“So she hadn’t returned. Did you try calling her?”
The tears started flowing again as she nodded. “It went straight to voicemail. And there were no texts since the last one when she sent me a picture of his car and license plate number.”
I froze at her words. Officer Blake and I looked at each other, both of us thinking the same thing. “Let me see that picture,” I demanded.
Chapter 29
Parker
Holy fucking shit. I knew that car. I’d seen it in the parking lot of the police station. It was unmistakable. Even though it was a common black color, the car had red pinstriping down the side. I didn’t know who it belonged to, but I had a gut feeling that someone very close by would know.
“Do you mind?” I asked, as I reached for the phone, my fingers betraying my excitement as they trembled slightly.
“No, go ahead,” Carly said as she passed the phone to me. I immediately handed it to Officer Blake.
“Please write down that make and model as well as the license plate number,” I asked quietly as I eyed him. He got the message I was trying desperately to send him. We didn’t need Carly knowing that the person who had her friend and was likely the same man who’d murdered several other women before her was a cop.
As soon as he was done, I handed the phone back to Carly, then I stood up. “I appreciate you coming in. You’ve been a realhelp. We will call you if we have any more questions. If this is an actual kidnapping and Melanie just hasn’t overslept, you will also be asked to return for a formal interview. Okay? It will be just like what we did here today, but expect to be asked even more questions. They will want to know every single detail you can remember to help build a case against the person who took your friend.”
Carly left out a sob into her tissues but stood. “Thank you, Special Agent Parker. You’ll find her, right?” Her watery eyes stared at me with hope that I hated to crush. All I could do was give her words to placate her, just like I had been trained to do.
“We’ll do everything we can to find Melanie.” I watched as her shoulders sagged. Carly was a smart girl. I reached out and touched her arm briefly, unable to help myself. “Have faith, okay?” I said softly. She smiled, then walked out the door with Officer Blake.
I stared down at the clipboard he’d left behind, reading the description of the car and the license plate number. Officer Blake walked back into the room, his jaw tight. No one liked knowing that one of their own was a potential killer.
“Who owns that car?” I demanded quietly.
“Detective Morris.”
I closed my eyes. Of course it was. I should have seen it. Ihadseen it but ignored every instinct that had screamed at me that he was bad news. I had chalked it up to just being a raging asshole. “Fuck,” I muttered. I opened my eyes and inhaled through my nose. “Do you have his home address?”
“No,” he said, anger still blazing from his dark eyes. “But I can get it.”
I nodded. “Good. I need a car.”
“I can come with you.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. I wish I could bring you Officer Blake, but I can’t take responsibility for your well-being.”I couldn’t even take responsibility for mine. My ass was going to be on the line for doing what I was planning. I removed my service weapon from the holster under my arm. I checked the chamber before popping out the magazine and checking the bullets. Then I slammed it back in with the heel of my palm. Sliding the gun back in place inside my holster, I eyed the man. “It’s important that I go quietly. Don’t tell anyone about this. He’s a cop, Blake. If he has anyone on his side, Morris could be tipped off.”
Officer Blake looked furious as he eyed me, but gave a jerky nod. “I understand. But it’s still dangerous to go alone. No one will know where you’ll be.”
“You’ll know,” I said. “Give me your number. I’ll call you if I run into trouble. If I find the girl, I’ll call everybody.”
He sighed, but looked resigned. I heard the rattle of keys as he fished around in the pocket of his slacks. He held the keyring out to me. “Red Prius parked towards the back.”
I eyed the good looking black man. He was tall and lanky, and I couldn’t help but wonder how he fit inside such a small car. The tips of his ears turned red.
“It was a graduation gift from my grandmother,” he mumbled.
I grinned. “That was sweet of her.”
“I couldn’t say no. It would break her heart.” I nodded and took the keys.
“Thanks, Blake.” I wanted to say more, but there was no time. A girl needed to be saved.
“Be right back,” he muttered.
I paced restlessly as I waited. I knew I needed to call my superior officer. I was duty bound to report what I knew. It was also dangerous as fuck to go into an unknown situation alone. But I couldn’t risk letting the information get out and getting back to Morris. There was a young woman’s life on the line.Unless he had completely changed his M.O. from his previous victims, she was still alive.
