Jordan swung her legs over the side of her bed, her heart pounding in her chest. Had Rawlings left the phone for her to find, knowing he would soon be dead?

Spencer rose, reached for his own phone, and dialed. “I need a call traced. Ready for the number?”

As he recited the number, she said calmly, “I need you to stay on the line, Casey. We need to keep talking so the police can find you.”

“I don’t know where I am.”

“The phone signal will lead us to you,” Jordan said.

Spencer pulled on his pants, boots, and shirt, all the while talking softly on his phone.

“Casey, do you know who took you?”

“No. I never saw his face.” Her voice broke and she started to weep.

Jordan rose and glided her fingers over the chair near her bed, where she had left her clothes. She had dressed enough in the dark over the years, cradling a phone as she received pertinent information on an incoming police call. “Casey, we’re headed your way now. Don’t hang up. I’ll keep talking to you.”

“I don’t think I have much battery time left.”

“We’re on our way.”

Spencer took her by the arm and picked up her cane. The time to practice navigation skills was not now. Speed was the driving factor.

The two hurried out the door and toward the driveway. His firm, steady grip gave her the confidence to rush across terrain that normally now made her cautious. He opened his car door, she climbed in, and as she fastened her seat belt, he closed it.

“Casey, are you still there?” Jordan asked.

“Yes.”

Spencer angled behind the wheel and fired up the engine. In direct, clear tones he spoke to dispatch, urging them to rush the signal’s triangulation.

“I’m sorry,” Casey said through tears. “He hit you so hard. I thought you were dead.”

“Don’t cry. I’m alive and well. I’ve met your mother and your sister, Cloe.”

“Mom and Cloe?” She cried harder. “I want my mom.”

“We’re going to get you to her as fast as we can,” Jordan said.

Spencer pulled into the street and made his way toward the main road. When he received the phone’s location, he pressed the gas and flipped on his lights.

“We’ve got your position,” Jordan said.

“Be careful,” Casey said. “He’s a liar. He promised me over and over that he would let me go. But he never did.”

“Is that what he did in the house where I found you?”

Casey drew in a ragged breath. “He said he was setting me free. Said I was going home. And then he tied me up and made me put the plastic over my head.” Her voice broke. “He likes seeing me struggle to breathe. It excites him.”