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Was that scream Katherine’s last? Had Rodney been alerted to police presence and decided to kill Katherine?
Amanda shook the crippling thoughts aside.
Katherine being alive was Rodney’s strongest bargaining chip for remaining that way too. But was surviving high on his list of priorities? Amanda had to believe it was. His actions thus far indicated someone who relished having control. They were also armed with the knowledge he had a history of drug abuse. It was possible he was high and out of his mind right now. There was the real risk he was volatile and unpredictable.
Another scream.
“We don’t have time to wait on SWAT.” She hurried her pace, aware that Trent was right at her heels.
Her legs weren’t moving as fast as she’d like and running hunched forward wasn’t exactly top form to support speed. She stopped below an unblocked window. As tempting as it was to look inside, she resisted the urge. The last thing she wanted was to pop her head up and have it blown off.
She continued, keeping a low profile, to the back of the school. Rodney could be holding Katherine anywhere inside.
The Ford van was back here, tucked between an outbuilding and more cedar trees. The scouting cop never would have seen this from the road. If he wasn’t discreet, his snooping could have tipped off Rodney. Though if he had, Rodney would have moved Katherine before everyone arrived.
She made it to a set of doors and tugged on a handle. Locked.
“Tell me you’re not going in,” Trent said. “SWAT’s already on their?—”
This time it wasn’t a scream but a strangled cry.
There wasn’t a SWAT officer in sight. “They won’t get here in time. We have no choice.”
“And how do you propose we get inside?”
There was the dilemma. She didn’t have a lock-picking kit in her back pocket. The glass wasn’t wired, but it would be tempered and take a heavy hit to break. The butt of her gun might work, but then she spied a huge rock on the ground and figured she could throw it at the window. The sound of smashing glass could alert Rodney, though.
Another scream.
Damn it all… Amanda acted quickly, grabbing the rock and heaving it toward the door. The glass shattered, and she reached inside and turned the bolt. A jagged piece of glass tore the sleeve of her coat, and it had her taking a millisecond to think what could have happened if she hadn’t been wearing one.
She shook the thought aside, and she and Trent moved in, each balancing a flashlight with their guns. The hallways were dark with light only coming through some unblocked windows.
They swept through the building, each tucking against one side of the hallway.
Trent said over the comms, “Steele and Stenson have breached the premises.”
Amanda poked her head in one room, casting the beam from her light inside, and found a large sleeping bag in the middle of the floor. Clothing was stacked at one end of the room.
Trent walked up behind her, his back to hers, covering her.
“Rodney and Lynnette were squatting here,” she said.
They carried on down the hall and passed a kitchen. Dirty dishes were piled on the counter with takeout containers and empty liquor and beer bottles. There were the lingering stenches of rotting food and tobacco smoke. A voice broke through the silence.
“No, don’t!” It was Katherine, and she didn’t sound far away.
SIXTY-SEVEN
Amanda motioned to Trent that they needed to continue forward, and they hustled along. She stopped at a doorway marked 12. There was no doubt Rodney and Katherine were inside. Katherine’s sobs and Rodney’s heavy steps traveled into the hallway. He sounded as if he were circling Katherine like prey. The air here hung heavy with cigarette smoke.
She pointed to the room, and Trent nodded.
Slowly, she crept ahead, ears straining to determine if she could place Rodney’s location. Light was seeping into the hall. One of the windows must not be boarded.
The light winked. All it told them was Rodney had crossed in the path of the sun, not how close he was to the door. His shadow didn’t cast into the hall.
“You had everything while I had nothing!” The man’s yell was followed by Katherine crying out.
