Chapter Fourteen #2
“Luke, the last thing we want to do is jeopardize the case. We do things by the book. Give me five minutes to cross my t’s and dot my i’s so we don’t make any mistakes. Wait for me in the lobby and when I’m done here, we’ll go talk to Burt.”
Luke walked out to the lobby, where Gus sat behind the desk. “How are you doing, Luke?” the older man asked.
“I’m okay,” Luke replied. But of course, he wasn’t okay. He began to pace, his thoughts on the possibility that Burt might be their kidnapper.
Was this just another wild-goose chase? Was he taking a casual statement from a waitress and making too big a deal out of it? He didn’t know. All he did know for sure was that they needed to check this out.
Daniel joined him and together the two men swiftly walked to city hall. “I got hold of Judge Blakely but he wouldn’t sign off on a search warrant. We don’t have enough evidence for one. We’ll just have to hope Burt lets us in without needing the warrant.”
“All I know is I want to get into his house as quickly as possible,” Luke replied. “If she’s not there, then at least it’s one place we cleared.”
They reached city hall and headed down the hallway to Burt’s office. When they reached it, Daniel knocked firmly on the door. There was no response. Daniel knocked again, this time louder. “Burt, it’s Chief LeCroix,” he called.
The door to the office next to Burt’s opened up. “He’s not there,” Margaret Delaney, the city clerk, said.
“Do you know where he’s at?” Luke asked.
“I’m assuming he’s at home. He called in sick this morning,” she replied.
The tension in Luke’s body tightened. Was he right about this? It felt right. Please let it be right. He turned and practically ran out of the building with Daniel hot on his heels.
When they reached the police station they got into Daniel’s car to head to Burt’s place. As they drove, Daniel called in several more officers to meet them there.
Luke’s heart beat so hard it felt as if it might explode out of his chest. Hope surged up inside him, a hope he prayed wouldn’t be dashed by the end of this search.
By the time they reached Burt’s house, a rich adrenaline flooded Luke’s veins.
Burt’s house was a ranch located at the back of a dead end.
On one side some distance away was a house that was obviously abandoned and on the other side was another ranch house, also some distance away.
There was a red pickup truck in the driveway, indicating that Burt was home.
Before he could get out of the car, Daniel grabbed his arm to hold him in place. “We go in slow, Luke. If she’s in there, the last thing we want is for any sort of a hostage situation to unfold.”
Luke nodded. Even though he was ready to storm the door, he knew Daniel was right. They didn’t know if Burt would be armed and they didn’t know where, exactly, in the house Dominique might be located. The best they could do was get Burt out of the house before they went in to search.
The last thing he wanted was to do anything that might put Dominique at more risk if she was inside the house. They sat and waited until two more patrol cars pulled up. Together, they all got out of their cars.
Daniel instructed two of the officers to wait near the front door and he told Clay to head around the back of the house and guard the door there.
With everything in place, Daniel and Luke approached the front door. Daniel knocked and Luke held his breath. Please let her be inside, he inwardly prayed.
Daniel knocked again. “Burt, it’s Chief LeCroix.”
After several moments, the lock on the front door sounded and then Burt opened the door. “Chief… Officer Madison, what’s going on?” He appeared confused as he gazed at them.
“We have a few more questions to ask you,” Daniel said. “Can we come in?”
“Uh…it’s really not a good time right now.
” He offered them an easy smile. “I’ve been doing a little cleaning and, in the process, I’ve made quite a mess in my living room.
But I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have.
” He stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind him. “Now, what can I help you with?”
“Burt, we’d really like to come in and search your place,” Daniel said. “We’re checking all the homes of people Dominique was close to.”
“Well you aren’t checking mine without a search warrant,” Burt replied.
“Chief, I think I heard somebody cry for help inside,” Johnny said. “I think we need to go in.”
“That’s a damn lie,” Burt exclaimed. “You can’t hear anything.”
“I’m telling you, I hear a woman crying for help,” Johnny said.
“I heard it, too,” Roger said.
Daniel motioned the two officers, Roger and Johnny, forward. “Burt, you need to turn around. Roger is going to cuff you. You aren’t under arrest, but you are detained while we do a complete search of your house.”
“A search of my house?” Burt jerked against Roger, who successfully got him in handcuffs. “What on earth is wrong with you people? What right do you have to do this to me? You need a damned search warrant.”
“Not if we think somebody is in imminent danger,” Daniel replied.
LUKE SHOVED BURT out of the way, opened the door and walked in.
Rather than things being a mess, the living room was neat and tidy.
He heard nothing to indicate that there was a woman being held prisoner inside, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t here.
He was grateful that Johnny and Roger had given them a reason come on inside.
Daniel entered the house as well, but Luke was three steps ahead of him as he ran down the hallway. The house appeared to have three bedrooms and all the doors to those rooms were closed.
Luke ripped open the door to the first one. Masculine furniture and a brown plaid spread on the king-size bed let him know this was probably Burt’s bedroom.
As he stepped out of the bedroom, he saw it. On the door on the left end of the hallway was a lock. It was a simple hasp lock. Why would somebody put that on the outside of a bedroom door—unless they wanted to keep somebody inside?
He gasped and raced to the door. He disengaged the hasp lock and then opened it. His heart nearly wept with relief. Thank God, she was there. She was tied to the bed. “Luke!” she cried out at the sight of him.
He rushed to her side, along with Daniel. “It’s okay, Dominique. We’re here now and you’re safe,” Luke said as he began to work the ropes to untie her. She was clad in an ill-fitting red dress and her hair was a tangle around her head. She began to cry and tears of relief burned at his eyes.
