Rowland Books Grand Prize--Dana Ellison
Dana had marveled at Katherine's reserve. Though she already knew Katherine was wise beyond her years, she never imagined her old high school chum could ever pull off such a feat. Katherine's secret must not have been as well kept as she thought though, because someone had learned about her wealth and was threatening her life in exchange for a piece of it.

After learning their side of the story, it was quite simple for Dana to conclude why she had received the ransom note instead of someone closer to the family. Chris would have immediately withdrawn the money and naively handed it over to Katherine's captors. Love would blind him, and it's possible they would both end up dead after the exchange. But Katherine knew Dana's status as a private detective. There's no telling how Katherine explained an Atlanta contact for the money - she might have told them Dana was her financial planner or something of the sort - but at any rate, they had believed it, and that's all that mattered.

In just a few hours, Dana had gathered a notebook full of clues for Katherine's whereabouts. Chicago was the closest large city to Indianapolis. A city with plenty of places to hide or cover up tracks. Dana had tracked the number on the fax back to a Kinko's just outside of Union Park. She had used her law enforcement connections to gain access to the security videos and based on the time the fax was sent, she easily pinpointed her man.

After a series of following strangers around the roughest streets of Chicago, following leads brought to her by the man on the video, she finally concluded that Katherine was being held in an old building on the east side of the city. The building still served as an adequate residence to a few shady characters, but it probably should have been condemned years ago.

Dana stood to her feet and tiptoed up the last flight of stairs. She had to force herself to slow down because the amount of adrenalin surging through her veins already had her edgy and impatient. She had no real proof that Katherine was actually here. That's why she didn't call the police and have them do her dirty work for her. She wasn't afraid of the captors' threats of police because she was fairly sure Katherine didn't have a chance of being returned home safely. Only Chris Rowland knew where Dana was, and even he couldn't pinpoint her exact location. Coming to Chicago alone was probably the dumbest career move of her lifetime, but she took as many precautions as she could.

She had dressed as a homeless person, and was prepared to initiate an alcoholic swagger at any given moment. As a late-20s black female, she could play off the stereotypes that surrounded her race on this side of town. Her hair was unkempt and she had used a small amount of makeup to make herself look worn and dazed. Underneath her tattered clothing was a pistol and, just in case, a switchblade strapped to her calf. She was as prepared as she ever would be.

Her hand gripped the stairwell door to enter the 7th floor, and it slid open with a slight creak. She was looking directly down a long hallway of apartment doors.

"God help me," she whispered to herself as she slid inside the door, ensuring that it did not slam behind her. She made her way down the hallway, checking the floors and doorways for any telltale sign of a forced entry or a struggle. She heard a mouse squeaking its way along the insides of the walls and shuddered, trying to shake off her disgust.

At the third door on the left, she found what she was looking for. There was a greasy spot on the floor with what looked like heel marks. Possibly from someone being dragged inside after having passed out. Or dead. No, she couldn't think like that. It wasn't fair to Katherine. She had been smart enough to get her the message. Surely she had kept herself alive and well for her own rescue. She pressed her ear against the door and listened for several excruciating minutes, praying for a sign of anything inside.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?"

Dana gasped and whirled around, her hand reaching inside her stained overcoat. There was a rather large man standing there, dark and menacing, standing less than 3 feet away. She had been so focused on the apartment door that she hadn't heard a thing. Her heart was beating like a hummingbird, but she yanked her hand out of her coat and revealed a flask. She tipped it up, tasting only apple juice, and let some of it dribble down her chin as she took a long swill.

"Heyyy baby, you know if Johnny still livin here? He used ta hook me up wit somma dat good stuff, ya heard me?" She hoped she could pull this off. The guy just didn't look like he was buying it, and she had never seen him before. He could easily be one of Katherine's captors, and she could be in some serious danger. She decided to pour on more of her crackhead charms.

"You kinda cute tho. Maybe you betta than Johnny. What's your pleasure?" She then reached out to touch his arm and he backed away, obviously repulsed. She surveyed his clothing and realized he was probably a resident here before he was a criminal. He was wearing a work uniform - mechanic, probably - and he was probably suspicious of anyone in his building that looked like her. Dana was sure she wasn't the first homeless person he had seen in the building.

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