Page 57 of Choose Me

"I was able to track down the owner of the van she stole. It belonged to a psychiatrist, Dr. Harry Winston. He was found dead this afternoon after his neighbors reported a smell of decay coming from his residence. The coroner estimated, based on the level of decomposition, that he's been dead for about two weeks."

"Jesus," I responded.

"That's not all." He stood next to me, gripping his coffee cup in both hands. "Dr. Winston held therapy sessions out of his house, and we found his medication cabinet open, and based on the controlled substance log, several bottles of ketamine were taken, along with some Xanax. Thomas took some prints, and there are several that match Margaret."

"Where is his house located?"

"In the center of our grid search." Brock grabbed a thumb tac and pinned it to the board. "Thomas also found traces of Heterosigma akashiwo on the doctor's body and the medicine cabinet. He says this type of algae species is causing discoloration in some parts of the Hudson River. I pulled up city water reports, and this discoloration only affects a mile-long track near the industrial buildings at the edge of our grid." He grabbed a sharpie and drew a line down a smaller subsection south of the psychiatrist's house. "Here to here. Which means our grid just got even smaller."

"This is great news," I said, feeling a sense of relief wash over me.

Brock nodded. "Thomas said the trace level indicated that Margaret would have had to be right on the river to have made contact with the algae. I've had the rest of the team setting up a new perimeter and pulling the CCTV footage for the past month of a one-mile area near the river. If she took them down there, it won't be long until we find them. And if she tries to flee, we’ll catch her."

"Good work, Brock," Amelia said, flashing a sweet smile.

I watched as Brock's eyes flickered to her, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. It wasn't the first time I had noticed how he looked at her, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something between them. Something that felt like it was just waiting to be explored. I didn't have time to over-analyze right now. My focus was on finding Ava and bringing her home safely.

I turned to Amelia. "I want you to stay here where it's safe, and Brock and I will head down and help the team search through the buildings."

"No fair!" She protested. "I want to go with you."

"Out of the question," I said sternly, grabbing my jacket and putting it on.

"You could use an extra pair of eyes."

"You're right. But not your eyes."

"James..."

"Amelia, I said no. If you're there, I can't focus on finding Ava because I will be too worried about protecting you."

"I can protect myself."

"The answer is still no. Please don't fight me on this. If you're safe here, I can focus on bringing Ava home."

"Ugh, fine. I'll stay here and be useless."

"You're not useless." I pulled her into a hug. "When I find Ava, she's going to need you. So stay here and stay safe so you can be there for her and the baby."

"Why do you always make sense of everything?"

"Because I'm your big brother, and that's my job." I smiled down at her.

"Be careful. If you die, I'll bring you back and give you an earful."

"Wouldn't expect anything less." As Brock and I headed out of her apartment, my laughter echoed through the room.

31

THIRTY-ONE

JAMES

The drive was quiet and tense. The closer we got to the industrial section, the more empty the streets were. The sun was setting, casting a pink and orange glow across the horizon. When we parked, the air felt colder and still, as if the silence was waiting for something. We exited the car and made our way to the team near one of the abandoned factories. The building in front of me was run-down and decrepit, like all the buildings out here. The streets were silent and eerie; the only sounds were from the occasional wind gusts. We greeted the two agents on surveillance, and they filled us in on what they had seen so far, which was a lot of nothing. Some homeless people were coming and going from different buildings, but otherwise, there was no trace of Margaret.

"Why don't we split up?" Brock suggested. "We can cover more ground that way. Check in every half hour and mark what buildings are cleared on the map I just sent to your phone. I'll start to the north, and you start south. The other agents are moving in a circle from the east and west. Eventually, we should all converge in the center. Watch your ass. Call me if you see anything suspicious, and I'll meet you, and we can go in together."

"Sounds like a plan." I checked my service pistol over and put it back into my holster.

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