They knocked on the door of her office and she looked up.
“Yes?”
Jason put on a bright smile.
“Lieutenant Banks?”
“Yes?”
She did not return his smile.
“Lieutenant Patton asked us to come down and see if we can help out. I’m Detective Strong and this is Detective Jefferson.”
“Perfect. I appreciate the help.”
Still no smile as she rummaged around on her desk. Eventually, she found a file folder and held it out to Jason.
“Missing person. Twenty-eight year old male. Address is on the second sheet. Golfing buddy reported him missing this morning. Uniforms are there and have secured the location.”
Jason flipped the file open as Nina took notes on what the lieutenant was saying. Lieutenant Banks went back to what she was doing before they knocked. After a few moments, the lieutenant looked up again.
“Is there something else?”
Jason looked a Nina and they couldn’t think of anything.
“Well, I don’t know how it is in homicide but down here, when you’re handed a file, you get going.”
Nina and Jason exchanged glances and then beat a hasty retreat out the door. Back in the elevator, Nina did her best imitation.
“Well, I don’t know how it is in homicide…”
Jason laughed.
“She’s all business, that’s for sure.”
“She’s all something.”
The elevator doors opened and they went to their desks. Nina got on her computer while Jason read through the file.
Ed Garland was a factory worker, been at the same job for eight years, and lived on the west side. A uniform had taken the initial call at the address for a missing person. Apparently, Mr. Garland didn’t show for a golf date yesterday and his friend hadn’t been able to reach him in two days.
Nina looked up from the computer screen.
“No record. Valid driver’s license.”
“Okay. Let’s go out to his house.”
****
Donnie looked through the bars at his first ‘guest’. Ed Garland sat on the blanket, a padlocked chain wrapped around his leg and leading back to the wall. He couldn’t move more than about two feet in either direction.
Donnie unlocked the door and carried a glass and a granola bar into the room.
“Here. This is a protein shake and eat this granola bar.”
“Why are you doing this? Why am I here?”
“Can’t tell you yet. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Donnie could see the fear and confusion in Ed’s face, and he felt for him, but there was no choice. Ed was just one of the necessary pieces for Billy’s plan and Donnie had to focus on the mission, not emotions. Especially now that he’d taken his first captive. He had to see it through.
“Just let me go. I won’t tell no one. Please.”
Donnie left the food on the floor and exited the room. He closed the door behind him without saying anything more. Padlock in place, he went over to his desk and turned on the computer. A file popped up of the next person he was to go after. Chelsea Burt, now Chelsea Morris.
The face on the screen looked back at him with a carefree smile. She had no way of knowing Donnie was coming and he liked it that way. The women are the hardest for Donnie, his momma had always taught him respect, but he would do what he had to. He closed the computer and headed up the stairs.
****
Jason and Nina pulled up at the address on the west side of the city. The neighborhood was run down and tired looking. The kind of area where people don’t take the garbage cans back by the house but instead bring the garbage to the curb. More than one can had been knocked over, its contents scattered by hungry dogs.
Ed Garland lived in a small duplex with peeling yellow paint and virtually no landscaping. The responding officer was still there, standing in front of the half that Ed Garland lived in. A man stood next to the officer who Jason assumed was the golf buddy who reported Garland missing.
“Nina, you want to see if you can learn anything from the neighbors?”
“Sure.”
Jason walked up to the officer.
“Have we got access to the house?”
“Yes, sir. His friend here, Jerry Baker, had a key. When he found Mr. Garland wasn’t home, he called us and stayed outside until I got here.”
“Okay, good. Anybody else live with him?”
“No. There’s an ex-wife who lives here in town and I spoke with her but she claims to have had no contact with Mr. Garland in a couple months. Also, she apparently wasn’t surprised to hear her ex was missing but she wouldn’t say why.”
“Really? Okay, stay here while I take a look around.”
Jason went up the walk and pushed the door open. In the living room he found a half-eaten hot dog and a partial glass of something that looked like milk.
He continued through to the kitchen and down a small hallway, looking into the bathroom as he passed it. Everything seemed to be in order until he got to the back bedroom.
Jason noticed the window was cracked slightly open and the screen was missing. He went to the back door and found it unlocked. Outside was the screen lying on the ground below the window. There was also a set of shoe prints in the soft soil below the ledge. He went back through the house and found the uniformed officer.
“Get on your radio and call for a forensic team. Tell them Detective Strong made the request.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jason turned to the friend.
“Jerry Baker is it?”
“Yeah.”
“When was the first time you noticed your friend wasn’t around?”
“Two days ago. I called him to confirm our golf date but got no answer. I left a message but he didn’t call back. Yesterday, I showed up to play golf and he wasn’t there. I played with the two other guys that make up our group.”
“I’d like you to give the names of the two other golf buddies to the officer.”
“Sure.”
“So when did you decide to come over to the house?”
“I called him at work this morning but they said he didn’t show. I left my job to come over and see what was up.”
“And being out of contact for a couple days is unusual for you two?”
“Yeah. We’ve been friends for years and he never misses work or golf without calling.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Jason saw Nina coming back down the sidewalk and went to meet her.
Anything?”
She shook her head.
“Hear no evil, see no evil. Nobody admits to noticing anything.”
“To be expected. Folks in this area tend to keep to themselves, at least officially.”
She put her notebook away and looked at him.
“How ‘bout you? You find anything?”
“Actually, I do want to show you something. Come take a look.”
Nina followed him through the living room. She noticed the place was neat.
“No sign of a struggle.”
She followed Jason into the bedroom where he pointed at the window sill.
“I think we may have a point of entry here. I’ve called for a forensic team.”
The uniformed officer stuck his head in the bedroom door.
“Forensic team is here.”
“Okay, thanks.”
A few minutes later, the tech came into the back of the house.
“I need you guys to dust the house and in particular, this window ledge. Also, I need a casting of a set of footprints.”
The tech followed Jason back to where he’d seen the prints and Jason pointed at them.
“Yes, sir.”
Looking from the back door, the small yard behind the duplex opened onto an alley. Jason and Nina walked back to where they could see for two blocks in either direction. The alley eventually opened onto a main street at both ends.
Nina summed it up.
“This might explain why no one heard or saw anything. Easy to come and go without being noticed.”