Luther had done the same to Bauer in the prison, so he knew it worked.

“Shit!” Samson cursed. “But how did he know that Katie wouldn’t be there and we’d be sending a vampire disguised as her?”

“He was counting on it. That’s why he gave us so much time to tell us when the exchange would take place: so we would come up with the idea to send in a double.” He shot a look at Blake. “Who’s with Katie?”

“Wesley,” Blake replied. Then he motioned to Eddie. “Send reinforcements to her house immediately. And warn them. Now!”

“I’m going there myself,” Luther said and charged toward the door, when he almost ran into Wesley. “What are you doing here?” He looked past him, but he was alone. “Where’s Katie?”

Wesley’s eyebrows snapped together. “At home, why? I left when we got word that the mission was a success and Forrester was dead.”

“Oh fuck!”

“She’s not answering her phone,” Eddie said from the other end of the room.

Thomas dialed on another phone. “I’m trying her cell.”

Luther’s blood froze in his veins. For a few seconds there was no sound in the room. Only a faint ringing sound coming through Thomas’s cell phone. Then it went to voicemail. A look of regret colored Thomas’s eyes as he shook his head.

Luther felt a cold shudder race down his spine. “Oh God no, he’s got her. Norris took Katie.”

44

For a few seconds, Luther was in shock. He’d failed to protect Katie. And now she was in the hands of a madman.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Wesley cursed.

Gasps and curses flew through the room. Isabelle started to cry.

“Ok, everybody listen up,” Blake said loudly. “We’ve gotta find her.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “We have less than one and a half hours until sunrise. We need to find out where he’s taking her before the sun comes up or we risk losing them.” Blake started to issue orders. “Wes, scry for her. Now!”

“I’ve still got some hair from her in my office,” he mumbled to himself and ran down the hallway.

“Thomas, get us everything you have on this Norris.”

Thomas nodded. “Already on it. My team just hacked into the prison authority’s computer system. We should have all they have about him in a few moments.” He motioned to Eddie and the two started typing away on their computers.

“I’ve already sent two guys to Katie’s house,” Amaury confirmed. “They’ll call us in case she’s still there.”

Luther knew it was a long shot, but Scanguards was thorough and couldn’t just dismiss the possibility that Katie was asleep and had switched off the ringer on her phone. In his heart though, he knew that Norris had snatched her while all of Scanguards had been occupied on Alcatraz. He would make good on his threats now: to take Katie away.

All of a sudden remembering something, Luther said out loud, “He’s sailing into the sunset with her. That’s it! The marinas!”

Blake and several others looked at him. “What about the marinas?” Blake asked.

“Norris told the other guards that he was going to leave everybody in his wake. That’s a nautical term. And in the letters he talks about sailing into the sunset with Katie. He’s gonna be on a boat.” He walked to where Thomas and Eddie were sitting. “Can you find out if he has a boat registered to him?”

Eddie looked over his shoulder. “Already on it. Give me a minute.”

Luther looked back at Samson and Amaury. “How many marinas are along the Bay?”

“Too many,” Samson said instantly. “Sausalito, Larkspur, Oakland, Alameda and a few others on the East and South Bay. There must be around a dozen.”

Luther shook his head. “Forget everything but San Francisco. He doesn’t have time to cross any of the bridges. He planned this ahead of time. He knew he only had a short window of time to grab Katie. He wouldn’t risk having to drive through half the city. What’s the closest marina to Katie’s house?”

“Thomas?” Samson asked.

“Monitor four,” Thomas said.

Luther looked at the screen, where suddenly a map appeared. A red dot was blinking in the Haight Ashbury area: Katie’s house. Blue lines flashed from her house, all leading toward the water. Then one line turned bold.

“South Beach, the yacht club behind AT&T Park,” Samson said.

“I got a photo of Norris,” Thomas announced and projected it on a monitor.