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He tapped his finger against his lower lip, then turned and strode into the bathroom. A moment later, he emerged and ducked into the bedroom.
“If she left of her own accord, she’d have taken toiletries and clothes,” he muttered, as much to himself as to me. “It doesn’t look like that’s happened, unless she has duplicates of all her toiletries.”
“Shit.” I’d really hoped she was just lying low somewhere, hiding out until we came for her, but West made a good point. “We have to call this in. We need to put together a search team.”
“I’ll call my handler,” West said.
“And I’ll call…” Not Thackery. West still harbored concerns over where his allegiance lay. “Deputy Chief Dominguez.”
His eyes widened. “Are you comfortable with that?”
My lips twisted. “Not really, but she’s our best option if we don’t want to involve the captain.”
He held my gaze for a moment. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” I paced to the other end of the living area, giving him space to have a conversation with his handler while I called Dominguez. The phone rang out on the first call, but the deputy chief picked up on the second.
“Lee,” she growled, her voice thick with sleep. “Why are you calling in the middle of the goddamn night?”
“I’ve got a missing woman,” I told her. “I tried to contactCaptain Thackery, but he didn’t answer. I need approval to put together a search team. There’s evidence she may have been kidnapped.”
“Fine,” Dominguez barked. “Do what you need. Now, I’m going back to sleep. You can update me in the morning.”
“Thank you, Deputy Chief.”
She’d already hung up.
I made several more phone calls, initiating the procedures to get crime scene technicians to the apartment as soon as possible and officers available to start asking around about Portia’s whereabouts. With that done, I hesitated for a few seconds and then tried Hanson’s number, but he didn’t pick up.
“Hanson isn’t answering his phone,” I told West, who’d already finished his conversation with his handler.
His expression was grim. “Someone matching Hanson’s description was seen with Portia at the club, and now she’s missing and he’s out of reach. Think it’s a coincidence?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
I didn’t want to believe Hanson could be embroiled in this. It was possible he was simply sleeping deeply and couldn’t hear his phone, but somehow, I doubted it.
“Let’s search the apartment,” West suggested. “See if we can find anything useful.”
We started in the living area and slowly worked our way through the mess. Unfortunately, everything present seemed to belong here. Nothing stood out, and there were no scribbled notes or unidentified substances. Most likely whoever had done this was wearing gloves and had had the freedom to take their time.
“The neighbors?” I asked when our search proved fruitless.
He raised his eyebrows. “They won’t be pleased to be woken up.”
“If a kidnapping had taken place in my building, I’d want to know,” I pointed out. “Besides, maybe they heard something.”
“We can’t go far. We don’t want to risk anyone compromising the crime scene,” he warned.
“I know. But we can at least try the neighbors on either side and across the hall.”
He sighed. “It’s a start.”
We left the apartment, closing the door behind us. I walked to the next unit over and knocked. When, after twenty seconds, there was no response, I knocked again, louder.
The floor creaked, and then the door inched open. An eye appeared in the narrow gap.
“Who are you?” a grumpy male voice demanded.
