Part Four:

Stephen stands in front of her dangling her keys off his finger, quickly pulling them back when she reaches for them. Her eyes dart around the dimly lit parking garage, settling on the cell phone in her hand, still on Bo’s voicemail. Stephen notices where her eyes have settled and that her call hasn’t ended. She starts to bring her hand up to bring the phone closer hoping to give Bo a clue. Before she can open her mouth to scream, he grabs her arm, causing her cell phone to drop to the ground, his hand over her mouth. Her eyes dart around the garage once again trying to see any signs of Officer Johnson. Her heart sunk as she realized she had forgotten her purse in her office, leaving the gun Bo had given her behind. She struggled to keep the fear at bay in order to keep her wits about her.

Stephen leaned in close to her ear, “You need to stop fighting me, Nora” he says menacingly, “This will be a whole lot easier on you if you stop fighting.” He turns her around to face him, his hand still covering her mouth. He walks her backwards around to the passenger door, reaching around her to open the door. He pushes her into the seat. He runs around the car, grabbing her hand just as she’s about to push on the car horn, “Not smart, Nora.” He pulls out a nylon rope, quickly wrapping it around her wrists.

He throws her car into reverse and pulls out of the parking garage heading towards the city limits. She looks down, noticing the red material sticking out of his coat pocket, her heart racing. She looks over at Stephen as they drive further and further out of town. She glances at her watch, it was just after six. She looks over at Havers once again, “It’s not going to be long before someone figures out I’m missing, Stephen.”

He darts his eyes in her direction the anger so evident it sent chills down her spine. He smiles his cocky smile, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel, “By that time, my dear Nora…it’ll be too late.”

At the same time back at the garret Bo walks out into the living room, grabbing his keys, cell phone and badge off his desk. He flips open his cell phone, “One missed call,” he says to himself. He scrolls through the call log; a confused look crosses his face when he notices her cell phone number appear on the screen. He connects to his voice mail, the look on his face deepening as he listens, ‘Bo, it’s Nora’ a sigh and the sound of her keys falling, a short pause, ‘Stephen…’ the sound of her phone falling onto the ground, the call goes dead.

Bo grabs his gun belt off the back of the chair, dialing his cell phone as he rushes out the door, “John, it’s Bo…meet me in the LPD parking garage, now.” He hangs up the phone and calls the station, “I need an APB out on a Dr. Stephen Havers and a missing persons report out on ADA Nora Buchanan…priority one.” Bo dials her next door neighbor’s number to ask them if Nora had been home or if her car was there. His heart sank when they told him they hadn’t seen her come home at all that evening, which they usually did, and that her car was not in the driveway. Bo dials again, throwing his phone down onto the seat beside him when he gets her voicemail.

He pulls into the parking garage, the adrenaline pumping so quickly he could hear the pounding in his ears. He brings his car to a screeching halt, jumping out of the car, not bothering to turn off the engine or close the door. John comes running through the door, both men staring at each other from across the garage as they approach the mess strewn throughout the parking space. Files and papers lay everywhere, her cell phone and briefcase lay a few feet away.

Bo kneels down and picks something off the ground. John squats down beside him, gesturing to what he holds in his hand, “Is that hers?”

Bo just nods as he struggles to speak through the emotions that threaten to choke him, “Ma…Matthew gave it to her this past Chanukah, it’s his birthstone.” Bo stands up, the bracelet dangling in his hands, “That maniac has her” he squeezes his hand tight, the clasp on the bracelet cutting into his hand. He looks up at John, the anger and rage boiling within him evident in his eyes, “This is not happening again, this is not happening to her.”

John nods, immediately taking control of the situation, knowing that once again Bo is way too close to the case. He organizes the group of officers that have been collecting the evidence in the garage, and the other group that is being sent out to look for them. John turns to Bo, “Bo, car…” Bo looks up at him, “car, Bo what kind of car does Nora drive.”

Bo continues to look at the bracelet in his hand, “Jeep…Jeep Cherokee, 2000-2001, silver.”

“License plate number?,” he asked.

