“Go, Shirley,” Kyle said. “That’s a good thing. Cam, are there any regular stops Ally makes on her way to the clinic?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of. Maybe getting gas.”
“That’s good.” Kyle wrapped his arm around me. “This is all helpful.”
“Very helpful,” Pasco agreed. “There are only two possibilities on that route. There’s a gas station with an attached garage, and a convenience store.”
“Oh, some days she comes in with an iced tea fountain drink,” I said.
Kyle stood and went behind Pasco’s seat, looking over his shoulder at the monitor. I leaned over to see it, too. On it was a map with every road in the county, marked with stoplights and stop signs, with blinking, moving, differently colored lights. The whole thing gave me a headache. I couldn’t imagine they were seeing anything useful on it that could help us find Ally.
“That has to be it, doesn’t it?” Kyle pointed to a tiny, pale blue dot.
Pasco grinned. “Yes, that’s it.”
“You found her?” I squinted at the map. It didn’t help. “Where is she?”
Kyle frowned and I knew from the look on his face that I’d misunderstood. “We found her mother’s car and the place where her cell phone signal last pinged.”
“Is she at the convenience store?” My throat was dry and my voice was incredibly squeaky. “Can we call to ask if she’s there?”
Kyle squatted down on his haunches. “Baby, she didn’t make it that far. The car is on an abandoned stretch of road that’s covered by the tree canopy.”
“How do we know she’s not there?” I asked. “She could have had an accident. She could be hurt.”
Pasco frowned at me. “I’m sorry, Cam. The onboard system shows that car is in perfect condition, she didn’tcontact the company for roadside assistance, and the air-bag system is detecting no one in any of the seats.”
“The local police are on their way to check the vehicle and tow it to their lot,” Kyle told me.
“Lang,” Kat said.
“HEAT crime lab folks are already on their way,” he called from the other room without her finishing her command.
“Crime lab,” I repeated. “If Scott took her...” I closed my eyes for a second. “Tell me. Tell me how you’ll find her if he kidnapped her.”
“The next step is to locatehim,” Kyle said. “Retrace his steps, identify his vehicle if he took her in it. Then narrow down potential locations where she could be. We already have leads based on our ongoing investigation. But it might be much easier than that. He might call and tell us what he wants.”
I nodded. “And we’ll give him what he wants and we’ll get her back.”
He frowned, then turned as Ben entered the conference room. The entire team took up places around the table and brought him up to speed. Hearing it all rehashed made me feel worse.
“Cam, do you want to go to the lounge while we discuss this?” Kyle asked. He pressed a strong, warm hand into my lower back, soothing me.
I should stay for Ally. I should know what they were planning and how they would bring her back. It was my fault she was missing. But there was nothing more I could contribute.
“I think I should stay out of the way,” I said. “I should go to the clinic, keep everyone there calm. I’ve already missed part of my shift for seeing patients.”
“We know the building is safe,” Kyle said, and looked to his teammates for input.
When Logan and Ben nodded their agreement, Kat said, “Kyle, drive Cami and Bella over and get them settled at the clinic. And maybe there’s someone you can stay with tonight?” she asked me.
“Tonight?” I grabbed Kyle’s hand. “This will be over before tonight, won’t it?”
He had that pained look on his face again. “Baby, I don’t know. We have a lot of work to do to find Ally and bring her home.”
“I can stay at my apartment,” I said. “It’s as safe as the clinic.”
He hesitated.
