BATON ROUGE by Carla Cassidy - Scene of the Crime 09 - BATON ROUGE Page A

track of her main goal—to get any information she could from him. “Did you take them alone or do you have a partner?”
    Bob snorted. “I work alone. Partners only screw things up.”
    “So did you just surprise them and force them at gunpoint to go with you?” she asked.
    “How pedestrian,” he replied dryly. “Actually, the one thing my daddy taught me was how to blow poison darts. From our saggy little porch I could shoot a gator in the eye from ten feet out. Of course I didn’t use poison for my victims. I used just enough tranquilizer to knock them out long enough for me to move them into their new homes. The drug has the aftereffect of loss of memory for several days, but that worked in my favor. Amberly and Cole were the most difficult because I had to keep them continuously drugged throughout the long road trip home.”
    Tim gave a thumbs-up, indicating that he’d managed to get the phone number and triangulate the call and had a location where it was coming from. Alex raced over to his computer, took a look and then headed for the door with a nod to Frank and Matt to go with him.
    Georgina picked her phone up from the table and hurried after them. “How are you keeping all those people?” she asked, still connected to the call and knowing she needed to keep him talking for as long as possible.
    “Very carefully,” he said and then laughed, the sound shivering through her already fragile state.
    “Let Macy go,” she said, aware of the emotion that filled her throat, nearly stifled her voice. “I told you about my childhood. I did what you asked. Now you do something for me. Let her go.”
    “I’ve thought about it and I’m pleased that you shared so much with me, but I’m not ready to give up little Macy yet,” he replied.
    “Please let her go.” She drew a deep breath in an effort to keep her emotions in check. “Let them all go.”
    “I think we’ve talked long enough for one day,” Bob replied. “We’ll talk again, sweet Georgina.” He clicked off just as the four of them burst out of the building’s back door.
    As Frank and Matt raced toward Matt’s car, Georgina hurried after Alexander toward his. “He hung up,” she said unnecessarily as she slid into the passenger seat.
    “The call came from the college campus. Let’s hope he decides to linger for a while.” Alex started the engine and squealed out of the parking lot and onto the street. He hit the button to start his flashing lights, zooming through the light traffic with Matt and Frank close behind.
    She was grateful that Alexander didn’t talk. She was in a dark place that she hadn’t visited for a very long time. Bob had managed to wrench memories from her she’d thought were long forgotten. He’d reminded her of what it had been like to be unwanted, unloved and unworthy.
    It had only been when she’d joined the police force and then later the FBI that she’d found her worth, some form of self-respect and dignity, and the desire to be the very best that she could be at her job.
    “The signal appeared to be coming from the bench area in front of the gym,” Alex said as he braked to a halt at the curb by the college. Almost before the engine was completely off, he was out of the door and running.
    Matt and Frank parked and ran after him while Georgina hurried out of the car and headed in the same direction. She hoped he was still there. She hoped and prayed that this was it, that they’d get him in custody and he’d tell them where he had his captives.
    She picked up her pace, running after the men as her stomach rolled with the need to throw up and her brain continued to fire memories of her childhood through her head.
    The men reached the area first, where four students were hanging out, two seated on the concrete bench and two standing.
    “FBI. All of you put your hands up where we can see them,” Alex said as he approached the group with his gun drawn.
    The two young men who had been seated jumped to