Run For Your Life, page 4
“Mitch! What the hell? Ben is going nuts.”
I held up my hands. “And you need to calm down, or you shouldn’t be here. The kids will be coming home soon, and you can’t act like that in front of them. Ben needs to remain calm, too, for the kids’ sake. Now, between the two of you, can you do that or not?”
“Well, shit, Mitch. It’s hard to be calm when our sister is missing.”
“Try hard. Now go in the house, sit with Ben, and make a plan. Maybe you can take the kids home with you. Yours are about to get home, too, aren’t they?”
“I’ve already picked them up and taken them to Mom’s.”
I groaned. “Okay. You and Ben handle things on your end and let me do my job. I can’t be focused on what you guys are doing. My focus is on Marie and only her, understand?”
Meg nodded, and her eyes welled up. “What the hell happened?”
I reached out and hugged her. I’d never seen her that scared. “I don’t know, but I damn well intend to find out.” I nodded toward the house. “Go on and try to work with Ben. He’s supposed to be reaching out to Marie’s friends.”
“Okay, I can help do that too.”
I went to the next house and rang the bell. After a few minutes, an elderly lady opened the door as far as the chain lock allowed.
“Yes?”
After giving her a head tip, I showed my badge. “Afternoon, ma’am. The lady across the street, Mrs. Cramer, went missing. I’m wondering if you saw any activity going on over there this morning.”
“Oh dear. Well, I did see Mr. Cramer leave for work, but I see him do that every morning.”
“Uh-huh. Anything else?”
“Let me think. There was a car in the driveway when I went out to get the newspaper.”
“A car you didn’t recognize?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see the person get out or Mrs. Cramer get in?”
“No. I picked up the paper and went back inside. I read the news every morning while I drink my tea.”
“Do you remember what color the car was or if it was large, small, a truck or an SUV?”
“Well…” She rubbed her chin. “I think it was red, but that’s all I really remember. Like I said, I didn’t pay much attention to it.”
“Okay, and do you remember what time that was?”
“I guess it had to be around nine o’clock. That’s usually the time I get the paper.”
“Great.” I handed the woman my card. “In case you think of anything else. And your name is?”
“Betty Moore.”
“Okay, Betty. Appreciate your help.” About the same time as Devon, I ended up back at the house where we’d started. “Find any cameras?”
He nodded. “Yep, there’s a doorbell camera at the house two doors down, but nobody is home.”
“Okay, let’s ask Ben who lives there.”
Chapter 8
The phone call finally came in at three o’clock. “Well?”
“Well, what? I lived up to my end of the bargain. Now I need my cash.”
“You’ll get the down payment as soon as I see photo proof of the first abduction. Meet me at the Candler Oak in an hour and don’t be late. You’ll get the rest of your money when everything is done.”
“I’ll be there.”
The agreement was to kidnap one member of Mitch Cannon’s family right then, and others would be discussed later. The final payment would be given when the job was complete, but the ball needed to get rolling before the weekend.
The man who’d completed the task hung up and looked at the woman he had forced into a fifty-gallon plastic drum. He’d cut a hole in the lid for her head to fit through, then the lid was fastened to the barrel. She sat against the wall with nowhere to go and no means to do it. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she groaned through the duct tape stretched across her mouth.
“Quit sniveling, or I’ll put another bag over your head. I’ll make sure it’s a plastic one too.”
She looked down and kept quiet.
“Look back up again. I forgot that I need to show a photo of you to the one in charge.”
She didn’t budge.
“Look up now, or I’ll beat your head senseless!”
She did as told, and he snapped three pictures of her, checked the quality, and pocketed his phone. He watched out the window as a green anole bobbed up and down on a broken strip of fencing. He chugged a beer and took in the area. All that surrounded them was a wooded landscape, a thick mix of trees, vines, and ferns.
He chuckled. “Nobody will ever find you here. Vines and brush have all but filled in this little two-bit shanty and the land around it. If you didn’t know this shack is back here, you’d drive right by. Yep, it’s as invisible as it gets. Not any place I’d like to call home, and that’s one reason I’m leaving. The other is I have some cash to pick up.” He grinned. “Stay out of trouble, Marie Cramer.”
After leaving, he met with his contact right on time and showed proof of the woman in the barrel. “A unique way of holding someone captive, I’ll admit, but you’re the one running the show. Who am I to ask questions?”
“That’s right. Have you deleted all messages and emails between us?”
“I have.”
“And changed your email address and internet browser?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Stay reachable. I’ll have more work for you in the next day or so.”
“Sounds good to me. So, I’m done at the shack?”
“For now. I’ll check in on the woman later myself.”
The man was handed three thousand dollars, then he disappeared into Forsythe Park.
Chapter 9
Rue and I entered the house to find Ben and Meg talking on their phones. I gestured for Ben to hang up. He cut the call short and looked up at me.
“Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah, that the people across the street and two houses to the west have a doorbell camera. Do you know their names and where they work? I can’t sit around here and do nothing while we wait for people to come home whenever they get here.”
