Chapter 39
Wind whistled through my helmet as I raced to Teagan’s apartment. I twisted the throttle, hugging the tank as the tach bounced off redline.
At her apartment, I pulled to the main entrance, hopped off the bike, and yanked on the door.
It was locked.
My fingers punched several numbers on the call box, but at this time of night, nobody picked up. With no time to spare, I pulled off my helmet and smashed it against the glass door. Shards rained down as it shattered, and an alarm blared.
My shoes crunched over broken glass as I stormed across the foyer to the elevators and pressed the call button.
I had called dispatch and told them to send patrol units. The distant sound of sirens warbled, drawing closer.
The bell rang, and the elevator door slid open. I hurried inside and vaulted up to Teagan’s floor. I sprinted down the hallway to find her door ajar and her cell phone and purse on the ground.
With my weapon drawn, I entered the apartment and advanced through the foyer to the living room. I cleared the area, then pushed into the bedroom and cleared the closet and the bathroom.
Teagan was long gone.
I ran back into the hallway, then pushed through the steel fire door into the stairway. Metal pinged as I plunged down the switchback staircase, spiraling my way to the parking garage.
I burst through the door, then swept my barrel across the space.
There was no sign of Teagan anywhere.
Just rows and rows of parked cars and buzzing fluorescents.
I figured Earl must have brought her down to the garage and forced her into his vehicle.
The sound of sirens drew closer, and I hurried back to the lobby and out the door as two patrol units screeched to the scene, sirens blazing, lights flashing.
"The assailant is most likely in a light blue pickup truck. An older model import," I said to Deputy Norton. I had already given that information to dispatch, but it was a good idea to reiterate it.
I called Isabella. At this time of night, she didn't pick up. "Hey, this is an emergency. I need you to call me back as soon as you can."
Next, I called the property manager, but it went to an answering service.
I left a message and said it was urgent.
I didn't expect to get a call back until business hours.
From my experience with the building, there weren't any surveillance cameras in the common areas except for the lobby and the parking garage.
Maybe I could catch a glimpse of Earl absconding with Teagan in his truck.
Then again, maybe he wasn't dumb enough to use his own vehicle. Perhaps he had stolen a car or a van.
Maybe we had a BOLO out on the wrong vehicle.
Isabella called me back a moment later. "What's going on?"
I filled her in on the details. "I’ve got her phone, so there's no way to track her." I thought about it for a moment, then an idea struck me. It was a stretch, but worth a shot. I told Isabella.
“Do you happen to have her cloud password?”
"No."
"It's gonna take a little time, but I'll be able to get into her account. I need to know basic things like her favorite movie, the name of her pets, the name of her parents, where she was born, what high school she went to, anything you think might be used as a password or a security question.”
I gave Isabella a list of everything I could think of.
She told me she’d call me back when she had something. That call couldn't come soon enough.