Maybe they wanted the added thickness of the steel door. Or maybe a roll-up door would have looked too new.
The steel door looked like something that might’ve been installed on the building fifty or seventy-five years ago. It was a whole lot less conspicuous than a roll-up door would be.
He studied the building’s other doors.
Okay, so something was going on here. Was anyone else coming or was that it?
Well, his shipment still hadn’t arrived, so he could wait a little longer.
Only a few minutes passed before he heard an engine approach. A boat engine. A smaller vessel, not one of the big cargo ships that frequently moved through this part of the Sound.
He scurried to the other end of the shipping containers so he could get a better view of the water.
A cabin cruiser angled straight for the warehouse, slowing as it drew closer.
Three men appeared to be on board. One in the wheelhouse and two others moving about the deck.
One of the guys approached the bow. A blue hat with construction-orange banding caught his attention. Fluffy curls popped out from beneath the bottom of the cap.
Mitch pulled in a breath.
He knew that hair and hat combo! It was one of Zane’s guys.
If Zane’s guys were on this boat, then he’d found the right warehouse. No question.
The boat approached the building at a crawl, then disappeared from sight.
The building must have some kind of drive-in dock installed. Now that he looked more closely, it did appear to have a boathouse extending into the Sound.
Not an inexpensive addition, but a good way to ensure total security and privacy for whatever – or whomever – was on the boat.
He took up position at the other end of the shipping container and watched the two doors he could see. No further action at the drive-in door. Zero action at the man door on the front of the building.
His phone vibrated against his side.
A quick check confirmed his shipment had arrived. His time was up.
Five
Red and blue lights strobed the encroaching twilight.
Dak stepped from his Jeep and approached the police line. The officer moving to stop him backed off at the sight of his badge.
Several uniforms and a plainclothes officer – likely a detective – moved around inside the cordoned off area.
A shiny blue car with the driver’s door hanging open sat in the center of the activity.
The call about an abduction had come in as he was preparing to head home. Maybe it was connected to his case, maybe not, but he’d wanted to check the scene while it was still fresh.
The abduction site was only two blocks from where Jason Boggess had been abducted. Several businesses shared this parking lot, one of them being a yoga studio. The gym bag haphazardly tossed in the back seat evidenced that the victim had likely come out of the studio right before someone snagged her.
Her. A change from the previous two victims, but gender alone wasn’t enough to rule this abduction out.
The detective studied him as he approached. “I know you?”
Nothing about the detective looked familiar. Dak shook his head as he introduced himself. “Don’t think so.”
“Huh. I’m good with faces and yours seems familiar.”
“Maybe you know my brother.” Wouldn’t be the first time someone thought they knew him because of Caiden. While no one would confuse the two of them standing side-by-side, the family resemblance was strong enough that people often connected them. “Caiden Lakes. He’s SWAT.”
The detective snapped his fingers. “Bingo. Got that commendation from the commissioner a month ago for that Pike’s Place Market incident.”
The active shooter situation at Pike’s Place Market had been a heck of a lot more than an incident, but Dak simply nodded. “What’ve we got here?”
The detective turned back to the blue car. “Car’s registered to a Noelle Orson. She’s co-owner of that yoga studio. Last class wrapped up at 6:30. She locked up around 6:40, came to her car, and tossed her bag in the back seat. A van pulled up beside her and a guy jumped out and forced her in, then the van took off. Whole thing took less than a minute.”
That was a lot of detail. “We have a witness?”
The detective nodded. “Guy who owns that Thai restaurant across the street. Says Orson comes in all the time for veggie stir-fry. Said he was talking to his outside diners and saw the whole thing.”
Dak looked at the restaurant. Sure enough, about a dozen round tables sat behind a decorative wrought-iron fence. Right now, all tables were filled. Most patrons seemed to be watching the detective and his team work.
He’d have to talk to the restaurant owner himself. See if he could unearth any other clues.
Dak turned back to the crime scene.
Black marks on the pavement beside the car suggested that the van had left in a hurry.
No surprise, given that they’d abducted a woman in broad daylight.
A purse lay on its side on the driver’s seat. A wallet, lipstick tube, brush, and cell phone had spilled out of the open pocket and spewed across the cream leather.
Clearly not a robbery.
This could be related to the Boggess and Andrews cases. The van pulling up was a little different than the previous two abductions, but everything else lined up pretty well.
No obvious sign of any video cameras covering this lot, but he’d look into it. If nothing else, maybe a camera from a surrounding business picked something up. The lot had two points of exit, so there were several options to check.
Not to mention traffic cams from surrounding intersections.
“You got a photo of our vic?”
The detective handed him a glove and nodded at the wallet. “Knock
