Chapter22
Garrison
Icheck my watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.Katelyn should have been back already, right?Unless she got caught up at the diner?Even though it’s only been about ten seconds, I check my watch again.
Something’s not right.
My cell rings, so I retrieve it from the counter, honestly expecting her name to be on the screen.Instead, Thomas’ name flashes.That feeling of unease in my gut turns volatile.“Hey, bud.”
“Hey, are you with my mom?”
“Not right now.Why?Is everything okay?”I try to keep my tone steady.Calm.Even though inside I’m anything but.
“I mean, I think so.But she didn’t answer when I called her.”
“She had a shift at the diner tonight, so maybe she got caught up.I’ll run over and check on her.”
“Thanks, Mr.Holt.”
“Of course.”I grab my keys and rush out the door.“I’ll let her know you called as soon as I get there, okay?”
“Okay.Sounds good.”I can hear the shift in his tone.The normally happy boy is worried, and why wouldn’t he be?Katelyn may have missed my call earlier, but Thomas?She’d answer even if she was elbows deep in something.“Talk soon, Mr.Holt.”
“Talk soon, Thomas.”I end the call, then shove the phone into my pocket as I press the elevator button.Standing still when my heart is pounding is impossible, though, so I abandon the elevator and sprint toward the stairs.
I rush down them as fast as I can, then sprint toward my truck in the parking lot.
But I don’t make it even halfway there when I see the red and blue lights in the distance.
No.God, please no.
My entire body trembles as I shift course and race down the street.The diner is only a mile away.One mile.Nothing bad can happen in a mile, right?Heart in my throat, I reach the scene right after the police do.They’ve already blocked off the area, but I push through it.
“What happened?”
Deputy Phillips, a new officer, holds his hand up to stop me.
“You can’t be here.This is a crime scene.”
I scan the area.No bodies.That’s good, right?“Leopold!”I yell as soon as I see the familiar police captain in the distance.
He turns toward me, then offers a wave for me to enter the scene.Without waiting for the deputy to grant permission, I shove past him and run toward Alan.
“What happened?”I demand again.
“We’re not sure.”He shakes his head and turns toward a dark shadow on the pavement.Even without the work lights set up, I know what it is: blood.
“Is there a body?”Bile burns the back of my throat with even the thought of Katelyn lying somewhere, covered in a white sheet.How will I tell Thomas?Easy, Holt, you don’t even know if it’s her.
“No body.There’s a trail of blood that leads from there over toward the street, then it vanishes.”
“An abduction?”
He nods.
“Any witnesses?”
He shakes his head.“Someone heard tires screeching and what sounded like fighting, but when they got to the window to look outside, all they saw was a pair of taillights racing out of town.”