“Mrs. Prescott, I can assure you,” Finley said, “this blackmail is about to stop.”
Penelope Keaton would not get away with torturing these people any longer.
The older woman wiped her eyes with her fingertips. “I don’t understand why this happened. There’s been no ransom demand.”
This woman had no idea about Cherry’s bio parents. “Ma’am, were you told the names of the parents?”
She shook her head adamantly. “We agreed not to ask any questions, and the Keatons promised to never share our names. No one would ever know she wasn’t ours. We accepted her as our own and never looked back.”
Finley braced herself for a storm. “Do you recognize the name Charles Holmes?”
If possible, Elly Prescott paled to an even lighter shade. “What’re you saying?”
Half an hour later Finley was convinced the Prescotts had had no idea Cherry might be the sister of Charles Holmes. As an adult, their daughter had certainly never mentioned knowing him. Finley gave Prescott her card and told her she would be hearing from her. Until then she was to stay calm and to avoid Keaton. The police were doing everything possible to find Cherry.
Finley left, needing to get to the office ASAP. She wanted to talk to Jack, and then, together, they would go to Detectives Barry and Tanner with this.
Her cell rang, and she answered without taking her eyes off the traffic keeping time with her.
“O’Sullivan.”
“I need your help.”
Finley almost slammed on the brakes. “Cherry?” It was Cherry’s voice, but her contact list told Finley it was Cecelia.
“I don’t know how much time I have,” she whispered.
Finley did slow down then. A horn blared behind her. She ignored it and pulled to the side of the highway. “Where are you?” Her fingers gripped the phone tighter. “I need to know where you are.”
“She’s going to kill me,” she cried softly.
“Cherry, who’s going to kill you? Where are you?” Finley repeated, her pulse pounding in her ears. What the hell was Cecelia doing? Had to be Cecelia. Cherry was calling from her damned phone.
“It’s Cecelia.” Cherry whimpered. “Wait! I think she’s coming back.”
Finley held her breath, and still her heart thundered. She wanted to scream.
“Okay.” A gasp echoed across the line. “She’s still arguing. She forgot about her phone when Olivia arrived. But she could come back any second. Please, please help me. They’re crazy.”
“Olivia is there?” Damn it! Finley fought the urge to get out of the car and pace along the side of the road. “Tell me where you are!”
“They’re screaming at each other.” Cherry made a fretting sound. “Please tell my son I love him.”
“Cherry,” Finley said firmly, “where are you?”
“I . . . I think we’re at the castle. You know, off Centennial Boulevard. I’ve been here before. A lot of us who hung out at Paradise used to come here . . . to smoke dope and stupid shit like that. Oh God . . .” A keening sound echoed from her.
Finley checked the traffic and eased back onto the highway. “The old prison? Are you sure? Didn’t they shut that place down a while back? It’s restricted. Maybe guarded twenty-four seven. People may have gotten in there five years ago but—”
“I don’t know,” Cherry cried softly. “When they dragged me out of the trunk, I saw . . . a No Trespassing sign. And . . . and what looked like a chapel in the distance.”
She stopped talking. Finley heard a voice or voices in the background. Her heart thudded harder. The voices faded.
“Did you call the police?” Finley asked, pressing harder on her accelerator.
“The police? No! Then Elton will know and . . .” She started to sob. “Please. You can help me. I know you can. He can’t know any of this.”
It was far too late for the woman’s husband to be kept out of the loop, but Finley opted not to point out the obvious.
“I’m on my way,” Finley assured her. “Tell me more about what you saw when you got there.”
“She . . . she forced me through a door,” Cherry said, whispering again. “There . . . there was a sign on the door. Maintenance. We went down some stairs. It’s like a basement with long corridors. Please help me! She has a gun!”
Finley’s heart sank into her gut. “I’m coming,” she promised. “Just stay on the line with me as long as you can.”