Page 54 of Heart Me Up
“Yes, sir.” Everything in me wanted to jump out of the car and run directly to Craig’s house, but that would probably get Malcolm shot.
My hands were shaking as I pulled up Craig’s name on my phone. It didn’t even ring.
“It went to voicemail,” I told Amy, my voice tight.
She shot me a quick glance, then focused back on the road. “That doesn’t mean anything. He might be in a meeting. Call the pet resort.”
Oh, right. Good idea.Fuck, get your brain in the game, Walkoviac. This was why they didn’t let you work on any cases where your loved ones were involved. Not that Craig was one of my loved ones… shit.Think about it later.
I found the pet resort’s website and clicked on the link to call. Some girl I didn’t know answered.
“Hi, can I speak to Craig Thomas? Please tell him it’s Foster Walkoviac calling.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “Craig left for the day a little while ago. Do you want to leave him a voicemail?”
I reached out to grip Amy’s shoulder. “Um, is Greg available? This is pretty urgent.”
“I’ll check. Do you mind holding?” I assured her I did not, when in fact I really, reallydidmind holding. Please let Craig have gone somewhere, anywhere, besides home.
“He’s not there?” Amy asked.
“No.” I put the phone on speaker. Amy patted the hand I’d left on her shoulder. We were only a few minutes from Craig’s neighborhood.
“Foster?” Greg had picked up the call. “What’s going on?”
“Greg, where did Craig go?” My voice was clipped, but I couldn’t be bothered with courtesy right now.
“Why do you need to know?” Greg’s voice was cautious. Fuck, I probably sounded like I was some sort of stalker boyfriend.
“Sorry. There was a 911 call regarding his house. I can’t get him on the phone.”
Greg sucked in a breath. “He went home to meet with Corrie and your neighbor. We didn’t want Corrie to come to the pet resort.”
“Fuck. Okay, thanks. I have to go.”
“Foster, wait—”
I hung up and called Captain Driscoll to let him know we had additional hostages besides just Malcolm, and Corrie was a potential perpetrator.
My guts were in a knot by the time Amy turned onto the block that backed up to Craig’s house. She pulled over and parked behind a patrol cruiser. Officer Gallegos was directing the other cops who’d just arrived, so we jogged over to get an update.
She greeted us, but before we could ask anything, her radio went off.
“Two civilians have left the house through the front door.” Amy and I didn’t wait for any more updates. I could hear Gallegos ordering the other officers to tighten the perimeter around the house as we ran toward Craig’s street.
As soon as we turned the corner, I saw Silvia and Corrie hugging Artie. They looked like they were okay, but what about Craig and Malcolm?
Patrol cars and an ambulance pulled up along the street in front of Craig’s house. Artie handed Silvia and Corrie over to the paramedics and jogged over to intercept me and Amy.
“Craig and Malcolm are okay,” he called. “They’re clearing the house, then you can go in.”
I stopped running and leaned over to put my hands on my knees. “Thank fuck,” I panted. I was almost dizzy with relief.
“What happened?” Amy asked.
“According to Silvia and Corrie, it was some guy from the cartel or whatever it was that your buddy Malcolm helped take down.”
I started to move toward the house, but Carlos and the captain showed up. Carlos was grinning. “Come on! Officer Meecham texted me photos of what Craig and your buddy Malcolm did to the perp. I told him not to undo anything til we got to see it in person.”
