Gathered by the lieutenants office was a crowd of detectives. When Jason got to John Patton’s door, the others cleared away and Jason saw the lieutenant hang up the phone.
“Jason. Glad you’re here. 911 just got a call from Rob Layne. He said some guy forced Lieutenant Layne into a black truck with white topper.”
“Shit! That’s him. That’s wine glass. It has to be.”
“Why?”
“The truck matches the description of his and….” Jason hesitated. He had realized it but didn’t think it posed any real danger. “…Vanessa matches the victim profile.”
John Patton just stared at him. It clearly had not occurred to him that his detective looked like the victims or that she could be in danger.
“Son of a ….”
He moved so quickly that he caught Jason by surprise. The lieutenant was past him and heading for the stairs before Jason could react.
“Detective Strong! You coming!”
Jason turned on his heels and hurried after the lieutenant. They ran back down the stairs and out into the parking lot. Jumping in the lieutenant’s car, Jason planted the magnetic, flashing blue light on the hood and they sped out of the lot. Lieutenant John Patton was talking almost as fast as he was driving, his bushy eyebrows and wild moustache flailing uncontrolled.
“We’re headed to the house. There’s uniforms there now. We have every officer in the city looking for the suspect’s vehicle. I’ve got officers canvassing the neighborhood and asking specifically about security cameras at any of the surrounding residence’s.”
Lieutenant Patton looked over at Jason and realized he was being ignored. Jason was on his phone.
“What are you doing?”
Jason covered the handset.
“Calling the hospital. That girl may be our best chance of finding Vanessa.” He uncovered the phone. “ Yes, this Is Detective Strong. I need to speak to Doctor Nance.”
Jason waited and watched cars whizz by as the lieutenant drove for Vanessa’s house. He wasn’t sure he had ever seen the lieutenant quite so upset. His phone came to life.
“This is Doctor Nance.”
“Yes, Doctor, this Detective Strong. I need to know when our girl will be allowed to regain consciousness?”
“Well, she’s doing better but I would prefer to let her go until tomorrow morning, at least.”
“Doctor, please understand, I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that girls recovery but we have a situation. One of our detectives, Vanessa Layne, has been abducted and we believe it’s the same man that attacked Stephanie Morris. I need to know what she remembers. It could be the difference between life and death for my partner.”
They arrived at the house and the lieutenant got out but Jason waited for an answer.
“Very well. I’ll suspend the sedatives.”
“Excellent. How long until she comes around?”
“It could be a few hours to a day.”
“We may not have a day, Doc. Let’s hope for hours. And Doc, thanks.”
He hung up and got out of the car. Walking over to Lieutenant Patton, he gave him the news.
The lieutenant nodded.
“The canvassing hasn’t given us anything. Let’s go talk to Rob Layne.”
Jason followed the lieutenant into the house and they found Rob Layne sitting at the kitchen table. He looked tired and scared. The lieutenant stopped to talk to some uniforms while Jason walked over and put a hand on his friends shoulder.
“Hey, Rob. You makin’ it?”
Rob gave him a panicked look.
“You gotta find her, Jason.”
“We’re doing everything we can. The whole damn city is looking for her. You didn’t see a license plate or anything?”
“No. I barely saw it was her before the truck pulled off.”
“Alright, buddy. Hang in there. I’ll keep you informed.”
Jason turned to the lieutenant.
“Can you take me back to the station? I want to pick up the case files and go through them while I wait at the hospital for our girl to come around.”
“Sure. Let me finish what I’m doing here and I’ll meet you in the car.”
Jason nodded and gave Rob another pat on the shoulders.
“I’ll find her, man. I won’t stop until I do.”
They shook hands and Jason went to the car to wait.
A few minutes later, the lieutenant emerged from the house and got in the car. Jason had called the hospital again and confirmed the sedatives had been stopped. They pulled out at a somewhat more controlled pace and headed toward the station.
Jason cleared his throat and John Patton gave him a funny look.
“Something you need to tell me?”
Jason was unnerved sometimes by how the lieutenant could read his crew.
“Uh…well…actually, yes”
“Well, out with it.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be the one to tell you but clearly the circumstances have changed that.”
“Changed what? Make sense, man.”
“Detective Layne is pregnant.”
“What!”
“Detective…”
“I heard you! How long?”
“Couple months, I think.”
“No. How long has she known?”
“A few weeks, I guess.”
He was quiet for several minutes until they pulled into the station. Finally, he looked at Jason.
“Find her.”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter 13
Her abductor didn’t say another word while they drove. In just a few minutes, they turned down a quiet street into a subdivision. It took Vanessa a minute or two to figure out why the area looked familiar. It slowly dawned on her where they were. They couldn’t be more than two or three blocks from Marcie Walker’s parents house.
They pulled into the driveway of an average split level home. The color was drab beige, the windows were clean with mini blinds drawn tight. The front door was brown as were the shutters, all of which were in perfect condition. The lawn was green from consistent watering and manicured to perfection. A winding walk led from the brick mailbox up to the front door.
As they pulled into the garage, the automatic door closed and Vanessa got the distinct feeling that her life was disappearing behind that door.
He got out and came around to the passenger side. Vanessa’s wrists were raw from the zip ties but he cinched them a little tighter. She moaned but he didn’t seem to notice. He walked her to the door into the house and when he opened it, Vanessa was assaulted with the smell of filth.
Stepping inside, she realized that the outside was just a facade to hide the depravity inside. His neighbors probably thought he was great to have in the neighborhood. She could see into the kitchen and the food, half-eaten, with flies and maggots on it. Pots and dishes were piled up in and around the sink. Beer bottles were everywhere. The living room had furniture cast around it in no particular order and a TV sat near the front window.
He pointed at a kitchen chair sitting in the living room.
“Sit there.”
Vanessa moved over to the chair and sat. He grabbed a remote control and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until he found a news report. He turned up the volume.
Police are involved in an all out manhunt for one of their own. Detective Vanessa Layne was taken in an apparent abduction outside her home this morning.
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a black pickup truck with a white camper top. The vehicle has been identified as the one used in the abduction.
Vanessa saw a picture of herself pop up on the television screen. It was her police ID photo from when she made detective. The screen then went to a picture of her house. Rob was just going into the house when this was taken and her heart jumped into her throat when she saw him.
The picture vanished and he threw the remote onto the table. She realized that nobody on this street would suspect their neighbors truck as being the vehicle police were seeking. Not with the groomed yard and nice house. She fought to control the panic building inside her. None of her training at the academy dealt with being a hostage.