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Shine hated that they hadn’t found Rowan. Late on Friday night, Thario hacked into Rowan’s notes about patients. It was a huge breach, and he felt terrible, but they now had the name of the guy she’d recently had an issue with. It had to be this Charles guy.

It took them until four on Saturday morning to get some kind of information on him. The guy seemed normal if you didn’t scratch the surface, but then he looked problematic at best. There were some rather large red flags in the guy’s past.

As the sun rose, they decided to contact the police with the name. They wouldn’t disclose that they’d hacked into Rowan’s files to get the name. Shine decided to tell them he’d remembered a conversation about the guy. Maybe that would be enough for the police to start looking for him.

It took everyone on his team, including Thario, a few hours to track down Charles's ex-girlfriend. She didn't answer her phone, so Apple and Griz drove Shine to her apartment. Maybe she didn't know anything, but what if she had insight they needed that would help them find Rowan?

The apartment was almost in Los Angeles. Time seemed to tick by too fast, and it was closer to three in the afternoon before they arrived. They knew what she looked like, and when they pulled up, they spied her in the grass berm, walking a dog.

“Let me approach,” Shine said.

“We’ll be ready to help if you need,” Griz said.

“Thanks.”

Shine walked over, his gaze on the woman, Jennifer Moore. When she looked up, she seemed panicked.

“Jennifer Moore, I have some questions about Charles.”

“The cops already asked if I knew where he was. I don’t know where that bastard is.”

"I'm not the cops. My girlfriend, Rowan, is missing. I think he took her. I need to find her. She's a good person who had a run-in with Charles."

Jennifer looked like she was going to dash until her eyes narrowed. "You're really worried about her."

"I am. She's a psychologist. He went to her, and she couldn't tell his employers that he was stable enough to continue working."

“Good. Sorry, not about him taking her, but he’s a piece of shit and dangerous, too. I don’t know where he would have taken her.”

"So, no secret hideaways. Does he have access to another house, maybe a cabin in the woods or a house in another town?"

Jennifer shook her head. “No, he just has his place. When I took him to my parents’ cabin, he was overly impressed, almost to the point it was concerning. ”

Something struck Shine funny. "Wait. Your parents have a cabin, and you took him there?"

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't have a key. I mean, there is a key in the birdhouse, but it's doubtful he would go all the way out there."

“How far?”

“It’s a few hours from here.”

“Shit. I bet that’s it.”

Jennifer shook her head then shrugged. “You know what, my mom and dad are about an hour from there at a conference. I bet they could drive over and see.”

“Could you ask them? Please. And could I have the address?”

Jennifer blew out a breath. "I guess. But I doubt he took her over there. He's lazy, and I'm not sure he's smart enough to remember where the cabin was."

"I'll take my chances on it. So far, we can't find her. We need a break, and this might be that break we need."

Jennifer called her dad and told him what was going on. The guy promised to drive over this evening. That was more than he thought he would get. After she ended the call, he asked for the address, and she texted it to him. Now he had her number and could call if he had further questions.

With the address in hand, he thanked Jennifer and then took off back to the car. Griz and Apple seemed glad that they had something to go on. Maybe this was the break they needed. He hoped they found Rowan at the cabin. The thought of her dying out there hit, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the fear from his mind.