Page 64 of Her Final Hours
Noah shut the window just as Gretchen appeared in the doorway. “She went to bed around eight, said she had some homework to do, and then she would get an early night. I glanced in at around ten. The light was off; I just saw a mound. I didn’t think anything of it.” Tears flowed, and it was clear Gretchen was beating herself up over it. “I swear, if…”
“There’s nothing you could have done, Gretchen. He probably already knew my schedule. If this sicko planned to take her, he would have abducted her either way — here or somewhere else.” He looked back at her. “Did you hear anything?”
“Nothing. The wind from the storm is…” she trailed off.
“And Ethan?”
“No. And please, son, don’t push him. He’s already upset enough, thinking that you’ll think he knows where she is. He doesn’t this time, Noah.”
He nodded, and then his mind shifted to figuring out how to find her. He didn’t want to play a twisted game with some sicko, but deep inside, a fire burned, a fire that would drive him to bring this person in or, better still — end their existence.
He passed Gretchen, moving down the landing to his bedroom, and located Mia’s phone that he’d confiscated. It was still where he’d placed it. He checked the texts. There were multiple ones from her girlfriends and a slew from Teddy asking her why she was ghosting him. Some were accompanied by emojis that indicated his sexual desires. Noah gritted his teeth. There was so much about Mia that was hidden from him. He closed his eyes and wished Lena was back. She always knew what to say.
Gretchen continued, “Before you arrived. I received several phone calls. At first, there was nothing but breathing. I thought it was a prank, so I hung up. He must have the place bugged because after I hung up he called back and told me exactly what I was wearing and which room I was in. That’s when I checkedMia’s room. He told me to leave all the curtains open. That if I closed one, she would die.”
He knew that a person could see right into the house from the lake as he’d seen it himself. The waterfront property had tall cathedral windows that allowed lots of natural light in but also exposed them to those lurking outside. Then again, maybe it was just a ploy to make them think they were being watched from outside. Surveillance equipment was so small that all manner of devices could be hidden in the home. He glanced up at the smoke alarms, a device known for holding tiny cameras. The Adirondack Sheriff’s Office had only recently busted an Airbnb owner for installing cameras inside.
“Has anyone been by today? A plumber, an electrician, any service-related calls?”
“Were you expecting anyone?”
“No. What time did you arrive?” Noah asked.
“Kerri got here sometime around five. I arrived ten minutes before that.”
“And in the day?”
Gretchen nodded. “I had to run some errands. You know — get groceries for tonight.”
Noah mused. That gave whoever was behind this plenty of time to access the house. There were surveillance cameras on the outside, so the first thing he planned to check the footage. Noah took out his computer and waited for it to load up.
Gretchen moved around the room, her eyes roaming, searching for hidden surveillance devices. “Where would they hide them?”
“Hide what?”
“Cameras?”
“Uh… in smoke detectors, clocks, pens, shelves, electrical outlets, air filters, chargers, night lights, stuffed toys, holes in the wall, and so on. Look for anything that seems out of place, any unusual objects,” Noah rattled the list off as he hurried to log in and check footage on the cloud. After, he would contact Callie and McKenzie. “Just hold up your smartphone and turn on the camera feature.”
“Why? What am I supposed to see with that?”
“Most smartphone cameras can detect infrared light. Surveillance cameras tend to emit infrared light when working. We can’t see them, but most smartphones can. You might see a burst of white or purple light or a flickering.”
Noah only had the computer on for a few seconds when the phone’s shrill ring pierced through the tension-laden air, interrupting his thoughts. They exchanged a worried glance before Noah picked up the cell phone her abductor had left at the house.
“What did I say?” the man muttered.
His voice was full of worry. “I was—”
“Close the computer and stop searching for devices, or will your daughter pay the price?” the man said.
Noah’s grip on the phone tightened as frustration mixed with fear. That only confirmed they were being monitored in the home; their every move was scrutinized.
“No computers. No cell phones except this one. Now turn them off.”
He crossed to the bed and closed the laptop.
“Now tell your aunt to stop looking. She won’t find them.” Noah motioned to her, and she lowered the phone. “Do it again, and your daughter will die.”
