“If I had my way, you’d already be here.”
“Understood. How long’s the woman been missin’?”
“She went out for her daily run at six this morning. Her husband called it in a little after eight after he’d gone out looking for her.”
“He doesn’t believe she ventured off on her own?”
“No. Six kids at home, the youngest is four months. Full-time mom, bigwig dad, happy home.”
Did anyone ever describe it as anything other than? Brantley wondered.
“Any sign of foul play?”
“I’ll be honest with you, Walker,” Chief Denver stated. “Right now, we’ve got nothing. The more eyes we can get, the better.”
“Why’s that?”
The chief sighed heavily. “This is the fourth woman who’s gone missing from this area in the past year.”
“Any recovered?”
“No. Not dead or alive.”
Son of a bitch.
Brantley glanced at his team. “We’ll be up there as soon as we can. Let me secure travel, and I’ll let you know when you can expect us.”
“Good. We’ve already got a detective assigned to the case. John Collins. I’ll make sure he’s expecting you.”
The call disconnected and Brantley immediately turned his attention to JJ. “Call and get the jet ready for Dallas. We’ll need two vehicles when we get there.”
“On it, boss.”
“Reese, Trey, Baz, pack a bag.”
“Got one in the truck,” Baz announced.
Brantley grinned. “Good, then we won’t need to waste any time. JJ, would you mind keepin’ an eye on Tesha until we’re back?”
“Not at all.”
“Food’s in the house,” Reese informed her. “She’s got some meds, too. I’ll write it up for you.”Just under two hours later, Brantley was getting behind the wheel of a black Escalade while Reese was keying information into the navigation system. In a similar SUV, Baz and Trey were behind them.
“Cadillac,” Reese said with approval. “Travis is gonna spoil you if he’s not careful.”
“I’m just waitin’ for him to hit us with a bill.” Gas wasn’t cheap. Not for the jet or the cars.
“Detective Collins gonna meet us at the crime scene?” Reese asked.
“No. He said he’s bogged down with paperwork, so I told him we’d come to him at his office.”
“Out of curiosity, why’re we bein’ pulled into this one? Have they even had time to look for her?”
“This one fits into a pattern they’ve seen recently. The governor and mayor are worried.”
“More than one?”
“At least four. Although Collins seems to think there’s no way they can be related.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
“Sounds like it might not be a missing persons case,” Reese noted.
Brantley agreed. Since no bodies had been found and there were four missing, it was difficult not to think serial killer. Kidnappings generally had reasons, most of them sexual assaults or ransom. If they were still being categorized as missing and nothing more, there was certainly a problem.
“If it isn’t, we’ll adapt. We go where the governor tells us to go,” he said simply.
“Not complainin’,” Reese said. “Just curious. So there is a crime scene?”
“I’m still confused on that. They’ve got a general area.” Brantley steered the SUV onto Mockingbird Lane. They would drive right past the lake on the way to the precinct.
“Is it secured?”
“One can only hope.” Brantley hadn’t yet worked with DPD, but he prayed like hell they had a handle on their cases.
“These other women … what makes the mayor think they’re related if the detective doesn’t?”
“Location, I think. According to what JJ got from Collins’s notes, the four women who’ve gone missin’ were all joggers, and after they disappeared, their cell phones were found with their headphones sittin’ neatly on top of them.”
“This guy wants them to know he’s the one takin’ them.”
“That’s my assumption, too.” Brantley glanced over. “Only problem is, they didn’t find a cell phone for the recent victim. So it’s a big possibility it’s not related.”
“Well, let’s assume it is. Does Collins have any leads?”
“Nothin’ concrete. Despite them rampin’ up video surveillance in the area, they’ve yet to catch any of the women comin’ or goin’. But most of the cameras are set up in the parkin’ areas. Since these women have all lived close enough they could walk, we don’t know where he comes into contact with them, but he’s abducting them somewhere along their path.”
“And no one’s seen anything?”
Brantley wasn’t surprised by Reese’s doubt. “No.”
“It’s a popular jogging trail?”
“From what I understand, yes. But it winds around, and the cell phones’ve been found in areas that aren’t visible from the busy streets that surround it.”
The conversation waned until they made it to the police precinct only for them to learn that Detective Collins had stepped away but he would be returning any minute now.
“Fine time for him to take a lunch break,” Reese muttered under his breath.
“We can always go introduce ourselves to the man’s boss.” Brantley certainly wasn’t above escalating when the situation warranted it.
It took asking a few people, but they finally learned which direction to go but before they got to their destination, they were approached by a dark-haired man wearing a light blue pin-striped shirt that was a size too big, the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, his dark blue tie partially undone.
