Terri Reed - The Deputy’s Duty

“She wanted to be dropped off at the mall.”

Meghan’s stomach sank.

“Mall? Where? Which one?” Ryan asked sharply. His gaze strayed to the mirrored wall and bounced away.

“The fancy one, near the expressway.”

“Did she talk to anyone?” Ryan pressed. “Was she meeting someone there?”

Jay shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone. But she could have been meeting someone. She made a call on her cell.”

Meghan’s pulse sped up. She strained forward.

“Did you hear a name?”

“Naw. She was talking real low. Couldn’t hear anything. She sat in the back like I was her chauffeur or something.”

“You didn’t hear anything to let you know where she was headed or what her plans were?” Doubt infused Ryan’s tone.

“Naw, man. That’s all I know.”

Ryan straightened and nodded to the chief who’d hung back without saying a word. The men exited the room.

Meghan met Ryan in the hall. Chief Danhoff headed away. “We have to get back to Revere. To the Northgate Shopping Center, it’s right off the Northeast Expressway.”

“Chief’s already making contact with Revere P.D.”

“Let’s go!” She turned toward the door.

Ryan snagged her elbow and held on. “We’re going to let the Revere P.D. handle this. You’ve done enough.”

She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “You can stay here. But I’m going to the mall.”

His frustrated growl sent a shiver down her back as she rushed for the front door.

“Hold up.” Ryan’s agitated voice halted her as she pushed open the glass doors. He limped as fast as he could toward her, each step bringing a wince of pain. Empathy rose. She knew what it was like to have to function while hurt. The abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her ex-husband had made some days nearly unbearable.

He reached her side. “Can we at least wait to see if the mall security can locate them? We don’t know whether or not she had another car already waiting to whisk them away.”

“But we have to do something!”

“You’re right. But us driving all over the place chasing our tails is not going to bring Georgina back. We need to be patient.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

He looked her in the eye. “No, actually, it’s not.”

She believed him. He was a man of action, used to being in control. He was a Fitzgerald, after all. He was probably accustomed to snapping his fingers and having the world jump to attention. Even as the uncharitable thought formed she dismissed it. Ryan may be many things but pompous wasn’t one of them.

Chief Danhoff halted beside Ryan. “Mall security has locked down the mall and the Revere P.D. is on the scene. We’ll know something shortly.”

“Good.” Ryan looked at Meghan expectantly.

Conflicted, she hesitated. She wanted to jump in the car and hightail it back to Revere, but if Christina and Georgina weren’t at the mall, then the trip would be wasted. Better to stay put and be ready to move when they were found. She acquiesced and released her hold on the door.

The seconds ticked by. Meghan tapped one foot in a rhythmic cadence. Ryan placed a hand on her arm. The light contact stilled her nerves in a way she’d never experienced before. The tapping stopped. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, yet it left her feeling vulnerable. She frowned and moved away from his touch. Instantly her nerves jumped to life. She paced the length of the entryway.

“Chief,” called the desk sergeant, holding up a phone. “It’s the Revere P.D.”

Anticipation grabbed hold of Meghan as she and Ryan followed Danhoff toward the phone. Danhoff took the call, listened for a moment then thanked the officer on the other end. His grim expression turned Meghan’s blood cold.

“The Revere police did a thorough search. Mrs. Hennessy and her daughter are nowhere to be found.”

Meghan fought back tears. She’d had Georgina in her arms. Anxiety fisted in her chest, creating a deep ache that nearly drove her to her knees. Her last remaining relative was in danger.

“What about security cameras?” Ryan asked.

Danhoff shook his head. “They have them entering through the south entrance of the mall and going inside one of the big department stores. They lost them in the women’s restroom. They never came out.”

“How can that be?” Meghan questioned, her voice rising with disbelief. “Someone had to have seen them.”

“Christina was prepared. She most likely had a disguise ready and changed her and Georgina’s appearance in the bathroom.” Ryan ran a hand through his short-cropped dark hair. “I can’t believe this.”

Meghan couldn’t, either. The trail had gone ice cold. Despair and fear clawed at her throat. Tears stung her eyes.

Now what?

Traffic on the way back to Fitzgerald Bay added to Meghan’s frustration. Not only had they lost Georgina, they had no idea where to look for her. Christina could have taken her anywhere.

Heart aching, Meghan sent up a silent prayer of protection for Georgina.

In the passenger seat Ryan shifted, again. From the moment they’d left the Portsmouth Police Department, he’d been restless and kept looking in the side-view mirror.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked after he turned in his seat with a groan, because of his hurt ribs, to stare out the back window for the umpteenth time.

“We have a tail,” he stated, facing forward again.

She frowned. “A tail? Like in being followed?”

“Yeah, exactly like.”

She glanced through the rearview mirror at the multitude of cars dotting the highway behind them. “There’s so much traffic. How can you tell?”

“There’s a silver van about five cars back. I saw it at the police station. It’s been keeping the same distance for the past ten miles.”

“Coincidence?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He gestured ahead. “Take the next exit.”

She signaled and moved over to the far-right lane. In the rearview mirror she noticed the van did the same. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took the exit ramp. The van sped up and barreled down the ramp behind them.

“Ryan?” The light at the end of the ramp turned red. She pressed on the brakes, the car skidding to a halt. The van pulled up alongside the car. The back panel door slid open. Masked men aimed big black guns at them.

“Get down!” Ryan yelled.

Meghan screamed and ducked as a spray of gunfire pelted the car. The side window shattered. She felt a stinging sensation in her shoulder.

Reflexively, she stomped on the gas to get away from the flying bullets. The Subaru jolted forward through the red light. Horns blared. Tires squealed on pavement as cars swerved to avoid hitting them. She yanked on the steering wheel to prevent them from ramming into a streetlight. The back window exploded into a million pieces.

“Keep driving!” Ryan shouted.

She didn’t have to be told twice. She kept her foot pressed on the gas and swerved around a car.

This couldn’t be happening.

The whole event seemed surreal, like she’d stepped into some action movie by mistake.

She turned down a side street and another and another until she had no sense of where they were or what direction they were headed. The van wasn’t following them now, but that didn’t lessen her panic. Her shoulder throbbed, her arm and hand numb. Ryan spoke to her. His phone in his hand, she could see his lips moving when she glanced his way, but only heard the rush of adrenaline in her ears.

He placed a hand over hers on the steering wheel. His touch grounded her. Through a foggy haze she heard his voice.

“Meghan, come on, Meghan, I need you to hold it together. Slow the car down.”