Page 57 of Breathless
After they left, Minchin locked up, made sure no light from inside could be seen through the blackout drapes and then went to check on the girls. They were lying on their backs; their wrists were bound by ropes and their breathing was shallow. He had no idea what was in the syringes, and he didn’t like the idea of having to give them more.
At least, they weren’t gagged so they could breathe easier while they remained unconscious. He didn’t want them choking and dying on him because of that.
He went back and got comfortable on the sofa. He didn’t care what his boss said. If the girls were out there no need for him to stay awake as well.
Early the next morning…
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Rawlins and Asher finally stopped searching and headed over to the condo he’d once was going to share with Rafferty. Liberty was already there watching Justus’ dog For All. Luckily, he still had his key to the place so he could let them in.
“I’m sure Liberty is in the bedroom at the end of the hallway. That would have been mine before Justus moved in and I started looking after Chaney,” Rawlins said. “I’ll crash on the sofa.”
“Right,” Asher said before walking in that direction.
Rawlins lay down and closed his eyes and was almost asleep when he heard a dog bark. His eyes flashed open. For All.
And then there was silence. Until his cellphone began ringing. At first, he slapped at it, trying to turn off the alarm, but it wouldn’t stop. And he realized it was a call and not the clock.
“Hello,” he groaned.
“Rawlins? Sorry, did I wake you?”
It took him a few seconds to recognize the voice because he was so tired, but once he did, he sat up immediately. “Kenneally? Is that you?”
“It is. I’m in Colorado Springs on a brief layover as I head to Montana to see Hank Patterson,” his boss said. “I stopped in at the hospital and saw your brother. He filled me in on what is going on. I want you to know I’m here to help in any way I can. Tell me where you are, and I’ll be there.”
In his flustered state, Rawlins rattled off the address to the condo and ended the call before passing out again. He got all of half an hour more of sleep before knocking at the door jarred him awake again. It sounded far off at first but then there was a dog’s bark mixed in with it and several footsteps followed by a female’s voice and then a man’s voice.
Rawlins rolled onto his back, and he felt something lightweight land on his stomach and walk up his chest before something wet licked him on the mouth.
“For All!” the female’s voice scolded.
His eyes flashed open, and he was staring nose to nose at Justus’s dog, his small white teeth gleaming in a toothy little grin, and his pink tongue sticking out as he panted.
Kenneally’s rich timber of a laugh filled the room. “Good morning sleeping beauty.”
“Morning,” he grumbled.
“How long did you get?”
“Forty-five-minutes maybe,” Rawlins said.
“I’ll put on a strong pot of coffee,” Liberty called from the kitchen area. “You should go to Rafferty’s room and close the close. See if you can get a few more minutes of sleep.”
“I’m awake,” Rawlins assured, lifting For All off his chest so he could sit up. The dog immediately tried to lick his face again, but he moved him away. “I’ll reinforce with the coffee.”
“Then I’ll make you breakfast,” Liberty said. “Food will help as well.”
A Few Hours Later…
Rawlins, Asher, and Kenneally sat at the table and reviewed the footage of the car leaving the parking garage again. Then they compared it to the image of the car that had been captured by CTV footage at different locations in Colorado Springs the day before.
“It looks like they drove around all day until it got dark,” Rawlins said. “But we lost them when they got off the interstate.”
Liberty walked in with For All on his leash to take him outside. “Do you think sitting around here staring at a laptop screen is going to get my sister and Chaney back any faster?”
“Honey, we’re trying to figure out where the car went that took the girls after the car that had them left the parking garage” Asher explained. “It’s like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.”
“Hmm. Maybe in the old days, but metal detectors could be used today to help make it faster. There has to be an easier way to find them. Have you tried their cellphones? I’m sure theyboth had them on them and not in their purses that got tossed away,” Liberty said. And without wasting a second, she dialed her sisters’ number and put it on speaker as it rang. It rang and rang before going to voicemail.
