cop car. We need to switch it out. My house is close. Same with the quarry. We’ll make it if we hurry.”
It takes another five minutes to reach Gunn’s house, which is a white one-story ranch tucked away in a neighborhood right off the highway.
The place is set a ways back from the road, so I’m thankful when he tells me the GMC Yukon parked on the street is his.
It means we won’t need to waste time pulling it out of the garage.
We swap cars, and by the time we’re in the Yukon, it’s 2:16 and my mind is nothing more than a fuse burning toward 2:30. Fourteen minutes left.
“How far away is this place?” I ask as Gunn smokes back onto the highway.
He lays on the horn and tears around a truck blocking our path.
“About ten minutes. I know it pretty well. Here’s what’s going to happen.
When we get to the quarry, Officer Holston and I are going to get out.
The pin they dropped is in the middle of a clearing overlooking the pit.
There’s cover nearby, a bunch of trees where we can take position.
Grant, we’ll get out, and you’ll keep driving.
The clearing is easy to see. You can’t miss it.
If they ask you where you got the car, lie to them.
Say you stole it. Whatever. I don’t think it will matter to these guys as long as they get their money.
As soon as you have your wife, we’ll take them down. ”
My eyes burn as he continues to speak, the highway turning to a blurry strip of asphalt through the windshield.
I’m running on fumes at this point, barely able to focus.
All I can think about, all I keep seeing, is Avery’s expression and the way her lips moved with those final words as she was ripped into the van. I love you.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Gunn says, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “We won’t let them get away with this. I promise.”
I can only nod and pray he’s right.