“We’ll be aiding in the investigation,” Dani stated. “We have to make sure this isn’t connected to our office in any way.”
“Of course. We could use your resources.” Kramer looked beyond her and suddenly cursed. “Just great.”
Dani turned, followed his eyes toward the street. A local news van had just pulled up. Two guys hopped out, one clearly the on-air talent with his perfectly sculpted hair and impeccable suit. The other guy wore camo pants and scrambled to grab camera gear from the back.
“That was fast,” Dani said.
“The victim comes from a prominent local family.”
“Yeah, I heard about that.”
“This is going to turn into a three-ring circus real quick. You want to handle it? You’d look much better on camera. My wife says I look fat on TV.”
“No, thanks. I don’t play nice with the media.”
“Too bad. Wish me luck.”
EIGHT
Jake made a trek in the shadows along the bank of the river for over two miles before finally crossing a walking bridge to the opposite shoreline. Shivering in his wet clothes, he now stood in front of Stephen F. Austin High School, where he used to coach. The big parking lot outside the school was mostly empty. It was Saturday night. No one should be around. But the parking lot was still well lit, which left him feeling exposed. Because running across the parking lot might make him stand out even more, he walked as quickly but casually as possible, hands in jacket pockets, just some guy out for a late-night stroll—not someone the police were looking for right now. He still couldn’t believe he’d somehow managed to evade them. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen a police car since he’d climbed out of the water about thirty minutes ago.
As he walked, Jake pulled out his phone, which was water resistant and still seemed to be operating OK. Unfortunately, there had been no further communication between him and Piper. He had tried calling her back, thinking that even if whoever held her captive answered, Jake somehow might be able to reason with them. Maybe offer them money—anything for them to release her! But his calls only went straight to her voice mail. Her captors had likely turned her phone off or maybe even destroyed it entirely. Again, he tried not to think about how Piper was feeling right now: scared, vulnerable, and all alone. He just had to keep moving forward until he found her.
Jake approached a back entrance to the high school near the athletic offices and locker rooms, where he used to go in and out all the time. There was a bulletin board hung up on the brick wall outside the back door that held various school flyers and announcements. Reaching behind one corner of the board, Jake began feeling around until his fingers settled on something very familiar. He felt a wave of relief pour through him. The magnetic key box was still there. When coaching, he used to always forget his key to the school. So he’d hidden a spare back there a while ago that had repeatedly saved him.
He quickly pulled the key out, stuck it in the keyhole, slipped inside, and then pulled the metal door closed behind him. He immediately embraced the warmth of the building. Standing in the back hallway, Jake listened for a moment. He didn’t expect anyone else to be inside the school. Not even the cleaning crew, since kids weren’t around on the weekends. At least, that was his hope. Still, he wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.
The football offices, locker rooms, and weight room were just around the corner from the back door. Jake hustled forward, paused to take a quick peek into the next hallway, and then turned the corner. Most of the lights were off in the building, but he could still easily make his way around. He opened another door to the football wing, stepped into his old stomping grounds, and turned on a light switch. Multiple coaches’ offices lined both sides of the hallway. At the back of the hallway was the coaches’ locker room. Jake headed straight for it, eager to strip out of his wet clothes. Once inside, he started searching locker cubbies for any clothes that might fit him. Coaches always had something around. He was quickly able to pull together a full wardrobe—a pair of black jogging pants, a gray T-shirt, a maroon hoodie, boxers, socks, and even a pair of running shoes that ran just slightly big on him. Peeling out of his wet clothes, he put on his dry wardrobe and felt his whole body begin to slowly thaw.
Jake walked into the adjacent bathroom near the coaches’ showers, hit the light switch, and then stood over a sink in front of a mirror. He looked beat to hell. Examining his face, he noticed a big scrape under his left chin and a small gash at the top of his forehead from his various tumbles. It reminded him of the way he’d looked when he’d woken up in the hospital after the car crash last year.