Page 45 of Race to Save Her

The detectives stood at the entry, pulling on their gloves. They didn’t know what they were stepping into but it was important not to disturb anything unnecessarily.

Katie moved ahead and turned on a table lamp, revealing one large room resembling a retro cabin. Katie looked around, getting an overview of the residence. It had a part-antique and part-modern twist. Katie assumed the furniture and lamps were what had been provided and the other personal things belonged to Shelby. Nothing appeared to indicate a struggle or something more sinister.

The room was divided into three main areas: bedroom, living room, and kitchen with a small bathroom at the end of the house. The sofa, coffee table, two end tables, and dining table seemed to be antique pieces of furniture while the decoration like pillows, blankets, and decorations in the kitchen appeared to be more personal.

Katie took a closer look at everything in the living room and realized there were books and other items missing from the shelf. There were definite spots where she could see something had sat, due to the heavier dust around them. Why? She checked behind the pillows and in drawers. Nothing was hidden or seemed out of place.

She moved to the kitchen. It was clean, no dishes in the sink or drying rack, indicating that the last time Shelby was home she cleaned up everything before leaving. When she opened the small refrigerator, the awful smell of spoiled food hit her.

“Yuck. That’s rank,” said McGaven.

She quickly shut it. The smell seemed to float around the place. “I think it’s been about two months.” Katie wrinkled her nose and tried to get away from the stench of obvious old garbage.

“So we can’t pinpoint it,” he said. “But maybe receipts in the trash or takeout boxes might help?”

“I don’t see any photos—do you?” she said, looking around.

“No.”

Katie moved to the bedroom area behind an intricate beige folding screen. She looked through drawers and a small box on top of the dresser. There were only a few pieces of jewelry—a watch, two bracelets, and a necklace. There were two empty picture frames that were still not put back together correctly, as if someone had been in a hurry to take out the photo. There were empty envelopes that could have held photos too.

“She seemed to be either really frugal or she was keeping things simple.”

“Like she could leave anytime?”

“I don’t know…” said Katie.

“The yoga studio owner said she was in debt. It makes sense she was on a strict budget.” He looked around more. “When I get back to the office I’ll run a background check and see what shakes out.”

Katie was just about to wrap up and get ready to leave when they heard a loud bang and then the screech of a window.

They both instinctively drew their guns and slowly headed toward the bathroom. The door was partway closed. There was another bang.

The detectives were on each side of the doorway.

Katie gave a nod and she kicked the door open. With her gun directed forward, she saw a young man with short dark hair dressed in a T-shirt and jeans straddling the windowsill. He had one tattoo on his inside arm of a wolf and the other appeared to be some type of tribal pattern.

“Don’t move!” said Katie. She couldn’t believe someone was breaking in.

As if he had read Katie’s mind, he said, “I’m not breaking in. I’ve been looking for Shelby.”

McGaven moved forward and pulled the man inside. “Who are you?”

“I’m Tyler,” he said with his voice shaking.

“Tyler what?”

“Tyler Brandt.”

McGaven turned him around and did a quick search for any weapon.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“I’m trying to find Shelby…” Tyler was clearly upset.

“C’mon,” said Katie and steered him toward the living room.

The detectives studied the young man as he sat on the couch staring back.