Latent Danger (On the Line #2)(47)

“No, they brought him home. It was only for a short time before he died, but it was awful. He would moan and scream sometimes. I saw him the day they sent him back to the hospital. They took him out in a wheelchair and it looked like they hadn’t fed him or bathed him in...” her voice died out and she shivered again like the memory was invading her body physically. “He died a few weeks later at the hospital. I think it was a stroke.”

Zach looked to Mrs. Sawyer. “Do you know anything about the tunnels in the house? How we might get in there? We have a missing police officer, Mrs. Sawyer.”

Her eyes darkened and she looked truly sympathetic. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. The house is old, that’s all I know. I never spent time there. If I saw Herschel, it was out in the gardens in the back. At the time, they were quite lavish. I would walk in them sometimes and he’d come out and talk to me.”

It was then that Zach realized Mrs. Sawyer looked a lot like the first victims, the ones he suspected Herschel Kenworth had killed thirty years before. She was quite petite and blonde and still beautiful, despite her age.

There wasn’t time to think about that. They needed to get back to the house to search it. They left with only the briefest of thank yous and decided to cut through the side hedges onto the Gordon property, without worrying about their car for the time being.

Zach skidded to a halt when they hit the driveway. The police vehicles and crime scene units had all gone.

“Shit!”

Ronan didn’t ask why Zach was upset. They both knew what this meant. The scene had been released and Liz was likely back inside, probably with her lawyer. They’d both hoped to get into the house before that had happened.

“Exigent circumstances,” Ronan said.

“When the house has just been searched top to bottom by a team of officers and crime scene techs?” Zach asked. Despite the fact he knew the argument wouldn’t hold against the attorney he was willing to bet would be standing guard inside, he walked up the front steps.

He’d figure out a way inside the house. He had to.





Chapter Thirty-six





Shauna stilled as the silence that had surrounded her broke. She could hear voices and footsteps, but they were muffled. She listened for a minute to be sure they weren’t coming closer. They weren’t.

Shauna’s arms ached with the way they stretched behind her and she felt sore beneath her underarms, like she’d been burned or cut there. She didn’t know how those injuries had happened or how serious they were. She felt like her head had been hit again and again and she thought she felt blood running down the side of her face, but she wasn’t sure. It could be sweat.

The fact her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness at all told her there was no light coming into the small space she was in. She rolled to her side and rocked until she came up onto her knees. If Liz had taped her hands in front of her instead of behind her back, this would be a piece of cake. As it was, she had limited air and her hands were bound at a tight angle that gave her little leverage to snap the tape.

With both her ankles and knees bound, Shauna didn’t think she’d be able to get to a standing position. It took a minute to balance herself on weak knees. When she’d steadied herself, Shauna wrenched her arms up and out as hard and fast as she could. The tape held.

She took a slow breath and relaxed her arms, then tried again. Her shoulders burned from the tight pull on her arms, but the tape held. Again and again, she pulled and wrenched.

Shauna closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She’d been trying to keep quiet in case Liz was in the house, but she didn’t know if she could any more. If she stayed like she was, she was too vulnerable. She needed to free herself and check the space around her for a weapon she could use or a way out of whatever hellhole she’d been put in.

Another slow deep breath, and this time, Shauna let out a raw, guttural grunt as she ripped her arms up and apart again. The tape came free and she fell to the side with a groan as her balance was thrown off once more.

She allowed herself no more than a second to catch her breath, then rolled and pulled her legs in front of her to work on the tape on her legs.





Chapter Thirty-seven





“I don’t think so, detectives.” Liz Gordon’s attorney blocked the way into the house, but the girl stood behind him, a smirk clear on her face.

“We haven’t even told you what we’re here for,” Ronan said in response to Liz’s attorney’s opening salvo.

Zach didn’t care to chat with the man. “You’re going to let us in that house to look for our detective.” If the man was smart, he’d let Zach by.

He wasn’t smart. “I don’t think so, detective. You’ve harassed Ms. Gordon long enough. The home has been searched. Extensively. You had your chance. You can come back with a warrant if you want to try again.”

Zach growled, but Ronan put a hand to his chest, stilling him. The “easy brother,” that came under Ronan’s breath was low and steady, intended only for Zach’s ears.

To the lawyer, Ronan said, “We have new information. We have reason to believe our detective is being held in hidden passages within the home.”

A single brow went up on the man’s face, but he seemed unimpressed with the statement. “And so, you may bring that information to a judge and return with a warrant.” He paused. “If you’re able to get one.”