Page 19 of Chasing a Kidnapper

“Okay, thanks.” She was secretly thrilled to hear West say they were in this together. As a patrol officer, her job was to keep the highways and roadways safe. Their police department wasn’t big enough that she had a partner to ride with, which meant she was alone most of the time.

Every time she pulled someone over, much like the truck last night, she knew she was walking into a potentially dangerous situation. And unlike last night, she normally had nothing more than her gut instincts and training to keep her safe.

Being teamed up with West, even on a temporary basis, was nice. Yet she told herself not to get used to it.

As soon as the masked kidnapper was caught and arrested, she’d be back home and on her own. Normally she thrived on being independent. Yet there was no denying that being a single mother was challenging. She and Raina had that in common. And had agreed that trying to date was an unnecessary complication.

So why was she suddenly thinking about how lonely her life was?

Enough. She shook off the depressing thought and pulled out her phone to check if Seth Blakemore was on social media. She had a profile that didn’t use her last name, and didn’t list her as a cop on several sites. She’d prefer not to be on social media at all, but there were times, like this, that she needed to use them in an investigation.

And that was impossible to do without a profile. Even one with a cartoon picture and her name being listed as Patricia, rather than just Trisha.

“What are you looking at?” West asked curiously.

“Checking Seth Blakemore on social media.” She frowned as she scrolled down the list of Seth Blakemores. “I can barely remember what he looks like, so it may not be as easy as I’d hoped.”

“We can ask Cheyenne to get his driver’s license photo.” He shrugged. “They’re only updated every eight years, but it still may help.”

“That would be good.” She continued to scroll, trying to narrow her search to Seth Blakemore living in South Dakota.

They could issue a BOLO for Blakemore. Not to arrest him, as he hadn’t done anything wrong but to get him to the precinct for an interview. She wanted to be there as he was questioned, so she could read his facial expressions and body language for herself.

If Seth was involved in whatever this key was that the masked man was looking for, she hoped they could pressure him into cooperating.

The sound of a ringing phone broke into her thoughts. The dashboard communication screen lit up with an incoming call, the name on the display reading Dan Slater. She knew Slater was with the ATF. That had come out during the explosion that had taken Kenyon’s life.

West didn’t hesitate to answer. “Hey, Dan, what’s up?”

“Where are you?” Dan asked, his voice tense with urgency.

“I’m on the road heading to my house, why?” West asked. He gave the ATF agent the street signs as they drove by. “Is something wrong?”

“Can you detour to the gas station located near the shoot-out that took place last night?” Dan asked. “We just received a call about two bodies being found stuffed in the dumpster behind the building. You’re closest to that location, and since you were at the shooting, I’m hoping you can recognize them.”

West met her gaze, as if silently asking her opinion. She nodded. If those bodies were related to the shoot-out last night, she wanted to know what had happened, too.

“Yes, I’ll head there now, I’m with Patrol Officer Trisha McCord, who was also at the scene of the shooting last night.”

“Good. Get there as soon as you can,” Dan said. “I’ve asked the manager not to touch anything and to stay away from the dumpsters until we can get the crime scene techs out there to process the scene.” There was a pause, then Dan added, “I’ll head over too, but call me the moment you know something.”

“Roger that.” West ended the call with a click of a button. His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror, then to her. “I’m not sure it’s wise to bring a baby to a crime scene.”

She winced, glancing back at Gabriel. Lifting herself up out of her seat and craning her neck, she could see he’d fallen asleep, which was a good thing. “At least he’s napping. A quick stop shouldn’t be dangerous. Besides, this is important. I agree with Dan. We can’t allow anything to mess up the crime scene.”

“Yeah.” He scowled at the pickup truck that pulled out in front of him. “I have a bad feeling about these dead bodies.”

She nodded in agreement. Finding dead bodies crammed into dumpsters was rarely good news. During one of her patrols a few months ago she’d stumbled across a man who’d committed suicide in his car by shooting himself in the head.

That had not been a nice discovery.

And she knew what they were about to face would be as bad if not worse.

Mentally preparing herself, she kept an eye on the cars around them as West headed to the gas station. It was one she used often enough while out on patrol, stopping for snacks and to use the restroom facilities.

Yeah, maybe it was time to find a different place. One that wasn’t used as a dumping ground for dead bodies.

West slowed as they approached the gas station. Looking up at the sky outside her passenger window, she saw a couple of birds circling above the facility.

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