During his hour-long drive to the precinct, Lutz gave Frank a laundry list of things to do. “I need you to call the bullpen first and find out if anyone has talked to Finley yet about a connection between Jesse and Leon Stanley or his brother. Tell Kip and Tony to work on that while they wait for Henry and Shawn to show up. Talk to Norse and have him put together something to air on the news about Jesse. Also, tell Norse that a video attachment is in my email. Have him forward it to the tech department. We need the image of that man who picked up the Corolla enhanced to the best of their capabilities.” Lutz rubbed his left temple. “What else? Am I forgetting anything?”
“Asking for more officers to sit in front of Jesse’s house?” Hanna suggested.
“Yep, that too.” Lutz glanced through the rearview mirror. “Who is your cell phone provider, Hanna?”
After she gave him that information, Lutz told Frank to have one of the detectives get a warrant to have her service provider track her phone and notify their precinct the second it was turned on—if the perp turned it on at all. Because he was a cop, Jesse’s phone could be tracked by the police with the app installed on all their phones, but only if the phone was turned on.
“Go ahead, Mills, and make the call. Get everyone in the bullpen working on those tasks, and tell them we should be back in an hour.”
Frank dialed the bullpen and set his phone to Speaker so Lutz could join in on the conversation. “Tony, it’s Frank. We’re heading back, but I have a to-do list for you guys to work on until we get there.”
Disappointment sounded in Tony’s voice. “So no leads on Jesse’s whereabouts?”
“Sorry, buddy, but nothing has popped yet.”
Tony sighed. “This is getting pretty scary.”
Lutz cut in. “It is, but we all need to stay levelheaded.”
“Copy that, Boss.” Tony sucked in a breath that they heard through the phone lines. “Okay, I talked to Henry a half hour ago, and they should be back any minute as a matter of fact. He mentioned calling Finley, and I actually just got off the phone with him. Turns out, Leon was arrested in Cook County nine years back for disorderly conduct, but there’s nothing that shows he ever had contact with Jesse. That arrest wouldn’t go through our department or Narcotics either.”
“Damn it. Guess you can cross that off your list. Did you check out his brother?”
“Yep. Peter Stanley has a record, too, but he’s never been arrested in Cook County.”
“Okay, then write this down. We have other things that need to be done before we get back, and have Norse call my cell as soon as you hang up.”
Frank went through the list with Tony and ended the call. Minutes later, Lutz’s cell phone rang. “That’s got to be Norse.” Frank answered the call. “Detective Frank Mills speaking. Yep, and I’m putting you on Speaker, sir. Commander Lutz is driving but can tell you what he needs.”
“Stan, it’s Bob.”
“What can I do to help?”
“We need a warrant for Hanna’s cell phone provider so they can track it if it gets turned on.”
“Got it. What else?”
“Two more things. There’s a video attachment on an email to me from the rental car agency. It shows the man who picked up the Corolla, but the distance is too great to get anything off his face. I need you to forward it to Tech and see if there’s anything they can do with it.”
“Will do.”
“Also, we need a write-up with photos of Jesse ready to go. We’ll get it on the news today, and then I’ll conduct a press conference later. Let the media know.”
“Done.”
“Thanks, Stan. We should be back in forty-five minutes.” Lutz hung up. “Hanna, we’ll have to stop at the precinct for about a half hour before I drop you off at Jesse’s house. Once we get there, I want to make sure the officers are in place, have a word with them, and then walk the house with you. I assume you know the security code to get in.”
“I do since we’ve been spending weekends together.”
“And you will again. I’m confident of that.”
It was a few minutes after one when Lutz finally pulled into the precinct’s parking lot. “Home sweet home.”
Frank huffed. “Unfortunately, that’s true. I spend far more time here than I do at my own condo.”
“Okay, let’s see what’s gotten accomplished, and then I’ll drive you to Jesse’s house, Hanna.”
“Thanks, sir. Should we wait outside?”
“Nope, come on in. Bandit’s been here before, and I’m sure he enjoys the attention he gets from the guys in the bullpen. You can grab something from the cafeteria if you’d like, and then have a seat at Jesse’s desk. I won’t be long.”
The commander parted ways with Hanna and Frank in the hallway and met up with Norse in Lutz’s office. “Get the information to the TV stations?”
“Yep, and Debra gave it a proofread first. We included Jesse’s work bio, a photo from our website, where he was last seen, and the information on Hanna’s Explorer.”
“Good. Does Todd have the video from the rental agency’s parking lot?”
“He does but said it would be tough to enhance. The distance from the man to the camera is a good hundred feet.”
“Figured as much. I’ll touch base with him in a bit. Appreciate all the help, Stan, and I hope the guys weren’t a pain in the ass.”
He laughed. “All detectives are a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, especially the ones who find a way to go missing.” Lutz smacked the doorframe. “I’m going to take Hanna to Jesse’s house. His place has a good security system, and I’ll have Patrol stationed there until we get that kook off the street and Jesse safely back home.”
“Roger that. I’ll pack up my things, then, and get out of your hair. Good luck, Bob.”
With a nod, Lutz walked out. From the hallway, he heard barking coming from the bullpen. It made him laugh.
At least we have a few minutes with Bandit where everyone can take a breath and escape reality.
He walked in to see Kip throwing a tennis ball against the wall and Bandit catching it on the fly. A grin crossed Lutz’s face even though it was temporary. He sat on the corner of Jesse’s desk and called everyone to attention. Hanna got Bandit to calm down and sit.
“Okay, people, I need your attention. Hanna, Bandit, and I will be leaving in a few minutes. She’ll be staying at Jesse’s house until this is over—it’s the safest place—and there will be a police presence there. Has anyone heard rumors on the street or gotten information from their CIs?”
The room went silent.
“I’ll take that as a no. Any sightings of Josh Stevens or chatter of his whereabouts?”
Heads shook, and shoulders shrugged. Nobody had anything new to report.
“I’m going to need volunteers to man the phones if tips on Jesse start coming in. The first news airing should be at three o’clock.”
Henry and Tony said they’d handle that.
“Thanks, guys. Frank, I want you to come along with me. We have to get that canoe off the top of my car and put it in Jesse’s garage, and then you can help unload the trunk.”
“You bet.”
“Stay busy, guys. We’ll be back in under an hour.”