Chapter 12 – The Woman in the Wheelchair
Richard's heart pounded as he sprinted toward Laura's hospital room.
The hallway was crowded with nurses, deputies, and frightened patients.
The room was empty.
Laura's bed sat neatly made.
Her IV line had been disconnected.
The heart monitor had been switched off.
Only one thing remained on the pillow.
Laura's wedding ring.
Richard picked it up with trembling fingers.
She would never have removed it willingly.
"Seal every exit!" Sheriff Hayes ordered.
"No one leaves this hospital."
Within minutes, investigators reviewed every security camera from the previous half hour.
Nothing.
No sign of Laura leaving her room.
No suspicious visitors.
No alarms.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Michael frowned.
"That's impossible."
He replayed the hallway footage again.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Orderlies.
Patients.
Everything appeared normal.
Then he noticed something.
"Wait..."
He pointed to the screen.
"Zoom in on that wheelchair."
A hospital orderly pushed an elderly woman covered completely by a thick gray blanket.
Only the woman's white hair was visible.
Michael narrowed his eyes.
"What floor was that headed to?"
The technician checked the timestamp.
"Ground floor."
Richard looked confused.
"So?"
Michael didn't answer.
Instead, he rewound the video.
Frame by frame.
As the wheelchair passed the nurses' station, the blanket shifted for less than a second.
A pale hand slipped into view.
It wasn't wrinkled.
It wasn't old.
It was the hand of a much younger woman.
Michael stood up.
"That's Laura."
Hospital records were checked immediately.
No elderly patient matching the wheelchair had ever been admitted.
The orderly?
Also fake.
He had worn stolen hospital identification.
By the time deputies reached the parking garage, the surveillance cameras showed the fake orderly loading the wheelchair into a white medical transport van.
The license plate was stolen.
The van disappeared into city traffic less than four minutes before the hospital lockdown.
Michael clenched his jaw.
"They planned every second."
Meanwhile...
Laura slowly regained consciousness.
Everything around her swayed gently.
She tried to move.
Pain exploded through her repaired knee.
Her wrists were bound.
Her ankles tied.
She blinked several times before realizing she was lying on the floor of a moving vehicle.
The air smelled of gasoline and old wood.
A voice came from somewhere above her.
"She's awake."
Another voice answered.
"Good."
Laura recognized it instantly.
Natalie Cross.
The van slowed before coming to a stop.
The rear doors opened.
Cold evening air rushed inside.
Laura was dragged out and carried into what looked like an abandoned warehouse near the waterfront.
Natalie knelt beside her.
Her expression was calm.
Almost friendly.
"I'm sorry about the rough ride."
Laura glared at her.
"You'll never get away with this."
Natalie smiled.
"I don't need to."
She reached into her coat pocket and removed the missing black envelope from Safety Deposit Box 317.
Laura's eyes widened.
"You..."
"Yes."
"I got there first."
Natalie opened the envelope.
Inside was a single folded document.
She held it in front of Laura.
"You've caused Victor a great deal of trouble."
Laura's breathing quickened.
"What do you want?"
Natalie leaned closer.
"Simple."
"Tell Richard to stop cooperating with federal investigators."
Laura laughed despite the pain.
"You kidnapped the wrong woman."
Natalie's smile faded.
"We'll see."
Just then, one of her men hurried into the warehouse.
"We've got a problem."
"What?"
"The FBI just tracked the medical van."
Natalie frowned.
"How close?"
The man swallowed.
"They're less than ten minutes away."
Natalie looked toward Laura.
Then toward the envelope.
She made her decision instantly.
May you like
"Burn the building."
"And make sure no one walks out alive."
