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Chapter 9: The Dark Before
Part 3: Sam
Downhill from you?
Moon is down. What did that mean? Presumably, downhill from wherever she was standing. Sam scoured the terrain map they had pulled up, looking within the radius he had drawn of a 60-minute drive.
There were two main patches of forest within the circle, and unfortunately they were in opposite directions. Sam considered what he could see of each. He was looking for an uphill grade with a crude outbuilding in a clearing. There were more hills to the north of town, so he decided to the start with that one. He began systematically zooming in and scouring the map in a grid pattern, drawing an X over each section as he confirmed the absence of a cabin. Another dispatcher started in another portion of the same forest and worked towards it.
Sophie? You still there?
Concern grew at the lack of response from Sophie. He had a feeling something had happened. Why hadn’t she answered his last two messages? He forced himself to continue scanning the map while he waited.
The chiming of the computer over his headset sent a jolt of adrenaline down his spine. He flipped over to the messaging app they’d been using to communicate with Sophie.
He’s here.
Then a miniature map with a pin appeared, and Sam cheered out loud.
“Suze!” he pulled her attention to the screen. “We need to roll out.”
Suze immediately jumped to action, notifying Lt. Lehrer who authorized sending out every free unit that wasn’t already working the shooting. Then Lt. Lehrer placed a call to colleagues in Madison who agreed to send out a SWAT unit. The distances were such that the SWAT unit would arrive within 10 minutes of the Williamson officers.
Sam sprinted outside to leap into his patrol vehicle.
“Got room?” Chase Lowden ask, hot on his heals.
“Let’s go!” Sam replied, not slowing down. Chase slid in and slammed his door as Sam was squealing out of the parking lot, lights and sirens going full blast. He joined the parade of other vehicles making their way as quickly as possible toward the north end of town.
Driving through the countryside, past farm fields freshly plowed, usually brought Sam peace and comfort. Tonight, anxiety rolled through his system, overriding any joy the scenery might have yielded. Instead, he pushed his brain to consider the upcoming task as objectively as possible.
They would be hiking through the woods to find Sophie, and there was no way a dozen officers could do so quietly. This wasn’t the movies, and small-town police officers didn’t have superhuman skills. There were so many challenging variables here, besides approaching quietly. Would the kidnapper be in the vicinity of Sophie? Had Sophie moved from her pinned location? Was the pin even accurate enough to find her if she was still in the area? Would Sophie call out, run, or hide when she heard the officers coming?
The fear that the kidnapper had recaptured Sophie was the worst of the questions Sam wrestled with. He didn’t know how to get past that one, though. Her cut off messages and lack of responses made Sam very suspicious that at the least, the kidnapper was nearby. Sophie was smart enough to hide the light of the phone screen if she thought it might get her found.
In just under 40 minutes, Sam pulled into the driveway of a big farming operation partway into the hills. He stopped counting after his eyes skimmed the tenth law enforcement vehicle already present. Someone would have contacted the property owner to get permission to park there. Knowing the farmers in this community, there would likely be water jugs and food showing up soon, too.
Sam made his way to a group gathered next to Lt. Lehrer’s vehicle. Vic had already found his way here from the shooting, likely leaving that job to other officers and detectives who weren’t familiar with Sophie’s stalker.
“Did they say anything else?” Sam asked him quietly as he joined the circle.
Thankfully, Vic knew where Sam’s mind was. “No, but they let us look through their phones. Idiots…” Vic mumbled, but a cocky grin warmed his usually gruff expression for a moment. Sam could only imagine the minefield of information to be found on a drug dealer’s personal cell.
“There was nothing about Sophie on either of them, even going back to the night she interfered with Wic and Denise,” Vic reported. “It’s not proof, but I’d be shocked if either of them managed to coordinate Sophie’s kidnapping weeks after an altercation without using their cell phones, and most notably, without asking for anything in return. Why kidnap her unless it’s for leverage?”
Why, indeed? But even that confused Sam. Sophie didn’t really hold value in the drug wars, did she? Well, except for her connection to Sam, but he wasn’t investigating either of those ridiculous goons.
“So there’s basically no chance it was them, and every chance it’s her stalker, who we still haven’t positively identified,” Sam summed.
Vic gave a curt nod. “That’s the short of it.”
Lt. Lehrer called the group to order and had just begun apprising them all of the plan when the Madison SWAT officers rolled up. That forced the LT to stop talking, wait for the additional help to join, then start over.
“At approximately 7:45pm tonight, 23-year-old Sophie Lane was abducted from her apartment and placed in a truck owned by Oliver Isolah. The abductor wore a mask, so we do not have positive ID that Isolah is our guy. Ms. Lane was able to evade her captor and contact dispatch via text message, sharing her location at 9:39pm.” Lt. Lehrer stopped talking to peek at his watch, and Sam noted his – 10:27. Sophie had been gone almost three hours.
“We are going to approach Ms. Lane’s last known location from the east and the southwest.” Lt. Lehrer spread a large map across the side of his SUV and taped it in place, drawing the rough path the two teams would take.
Within 5 minutes, all but a few officers were assigned to teams and trudging through the woods. Each team had a few SWAT members as well as an EMT with a heavy medical kit. Sam found himself being one of those few officers stuck at the farmhouse. He understood why – he was too emotionally involved and would compromise the situation without thinking. Despite 5 years on the force, he had already lost his head several times where Sophie was concerned.
Instead of going up into the hills, Sam and the LT would monitor the radio. Sam checked in with each team every 2 minutes and noted their coordinates on the map. He also used his laptop to keep in touch with Suze, but no new messages had come through since the location pin.
Lt. Lehrer cleared Sam to have Suze message Sophie that help was on the way. It was a risk, if the kidnapper found her phone. It would be worth the risk if it kept Sophie calm and hidden. Suze sent the message, and 5 minutes later confirmed no response.
Sam studied the map, thinking about Sophie’s earlier messages. He could pull up the log on his laptop. In the woods behind a cabin. Had the kidnapper taken Sophie to that cabin, and she had escaped? Or was he taking her into the woods? There were so many unknowns, it ate at Sam.
Between check-ins, he drank a bottle of water from the farmer and wondered how this night would affect Sophie long term. Would she be too afraid to stay in Williamson? He would understand, but it would hurt so much to have her leave. If she stayed nearby…
His phone dinged – an update from one of the tech team guys who had continued Chase’s research.
Isolah’s parents own cabin at this location:
A map with a pin appeared, the cabin sitting just a few miles from the farmhouse.
“Lt. Lehrer!” Sam hollered, holding out his phone. The man saw the message and sprang into action, directing a few officers to break off from one of the search teams and head for the cabin. Sam began also tracking their location on the big map.
Time seemed to click by slower than a tree growing. Sam watched the markings on the map move closer to Sophie’s last location and the cabin, his nerves prickling with tension. How would this night end?