Page 326 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I didn’t until I received Gavin’s phone call.” He sighed. “The dots seem to connect. The call came through about my senile grandfather going missing and before I can locate him, Emily disappears too. It sounds suspiciously coincidental.”

“It does.” Wade scratched his chin. “And it adds a new variable to the mix. Stay put. I can’t have you getting in the way.”

He updated his team, and they moved in. They would approach the property from four different locations as stealthily as possible.

Wade sawthe old farmhouse in the distance, right where Steve told him it would be. He made his approach silently, not allowing himself to even step on a dried leaf. When he reachedthe building, he peered in a window. Nothing but boxes. He moved to the next window and looked again. A box of cereal sat on a counter beside a bowl with a spoon in it. Someone had been here and hadn’t cleaned up their dishes. Where were they?

He kept moving until he reached the back door. When he tried the handle, it turned easily. Pulling his weapon from the holster, he entered and cautiously made his way from room to room. The silence was eerie. He let out a sigh of relief when he looked into a den and found an old man snoozing in a recliner, his chest moving rhythmically with each breath he took.

Wade snapped a picture and sent it to Austin with a text. “Is this your pap?”

Once he had confirmation, he completed his search of the house, finding it empty save the old man. After he radioed for someone to come and get the old guy to safety, he woke the elderly man, and led him to the back door where a trooper met them.

Wade exited through the front door and was met by John Cunningham. They’d purposely kept him off the team and out of the loop, but someone had obviously filled him in on the happenings at his aunt’s property.

“Why are you here, Wade?”

“I suspect your cousin is holding Emily here.”

“Pete wouldn’t do that.”

Two uniformed troopers reached for John’s arms, but he shrugged them off.

Wade shook his head to get the cops to back off. “Let him go.”

“You sure?”

“I am. John saved my life. I trust him.”

They released him, and John took another two steps forward. “I suppose I should help you then. You seriously think Pete’s involved?”

Wade nodded. “Austin Crowley’s grandfather is here. He kidnapped the old man. That’s how he lured Austin away from Emily, so he could kidnap her.”

John rubbed his forehead. “There are a couple of places he could be holding her. The basement.”

Wade shook his head. “Already checked the house, including the basement.”

“There’s a tack room on the barn that can be locked.”

“They’re searching the barn as we speak.”

“The last place I can think of is the old root cellar. We used to play in it when we were kids until my dad tanned our hides.”

“Where is it?”

“I’ll show you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Time ceased to exist in the root cellar. Emily wasn’t sure how long she’d been down there. It felt interminably long. The air seemed incredibly dense, making it difficult to breathe. Pete knew she had asthma, but he wouldn’t care. If she started wheezing and gasping for breath, it would bring him some kind of sick joy. He enjoyed watching others suffer. She’d always sensed that about him. Her failure to consider him a serious suspect irked her.

Her prayers grew desperate, but she kept herself from making empty foxhole promises. The Lord was her redeemer, and if He allowed her to escape the horrible fate Jamie faced, she would continue to praise Him, but if she suffered the same demise, she would praise Him as long as breath allowed it. Escape could only happen with His assistance. And acceptance would only be possible with divine intervention. Whatever awaited her, it was in His hands. A peace came over her, and her breathing settled into a normal pattern once more.

After a short rest, she used her hands to dig, hoping she might uncover some hidden tool left in the dirt. Her fingers bled from the effort by the time she felt the corner of something. Itgave her strength to continue. Her efforts were rewarded with a sharp jagged rock. A makeshift weapon.

Hours later, the creaking sound returned, and she squeezed herself in behind the ladder so she could strike before he had a chance to defend himself.

“Where are you hiding? I know you’re in here.” Pete grabbed his service flashlight from his belt, and before he could click it on, she reached around him and stuck the sharp end of the rock into the front of his throat. She was pretty sure it didn’t break skin, but it caught him off guard, and she was able to push the ladder down on top of him. Before he could react, she brought the rock down again on his head. He stopped moving. She pushed the ladder back into place and hurried up it toward the sunlight. As she reached the top, she heard him stirring below her. He let out a string of profanity as he grabbed hold of the ladder and yanked. She clawed the ground and hauled herself up. She ran toward the woods. If she didn’t escape this place, she’d die. If she could, she’d call for help for Austin’s grandfather, but if she went back to the old farmhouse now, neither of them would make it out alive.

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