While I took my break, I called Amber to tell her not to expect me home anytime soon. I would be fine with a warmed-up plate of leftovers later. We gathered in the conference room at eight thirty and waited for the results to come in from Tommy, who was still on the phone.
Maureen poured coffee into nine cups, and we all helped ourselves. Seconds later, her phone rang. She listened, spoke, then hung up and passed on the information. The West Allis PD said they hadn’t located Erik Smalley, but an APB had been put out on him.
“It’s going to be tough finding him since he doesn’t have a vehicle on file, and when a vehicle is necessary, they just steal one. A weasel like him can scurry in and out of the shadows easily, especially if he suspects somebody is tailing him.” Something popped into my head as soon as the words came out of my mouth. “We need to locate the closest bus stops to his house and put down anchors. It’s the best way to find him.”
“I agree,” Maureen said, “and—”
Tommy hung up and interrupted Maureen midsentence. “We have the connection! There was a fundraiser held on the fifth of May at Silver Shores for the new firehouse on the northeast side. The mayor was the guest of honor at the function, and the celebrity bartender was none other than Paul Lawrence.”
“Okay, you two need to rattle his cage right now. I know he’s distraught, but so are all the other families, and we have to find out what happened between them that night.”
I gulped down my coffee with intentions of leaving too. I had a suggestion to run by Taft, and I hoped she would okay it. “Maureen, back to the bus-shelter idea. I just looked on my phone, and there are two of them within three blocks of the duplex Erik lives in. Brandon spoke of taking the bus, but then they both ended up in a stolen car. I’m figuring that’s how most of them get around, either by bus or stolen vehicles. Just a few more ways to keep under the radar and make tracking them down hard on the cops. I’ll be heading north to go home anyway. I can sit on one of those shelters, and as long as they stay out of sight, a squad car can sit on the other. I know what Erik looks like, and in my personal car, I can get pretty close without raising a red flag.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t like the idea of you taking on that responsibility alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have the West Allis PD sitting on the other shelter only a few blocks away. I can let them know if I spot Erik, and if it makes you feel better, I’ll have them assist in the arrest.”
“Okay, let’s go that route. I’d really like to have that punk in custody tonight.”
“Hold up,” Renz said. “Why would Erik go back home? Don’t you think Lucas or Cole would have told him we were there earlier and took his windbreaker, and then the cops showed up later? Home is the last place he’d go, and that’s likely why he wasn’t there when the cops came back to arrest him.”
Renz had a point, and Erik Smalley was either roaming the streets or bunking up somewhere else, and we had no idea where that place might be.
“Then what about following the roommates?” I asked. “They could be party to all of this since they have the same police records that Erik does. Just because the charges were for rioting doesn’t mean they aren’t real criminals. Now that we have justifiable cause to follow Erik, there’s a good chance his roommates may lead us right to him.”
“That could work. I’ll have the PD bang on the door again to verify that at least one of them is at home. You can sit on the house, Jade, and if anything, they’ll be watching for a squad car planted outside. They won’t even notice you if they do leave.”
“Right, and if they hop on a bus, I’ll be right behind it until they get off. I’ll have whatever police district I’m in assist in following them once they’re on foot. They’ll lead us to either Erik or somebody else who might be part of that group. No matter what, somebody is going to do some talking tonight.”
Taft finally agreed. “Okay, that sounds like a plan. The rest of you start searching archives to see if anything newsworthy went down on that night last May.”