"Start at the beginning and tell us what happened," Rachel begins, taking a seat across from the terrified mother. The couch and loveseat are a floral pattern. The wing chairs on either side are a vibrant orange, accentuating the beauty of the flowers. An autumn bouquet sits gracefully on the table between them. The dark hardwood floors and paneled walls enhance the overall fall-themed decor.
"Ashely and her friend Mackenzie were playing in the yard one minute and gone the next." The mother tearfully explains, glancing at the back door again. She wipes the tears from her cheek, looks up, and says. "I was only away for a second, sergeant, only for a second. Long enough to grab a water from the fridge. Why did I have to go inside? Why?" she sobs.
"Do you think they might be at another friend's house?"
"I already called everyone she knows." Julie scrolls through her messages and adds, "I even left dozens of messages on her cell, but it doesn't look like she's seen any of them yet."
"Ashely has a phone" Joe asks.
"I bought it for her for her ninth birthday. It's in a pink Hello Kitty case with her name across the back."
"Can we try to track her location through your GPS?"
"Do whatever you need to do." She hands over her phone.
Joe punches a few keys, looks up and says, "She's in the woods not too far from your house."
"Ashley Knows better than to go in there without an adult."
"We'll find her, don't worry." Jumping up, the captain darts out the door. His crew dart out behind him. Joe reaches the edge of the yard and looks at the cell again. "This way," he says, motioning them to follow. They reach the designated area and look around, but the girls are nowhere to be found. "Split up, and Kirk." He glances at his wife.
The detective nods. "Copy captain."
Mackenzie, Ashley, Rachel calls, darting deeper into the woods. Her coworker is doing his best to keep up the way he'd promised.
Night creatures howl in the distance. A few smaller critters scurry around the forest floor trying to make it to safety as the two push their way through the thick brush.
"I found something."
She runs over to find her detective holding a pink cell. The child's name was in rainbow letters diagonally across the back. He flashes his light on the bloody leaves. "Someone's hurt."
"Why didn't they head home instead of going further into the woods?"
"They might've got turned around."
Rachel recalls getting lost while in pursuit of a perp. She looks around and says, "That's easy to do. Get forensics out here and the canine unit too."
"But the captain."
"Ordered you to babysit me?"
He nervously adjusts his footing, looks up and says, "He loves you and wants to make sure you stay safe."
She looks over to find a second officer not too far away. "I'll catch up with them, alright."
"But."
"Stop arguing and go."
"Yes, sergeant."
She glances at Jeff again. Babysitter my ass. I'm a big girl can handle my own, Rachel follows the bloody trail further into the woods. Ashely, she calls, as she continues further back. Hearing a child crying, she sprints towards the noise, Mackenzie; she yells as she continues to follow the sound. Something snags the tip of her shoe, causing her to fall head first onto the ground. She's pushing herself up when a gravelly voice says,
"We meet again, Sergeant."
With her weapon in hand, she turned to find a man identical to Jason standing over her, a metal bat in his hands.
"Drop it. Do it now." She commands. Cocking her gun, she aims for his chest.
"So long Rachel." He smiles.
She feels a thump on her head and then her world grows dark.
***
After hours of searching, the captain trudges back to the house. Ashley's mom, Julie, and what he assumes to be Mackenzie's mother are crying on the couch.
"Did you find them?" the women ask, racing towards the door.
"I have my entire crew out looking for them now. The canine unit, is out there too." He takes out his phone and pulls up the composite the girl gave. "Have either of you seen him in your neighborhood?"
The women glance at it and shake their heads.
Joe flips to Jason's picture and turns the cell around. "What about this man?"
Mackenzie's mom gasps. "He's our maintenance worker." She looks over at Julie then the captain and adds, "We hired him a few weeks ago to remodel the house." She glances at the photo again and then asks, "You don't think…"
"Did he give you a name?"
"Ray Jones. Said he's staying at Fairway Inn until he can find a place."
"You've been a lot of help, thanks," he says, racing for the door.
****
Rachel wakes up to find herself tied to a cot in a dimly lit basement. A single, flickering bulb casts eerie shadows on the walls. Cobwebs cling to the corners, swaying from the breeze seeping through the large cracks in the concrete. The air is thick and musty, carrying the smell of damp earth and rotten wood. Dusty jars and forgotten trinkets fill the shelves. An old, rusted boiler sits in the corner, discarded, along with the other relics stored down here. Grime and various debris cover the floor with rat droppings here and there. An occasional drip of water and creatures lurking nearby breaks the silence. I need to get out of here, she thinks, tugging on the rope. She's trying to work her hand free when she hears the rickety set of stairs creak. She looks over and sees Jason's look alike heading her way.
"I told you what would happen if you continue to investigate me," He says, crossing the floor.
"We thought it was over now that your brother is dead."
"I heard what you said at my father's house, questioning Jason's abilities, the timeline, and the freshness of the wounds."
"You were there? Wait, did you just say Roy is your dad?"
"He never claimed me as his. I don't even have his last name. To him I was that bastard kid, that came between him and his love. The reason she was so strung out on drugs." His face softens when he adds, "Poor mama went to dozens of rehabs hoping if she was sober he'd take her back, but she couldn't ever stay clean."
"I bet that was hard on you seeing your mom that way."
"I wasn't with her much, a month or so in the beginning, then DFS stepped in. Tired of being shuffled around I finally ran away."
"And that's when you started kidnapping those kids."
"I was trying to save them from going through what I did."
"By killing them?"
"Death is better than what they were about to face, bouncing from one home to another, each worse than the one you left."
"Your brother went through hell because of you."
"He deserves everything the man did to him, threatening to run to the cops with what he knows. He even had the balls to ask dad for help."
"So you stabbed Roy to shut him up."
"And I plan to do the same to you."
"You won't get by with this, you know."
"What are you going to do, kill me?" He tests the ropes, laughs. "I doubt you can escape that."
"My husband will come after you with everything he's got."
"Haven't you heard, Sergeant, your husband is dead? I took care of him right before I found you."
"You're lying."
"Then how did I get this?" He holds up the captain's badge. He sees the devastating look on her face, smiles and adds, "I'm working through your family one member at a time. The way I promised. Speaking of which, I have someplace I need to be. Your sister and your kids should be returning from the park, and I want to be there to meet them."
"Leave them alone."
"Or you'll do what, Sergeant? You'll kill me?" He glances at the rope securing her to the bed and then says, "You are in no position to be making threats."
"They didn't come after you. I did. So do what you want to me, but please leave them be."
"Your family and I will see you again real soon." He smiles, bolting up the steps.
"Please don't hurt my family, please," she cries as the door slams, too.