Page 56 of All He Takes
Ken looked like he wanted to protest, but he must have realized that he couldn't. Nicky couldn't afford to wait around if she wanted to catch the killer.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Ken said. "I promise."
Nicky nodded and watched as Ken walked away. He went to talk to a police officer about borrowing one of their cars; then he got into a car and drove off down the street, away from her. Nicky's heart twisted as she watched him go, and she chastised herself for letting her personal feelings get in the way.
Nicky couldn't afford to get distracted now. She had a killer to hunt.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
The drive to Pleasantview was quick, but Nicky's heart was pounding the whole time. She kept imagining the worst--Harrison, the killer, the psychopath whatever the hell he was, killing someone else. Another innocent girl's life stolen from her for no reason other than some psycho's sick, deranged fame fantasy.
She had to stop him.
When she pulled into town, Nicky could see that it was upscale and beautiful. The trees lining the streets were huge, towering oaks and pines. The houses were old, stately homes, complete with manicured lawns, lavish gardens, and expensive cars parked along the curb.
This was it, the kind of place that Harrison Smith would gravitate toward to find a victim.
Nicky had arranged for local police to be patrolling the town looking for him, while she would infiltrate the bar. Nicky made her way toward downtown, racing as fast as her car would safely take her, and skidded up to the curb. She hopped out to see a fairly vacant downtown street, but through the windows of the bar, it was surprisingly lively.
Nicky stood on the curb, in front of the bar, and took a breath. Then she made her way up the sidewalk to the front door, and pushed it open to the bar.
The interior was dim and smoky, filled with young people enjoying the nightlife, and a live band played on a small stage against the far wall.
Nicky made her way through the crowd, looking for Harrison. Was he here? Had he arrived yet? She couldn't see him, but she was on his tail.
"Hey, lady!" someone called, and Nicky turned to see a red-headed woman in a white halter top and short skirt standing before her, in the middle of the bar. She held a drink and had an annoyed expression on her face. "Do you mind?"
Nicky looked down and realized she was standing in the middle of the woman's dance floor. "Sorry!" she said and ducked out of the way.
She moved to the edge of the bar and scanned the room over the crowd. No sign of Harrison. Where the hell was he? She locked eyes with the bartender, who took notice of her, coming over to serve her a drink as if she were any patron.
"What can I get ya, miss?"
Nicky subtly flashed her badge. She didn't want to make a scene. The bartender's eyes widened.
"What is this?" he asked.
"I'm looking for a man," Nicky said, glancing around the room, then back at the bartender. "Lanky build, white." She quickly took out her phone and flashed a photo of Harrison.
The bartender looked at it, squinting. "Yeah, I seen him. He bought a young lady a drink not long ago."
Blood rushed to Nicky's skull. No--she might already be too late. Not again.
"Where are they now?" Nicky asked.
"No idea, I haven't seen them since they bought a drink," he said.
"And when was that, exactly?" Nicky pressed. "Please. This is extremely important."
The man swallowed nervously. "Well, I'd say it was fifteen minutes ago or so."
"Thank you." With that, Nicky dashed through the bar, looking through the sea of faces for any sign of Harrison Smith. There were too many people, and it disoriented her.
She pushed through the crowd, making her way to the back of the room and toward the bathrooms, when she heard yelling coming from somewhere nearby and outside.
Nicky turned and saw a waitress leading a young woman into a back room. No sign of Harrison.
She turned back to the crowd, desperation setting in. She had to find him before it was too late. But where could he be?
