24. ALEX
I’d been combing through these files for weeks, following every lead until I wound up back at nothing.
Even after Danielle gave me the name Thomas, every lead ran cold.
The only Thomas I’d managed to track down was Thomas Jackson, a small-time lackey for Landon, according to the information I’d been able to dig up, who’d vanished too.
Finding him might be the quickest way to get to Landon, and I doubt Thomas was half as clever as his boss. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
With Danielle and Cody both gone, I’d lost track of the last time I left the office.
Entire days blended together as I pored over files, chased down dead ends, revisited Danielle’s apartment, and tried to cut deals for scraps of intel, but it all led nowhere.
I ate takeout at my desk for most meals, and some nights, I crashed on my battered office couch.
The thought of returning to an empty apartment, no calls from Danielle, no dinner dates in my calendar, felt heavier each night. I needed this nightmare to end.
Warren stepped in.
“Don’t leave. You’re going to want to see this.” He motioned for me to follow.
Exhausted, but curious, I set my jacket down and followed him down the hall to the interrogation room. Behind the glass sat a short, stocky man. I didn’t recognize him. It definitely wasn’t Landon.
“What’s going on?” I asked, confused as to why Warren needed me for this.
He pointed at the man behind the glass. “That… is Thomas.”
My body locked up, and my heart pounded in my chest. Was this fucking happening? After months spent chasing these assholes, one of them was here, in the flesh, sitting under my roof. Voluntarily, no less.
For a split second, I battled with myself to not grab him, slam his head into the table, and demand Landon’s whereabouts. The very real possibility of losing my job was the driving force keeping me composed.
Instead, I entered the interrogation room, closing the door with a soft click behind me.
Sitting across from Thomas, I reached into my pocket and slid a cigarette across the table.
He took it without meeting my eyes. I lit my own and exhaled, letting him sweat a little in the silence while I just watched him, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had him sitting here.
“You know I know who you are, right?” I said, studying everything about Thomas—his mannerisms, the way he was shifting his eyes, refusing to focus on me—still weighing how this was going to play out.
He lit the cigarette, took a long drag, and exhaled without looking at me. “Yeah. I’m sure you know everything I’ve done, too.”
“So, you understand that before you say anything, I have to place you under arrest, right?”
He didn’t answer, but his nod said enough. There was something in his eyes—sadness, maybe, but mostly relief. Like he was done running. Done with Landon.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you still want to speak with me without an attorney present?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I hope you’ve got something good to say,” I said, leaning forward so he couldn’t ignore me.
“Because if anything happens to Danielle, if you had anything to do with it…” My chest tightened at the thought of what might happen to Danielle, but I couldn’t let it consume me.
Not now. “Even if you didn’t lay a hand on her, I know damn well you know where Landon is. ”
Thomas let out a long, shaky sigh before drawing on his cigarette. He paused. I could see he was nervous. “That’s why I’m here,” his voice trembled, like he was on the verge of crying. “I can’t do this anymore. I’ll tell you everything. But I want a deal.”
“Do I look like your defense attorney? Tell you what, you give me the information I want, and I’ll make sure my report says you came in here of your own free will, and that you were one hundred percent cooperative.”
My refusal to promise him anything got him to snap his eyes in my direction and lock in on mine. “I want amnesty for my part.”
“Jesus, it’s like talking to a brick wall.
If you don’t tell me what I need to know to make sure Danielle is safe, I’ll make sure no one wants to make a deal for you.
Got it?” My patience was wearing thin. The nerve of this guy to sit here, after helping that bastard, and try to set the terms. Not tonight.
He leaned forward, this time staring dead in my fucking eyes. “You need to call her. Tell her Landon’s coming. She doesn’t have much time.”
“That’s impossible. She’s in a different state, under a new name, new hair, new car, burner phone. No credit cards, nothing traceable.” I glared at him. Was this some kind of game?
He shook his head. “I’m telling you, I’ve been tracking her cards for Landon. She used one yesterday at a convenience store in Grand Junction, Colorado. How would I know that if she didn’t have a card?”
Shit. FUCK!
“Don’t go anywhere,” I snapped, pushing back from the table and storming out.
Warren was watching through the glass. As soon as I came out, he was on his phone, already dialing. “I’ll alert the police down there.”
“I’ll try Danielle,” I said, fumbling with my own phone. My heart pounded as I punched in her number. No answer.
