“Just off Main Street, near Lexington.”

“Stay where you are. I’ll be right there,” Jake said, as he raced for the front door. “Can you do that?”

“Sure. I guess so.”

“I’ll meet you on the corner of Main and Lexington.”

“Okay. I’ll be there,” the man said.

Jake hung up and jumped into the Firebird. He had no idea if this would lead anywhere, but it was something at least, and he had to pursue it.

Lexington was about a mile north of his current location, in the heart of the suburbs. As he approached the intersection, he saw a man leaning against a light post. That had to be him. He ground the Firebird to a stop and wound down his window. “Bob Langley?”

The man nodded. “You the guy on the phone?”

“Yes. Show me where you found the cell?”

The man shrugged and pointed down the street. “Big blue dumpster behind that building.”

“Which way did the car go after?”

“Back toward Main,” Bob said. “I didn’t see which way it turned after that.”

“I need the phone,” Jake said, holding out a hand.

Bob handed it over. “Any reward?”

Jake dug out his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “Here you go,” he said, handing the bill to Bob.

Bob took it, folded it once, and tucked it into his shirt pocket. He smiled and stepped back. “You take care now.”

Jake pulled from the curb, turned down Lexington, and spun in behind the first building. A big blue dumpster stood against the building wall.

Was Annie close by, or did the woman dump the phone and continue north? That was a question he couldn’t answer.

He jumped from the car, ran to the dumpster, and looked inside. It was almost empty.

Jake jumped back in the car and drove up and down the surrounding streets, straining his eyes, looking for Tammy’s car. Eventually, he gave up in disappointment. It could be anywhere in the city—or miles away by now.

He sat off Main Street for a few minutes and watched the cars go by, hoping he would see Tammy’s vehicle, but knowing in his heart it was long gone.

Jake gave Hank a call. The cop answered, still in the middle of questioning Rocky Shaft. Hank wasn’t ready to drop the charges against Shaft yet; they still had no hard proof against Tammy, but in light of the latest events, both Shaft and his lawyer were more accommodating.

“Shaft still denies involvement in the robbery,” Hank told Jake. “But he admits he went to Tammy after the death of his brother, confronted her about the money, and claimed Michael Norton had killed his brother. He assumes that’s when Tammy got the idea to frame him.”

“If he wasn’t involved in the robbery, then who was the third person?” Jake asked. “Maybe Tammy herself?”

“It’s starting to look that way,” Hank said. “According to Harland Eastwood, who I believe was present at the time, the gunmen wore masks.”

“My only concern right now is Annie,” Jake said. “Does Shaft have any idea where Tammy could’ve taken her?”

“He claims not to know and I believe him,” Hank said. “He wants Tammy Norton found as badly as we do. That’s the fastest way, and maybe the only way, to prove his innocence. I’ll keep on him awhile longer and see if he knows anything else. In the meantime, cops all over the city are looking for Tammy’s vehicle.” Hank paused. “Hang in there, Jake. We’ll find her.”

Jake hung up the phone. He hoped Hank was right, because right now, he didn’t know what else he could do to find his wife.

Chapter 49

Friday, 11:57 a.m.

ANNIE SAT QUIETLY in the chair, listening to the sound of her own breathing. She heard Tammy upstairs, her footsteps playing a soft staccato on the floor above as she moved about.

The woman must be planning something, or perhaps she was on the phone. Annie couldn’t be sure, but thought she heard a raised voice on occasion, but now, only silence came from above.

Then a muffled car engine sounded, probably from the garage. In a few moments, the rumble faded away.

Tammy was gone and Annie was alone.

It had been necessary to wait until her abductor left, and now was the chance Annie hoped for.

When Tammy had prodded her into the basement earlier, Annie had spied the coil of rope on the floor beside the chair and knew what it meant.

When the kidnapper wrapped the rope around her chest, Annie held her breath as deeply as possible, tightened her shoulder and chest muscles, arched her back, and hunched her shoulders forward. It was difficult to maintain that position, but she persevered.

When her abductor had finished tying her to the chair and stood back, Annie let her breath out carefully, keeping her muscles tensed.

After the kidnapper left, Annie relaxed, drew her shoulders back, and the rope around her chest slacked by almost three inches. Her hands and feet were still tied tightly, but it was a start. And now that her abductor had left the house, Annie was about to see if her scheme would work.

Her plan was to grasp the rope about her chest with her teeth and gnaw her way through like a squirrel, but gravity took over, making the loosened cord loop downward, impossible to reach.

But this was a life or death situation—her life, or her death, and there had to be a way.

She came up with a dangerous plan.

She rocked the chair, back and forth, slowly at first, and then it gained momentum. She held her head forward to lessen the impact when the chair finally toppled backwards. It helped, but the back of her head hit the concrete and stunned her.

She took a few deep breaths and waited for her head to clear, and then heaved her hips upward as far as she could. Gravity again took over, but this time, as she continued the motion, the rope eased its way toward her waiting teeth.

The nylon rope was tough and unyielding, but it was no match for her will. The woven strands broke loose one by one, until finally, the ends fell free.

Still a long way to go.

She listened for any sound from upstairs, but all was quiet.

Her legs were next. They were tied to the chair, but with the rope now slackened, it was an easy task to arch her back and slip them off the end of the chair legs.

She rolled to her side and struggled to her feet, standing at an awkward angle. Her hands were bound to the back of the chair, but now she could move them enough to work at the knots.

The nylon cord clung stubbornly to itself as she fought with it. Then finally something slipped and she got a better grip. She continued her battle with the rope until it fell away, the chair tumbled loose, and she was free.

Almost.

She still needed to get out of this room, the stairs leading up to freedom the only way.

She touched the back of her head and looked at her fingers. There was no blood. She had a mild headache, and the spot that struck the floor was tender to the touch, but she shook it off and concentrated on her escape.

Annie was almost certain Tammy had driven away earlier, but she wouldn’t bet her life on it. She crept up the stairs and sat on the narrow top step, her ear to the door. There was no sound.

She tried the door handle. It turned but the door wouldn’t budge, locked from the other side.

She leaned back and struck the door with her shoulder. It rattled and stayed solid. She held her breath, listening for signs of anyone in the house, but heard nothing.

Her continued effort to break the door down was getting her nowhere. There was no room to stand on the upper step and it was impossible to strike the door at the height of the lock using her shoulder. There must be a better way, and she needed to find that way before Tammy came back to finish what she started.

Annie ran down the stairs and looked around frantically, searching for something she could wedge into the lock, or anything that would serve as a battering ram.