. . . .

I sat on the couch beside Sally, gripping one of her hands in mine. The poor girl was a wreck and working her way through an entire travel pack of tissues.

Officers milled around the apartment, speaking in hushed tones as they searched for evidence to point them in the man’s direction. Jordan had led an officer around back to explain our part.

Chamberlin stepped through the open front door. The expression on his face when he saw me on the couch was hard to read, but there may have been a sliver of exasperation.

The man had known me for half a day, and I was already on his last, sleep-deprived nerve.

He motioned for me to join him, and I had a feeling I was about to be scolded for interfering or trespassing or some other lecture-worthy offense. I released Sally’s hand and rose to meet the detective by the front door.

He scratched at the bristles on his chin. “While I appreciate you helping that young lady over there, you are not a cop, and you walked into a potentially dangerous situation.”

“Actually, we sorta fell into it. Through the hole where the window used to . . .” I trailed off when he stared at me with an unamused expression. I cleared my throat and folded my arms. “Sorry if we complicated anything.”

“We can work around it this time. But it’s best if civilians leave the police work to the police, simply because we’re better equipped to handle it. Your best plan of action in situations like this is to call 911 and wait somewhere far from danger.”

“Tried that,” Jordan said as he returned.

I rolled my eyes. There was zero chance I would leave an innocent person bound and gagged in terror for another ten or fifteen minutes until the official help arrived.

“I see she’s not easily persuaded,” Chamberlin replied.

“Nope. If there’s even a one percent chance she can save someone in distress, she’ll take it.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing I’m learning what to expect now, since I’m sure our paths will cross in the future,” Chamberlin said, and I had no doubt he was dreading the day our paths crossed again.

“How was he even able to get in through the alley? Wasn’t forensics collecting evidence from where Cami was dumped?” Jordan asked.

“They finished up about thirty minutes before this happened. More than likely, he was waiting for them to clear out so he could find a way in.”

“Hope had nothing to do with this. She was still at the hospital when he broke in,” I pointed out.

“I know. The officer posted on Ms. Chen’s room filled me in on her upsetting phone call and abrupt exit. He thought it was odd that she left, since she’d told him a few minutes before that she planned to stay until Ms. Chen regained consciousness, which, as you know, didn’t happen until after nine p.m.”

“We’re on the same page now, right? Hope is a victim, not an accomplice,” I said.

“With the abduction of her son and the phone call that rattled her, it’s clear this man is pulling the strings,” Chamberlin said.

I narrowed my eyes at his choice of words. That wasn’t the same thing as “she’s innocent.” He was still clinging to his suspicion that she was involved with the kidnapper.

“Can you tell where the call came from?” Jordan asked.

“It originated from the cell towers in this area, and we were able to track Ms. Chen’s phone here, but it hasn’t been—”

“Detective.” A male officer stepped up to the doorway without entering the house and held up an evidence bag with a glittery cell phone in the bottom. “Found it in the dumpster around back.”

Chamberlin grimaced and nodded his thanks. “I suspected as much. He took the boy, made the call, and dumped the phone.”

“What are you gonna do about Tyler?” I asked.

“An AMBER Alert has already been issued, but if the information passed along to me from the officer you spoke with is accurate, then the child’s been missing going on five hours. Finding him won’t be easy.”

“The kidnapper probably used the van. Are you guys still searching for it?” I asked.

“It’s been located. Forensics is scouring it for evidence now. If the boy was in there, we’ll find something. There’s no way he had time to clean it before he dumped it.”

“Where did he dump it?”

Chamberlin stared at me, visibly debating how much he was willing to share. “A patrol officer located it in the driveway of an off-the-market rental property. No one appears to be in the house, so we’re reaching out to the property owners for permission to search the premises.”

Permission? A child had been abducted, and they were waiting around for someone to say they could go in?

“What’s the address?” I asked, as innocently as I could manage.

The first hint of a smile curved Chamberlin’s lips. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. You might drive over there and accidentally fall through another window.”

Jordan tried to hide his smile.

“I appreciate the information you’ve both provided. I’ll follow up if I have questions. You two are free to head home and get some sleep.”

Chamberlin walked over to the couch and sat beside Sally, pulling a travel pouch of tissues from inside his jacket. He offered them to her, and she accepted them with a shaky hand as she crumpled her last tissue in her fist.

I didn’t agree with Chamberlin’s assumptions about Hope, but at least he was kind and patient. Hopefully, he was as good at discovering the truth and solving cases as Marx was.