because of the restraints, he had stood over her, watching intently. His beady eyes had followed Lauren’s hands as they dragged a lukewarm washcloth over Cori’s naked body.
The thought had her shivering again.
She had to get out of here. Based on her calculations, she’d been here at least four days, maybe five. Or was it six? At one point, she was pretty sure Bill had drugged her, making her lose track of time. He’d put something in her food. When she woke, it was to find him lying on the bed with her, his naked body up against her side. She had gotten violently ill at that point. Partially thanks to whatever drugs he’d plied her with, partially because he disgusted her.
But he hadn’t touched her.
Not yet, anyway.
Cori had a feeling it was coming, though.
And she knew she had to get out of here before that happened.
She wasn’t going alone, she knew that much. All these years, she had blamed herself for Lauren’s disappearance. If only she hadn’t been sick that day. If only she’d been there to walk home with Lauren. Now that she knew who had taken her, she wasn’t completely convinced she’d been responsible back then. But she was responsible for ensuring Lauren got out of here now.
The question was, how?
Chapter Seventeen
Because they hadn’t made a formal plan and that was clearly something the APD was familiar with, Baz called him on their way to the house where they suspected William Dugan was holding Corinne.
“How’s this gonna play out, boss man?” Baz inquired. “What’s your plan?”
“My plan?” Brantley glanced in his rearview mirror, looking at the car following him, the sun glinting off the windshield kept him from seeing Baz’s face. “You’re the detective.”
“And you’re runnin’ point on this,” Baz countered, his voice coming through the truck’s speakers. “Not to mention, you ran right over me when I suggested we wait.”
“No reason to wait,” he argued. If there was a remote possibility that Corinne was at this location, Brantley was going to find her. The longer they waited, the better chance Dugan had to relocate her.
“Again,” Baz said, his voice tight, “what’s your plan?”
“Let’s scope it out first,” he told the detective. “Then we’ll formulate one.”
“Great. You’re one of those guys. Fly by the seat of your pants, hope for a soft landing.”
Reese chuckled, drawing Brantley’s attention.
“He’s right.”
Brantley turned his attention back to the road. “Just keep up, Buchanan. Or I’m gonna leave your ass behind.”
He disconnected the call as they turned onto the highway that would lead them out to the sticks.
“You think she’s still alive?”
“I do.”
“Because he’s kept women before?”
“Yeah.” That basement cell in Dugan’s house was proof that the man kept women. As for how long, he had no idea. But he had to hope that Dugan had spent too much time on the run in the past few days to have disposed of Corinne. He would much rather think she was chained up in some basement than…
No, he wouldn’t think about it. The idea was horrific even if it was better than thinking she was in a shallow grave.
They were going to find Corinne Greenwood and they were going to bring her home.
“You armed?” Brantley asked Reese.
“Of course.”
“Good.”
“You have a plan, don’t you?”
Brantley glanced over. “If Dugan so much as tries to hurt her, shoot him. That’s my plan.”
“You are the type who likes to get right to the point.”
There was amusement in Reese’s tone and Brantley appreciated it even if he couldn’t laugh. Right now, the situation was bearing down on him and the only thing he could do was focus on getting Corinne home. He hoped like hell they could find some closure for Lauren Tyler, because yes, he did believe these two were connected, but that was secondary.
Brantley hit the button to dial JJ.
When she answered, he bypassed pleasantries. “Tell me you’ve got some information on the house. Floor plan, at least.”
“Both the interior and the property,” she confirmed. “Single-story ranch. Twelve hundred square feet. From the most updated map, it looks like there’s a storage building on the property along with a separate two-car garage, both relatively close to the house. Kitchen’s on the right, along with dining. Center of the house looks to be the living room. Left side has two bedrooms and one bathroom.”
“And the basement?”
“There’s no records of square footage or anything like that, only that it has one. Or at least it did when the last owners sold it because they mentioned it in the