The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 15

Roger left the station that night feeling emotionally drained. The bad luck of having a CHP make a traffic stop at the open-air mall was almost too much to bear. McClendon did what he could to salvage the situation but could not risk being spotted by running a red light, not to mention the risk of getting into an accident. They tracked the van on traffic cameras as long as possible, but whoever was driving was playing it smart. He took several detours to get wherever he went, and the cameras eventually lost him.

They got a decent look at the driver, a young Hispanic male with a neatly trimmed, thin goatee. He wore a hard hat and sunglasses to help conceal as much of his features as possible, but it was more than they had before. Taylor sent out a description of the man to all available officers with orders to report any sightings but not approach. So far, nothing turned up.

The kidnappers were likely to select different drop sites this time around. They may have a backup spot chosen in case something like this happens. If not, they were out right now looking for one. That would greatly help the police since they would not be very familiar with the lay of the land or the best places to stay out of sight. He thought it was unlikely that professionals would be so careless in their planning, but there was always a chance.

Barnes' information didn't do much to help his mood either. He suspected there was more to what Erin Harper was saying; now he wondered just how deep this went. Given that there had been no response from the bank, he suspected someone there was trying to cover up what she did. Who hated Erin Harper enough to blackmail her and kidnap her husband?

As he got behind the wheel of his car, he tried to put the case out of his mind. The drive home was uneventful, but it still managed to provide a distraction from the case. Driving through town, he resisted the temptation to stop and get a burger. Instead, he opted to try his luck with the food in his refrigerator. Pulling into his parking spot, he hoped he didn't regret not stopping for a burger.

He walked into his sparsely decorated apartment, setting his keys in the usual spot. Tracing his familiar path to the refrigerator as planned, not much was found to excite his taste buds. Taylor inspected the sandwich meat he found in the bottom of the fridge for an expiration date. Failing to find one, he gave it the sniff test instead. The scent didn't knock him to the floor, so he decided eating would be OK. He made his sandwich and grabbed the last beer bottle out of its cardboard case.

Resigned to a night of channel surfing, he returned to the living area and sat his unopened beer next to a full bottle from last night. He sat his plate down and carried the bottle from last night to the kitchen sink. He poured the contents down the drain and tossed the bottle into the garbage can. Returning to the couch, he opened the new bottle and took a small drink.

Sitting back, he began to flip the channels. He could just as easily have scrolled through the guide on the cable system, but Taylor preferred to flip the channels one at a time instead. Eventually, he settled on the Braves-Giants game.

He took a bite of his sandwich and wished he put more mustard on it. The sandwich wasn't bad enough to cause him to get up and walk back into the kitchen for more mustard. Instead, he continued to eat it and wished for more mustard.

His phone sat next to the beer bottle, screen side up. Taylor sat down the plate with the last half of his sandwich and picked up his phone. He punched in his passcode, and the home screen appeared. It didn't take long to find Amber's number in his contacts. Holding the phone in his hand, Taylor considered if he should call her. At what point would Barnes consider it too soon to call after an impromptu date? Taylor Briefly considered calling Barnes to ask but quickly dismissed that idea.

He sat the phone back down beside him on the couch. Picking up the sandwich, he took another big bite of it. An incoming call quickly took his attention away from the sandwich. He swallowed that last bite too soon but still managed to get it down. Looking at the screen, he saw it was McClendon. "Hey, you got something?" Taylor asked.