“Where are you?”

“Three minutes out.” Casey had only a handful of minutes remaining on her phone.

“Deputies are five minutes out.”

Two minutes’ difference. Did not sound like much, unless you were trapped in plastic. “Understood.”

“You and I both know this could be a trap. There’re plenty of nutjobs out there that would like nothing more than to take a cop down.”

She slowed and turned down a small road that led toward the hills. “I hear you.”

“Do you?”

“I don’t have time for this, Spencer. Just get your ass here.”

She ended the call as she stared at her maps app. She was fifty feet from her next turn, so she jammed on the brakes, listened as the gravel kicked under her tires, and made the turn on what felt like two wheels.

She killed her lights and followed the gravel driveway toward a small house that was completely illuminated. She stopped her vehicle and shut off her engine. Casey’s phone had minutes remaining.

As she sat watching the house, she searched for any sign of Casey or whoever was with her. There were no other vehicles that she could see, but an outbuilding on the edge of the shadows was large enough to hide one.

She checked her time. Three minutes. Glancing over her shoulder, she scanned the horizon, hoping for the lights of another cop car.

Her nerves twisted tighter, making it impossible for her to sit. She switched off her dome light and then opened her door. Rising up out of the car, she did not fully close the driver’s-side door.

Drawing her weapon, she moved along the driveway. In the distance an owl hooted. She was out here alone. Backup was minutes away, but in her world that was the difference between life and death.

She moved up toward the small stone steps that led to a narrow porch. Tall windows gave her a view of a worn couch, a set of antlers hanging over it, and a coffee table. There was a kitchen off to the side, two doors that must have led into bedrooms, and a back door.

The layout of the house was similar to the other murder locations, and if this was a hoax, it was elaborate.

Thud.

The sound echoed from inside the house.

She paused, tensed, and listened.

Thud.

Crouching, Jordan moved toward the window to the right of the front door and pressed her back to the aging wood siding. She peered inside but did not see anyone.

Thud.

She shifted her position to the left and looked toward the kitchen. That was when she saw the feet wrapped in plastic.

Thud.

Bound feet jerked like a mermaid beached on land. She looked toward the driveway but did not see the flash of cop car lights.

“Shit.”