Page 61 of Safe
“And me?”
Alex looked around and leaned in, lowering his voice. “You know I can’t have you going with me. I mean, I’m going to, but they don’t know that.”
The captain stepped out of his office, commanding immediate attention. He was an older, bald, African American man whose authoritative expression had the room silent in seconds. I could tell he was respected, and if he was respected, that meant he was damn good at his job.
“Attention, everyone,” his deep voice resonated like thunder. “Office Traser will spearhead this investigation, remaining on-site until we apprehend the suspect. Davis and Foreman, your task is to scour social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, whatever the hell you use these days, and see if you can uncover any leads related to Landon and Danielle’s whereabouts.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Johnston, Gaillard, you’re both returning to the convenience store. I want you to examine Danielle’s vehicle, review the surveillance footage again for anything we overlooked, and speak with the employees once more.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Petersen, Calhoun. Research any abandoned warehouses and remote properties within a 50-mile radius. And Scott and Morse, I need you to saturate the area with her image. Let’s see if we can rattle him a little. Hopefully he’ll panic and screw something up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alex grabbed my arm, lurching me forward, “Let’s go.” He gestured toward the door with a subtle nod.
“Where are we headed?” I asked, keeping pace with him.
“Quiet ‘til we get to the car. I don’t need them thinking you’re going with me. As far as they know, I’m taking you home.”
Once back at the car, Alex shut the door and looked around as if someone would overhear us from inside the car.
“We’ll start canvassing hotels in the vicinity. If he took her that fast, he must've been here waiting. He was watching from a hotel back home; I’m hoping he did that here, too.”
We started our search, targeting every hotel nearby. One by one, we were met with denial. No one had seen Landon. It was starting to look like we wouldn’t get as lucky as Alex had hoped.
“You know, Alex, he might have just stayed in his car.”
“Possible, but unlikely. He’d been surveilling the hospital from a hotel, has the means, and prefers staying hidden from the public.”
As we rounded a corner, the convenience store where Danielle was abducted came into view. It really did have such charm to it. Danielle and I came here often. We’d come to just sit down with a coffee or a pastry and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes we’d come for a middle-of-the-night snack run.
Now it was tainted by tragedy. I paused in the middle of the sidewalk, assessing the area. We halted at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. That’s when I noticed the motel rooms overlooking the store.
“Alex, if all Landon had to go on was that she swiped her card here, he’d want to keep a close eye on this store in particular, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
I pointed to the motel. “You think he’d ditch his usual cushy hotel for a seedy motel?”
We crossed the street toward the store, then made our way across again to the motel's parking lot, heading straight into the lobby.
The interior was as dismal as I expected, and far from anything Landon would choose voluntarily. The lobby looked like it hadn’t changed since the 80s, and neither had the uniforms, as the lady at the front desk had on the predicted pant suit with vest and bowtie that screams ‘we’re trying to be a classy establishment.’ She looked to be about mid-30s with cheap, box-dyed blonde hair and pink lipstick that was four shades too bright. She looked like she didn’t want to be there.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Grand Junction PD,” Alex said, flashing his badge along with a surveillance photo of Landon. “Have you seen this man check in or out in the last 72 hours?”
She scrutinized the picture, her face pinched with thought. “Oh, yes, I remember him well. Came in alone, asked for a room with a view of the shopping center. Acted real weird.”
Alex shot me a knowing look. “Weird, how?”
“He was only here a few hours, then left. Came back about an hour later, said he was checking out, and told me to keep the cash."
“Did he tell you where he was going?” Alex asked.
“Look, detective, when someone tells you to keep that much cash, you don’t ask questions.”
