cleared her throat. “Please, please untie me and let me go. I won’t tell anyone about you. I don’t even know what you look like.”
The man placed a hand over Jessica’s lips. “Shhh, it’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Jessica took several rapid breaths that made her cough. “Why? Why me?”
The man stood still, gave it a moment of thought. Then rolled his shoulders. “Why not?”
“What do you want from me?”
“In time, we will get to know each other better.”
The microwave beeped. The idea of soup on a hot day in a stuffy room made her feel even sicker.
“I’m not hungry,” she said. “Meds, I need my meds.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s just the flu.”
Jessica felt the tingle intensify, her head swimming into a deep fog. “My meds. Please, I need them now.”
The man leaned close to Jessica face, this time staring right into her eyes. There was no way she could avoid the details of his features. She slowly allowed the weight of her eyelids to fall shut, but she knew it was too late. She felt the man place an ear next to her mouth.
“What do you need?” he asked.
Her head rocked, her eyes remained closed. She licked her lips and said in a soft, hushed tone, “My insulin.”
19
Wednesday –
10:25 a.m.
This was Jack’s third try at calling Ray Sizemore on his cell phone. Jack knew Sizemore would be boarding a flight to Sacramento that morning but didn’t know exactly when. He wanted to fill him in on what they had learned over the past twenty-four hours. Jack tapped the tip of his pen on a note pad impatiently, waiting for the call to connect. After five rings, Sizemore finally picked up.
“This is Sizemore.
“It’s Paris . Got some information. You may want to reconsider coming.”
Sizemore let out a long groan. “Shit.”
Jack summarized the chronology of events about Cooper being on the lam. Then he told Sizemore about the Baker kidnapping, the murder and the stolen drugs from the Butte County infirmary.
“If I called you three days earlier, maybe none of this would have happened.”
“Not your fault,” Jack replied. “Had we known more about Cooper five years ago, we wouldn’t even be talking.”
Sizemore remained silent.
“I had sent two agents out to check out Cooper’s place of employment. No one had seen him for a couple of days, knew nothing about where he goes or whom he sees. Most didn’t even know he was on work furlough. They said he was a loner. We’ve got the prints from the crime scene, which matches Cooper’s. That makes Cooper our Mr. Hampton Carter, who is also your killer and my kidnapper. And I’m guessing he’s our Mr. Jure Petroski, as well.”
There was a long pause before Sizemore spoke. “What do you want me to do?”
Jack thought for a moment. There were a thousand things to do, but right now, the rescue of Jessica Baker took priority. Ray’s knowledge of Cooper may help him find her, and he could use an extra hand. But his response came out sounding more like a plea for help than a suggestion. “Why don’t you come on down.”
“Flight leaves in an hour.”
Jack drove back to the Chico Police Department, where a command post was set up, task force hastily being thrown together. Before the morning broke, agents from the California Department of Justice’s Sex Predators Task Force arrived to assist. Their access to the State lab was vital, allowing evidence to be analyzed immediately. Although the FBI lab in Quantico , Virginia , was more than willing to make this a top priority, it would have been time consuming for Jack to fly every piece of evidence across the country. In the packed command post, Jack caught sight of an officer pushing his way through the crowd. Cal DOJ Special Agent John Allison made his way to Jack and handed him an inch-thick file containing the results from the searches.
“Here’s the report. I also got the investigative notes from the Washington State laboratory on the
The man placed a hand over Jessica’s lips. “Shhh, it’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Jessica took several rapid breaths that made her cough. “Why? Why me?”
The man stood still, gave it a moment of thought. Then rolled his shoulders. “Why not?”
“What do you want from me?”
“In time, we will get to know each other better.”
The microwave beeped. The idea of soup on a hot day in a stuffy room made her feel even sicker.
“I’m not hungry,” she said. “Meds, I need my meds.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s just the flu.”
Jessica felt the tingle intensify, her head swimming into a deep fog. “My meds. Please, I need them now.”
The man leaned close to Jessica face, this time staring right into her eyes. There was no way she could avoid the details of his features. She slowly allowed the weight of her eyelids to fall shut, but she knew it was too late. She felt the man place an ear next to her mouth.
“What do you need?” he asked.
Her head rocked, her eyes remained closed. She licked her lips and said in a soft, hushed tone, “My insulin.”
19
Wednesday –
10:25 a.m.
This was Jack’s third try at calling Ray Sizemore on his cell phone. Jack knew Sizemore would be boarding a flight to Sacramento that morning but didn’t know exactly when. He wanted to fill him in on what they had learned over the past twenty-four hours. Jack tapped the tip of his pen on a note pad impatiently, waiting for the call to connect. After five rings, Sizemore finally picked up.
“This is Sizemore.
“It’s Paris . Got some information. You may want to reconsider coming.”
Sizemore let out a long groan. “Shit.”
Jack summarized the chronology of events about Cooper being on the lam. Then he told Sizemore about the Baker kidnapping, the murder and the stolen drugs from the Butte County infirmary.
“If I called you three days earlier, maybe none of this would have happened.”
“Not your fault,” Jack replied. “Had we known more about Cooper five years ago, we wouldn’t even be talking.”
Sizemore remained silent.
“I had sent two agents out to check out Cooper’s place of employment. No one had seen him for a couple of days, knew nothing about where he goes or whom he sees. Most didn’t even know he was on work furlough. They said he was a loner. We’ve got the prints from the crime scene, which matches Cooper’s. That makes Cooper our Mr. Hampton Carter, who is also your killer and my kidnapper. And I’m guessing he’s our Mr. Jure Petroski, as well.”
There was a long pause before Sizemore spoke. “What do you want me to do?”
Jack thought for a moment. There were a thousand things to do, but right now, the rescue of Jessica Baker took priority. Ray’s knowledge of Cooper may help him find her, and he could use an extra hand. But his response came out sounding more like a plea for help than a suggestion. “Why don’t you come on down.”
“Flight leaves in an hour.”
Jack drove back to the Chico Police Department, where a command post was set up, task force hastily being thrown together. Before the morning broke, agents from the California Department of Justice’s Sex Predators Task Force arrived to assist. Their access to the State lab was vital, allowing evidence to be analyzed immediately. Although the FBI lab in Quantico , Virginia , was more than willing to make this a top priority, it would have been time consuming for Jack to fly every piece of evidence across the country. In the packed command post, Jack caught sight of an officer pushing his way through the crowd. Cal DOJ Special Agent John Allison made his way to Jack and handed him an inch-thick file containing the results from the searches.
“Here’s the report. I also got the investigative notes from the Washington State laboratory on the
Similar Books
