“Sure, I knew she used another name for her house,” I said. “Are you saying there are more properties?”
“Yes, many more, in different states.”
He sounded panicked on the other end, like he was scared he was going to be caught or give something away.
“Stanley, where are you now?” I asked, reading into his panic. There was only one way he’d be this rattled and that was if he was going to do something illegal.
“Don’t worry, Detective. I’ll find you the proof you need.”
He hangs up before I could reply. I hit redial but it was going straight to voicemail. God fucking damn it. I quickly grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt and got dressed as quickly as I could, feeling real panic that Stanley could be walking into a trap with me not having any way to find him again.
Racing down the stairs to my car, I got in and all but sped my way to the precinct. As I ran to the stairs to get up to my floor, my heart was in my throat as I rushed past our admin girls who I usually greeted and toward my desk. I didn’t even know where to begin to find him.
Calling our tech department, I prayed I got the only one who knew how to work magic. Finally, I heard chewing on the other line and then her young and impatient voice.
“Tech department.”
“Who taught you to answer the phone when you were eating?” I grunted into the phone, almost sick from the sound.
“Oh, good afternoon Detective, it’s nice to hear your voice too.”
“Enough with your childish attitude, Petra, I need help.”
“Obviously or you wouldn’t have called me.”
I took a deep breath before I continued. “I need you to ping a phone number.”
“Sure, give me a sec,” she said, clicking away on her computer. “Shoot off the number.”
I did and waited for her.
“The phone isn’t actively pinging.”
“Well it’s turned off.”
“Jesus,” I heard her moan, and I could almost see her banging her head on the desk. “Obviously, if it’s turned off, it’s not going to be pinging with cell towers, Detective.”
I ignored the retort of the young techie, and sighed. “Well, what about where it last pinged? I need to know where he is.”
“Sure, I can check that.”
A few more clicking sounds later. “You got a pen?”
“Just send the location to my phone.”
“I hope you like driving,” she said. “It’s about an hour away.”
“I’m leaving now, text it to me.”
I hung up and headed back down to the garage to get into my car. Let the Captain dock my pay for the day.
There was something twisting in my gut that was telling me Stanley was in trouble, and I needed to get to him before he ended up on a metal slab down at the County Coroner’s office.
Maurelle
I saw the figure on the security camera before I heard the silent alarm ping on my phone. He snuck through my window and let himself through the house. How the hell had he found this one? I suppose putting them all in the same name had been a mistake, but how did he find that name in the first place?
I’d been so damn careful.
