“Nothing,” he says.
Another police car pulls into the parking lot, and we follow it. I fill Moose in on what Reed told me. Hopefully, we can get Marco behind bars soon.
The officer I first spoke with waves us over. “I’m sorry I didn’t get your names,” he says.
“Axel. This is Moose.” I point to him.
The officer frowns. “All right. I’m Officer Pattison, and this is Officer O’Reilly. First, I understand you caught the man who kidnapped Ms. Williams. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he’s in the trunk of my car.” Moose points in its direction.
Pattison turns and looks, but the car can’t be seen from here. “We will take care of him first. Then O’Reilly and I will search this neighborhood, going door to door. You two can drive over here and go over these roads.” He holds up his phone with a map of the area.
It’s an area we haven’t been in yet, so I agree.
“Give me your number so we can communicate,” Pattison says. “And I will need a recent photo of her.”
We all exchange numbers, and I send him a photo. We head to Moose’s car to release Marco into their custody.
He drives while I shout for Savvy out of the window.
“If she is in someone’s house, maybe she was able to call your sister. You said they are best friends, right?” Moose says.
“It’s worth a check.” I send my sister a text.
A moment later, she replies. “No, she hasn’t heard from her.”
“Would she call anyone else?” Moose asks.
I think about that. “I really don’t know her friends. She called Reed at the main office number when she had a chance, instead of me. I doubt she has her phone. You think she might try someone else?”
He shrugs.
“Maybe her office,” I say.
Maggie gave me her number earlier today when I went to the showing location. I call Maggie.
“Did you find her?” Maggie asks.
I sigh. “No, I was wondering if she called you.”
“No. I haven’t heard a thing.”
“Okay, let me know if she calls you,” I say and end the call.
We continue to drive around, moving farther away from the church. It’s getting late, and I suspect we have woken a few people with my shouting.
Moose pulls over when both our phones buzz at the same time. My heart leaps into my throat, hoping this means they found her.
Pattison:We are calling off the search for the night. We know she got away. The man you detained is in custody. We will try again in the morning.
“Dammit!” I know she’s out here.
“Maybe she found a shed or something and fell asleep,” Moose says.
“Or someone else could have her. We don’t know if that man was working alone.” I check my phone anddiscover missed texts from Trip. I read through them quickly.
“Trip was able to grab a copy of Marco’s mugshot when they arrested him.”
