Chapter Twenty

Matthew sent a team to Sam’s apartment, it included Alex, Kassidy, Laura, and detective Chris Nolan. He wanted to make sure everything was done by the book and that they gathered up every piece of evidence they could. When the team got to the apartment the door was slightly ajar, Chris approached it first to clear it and make sure the team was safe. After he gave the all-clear the team entered their friend’s apartment, it was exactly as Nick had described. William had left everything in disarray before he left taking Sam with him. He’d left the chairs in her living room as well as had left the wrist restraints attached to her bed. One thing the team took note of was that the bedding was gone, and they couldn’t find it anywhere. They left “no stone unturned” they gathered samples from her refrigerator, they were pretty sure William had drugged her, the only possible way that he could have pulled this off. They also collected the trash as well making sure they gathered up all of the used syringes, they could run tests to learn the chemical composition. Seeing Sam’s apartment like this broke their hearts, but they would do everything possible to get her back.

They got everything back to the lab as quickly as possible, when they showed Matthew the pictures, he was beside himself. “You gathered everything from the apartment, right? Food, drink, clothes… even the trash?” He knew his team was thorough, but that didn’t stop him from asking, he needed peace of mind to keep him focused and level-headed. Matt couldn’t help but blame and silently judge himself for everything that had happened, he knew no one blamed him but it didn’t stop the feelings. Kassidy assured Matt they gathered everything from his daughter’s apartment and brought it back for processing. She also advised him that Chris had stayed behind to do a local canvas of the area to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious. From what they could tell William had taken Sam and left the apartment either that day or the day before and based on the photo he’d sent to them was somewhere abandoned again. If only they had known just how close they had been if they had just thought to search the rest of the floor.

It was a few hours later and Sam had woken up, she had tried to move her arms and realized she was strapped down on a bed again. She had tried to move her feet and discovered the same thing, she tried to cry out, but it was no use. William came into the room and looked at Samantha before speaking, “I see you’re awake again, have a nice sleep, did we?” He laughed and it angered Sam, she hated feeling so helpless. “I spoke to your father and your boyfriend… they send their regards.” William moved closer to Sam and sat down on the edge of the cot, “Sent them a picture too, but it’s all part of the game. I expected them to be more… what’s the word…” He trailed off trying to think of a good word and Sam tried to cry out again. William went ahead and removed the gag so Sam could speak.

“You’re a sick bastard William!” Sam spit at him and he just laughed.

“So feisty for someone who’s at the mercy of a famous serial killer that could end your life at any moment.” He caressed her face and she turned away. “I think that’s the word… yes I expected your dad and boyfriend to be feistier.” He chuckled and got up walking to his little worktable. “They were so angry; it was great, but the conversation left something to be desired.” Sam’s gaze moved with William until it settled on the worktable.

“You haven’t seen anything yet William, or did you forget what my father did to your brother?” She knew better but she wanted to strike a nerve and that she did.

“You stupid bitch!” William slammed his phone down on the table and turned towards Sam. “I’ve warned you not to talk about Thomas like that! I remember all too
well what happened I was there!” That last statement caught Sam off guard.

“What… you… how? They would have seen you…” Samantha tried to wrap her brain around it and failed to.