“They got away before the police could get there,” he said.
“What about Alan?” Logan asked.
“They have him.”
Logan said nothing for a moment, then, “Do you know which way they went?”
“We’re following them right now,” Pep said.
They could hear Logan take a breath. “Okay. Stay on them.”
“Where could they be going?” Barney asked.
“I’m not sure. Perhaps-”
“Ah, Logan,” Pep said.
“Yes?”
“Looks like they’re getting on the freeway.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
“Looks like they’re getting on the freeway,” Pep said.
Logan shot a look at Sara. “How well do you know Riverside?”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I was only there for about a year and a half.”
“Dr. Paskota has Alan.”
Her face tensed, but she didn’t look surprised, obviously having worked that out from hearing his side of the phone conversation.
“They’re getting onto the freeway,” he said.
“Which one?”
“Which freeway?” Logan asked Pep.
“Two fifteen,” Pep replied. “North.”
“The 215 North.”
She frowned. “The 215 takes a sharp right in the middle of town where it intersects with the 60 and the…uh…91.”
“So which way are they going?”
She shrugged. “They could be going anywhere. If they stay on the 215, they’ll be headed right at us.”
Logan turned back to the phone. “Stay with them,” he said. “I’ll call you back in a minute.”
Though he knew who they were headed toward, he didn’t know where. He called Callie.
“I’ve been dying here,” she said. “What happened?”
“It’s not over yet. Alan went back to the house this evening before we could get there.”
“What?” She sounded even more surprised than Logan did when he first heard. “He promised me he was going to get Emily out of there.”
“Emily wasn’t with him.”
“She wasn’t? Where is she?”
“I was hoping you could tell me that.”
“I told him to take her to Big Bear,” she said. “I have a cabin up there.”
“If you were going to Big Bear from Alan’s house, would you take the 215 North?”
“Sure. Up to the I-10, then east to Highway 38.”
“Is there anyone in Big Bear he could have left Emily with?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if he knows anyone up there.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
As he hung up, he asked Sara, “Did you guys have friends in Big Bear?”
“No. Well, I didn’t. Alan never mentioned anyone, either. Is that where Emily is?”
“That’s where Callie told him to go.”
“Alan would never leave Emily with just anyone. It would have to be someone he trusted.”
Having more questions than answers, Logan called Pep back to get an update.
“I was just about to call you,” Pep said.
“Why?”
“We’re not on the 215 anymore.”
“Where are you?”
“On the 60 Freeway, heading west.”
Logan put a hand over the phone. “They’re on the 60 West.”
“Sixty? That’s not the way to Big Bear,” Sara said.
“Maybe Alan’s misdirecting them,” Diana suggested.
“Yeah. That must be it,” Sara agreed, nodding.
Logan wasn’t ready to buy that yet. “You said your husband would only leave Emily with someone he trusts. Who would those people be?”
Sara thought for a moment. “Um…we have some friends. The Carters. They’d watch Emily for us in a pinch.”
“Anyone else?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t leave Emily alone much.”
Logan knew of one time they had. “What about when you and Alan went on your trip to San Diego and Tijuana?”
At the mention of the trip, she looked embarrassed. Then she froze. “Oh…oh, no…Alan’s sister. Rachel.”
“She’s in Riverside, too?”
She shook her head. “Simi Valley.”
Simi Valley was way on the other side of the San Fernando Valley, just northwest of Los Angeles.
“When we go to Rachel’s, we’d always take the 60 West part of the way.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
“I don’t remember her number,” Sara said.
“You don’t?” Logan asked, surprised.
“I made sure I didn’t memorize anyone’s number. And I got rid of my old phone when I left.”
Of course. Sara had done everything she could to create a protective wall between herself and her daughter.
“It’s okay. Callie will have it,” he said. He was right. Once he had the number, he punched it in and handed the phone to Sara. “Just hit SEND.”
He could tell the moment the call was answered. Sara pulled back, her eyes focusing downward.
“Hi, may I speak to Rachel?” She put a hand over the phone and whispered, “Kurt answered. Her husband.” Suddenly her attention was back on her call. “Rachel? It’s…it’s Sara…Rachel?…Yes, it’s me…I promise I’ll tell you later, but I need to-” She paused. “I know that. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It was the only thing I could do…Please, you have to believe me…Rachel, Rachel, hold on. Just let me-” Her head drooped and she nodded, listening. Finally, she said, “I understand, and I know you’re angry. I would be, too, but I need to ask you something…Is Emily with you?…No, I’m not going to try to take her. I just need to know if you have her…Rachel, please…Okay, okay, you don’t have to tell me. But if she is with you, you and Kurt have to get out of the house right now…Because there are some bad-” She cocked her head. “Rachel?….Rachel, are you there?” She looked at Logan. “She hung up.”
“Try again.”
She did, then shook her head. “She’s not picking up.”
“So what do you think? Is Emily there?”
“If she wasn’t, I think Rachel would have just said so.”
Logan agreed. He made a quick call to Dev, rerouting him to Simi Valley, and handed the phone back to Sara.
“Keep trying,” he said.
“Richard,” Diana said. She was looking at an old paper map she had fished out of the glove compartment. “The 210 West is coming up in a mile or two. That’ll be quickest. We might even gain a little time.”
“If we can do that, it’ll be the first thing that’s gone right today,” Logan said.
Ahead, the sign for the 210 Freeway loomed over the lanes. Barring a traffic jam, they’d reach Simi Valley in less than sixty minutes.
He checked his watch then looked back at the road, hoping that wouldn’t be too late.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
There was a part of Erica that leaned heavily toward disposing of their two passengers before they retrieved the girl. They cut her manpower by half, forcing her to leave someone with them whenever she got out of the car.
If it had just been the old man, there would have been no question. They’d already extracted everything they needed from him, and any leverage they might have had over the man’s son by holding on to him no longer mattered. Logan Harper was undoubtedly still fooling around in Arizona, thinking he’d outsmarted her. Maybe he’d even found Sara. All the better if he did. When this part of the operation was over, she would have Clausen and Markle make the younger Harper tell them where Sara was before they silenced the bastard. The information would most likely net them not only Sara, but her bitch of a sister and oaf of a brother. Then they would be gone and everything would be perfect.
But since it wasn’t just the old man, it made more sense for them to take care of him when they took care of Sara’s husband, and they couldn’t do that until they had the girl. Once she was in Erica’s possession, Clausen and Markle would dispose of the two men while she flew with the girl back to the program’s offices and arrange a suitable family for her. It would be harder than usual, given the girl’s age, but not impossible.
She checked out the road ahead. Thankfully traffic was moving at a pretty good clip, unlike the irritating crawl they’d had to suffer downtown. According to Clausen, they were currently in the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley was just over the next pass.