Chapter 56
Scott bolted from the kitchen and out the front door to his truck.
“Wait—my deputies are leaving McKay’s,” Ben said. “They’ll meet us there. Ride with me.”
Scott switched direction and headed toward Ben’s SUV. Five minutes later they pulled up to Zack’s house with Ben’s siren going full blast and his deputies on their way.
“The app says she’s here.” Scott climbed out of the vehicle.
“It says her phone’s here,” Ben said, joining him. “See if you can ping it.”
Scott tapped the device locator, and a faint beeping sounded near the road. He jogged toward it with the sheriff on his heels, but it was hard to pinpoint the location. “Do you see it?”
“Not yet—it’s too dark.” Ben shined his flashlight along the edge of the drive.
The beeping stopped, and Scott kicked at a clump of dirt. The phone shouldn’t be this hard to find. He pinged it again.
“Over here,” Ben said, pulling on a pair of nitrile gloves.
The phone was face down in the drive. The sheriff picked it up and bagged it. “Someone ran over it.”
Scott was surprised it had even pinged.
Three of Ben’s deputies pulled in and climbed out of their vehicles. Scott remained where he was as the sheriff joined them. Where could Tori be? Scott’s cell rang. Caleb. “What do you have?” he asked.
“Not much. I was able to enhance the video enough to see that it’s a light-colored SUV. Can’t tell the make or model, but at least you’ll know generally what to look for.”
“Thanks.” Scott disconnected and joined Ben and explained what Caleb had told him. “Do you know anyone who owns a light-colored SUV?”
“You say an SUV? That eliminates Erin—she has a Civic.” Ben rubbed his jaw. “Eli has a light tan Infiniti. Richard Livingston has a white Escalade. I think Stephanie has a matching one . . . and Valerie has a black Lexus.”
“Let’s start with Eli.” He’d never trusted the man.
Ben made the call, and after a few seconds, he pocketed his phone. “He doesn’t answer, but he could have his phone turned off. Let’s drive to his house.”
Scott agreed. All the Livingstons lived in the same high-end neighborhood where the houses backed up to a lake. But if Eli kidnapped Tori, they weren’t going to find her at his house. “How much property do the Livingstons own?”
“I’m not sure,” Ben replied.
Scott opened his text messages. “I’ll get Amy to locate any property Eli owns in the area other than his house.”
He sent the text, and seconds later she texted back that she was on it.
It was only a short drive to Eli’s two-story colonial-style house, but it seemed to take forever. The house was dark when they pulled into the drive, and Scott was out the door as soon as Ben stopped. They hurried to the front door, and Ben rang the doorbell and then knocked.
“He’s either not here or ignoring us. Can you tell if his SUV is in the garage?” Scott asked.
Ben shook his head. “No window, and I can’t break in without a search warrant, and I have no probable cause for one. Let’s check the back.”
They jogged to the back of the house where there was a door to the garage. A door with a window. Ben shined his light through the glass. Empty.
“Where would he take her?” Scott asked.
“If he took her. And I don’t know.”
“Do Richard and Stephanie still live next door?” When Ben nodded, he turned toward their house. It was dark as well. Scott checked his watch. Hardly seemed like 3:00 a.m. “Do we check with them?”
“I doubt they would know anything, and I hate to disturb them this time of night.”
“You mean morning? Can your deputies put out a BOLO for Eli’s car?”
“Already done. But you know, we may be blowing this out of proportion. For all we know, they could be having a good time somewhere.”
“No way.” Scott jutted his jaw. “She’s too worried about Drew. How long would it take for you to get her call logs?”
“Who does she have her phone service with?”
He told him.
While the sheriff called the carrier, Scott checked with Amy to see if she had any information on property Eli owned in the county.
“I’ve found several. Do you want me to text it or email?”
“Email it.” Scott gave her his email.
Ben slid his phone in his pocket. “I talked to the carrier. It’ll take a few minutes to access her records. Has Amy found anything?”
He nodded. “She’s emailed a list.”
“Great,” Ben said “Let’s go to my office. I have a big county map—we can pin the properties he owns and decide where to go once we have an idea of the bigger picture.”
Scott opened the list and stared at how many there were. How would they ever decide which place Eli might have taken Tori? She could be dead before they found her.