Hostage

6

Retro put on a pair of gloves and grabbed an evidence bag. He climbed out of his cruiser, walked over to the sock, crouched down and picked it up. It was damp and there was a strong chemical smell rising from it.

He dropped the sock into the bag, squeezed the air out and closed the plastic zipper. He felt a little lightheaded when he stood up. Like he might pass out. He took a few deep breaths, and the sensation finally faded.

That was when he noticed the rusty chain on the gate leading into the plant. He tossed the sock into the back seat with the can of spray paint he’d bagged earlier, walked over to the gate to take a closer look. The chain was dangling loosely, and the padlock that had been securing it was on the ground.

The lock hadn’t been opened with a key.

It had been cut.

Retro called Ashley on his cell.

“Where are you?” she said.

“Old Slaughterhouse Road. At the gate to the meat processing plant.”

He told her about the sock he’d found, and about the breached entranceway.

“Don’t go in there by yourself,” she said. “Wait for backup. A team from the state police is on the way. I’ll call their dispatcher and have a couple of units sent-”

“Vaughan might be dead by the time they get here,” Retro said. “I need to go in and check it out. I worked at the plant three summers in a row when I was a teenager. I know all the buildings, and I know the layout of the interior spaces.”

“Negative. You need to wait.”

Retro didn’t have time to argue with her. He clicked off and clipped his phone back onto his belt. It rang a few seconds later, but he didn’t answer it. Vaughan was his friend, and her life was at stake, and even though his career as a police officer would be over in just a few days, nothing was going to stop him from trying to rescue her.

He pulled his pistol and held it toward the ground as he opened the gate and walked onto the property.