“They’re Dave and Susan Chester. I don’t know where Sue is employed, but Dave is in sales at the Ford truck dealership on Bourne Avenue.”
“Call there, and when you get him on the line, say he needs to come home right away, that it’s a police emergency.”
“Okay.” Ben looked up the number while I addressed Meg.
“Did any of Marie’s friends know anything?”
She shook her head. “Not a damn thing. Marie never mentioned going anywhere to anyone today.”
“Pretty much what I expected. What are you guys doing about the kids?” I tipped my wrist. “They’ll be getting off the bus anytime now.”
“I’m taking them to Mom’s. I’ll stay with them, my kids, and Mom. Let them think it’s a playdate at Grandma’s place.”
“Okay, that sounds good. Ben can introduce us to the neighbor when he gets home, and then we’ll take a look at his camera footage. Hopefully, it’s set to record and not just show live feed.”
Ben ended the call. “Dave said he’ll be home in ten minutes.”
“Thanks, pal, and take a deep breath. You need to make everything appear okay as soon as those kids walk through the door.”
Ben was about to break down. “What if they ask where Marie is?”
“I’ll field that question. I don’t want you lying to your kids.”
Minutes later, Chloe and Della barreled into the house, both yapping like excited puppies.
“What’s going on? Why are Uncle Mitch and Auntie Meg here?” Chloe asked.
As a fun-loving aunt, Meg quickly took over. “Because we’re having a playdate at Grandma’s house, and Bryce and Lilly are already there waiting for you girls. We’re going to have a pizza party, and we’ll play board games and watch movies.”
Della looked puzzled. “Is Mama coming too?”
I knew it was my turn to step in. “Your mama isn’t home right now, kids, but next time, the playdate is going to be right here, and your mom will be hosting it.”
“Yay!” Chloe headed down the hallway. “Are we spending the night at Grandma’s house?”
I nodded at Ben.
“I guess you kiddos can spend the night there, so get your pajamas packed. You’re lucky it’s Friday and you can stay up as long as Grandma and Auntie Meg say it’s okay.”
Once the kids were out of earshot, I told Meg to head out as soon as they were packed. We needed to get across the street and view the neighbor’s camera footage the second Dave got home.
After Ben kissed the kids goodbye, Meg loaded them in the car, asked me to text her when I knew something, and drove away.
Ben, Rue, and I stood on the porch and waited.
Only a few minutes later, Ben pointed at the silver sedan coming down the street. “That’s him.”
Dave turned in to his driveway, killed the engine, and got out. We crossed over to his side of the street, and after Ben made the introductions, Dave led the way up the sidewalk.
“I hope your camera is set to record,” I said.
“It is, Detective Cannon.”
“Please, just call me Mitch.”
Dave unlocked the door, and we followed him to his home office. He took a seat at the desk and tapped the camera app on his computer then looked up at me. “Have a particular time in mind?”
I frowned. “Anywhere between eight thirty, when Ben left for work, and ten o’clock, when my mom tried reaching Marie.”
“But what about the red car Betty said she saw in the driveway at nine?” Rue asked.
“Let’s still begin right after eight thirty. The car may have driven past a few times to make sure the coast was clear.”
“What’s actually going on?” Dave asked.
Ben wiped his brow. “We can’t find Marie, yet her car, purse, and phone are still at the house.”
“Holy cow. Okay, let me get this thing rolling, and we’ll check it out. The dealership opens at nine o’clock, so if a red car did pull into your driveway, Ben, I must have missed it by minutes, but it should show up on the footage.”
Rue tipped his head toward Dave. “And that’s exactly what we’re hoping for.”
As we stared at the screen, the footage began playing at eight thirty, and we saw Ben backing out of the garage, passing Dave’s house, and disappearing out of the camera’s view.
“What the hell?” Ben cursed himself. “How could I be so absentminded? I was thinking about the employee I needed to fire today and what I’d say to him. I forgot to close the damn overhead!”
We continued watching, and sure enough, just as Betty Moore had said, a car passed the house, returned a minute later, then backed into the driveway deep enough that the rear bumper was nearly in the garage.
“Damn it, no front plate!” Ben said.
“They aren’t required in Georgia, Ben.”
“I know, I know, but I could still hope.”
I shook my head. “If the person in that car is as smart as I think they are, they backed in on purpose just in case somebody across the street had a camera.”
We watched closely as the driver got out and disappeared into the garage.
“I couldn’t tell anything about the driver,” Rue said. “That rain slicker with the hood up makes it impossible to see if the person is a man, a woman, big, or small.”
“And that’s deliberate too. What they wouldn’t have known is that Ben left the garage door up, a bonus for them, but it makes me wonder if they would have gone to the front door with that raincoat on when it’s a sunny day.”
“Passing by and noticing that the blinds were still closed means he or she could have worn it until they were on the porch and out of camera view and then stashed it in the bushes before Marie came to the door. I think they just wanted to be obscured from any camera seeing what they actually looked like.”
