Chapter 7
SEVEN
Amanda was prepared for Malone’s foul mood when she called him, but she was given mercy when her call rang through to his voicemail.
She left the details in a message, bringing him up to speed about the BOLOs on Paul and his vehicle and that they were requesting a search warrant for the Archer residence and a digital one for their electronics.
After she hung up from that, she reached out to Valerie’s parents.
They lived out of town, so it would need to be a conversation that took place over the phone.
But if they were looking at a domestic situation, the parents could likely shed light on the Archers’ marriage.
Paul wasn’t a suspect yet, so much as he was a person of interest, but reaching out to his blood relatives could complicate things.
And it was harder to believe things about family sometimes.
They might not speak the full truth to protect one of their own.
Amanda called, and a man answered the phone, groggy with sleep. “Who is this?”
“Detective Amanda Steele with the Prince William County PD.”
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
Amanda measured her words before speaking. She didn’t like making these types of calls—the ones where she was armed with little information. “Sorry to contact you over the phone this late at night, but there’s a situation involving your daughter and granddaughter.”
The man spoke in the background, nudging his wife. “Ruby, wake up. Something’s happened.”
Amanda imagined the couple flicking on their bedside light and hustling to a seated position.
“What situation?” the man asked her.
She considered her words, but there was no gentle way of saying what she had to say. “I’m sorry to inform you that Valerie and Brooke were abducted.”
“They were… what? Why? Who would do such a thing?” The woman rattled all of this off.
“We’re trying to answer all those questions, ma’am, and get them back safely. But we also haven’t been able to reach Paul. We were hoping you might be able to tell us about their marriage. Were they experiencing any problems?”
“No, absolutely not,” the man said. “If you’re suggesting that he took Valerie and Brooke, there’s no way.”
“He’s a good husband, a schoolteacher,” Ruby chirped up. “And what about Landon? Is he…?”
“He’s fine as far as we know, ma’am. But could you call the hospital and confirm that he is there?
Without a warrant, we can’t get that confirmation.
” She regretted needing to ask this much of the couple, but it would be far easier and faster for them to get this information.
Since they were already coming at this days after the fact, there wasn’t a precious second to waste.
“I’ll call,” the man said.
“And call me back, please, once you know.” Her number wouldn’t show on the display, so she told him it now and waited as he wrote it down and confirmed it.
“Are they going to be all right? Tell me they are,” the woman pleaded.
“We are doing our best to find them, you have my word on that. Do you know if the family was experiencing financial problems or might have other reasons—”
“To run?” the man finished. “Absolutely not, and Paul would never abandon Landon even if he was having money troubles.”
After a few awkward seconds of exchange, Amanda was pocketing her phone. She shook her head at Trent, who was looking over at her.
“As far as they know, the marriage was happy, and Paul would have no reason to take his family.”
“If that’s the case, what the hell got the Archers abducted? I mean if Valerie’s parents are right, the fact we can’t reach Paul suggests he’s a victim himself.”
“Uh-huh.”
Not long later, Trent was pulling up to the front of an attractive, middle-income house in a neighborhood full of cookie-cutter designs.
A couple of police cruisers were parked on the street with officers behind the wheel. One of them was Officer Cochran. She got out when Amanda and Trent started toward the house.
“Any luck?” Amanda wished there was, despite it being against the odds. After all, if any of the Archer family had returned home or been contacted, Traci would have called her.
“Not so far, and it’s rather late, so officers will canvass tomorrow to see if other neighbors have anything to offer.”
The neighbor who told them they hadn’t seen the Archers for a few days had done so earlier in the evening. The next-door houses were dark at this time of night. “Sounds like a plan. Hopefully, there won’t even be a need for them to do so by then. We issued BOLOs for Paul and his Kia.”
“I saw that. As you can see for yourself, it’s not here.” Traci gestured at the empty driveway. “It might be in the garage, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“Me neither.” Amanda glanced at the attached garage. Three windows were along the top, far too high to look into without a ladder. They could go about it another way that kept everyone’s feet on the ground. “We’ve got a search warrant for the house. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Did you call in Crime Scene?”
“We’re going to hold off until we see what’s in there,” Amanda said.
Traci nodded. “I called them out to the secure lot to look at Valerie’s Charger.”
