Kidnapped (Book 1)

Faith Hanks

              Matt Hunter got a call about a body found of a little girl. His boss, Brett Ross, had called and needed him urgently. He believed that this killing was from the kidnapper. Matt got dressed in his uniform as quickly as he could. He was still terrified for Kelly, knowing this creep could be following her. It took everything he had not to lock her in the house with ten officers guarding the house, but he knew that she would never allow that. She was too stubborn. He knew she would be okay at school, or at least he hoped. Once he was fully equipped with his gun, taser, handcuffs and a small notebook, he got into his police charger and raced down to the Colorado Police station.

            Once he got there, there everyone was outside blocked by yellow crime scene tape. Officers were keeping people away from the scene, not wanting to contaminate the scene. Matt didn't know what to expect, Ross had only given him limited details over the phone. How does a killer place a dead body in front of a police station without getting caught? The man has some balls, that's all Matt had to say about him. The kidnapper was risky and it was hard to guess their next move. Matt got out of his car and walked over to the scene.

          "Thank god Matt, you're here." His boss said.

          "Have you been waiting on me? What's the situation?" Matt asked.

            "Come and look." He said, leading the way.

              Once they walked through the crowd of people outside the crime scene, he saw the body. The girl looked pretty young, maybe eleven or twelve years old. She had bright, red hair that was in a messed up braid. There was a bullet hole in the center of her forehead and her skin was pale white, stained with blood. The sight made Matt sick, because he thought about Kelly. What if this was her?

             "We didn't want to touch her until you got her because you're the detective on the case." Ross said.

           Matt ducked under the crime scene and walked up to the body to get a closer look. He slipped on a pair of latex gloves, not wanting to contaminate the crime scene. He turned his head, not wanting to look at her anymore at the scene before him. The poor girl was murdered cold blood, left out for display. The girl had her whole life ahead of her and now she was dead. He didn't want to have to tell the parents of this child that she is dead. That's the worst news a parent could ever hear.

         "Do we know who is she?" Matt asked.

          "It's Hanks' daughter." He said.

            Matt was stunned. Officer Hanks was an amazing police officer who had been with the force for many years. Matt had known that her daughter had been taken but didn't put the clues together. Now looking at the girl, she looked just like her mother. Matt remembered how devastated Hanks was when she discovered her daughter missing.

          "Hank found her own daughter this morning outside the station." He said frowning.

           "This is our guy. It has to be." Matt said.

              He examined the body and a piece of paper fell out from her shirt. His eyes widened as he stared at the note. The kidnapper actually left a note. Maybe this could lead to finding the rest of the girls. Matt's heart started to race; this was the first clue the police had gotten.

           "I'm finished, for now, the coroner can take the body now." He said, then turned to Ross and said, "I found a letter in her shirt."

            Matt watched as the coroner started to examine the body and get it ready for transpiration to the morgue. Ross and Matt walked away from the scene and just as Matt was about to read the letter out loud, Officer Hanks approached the men in a hurry. Her eyes were bloodshot and her eyes were puffy and red. Hanks had always been a powerful police officer, never allowing emotions to take over in the line of duty. Matt could see the heartbroken woman, terrified and hysterical, which he never thought he would see.