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“Stop, Coolidge, it’s over,” Derrick shouted.
But the man forged ahead, weaving through the brush and trees.
Derrick gave chase, gripping his gun at the ready. He had no idea if the bastard was armed but couldn’t take any chances. If he’d killed Sarah, he was desperate.
Coolidge stumbled and Derrick noticed him clutching his side before he slipped and went tumbling down the rocky ravine. His scream boomeranged off the mountain.
Derrick screeched to a halt at the edge of the drop off.
Coolidge had landed on a ledge about thirty feet below. His leg was twisted to the side, his arms thrown out as if to break his fall. Blood seeped from where he’d hit his head on the rocks.
And he wasn’t moving.
NINETY-ONE
LAKE HAVEN APARTMENTS
Ellie returned to Sarah’s apartment to update Sergeant Williams.
“We need someone to process the empty apartment next door. I believe the intruder crawled through the vent in there to reach Ms. Turner’s apartment. He probably took her out through her own door, left her somewhere close by or put her in a vehicle, then returned, locked up her apartment and the vacant one and off he went. All this while everyone else in the complex slept.”
“Don’t worry, Detective,” Williams said. “If he left so much as a partial print or DNA, we’ll find it.”
“Radcliff escaped prison so look for signs of him,” Ellie said. “We also suspect the apartment manager Omar Coolidge might be involved somehow. Ms. Turner made accusations that he entered her apartment when she wasn’t home and touched her things. We have search warrants for cameras in her apartment and his. Also confiscate his keys so we can determine if he had a key to the deadbolt on Sarah’s apartment.”
“Copy. I’ll alert my people to specifically look for cameras,” Williams said. “We noticed a couple outside. We’ll see if they’re working.”
Ellie inhaled sharply. “Coolidge’s prints and DNA are probably in every apartment in this complex, casting reasonable doubt. But if you find it inside that vent, we might be able to use it to nail him.”
“Understood,” Sergeant Williams said.
“Thanks. My team is going to search the other vacant apartments in case he left Sarah in one of them,” Ellie said. “Have them check cars in the parking lot, too.”
Williams nodded in understanding and went back to address the team while she hurried to Coolidge’s office to meet Shondra.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sarah’s friend Rochelle cried. “I knew something was wrong when she didn’t answer her phone. She’s been so terrified lately that she barely comes out of her apartment. And when she’s inside, she calls me crying at night.”
“Why was she frightened?” Ellie asked.
“She thought someone was watching her. That the apartment manager was stalking her.”
Ellie clenched her teeth.
Coolidge had known Amy Dean. Had he been terrorizing female residents for years? Was he a murderer?
NINETY-TWO
WIDOW LAKE
Lorna Bea felt like ripping the stupid aluminum foil from the windows so she could see outside. Her father had never been this mean before. Ever since they’d come to Widow Lake, he’d gone totally mad.
Remembering his threat about boarding up the windows, she snatched her notebook and began writing a story. She titled it:The Father Who Kept His Daughter Locked Away.
A low knock sounded on the door. She went still. Was he back? No… he wouldn’t knock. He’d just barge in.
The knock sounded again, followed by a loud whisper. “Lorna Bea, are you in there?” It sounded like Cade.
She jumped off the bed and ran to the door. “Yes, but the door’s locked.”
