He stood back in front of the bulletin board, looking at all the places Truman owned. He owned several places in town, not all in his actual name, but it was interesting considering he lived out of the hotel. If he'd thought to do this when she'd been taken a few days ago he probably could have narrowed it down to the one nearest the hospital. Of course, he hadn't, and as a result they were on day three of her being missing. He was an idiot.
She could be anywhere. If she was even still in town. There was no real identifying feature from the photos. The first was taken against a white wall, the second on a white sheet. Nothing that would narrow it down.
He hated what he was about to do. But he already knew he'd do it, because it had been too long. He heard the hushed tones that were being used in the squad room. He saw the looks all the officers were giving him.
"and your relationship is-"
"Is what?"
"It's the worst kept secret in the building"
He guessed Hugh was right on that front. He'd thought they'd kept it low key, but if the telling glances and hushed tones were to be believed, it was a miracle IA hadn't already stepped in. Add to that, she'd been gone for over 48 hours, and that meant her odds of being found alive were going down by the hour.
He dialed.
He'd use every resource he had before he'd let her die because of him.
"Hello?" he heard on the line.
"We need to meet"
"I'm a little busy at the moment".
"You're with Truman?" he'd thought he'd recognized Blair's tone
"That's right" she used that half sing-song, half no-nonsense tone. He supposed it would have been effective on an unwanted caller.
"I'll be at the station as soon as you're free and clear"
"Thank you very much" she said and he heard the click of her hang up.
Now he just had to sit and wait. Since Clint had stormed off, he'd been wondering what the news had been saying. He usually ignored it in situations like this, because he couldn't control what they said, but if they were talking about Natalie it felt like he should know. He turned on the small tv in his office. It was a minute watching the weather before they cut back to the news.
"More bad news for the Llanview Police Department as the search for heiress Natalie Buchanan continues. You may remember earlier this summer that Commissioner Bo Buchanan was released from his position under suspicion of framing Todd Manning for murder. Of course, that the missing heiress is the niece of the former commissioner.
Sources from inside the police department have shared with us that it is believed the kidnapping of Natalie Buchanan is related to a bigger case, and ransom notes directed at acting commissioner John McBain insinuate that the kidnapper could face charges including murder in the first and murder in the second. Adding to the interest of this case is that heiress Natalie Buchanan and acting commissioner John McBain have been in a long-standing relationship. Sources speculate on acting commissioner McBain's ability to navigate these cases objectively, as he is personally connected to both the murder case and obviously, Ms. Buchanan's kidnapping. We'll work to keep you updated as the case develops"
Before the station cut to commercial, they put up a picture he'd entirely forgotten about. Tabloid reporters had been staked outside of the Buchanan fourth of July party. He hadn't wanted to go, he'd wanted to work through the day, but he'd lost that fight.
"C'mon" she pouted.
"I don't know Natalie, it's your family party, I don't want to-"
"But I want you to" she said, "besides, Bo'll be there. You like him"
"Yeah, but we were friends before – "
"Before what?" she said, "Are you nervous about being around my family now that we're together?"
"I'm just not good at being in a relationship, and I don't want to disappoint – "
"Disappoint who?"
He paused. He wasn't sure who he was afraid of disappointing. He paused for a second to think about it.
"If I think about it, I guess, I want to be everything you want me to be"
She took a breath. He was such a hard head sometimes.
"John" she said, "You don't have to impress anyone there. It's not their fault but, you know, I've made my own choices since I could talk, it doesn't really matter to me that they approve or not" she said, "and I just want you to be there"
He sighed, "Okay" he said, "If that's what you want"
"Well, I hope you have fun, too" she said, "there'll be fireworks"
"Fireworks?"
"You're surprised?"
"I guess not" he said, "alright, I really got to get going, you coming or do you have class today?"
"It's the fourth, no classes"
"Right" he said, "coffee on me?"
"Music to my ears" she smiled.
He ignored the feeling in his chest, like he often did, when he did something that made her happy. Or the feeling that came when she smiled at him. He liked the feeling, but he didn't think there was any point in dwelling on it. He knew the feeling came from her, from being around her, but he'd lost her before, and he wasn't sure he could stop himself from losing her again. He'd lost her for lying, and he knew if he had to, he'd do it again. If it meant her happiness, if meant her safety-
There was no point in dwelling on it.
A few hours later, the day had slipped away from him, as days spent working on his father's murder often did, and he was interrupted by a knock on his office door, followed by the door opening. He got ready to yell at the intruder, but when he looked up his breath got taken away instead.
Natalie walked in and shut the door behind her. Her dress was blue, not quite the same blue of her eyes, but it did make her eyes and her hair stand out. It was both flowy and clung to her curves, it was low cut and stopped mid-thigh, which was enough skin showing to make him forget about the file in front of him.
"Hey" she said.
"Hey" he said, walking around to the front of his desk, "you look pretty"
"Thanks" she said, "it was slow at the desk today, I snuck out a little early to change"
"Change for what?"
"You forgot already?" she asked, "It's the fourth" she paused, "Of July" she paused again, still getting a blank look from him, "you said you'd go to the Buchanan party with me"
"Right" he said, "I'm sorry, you know I'm not good at this"
"We also talked about that this morning" she said.
"Yeah" he said, "Am I dressed okay?"
She laughed, "since when have you ever worried about that?"
"Never" he said, smirking.
