Green Light (Sam Archer 7) by Tom Barber

building, Josh and Marquez stopped
side by side on the porch step, taking in the scene around them as
if it might offer up some clues as to where Archer could have
gone.
    Vehicles
were parked along the street but there were several free spaces
available, one of which would have been occupied by Archer’s car
just several hours ago. Aside from traffic moving along the Avenue,
the only movement on the block was the occasional pedestrian and
three small girls playing with a skipping rope on the sidewalk
opposite.
    ‘ Well that was a wasted trip,’ Josh said.
    ‘ Maybe not,’ Marquez said, looking down the street at the
intersection, the way they’d come and the route which Archer would
probably have taken. She pulled her cell and went to call the
Bureau; there were cameras covering each road down there. If Ethan
could pick up the car, he might also be able to track Archer after
his chat with Karen Casey and figure out where he went next and why
he left his car behind.
    However,
as she brought up Ethan’s number she paused, looking over at the
group of young girls engrossed in their skipping game across the
street. Putting the phone back in her pocket for the moment, she
moved down the steps and crossed the road.
    ‘ Hi girls; can I talk to you for a second?’
    She
showed them her badge as she spoke and their game came to an abrupt
halt, the three of them looking scared.
    ‘ We didn’t do anything,’ one of the girls said.
    Marquez
smiled. ‘I know. Actually, I need your help on something. It’s very
important. Do you live here?’
    The two
holding the rope looked at each other and nodded. ‘We do. She lives
down the street.’
    ‘ OK. Now think hard. Were you here on Friday night?’
    Before
they could answer, the door to the building behind them opened and
a woman walked out, presumably the mother of the two
girls.
    ‘ Can I help you?’ she asked sharply.
    Marquez
nodded, showing her badge to the woman. ‘You live here?’
    Seeing
the badge the woman softened slightly and nodded, jerking her thumb
over her shoulder at the ground floor apartment facing the street.
‘In there.’
    ‘ Were you around on Friday night?’
    ‘ Sure was.’
    As Josh
joined her, Marquez pointed across the street. ‘A colleague of ours
was last seen inside that apartment building on Friday evening,
around 7:30pm. He’s a blond guy, late twenties, good looking. Did
you see him?’
    ‘ Yeah, I saw him. Hard to miss, right?’
    ‘ Did you see him arrive or leave?’
    ‘ Leave. I felt pretty bad for him, nice-looking guy like
that.’
    ‘ What do you mean?’ Josh asked.
    ‘ I’d just called the kids in and saw two police cars pull up;
four cops stepped out. They stood around for a moment, like they
were waiting for someone. A minute or so later, your guy walked
out.’
    ‘ Did they talk?’ Josh asked.
    ‘ Not exactly. They slammed him against one of the vehicles and
put him in handcuffs.’
    Marquez
turned to look at Josh beside her, her eyes widening as realisation
dawned.
    ‘ He wasn’t too happy about it,’ the woman continued. ‘They put
him inside one of the cars. Then they drove off.’

    Three
miles south on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side, a beautiful
red-headed twenty year old escort called April Evans walked rapidly
towards her apartment building, Cece’s scream so abruptly cut off
fifteen minutes earlier still echoing in her ears. Rounding the
corner and moving fast, glancing around to make sure she wasn’t
being followed, April reached her apartment building with
relief.
    Letting
herself in and closing the door, she took some deep breaths, trying
desperately to steady her thoughts and think clearly. Turning to
look through the glass, she couldn’t see anything unusual, just
some passing pedestrians, several cars and a white van parked
outside.
    She started to climb the stairs, even her slight weight
causing the old wood to creak as she made her way up. Arriving on
the 3 rd floor, she cautiously