Millar jumped into Penner’s car and they pulled out of the parking garage, Grant following in his car. ‘Dispatch, this is Detective Millar with Detective Penner, we’re en route to the latest scene, followed by Constable Grant.’
‘I’ll mark you all as en route. Responding officer is on scene,’ dispatch came back across the radio.
‘Any details for us?’ Millar asked as Penner took a hard right turn, almost causing Millar to drop the radio.
‘Female, mid to late forties, single strike to the head. Tall individual wearing a black hooded sweater seen carrying the body along Queen Street.’
‘Someone saw him?’ Millar asked, surprised.
‘Yes, sir. Apparently he got spooked and dropped the body. Last seen heading east on Queen.’
Millar looked at Penner. ‘We’ll start heading that way to see if we can spot him.’
‘Roger.’
‘Grant, you copy?’ Millar switched channels on the radio.
‘Got ya. Man, you’re hard to follow! It’s like you’re driving a stolen car or something!’ Grant said, having a hard time steering at that speed while talking on the radio.
‘You go see the body. We’re going to see if we can find this guy. Apparently he was last seen heading east on Queen. We’re going to try to cut him off.’
‘Got it,’ Grant said. After another block, he turned west while Penner headed east.
‘Keep your eyes out, he could be anywhere,’ Millar said as Penner slowed down to a more sane speed. Up ahead of them, Penner saw a cruiser with its lights flashing. She pulled up beside it and rolled down her window.
‘You guys got anything?’ Penner asked the officer in the driver’s seat.
‘No, ma-am. We were told the suspect headed this way but we haven’t seen anything. I think the Sarge is coordinating a perimeter roadblock,’ the officer replied.
‘Good. If you see anything, call it over the open line—we have the radio on,’ Penner said, pulling away. ‘Which way do you want to look?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ said Millar. They pulled up to an intersection. To the north, towards the Parliament buildings, there were more flashing lights. He couldn’t see any to the south. ‘No presence down that way. Check it out?’
‘Sounds good,’ Penner said turning to the right, creeping along the street, shining the auxiliary spotlight on the side of the car on the doorways lining the street. The radio crackled.
‘Possible suspect sighting. Large, bald individual, wearing a black sweater running north on George Street.’
‘What’s the best way to cut them off from here?’ Penner asked speeding up. Millar didn’t answer. ‘Millar? What way should I go?’ Silence. She glanced over at him, but he was blankly staring straight ahead. ‘Millar, you okay?’
‘When you searched my basement, what exactly did you take?’ Millar asked, turning towards Penner.
‘What? What’s that got to do with anything? Where do I need to turn?’
‘What did you take, Sue!’ Millar was getting upset.
‘Sweater, boots, Taser and baton. What the hell’s going on?’ Penner asked, focussing on the road and taking the next right. She thought this might the best way to meet up with George Street.
‘Only one baton?’ Millar asked.
‘Yeah, only one. Did you have more?’ Penner accelerated down the narrow residential street.
‘There should have been two in the same box,’ Millar said.
‘Well, there wasn’t. Definitely just the one, and we didn’t find another one anywhere else. Those two officers were good and thorough,’ Penner said.
‘Turn left here, I think I know where they’re going,’ Millar said, hoping he was wrong.
Penner took the next left, so quickly that Millar had to hold onto his seat. ‘How do you know where they’re going?’ she asked.
‘Take another left up here,’ Millar said, his mind racing. How could it be? It just didn’t make any sense.
When Penner got to the intersection, she slowed down, fighting to stay in control. As she turned she noticed the street sign. She looked at Millar with shock.
‘Are you sure?’ Penner asked.
‘No, but…’Millar couldn’t finish his thought.
‘But, why?’ Penner asked in disbelief. ‘And why try to frame you?’
‘I have no idea,’ Millar said. ‘Pull up here and let me out. I want to go in myself. Go to the end of the street and keep watch in case we wind up in a foot chase. God, I hope I’m wrong!’
Penner pulled over to the sidewalk and Millar jumped out. As she drove to the end of the street, she looked in her rearview mirror and saw Millar run up the front steps of his house.
‘TINA!’ Millar yelled as he burst through his front door. There was no reply. He ran upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time, to check her room. Empty. He checked the bathroom, his study, his bedroom. Empty. He went back down to the main floor. Turning on the light in the living room, he saw one of his books open on the coffee table. Profiling. She was using his own information to frame him for murder. But why? Was he really that bad a father that she wanted him locked up for murder? And how could she actually take someone’s life? Four lives, that they knew of. Could there be more? Millar thought he was going to be sick. He ran into the basement, but, again, Tina wasn’t there. ‘Think, Millar, think,’ he said out loud. He had to figure out where she was running to. Just because she wasn’t home yet, didn’t mean that she wasn’t headed here. In his experience, most suspects head for home after committing a crime. They go where they feel comfortable. Maybe she was still on her way here. The garage. He hadn’t checked the garage. Millar ran upstairs and threw open the garage door. She wasn’t there, and neither was her bike. When he saw her old, pink, bike helmet sitting on the shelf, he felt his legs start to shake and had to lean against the hood of his car. He had spent a lifetime solving crimes, locking up murderers and criminals, never expecting to have to search for his own daughter.
Millar suddenly went cold. Half of the police force were currently out looking for his daughter, who was on the run. And they didn’t know they were chasing a teenage girl. She was a murder suspect and was considered armed and dangerous. If she made any sudden moves…Millar needed to make sure that didn’t happen. He opened his car door and turned on his police radio. ‘This is Detective Millar. All units currently searching for the suspect wearing the black hooded sweater, do not use excessive force if you encounter her, she’s only armed with a baton. She does not have a gun. Please, I repeat, do not shoot, she’s—,’ he choked on the words as a tear rolled down his cheek. ‘She’s my daughter.’ He dropped the radio handpiece into the front seat of this car, wiping away the tear. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up, realizing he needed to find his daughter. If she wasn’t here yet, chances were she wasn’t going to make it home with all of the roadblocks being set up. His best bet was to be out looking for her in backyards and alleys. He left the garage and slowly started to jog towards Penner’s car parked at the end of the street. He knew he should hurry, but he just couldn’t. His legs felt like lead and his mind was still spinning. Why would Tina do this? And what was going to happen to her now? He shook off the waves of nausea and focussed on getting to Penner’s car. Ten feet away, he heard a gun shot ring out in the eastern night sky.