Ch. 19

Emma was aware of the time ticking by as they continued to search for the girls. They had until noon the next day to find them or prepare a trap for the kidnappers at Gideon Park. They started their search by the bakery, they didn't find anything out of ordinary. The clerk remembered seeing Tiana, she was a frequent buyer so there was no doubt it was her.

Their next stop was back to the Frat House. Half the day had gone and they were still working with crumbs. Killian had been driving most of the day and she was thankful for that. She was trying to piece together all of the clues they found. Things were still not making sense to her. No one at the party remembered seeing Lottie leave the party. The last time they remembered seeing her was when she was yelling at Naveen and she appeared to have been drunk and swaying. Someone had to see her or someone is lying. She hoped that maybe the jacket might lead them to some answers.

They pulled up in the parking lot outside of the frat house. Emma noticed that Milo was outside. "Killian, just pull over and I'll run up and ask him if he knows who the jacket belongs too." Said Emma.

She waved as she walked up towards the house. Milo walked to meet her. "Hey Emma. Any news?" he asked.

"Not yet, we are still working on it. I was hoping you might be able to help me." She said.

He sat back on his heals and nodded. "Sure, what can I do."

She pulled out her phone and showed him the picture of the jacket. "Do you know who owns this?" she asked.

"That's Al's jacket. He's Street Rat." Said Milo.

Emma raised her brow. "Oh ok. Is he here?" she asked.

Milo scratched behind his ear nervously. "He never came by today. Is he in trouble? Do you think he has something to do with this?" he asked.

Emma shook her head. "I don't know. It might just be a coincidence. Do you think there is any reason he would be involved?"

Milo frowned. "I don't know Al that well. He got the name Street Rat because he was mixed up with a nasty crew before he came here. He didn't seem like he would be violent or anything to me. He was really more of a prankster but I know he likes to gamble, just like Naveen."

Emma remembered the scene at Bachelor Party Arms. It seemed as though they were under the control of the guy who owned the penthouse. "Do you know the guy they work for at the apartments?" she asked.

Milo nodded. "He's a bad dude. His name is Sam, they refer to him as the Shadow man." He said.

"Shadow man?" asked Emma.

"Yeah, he seems to hide in the shadows, you know the kind of business that you wouldn't do in the day if you know what I mean." Said Milo.

"Like Gambling?" asked Emma.

"Yeah, gambling for sure. He took me and a few other guys for a lot of money in a game one night. I think he is also dealing drugs. But you didn't hear that from me." cautioned Milo.

Emma looked back to Killian and nodded. "Thanks Milo. I appreciate your help." Said Emma.

"Sure, no problem. Let us know if you hear anything." He said.

"You got it." Said Emma as she turned to get back to the car.

She hopped in, shut the door and pulled on her seatbelt. "Killian, the jacket belongs to Al. We need to get over to the apartments and pay our friends Al and Naveen another visit." She said.

"You got it." He said grinning as he revved the engine.

An even colder and darker place

Tiana woke up feeling drowsy. She opened her eyes and it was extremely dark. She realized she was no longer in the same place and she began to worry. "Lottie!" she called out. An echo sounded back at her.

"Ti." Responded a soft voice.

"Lottie, are you ok." She asked in a panic.

"Ti, where are you? I can't see you." She called.

Tiana felt around in front of her and crawled towards her friend's voice, her heart was pounding so loudly she swore she could hear it. The cool floor sounded back at her as she moved. "Lottie, don't stop talking. I'm trying to find you." She said in a shaky voice.

"I'm here, over here, over here Ti, please find me. My hands are tied." Said Lottie.

She moved swiftly to get to her friend. "I'm here, I'm here." She said relieved as she felt her friends leg in front of her.

"Ti, my hands are bound together. Can you help me?" she asked.

Tiana felt around until she found her friends bound wrists. "It feels like duct tape. Let me see if I can get it off." She said.

"Why weren't you bound, why just me?" asked Lottie.

Tiana fiercely felt to find the edge of the tape that was around her friend's wrists until she found the edge. "Ah, hold still Lottie, I'm going to try to get this off. I don't know why I wasn't bound." Said Tiana.

"I'm guessing they moved us after drugging our food." Whispered Lottie.

Tiana finally peeled the layer to get the tape moving. "Almost got this." She said roughly.

"Oh, thank goodness." Said Lottie after her friend freed her from bondage.

Tiana hugged her friend tightly. "I think you're right. I think they drugged us and moved us."

"Ti, I was so scared. I was calling you and calling you. You didn't answer and I thought I was alone." Said her friend squeezing tightly.

"I'm here Lottie, I'm here." She hugged.

"Its so cold and dark in here. Where do you think we are?" she asked.

Tiana tried to think but her head was still pounding. "I think we might be in a truck, or a trailer or maybe even a shipping container. It felt metal as I crawled here and listen to that echo." She said.

"Oh, Ti, I thought I lost you." She said.

"Was I silent long after you woke?" she asked softly.

She felt her friend quivering as she held her. "Yes, I was so scared. I was so happy to hear your voice. It was like an angel singing." She said.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Said Ti.

"Ti, I want to go home. I just want to go home." She whimpered.

"I know, Lottie. Me too." She said.

At the Firehouse

David was sitting at his desk reviewing the documents from the warehouse fires. The firehouse competition was going smoothly with the teams. They all seemed to be having fun and learning too. He was really proud of the new probies and how well they were doing.

He was so caught up that he was surprised when the phone rang.

"Hey Jim, did you get anything?" he asked.

Jim: The print search came back clean on the knife. Whoever did this is not in the system.

David hung his head and wiped his hand over his eyes in frustration. "Anything on the photo?" he asked.

Jim: The photo could have been printed anywhere. It looks like it was a digital print out. Any local pharmacy can make them.

"Hmm, that's disheartening." Said David.

Jim: What I do know is that the knife is brand new; it looks like it still had a little piece of the plastic around the hilt. I think someone bought this just to use as a threat.

"Given that the kid confessed to slashing Emma's tires and that he didn't know anything about the knife in the door, it has got to be someone else. I bet it is someone who knows the gang or and has seen them do it before. It was the exact same method. The photo, wow. I was hoping there would be a tie in of some kind." Said David.

Jim: I wouldn't be surprised if you are right about the ties to the gang.

"Thanks for working on this so quickly. I really appreciate the call Jim." Said David.

Jim: I only wish I had better news for you. Let me know if I can help.

David hung up the call and immediately dialed Emma to let her know it was a dead end.

"Hey, Emma. I just heard from Jim." Said David.

Emma: Please tell me you have something?

"Unfortunately, no. Jim said the knife was brand new, package fresh and the print was not in the system. He also said the photo was clean and likely printed from a digital capture. That means it could have been printed anywhere. Local pharmacies can print photos these days." Explained David.

Emma: That could be hundreds of places.

"I know, I'm sorry. Jim said he is happy to help if we find anything else." Said David.

Emma: Ok. We found out Street Rat is Al. We are heading over to the apartment complex now to question him. He has to know more than he is letting on.