Sally stared at the clock. Five minutes after. Why hadn’t Gavin called? Every hour he’d been exactly on time, to the minute, as they had agreed when he’d gone to Katrina’s house.
The early morning had been chaotic with the search for Katrina and her assumed kidnappers, Charleston and Jason. The police had set up a cordon around the motel for about an hour while the immediate neighborhood was searched for evidence, to no avail. The police had then gone about their regular business; only Beals and Carew remained at the motel.
Mr. Browning had given Sally a list of places to look and people to talk to, in hopes of finding a clue, just on the off-chance that Katrina had left under her own power. He said he considered Katrina a high flight-risk, as she’d done so in similar circumstances in the past.
Gavin had gone to her home after telling Sally he had a bone-deep hunch that alone, or with the brothers, Katrina would end up there. Katrina would need her bank book to leave town, and of course, Jason and Charleston were purportedly after money they thought Katrina had inherited and believed she had already received.
Mr. Browning had promised to check in with Sally every hour, exactly on the hour, and so far, he’d been on the other end of her phone precisely on time. Until now.
Gavin Browning was a fine specimen of a man. She sighed. If not for his obvious interest in Katrina, Sally might have made a play for him, once this assignment was complete. Such was her luck, she thought sourly.
She looked at the clock again. Fifteen after. She picked up the phone herself and dialed. The man on the other end picked up after only one ring.
“I’m glad you’re there, Lt. Carew,” Sally said, keeping her voice calm and even, though her heart was pounding with concern for her employer. “Mr. Browning is fifteen minutes late checking in. I can only assume something’s happened to prevent it. We need to go to Plan B.”
She listened to his assurances that Plan B would be implemented immediately and received the exact instructions on where to meet him before hanging up the phone. She was grateful that, even though she wasn’t a police officer, they’d allowed her to be an observer in this operation.
Sally hurried outside to her car and left to meet the police at the appointed rendezvous.
No comments:
Post a Comment