Page 51 of Just Now

“Please. This killer’s taken someone else. While I was trying to warn her.” Cami blinked furiously, taking a shuddering breath. Now was not the time to allow the emotion she felt at Vera’s predicament to overwhelm her.

“Um, well,” the receptionist wavered.

“It’ll be insured,” Cami pleaded. “The FBI covers me on cases. And I’m a licensed driver.”

She wasn’t an experienced driver. She didn’t have a lot of hours behind the wheel, but she’d passed her test and that was what counted, right?

But she could see the receptionist still wasn’t convinced.

“If I can get there in time, I can try to save her. This might save her life. You could help save a life!”

It was her last, her final argument. “Together we could do this.”

Making up her mind, the receptionist reached into her purse under the counter and slid the keys over to Cami.

“It’s the red Honda in the lot out back, near the gate,” she said. “Just please bring it back in one piece. My parents gave it to me, and I can’t afford a replacement.”

“Thank you, thank you, I’ll be careful,” Cami gabbled, grabbing the keys, getting her laptop bag and her purse, and rushing out before the receptionist could change her mind.

Now, where was Vera headed? Was there a signal on her tracking software?

She checked her phone and saw to her consternation that the program wasn’t activating.

“Damn, damn,” Cami muttered. Technology wasn’t working for her tonight. With the program malfunctioning, she had no idea where Vera was being taken, and no clue about the whereabouts of the kidnapper.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her panic under control. She could start by driving to Vera’s home address, at least. Perhaps, by then, the phone would start to move, or the software would get past its glitch and begin working.

It was only thanks to the combined might of furiously intelligent hackers, intent on taking the use of technology to the edge, that she was capable of tracking the location of an unknown phone, something that was usually the FBI’s domain.

And now, she had to call Connor and tell him what was happening. He might have better luck tracking the phone from his side.

Glancing at her phone, Cami realized she’d missed an incoming call from him five minutes ago. In the stress of getting a car, and with her phone on silent, she hadn’t seen it. Quickly, she called him back.

“Cami!” His voice was sharp and urgent as he picked up. “What’s happening there? You okay? You didn’t pick up when I called you. I’m about to leave here. I’ve just cleared this suspect—for now, anyway.”

“Connor, I’ve found who it is. I’ve worked out how he’s doing this.” With a heroic effort, Cami controlled her breathlessness. Panic would only slow things down now. “He’s raiding the dumpsters and taking the restaurant’s contest forms with client information. I’ve seen him on camera. And I’ve found the next person he’s targeting.”

“You sure?” Connor asked.

“Yes. I worked it out. And I called her to warn her, but I think—I think she got home as I called, and he was waiting. She screamed, and then the call was cut off.”

Here was the red Honda. She opened it and climbed inside. It was an older car, but neat and tidy and obviously cared for.

“Okay. Address?”

Cami read it out and heard Connor sigh.

“I’m nearly thirty miles from there. I’ll get there as fast as I can, and I’ll get the local police there, too. They might be faster than me.”

“I’m eight miles away and I’ve borrowed a car,” she said. “I’m going to go there right away, but he’ll probably have taken her by then.”

“Cami, no!” His voice was sharp. “You can’t risk your life chasing after her. You’re unarmed and not combat trained.”

“Connor, if I can see where her phone’s headed, I need to start following it. It’ll give us a lead, at any rate. I’m trying to track it but my software is being slow. The point is, he could turn off the phone at any time and then we have no idea where he is.”

“No! Wait! Let me get backup to you first,” Connor said.

“No! I’m going! Backup can meet me there,” Cami shot back. She wanted to obey Connor, but how could she do that when she’d actually heard a victim being taken? The woman’s terrified cry still resounded in her mind.

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