Jessica waited another minute before she knocked again.
When Lizzy saw someone coming toward the door, she took a step back and listened to a series of dead bolts and chains being dealt with. Who kept more than one dead bolt on their door unless they wanted to keep something out . . . or in his case, something in?
Claire tried to sit up, but every part of her felt heavy. She could hardly lift her head from the mattress. When the maniac had fed her some sort of liquid drug using a teaspoon, Claire had managed to let half of it dribble out the side of her mouth after he turned away.
She was woozy, but she’d pretended to be completely out of it as he carried her from the wine cellar and up the stairs to the living room, waiting for him to leave her side for one damn minute. But he hadn’t left her side. He’d carried her to the couch and then made himself comfortable. The weirdo had snuggled close and kept his arm around her as if they were boyfriend and girlfriend living in a house on the river.
It took some effort, but she managed to push her legs from the bed. She was worse off than she’d first thought. Her mind was relatively active and clear, but her body wasn’t responding to her brain’s directives.
She could hear the psycho talking to someone at the door. It wasn’t the kid he often complained about because she could hear a voice . . . a woman’s voice. They were questioning him about something, but he was playing coy, making jokes, and having a good laugh.
Adrenaline made her heart pump faster. She tried to scream, but her voice was gone. She needed to get out of there.
When she slid off the side of the bed, she bumped her hip against the wooden frame and fell to the floor. She grasped the carpeted floor, feeling the nylon fibers between her fingers, using the strands to pull herself to the door. She needed to hurry. Her body had been mutilated, and yet she no longer felt any pain. She was way past feeling anything at all. Her arms were weak, but she had to be strong.
It seemed like forever before she finally got to the door. Using the wall for support, she pushed herself upward to her knees, relieved when she managed to grasp the doorknob.
Her efforts were all for nothing.
It was no use.
The door had been locked from the other side. Bastard had thought of everything. She glanced toward the window, thankful she could still hear people talking at the door. She felt so tired. She couldn’t pass out now.
Please don’t leave me here. Please don’t leave.
Crawling on all fours, she made it halfway across the room before she was on her belly again, snaking her way across the room. Her right leg gave out first. Whatever he had given her was just now taking effect. No. No. No.
Come on. You can do it. Not much farther to go.
She already knew she wouldn’t have the strength to open the window. She needed to throw something at it. Break it if she could. But with what?
There was a lamp and a clock on the bedside table. There were books set within bronzed bookends on the bottom shelf. Just another foot or two to go. She headed that way.
Jessica started the conversation by pulling out her badge and asking Jake Polly straight up if he knew anything about the whereabouts of Claire Kerley.
Although the man looked sufficiently surprised by the badge and the question, he pulled himself together and said, “Lizzy, how nice to see you again.”
Lizzy grunted.
“Now, who is this person you’re looking for?”
“Claire Kerley.” He was a creepy man, Jessica thought, no doubt about it. He had a wild look about him, and he seldom blinked. She noticed a bruise on his jaw and more than one scratch on his neck. As Lizzy had mentioned, his hands were covered with scrapes.
Restless, Lizzy stepped away. She walked along, staying close to the side of the house. It was obvious that she was trying to get a peek through a window.
“What is she doing? Do you have a search warrant?”
“Why? Do I need one?”
“I have nothing to hide, if that’s what you’re asking, but I must say I don’t appreciate her wandering around my property without permission. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“I’ll tell you exactly what’s going on,” Lizzy said as she marched back to the door.
“Lizzy,” Jessica said, “let me handle this.” She turned back to Polly. “Claire Kerley is missing, and we have reason to believe she’s in the area. We’re going house to house. Nothing personal.”
The lie seemed to appease the man somewhat.
“Now that we’re here, though,” Lizzy said in the most cheerful voice she could conjure up, “I would love to know how long you’ve lived by the river.”
“A few years,” he answered unhappily.
“You must love it.” Lizzy was obviously buying time. She took in a whiff. “The air is so pristine. I love the smell of the river. Have you heard of any neighbors planning on putting their place on the market?”
Clearly, he was not a fan of Lizzy’s, but he managed to force a smile. “No, I’m sorry.” When Lizzy opened her mouth to ask him another question, he turned to Jessica. “Nice as it is to chat with you two, I’m really quite busy.”
“It looks like you have a dock leading to the water,” Lizzy said. “Do you mind if we have a look around?”
“In fact, I do.”
A loud crash sounded from inside the house.
Lizzy looked at Jessica. “What was that?”
“Is someone else inside the house?” Jessica asked the man.
“No. I have a cat, and the animal is always knocking things over.”
“I hate to bother you too much longer, Mr. Polly, but I don’t think my friend will be able to leave until she’s had a look around.”
“Not without a warrant. I have been generous enough with answering your questions. I’m afraid we’re done here.”
Jessica tried to stall, but it was no use. He was about to close the door.
“I know who you are,” Lizzy said.
He raised one eyebrow.
“Zachary Tucker.”
His forehead creased, and then he sneered at Lizzy.
And that’s when Jessica realized Lizzy had been right all along.
Before he could shut the door, Lizzy shoved her foot past Jessica into the doorway, causing the door to bounce off the edge of her sole.
Another loud crash inside. One of the windows to their right had been cracked.
“It’s the girl,” Jessica said. Both she and Lizzy drove their shoulders with all their might into the door, knocking the man back and sending them crashing inside after him.
He took off across the living room, disappeared through the sliding doors to the balcony overlooking the river. Jessica followed after him, leaving Lizzy to run out through the front door and around the house to cut him off if he tried to escape.
An ear-piercing scream cut through the air. By the time Lizzy got to the backyard, Zachary Tucker was dragging his body toward a kayak along the riverbank. One leg was bent sharply at an odd angle, clearly shattered in more than one place. She looked up at the balcony and realized the idiot had jumped. She stepped over to him and put the barrel of her gun to the back of his head. “Please do keep crawling, Zachary. I’d love to squeeze this trigger.”
He slumped to the grass and closed his eyes.
Jessica walked up from behind and cuffed the man’s arms behind his back. “I’ll take it from here. You find the girl.”