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“I’m on it. How far away are you?”
“ETA ten minutes.” That was another lucky break. The man lived in Clayton, minutes from headquarters.
It appeared the tide of this case was turning at last.
Now all they had to do was find Lindsey before it was too late.
“They’ll be waiting for you. Go get him, Tucker.”
“That’s my plan.”
He ended the call and sped down I-64, exiting two minutes later and barreling toward the posh neighborhood Oliver called home.
As Sarge had predicted, two patrol cars were already parked a few doors down from Oliver’s dark house when he arrived.
The officers met him as he approached.
“We have a potential abduction situation, so let’s proceed with caution.” Jack inspected the residence. “I’ll ring the bell while you two do a walk-around. If he isn’t home, we may have to go in uninvited.”
The two officers split up and circled the house from opposite sides while he approached the front door and pressed the bell.
Two rings later, there was still no response.
He followed the officers around to the back, where they were examining the patio door.
“Find anything?”
“Nothing that raises any alarms.” One of them straightened up. “We’re trying to determine the easiest way to get in. I flashed a light in the back window, and it doesn’t appear his security system is armed.”
“Any cars in there?” Jack motioned to the rear-entry garage, which boasted a narrow horizontal panel of windows near the top of each door.
“One. It matched the license plate dispatch gave us. And it appears there’s damage on the side of the vehicle.”
“The door next to the garage will be quicker to breach than this one.” The other officer stood too. “One kick ought to do it.”
“Let’s give it a try.”
He strode over, the two officers falling in behind him.
Rather than wait for one of them to do the job, he twisted sideways and smashed his heel below the lock. The door splintered. A follow-up kick sent it flying.
They were in.
“One of you stay out here. The other, come with me.” He pulled out the booties and gloves he’d grabbed from his glove compartment and handed a set to the officer. “I don’t think anyone’s here, but be prepared for trouble just in case.”
“Got it.” The officer donned the equipment and pulled out his pistol.
Jack did the same and pushed through the door. Flipped on a light.
It was a laundry room that provided access to both the kitchen and garage.
“Let’s check the house first.”
After calling out Oliver’s name in case the man happened to be home, Jack took the lead, turning on lights as they moved from room to room.
Nothing in the kitchen raised red flags.
The living room appeared to be undisturbed.
