Page 67 of Bring Them Home

“Valerie? Brooke? PWCPD,” Amanda called out. Periodically, Trent would parrot this, as they walked through the shop.

After every corner was searched, they had to admit defeat.

“If they were here, they’re not now,” Trent said.

“I haven’t seen a sign they ever were or anywhere that would have been a suitable spot to hold them.” She returned to a desk with a plaque on it that read Boss. “I think we can agree on who this belongs to.”

They gloved up and rooted through the drawers.

Amanda pulled out a folder labeled Bank. The projection plan was inside, presumably a copy as the bank would have one on file. She thumbed through, not understanding everything. Business and accounting weren’t her strong suits in school, and she didn’t make any claims of being a financial whiz as an adult. The closest she got was knowing how to read the growth projections for her investments every quarter. As long as she was making money, she was happy. She left the details to her financial adviser, and she only had one because of the life insurance policy payout on her late husband. For years, the money felt unearned, dirty, even cursed. But it was a tool, and one day it would pay for Zoe to go to college, perhaps even her wedding…

Amanda stopped there. Not about to rush time as it flew fast enough on its own.

She flipped to the end of the report, and a loose sheet in the back fell to the floor. Picking it up, she found it listed twenty places Bill Johnson had gone to get a business loan. Every one of them had a line scratched through them. She held it up for Trent, pointing out what it was and added, “This goes to proving Johnson’s desperation.”

“So does this.” Trent held up a stack of unopened envelopes stamped with either Past Due or Final Notice.

Even as he shared this, his voice held the enthusiasm of a person biting into a sour lemon. Not that she could fault him. While they had motive, it didn’t get them closer to Valerie and Brooke.

Her phone rang, and she picked up to Officer Wyatt confirming he recovered Johnson’s cell phone from his house. Did they want it brought straight back to Central, or would they be swinging by for it?

“We’ll be there in five.” She ended the call and brought Trent up to speed.

“Let’s hope it gives us more than this place did.”

The van from Crime Scene was parked on the street in front of Bill Johnson’s bungalow.

Amanda and Trent met with Officer Wyatt outside the front door.

“Here’s the phone,” he said, handing it over.

“Thanks.” She punched in the code to unlock the device and checked the email app first. There were several collection notices from vendors for past due accounts. She compared these to his call history, and she recognized a crossover in business names. “This guy was in deep.”

“Which we saw proof of at his shop. What else is on his phone?” Trent asked her.

“Let’s see.” She looked at the photo gallery and found pictures of plumbing jobs that he did. There were several of a sump-pump configuration. Bill also organized some of his pictures into albums, and chills spread down her back when she found one named Valerie. In it were several candid shots of the missing woman. Of her leaving work, going into her house, coming out with her daughter.

“Johnson was stalking her.” Trent’s statement stabbed her through with ice.

“Sure seems like.” She looked at the dates of the photographs. “They were all taken on Friday, and early Saturday morning. He was pretty irritated when we asked for the code to unlock his phone. Guess now we know why.” Amanda remembered how he’d protested. Why would you need that? You’re being unreasonable. I demanded a lawyer.

“Malone said we needed more to pursue a search request for his mother’s property. I’d say this would qualify.”

“Me too.” Her phone pinged with a text, which she read and shared with Trent. “Johnson’s lawyer’s arrived.”

They told Wyatt they were headed out and to let them know immediately if he or the CSIs found anything that flagged.

THIRTY-THREE

Amanda stood across from Malone, prepared to stand her ground. Her gut told her Valerie and Brooke were being held near where they had found Paul’s body. They could very well be on the property belonging to Bill Johnson’s mother. “You wanted more to move forward on a search warrant. We have it.” She laid out what they uncovered on Bill’s phone.

“Huh. Sounds like more than enough to me,” Malone said.

“I’m happy to hear you agree. We’ve already called to rush a search warrant.”

Malone narrowed his eyes. “And if I didn’t see your side?”

“It’s better to ask for forgiveness.” She tacked on a wide smile.