Margaret Daley - Detection Mission

“Maybe he got into a car.”

“Pauly doesn’t own one so it was someone else’s. Where did they go? We owe Pauly. He gave us our first big lead about what’s going on with Rio’s kidnapping and my dad’s beating.”

“Just so you know, I’m asking our Jane Doe—who will be going by Heidi—to stay at Molly’s boarding house. That way I can keep an eye on her and maybe help her remember what happened to her.” He exhaled slowly. “It could be connected to this case. She was there that day Brady was found. What did she see? We still think there’s another guy out there involved in the kidnapping.”

“Good thinking. Let me know if she agrees.” The captain picked up his pen and scribbled something on the paper in front of him.

“I’m asking a couple of guys from the unit to help me fix up Molly’s third floor for Heidi over the next few nights. You’re invited. Six tonight. I’ll supply the pizzas.”

“I’ll be there. Give me something else to think about other than this case, my missing dog and my dad still in a coma. At least Heidi came out of hers. Maybe that means Dad will soon.”

When he left the captain’s office, he peered at Kip and knew how he’d feel if anything happened to his dog. They were partners. He’d feel the loss. At least Slade had Rio’s sire to fill in the gap. But that still wasn’t the same.

* * *

Using the grid pattern, Lee followed Kip, on a long leash, in the Lost Woods. So far, nothing. Austin and his bloodhound Justice hadn’t found anything, either. He paused for a few seconds to get his bearings and scanned the tall trees that shaded the forest floor as if it were late afternoon. Up ahead a ray of sunlight streamed through the foliage as though pinpointing one spot.

His cell rang. He pulled it off his belt and answered, “Calloway here.”

“I found a wrecked car on the outskirts of the woods on the north side by the highway,” Austin said, then gave him the coordinates.

“I’m not far. I’ll be right there.” Lee hung up and noted his position on his GPS, then set out in a jog toward the area.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the dark green Buick sedan, which was partially covered by branches and greenery. The front end was smashed. One tire was shredded as though there had been a blowout. The air bag in the driver’s seat had gone off, lying limp now, a fine white powder all over the place. From the small ditch it was halfway lodged in, the car sat at a thirty-degree angle.

“Someone tried to hide it.” Detective Austin Black came around from the other side.

“That’s what it looks like to me. Have you called in the license number?”

“Yeah. It’s registered to a William Peterson from San Antonio. Where is he? Was it a stolen car? Captain is sending out a couple of crime-scene techs to process it, maybe they’ll be able to pull some fingerprints. Then we can tow it to the police impound.” Austin hesitated. “He wants us to continue our search. Do you think this was one of the kidnappers’s cars? That this Peterson is involved in the crime syndicate?”

Or was this how Heidi ended up in the woods that day? “Maybe, but if so, why would he leave it here in light of what went down in the woods a couple of weeks ago? It could have just been abandoned by Peterson. It looks pretty damaged, and it’s an old car. He might have decided to walk away from it.” As he said that to Austin, Lee kept picturing Heidi pushing open the driver’s door that was still ajar, then stumbling out. Disoriented. Hurting from the wreck. That would explain her injuries. “Maybe our mystery woman is connected to this car.” But why would she attempt to hide it?

“That thought already occurred to me, and the captain is looking into it.”

“If she’s tied to this car and Peterson, I’d love to be able to tell Heidi some good news,” Lee said. “At least give her a name and some facts about her life. Maybe be able to contact family and friends.”

“She’s going by Heidi?”

Lee nodded at his teammate. “Yeah, she didn’t want to use Jane Doe.”

“I don’t blame her. So she hasn’t remembered anything?”

“No. Do you see any evidence in the car?” Lee approached the vehicle, careful not to disturb any footprints. But with the dense leafage on the ground, he didn’t see any.

“Not from the passenger’s side.”

Lee peered inside from the open driver’s door and spied a cloth stuffed between the seats. After donning gloves, he reached in and pulled out a bloodied cloth. “Whose blood?”

“Maybe William Peterson?”

Or Heidi? Did a car wreck cause her injuries? It fit. Lee took out an evidence bag and dropped the cloth in it, then pulled out his cell and called the captain to report the development.

Will the name William Peterson mean anything to Heidi?

“You staying until the crime-scene techs show up?” Lee asked Austin.

“Yeah. No use both of us standing around waiting. But I thought it might be a good idea to have Kip check this area in light of the car being found. Something might have gone down here.”

“I agree. We’ll work our way out from here, then resume our search where we left off when you called.”

An hour later, Lee determined the area surrounding the car was clear of any dead bodies and trekked deeper into the woods to the last place Kip and he had searched. He gave his dog a long lead on his leash and Kip went to work, nose to ground. As the border collie went back and forth through the forest, Lee kept thinking about the car Austin had found and couldn’t help wondering if it was connected to Heidi. As soon as possible, he would delve into William Peterson’s life and see if Heidi and Peterson knew each other, because even if she didn’t remember who he was, there could be a link between the two.

* * *

As the door to her hospital room opened, Heidi tensed, scrunching the sheet up in her hands. Nurse Gail entered with her medicine she needed to take. Heidi drew in a composing breath, causing pain to stab through her chest. One of her ribs had been cracked and was healing, but it still hurt her when she inhaled too deeply. The list of her injuries from minor to major only confirmed something bad had gone down right before the police found her.

“Hi, how are you this afternoon? The earlier shift told me the doctor is releasing you if your lab work comes back okay.” Gail gave her the little cup with her pills in it, then poured her some water and handed that to her.

“Yes, that’s what he said to me, but...” What am I going to do? Where am I going?

“But? Are you concerned about not being well enough to leave?”

“No.” She’d examined the dark recesses of her mind until she had a headache. “I’m not sure what to do next.”

“I can understand that, but officer Calloway called earlier when you were down in X-ray to see if you were going to be discharged today.”

“He did?”

“Sorry I didn’t get the message to you sooner. This has been a busy afternoon. He’s coming right after work. He has a place for you to stay, at least temporarily.”

In the darkness that surrounded her, there was a ray of light. “He mentioned he would ask around.”

“When Lee says he’s going to do something, he does.”

Maybe they were in a relationship. Gail was an attractive redhead about Lee’s age. “You’ve known him long?”

“We went to school together. He’s a good friend of my husband, Harry. He’s a trainer at the K-9 Training Center next to the police headquarters. Harry got Lee interested in becoming a K-9 officer. He was a natural. Lee is like Harry. They’re big animal lovers.”

Did she have a pet in her other life? Was it left alone because she wasn’t there to take care of it? “I remember hearing barking in the woods.”