Breaking the Lock

Fifteen

He was dreaming. They were in the apartment together. Maxie was wearing the dress she had worn on New Year's Eve. She stood at the mantel with her back to him. He called her name but she didn't turn. He stepped towards her touching her shoulder to get her attention but as she turned she faded away replaced with empty space. He spun in the room looking for her but she was gone. He called her name running from the room and into the hallway of the apartment building which morphed into Crichton Clinic. He saw her dodge from one room to another and ran after her, searching constantly.

He woke to the sharp sound of a knock on the door. He was groggy and tired but he roused himself and yanked the door open. He stepped aside and let Dante and Detective Ferris enter his motel room, both looking grim. Dante shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over a chair, turning to Nathan with his arms folded over his chest. Ferris remained in his overcoat shifting uncomfortably next to him.

"What is it?" Nathan asked sharply. "Has something happened?"

"In a way," Dante replied glancing at Ferris.

"We had to let Denny Byron go this morning," Ferris said. "We couldn't get him to give us anything on his father."

"You didn't try hard enough!"

"Nathan, come on." Dante held up a restraining hand. "They did what they could. The kid wouldn't budge. But we got something else. The family owns a cabin about twenty miles north of here. It's in the general area where Britt was found."

"So what are we doing here?" Nathan reached for his jacket and gun, ignoring the sounds of protest from Detective Ferris.

Dante leaned in closer. "Nathan, we're waiting on a search warrant. If we just show up there without one, we could blow it completely. This guy knows the law. Even if he has Maxie, he can stall us long enough to move her. We have to do this the right way."

"No way. If Byron thinks we're close at all, he won't wait. We have to go now."

"Do I need to remind you, you're in my jurisdiction Detective West? Nothing happens in Geneva without my say so," Ferris cut in. "We're waiting for the search warrant. And so are you." He gave Nathan a pointed stare. "If you get even within a mile of that cabin, I'll have you arrested. Are we clear?"

Nathan returned Ferris' glare. He could feel Dante watching him closely but didn't make eye contact with him. He wasn't about to get Dante in trouble too. "Crystal."

"Good. I'll be back when the warrant is issued." Ferris stormed out of Nathan's room leaving the two detectives alone. Anger rolled off Nathan in waves. How could he sit here and wait when Maxie could be near? He wasn't about to wait on a warrant; Byron sure as hell wouldn't. In fact, if Nathan knew the man as well as he thought he did, Byron was a step ahead of the warrant. Byron would know that now that Nathan was aware of who had Maxie, finding the cabin would be a cinch. Byron would have course corrected by now.

"I'm not waiting for a warrant, Dante."

"I didn't think you would," Dante replied as casually as if Nathan had just offered him a cup of coffee. "You've got an idea. I can see it."

Nathan jammed his gun into its holster. "Am I that easy to read?" Dante shrugged. "Look, now that I know who he is, he knows I'll start digging. That cabin was too easy to find. Even if he did have Maxie there, he's moved her. Or," he said taking a breath. "It's a trap. Either way, a search warrant isn't going to do anyone any good."

"So we're going to the cabin. And if he's not there?"

"He won't have gone far. If it's a trap, he'll want to see what happens. And maybe be near enough to collect his prey."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "You mean you? Nathan, I don't like this."

"He's coming for me one way or the other. I'm just trying to buy Maxie some time."

The cabin was set far back from the road, hidden by a grove of pine trees. Dante and Nathan approached it on foot, guns drawn. The surrounding area was quiet; the nearest cabin was another mile in the opposite direction. They made their way carefully to the building, Nathan in front and Dante covering their backs. It took less than five minutes to get to the building and less than that to ascertain that Byron had indeed been there and gone.

They searched the whole of the building careful not to touch anything that might be considered evidence once the search warrant was in effect. Nothing in the cabin gave the impression that Byron had held Britt or Maxie here against their will. In fact, there wasn't much there to say that Byron had been there at all. Nathan had given him too much time between the phone call and getting to the cabin.

Dante found the entrance to the basement that Britt said they were held. The door was locked and it took a moment to jimmy it open. Dante took the lead, stepping onto the dark staircase. He was being careful because he had been trained that way but Nathan could have told him that there was no need. Byron had gone long before they had arrived. Satisfied that there was no one in the room, Dante flipped the light switch on and started down the stairs with Nathan just behind.

At the bottom of the stairs, Nathan let out a soft groan at the sight of the two cages pushed up against the wall. He had known that Byron had held the women in cages but knowing and seeing were two different things. Dante gave him a sharp look.

"Why don't you go back upstairs?" He suggested. Nathan didn't bother to argue. They weren't going to find anything useful in that room anyway. He nodded and left Dante in the basement. He'd given Byron too much time and he had cleared out, taking Maxie with him. So far, there was no sign of a trap but Nathan knew there had to be something. He thought back to his days with Byron and how often he had seen something exactly like this go down. Was he missing something important?

He closed his eyes and let a memory of one particular night take over. Byron had taken the wife of a local hood named Gadson and kept her holed up in a motel room while he waited for the hood to give in to his demands. That time it just happened to be a little extortion for some protection money. Byron was as bad as the crooks he arrested every once in a while. That night something had happened though. Before Nathan could work out a way to free the wife without getting caught, word had gotten back to Byron that Gadson had somehow learned where his wife was being kept and was on his way to get her. Without hesitating, Byron moved the wife but stayed in the motel room for the inevitable confrontation. Ultimately, Byron got what he wanted and the wife went back to her husband both a little worse for wear but alive.

Nathan opened his eyes still considering the memory. Was that it? What that what he was missing here? Byron knew that Nathan would find the cabin before Maxie's timer was up. Of course he would move her before Nathan got to her. It hit him so suddenly that it knocked his breath away momentarily. Byron was a creature of habit and had his own rule book. This was right out of it. Nathan was Gadson in this situation and Byron was still hanging around, waiting for Nathan to show.

Without another thought, Nathan bolted out the front door skidding on the icy path. He circled the house watching the trees for any sign of Byron. Somewhere in the distance he heard a muffled yell and immediately turned toward it. He took a hesitant step towards the noise, his gun drawn. A piercing scream tore through the quiet surrounding the cabin. Maxie. Without another thought, Nathan headed toward the scream ready to do whatever it took to get to her.