Mannington was suddenly next to him. “We should let them do their jobs, Steve.”
Steve wanted to punch them both and make a mad run for the house.
Two firefighters suddenly appeared. Steve’s determination withered a little as he braced for bad news. How the hell had he allowed this to happen? He should never have let her out of his sight. This was on him. Damn it. This was his mistake. He should have asked for more help from the agency.
“Sir,” one of the firefighters said to the marshal, “there’s an emergency ladder around back coming down from one of the upstairs windows. Looks like whoever was in there released the ladder and either got out or tried to.”
Hope flared in Steve’s chest. He should have known better than to give up on Allie. She was a survivor. She wouldn’t go down so easily.
“Have you searched the yard? The property goes into the woods. She could be out there injured,” Steve demanded, hope daring to expand once more.
“We have, sir,” the same firefighter said. “We’ve done all we can until things cool down a little.” He held up a clear plastic evidence bag. “We found this on the ground near the ladder.”
Allie’s cell phone was in the bag. She had come down that ladder in a hurry, which would explain how she’d lost her phone and hadn’t taken the time to look for it.
She’d feared someone who wanted to hurt her was close.
Steve reached for the bag. “May I see it?”
The fire marshal shook his head. “Afraid not, sir. This is evidence. We have every reason to believe this was arson.”
“Please,” Steve urged, “can you just show me the final text messages and phone calls?”
Mannington stepped into the conversation then. “This is a matter of life and death, Marshal. Time is of the essence. We need whatever we can find to point us in the right direction. Allie Foster is—” he gestured to the house “—as you can see, in danger.”
The marshal passed the bag to Steve. To the two firefighters, he said, “You two are my witnesses if there’s any trouble about this decision.”
Yes sirsechoed from the pair.
The last call, besides the missed ones from him, was before they were pulled over and he ended up being hauled away in a police cruiser. The final text was one she’d sent to Steve, but the one before it was to Rivero, telling him she suspected she’d found something, and she was going to her house to have a look at it.
Fury chased away the cold uncertainty in Steve’s gut. He passed the phone back to the marshal. “Thank you. Is there anything else I can do here to help?”
“I need your name and contact info,” the marshal said. “Then it would be best if you got out of our way like your friend suggested.”
Steve pointed to his SUV. “Can I take my vehicle?” He had no idea where the fob would be. He glanced at the house. Probably fried inside.
“Afraid not, sir. Anything close to the house has to be considered evidence in cases like this one.”
Steve nodded. “Thanks anyway.”
He and Mannington walked back to his car. “I think I know where she is,” Steve told him. “The last text she sent to anyone besides me was to someone we’ve been interviewing.”
Mannington looked at him over the top of the sedan. “I can call for a car. Take me to a diner or someplace I can hang out, and you can use my car. Find her. Do whatever you have to.”
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”
Mannington pointed a finger at him. “Do not wreck my car.”
Steve smiled. “I won’t get a scratch on it.”
He drove Mannington to Red’s. It was closed, but a quick call to Red had him waiting at the door to open up and keep Steve’s colleague company.
Steve headed for Rivero’s place. If the man tried to pretend he had no idea where Allie might be, Steve intended to beat the daylights out of him.
Chapter Fourteen
Madison Residence
