“I was just thinking. Trying to picture what could have happened. Too bad Detective Harris did such an abysmal job.”
George furrowed his brows, no doubt picking up on some of the things Andi wasn’t saying out loud. “You think he doctored the report?”
Andi raised a brow. “You don’t?”
“Fine, I do. Should we talk to IA?”
Andi shook his head. “Too soon. All we have is the word of grieving parents against a member of the force. If he’s not a complete moron, which I doubt, he destroyed the cell the first moment he was alone. We could ask our IT guys to try and find traces of Lilly online, which will perhaps give us clues about who could have possibly taken her, though I doubt it. This whole scenario reeks of organized crime, and I don’t think they used a decoy to lure her in, especially if she was more of a loner, like her parents said. No, these people just take whoever they want, and I hate to say it, but in an area like this, it was their bad luck that her parents realized it so soon and even went to the police.”
George huffed with a pained expression. “I know. Still, letting Harris off the hook feels wrong. He’s dirty; I can feel it in my gut.”
“We won’t let him off the hook. We’re just giving him some room. Perhaps he’ll make a mistake and we can catch him even sooner. But our main focus has to be Lilly and the other two girls. If we manage to get one of the big bosses, perhaps even the mastermind, then we can unravel the entire net.”
“So no surprise visit at Harris’s precinct?”
“No.” Andi glanced at his watch. “It’s past five. I thought we might be faster sweeping the place of Lilly’s abduction, but I prefer being thorough over doing a hasty job, even though we didn’t find anything revealing. If we start driving now, we can be back at our precinct at nine.”
George seemed to hesitate for a moment. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, then closed again. Finally he said: “Let’s get something to eat for the drive. You look like you could use it.”
Against better knowledge, Andi felt a tingle of warmth in his stomach. His partner was looking out for him. That was new and unfamiliar and kind of nice.
“Yeah, I do feel a bit famished.”
Chapter 9—Gaining Perspective
GEORGE THREWa discreet glance in Andi’s direction when he had to stop at a red light. His partner looked exhausted; the dark rings under his eyes had become so deep within the last hour that George was seriously worried about Andi’s health. Their little trip to Spartanburg had been more successful than George had hoped. Aside from the fact that something fishy was going on with Detective Harris, as the vanished cell phone proved, Andi seemed pretty sure Lilly had indeed been taken close to that park, and he appeared to be convinced that her kidnappers and her murderer were somehow linked, even though he had downplayed the conclusions he had drawn from the abduction site. George’s own gut instinct was leading him in a similar direction, though he wasn’t as sure as his partner.
Against his will, George was impressed by Andi’s confidence. It also made him wary. As far as he could tell, Andi had just stood next to one of the trees, staring into nothing for over ten minutes. After that, he seemed to have adopted their trafficking theory as a hard fact.
George had to admit every sliver of evidence they had found—and to be honest, there wasn’t much of it—so far pointed in that direction, but he didn’t like dismissing all other possibilities simply because of his partner’s lively imagination. If he was completely honest with himself, dismissing what hewantedthe evidence to show, then they didn’t have enough to really formulate a theory just yet. Though on the other hand that was what detectives did—playing with what-ifs until some of it solidified into a concrete lead. To not repeat the mistake of not paying close enough attention like George was convinced he had done at the murder scene, he had been extra vigilant in the park. The countless needles strewn everywhere had told him he was definitely at a crime scene, but nothing he had found had even remotely hinted at it also being a kidnapping site. Andi, on the other hand, seemed to be absolutely sure. It mystified and unnerved George, as well as the fact that Andi was looking worse with every passing minute. He had stopped giving answers to even the simplest questions about an hour ago. His eyes were closed most of the time, yet George was sure he wasn’t sleeping. It weirded him out, and he seriously considered driving straight to the next hospital. The only thing keeping him from doing exactly that was the fact that they were already at the outskirts of Charleston. Another thirty minutes and they would be at the precinct. Perhaps Rose would be there to shed some light on Andi’s condition. His partner didn’t seem worried, though that could also be because he was completely out of it.
George breathed a sigh of relief when he finally pulled into the parking lot of the precinct. “We’re here,” he informed Andi, who grunted something in response. It was almost painful to watch how slowly Andi was straightening in the passenger seat, before he turned the handle on the door.
“See you tomorrow. Thank you for driving.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t drive you home? You could be coming down with something.”
“I’m fine.” Andi sounded as if he wasn’t sure whether he should be annoyed by George’s care or happy about it. “I just need some rest. And I feel better having my car at home. Nice of you to offer, though.” With that, Andi left the car. George followed his slim figure with his gaze until Andi reached his own car. When he was behind the steering wheel, George put the Escalade into reverse and left the parking lot.
At home, he ordered pizza and took an extra-long shower to wash off the grime of the day. His thoughts were constantly circling around Andi and their case, spinning faster and faster until George decided he either needed to go on a long run—which was probably not advisable at midnight—or to talk to somebody who could put things into perspective.
He dialed Daniel’s number. His brother was with the MP as a staff sergeant and currently on vacation, otherwise George would have never dared to call him at such a late hour. Daniel picked up after only three rings, indicating he had still been awake, which spared George the guilt of waking him up.
“Hello, little brother. What can I do for you at this late hour?” Daniel sounded as cheerful as always. Unlike their older brother, Griffin, who would have used the sentence as a general dig against not only the late hour but also by implication on George’s general habits, Daniel just meant it as a friendly greeting.
“Hi, Daniel. I could use somebody to talk to. If you’re not busy.”
The snort coming through the phone made George pull it away from his ear. “George, you know as well as I do that if I were busy, I wouldn’t be answering my phone at this late hour. You actually just made my evening a lot more interesting, or so I hope.”
For a moment, George closed his eyes, contemplating the wisdom of calling Daniel, of all people. Sadly, his brother was the only one hecouldcall about a situation as complicated as this one.
“Your hopes will be fulfilled. Though you have to promise me not to tell anybody about it. It’s not exactly classified information, but….”
“I get it. Trust your big brother, George. Have I ever let you down?”
“Do you want me to answer that?”
Daniel’s laughter caused George to remove the cell from his ear once again. “Point taken. Now spill. What has your panties in a knot?”