Amanda would have expected that much and headed to the door.
Trent was at her side, and Traci at her heels.
Once there, Amanda rang the bell and peered through the sidelights.
A futile act since the glass was obscured.
She hoped for a response and received the one she expected. Silence. Until her phone rang.
She pulled out her device. It was Malone returning her call. She answered, and he wasted no time speaking.
“I say, get that warrant.”
She smiled. “Already done. Trent and I are getting ready to enter the family’s home right now.”
“Good. Keep me posted on what you find in there and any other developments that might happen.”
“Will do.”
Trent paused working the deadbolt with his lockpick kit and looked over at her.
She gave him a thumbs-up, and by the time she hung up, there was a subtle clunk.
She twisted the handle while Trent put his kit away.
Just the sight from the doorway was enough to ground her steps.
The house was open concept, and the living room could be seen just past the entry.
Couch cushions and throw pillows were tossed around the room, and bric-a-brac and books littered the floor. Two chairs were lying on their sides.
“Okay, so this doesn’t look good,” Trent said.
She shook her head. “Someone was looking for something.” But would a search of the house reveal what that was? Only time would tell. She called out, “Prince William County PD,” while not expecting a response.
The piercing stillness was unsettling and disturbing at the same time. The only comfort Amanda took was the fact there was no smell of blood or decomp.
“I’ll call Crime Scene.” Trent took out his phone.
When he finished, they put protective booties over their shoes and branched out on the main level, announcing themselves as they moved along. One of the first places she checked was the garage, and she confirmed that Paul’s Kia wasn’t there.
Trent’s callouts echoed throughout the home and reached Amanda in the kitchen.
It was in the rear of the house, and every drawer was open.
Some were pulled all the way out and sitting on the floor.
Most of the cabinet doors were open, and the shelves inside were bare.
The contents of most cupboards and drawers were strewn across the tile.
Whoever had come through this home was after something. When a search of the house had failed to reward them, was that when they had taken the Archers? But what were they after, and why was this family targeted?
Framed photographs lined the hallways, and seeing the Archers as a close-knit unit burrowed into Amanda’s chest. These pictures must have been from before Landon got sick.
Amanda proceeded toward the staircase, where she met Trent.
He shook his head, and she did the same.
She led the way up and strained to hear any sounds, no matter how faint. But there was nothing hitting her ears.
The first door on the right was the primary bedroom, and the drawers from the nightstands and dressers were on the floor. The comforter and sheets were ripped off the bed and sat in a heap on the carpet.
“Whoever it was, they were thorough,” she said, sharing her observation.
“Sure, but did they find what they were after? I’m going to guess they didn’t and that’s why they resorted to taking the family.”
“I thought the same.” It might be premature to make that leap, but her cop instincts were screaming at her.
The Archers were in grave danger if they were right.
She walked around the bed and stopped as she scanned the spilled contents from the nightstand drawer.
There was a keycard attached to a lanyard with the Woodbridge Trust & Bridge Co.
’s logo on the front. They knew Paul was a schoolteacher, so it couldn’t be his.
She pointed out her find to Trent and said, “It seems the mother worked at Woodbridge Trust.”
“We’ll need to pay them a visit if we can’t find her,” Trent said.
“Yep.”
They left the primary and moved down the hall, coming to the children’s rooms. The one that belonged to the son had movie posters on the walls. Like everywhere else in the house, the space was ransacked. The daughter’s sanctuary had been violated too. Her makeup table was tossed to its side.
Next, they entered the home office. It was torn apart like the rest of the house. The computer monitors were cracked, having been hit with something, but the computer tower was missing.
“Who does this? And why? Were the parents in debt to the wrong person?” Trent said, parting with one theory.
“It’s possible, but it’s too soon to conclude that. Did you notice the computer’s gone? In fact, I haven’t seen one laptop, tablet, or phone in the house. You?”
“Nope. All this mess just to snatch the electronics?”
“Or it’s a diversion. But the question still is, what are these people after, did they find it, and what do they hope to accomplish by taking the Archer family?
” As she voiced the many questions, answering them felt impossible right now.
But she trusted in her and Trent’s ability to piece together the clues and track the Archers down.
Unfortunately, there just wasn’t a lot to go on yet.