Together, he and Daniel finally got her untied. She jumped out of the bed and fell into Luke’s arms. He closed his eyes and held her tight, breathing in the very scent of her as he reveled in the fact that she was alive.
She continued to weep until Daniel interrupted. “I’ve got an ambulance on the way,” he said.
“I… I just want to go home,” she said.
Luke looked her over. When he saw the bruise on her jaw, a rage nearly overwhelmed him. She’d been hit. And she’d been hit hard.
“Dominique, you need to go to the hospital and get checked out,” he said softly.
She gazed at him and then nodded. At that moment, a siren screamed in the air. “That will be the ambulance,” Daniel said.
Together, the three of them walked outside with Dominique clinging to Luke’s arm. “Dominique, I did this because I love you,” Burt yelled out.
Without warning, Luke stepped up to the man and hit him hard in his jaw. Burt’s head snapped back with the blow and he gasped with obvious pain.
“Did you all see that? It was police brutality. I’ll sue you all for that,” he yelled.
“What I saw was a kidnapper trying to escape,” Johnny replied easily.
“Yeah, that’s what I saw, too,” Roger added.
“Liars!” Burt exclaimed, his face reddened with anger. “You’re all a bunch of liars.”
“Good luck proving that in a court of law,” Johnny said.
“Don’t try to escape again. I’ll just have to subdue you with another punch to your face,” Luke warned, his anger as he stared at the man nearly out of control.
“Take him to jail,” Daniel said.
“With pleasure,” Roger said.
“And then come back here to help process the scene,” Daniel added.
Luke led Dominique to the awaiting ambulance, where the two EMT’s attended to her. Once she was loaded up, the ambulance pulled away. Luke stared after the vehicle.
Intense relief nearly cast him to the ground. Hopefully, she had no other physical injuries than the bruised jaw, which was bad enough. But it would heal and eventually she would be fine.
“Go,” Daniel said from behind him. Luke turned to look at his friend. “I know you want to go with her. We can handle things here.” He tossed his car keys to Luke. “I can catch a ride back to the station later. And in the meantime, I’ll give her sisters a call. I’m sure they’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks,” Luke replied and then raced for Daniel’s car. Once in it, he turned on the siren and then hurried to catch up with the ambulance.
They arrived at the hospital at the same time. Dominique was taken to the emergency room bay and Luke parked and then ran for the hospital’s front door.
Once inside, he checked in with the receptionist and told her he wanted to speak with Dominique’s doctor when he finished checking her out.
He then sank down in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room. For the first time in what felt like forever, he was able to breathe.
He leaned his head back against the wall as a deep wave of exhaustion struck him. She was safe. Finally, she’d been found. It was as if he’d been missing a large chunk of his heart but now that chunk had been restored.
Love for her flooded through his veins, warming the icy chill that had been inside him since the moment they had discovered her gone.
He wasn’t alone in the waiting room for long. Angelique and Monique joined him there. “Thank God, you found her,” Angelique said, her eyes misty with tears as she hugged Luke.
“We’ve been so afraid,” Monique added, tears of relief also shimmering in her eyes.
They sank down in the chairs next to him. “Have you heard anything yet?” Angelique asked.
“No, nothing,” he replied.
“Daniel told me she has a large bruise on her jaw. He also told me you gave Burt a bruised jaw,” Angelique said.
“I hope I broke his damned jaw,” he confessed.
“So do we,” Monique said with a small smile. She sobered. “I can’t believe it was Burt, a well-respected man who works for the city.”
“I’m just glad she’s safe now.” Once again, love for her filled his heart.
The three of them sat in the waiting room for about an hour and finally Dr. Gregory Harmon stepped in. They all stood at the sight of the older doctor.
“How is she?” Angelique asked before Luke could.
“She has a bruised jaw, but thankfully nothing was broken. She is dehydrated and exhausted. I’m keeping her overnight so she can rest and we can get some fluids in her.”
“Can we see her?” Luke asked.
“I’ve given her a mild sedative and she’s already sleeping. I would prefer she not be awakened. I imagine she’ll just be here for one night. As long as there are no complications, she’ll be released tomorrow. You can all see her then.”
A swift disappointment swept through Luke. He’d just wanted to see her…maybe hold her hand and assure himself that she was truly okay. But, if she was resting peacefully, he also didn’t want to disturb her.
The three of them walked out of the hospital together. They said their goodbyes and then Luke got into his car. He dropped his forehead on the steering wheel and the tears he’d fought back for the past three days began to fall.
Each tear washed away the terror he’d had since the moment she’d been kidnapped. The tears were thanks to the vast relief that she’d been found alive.
He finally pulled himself together and called Daniel. He updated Daniel on Monique’s condition and told him that both her sisters had come to the hospital and had gone home. “I’m just now leaving the hospital and can be back at Burt’s house in about fifteen minutes.”
“You are not to come here,” Daniel said firmly. “I don’t need you here. I have plenty of officers to process the scene. I want you to go home, Luke. Get something to eat and get some sleep.”
“I have to admit, that sounds like a great idea. Then, I’ll be in as usual in the morning,” he replied.
The two men hung up and Luke pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Night had fallen as it was almost nine o’clock. Tonight, the darkness of night was soothing, unlike the last three when the darkness had been torturous knowing that Dominique was out there somewhere all alone with a kidnapper.
He drove through and got himself a burger and fries and then headed home. Suddenly, he was ravenous and the added bonus was that he knew tonight he would sleep peacefully, knowing Dominique was safe and sound.