who had just had a leg amputated to get out of. They would also provide a kind of built in soundproofing to prevent the neighbors from hearing any cries for help.”
Matthews shifted his gaze from the map to Rilynne looking both confused and impressed. “Brilliant, Evans,” he said as he turned abruptly and ran out the door, almost knocking Detective Wilcome over, who had just walked back in.
“Okay everyone, I see you all found the binders our crime scene investigator Ben Davis put together for us. The bank that owns the ATM in the grocery store across the street from the apartment building is sending over the camera footage for us to go through. The camera points right at the front of the building, so hopefully we will catch the perpetrator leaving with our victim. I know I don’t have to tell you, but assuming the pattern is consistent, we only have five days to find Mr. Hartley alive. Okay, so does anyone have any leads or ideas of where we should look next?” Wilcome looked almost desperate for someone to provide anything new that might help them get ahead of this guy.
The looks around the table were all pretty consistent, exhaustion and desperation. Rilynne was the only one who seemed to have anything to say.
“Matthews is looking into which houses within our search area have basements. The perpetrator would need a place to hold the victims that would provide a good deal of control and containment, which a basement would provide.”
The idea they had a new place to start looking seemed to arouse a bit of hope amongst the detectives.
“I’m going to go back to the victims’ families,” said LaShad. “The key to catching this guy is finding out how he’s picking his victims.”
“Good. Skinner, Johnson, and Steele will work with you. Start at the beginning. I want every detail of their lives starting with their first words. Evans and Davidson, find Matthews and get working on the list of houses with basements. Butcher and Jerkins, check on the ATM tapes. As soon as they get in, I want every frame examined. I want a picture of everyone entering during the time the cameras in the building were off. The first thing I want you to focus on is the abduction time, though. If Hartley was lured out, we should be able to see who he walked out of the building with.
“Also, pay close attention to anyone carrying anything out of the building big enough to hold an unconscious man. We have only a thirty-minute window from the time we know he arrived home and the call came in. That gives us a small area to concentrate on.” Wilcome took a deep breath and glanced around. He looked like he wanted to add something else, but couldn’t find the words. “You know what you need to do,” he stated simply, then turned and exited the room.
Detective Matthews had been right; there was a short list of homes within their search area that had basements. “There are thirty-eight homes within the city that have built in basements. It will take a little longer to get the list of homes in the woods. Even then, we are not guaranteed that if the killer built a house with a basement, he would have put it in the building plans. But it gives us a place to start.” Matthews divided the list between the three of them, and they got to work.
Rilynne had just finished getting the owner information on the houses on her list when a brown lunch bag dropped down on her desk beside her. “Tuna with sliced tomatoes on white. Your favorite, right?”
She spun around in her chair to see Ben holding what appeared at first glance to be an evidence box. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was filled with the paper to-go bags from the diner across the street. “How did you know?” she asked as he handed her a bottled water from the box.
“Noticing details is my job,” his knuckles dragged mindlessly across his chin as he quickly changed the conversation. “So, are you making
Matthews shifted his gaze from the map to Rilynne looking both confused and impressed. “Brilliant, Evans,” he said as he turned abruptly and ran out the door, almost knocking Detective Wilcome over, who had just walked back in.
“Okay everyone, I see you all found the binders our crime scene investigator Ben Davis put together for us. The bank that owns the ATM in the grocery store across the street from the apartment building is sending over the camera footage for us to go through. The camera points right at the front of the building, so hopefully we will catch the perpetrator leaving with our victim. I know I don’t have to tell you, but assuming the pattern is consistent, we only have five days to find Mr. Hartley alive. Okay, so does anyone have any leads or ideas of where we should look next?” Wilcome looked almost desperate for someone to provide anything new that might help them get ahead of this guy.
The looks around the table were all pretty consistent, exhaustion and desperation. Rilynne was the only one who seemed to have anything to say.
“Matthews is looking into which houses within our search area have basements. The perpetrator would need a place to hold the victims that would provide a good deal of control and containment, which a basement would provide.”
The idea they had a new place to start looking seemed to arouse a bit of hope amongst the detectives.
“I’m going to go back to the victims’ families,” said LaShad. “The key to catching this guy is finding out how he’s picking his victims.”
“Good. Skinner, Johnson, and Steele will work with you. Start at the beginning. I want every detail of their lives starting with their first words. Evans and Davidson, find Matthews and get working on the list of houses with basements. Butcher and Jerkins, check on the ATM tapes. As soon as they get in, I want every frame examined. I want a picture of everyone entering during the time the cameras in the building were off. The first thing I want you to focus on is the abduction time, though. If Hartley was lured out, we should be able to see who he walked out of the building with.
“Also, pay close attention to anyone carrying anything out of the building big enough to hold an unconscious man. We have only a thirty-minute window from the time we know he arrived home and the call came in. That gives us a small area to concentrate on.” Wilcome took a deep breath and glanced around. He looked like he wanted to add something else, but couldn’t find the words. “You know what you need to do,” he stated simply, then turned and exited the room.
Detective Matthews had been right; there was a short list of homes within their search area that had basements. “There are thirty-eight homes within the city that have built in basements. It will take a little longer to get the list of homes in the woods. Even then, we are not guaranteed that if the killer built a house with a basement, he would have put it in the building plans. But it gives us a place to start.” Matthews divided the list between the three of them, and they got to work.
Rilynne had just finished getting the owner information on the houses on her list when a brown lunch bag dropped down on her desk beside her. “Tuna with sliced tomatoes on white. Your favorite, right?”
She spun around in her chair to see Ben holding what appeared at first glance to be an evidence box. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was filled with the paper to-go bags from the diner across the street. “How did you know?” she asked as he handed her a bottled water from the box.
“Noticing details is my job,” his knuckles dragged mindlessly across his chin as he quickly changed the conversation. “So, are you making
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