Jessie hurried over to the door, which shed originally missed, as it was cleverly disguised as a wall panel. She opened it and looked outside to discover that it had a clear view of nearly the entire back of the estate. From here she could see the edge of the pool, the petting zoo, the hedge maze, and even a few guest houses. They could have gone anywhere.

She tried to picture Gilliard looking out from this same spot. Where would a desperate man, holding another one hostage, go? How could he best avoid detection?

Is there a back way out of the estate? she asked Salter.

Yes, the woman said. Theres an alley that runs along the back of the entire estate and a connecting gate just beyond the hedge maze.

It was like fireworks suddenly went off in Jessies head.

Didnt you say that the only parts of the estate where the cameras are never on are the private residence and the hedge maze?

Yes, Salter confirmed. Jasper often used it for…liaisons and didnt want them recorded.

Jessie turned to Karen.

Lets go, she said.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Hannah knew something was wrong.

Rico seemed fidgety. There was none of the chilly confidence of yesterday. In fact, it seemed to Hannah that he was scared.

Are we going to be back by one thirty? she asked. I have a calculus test fourth period.

That wasnt true but she wanted to keep the guy talking, anything to get a clue as to what he was thinking.

I wouldnt count on it, he said. These interviews take a while. Youll probably have to make it up.

But it will be an unexcused absence, she protested, as if she didnt have any idea that something far more significant was happening.

Look, he said, clearly agitated. Karl wants to talk to you. If you want this setup to work, stop worrying about some test. This is bigger than that.

So if Karl likes me, Im in? Hannah asked, trying anything she could think of to get Rico to give up more details. She suspected that if he wasnt so agitated, he would never have mentioned Karls name.

Maybe, he said. But I think youre going to have a hard time doing that.

Why? she asked.

He looked over at her, clearly debating how much to share. Even before he spoke, she knew the answer. Hed passed along her name to Karl or whoever was in charge. Maybe Rico didnt know what theyd learned about her but theyd obviously told him to bring her to them ASAP.

Maybe they wanted to determine if she was just a rebellious teenager acting out by doing something illicit. But more likely they wanted to learn if her famous profiler sister knew about any of this. She doubted theyd ask her nicely. And based on the way he was behaving, Rico knew he was delivering her to people who had ill intent.