Western Flame

Chapter 36

Brady was on the phone with Caitlin when Tanner pulled into the parking lot at Liana's apartment building. He veered around the corner, and her car was parked in her spot, just like it should be.

The back driver's side door was open, and he saw a rumpled backpack beside it. He slammed the truck into park, jumped out of the truck almost before it stopped moving, and ran for the car.

"Liana! Liana?" he shouted. She wasn't there, but he noticed a duffel in the back seat, and a rag on the ground. A faint aroma of diesel wafted up.

Brady caught up to him, his phone on his ear. "Don't touch anything Tan," he gasped, breathless. "Yeah, we found her car at her apartment, the door is open, I think—"

Tanner let out the frustrated scream that he'd been holding in the entire time he'd been driving to town, and kicked a tire, turning away from Brady, who had one hand threaded into his hair, asking Caitlin to let everyone know.

She hadn't slid off the road, or gotten waylaid anywhere. Someone was messing with her, and from the looks of it, Trevor's kid too. With shaking hands, he texted Jake to come into town and then stuffed his phone away.

He looked back at the building. Maybe they made it to her place? His heart was in his throat as he swivelled and looked around. He should try that first. He started running, slammed through the front lobby, and pressed her number on the intercom panel.

Nothing. Mind you, if she was there, she would have picked up her phone, or called the police if she'd been assaulted, so he gave up, whirling around to see if he could find an office. Maybe they had security cameras?

The super's office was off to the side so he lunged over and banged on the door. "Open up!" he bellowed. The door cracked and an rumpled, drowsy man peeked through

"What do you want?"

"You got any security cameras on the parking lot side of the building?"

"Got one, records on a daily loop. Why?" the man said, warily eyeing Tanner. Tanner took a deep breath and attempted calm.

"I need to see this morning. One of your tenants, I think she might be in trouble. Her car is out there with the door open, and she isn't here."

"I need a warrant," the man said indignantly.

"Listen, asshole—" Tanner growled and was about to reach through the door for the lapels on his robe when Brady's hand stopped him.

"Shaun's on his way over. He can get it for you. Jake and Trev are inbound too," he murmured. "Don't make it worse."

The man sighed and opened the door all the way. He looked like he'd just woken up. Tanner bristled. They were losing time.

"Look, she could be in trouble. The more time we waste here—"

"Who is it?" the man asked, and coughed. "I can call up and see if they're home."

"Did that already. She's not. It's Liana Forbes," Brady interjected before Tanner could. "She's in 2B. Please, can we get a head start? We have an officer on the way, but it would save us valuable time."

The man nodded, coughed again, and frowned. "I'm not supposed to let anyone look at this stuff, but come on in."

They crowded into the small room that served as the office for the super, and he pointed to the lone tv screen with a split black and white view. The room stank of stale smoke, papers everywhere, a dead potted plant in the corner. Tanner shoved aside some snack cake wrappers from the console and sat on the round stool.