Page 76 of Hidden Resolution

She disconnected, leaving dead air and a frantic father.

“Don’t let him go. I may have something,” Shonda told Mason as his brother stalked away.

He got up to trail him. “Zack.”

“I need a minute, Mason,” Zack snapped.

“Shonda thinks she found the house.”

22

“When I couldn’t find it in the files, I did a reverse-image lookup on my phone. It’s located at 116 Eastside Lane, in the center of Wisteria Estates over in Stapleton. I was right. That’s about thirty minutes from our location,” Shonda said as she adjusted her laptop screen for them.

“You’re shitting me! The same address as Zack’s? What are the chances of that?” Mason asked, stunned there were two listings.

“Pretty good. You’d be surprised how many duplicates there are and in fairly close vicinity, too. It made showing houses a nightmare some days.”

“I’m not surprised. To Christie, it would be the ultimate joke. Any way we can get a blueprint or floor plan?” Zack asked her.

She didn’t look optimistic. “This time of day, all the courthouse offices for permits and planning are closed. But let me call a friend.”

Twenty minutes and an email later, they had memorized the online layout of the house.

“Pull up maps on your laptop. Let’s see if we can get an aerial view of the landscape and neighboring houses,” Zack directed Shonda.

“Smart,” Mason muttered. His brother’s clarity during this crisis revealed a whole new side to him. Who knew he had a tactical mind?

“I have my moments.” Zack shot him a wry grin, but his eyes lacked any matching humor.

“No house directly behind,” Shonda pointed out. “But on either side, the neighbors appear to have tall, wooden fences.”

“Could we plan a backyard approach? Think she’ll be on the lookout for us?” Mason asked.

Zack paused to consider, finally nodding his head. “If I had to guess, she will have stuck Erica in the front room and Jacob in the back of the house.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Erica is the bigger threat if she got loose. She’d want to have her within sight at all times. It stands to reason if Christie is watching out the front for any attack, then she would have Erica tied up there, where she could keep an eye on her.” Zack ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I don’t think she would view Jacob as a potential problem. She’d be more inclined to leave him alone for longer periods. In a rear room, he’s far enough from the road that if he yelled, he probably wouldn’t be heard.” He shared a look with Shonda. “Erica wouldn’t call out and risk Christie hurting Jacob in retaliation. She cares about him too much.”

“I agree,” Shonda said.

“Makes sense.” Mason considered the angles. “Zack, I think we should call the police. A SWAT team might get in there with no casualties.”

“They won’t show up without fanfare. I don’t trust that she won’t set the house ablaze the second she sees anyone close,” he said raggedly. “I can’t take the risk.”

They shared a worried look. Shonda was first to break the silence. “Okay, here’s what we do. I have a handgun in the safe. If you know how to use it, one of you can take it. I’ll grab the first-aid kit and be waiting out by the fence line. We get Jacob out first. Have him run to where I am, if he’s capable. If not, shoot me a text, and I’ll come get him. That leaves you two to split up and search for Erica.”

The plan was a good one, and Mason couldn’t find any holes.

“Once I have Jacob, he and I will run for the car and phone the police. So you’ll only have about seven or eight minutes to get to Erica from the time you release Jacob. Mason should have the gun.”

“You thinkheis the clearer-headed one of the two of us?” Zack asked, apparently shocked she would believe it.

“In this case, he is. Otherwise, I would say you most definitely are.”

“Thanks for the show of support,” Mason replied caustically. One would think he walked around beating his fists on his chest, the way everyone spoke about him.

“Hey, you’re the firm believer in people telling it like it is.” Her sourness wasn’t unwarranted. There was a lot he could unpack, but he didn’t dare. Not only would the timing be shit, but it wouldn’t make a difference in the end.