“We need unis over at Star Properties, but start with bringing in SWAT. I want this done right, so this man goes away for life!”
One of the Strategic Weapons and Tactical Unit’s responsibilities was to clear and secure a scene when apprehending suspects considered extremely dangerous or when there was a hostage situation.
“You got it,” Trent said, lifting his phone’s handset.
She left him to make the necessary calls and went down the hall to Malone’s office. She found him on the phone. He waved for her to enter, and she did, closing the door behind her. She dropped into the chair across from his desk and waited.
Malone placed the telephone handset in its cradle.
“We found him.” She’d imagined saying the words would bring more relief, some excitement, but she felt tapped out, drained dry.
“You…?”
“The suspect’s name is Daniel Ross, and he lives in a quiet Dumfries neighborhood.” She filled him in on all they knew. “Trent’s calling in SWAT. We’re going to do this all above board. I want him to rot in prison for what he’s done.” She heard the vindictiveness in her voice, and maybe she was being rash judging the man so harshly, but all she could think about were those girls and Logan.
“He will if I have a say.”
“Trent’s also sending officers to his place of work.”
Malone rubbed the top of his head and let out a long sigh. “You okay?”
“Don’t even know how to answer that.” She couldn’t pin down exactly how she was feeling—couldn’t limit it to one thing anyway. She was numb, in shock, scared for Logan, for herself, and sad, to name a few.
“I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now… with Logan being held by this man.” He didn’t say it, but Amanda imagined the words and at his mercy being added to the end of that sentence. He proceeded with an even softer tone. “You might think that you have everyone fooled, Amanda. Fooled into thinking that you have it all together. But I know you better than that.” He paused there like he expected her to interject with something, but she was too distracted to concentrate on compiling words. “And I hope you know by now that you don’t ever have to go it alone. You do know that?”
All she could do was bob her head, trying not to cry.
Fifty-Six
It took time for SWAT to do their thing. They had to plan and strategize approach. Search, breach, and arrest warrants needed to be obtained. If they decided to hit later at night, that would involve another type of warrant. Amanda hated the waiting and not knowing if Logan was still okay.
An officer had called from Star Properties, and Daniel Ross had called in sick. He is that… Other unis were placed at a discreet distance from Ross’s house to keep an eye on things there.
Eventually it came back that SWAT would be striking at eight o’clock that night, but that left hours to kill. She pressed on, trying to silence her thoughts and stay focused. She and Trent would use the time to dig more into the Ross family. Her phone rang at around four thirty, and it was Patty.
“Glad I got you. Randy Hart’s bad news, Amanda.”
“Yeah, we discovered that. He was investigated seven years ago for involvement in sex trafficking.”
“That’s right. How did you find that out?”
Amanda brought her up to speed, including mentioning that they had a murder suspect now. She left out Logan’s abduction.
“You have your killer.”
“Should.” She hated the need to stay grounded, but she wasn’t getting burnt by raised hopes. “How did you find out about Hart’s past?” The background Amanda had pulled on him had showed nada.
“One of the old dogs in the unit saw his picture on my computer when he was walking by my desk. He’s the one who interrogated Hart when the allegations were originally made. He said he couldn’t get anything to stick, but he had this strong suspicion he was guilty as hell.”
“Apparently he’s got good instinct. This might be a long shot, but I don’t suppose there’s any way you can find out where the tip originated from?”
“A woman, the way the old dog tells it.”
A woman… Tingles ran down Amanda’s arms. Could it have been one of his victims? “The old dog have a name?”
“Detective David Melbourne. He’s one of the good ones.”
“Can you look into tracking the call?”
“That will be a dead end after all these years.”
“Was afraid you’d say that. I have a favor to ask, and it might be a leap, but maybe Christina Ross is on the data chip we recovered from the bracelet a couple of months ago. Could you take a look and see if you can find her? I know she won’t be listed by name but…”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thanks.” She ended the call, and Trent looked at her over the divider.
“I have the details on the parents’ deaths. The father died of liver failure, and the mother, Lori Ross, died of an overdose of ketamine and fluoxetine. Apparently, she was prescribed both to help her deal with medical depression.”
“Both deaths could have been aided along. We just assumed Ashley Lynch was his first victim.” Her gaze drifted down to the plastic evidence bag on her desk that contained Logan’s photo. She ran her fingertips over his face, wishing she could touch him in person, that he wasn’t holed up with some lunatic.
“Maybe we were wrong to do so.”
“I don’t know, but I think we could have found out how Daniel got his hands on the ketamine. It’s not a stretch that his mother left some behind.” She looked again at Logan’s face, peered closer into his eyes. They were riddled with fear. Failing to save him wasn’t an option. He was counting on her.
She must have stayed lost in her thoughts for awhile. The next thing she knew it was time to
