Breaking the Lock

Six

Maxie tried to fight when he opened the trunk. He was ready for her though and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She tried to scream but any sound she could make were muffled by the tape he had put over her mouth. She struggled against him, beating at his shoulders with her bound wrists but he ignored it. He carried her into the cabin, taking her down a flight of rickety wooden stairs to a musty and damp basement. Maxie scanned the room trying to see everything she could without him noticing. She had to get away and get back to Nathan.

The room was cramped on one side with boxes. The other side had, what looked like, oversized dog cages. One held an empty cot and nothing else. In the other, Maxie could see another woman huddled on the cot, her knees pulled to her chest. She looked up when he was at the bottom of the stairs, letting out a startled cry at the sight of Maxie over his shoulder. He set Maxie down and shoved her into the second cage set up for her. She fell onto the cement floor and tried to scramble out but he gave her a solid kick to the ribs, making her breath stop cold. He ignored her whimpering and dragged her to the cot, cuffing her ankle to the wall with a shackle.

Once he had her secured, he reached down and yanked the tape off her mouth. "Scream if you want, but we're in the middle of nowhere. It won't do any good. Why don't you and your friend get reacquainted? It's been a while hasn't it?" He turned, stepping out of the cage and slamming the door closed. He picked up a heavy lock and attached it to the handle, snapping it shut. He rattled it a little, offering her a smile that chilled her to the bone. "Get comfortable. You're going to be here for a while."

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It took every ounce of persuasion Dante possessed to keep Nathan from rushing home without back up. There was only one thought on his mind and that was Maxie. Whoever had sent the picture of Britt had been at their building that morning. The thought was unsettling. As far as he knew Maxie hadn't been home since then but also hadn't heard from her either which only added to the knot of growing fear in his gut.

Dante called for a nearby unit to meet them at the building. Nathan was out the door and almost to his car when Dante caught up to him and insisted that he should drive. Nathan reluctantly agreed only so that he could continue to try to reach Maxie and reassure himself that she was all right. After the second call and no answer, Dante called Lulu. He put her on speaker and asked when she had last seen Maxie and where.

"Here," Lulu answered. "She stopped by around ten. Why?"

"Nathan's trying to track her down. Do you know where she was going? She isn't answering her phone."

"Is Nathan there with you? Because I'm not supposed to tell."

Dante and Nathan exchanged a worried glance. "Look, babe, it's important. Something's going on and we're not entirely sure, but we think Maxie might be in danger."

"Danger? Dante, I swear I don't know where she went. She said she was going shopping and then arranging for something for tonight. But I don't know where she went. She wouldn't tell me. What kind of danger is she in?"

They turned on the street, seeing two units parked outside the building and a third pulling up as they did. Nathan's heart thumped in anxiety at the extra squad cars. The first unit must have found something. He heard Dante curse under his breath before saying to Lulu, "It's probably nothing. Look, I'll call you in a little bit okay? Give Rocco a hug for me."

Dante parked the car between the two units. Nathan was out and heading to the entrance of the building before Dante could shut the engine off. One of the uniforms exited the building and flagged him down. Nathan recognized him and the serious expression. Something had happened here. He steeled himself to hear it but prayed that it didn't involve Maxie.

"Detective West, Detective Falconeri," the uniform said as Dante joined him at his side. "We've got a breaking and entering in apartment 68. After Detective Falconeri requested my unit check on your apartment, one of the neighbors reported the door open and damage inside the door. Dispatch called in back up. The apartment is clear. There has been considerable damage."

"Was there anyone inside the apartment?"

"No one when we got here. The neighbor was just getting home and didn't see anyone."

"What about my..." Nathan paused choking on the words. "My girlfriend. Did the neighbor see her at all?"

The uniform cop shook his head. "No. According to her, she came home, saw the door open and called 911. She didn't see anyone else."

"What about the other neighbors?" Dante put in. "Has anyone else seen the suspect or Maxie Jones?"

The uniform cop shook his head again. "We're still collecting information and doing interviews but so far, no one has seen anything."

"CSI unit on the way? Good job," Dante added when the young man nodded again. Nathan was done waiting. He headed inside and took the stairs two at a time to the apartment. The door was open and two more uniformed policemen were inside taking notes. He stepped in to survey the damage. The bookcase had been tipped over, its contents scattered across the floor. Most of the picture frames were smashed into shards and either left askew on the wall or knocked to the ground. The sofa looked like someone had taken a knife to it and shredded it and the cushions.

"Whoa," Dante said coming up behind him. "This place is trashed. If you're going to look around, better put gloves on." They moved through the room, looking at the path of destruction and searching for some answers. Nathan focused on the tipped over bookcase. He wanted to pick it up and put it right; he wanted all of this fixed and righted. He knelt by the bookcase and looked over the spilled contents. There was nothing of interest in the spilled contents but he spotted a small silver chain wedged under the case. He recognized it.

"Dante." He looked over his shoulder at his partner, motioning him over. Dante shifted his attention and looked over Nathan's shoulder.

"Maxie's?" Dante asked. Nathan nodded, feeling his chest tighten. "Doesn't mean anything, Nathan. It could have been there before."

He nodded, knowing that Dante's assessment could be true. It didn't stop him from worrying about Maxie though. He would feel better if he knew where Maxie was or if she would answer her phone. He left the chain where it was and got to his feet as the CSI unit arrived to begin their set up. He mentioned the chain to the lead investigator, then stepped aside watching as they did their work. His phone beeped a text message alert making his stomach lurch.

"Please be Maxie," he muttered and reached for his phone. He took a breath and looked down at the screen feeling his stomach sink at the number that popped up. He jerked his head at Dante, steeling himself for whatever might be there. He opened the text, staring at the words there trying to wrap his brain around it.

Missing something important? Will you do whatever it takes to get it back?