I nodded. “I think you’re right on target, partner.” I turned to Ben. “Is the door between the garage and laundry room usually locked?”
He shook his head as he stared at the floor. “Never gave it a second thought, because the overhead is always closed, and nobody but Marie and I know the code to get in.”
I patted his shoulder. “You can’t beat yourself up, buddy. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Ben began to cry. “But at my wife’s expense. Who would do this? Nobody has anything against either of us, and Marie definitely doesn’t have any enemies. She works from home, for God’s sake. The only people who know her are the family and our friends.”
I backed up the footage, paused it, and took a picture of the car and driver when that person stepped out. Then I continued watching. I couldn’t imagine what was going on inside the house for those agonizing minutes before we saw movement again. I was sure Ben blamed himself, and his imagination was likely going wild.
“What’s going on in there? What’s he doing to Marie?”
The house wasn’t torn up, so that told me there wasn’t a struggle. I assumed the perp didn’t want to leave any physical evidence—DNA, prints, or blood. That told me there was a good chance he had a police jacket. My earlier thoughts about him knocking on the front door were wrong. The perp came in through the garage and surprised Marie while she sat on the couch and watched TV. He likely took her out at gunpoint, but I would keep that assumption to myself. Ben was in bad enough shape.
I paused the footage again and took another picture when the perp climbed back in behind the wheel. I cursed under my breath since the pictures were fuzzy, but still shots of an already grainy video were all we had to work with.
“Where is Marie?” Ben asked.
“He probably put her in the trunk. Damn it—I can’t see any facial features at all. He’s deliberately looking down, and that big hood doesn’t help.” I snapped a few more pictures anyway then watched as the garage door came down and he drove away. I reminded myself to see if the visor remote from Marie’s car was missing. I was sure the kidnapper had been gloved, but still, I would have Forensics dust for any prints on the door going into the house and Marie’s car-door handle and visor, especially if the garage door opener was gone.
“We don’t have enough,” Rue said. “We need to see if there’s any other cameras in the direction he went, and we definitely need that rear plate number.”
I huffed. “How many times do they turn out to be stolen plates?”
“Yeah, I know. More times than I care to admit.”
Luckily, Ben’s subdivision emptied off Harrell Drive onto Augusta Road, the main street in Garden City, and plenty of restaurants lined that stretch of blacktop. We would have to find a restaurant with cameras nearest the intersection to see which way the red car had turned.
Rue and I thanked Dave, and the three of us returned to Ben’s house. We needed Tech to set up Ben’s phone to automatically record all incoming calls in case there was a ransom demand for Marie’s safe return. I knew in my heart that kidnappings never worked out well for the victims, even if the ransom was paid. I also knew Ben didn’t have the kind of money that a kidnapper would demand.
Once Tech arrived, I explained to Tom Branch what we needed, then Rue and I took off. We had to track down that car and try to catch a glimpse of the driver—minus all the gear he wore to hide his appearance. We needed that rear plate number too. I called Royce to update him, and although we weren’t after a murder suspect, so to speak, things could easily go sideways, and my sister would be right in the line of fire.
We reached the nearest restaurant minutes later, and it was a half block from the intersection but still within range of seeing that red car turn—if the restaurant had cameras. I parked, and we got out, walked to both ends of the restaurant, and saw nothing.
“Damn it. Let’s go to the other side of the intersection and see what restaurants are over there.” I climbed in behind the wheel and squealed out of the driveway. I turned in at a gas station across the street from the intersection. Gas stations were usually a good bet with cameras because of pump and runs. After seeing cameras mounted on both ends of the building and one over the entrance, we entered the store. I took the lead since I was the one with skin in the game. The young man behind the counter was likely an hourly employee, and the answers I needed were probably above his pay grade. I asked for a manager instead of wasting time.
With my badge in hand, I got to the point. “We need to speak to the manager on duty right away.”
“Um…” The kid looked at the other patrons in the store area of the gas station.
“Is there a manager here?”
“Well, yeah, but he’s back in the office.”
“Good enough.” I headed down the hallway.
“But, sir…”
I ignored the cashier and banged on the closed door that had Manager written across it in stick-on letters. On the other side, someone yelled to come in. When he saw me, the man looked confused. I imagined he’d expected to see his employee at the door. I introduced myself and said I needed to see their camera footage from that morning beginning at nine o’clock. It was a life-or-death situation, and every second counted.
The manager, who introduced himself as Bob Collins, set up the camera feed on his computer.
“Which camera gets the best view of the intersection across the street?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Logic would say the door entrance because it’s centered, but it also has the most obstructed view. Personally, I’d say the one on the right.”
“Then let’s try that one.”
Bob clicked over to that camera and set the time, and we began to watch. “What are we looking for?” he asked.
“A red sedan coming off of Harrell Drive. We need to see which way it turns.”
“How will you know if it’s the right car?”