"You ready to call it quits for the night?"
"There's going to beer at this shindig?"
"Yeah" she said, "there will"
"Paparazzi?"
"Who am I, Paris Hilton? Is that a real question?"
"C'mon, it's a valid question"
"You know I avoid those things"
"Alright, let's go"
On the drive over, John had the radio on jazz as they often did, they enjoyed themselves listening and relaxing. As they got to the bridge onto the Buchanan property, they saw the extra cars parked in the driveway. They both groaned as reality sunk in.
"I'm sorry" she said.
"You didn't know" he said, "besides, I'm sure it's not us they're after"
"So you're still good?" she asked.
One more out. She was so accommodating for him. He knew he could take her up on it, but he also knew this would make her really happy.
"I was promised beer" he said.
She smiled, "thanks again"
He turned the TV off. He fought the urge to throw the remote, but the last thing he wanted was for the sources inside the station to see any more of him falling apart. He rubbed his face. He picked up his phone.
"Buchanan" he heard on the other end.
"I watched the news"
"John, why'd you do that?" Bo asked.
"I hate the way they paint her, like she's just a pawn in a game I'm playing"
"They're just trying to make it a story, make it interesting, you know that, it's not-"
"The news, they said they had sources inside the station"
"They always say that"
"So it isn't true?"
"There's no way to know that for sure, you know that"
"If I find them, can I fire them?"
"John, you're going off the rails"
He took a beat. He was right.
"Yeah" he said, "Sorry Bo"
"Don't apologize to me, you need someone to talk you down, I'm the person you call right now. You're doing just fine"
"That's too kind" he said, "We both know if Natalie answered this call, she'd have some choice words for me acting like this"
"Yeah, but that's Natalie" Bo said, "and she knows how to reel you back in"
"Yeah, that's Natalie"
"You'll get her back, John" he said, "Listen, I'm at Pa's room, you okay?"
"As okay as I'm going to be"
"If you need anything-"
"Yeah, I know" he said, "Good luck over there, Bo"
It was a few minutes later when he heard the high heels coming in his office. Quickly, they both shut all the doors and drew the blinds.
"I got here as soon as I could" Blair said, "How you holding up?"
"Truthfully, I'm getting a little sick of answering that question"
"Yeah, I guess, I should have figured that out" she said, "so far as I can tell, nothing's changed with Spencer"
"Yeah, well, he's a good liar" he said.
"Yeah" she agreed, looking down.
"Look" he said, "I know I'm coming off rough, I'm sorry for that, I know you're putting yourself on the line, I know it's real dangerous"
"Hey" she cut him off, "I'm in this for the long haul, I want Spencer to go down for framing Todd so I can get back to my family" she said, "and for the record, the way you're acting now is not so different from the way you normally act"
He sighed, "Thanks" he said, "I want you to take a look at something" he motioned to the bulletin board, "Natalie was last seen at the hospital" he pointed at the red pin, "That was three days ago. The white pins are all the properties Truman owns around town" he said, "Now, obviously we can rule out the Palace" he said pointing at the clear pin, "Do you recognize any of these places?"
She looked at the map, "John, I didn't know he owned any property around town. I mean, he rents a room at the Palace, why would he do that if he owned houses?"
"Not all of them are in his name, but they're all his"
"Do you think he was prepared for a situation like this?" she said, afraid of the answer.
"I don't know" he said. "I think he's got to have Natalie in one of these places"
"I'm sorry, John I don't recognize any of these" she said, getting closer to the map, "I mean this one is on the mountain, he's never mentioned going up there. This one is close to La Boulie and I've never noticed him in that neighborhood-"
"Do you think you'd be able to put a bug on him?"
"How would I do that?" she asked.
"I would give you a bug, you would put the sticky side on his phone or his car"
"And then?"
"It would update my computer on his location any time I open the program"
"Why can't you just stake out these locations?"
"That's Plan B" he said, "but Truman's coming off the rails, I can't put my guys in danger for something so flimsy"
"But you will if I say no?"
"I'm not trying to put it all on you, but the walls are talking about me and Natalie. I make one call like that, IA's going to come knocking"
"Okay" Blair said, "I'll do it"
John nodded, "Thank you" he said, and he quickly went to his desk and handed her a bug. "Peel the paper, stick it where you can"
Blair nodded, putting the small bug in her purse. "Did the search warrant come through on his safe deposit box?"
"Umm, last I checked, Hughes was waiting on an answer"
Blair nodded, "So Natalie's been missing for three days, huh?"
"Yeah" he said.
"Have you eaten or slept since then?"
"Don't worry about me"
"It's not just you, you know. This whole case, the whole reason I'm here talking to you is to put my family back together. If you can't take care of yourself, how can you handle such a big case?"
"You know, that was basically what Natalie said to me right before she slammed the door in my face" he said, looking down.
"She's a smart lady, that Natalie" Blair said, "you should listen to her"
"Yeah, I should" he said, "but I can't listen to her if she's not here"
"You'll find her"
"Hey, be careful. I talked to Truman yesterday – he's got a mean side"
"Yeah" she said, "I got this"
"Text me when it's done. I want to track him as often as I can" he said, "and uh, in case I have to say this, this is off the record"
Blair nodded before grabbing her purse and leaving.
Quietly, she left out the side door. John took a breath and re-opened the office door to the squad room and adjusted his blinds. Now he had to wait.