All He Has Left(8)

Where was Piper? God, please! he kept thinking, fear gripping his whole body. Squinting up the dark street, Jake thought he saw a man push someone into the front seat of the black tow truck he’d noticed parked along the curb earlier. Piper! A second later, the man pulled the truck door shut behind him.

The engine roared to life. Jake took off running after it. The tires squealed on the pavement, and the tow truck roared away from him, taking a swift right at the next cross street. Jake had to somehow get to the truck before it got away.

He ran up the same street as the truck, pumping his legs as hard as possible, but he was quickly losing ground. He had to find another way. The truck skidded around a corner up ahead of him. Peering to his right, Jake decided his only chance was to cut up a side street, hoping he might be able to intercept the truck. He heard the truck’s tires squeal again. At the next cross street, Jake cut through a yard on the corner. But then he found himself approaching a waist-high picket fence. Without slowing, Jake tried to hurtle the fence with one explosive leap but caught his front left foot instead. He toppled over the fence and landed square on his face on the opposite sidewalk. He thought he felt something crack in his jaw. Pushing himself up, he stumbled forward, back into the street, kept on running. But the tow truck was already in the distance. Within seconds, he could no longer see the taillights. Whoever had his daughter was long gone.

Jake fell to his knees, gasping for breath. God, no! Then he heard police sirens swiftly approaching. Caitlin!





FOUR


A police car with lights flashing was already parked in front of Caitlin’s house when Jake raced back down the sidewalk. He could hear more sirens approaching from nearby streets. A neighbor must’ve heard the gunshot and called the police. Thank God. Jake was desperate for help. He tried hard to not think about Piper being inside that truck, frightened out of her mind. But it was impossible for him. Had she been in the kitchen when Caitlin had been shot? Had she seen it happen right in front of her? Was Piper also hurt? Jake felt a swirling of panic inside and could hardly think or breathe. He was so confused. What had happened? Who had taken Piper?

Jake rushed up to the front of the house, searching for a police officer to help him. As he did, a uniformed officer suddenly stepped out of the front door. Spotting Jake’s swift approach, the officer drew his gun, yelled, “Stop right there!” Jake immediately put his hands up, which he now noticed were completely covered in blood. He looked down and saw that blood was all over his jacket, too. He must’ve wiped his hands on his jacket while he hovered over Caitlin.

“Officer, please, my daughter was just taken! A man just shot my niece inside and took my daughter in a black tow truck. Please help me!”

“Sir, drop to your knees right now, and keep your hands up!”

Jake did what he was told. “Officer, please, the man is getting away! You have to do something right now! Please, God. Help me! Do something!”

The officer hesitantly approached. “Do you have ID on you, sir?”

Jake nodded. “Yes, in my front pocket. My name is Jake Slater. My daughter is Piper. She’s only thirteen.”

“Slowly pull out your ID for me.”

Jake carefully reached into his jean pocket. “Officer, are you even listening to me? You’re wasting time! Please help me!”

“I will!” the officer sternly yelled back. “Just stay put, and give me a second.”

Jake handed over his wallet. The officer opened it, began examining Jake’s driver’s license. Another police car arrived, siren blazing, lights flashing. Two more officers ran up the sidewalk with guns drawn. The young officer who held his wallet quickly updated them. 911 call. Gunshot heard. Man spotted running from house. Woman down inside the kitchen. Then the officer nodded at Jake.

“He says his daughter was taken.”

“She was!” Jake yelled. “And they’re going to get away unless one of you does something right now!”

“What’s with all the blood?” asked one of the officers.

Jake’s chest was pounding so hard, he could barely breathe. “I got here a few minutes ago to pick up my daughter. She was with my niece. That’s the girl inside the house. Caitlin Kingston. I heard a gunshot and broke in through the front window. I found my niece on the kitchen floor. I tried to stop her bleeding.” Jake was gasping for breath. “Then I heard my daughter scream from outside the house. I took off running after them. I saw a man push her into a black tow truck and speed away.”

“Did you recognize this man?” asked the same officer who mentioned the blood.

“No, I didn’t get a good look at him. I just . . .”

Jake felt a sudden surge of emotion exploding from the depth of his bowels and vomited on the sidewalk in front of him. He could feel his whole world collapsing. Piper was all he had left. He heard one of the officers on his radio saying something about a potential child kidnapping and a black tow truck. At least they were finally responding to his desperate pleas. Then an officer who had been inside the house stepped onto the front porch. Jake looked up and noticed the grim expression on his face and felt another knot twist up in his stomach.

“Gunshot wound to the stomach,” the officer explained to the others. “She’s already dead.”

Jake pressed his bloodied hands to his face. “No!”