Bo shook his head no and walked towards one of the officers. John handed the information to the officer standing beside him who immediately had the DMV records pulled up on Nora’s vehicle, adding the information to the APB. John ran up to Bo, “Where are you going?” grabbing Bo’s arm.

Bo ignores John, pulling his arm from John’s grasp, “Brooks, search this whole area for Johnson, he was guarding ADA Buchanan.”

“We already did, Commissioner.”

“And…”

The officer motioned to a side door. Bo bent down and checked for a pulse. He stood up and looked over at Officer Brooks, “He’s alive, take care of getting him to the hospital.” Bo walks away, followed by John.

Bo walks into his office, pushing the door closed. John reaches out and grabs the door before it slams shut, “Bo….”

Bo turns abruptly his eyes giving away all that he was feeling. He points at John, “Don’t John, don’t tell me to back off this search.” He unlocks the bottom desk drawer and pulls out more ammunition. He walks around his desk and stops in front of John, “He has my son’s mother, John, and I’m going to find her.”

John watched him walk out of the station, knowing full well that she was more than just his son’s mother and his ex-wife; so much more.

Nora stared out the window as they turned off the main road. She was trying to find a sign or a landmark, anything to help her figure out where they were going. They had passed the turn for the Buchanan Lodge thirty minutes before. All she knew was that they were heading further and further away from the main road.

She glanced down at her watch, almost seven o’clock, she thought to herself. Bo should be pulling up to her house now, he’ll know something’s wrong, he’ll look for her. She continued to stare out the window trying to figure out her next move. Fifteen minutes later they turned down another side road, this one desolate and dark. He stopped her car in front of a small cabin. He yanked on her arm, pulling her from the car. She grimaced as the nylon ropes around her wrists cut into her as he pulled her towards the cabin.

He led her into the main room of the cabin pushing her down into a chair as he walked over to turn on the light. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her eyes finally focused and her heart sunk as she took in the sight before her. She stood up and slowly walked over to the far wall. She looked from face to face, her eyes settling briefly on his seventh victim, her heart breaking as she remembered that night four months ago and the pain she saw in Bo’s eyes.

She lifted her bound hands, running her finger over the last picture. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth, trying to keep the tears at bay. She turned and faced him; the urge to wipe that smug grin off his face was overwhelming. She walked towards him, her back straight; her voice steady when she spoke, “Why? Why them, why me?” she asks, stopping halfway across the room.

He walks towards her, holding out a worn and tattered book. She looked down at the book and then back up at Stephen, “You don’t remember do you, Midwestern State.”

“What does my alma mater have to do with the deaths of those seven women and the attack on Bo’s niece?”

He walked up to her, her previous question left unanswered. He reached out and touched her cheek, “You were so beautiful back then,” he pauses for a moment, “You still are.”

She tried to keep her voice steady, her heart racing, her stomach turning at his touch, “I…I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She took in a quick breath at the anger she saw flash in his eyes, “Nora Hanen, the Judges’ daughter, Nora Hanen, the fiery red head who wasn’t afraid to put the Professors in their place, Nora Hanen, who graduated top in her class and went on to marry the campus hero, soon adding a baby girl to the family. I wasn’t surprised to hear that your marriage didn’t last, he wasn’t right for you, and neither was Bo.” He saw her eyes begin to tear up at the sound of Bo’s name. He knew he had gotten to her.

“I don’t understand. How do you know my maiden name? How do you know so much about my life? Who the hell are you?! ” She shouts. He walked closer, the menacing look on his face making her heart beat faster. He opened the yearbook, pointing to the small black and white picture, “Shawn Hanson”, she whispers. She looks up at him and he sees the realization in her eyes, his smirk widening as he continues to back her against the wall, “But how…when did they let you out?”

He places his finger over her lips, “You see, Nora, those pesky details just aren’t relevant, the only thing that matters is that this,” spreading his arms out, waving them in front of the wall displaying his victims pictures, “this all could’ve been prevented,” he pauses bringing his face just inches from hers, “if only you had returned my love.”