Damnit, Cody.
I tried not to dwell on why he wouldn’t pick up; I just didn’t have the time.
As I turned to go back into the room with Thomas, my phone rang, and I felt a sudden surge of desperation as I answered the call.
“You let her fucking use her credit card?!” I was pissed, and I was about to let him know that. He should know better. I gave very specific instructions that clearly didn’t matter because they’re too fucking busy playing house to remember why they’re there in the first place.
“Whoa, Alex, calm down. She hasn’t used the card. I pay for everything.”
Lies.
I looked back through the window at Thomas sitting at the table.
“You sure about that, Cody? Because I’m standing outside the interrogation room, where Thomas just told me that she swiped her god damn credit card at a convenience store, and now Landon is heading down there after her.”
Could he be that fucking reckless?
“Wait, what?” There was a pause, and I didn’t bother to fill it.
I couldn’t decide if he was trying to figure out a way to lie out of this, or if he, honest to God, didn’t know.
I was pissed at him, but I also know he’s never lied to me.
“Shit. Breakfast. She must not have had enough cash on her. It’s the only time I wasn’t with her. ”
“Get her the fuck out of there. Find somewhere else to go.”
“Relax. We’re not there. We’re in Colorado Springs. I’ll find a reason for us to stay here longer. But I’m not going to tell her what you just told me. She doesn’t need to worry.”
“You better fucking hope so.”
Is he serious right now?
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and strode into the interrogation room. Thomas straightened up, stubbing out his cigarette and squaring up his shoulders as he watched me.
“I need everything you’ve got, Thomas. The more you tell me, the nicer my report looks, and the better the odds you can get a pretty good deal.”
Despite my best attempt to speak in a calmer tone, Thomas swallowed hard as his fingers twitched against the cool metal table, but I knew pressing too hard would make him shut down. He’d come here on his own; that counted for something.
“Okay—sure.” The unsteadiness in his voice told me he was rattled.
I sat waiting, trying to balance my anger with patience. Thomas took one last shaky breath.
“Landon called me the morning after Danielle was sent to the hospital. Said he had a job. He booked me a room at the Comfort Inn, east side, facing the hospital. Left a bag of cash for me at the front desk. Didn’t say much, just that I was supposed to call him if Danielle left.”
He wiped his brow. “So, I did it. Sat for weeks by that damn window, watching you come and go. I’d do nights, Landon took days. But she slipped out anyway. He was furious when he found out she’d left without either of us noticing. That’s when he had me start tracking her credit cards.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why would he do that? I’m a fucking detective. Seriously, you really think I’d let her use her own cards?”
“I didn’t think you would. But he seemed to think she was stupid enough. I mean, with all due respect, I’m here right now because she did.”
I clenched my fists under the table. I wanted to punch this little bastard out of his chair and into the wall, but he wasn’t wrong.
I’d confiscated her phone, confident that she was too smart to use any of her cards, which, in hindsight, was a bad idea.
Clearly, I overestimated how much she understood about tracking people.
“What’s he driving?” I asked, forcing myself to remain calm and patient.
“He left in a black Dodge Charger. Can’t say if he’s still got it.”
“Tags?”
He shook his head. “He’s got ‘em, I just don’t know the plates. Where I was, I almost never saw daylight. When I say I was a prisoner in that hotel room, I mean it.”
For the next thirty minutes, I listened as Thomas spilled everything. He told me how Landon scoured the city every night, asking around about Danielle, switching cars four times to stay invisible, throwing money at people for information. Every new detail pissed me off even more.
How did no one spot him?
How did everyone looking for him just…miss him?
But now Landon knew what city she was in. I didn’t have time to let my anger win. I stood without saying a word and stormed out to find Warren.
“Did you get through down there?” I asked Warren.
“Yes, but without a car or license plate, there isn’t much the local PD can do,” he replied.
“He left here yesterday in a black Dodge Charger. No plate info. But he was heading for the airport. Thomas says Landon never let him out of the hotel room.”
Warren nodded. “That’s something, at least. Any sign Danielle’s moved?”
“Thank fuck, they were already in Colorado Springs for whatever fucking reason. I’m hoping that’s far enough away until I can get down there.”
I grabbed my jacket and my car keys as I rushed out of the office. I wasn’t going to give the chief a reason to tell me no.