Susan's body convulsed and she bit her tongue.

When he pulled the plug back out, the searing pain released. She fought to collect herself. She could taste blood dripping from her tongue. The defiance was gone. In its place was fear. He leaned forward.

“Where's my son?”

“I don't know...who...your son is.”

The look on the man's face told her that he didn’t know there were others. The thought his son may not have been the only one taken seemed to enrage him. He reached over and plugged the cord in again.

Susan let out a scream. It felt like her insides were boiling. He unplugged it, and the pain subsided.

“Baby boy…San Antonio…ten Years ago. I'm losing patience.”

“I don't know…I mean…I don’t know where.”

“Where what?”

His hand raised the plug towards the outlet. Susan panicked.

“No…stop…I don’t know where he was put.”

He plugged it in again. This time her body arched up and she spewed blood from her mouth. The bubbles around her turned red. He unplugged it.

“Last chance.”

“My…my…my brother.” She was weeping. “Number…in my…phone.”

The man held the cord, watching her as she sobbed.

“Please...please...no more.”

The man stood up, staring down at her. She had forgotten she was naked, the pain being the only thing filling her brain. She didn't care that he stared. She just wanted him to leave and she thought he was going to. At the last minute, he reached back and plugged in the dryer.

“Noooooo…”

Chapter 7

Detective Jason Strong got off the flight, anxious to get going. He rented a car and drove to the Springfield Police Headquarters where he was to meet Detective Sam Garner.

The front desk called upstairs to the detective and a couple of minutes later, Detective Garner emerged from the elevator. He strode—or was it shuffled?—over to Jason with his hand extended.

“Sam Garner. Nice to meet you.”

“Jason Strong.”

Jason sized up the detective. He was round everywhere. His face, his chest, his arms, his legs. He reminded Jason of the Michelin Man with a goatee.

“Come on, I'll take you upstairs and see what help I can be.”

“Appreciate it. I brought a picture of someone I think may be in the area. He's tied to a kidnapping case

from years ago and he's gone missing.”

“Was he the kidnapper?”

“No, the father of the child taken.”

Sam gave Jason a sideways glance.

“Ever find the kid?”

“Not yet.”

They got off the elevator on the third floor and Sam led the way to his desk. The room took up half  the third floor and was divided into a series of random cubicles.

Sam sat in his chair and Jason took the one on the other side. He slid the picture of Michael across the desk.

“His name is Michael Barton. The last search on his computer was ‘St. Luke’s Missouri’. It showed one here in town and another in St. Louis. I want to pay a visit there; do you know anyone I can connect with?”

“Sure, the head of security over there is an ex-cop. I'll give him a call for you.”

“Great, and can I get you to show this guy’s pic at the pre-shift patrol meetings? Maybe one of your beat cops has seen him.”

“That's no problem, can I keep this copy?”

Jason nodded as Sam picked up the phone.

“I'll call over to the hospital; when do you want to go over there?”

“Now.”

****

Jason pulled up at St. Luke’s. He carried with him another picture of Michael Barton. He didn't know if Michael had found who he was looking for at this St. Luke's, but Jason hoped someone would remember his face.

Sam Garner had made arrangements for Jason to meet the head of security, Tom Evans. When he came through the door, there was a horseshoe shaped desk attended by a young lady in a candy striper outfit.

Jason showed his badge and asked her to let Tom Evans know he was here. She smiled, picked up the phone, said a few words and hung up again. While he was waiting, Jason pulled out the picture of Michael and showed it to her.

“Have you seen this man?”

She studied the photo before shaking her head.

“No, not that I remember.”

Tom Evans walked up and extended his hand to Jason.

“Detective Strong, I'm Tom Evans, nice to meet you. Sam asked me to give you any help I can. He and I go way back.”

Jason shook his hand and looked back at the girl behind the counter.

“Thanks for your time…Jessica, is it?”

“Yes, and you’re welcome. Sorry I wasn't more help.”

Tom led Jason to his office while Jason filled him in. They agreed to take the photo from floor to floor, first the nurse’s stations, and then the offices. They completed their tour two hours later. Nobody recognized the photo. Jason knew if he came back the next day, there would be different staff, but he didn't want to waste time that could be spent getting to the St. Luke’s in St. Louis.

He thanked Tom for his help and told him he'd call when he decided whether he would return the next day or not. As he walked past the entrance desk, he saw that a different girl was there. He stopped to show her the picture.

“Hi. My name is Detective Strong.”

He showed her his badge.

“Could you tell me if you've seen this man?”

This girl’s nametag read ‘Britney’. She looked at the photo for a moment.

“Yeah, sure. I remember him. He was here a couple days ago.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes. It was definitely him.”

“Can you remember what he wanted?”

“Sure. He wanted to know if I recognized the description of a nurse he was looking for.”

“And did you?”

Jason's mind was racing.

“Actually, yes. He was looking for Susan Turnbull. He said she took care of his niece and he wanted to thank her.”

“Did he see her that day?”

“No, she had gone home already. I think he said he'd stop in on his way back through from somewhere. I don't remember where, though.”

“Is there anything else you can remember about the meeting?”

“Just that he seemed very upset to find she was not still at work. He swore and then apologized.”

“Britney, thank you very much. You've been a big help. If you think of anything else, will you call Tom Evans in security?”

“Sure. Is that man in some sort of trouble?”

Jason didn't hear the question. He was already on his way to the security chief's office. Tom Evans was back at his desk when Jason got there.

“Jason, forget something?”

“No. I just showed the picture of my guy to a candy striper at the desk and she gave me a positive ID. She said he was in a couple days ago asking questions about a Susan Turnbull. You know Susan Turnbull?”

“Sure, nurse in OB.”

“How about an address?”

Jason was dialing Sam Garner.

“Detective Garner.”

“Sam, Jason Strong. I may have a lead on my guy.”

The security chief slid a piece of paper with an address and phone number in front of Jason. As Jason relayed the address to Sam, Tom called the number.

“Just got an answering machine.”

Jason let Sam know.

“You know where the address is?”

“Yeah, I'll pick you up in ten.”

I'll be waiting.”

****

Stan Turnbull climbed the steps out of his pool and grabbed the towel hanging on the fence. He tried to get a swim in every morning before starting his day. This morning was no different.

Most of the backyard was taken up with the Olympic-sized pool. Across the back and down the sides of the property was an 8-foot high, wooden privacy fence. Blue morning glories grew over most of it. Attached to the back of the one-story house was a covered patio. He toweled himself off as he walked to his chair. The sun was out and the day promised to be hot.