Page 34 of Her Last Promise

“No,” Nathan said with a bit of bass in his voice.“There’s no way in hell.”

"I need you to think very hard about where he might be taking these people after he abducts them," she said."We can't take any chances, and I'm sure you know more about him than the—"

"I'm telling you right now that Michael did not do this!"He was nearly screaming it now, and Rachel could see from the hard set of his jaw and the tears welling up in his eyes that he had come to his breaking point.He was done helping them.And hell…she didn't blame him.They'd taken him away from his dying mother and were now telling him that they suspected his estranged brother of murder.

“Fine,” she snapped.She could only hope that having Jessica Martinez’s license plate number and now the name of a new suspect would give them what they needed.“Mr.Mitchell, I’ll have someone come in to have you sign a few release papers.After that, you’re free to go.”

“Thanks,” he spat.

Rachel almost wanted to push harder on him, to insist that he help.But again…she didn’t blame him for his lack of cooperation at this point.So without another word, she and Novak hurried out of the interrogation room with another suspect in their sights.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

"One clear shot," Rachel muttered, eyes fixed on the road ahead as Novak guided the sedan through evening traffic toward Saint Mary's Hospital.Traffic was thick but manageable, thankfully not at a stand-still.

“Clear shot?”Novak asked.

“Hospital parking garages are usually equipped with security cameras.If Jessica Martinez was indeed abducted by our killer, I don’t knowhowsecurity feeds would have missed it.So…one clear shot.That's all we need."

Novak nodded as he took a right at a red light.They could see the tops of some of the buildings around the hospital from where they were.Rachel's hope was that they'd at least have a clear shot of the man's face.She was, at this point, fully expecting it to be Michael Mitchell.But if she was wrong (again), they'd at least have something to go on.And it made her wonder why the killer would have done something so reckless.Was he getting more desperate to finish whatever work he had begun?

As they pulled into the hospital's main entrance, Rachel's suspicions about the increased security presence were confirmed.Two police cruisers were parked at awkward angles near the entrance, their presence drawing curious glances from hospital visitors hurrying past.A security guard sat in the small check-in booth, gesturing animatedly as he spoke with two officers.The single light inside the booth made it look as if a light from Heaven itself was shining down upon him.

"Looks like we're not the only ones with this idea," Ethan remarked as he parked their car.

Rachel was already unbuckling her seatbelt."Good.Maybe they've already found something."

They approached the group, and Rachel noticed the guard was older than she'd expected, probably in his sixties.He wore thick glasses and a baseball cap.His weathered hands seemed to move constantly as he spoke.His name tag identified him as Walter.

As she and Novak approached the booth, one of the cops took a step toward them as if to stop them.But Novak showed his credentials and nodded his appreciation.

"Agent Novak, FBI,” he said."And this is Agent Gift.We're here about the Jessica Martinez incident."

“Really?”the cop asked.“The feds are on this?”

“Yes,” Rachel said.“It’s very likely related to a case of multiple murders we’re currently investigating.”

From the booth, Walter nodded, his expression grim."Well, come on over because I'm about to have a look at this footage."

“Were you not here when the incident took place?”Rachel asked.

Walter shook his head and looked genuinely sad."Nope.I was just telling these officers – nobody mans this booth during the day shift.Nine to seven, it's all automated."He gestured to an array of screens behind him."Come to the sensor, get your ticket, pay when you leave.Or, with the employees, wave your ID at the scanner.Anyway…we do have cameras.I've been going through the footage from the second floor where Ms.Martinez was parked."

Rachel leaned forward, her heart rate picking up.There was no room to stand in the booth—it was already crowded with Walter inside—so she and Novak poked their heads in through the opened sliding glass door.

Walter turned back to his monitors, his fingers moving across the keyboard with surprising dexterity."I've got it queued up.Just give me a second to..."

The screen flickered, showing the stark concrete interior of the parking garage.The timestamp in the corner read 6:38 PM.Rachel held her breath as Walter advanced the footage, frame by frame.The garage seemed eerily empty, the fluorescent lights casting harsh shadows between the concrete pillars.They watched as a woman she assumed was Jessica Martinez walked by, reaching into her pocket.

"There," Walter said suddenly."Behind that column.See him?"

Rachel's eyes locked onto the screen.A figure emerged from behind a concrete pillar, moving with deliberate purpose.The man's movements were smooth, practiced – nothing about them suggested hesitation or uncertainty.He had a goal in mind, and he would not be stopped.

The attack itself was brutally efficient.He burst from his hiding spot, closing the distance between them in seconds.Jessica's reaction was immediate—spinning away, her survival instincts kicking in with admirable speed.The struggle was brief, hardly a struggle at all, really.Rachel spotted the flash of the man’s gun, ghostlike in the security camera footage, as he shoved Jessica into the car.He kept the gun pointed at her while he opened the back seat and got in.

"Back it up," Rachel requested, her voice tight."Right to when he first comes out from behind the pillar.Can you zoom in?"

Walter rewound the footage, then began the painstaking process of trying to capture a clear image of the attacker's face.The first attempt was too blurry, the second caught only his profile.Rachel felt her frustration mounting as they went through the footage again and again, each failed attempt adding to the weight of urgency pressing down on her.

---