The next night, Sam was at the station working. Mara hadn't called him, but he was hopeful after she told Jason she loved him that things would be okay. But maybe she was still upset, he had said some nasty things and accused her of wanting to cheat on him. Maybe he should give in and see her.
The phone rang on his desk, "Lieutenant Howell," he answered. "Sam," a familiar voice was on the other end. "Gillian," he looked surprised and Wiley stared at him across the other desk. "How did you get, is everything ok?" He didn't know why she was calling him at the police station. "I know I'm probably worried for nothing, but have you heard from mom? I'm sure you guys have just been busy, but it's not like her not to answer my calls or call me back." She sounded worried.
Panic washer over Sam, "What do you mean, you haven't spoken to her?" "Well, no I mean sometimes we go a day or so, but if I call her, she always calls me back. Is she with you?" He got up from his seat, "Jilly I, it's been a couple days since I saw her." "Oh, but you spoke to her right? I mean..."
"No," he interrupted, "Listen I'm on my way to her place now, ok I'll call you when I get there. What's your cell?" She gave him her cell number. "Sam please just make sure she's ok, this isn't like her." please," "It's ok Gillian, I'm sure everything is fine. I'll call you back soon." He got off the phone, grabbed his jacket and Wiley followed behind him to his truck.
They got to Mara's townhouse and it looked like all the lights were off. Sam and Wiley walked up to the door and Sam started knocking loudly. Her car wasn't in the driveway. "I don't understand, where the hell could she be?" There was no answer at the door. Sam went to the garage and put the code in the door. He had installed a keypad on the door for her to get in the house.
He normally didn't go in this way, but had the code saved in his phone. Sam looked it up and entered it in and unlocked the door. They both went in, "Go check upstairs," Wiley said to Sam. Wiley took the bottom floor and started turning lights on and looking around. Sam went upstairs, but nothing was out of place. Even her bed was still made.
He ran back down, "Wiley, she hasn't been here, something isn't right. Her car's gone." "Was she planning on visiting Jillian or anyone?" "No, I told you Gillian hasn't heard from her. The rest of her family is back in PA. She saw that guy, but both he and Ty said she left."
"Is that the last place she was? Does Gillian have the ability to track her phone?" Sam was trying to think, "She may have find my iphone. I know Mara has it on Jillians, maybe she has it too." Sam called Jillian and asked her to check to see if she could find Mara's phone. Luckily they were all linked together. "Sam I don't know what I'm looking at. She's by a park I think."
"Ok just send me the pic of it." The next minute a pic of a map was sent to his phone. "Why would she be by Lakeshore?" Sam said out loud. Wiley looked at it, "it's on the way back from that hotel, it's by the river Sam," and Wiley had a bad look on his face. "Shit," Sam said and they ran out of the house and into Sam's truck. They called for back up to meet them, Sam didn't know if they would need an ambulance, so he had one meet them just in case.
There were two cop cars parked when they pulled up. Everyone went looking, there was no sign of Mara's car. They went searching by the road and the park. Suddenly, one of the officers came through on a walkie talkie, "We found her, better let the ambulance know."
Sam ran over, it was a road that curved, you could see the guard rail was broken off. Mara had a small red Audi and it was rolled over down the hill. "Oh shit!" Sam screamed. "Mara!" he started screaming her name. Everyone was trying to get down the hill without falling. Wiley tried to look inside. The window was broken, it was empty. Sam walked to the other side and found Mara laying in dirt and weeds.
"Oh god baby," he went to turn her over. "Sam!" Wiley yelled. "Wait don't touch her, wait for the EMTs." Sam put his face to the ground trying to wipe away her hair, lightly touching her back. "Baby it's me Sam, can you hear me? Mara," he tried to find a pulse.
Tears were rolling down Sam's face. The EMT's were coming down the hill with the gurney. They surrounded her and were trying to feel for a pulse. "She's alive. But she could have broken bones or a fracture."
They slowly tried to turn her, trying to keep her body still. When she was turned over her head had a massive bruise and a gash above her left eye. There was dirt all over her face and a laceration on her shoulder where her shirt was torn. They started to secure her on the gurney. "We have to get her back, we got a pulse, but it's weak. She's unconscious. "One of the EMTS said as they lifted her up on the gurney.
"It looks like she skidded off and down the hill. She must have crawled through the window, trying to get out." Wiley said. "Wiley, I'm going with her, do me a favor, call Jillian, no wait I should do it." He got in the ambulance, "Sam, it will be ok. I'll secure the scene here and I'll meet you there." Wiley said as they closed up the ambulance door and drove off.