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Jaicon looked at Press, who was still shaking his head.
“What are they?”I shouted.
“He wants you to come to where he’s holding her. He said if he sees or hears anyone other than you, he’ll kill her.”
“Where is he holding her?”
“Once he receives a response to his message, he’ll tell you where to go.”
“This is ludicrous,” Press muttered.
“I want to see it.”
“No. Absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head more violently than he had been.
“Press.” I waited until his eyes met mine. “I have to see it.”
“I’llwatch it.”
“No. I have to do this.”
He shook his head again. “No, Luisa.”
“Listen to me. I have to see it,” I repeated. “I want you with me when I do, but—”
“I will not leave you alone. Not for a single second.”
“Jaicon?”
This time, she didn’t look at Press. Her eyes stayed on mine when she called out to Magnet.
The man came around and placed a tablet on the table. “The voice has been digitally enhanced to make it unrecognizable, and the only person visible is Jada.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “Go ahead.”
The video appeared on the screen. In it, Jada was tied to a wall in the same way the woman in the photo sent with the previous message had been. Also like that woman, marks crisscrossed her back; some looked as though they were dripping blood. The hardest part was I could hear Jada’s whimpers.
“Luisa, my Luisa,” the voice began. “I told you, next time, you won’t escape before we’ve had our fun. Sadly, your best friend beat you to it.” The voice cackled. “She begged so prettily for me to let her go that I finally agreed to her suggestion. When she said, ‘Trade me for her,’ I had to admit it was a brilliant solution.” There were more cackles. “Here is how it will go. When you arrive, I will be standing with the barrel of my gun resting against your best friend’s temple. If I hear any voice or see any face other than yours, she will die instantly. Reply to this message with the words ‘I’m yours’ to receive your next set of instructions.” The screen went black.
“Zeppelin is working with our friends at NRO to triangulate the location using cell towers. Once we’ve done that, we’ll use overheads to get a clear read on where Jada is being held.”
I shook my head. “Don’t bother. I know where she is.”
“Where?” asked Press.
I motioned for Magnet to replay the video. When it popped up on the screen, I pointed to the upper right corner. “See that? It’s an on-air sign.”
“Like for a radio or TV show?” Tank asked.
“Yes.” I pointed to it again. “Look at the lower left corner. Part of it is cracked, and someone tried to fix it with blue adhesive.”
Magnet zoomed in on it. “Yeah?”
“That’s at KCRP, SLO CAL’s underground radio station. Most believe it’s off campus, but it isn’t. It’s housed beneath the oldest building. Jada and I did an internship there when we were in high school.”
“Zin worked for the radio station during undergrad,” said Press.
“That’s right. He was there when we were. Not that we ever saw him.”
