“Eddie!”
Still listening and piecing together what was happening at the other end of the wireless connection, she looked around, spotted a hard-line phone on a table next to one of Eddie’s easels and called Todd Williams.
“They’re at Sylvia’s—at least I think they are.”
“Holy shit. But there’s a deputy with Sean.”
“He may already be dead.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Me too.”
Michelle put the cell phone to her ear as she raced back to the Battle mansion. She sprinted to her room, grabbed her truck keys and ran back outside. She was about to jump in her truck but then stopped and ran back inside. She hurtled to Savannah’s room and threw open the door. Savannah was on her bed. She jumped up when Michelle burst in. Michelle covered the speaker hole of her phone so nothing she said would reach Eddie Battle’s ears.
“My God, what is it?” asked Savannah.
“I need your phone.”
“What?”
“Give me your damn cell phone!”
Seconds later Michelle was climbing in her truck, her phone still pressed to her ear, straining to hear anything that might help her figure out where Sean was.
Wait a minute. She heard something. What was it?
“Boat!” Sean was asking where Eddie was taking them on the boat. She heard that clearly.
She punched in the numbers on the phone she’d taken from Savannah.
“Todd, they’re on a boat on the lake.”
“A boat! Where the hell did Eddie get a boat?”
“There’s a bunch of them at the dock here. Including a really fast one.”
“Shit!”
“Todd, do you have a boat?” she asked frantically.
“No. I mean the Game and Inland Fisheries people have one, but I’m not sure where it is right now.”
“Well, that’s just great!” Michelle thought quickly. Idiot. Of course.
“How fast can you get here?”
“What, uh, ten minutes,” answered Williams.
“Make it five and meet me at the Battles’ dock. It’s a hike, but there’s a golf cart you can take. The path is lighted, and there are signs pointing the way.”
“But what about you?”
“What about me what!” she cried out.
“Don’t you need the cart?”
“It’ll just slow me down. Now listen really carefully, on your way here you need to get on the horn to the Game people, find that boat and get some armed men out onto the water. Make sure you lock down all roads that have lake access. And call the FBI and the state police and get a chopper up here with a big searchlight pronto. Tell them to roll out SWAT or Hostage Rescue. We’re going to need some snipers.”