Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Four: The First Break

Jadea

I settled down on the couch with Aidan and Anika tucked safely against me where they promptly fell asleep. Garret and Blade sat down at my feet. Mrs. Lindsay had made a fresh batch of tea and we all settled down in the living room.

"Can you tell us what happened, Mrs. Lindsay," Sargent Moore encouraged once we were all settled. He sat in one of the single chairs across from the couch with his notepad in hand.

She nodded. "Adam dropped off the little darlings around noon. He had bought a ticket to see the final show for Knight Necromancers." Her gaze held mine as she told us this. My heart beat just a little faster. Adam had bought a ticket? He had intended to see us? "From what I understood, he was going to talk to you afterwards," she nodded to me. "After he dropped off the littles, he was supposed to go home and get ready and then leave early afternoon to get to the bay area in time for the show. Sometime, just after sundown, my perimeter alarm went off. I wasn't expecting any visitors, so it was initially suspicious. When I looked to see which alarm had been tripped, I realized we were in danger when it was the back two sensors. I rushed the children upstairs and got us all settled into the hiding space just in time. We heard them walking around, and talking. There were several of them, but I couldn't identify them."

"Do you have any video surveillance systems?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"I can still pull the surveillance systems from nearby houses and see if they picked up anything," Blade suggested.

"We should do that." I agreed, even though I was pretty sure we wouldn't see anything from them. We would have better luck in the city. But it didn't hurt. "Anything yet, Briar?" I asked.

"Not yet. It's just starting to come up online. Hopefully I'll have an answer soon."

"You did a great job," I told Mrs. Lindsay. "Your quick actions saved you and the children."

"Thank you Jadea," she smiled half heartedly. "What about... Adam?" I could hear the hesitancy and fear in her voice.

"From what I know, he didn't show up at the concert," I told her. "I received a call during the after party from the perpetrators, but they didn't give any evidence one way or another if Adam is alive or not. We do know that Adam's apartment was broken into because a call was placed from a different resident stating they saw the door was open. They thought someone broke in. Sargent Moore already stopped by, and there was no one in the residence. We will be leaving soon to check it out and, hopefully, gain a few leads there. We at least have a rough timeline now of when things happened."

"I just wish I could have done more," Mrs. Lindsay's voice was small.

"You did everything you could and more, Mrs. Lindsay." I turned to look back at Sargent Moore. "I want you to personally see to their safety until I can send my own people to collect them. They will not leave your side, do I make myself clear?" I told Sargent Moore.

He nodded. "I will keep them with me at the precinct. We will not go anywhere else. That way, I can be of use to you and your search from the precinct as well. I can use my resources there and send officers out if need be."

"I greatly appreciate that."

"Jay," Briar's voice was small in my mind. Both Garret and Blade shifted at her tone. I knew I wasn't going to like what she was going to say. Garret leaned into my leg. Mrs. Lindsay and Sargent Moore noticed the slight shift and looked up at me curiously, waiting.

"What did you find, Briar?"

"His signal is still on. It's near Fresno, in the middle of nowhere. There are no roads nearby. There are no structures either. The canal is the closest thing. I am assuming whoever took Adam is following them somehow. His phone could have been chucked. Or..."

Or he could be out in the middle of a field dead. While I didn't believe he was dead, I couldn't rule out the possibility. And the unknown was what was slowly killing me inside.

"What do you want to do?" Garret asked.

"We have their scents from here." Blade said. "We would be able to verify if it is them or not."

Possibly. There could be multiple packs working together. But if Adam was out there, alone, and there was a chance he was still alive, we needed to get there now.

"Derrick, Briar, you will go to Adam's house. Scope it out. See if you can identify any of the scents there. If they are the same, or different, and if the attackers left any clues or evidence behind to help us identify them. Garret, Blade. You're with me. We will need the exact location, Briar."

As she was telling Blade the coordinates, I looked up at Mrs. Lindsay urgently. "Please go collect your emergency pack, Mrs. Lindsay and anything else you need. You will not be returning for a while. I will be sending you, along with Aidan and Anika, to stay with my father's pack within the next twenty four hours. You have fifteen minutes to gather what you need. If, after you leave, there is something you need from your house, please let my father know and he will contact me."

She nodded silently and was in motion in the next instant, disappearing back upstairs.

"Sargent Moore, I will need you to put a missing person's announcement out for Adam. It will need to cover the entire state, and possibly into Nevada and Arizona. Briar and Derrick will meet you back at Adam's apartment where you can get a picture of him. They will also help you pack some clothes and items for the children because they, too, will be going to stay with my father."

Before Sargent Moore could argue, Mrs. Lindsay poked her head in. "I have a note from Adam stating that I am the next legal guardian if something were to happen."

"But what about Adam's sister?" Sargent Moore asked.

"He put them into my custody first because he was afraid of something like this happening. He knew I would be able to keep his children and his sister safe based on the situation. I have the documents and the legal paperwork if you need it."

He relented. "No, I believe you." He turned back to me. "Where are you going?"

