Page 57 of Dark Terror
Although she was hoping he’d let her go alone, she wasn’t surprised when he followed her.
“Leave the door open.”
She turned and stared at him. “You’re kidding, right? Or are you a perv? Like to watch a woman pee?”
“Yeah, that’s my kink.” He waved the knife toward the bathroom door. “Go on.”
“I’ll leave it cracked. That’s all.” Without waiting for permission to do that, she walked in and pushed the door almost closed.
It was unnerving how calm he was acting considering he was about to murder another person. She’d feel a lot better if she thought he was sorry for what he planned to do. Somehow, she had to let Gabe know where she was. After relieving herself, she flushed and then turned on the water. She pulled the phone out of her panties, grateful to see she had service. She started to send a text, but what if the police couldn’t trace a text message? She didn’t know, so instead she called Gabe’s number. Her kidnapper would hear her if she tried to talk to him, so when Gabe answered with, “Cara, where are you?” she whispered, “Mountains. Sherman house.” Then leaving her phone connected to his, she hid it in the cabinet under the sink, behind a supply of toilet paper.
Please be able to trace my location,she prayed as she took a deep breath before walking out to face the man who planned to kill her.
She stopped just inside the living room, her breath catching when she saw the knife had disappeared, replaced by the gun, and he was pointing it at her in his gloved hand. When she gasped, he laughed.
“This is my father’s and has his fingerprints on it. Really sad that he killed you.”
“Do you really hate your father that much, that you’d frame him for a murder?” She’d give anything to have her father still living, and couldn’t imagine doing what this man was.
“I have no feelings for him one way or the other with the exception that he has everything I want.”
She couldn’t comprehend that kind of greed. “Another murder on your conscience was unnecessary. I swear I couldn’t have picked you out of a lineup if my life had depended on it.”
His smile was chilling. “I don’t have a conscience, Ms. Jenner.”
That was what she was afraid of.
Chapter Eighteen
“Where would your son have taken Cara Jenner?” Gabe demanded. They’d told Troy Sr. why they suspected TJ of killing Sheri Carstad, and strangely, he hadn’t seemed surprised that his son had been stealing from the company. But he was refusing to believe that Troy was capable of murder.
“We’re wasting time, Mr. Sherman,” Harry said. “If your son hasn’t taken Cara, then all we’ll do is prove he’s innocent if she’s not with him. If she is, and you don’t help us find her, then we’ll slap an obstruction of justice charge on you so fast your head will spin. If he does have her, it’s for one reason only. To kill her. Where might he have taken her? Do you have a vacation home? An off-site warehouse? Someplace he’d think we wouldn’t know about?”
In about thirty seconds Gabe was going to shake the answer out of the man. Captain Scanlon had been able to verify that Senator Winslow was at a charity function tonight, so they’d been able to eliminate him. Senior had been home, and that left only TJ.
“Mr. Sherman, if your son puts one scratch on Ms. Jenner, I will become your worst enemy.” Gabe stared hard at the man. “Give us a location.”
The man sighed. “If what you say is true, he could have taken her to my home in the mountains. Go ahead and waste your time, if you must, but he won’t be there. He didn’t do this.”
After getting the address of the mountain home, Gabe said, “I strongly suggest you don’t call your son and warn him we’re coming.”
Harry nodded. “If you need clarification, that would also be an obstruction of justice.”
As Gabe headed for the car, he called Captain Scanlon, giving her an update. “We need a helicopter,” he said. TJ had a two-hour head start, and Gabe knew in his bones that he’d never get to Cara in time by car.
“I know someone who might let us use hers. While I’m working on that, you and Harry head back to the station. I’ll meet you there.”
Halfway back to the station, Gabe’s phone rang, Cara’s name appearing on the screen.
“Cara, where are you?”
Hearing Cara’s name, Harry darted a glance at him. He nodded.
“Mountains. Sherman house,” Cara whispered.
“I’m coming for you.” She didn’t answer, but the call stayed connected. “Give me your cell,” he said to Harry. Keeping his phone to his ear, he called Captain Scanlon on Harry’s phone. “Cara just called. She confirmed TJ has her and that they’re in the mountains. She’s not talking to me anymore, but she’s left the call open.”
At the very least they had proof that she was with TJ and, more importantly, that she was alive. All he had to do was get to her in time.
