There had been a few more letters, but as they arrived, the notes had become more and more threatening. Maya had sent them to Kessler as evidence and to add to the reason why Abigail should remain locked up. But she should have known better. Kessler was right, Abigail was smart and she knew how to work the system. She either paid someone off on the inside or figured out some other way to manipulate them. That was how she worked.
“Let’s go tell Pops and Eric about this,” Maya said.
Josh gently wrapped Maya into a hug, rubbing her back, then he softly kissed her. “We’ll find Abigail and we’ll find Hope. It’s going to be okay.”
“You’re telling the biggest lie in law enforcement,” Maya said.
“I know, but I believe it. We have a great team and we have two K-9s who excel at finding people. I bet Juniper would love nothing more than to bite the heck out of Abigail and now she may get her chance.”
Maya laughed. “You’re right about that. Let’s go fill in Pops and Eric.”
Chapter Fifteen
Abigail wanted coffee. Bad. But she didn’t dare stop anywhere that would have cameras. She yawned. It was hard work breaking out of prison. She let out a little chuckle at that thought.
The drive ahead of her was a couple hours. Maybe even closer to three hours. If she’d wanted to go the direct route, she would have taken I-25 north, but driving this stolen vehicle changed things. Abigail figured there’d be less law enforcement vehicles on the mountain roads.
She rolled down the window to enjoy the fresh air—something she’d come to appreciate. It was hot, but after being stuck in a prison cell, she didn’t care. The air was hazy, but again, she didn’t care. As she inhaled, Abigail recognized the smell of smoke. Was there a fire somewhere? She better figure that out as that could close roads to her destination.
She passed a sign stating there was a rest area up ahead. Yawning again, Abigail decided to pull off there and touch base with Jake and Vicki. She needed to make sure they could meet up right away and there weren’t road closures. When it came to forest fires, roads would be closed by deputies or state patrol.Running into officers was the last thing she needed. They might not find Lexie for a couple days, but by now, Abigail’s absence would be noted at the prison. They’d probably done evening head counts and discovered they were one less.
The car could be an issue. At some point, she’d have to get rid of it. Abigail let off the accelerator as the rest stop came into view. She put on her turn signal and pulled in. Summertime in the mountains meant there was a lot of traffic. There were at least ten cars parked at the rest area.
Abigail pulled up and sat for a minute, observing her surroundings. Not only was this a rest area, but it was a trailhead for a hike to some lake according to the signs. Only a couple of people were around. There didn’t appear to be any cameras on the outside of the restrooms. Some mountain areas had cameras, some didn’t. She took her phone out of the center console and texted Jake and Vicki telling them where to meet and asking about a possible forest fire. One of them responded fast.
We can meet you there. This kid is a pain. We will be glad to give her to you. There is a fire, but roads should be fine to our meeting spot.
“Perfect,” Abigail said to herself. She put the phone away, pleased that so far, everything was going as planned. The people who’d been using the restroom climbed in their car and left. At the moment, there was no one else around so Abigail took the opportunity topull out a pocketknife she’d also grabbed at Lexie’s place. She opened the attachment that could help her unscrew license plates and went to work on the ones on Lexie’s car.
They came off easily. There was a similarly colored sedan parked a few spots down. Abigail scanned the area again and still seeing no one, she went over and crouched down. She quickly swapped the plates on the front and back. Then she went back to her vehicle and put the new plates on. This might help if there was a BOLO or “be on the lookout” issued for her car. That would most likely happen once Lexie was discovered. If a cop ran the plates, they would instantly know that they didn’t match this vehicle. But if they saw her vehicle and didn’t run the plates, then hopefully they wouldn’t pull her over.
Abigail used the restroom, checking one more time for cameras. She didn’t see anything. She climbed back into the car, started it up and backed out of her parking spot. Next stop was meeting Jake and Vicki and getting the kid from them. From the sounds of it, the kid was a real piece of work. Good thing Jake and Vicki owed her big-time.
When she was still a detective, she’d nailed them for some car thefts and other stolen items. They were working for a guy who’d screwed her over. She could have put them in prison for years, but instead, she told them if they helped her catch their boss, she’d look the other way, but they’d owe her.
Abigail knew at some point she’d cash in on the favor. Even better, they believed her when she saidthat they’d be even and no longer owe her. Like most criminals, they weren’t smart.
She couldn’t wait to reach out to Maya Thompson and tell her that she had her niece. Maya would want to save the day with her rotten mutt. Abigail wouldn’t mind killing the dog either. At this point she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Her phone buzzed as a text came through. Abigail glanced at the screen and saw her partner had left a long message. She pulled off again so she could read it without trying to navigate the mountain roads.
Hey babe, they already know about the kid and that you’re out. Be careful. I’ve made sure I’ll be joining this investigation, so when I can, I’ll keep you updated. Gotta go. Can’t wait to see you.
Abigail typed a quick thank-you and then got back on the road. She never thought she’d find true love, but her partner was as close as she’d ever get. She was grateful he’d warned her to be careful. But she was also happy that she didn’t have to contact anyone about the missing kid. This made her plan even easier along with the fact her partner was joining the investigation.
It seemed like the universe was on her side. Her goal of luring Maya and Eric to her had just become easier.
Maya’s shoulders were tight. She took a few deep breaths trying to let some tension out. As if that wasgoing to happen after learning that Abigail had escaped. Her stomach was in knots. How could this have happened? Because it was Abigail. That’s how. Would this nightmare ever end?
No one spoke. Eric appeared defeated, hunched forward in his chair, fingers intertwined, staring at the floor as if it would give him answers. The little bit she knew her father, he’d always been cocky and made it seem like things would work out. Maybe that had been an act.
By the look on Pops’s face, Maya knew he was thinking. She didn’t want to sit around anymore. They needed to find Hope and they needed to stop Abigail. The plan was that simple.
“I’m going to take Juniper and see if I can figure out where they might have taken Hope from the area we last tracked,” Maya said, breaking the silence.
“No,” Eric said. “I mean, we need to find Hope, but you’d be doing exactly what Abigail wants. She’ll kill you if she gets a chance.”
“With Juniper, she won’t have that opportunity,” Maya fired back.