"I'm following up on another lead." I stated, nodding to Blade. He shifted and grabbed the pair of shorts in the to go pack. He picked up Anika while I picked up Aidan. "We will see you to your cruiser." I said to Sargent Moore. As we followed him out, I continued, "Also, have someone collect any and all video surveillance within a five mile radius of Adam's apartment."

"Jadea, that's going to be difficult to do. Five miles is a bit... Extensive."

"Figure it out, Sargent Moore. I'm relying on you." I stated as we filed out of the house.

"What are you looking for?"

"Anything out of the ordinary. A stray pack of dogs. Shady looking activity. Out of place people or cars," I listed off as we got Anika and Aidan settled into the back seat of the cruiser. "Make sure to make copies. I will want them sent over to me ASAP."

His sigh was heavy. Sending me the video surveillance was against protocol, especially in an ongoing, active case. "I will do my best."

"Thank you," I stated honestly, catching and holding his gaze over the top of the vehicle. "I appreciate your cooperation and willingness to help us."

"Of course."

While we were waiting for Mrs. Lindsay, I reached back out to my pack. Blade and I stuffed our clothes back into the doggie back pack and shifted once more.

"Briar and Derrick, follow them not only to the house, but to the precinct. Even if you aren't done clearing the house, just make sure they are seen safely to their destination." I couldn't lose them. If Adam came out of it alive, I didn't want to be the one responsible for telling him his children were dead. It would kill both of us if that happened.

"We will make sure they are safe, Jay."

"Let me know what you find." I told them.

"Of course!" Derrick said. "We've got this. Go."

I nodded to Garret and Blade and we took off south towards Fresno.

I prayed harder than I ever had before that it was just his phone.

Halfway to our destination, Briar and Derrick reconnected with us. "The same scents are here that were at Mrs. Lindsay's. It's the same pack. From what we can determine there were seven of them."

Not a terribly large pack. At least from scent alone. But that didn't mean there weren't more.

"Do you recognize any of them?" I asked hopefully.

"No. And the place is clean. They didn't leave anything behind. No notes. No hidden messages. They only left the door open."

So odd.

"Okay, thank you."

"We have packed bags for Aidan and Anika and we are now on our way over to the precinct. When they are settled in, we will let you know so you can give us our next set of orders."

"I'll tell you now what I want you to do," I interrupted. "Start gathering the surveillance videos from around Mrs. Lindsay's area. Follow the main road, see if you can't identify the unknown vehicle that was in Mrs. Lindsay's driveway. I'm sure it is connected to the pack who's taken Adam."

"Will do. We will let you know what we find out."

I took a moment and breathed. I wanted to freak out. I wanted to panic. But, Adam needed me. His children needed me to stay calm, cool and collected.

"You're doing a great job, Jadea," Garret said gently into my mind.

It really didn't feel like it, but I knew I was doing what I could with the information and resources I was given.

We cut across the terrain and followed the canal down towards Fresno area. We picked up on the wolves scents and Adam's too. Some of the tension in my chest eased.

"They have to be on some kind of quad or bike," Blade said. "Otherwise, how would they be transporting Adam?" This was a good point. Adam was a mortal. He wouldn't be able to cover the distance like they could. They had to be using some kind of small, off road vehicle. The tracks we had seen weren’t large enough to be a jeep or other off road car.

"Briar."

"Jay?"

"Tell Sargent Moore to make a list of dealers who sell quads and dirt bikes. I want a list of everyone who could have bought an off road vehicle in the past week. Maybe a name we recognize will pop up."

"On it!"

"We are here Jadea," Blade announced softly.

Luckily it was a clear night with the moon shining bright on the flat landscape. The signal hadn't been far from the canal. If Adam had been laying dead out in the open—or if a freshly dug grave had been made—we would have seen him.

"There are a lot of footprints," Garret stated, his nose to the ground, pointing out the wolf and shoe prints.

"There's tire marks too. Looks more like a quad," Blade added.

"Let Briar know," I ordered, stepping away from the canal to search for the phone. It only took a few minutes to find it. Some relief washed through me, but I was still strung tight because he wasn't any closer to being found.

"Adam was still with them when they left here," Blade announced as he trotted further down the canal.

"There's some drops of blood. And indications of a scuffle. Perhaps they didn't know Adam had his phone until this point?"

I nodded at Garret's statement. He must have been able to keep his phone hidden on his person somewhere. Maybe, he had been able to get some pictures, or a recording?

"I have a second phone over here, closer to the canal where the fight was at. It's smashed." Blade announced.

Hmm...I shifted and picked up the phone. I hacked into it and opened his pictures. To my disappointment, there was nothing useful there. But when I went to his recordings, I found what I had been looking for.

"Boys, we've got our first break. There's a recording from earlier today." It was time stamped only hours earlier. We weren't too far behind them. This was good. This would be useful.

Good job vanilla! I said out into the space surrounding me, wishing I could kiss him for this bread crumb. I was so proud of him for having the foresight to do this. To give us even this small bit to work with.