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“Let’s ask him and we’ll search his apartment for it.” Derrick’s heels clicked as he turned and strode back through the room, stepping around the blood and the bedding on the floor.
Ellie was right behind him.
But when they reached the door, Coolidge was gone.
EIGHTY-NINE
“He’s heading to a truck.” Derrick gestured across the parking lot. “I’ll go after him.”
Ellie followed him to the door, tossed him her keys, and he ran down the steps to give chase while Ellie phoned Shondra. “We’re in Sarah’s apartment. There’s blood and signs of a struggle. It appears she’s been abducted.” Ellie inhaled. “The apartment manager ran off and Derrick’s gone after him. Ask her friend if Sarah mentioned anyone else who may have wanted to hurt her. Maybe an old boyfriend?”
“Copy that,” Shondra said.
Ellie wracked her brain for the next steps. “Look in Coolidge’s files for a list of empty apartments in the building. It’s possible the perp may have left Sarah in one of those.”
“On it.”
They hung up and she phoned the sheriff and explained the situation.
“Issue an APB for Omar Coolidge. He’s driving a black Ford pick-up truck, license plate WV-123-BA. Also, Sarah Turner is missing so alert law enforcement agencies and ask Angelica Gomez to post Sarah’s photo on the news.”
“Will do,” Sheriff Waters said.
“Deputy Eastwood and I are going to search vacant apartments in the complex in case the perpetrator left Sarah in one of them.” If he had, Sarah might still be alive.
“You need manpower?”
“That would help,” Ellie admitted.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks. ERT’s rolling up now.” The forensic van parked and four investigators got out. Ellie called to them and they climbed the steps. While they began documenting and processing the scene, and Dale Harvey took pictures, she went to the apartment next door. Using Coolidge’s master key, she unlocked the door then flipped on the light.
At first glance, the apartment was bare. No furniture anywhere, confirming Coolidge’s statement that the space was vacant. She walked through the living room and kitchen but it was empty and she didn’t see blood. The unit was laid out the same as Sarah’s so she found the bedroom. Empty. No blood or sign anyone had been inside.
The bathroom was empty as well but she stooped to examine the vent. The screws were loose here, too.
The perp had entered through this space, crawled into Sarah’s and abducted her. Then he’d taken her body somewhere, returned to lock up and left through this unit.
So where was Sarah now?
NINETY
SOMEWHERE ON THE AT
Derrick swung the Jeep around a curve, pressing the accelerator to keep up with Coolidge, brakes squealing.
Coolidge turned right at the end of the parking lot, then sped onto a winding county road leading into the mountains. Dammit, where was he going?
He rounded curve after curve, swerving to avoid a head-on with a small convertible, and slammed on his horn to keep a group of teens in an SUV from sideswiping him.
Coolidge’s truck disappeared for a minute, and Derrick searched the side roads. Dust hurled upward from the man’s vehicle. Derrick swerved onto the dirt road that looked as if it led nowhere. Gravel spewed as he rumbled over it, the tires churning. The road was narrow and deserted and wound up into the hills toward Widow Lake.
The Jeep hugged the side of the road, vibrating as he rode the shoulder and he struggled to keep it from going into the ravine below. Coolidge’s truck bounced over the ruts and he hit a rock, skidding sideways.
He lost control, the truck fishtailed then slammed into a boulder. Derrick pressed the brake, skidding himself and nearly crashed into the rear of the truck. Dust clogged his vision and he pulled his weapon, then eased open the car door.
Coolidge stumbled from the vehicle then took off running through the woods.
