Chapter 10
Derek cursed again as he stood at the front door of Erica Kane's house. He couldn't believe the information he'd just been given. Jack was going to go ballistic when he heard the news. Not that he'd blame him. Someone had seriously screwed up, and it appeared that Erica was the one paying the price. He just hoped and prayed that they'd be able to find her before it got any worse.
Jack stood up expectantly when Derek came back into the house. He'd spent the night tossing and turning on the sofa, and he was still wearing his clothes from the day before. Zach had taken Kendall home, and Greenlee had brought Reggie and Lily back to the house. It was early morning, and with each passing hour, he feared that their chances of locating his wife alive and well were dimming. As a former district attorney, he was painfully aware of how the odds of locating a missing person fell with after the first 48 hours.
"Any news? Anything?" he asked the police chief.
Derek nodded grimly. "Yes, and while it's not good, my hope is that it's the break we need to find Erica. Jonathan Kinder was released from prison two months ago," he said flatly. No point in sugar-coating it.
Jack stared at his friend and colleague in shock. "What? Why? How?" he sputtered.
"The official word is budget cuts. The Department of Corrections decided to solve the problem of prison overcrowding by releasing a number of what they deemed 'model' prisoners. Thousands of prisoners have been paroled in the last few months to make up for budget shortfalls."
"But KINDER? The man is crazy!" Jack insisted.
"According to the reports from the prison, he's been a model prisoner from the beginning. They never had any problems from him and believed that his education and professional background made him a likely candidate to succeed in society should he be released," Derek said.
"Wait – we never got any notice about a parole hearing. Erica absolutely would have testified against him to keep him locked up." Jack said suddenly.
Derek looked uncomfortable. "According to the DOC, a letter was sent to Erica a few months ago, but it looks like it went to her old address. I don't know if it got lost in the mail and was never forwarded to her here or if it arrived and simply got misplaced with the move."
"Derek, please tell me you know where Kinder is now," Jack said, praying that the psychotic former doctor was dutifully attending all meetings with his parole officer.
"Unfortunately no, we don't. He continued his good behavior until about a week ago, and then he disappeared. More parolees mean more people each parole officer has to see, and Kinder managed to fall through the cracks."
Jack cursed under his breath.
"Your neighbor didn't get a good enough look at the deliveryman to definitely ID him as Kinder, but we're going to find him – and Erica too. I'm bringing in the FBI."
Jack swallowed hard and nodded. The idea of involving the FBI was terrifying to him because it meant Erica was really gone, gone far beyond the reaches of Pine Valley to God only knows where, with a crazed psycho like Jonathan Kinder holding her captive. On the other hand, if it brought her home faster…
"How soon can they be briefed on Erica's case?" he asked hoarsely.