Page 74 of Her Final Hours
Noah patted the car. “I’ll see if Alicia can wrestle you up a warm drink. Stay alert,” he said. With a final nod of acknowledgment, Noah left the troopers and approached Alicia’s front door. He knew time was of the essence, and every second counted.
A quick knock and she opened, her expression mirroring his. He entered, his eyes scanning, looking for the girl. “You’re early,” Alicia said, surprise evident in her voice. He could tell she sensed the urgency in his actions and wondered what had transpired since their last communication.
“How was she last night?” he asked, wasting no time getting to the point.
“Good. She was talking in her sleep. I wrote some of it down. I’m unsure if any of it will be useful or make sense, but I figured it was worth a shot.”
Noah took out the phone the abductor had left with him; he set it down on a nearby surface and looked at Alicia. She could tell that something was bothering him. “Any coffee? The guys want some,” he said, trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy despite the growing weight of the situation.
He entered the kitchen, turned the faucet on, and let the water gush out. Alicia noticed his strange behavior. “What is it, Noah?” she asked.
Noah took a second before speaking, gathering his cluttered throughs. “You remember telling me about the darkness that still exists in this county, the bad element lurking beneath the surface?” he asked, his voice low.
She nodded, her expression serious.
“It’s shown up again,” he replied, his voice filled with anger. “He has Mia.”
Alicia’s eyes widened in shock. “Mia’s gone?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Noah nodded as he sat at the kitchen table, feeling his daughter’s absence pressing down on him, and his inability tocontrol the situation. “I’m being watched, listened to,” he explained, glancing over at the cell phone. “He wants Payton’s daughter in exchange for Mia.”
Alicia sat down, understanding the magnitude of the predicament. She crossed the room and turned off the faucet. “Milk and sugar?”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied. Alicia filled the kettle and began making noise. “I was thinking of having a shake,” she said, taking some milk and putting it into a blender. She switched it on, and the noise filled the air again.
Alicia sat back down again. “Exchange where?”
“Athena’s farm.”
She frowned. “How’s that going to work? You have state troopers with you.”
Noah nodded, glancing out the window at their cruiser. “I know. I tried to tell him, but he hung up before I could…” He groaned, and Alicia shifted her seat in closer and placed a hand on his arm in a gesture of support.
“Noah, you know it won’t be a clean exchange,” she said, her voice brimming with concern and logic.
“I’m aware. But right now, Mia’s safety is all that matters.”
“What can I do?” she asked.
Noah paused for a second, contemplating their next moves. “I need to alert Callie and McKenzie,” he said, his voice grave. “But...” he trailed off.
“You think they could blow it if they know?”
He nodded but then shrugged. “If they did, it wouldn’t be because of them.” He glanced back out to the cell on the counter in the living room, hoping that their conversation was private and the abductor wasn’t monitoring them too closely. He figured whoever was behind it had already made one big mistake letting the girl get away; they couldn’t possibly be smart enough to be using tech that could allow them to eavesdrop while it was off.Still, if any mistake were made, it would likely be because he did not follow the rules.
“So you drop the girl off, and then what?” Alicia asked.
“He said he would call.”
She looked confused. “I don’t get it. Why does he want her?”
Noah shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s something else. Something we’ve overlooked. Something that she knows. Is she awake?” he asked.
“Not yet. Wait here.” Alicia exited the room only to return a moment later with a pad of paper in her hands. “It’s not much, but the girl was talking in her sleep,” she explained, handing it to him. “I wrote down some of what I could make out.”
Noah took the pad of paper, his eyes scanning the mixture of words, a date, and other fragments. He furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of the disjointed phrases.
“Thanks,” Noah replied. He realized the paper could include crucial information that could lead to saving Mia, but right now, it was just more noise in the chaos. “Once I’m gone, alert Callie and McKenzie. But be careful. We can’t afford any mistakes or slip-ups.” He paused. “Do you have your phone?” She gave it to him, and he took a photo of the paper. “Send this to them.” She nodded. He tucked the paper into his pocket, hoping to analyze it later. Maybe it would offer a valuable clue.
