Two Days Later

"Where are we on the Freeman case?" asked Voight. "The mayor's blowing up my phone. I need something concrete to give him."

Adam dropped some files on his desk with a thunk. "We got nothing. It's like the guy got beamed up somewhere."

"Exactly," added Kevin. "He doesn't appear on pod footage and hasn't used any credit or debit cards."

"I've been monitoring flights at O'Hare and Midway and trains and buses," said Torres. "So far, nothing. Of course, he could have changed his appearance in some way."

"No activity on his phone," said Hailey. "Either it's turned off or the battery died. Also, no personal or business email activity."

Email. The word conjured up a reminder of two more anonymous ones she'd received:

11:58 p.m. U can t hi de

6:25 a.m. Hubby forgot u sexy bitch not mee

She was taking a different route to and from work each day, winding through different neighborhoods and shopping areas. It was exhausting, watching the road ahead and constantly checking the rearview mirror. A dull headache was now her daily companion. Last night a loud noise awakened her at 2 a.m. When she looked out the window, she saw it was only the college guys who lived across the courtyard stomping on beer cans. Even so, it took her a long time to fall back asleep.

Kim was speaking so Hailey pulled her attention back to the case. "Could he have wanted to disappear? Maybe he got on a private plane at one of the regional airports."

"Doesn't seem likely," said Kevin. "From all reports, he's a respected businessman and devoted family man. There's nothing to suggest he'd want to ditch all that. Lamont, Jr. said he'd bought the grandson a new bike for his birthday a couple days before he vanished."

"No ransom demand from kidnappers. But the family might have received one and didn't tell us," said Torres.

Voight scrubbed a hand down his face. "Well, we're missing something. The man is out there somewhere and it's up to us to locate him. We have to go back to square one." He stepped up to the whiteboard and tapped Jeffrey Grabowski's picture. "Hailey and I will go lean on this Grabowski. The rest of you split up. Talk to the family and employees again. Show his photo at bars, restaurants or gyms he might frequent. And check out those regional airports that Kim mentioned."

Hailey dismissed her own problem. It was time to concentrate on finding Lamont Freeman.

The Next Morning

As usual, Hailey and Torres were the first ones in the bullpen. Hailey was getting a cup of coffee when Torres called out.

"Hailey, look at this."

She came over to his desk where a news feed was scrolling on the bottom of his computer screen. "Oh my goodness, I wonder if Voight knows?"

"Knows what?" Voight walked over and stood behind Torres and looked over his shoulder.

"A road crew clearing brush along the interstate found a black Escalade at the bottom of an embankment. Male driver was unconscious and transported to St. Agnes Medical Center in serious condition," said Torres. He looked up at Voight. "Freeman has a black Escalade."

"St. Agnes. That's 25 – 30 miles outside the city," said Hailey. "If it's him, what was he doing out there?"

"You two go check it out. I'm sure the mayor's heard, but I'll touch base with him," said Voight.

Hours later, the driver has confirmed to be Lamont Freeman. He had suffered a diabetic episode and lost control of his SUV, overturning several times as he went down the embankment. He'd sustained broken ribs, a broken femur and head trauma. He was listed in serious, but stable condition, after undergoing surgery.

Kevin was pulling down photos and erasing info from the whiteboard when he heard Trudy and three visitors ascending the stairs. "Sarge, we have company."

Voight left his office to greet the mayor and the two Freeman sons. Lamont, Jr. said, "We wanted to thank the team, each of you, for everything you did to find our dad." He paused to get his emotions under control. "It's been an unbelievably awful time for our family."

"It's what we do," said Voight. "Just glad your dad's recovering."

The younger brother spoke up. "Yeah, but it's gonna take him a long time to get over this."

Lamont and his brother shook everybody's hand before moving into Voight's office with the mayor.

Hailey sighed and leaned back in her chair. Like the others, she was glad Freeman had been found alive and the case was closed. Now she longed to go home and unwind. Her brain was already considering which route to take this evening.

Can't put this off any longer. She opened her email and carefully scanned it. No creepy or suggestive messages waiting for her. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Eventually, the mayor and the Freeman brothers departed. The team members logged off and began preparing to leave. For the first time since Jay went to Bolivia, Hailey left with them. Only Voight remained behind.

She sat in her car watching for anything out of the ordinary. Torres roared off on his bike; Kim and Adam drove away to a PTA meeting at Makayla's school; Kevin hung out at the corner of the parking lot talking and laughing with some of his patrol buddies.

Hailey cranked the car and pulled out. Halfway through her twisting route, she felt a surge of anger at her unknown tormentor. She slapped the steering wheel. You are not in control of my life and I am not hiding. She did a fast u-turn through a strip mall parking lot and reversed course. I'm going to my regular gym and you, whoever the hell you are, aren't stopping me.

After her workout, Hailey was physically spent, but mentally sharp. She had her weapon by her side as she exited the gym. There were no loiterers or anything that seemed suspicious. She approached the car, head on a swivel, and circled it to be sure the tires were not slashed.

Did someone put a tracker on me? She turned on the flashlight app on her phone and squatted down to look under the car as best she could. She wasn't about to lie down on her back and scoot under the car. That would put her at a tactical disadvantage if there was someone wanting to do her harm.

Tomorrow I'll run the mirror under it.

Satisfied she'd done all she could for tonight, she got in and headed to her apartment. Traffic was light, but almost immediately a white van seemed to be following her. There were a couple vehicles between them. Am I overreacting?

Suddenly, she cut across two lanes. After half a minute, the van made the same manuever, nearly sideswiping a sedan. Now there was only one car separating them. Dammit.

Her intersection was coming up soon. Instead of turning right as she would normally do, Hailey cut in front of another car and made a screeching left turn, barely missing a CTA bus. Drivers laid on their horns, but she ignored them. About four blocks ahead there was a big box store. It was open 24 hours. Even though it was almost midnight, scores of people were still shopping.

Hailey spared a brief glance in the rearview. The van was speeding toward her. She peeled into the parking lot, drove around to the side of the building by a loading dock and killed the lights.

Before she could even catch her breath, she saw the van turn in front of an approaching ambulance and get t-boned. The crash was deafening. Five seconds later, the van burst into flames. She watched in stunned disbelief as a skinny guy, clad in all black, fell out of the driver's side. Bystanders ran to help him. He managed to get to his feet and ran off into the night.

What the hell? There was a large apartment complex behind the store. It would be easy enough for him to get lost in there and possibly steal another ride. Fire and police sirens could be heard in the distance. Store security guards tried to keep curious shoppers from getting too close.

Thankfully, there was another parking lot exit down from the one at the intersection. Hailey drove out and pulled into the first fast-food place she saw. The only thing she'd had all day was a granola bar.

She was so tired and stressed that she couldn't think straight. I'll deal with it in the morning.