Page 44 of Race to Save Her

“Parcel or other worldwide companies?”

“No, I got the feeling it was private courier and not one of those big ones.”

“Do you have cameras?”

“Nope. We did, but the owner hasn’t made a decision yet about replacing them.”

“If you see that guy again, can you call us?” said Katie, handing him a business card.

“For sure.”

“And keep it on the down-low,” said McGaven.

“You bet.”

The detectives waited for their beverages and then left.

Once back in their vehicle, Katie turned to her partner. “Does that courier guy’s behavior sound unusual?”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that it’s just some guy watching women at a workout place,” she said. “It’s not against the law, creepy maybe, but the barista said that the guy was only there a couple of times.”

“It still means there was a guy watching the place where a woman went missing. We have to figure out what for.”

“We don’t have a lot to go on… Maybe Shelby’s place will fill us in.”

“Let’s go.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Wednesday 0925 hours

The Puzzler left his large barn, locking it securely. He walked back to the main house, passing an area with construction items and supplies, and entered, going straight to his office.

He sat in his oversized leather chair. Flipping open his laptop, he hit the space bar and a collage of photographs came up. There were images of women with every type of body and hair color, and a myriad of clothing styles. It was immediately obvious the women were leaving the yoga studio, the coffee bar, and various other places like restaurants and hotels. They intrigued him, but they never paid him much attention.

The man clicked through hundreds, if not thousands, of images. Then he stopped on a collection of photographs of one woman. It was the brunette who was striking, athletic, and definitely an alpha in her world.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Wednesday 1100 hours

Katie quickly found Shelby’s little house, which appeared more like a bungalow. It was an older home along a quiet, tree-lined street. Most of the other houses were bigger and remodeled to more of an updated standard. There was no driveway, so Katie parked on the street. McGaven downed the last bit of his coffee.

The detectives got out of the car, surveying the area up and down the quaint street. It seemed like a little jewel in the middle of the city.

“Nice,” said McGaven.

Katie thought so too. The small front yard consisted of creative stepping stones with colorful accents. Along the front of the small bungalow was greenery that would reveal beautiful flowers in spring. The front windows were dark as the drapes were pulled tightly. Since they didn’t know the exact timing of the abduction, it was unclear if she was taken from her home or somewhere between there and work.

The detectives walked from the sidewalk across the stepping stones. Katie moved slowly, paying attention to the ground to see anything Shelby or someone else might have dropped. But there was nothing out of the ordinary.

There was a small colorful welcome mat with cute faces of cats. Katie knocked on the door.

The detectives waited and listened. Nothing. Just quiet. It was what they had expected.

She shrugged to her partner and then inserted the key into the lock and turned. The ornate antique door disengaged and Katie pushed open the door. It was dark inside. The curtains were drawn, filling the room with creepy shadows from the furniture.