Derek sent a uniformed patrol to confirm the Chief Magistrate had, in fact, been abducted, or to at least confirm she wasn’t home. When they reported back to him that no-one was answering the door and that the Chief Magistrate’s car was not in her parking spot, he told them to secure her residence as a crime scene and arranged for a team of crime scene investigators to attend the premises to see what they could find.
Then, he rang Protective Services to see if the Chief Magistrate was one of the state officials whose homes they monitored.
‘She’s on our list, Inspector,’ said the officer who’d answered the phone at Protective Services.
‘Any record of an issue with her system last night?’
‘Give me a minute.’
Derek heard the sounds of a keyboard being used.
‘Nothing out of the ordinary,
