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"Can you recall anything about your surroundings?" Morgan pressed gently, knowing that even the smallest detail could be crucial.
"Mostly just trees and fields and a lake," Jessica said, her voice barely audible. "But there was a highway nearby. A stranger picked me up and drove me into town."
"Okay," Morgan nodded, filing away the information in her mind. "Now, I need you to try and remember something else for me. Did the man who took you ever tell you his name?"
Jessica hesitated, her brow furrowed in concentration. "He called himself Seth," she finally said, though her expression made it clear she wasn't certain. "But I doubt that's his real name."
Morgan leaned in, her eyes fixed on Jessica's face. "One more thing," she asked softly, "can you tell me anything about the vehicle he was driving?"
Jessica's gaze grew distant, as if trying to summon the memory from a faraway place. "It was a construction van," she said slowly, her voice faint. "There was a saw logo and a slogan – 'let us work for you.' I didn't catch the name of the company, but I remember the slogan."
"Good, that's very helpful," Morgan said, giving Jessica an encouraging nod. "You've been incredibly brave, Jessica. We're going to do everything we can to find Sarah."
"Thank you," Jessica whispered, looking both grateful and terrified.
Morgan rose from her chair and exited the room, her mind racing with the new information. Derik was waiting for her just outside, his brow furrowed with concern. She could see the same determination etched into his features that she felt burning within her.
"Derik, we have a possible lead on the vehicle," Morgan said without preamble, her voice low and urgent. "Jessica described it as a construction van with a saw logo and the slogan 'let us work for you.' It might be our best chance at finding this guy before it's too late."
Derik's face hardened as he processed her words. "Alright, let's get on it. We don't have a moment to waste." He pulled out his phone, ready to coordinate their efforts with the rest of the team.
As they walked briskly through the bustling police station, Morgan couldn't help but feel the weight of responsibility bearing down on her. The image of the two girls haunted her – the brunette, Jessica, now safe but traumatized, and the blonde, Sarah, who could be anywhere, her life hanging by a thread.
Morgan clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Time was slipping away, and every second that ticked by felt like another nail in Sarah's coffin. But she wouldn't let it end this way. She couldn't.
"Derik," Morgan said, a steely edge to her voice, "we're going to find this van, and we're going to save Sarah. I won't let him take another innocent life."
"Neither will I," Derik replied, his eyes meeting hers with fierce resolve. Together, they set off on their desperate mission, each fully aware of the stakes – and the deadly consequences if they failed.
***
The APB was out, but without much information on the vehicle, Morgan had little hope they'd find it. She hunched over her laptop in the briefing room at the precinct, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she searched for any trace of the van Jessica had described. The dim glow of the screen illuminated her furrowed brow, casting eerie shadows on her determined expression.
"Come on..." she muttered, trying to connect the slogan 'let us work for you' to construction companies in Dallas. But her search turned up dozens of possibilities – none of which seemed to fit the bill. Frustration bubbled up inside her chest, threatening to boil over. Time was running out, and with each passing moment, Sarah's chances of survival grew slimmer. Morgan knew that if they failed to find the van soon, it might be too late.
Morgan's fingers raced across her laptop keyboard, the frantic tapping a stark contrast to the stillness of the briefing room. Her eyes were red-rimmed and focused, scanning the screen for any useful information. The clock on the wall ticked away seconds like a metronome, each beat a reminder that Sarah's life was slipping through their fingers.
"Custom logos," she whispered to herself as if it were some sort of sacred mantra. She quickly changed the direction of her search, looking up businesses in Dallas that specialized in adding logos to vehicles. Dialing the first number she found, Morgan held her breath, praying for a breakthrough.
"Hi," she began, her voice steady despite the pounding in her chest. "This is Special Agent Morgan Cross with the FBI. I'm trying to locate a van with a specific logo – a saw and the slogan 'let us work for you.' Has anyone brought their van in for that kind of work recently?"
The man on the other end hesitated before responding. "No, ma'am. I haven't seen anything like that."
"Thank you for your time," Morgan said, trying to hide her disappointment.
She hung up and immediately dialed another establishment. She wasn't about to give up, not when something in her gut was telling her she was finally on the right track.
"Hello," she greeted the man who answered, her voice urgent but controlled. "This is Special Agent Morgan Cross with the FBI. I need to ask if anyone came in recently with a request to add a saw logo and the slogan 'let us work for you' to their van?"
"Um," the man hesitated, his uncertainty permeating through the phone. "Yeah, actually. Now that you mention it, someone did come in with that request, just a couple weeks ago."
Morgan's heart skipped a beat, her mind racing. "Can you tell me anything about the person who brought it in? Anything at all could be helpful."
The man racked his brain, trying to recall the details of that particular customer. "He was tall, maybe around six feet. Dark hair, looked to be in his forties. Seemed like an ordinary guy, to be honest."
Morgan's heart raced. If that was true, then this guy could match the description of the man from the AA meeting and the church.
"Really?" Morgan gripped the phone tighter, her voice barely concealing the urgency of the situation. "You're sure about that?"
