Page 57 of Constant Risk
“This is it. You need to get her to move into a communication with you that we can track,” Tanner said.
Bree muttered a curse. “I need two minutes to write a shell program that will bounce off a private chat room and lead us to her. Talk to her while I write it.”
Bree sprinted over to her desktop computer and Tanner sat down in her place, praying he wouldn’t say something to scare the suspect off.
Yes. Female irl. Rory and I met on an online dating site. I thought he was into me.
Same. Bastard has been using all of us.
“Hurry, freckles,” Tanner muttered. “I’m running out of things to say to her.”
“Forty-five seconds.”
Tanner strained to find something to say.
Did you meet Rory irl?
It felt strange to use the initials, but it would be a dead giveaway if he wrote out the words.
No. We agreed to meet after. U?
Bree came sprinting back over. “I’ve got it. Let me talk to her.”
Bree’s fingers flew over the keys.
Mind if we switch over to pm? I don’t trust this chat anymore.
Bree put the link out for the private chat.
“Now we see if it works.” Tanner looked up at the clock. They had less than twenty minutes left. It was going to be close, and that was if the suspect was actually with the victim.
Two minutes that seemed like an eternity ticked by.
“I don’t think she’s falling for it. I made it look real but if she pokes at it too hard, she’s going to see what it really is.”
Another minute went by. And Tanner began to worry Bree was right. She had the open chat room right in front of her. “All I need is for her to get on one time and we’ll have her.”
Finally some words popped onto the screen.
I’m here.
Bree’s hand flew over the keys once again. And a dozen seconds later she had an address.
“That’s fifteen minutes away,” Leon said.
Once again they were dashing for the door.
Leon drove, siren blazing, cutting off traffic everywhere he could in order to make up time.
Both Tanner’s and Leon’s phones buzzed at the same time. Leon didn’t even gaze at his, eyes focused on the road.
It was a message from Whitaker. Tanner couldn’t help but smile as he read it.
“Whitaker and Penelope made it to the third victim in time. It was Christina. She’s safe.”
Bree let out a little sigh of relief. “I know no one’s life is worth more than another, but I’m glad a baby girl is not going to grow up without her mother because of this.”
Tanner squeezed her hand. “How about we spoil everything for Rory Gresham and rescue this last woman too?”
