Lutz turned left onto Thirty-First Street with Kip closing in on our rear bumper. Our lights and sirens had been silenced several minutes earlier. South Wells was two blocks west of us, and we inched closer to the intersection.
“Right there.” I pointed at the set of squad cars parked four houses up.
Lutz slowed to a crawl and pulled in behind the last police car. The officers, with their elbows on the trunk of the first patrol car, were watching farther up the street through binoculars.
“What have we got?” Lutz asked.
“Commander.” Jefferson nodded. “The house on the left just before the next intersection is the home in question. We haven’t seen any movement but decided to hang back a good distance until you arrived.”
“Do we know the layout of the home? Doors, window locations, etcetera?”
“No, sir.”
Lutz tipped his head at Kip. “Take off that sports jacket and tie. Grab a clipboard from one of those squad cars and walk past the home. I want a count on every front- and side-facing door and window. Circle the block and then come back here from behind.”
“Got it.” Kip altered his appearance to look more casual, removed his gun, holster, and badge, and was handed a clipboard. He took off on foot.
“We need a heat-seeking drone. Who has one?”
“The precinct on Halstead does, Commander, and they’re only a few blocks away.”
“Get them on the horn and have that brought out here. I want the drone hovering above that house in under fifteen minutes. Hurry!”
Jefferson bolted to his car to make the call.
We watched as Kip slowed his pace near the house.
I whispered as I grabbed a set of binoculars. “Don’t make yourself conspicuous, just keep walking.” My phone vibrated in my pocket as I watched Kip pass the house and turn the corner. I let out a relieved breath and answered. It was Frank calling.
“Jesse, we have eyes on Richard Hill.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. According to Henry, he’s staring a hole through me, but I’m ignoring him.”
“Good. We’re at the house but erring on the side of caution. There’s no way to know if Richard has someone inside guarding Gina or not. The Halstead precinct is sending over their heat-seeking drone and operator, and he’ll be here in a matter of minutes. As soon as we breach the house and see if Gina is inside and safe, I’ll text you. That’s when you three will apprehend Hill. Be careful, though. There’s a lot of innocent people in subway stations and cars.”
“Roger that. We’ll wait for your okay and take him down only when it’s safe to do so.”
I clicked off the call and looked over my shoulder toward the sound at our backs. Kip was walking our way, and driving behind him was one of our police department’s SUVs. It had to be the officer with the drone. I nudged Lutz and tipped my head. “It’s showtime.”
As the officer set up the drone, we got the house’s details from Kip.
“There’s only the front door. No garage facing the street. A picture window is next to the door, the north side of the house has two windows, probably bedrooms, and the south side has a window, likely the kitchen, and a slider that goes out to a small concrete patio. There’s one more door that leads out to the parking space in the alley, and a small window to that door’s left, likely the bathroom. That’s it.”
“We’ll be heading south on either Wells or the alley, but let’s see what the drone shows before making a final decision. According to Frank, Hill is on the train. Our main concern now is to find out if Gina is inside and alone or if there’s more than one person who shows up on the heat sensor.” Lutz checked with the drone operator. “How much longer?”
“I’m sending it up now, so we should know something in less than a minute.”
The excitement was overwhelming. I wanted to get inside that house and, if Gina was there, make sure she was alive and okay. We needed to see the screen on the drone’s monitor glow red, hopefully in only one area of the home.
We crowded around the operator and watched the drone as it closed in on Richard’s house.
“Any second now.” The operator guided the drone over the house, barely skimming the roofline.
“There!” I pointed at a red figure centered on the screen. The shape was definitely human, and the person appeared to be sitting on the floor. “That has to be Gina. It looks like her arms are behind her back.”
Lutz agreed. “She’s got to be tied up, and look, her legs are pressed together too.” He turned to the operator. “Go over the entire house one more time. I need to know with one hundred percent certainty that there isn’t another person inside.”
The drone made another pass, and the operator confirmed it. “Only one person inside, sir, and possibly a pet. It’s small like a cat.”
“Okay, that’s good enough for me.” Lutz gave the order, and Jefferson grabbed the ram from the trunk of his car. We moved in and surrounded the house. Jefferson, Lutz, and I had the front door. Kip had the side door, and Tony and Officer Moore had the rear exit at the alley. On Lutz’s command, Jefferson hit the door with the ram, and we stormed in.
I saw Gina right away. She was lying in a fetal position on the floor between the living room and kitchen. Her hands were zip-tied to the wrought iron railing at her back, and her legs were bound at the ankles. Her knees were pulled up to her chest. Gina righted herself and jerked her head back and forth as she tried to dislodge the rag that filled her mouth. Tears sprang from her eyes when she realized it was me. I ran to her side while everyone else cleared the house. She was a mess, and it was obvious that Richard had done a number on her. Cuts and bruises covered her face. A deep purple lump the size of a golf ball protruded from her forehead, and both eyes were black and blue. Those were just her obvious injuries. I pulled the rags from her mouth, and she cried out.
“Hold still for a second while I cut those zip ties.” I pulled my penknife from my pocket and cut her restraints.
Gina threw her arms around my neck and cried. “Hold me.”
“I’ve got you kiddo, and you’re going to be fine.” I yelled out for Jefferson to call an ambulance while I helped Gina to the couch. “Give me just a second. I have to let Frank know the good news.” It was time to act, and I hoped Frank, Henry, and Shawn had planned Richard’s takedown. I sent a text that simply said, “We have Gina, and she’ll be okay, so apprehend that bastard, but do it safely.”
Ten minutes later, the EMTs had Gina loaded in the ambulance. I told Gina that Frank and I would check on her as soon as we could. I patted the EMT on the shoulder as he closed the rear doors. “She doesn’t have any family, so make sure she’s well taken care of.”
With a nod, he climbed in behind the wheel and drove away.