Murder in the Forest, Chapter 45
The team took a shy, grateful Courtney Cassidy back to the sheriff's office, stopping on the way for Hotchner to buy cheeseburgers and fries for everyone. Courtney hadn't had breakfast, and the Kellogg cereal bar that Blacklaws had given her from his snack stash in the SUV hadn't satisfied her. Everyone else was also famished.
At the sheriff's station, Knowles greeted them and had a notary public from a nearby bank witness Courtney's basic statement when she had written it out and copies were made.
"With this statement in hand, I'm issuing an all-points bulletin for Mason," said Knowles. "The sheriff called and said that he's called Judge Howe and that he's agreed to authorize a warrant."
"I thought that you had a warrant?" said a puzzled Courtney. "How could you raid that place where I was without one?"
"That was a search warrant," explained Rossi. "What we need now is an arrest warrant, based on your testimony of what happened and your certain recognition of the perpetrators. Hotch, shall I call Seattle and have a separate Federal warrant issued? Kidnapping For Profit? They did make a ransom demand, for future delivery."
"Already taken care of, Agent," said Phillip Gaines, the SAC from Seattle. "I called a Federal judge as soon as I knew that you had Miss Cassidy. No fear, if we find the SOB, we have plenty of authority to take him into custody."
Courtney looked at him, trying to recall who he was. "Well," she said. "Please be careful. He still has Melissa, and I got to be pretty good friends with her. We knew one another as high school cheerleaders too, but not like we got to know one another for the past week or so. She's really sweet and funny and smart. And her family wants her back as much as mine hopefully wants me." She sniffled. "At least, I hope they do, even after the things I did to avoid punishment and to stay alive." She reached for a Kleenex on John Knowles's desk and cried as Seaver and Callahan comforted her.
She looked up at Blacklaws in a few moments, sniffled again and asked, "Peter, will you drive me home soon? I'm tired and I want a real bath and to see my family. How much more official stuff do we need to do here?"
Blacklaws looked at Knowles and at Hotchner and Gaines. All three men agreed that Courtney could leave at any time and that any further testimony could wait until she was feeling more stable and had rested.
Blacklaws asked if Seaver could join them, and Hotchner nodded, to Gaines's raised eyebrows. Gaines studied Seaver carefully, flicking his gaze to her and back to Blacklaws. He sensed that something more than official teamwork was involved. Hotchner decided to enlighten him after the couple had departed.
Courtney had already called her family from the station and they expected her as soon as possible. Now, she called again and said that she was on the way home. She was thrilled to hear her sister's voice, that young lady having raced first to the family telephone.
"What about the media?" asked Undersheriff Knowles. "I can post a patrol car in front of the Cassidy residence and it might be a good idea. By the way, Mr. Gaines, the sheriff called. He's on his way in and suggests that you gentlemen from the Bureau might join him at a press conference here in about an hour. We want to announce Courtney's rescue and warn the public about Mason. He's presumed armed and dangerous and desperate, as well as probably having a hostage. He'll have to buy gas and other things, so the public will see him. We'll issue a four state wide special alert and I'll call Customs here and in Canada, and both the RCMP and the Vancouver and Victoria city police forces. "
Courtney looked puzzled as she took the pack of Kleenex tissue that Kate Callahan gave her from her purse, and a compact with a small mirror. "What's the RCMP?"
"Means Royal Canadian Mounted Police," answered Gaines. "They'll spread the word to Canadian Customs, and in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. I doubt if Mason can reach any provinces further east. If Mason crosses the border, they'll probably get him. And we'll alert the ferries that go up the coast to Alaska. He's on the run, but the odds are that we'll get him."
Courtney looked thoughtful. "Don't forget the southern border," she warned. "Those creeps told Melissa and me that they might sell us in Mexico, maybe for re-sale further south or in the Middle East. Yeah, I think he may head for Mexico instead of to Canada."
"What were they hoping to get for you and Melissa if they sold you to a Mexican?" asked Seaver as they left.
"They said maybe $100,000 each," Courtney replied. "And Mason will need money now, so I think he may have that in mind. But whatever he can get, Melissa is worth more. She's a terrific girl. I miss her."
Blacklaws nodded and opened the door to the SUV. Courtney started to sit beside him, but Seaver darted in and took that seat.
Courtney eyed them carefully and noted their embarrassed expressions. "Are you two like, together now?"
Blacklaws admitted that this was so, but said that if she really wanted to ride up front, the seat was wide enough for three.
"No," smiled the rescued beauty "Three is always a crowd in stuff like that. Well, congratulations, I guess. I should have known that a guy like Peter would already have a girlfriend."
They soon delivered her to her home, finding a protective sheriff's car with two deputies already there. They would defend the Cassidys from both Mason and the media.
To say that the Cassidy family reunion was joyful would be to court an accusation of gross understatement. Blacklaws accepted the thanks of the family, hoping that he could soon experience a similar scene at the Winters residence.