Caught In The Crossfire

Chapter 4

"Have you seen Miranda?"

The silent mantra pulsed in his head and through his veins. He wanted to scream it, to shout it until everyone in the bullpen understood his urgency.

"No," David asked, looking at Max like he was some sort of idiot. "Did you try her phone?"

"She texted." Max got out his phone & scrolled to his inbox. "She texted at 6:55 this morning to say she couldn't sleep & she was at the precinct."

Alberto was on his feet & standing next to Max before he'd finished his sentence.

"You should just call her," David said, "See if she's alright."

Max already had his phone out, scrolling through his recent calls list to find Miranda's number, putting his phone up to his ear. 'You've reached Miranda Blake,' her voice immediately echoed out of the speaker.

"Guys," Max said a moment later, "It went straight to voicemail."

"Max," David said, "I'm going to need you to take a deep breath" he added as he clapping Max on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Why didn't it ring? Why wouldn't it have rung?" Max asked David, who walked over, reached down, & ended the call.

"She probably just hung up on you," Alberto smirked but David was already punching away at his computer & he turned back to Alberto.

"Her phone's off" he furrowed his brow, "Miranda never turns her phone off."

"Can you calm down, please? Maybe she went to get a breakfast & her phone ran out of battery."

***

Unknown Location

The first thing that Miranda felt as she recovered slowly from the chloroform was the floor on which she lay. She cautiously opened one eye but it was just as dark. She heard the echo of a door clanking into place & locking & as she came fully awake.

With a shriek she sprang up to her feet & slid to where she thought the door was & began to pound on the solid steel barrier, yelling for someone to help her. She guessed the temperature must be something like -5 below 0. She figured she could survive for maybe 3 hours at the most. At least they hadn't tied her up. She shivered violently, her teeth started to shatter, as she continued to scream & pound, hoping and praying that someone out there would hear her but she doubted it.

The steel door was almost 2 feet thick. She quickly began prodding around the door for a lock that she could possibly pick. Her fingertips brushed the seam where the door met the wall. She shivered with cold & tension as she felt nothing but the smooth metal. Frantic, she searched the centre of the door, reaching as far upward as her height would allow.

The situation finally hit her. there was no lock and the door was computer controlled & the panel was on the outside and she felt the cold, dry air against her skin. She realized, with a horrible shock, that she was trapped in a walk-in freezer.

***

Palma Police Station

The station was beginning to fill up with uniforms & fellow detectives who had cases but Miranda never walked through the door. The team spent the hour shooting nervous glances at her empty desk.

It was almost 10 when everyone started to get really worried. They all knew that Miranda liked to get in early to do paperwork, she always had. When they both rolled in at around 9 that morning, they were surprised that Miranda wasn't already there going through her paperwork with a cup of English tea in her hand.

Max could see their moods change, he could see the exact second, that they shifted from a desire to interrogate him over his & Miranda's latest relationship gossip to a genuine concern for her safety.

"When & where did you last see her?" Alberto asked. As Max was about to answer. David's desk phone started to ring. He picked it up, holding his hand over the mouth piece and looking at Alberto and Max. He didn't wait for a response before he answered his phone.

"Detective Rodríguez," David announced to the caller. "Yes, this is Palma Police and what's the license plate number? Uh huh. Where did you say you saw it?" David picked up a pen and scratched something down on a scrap piece of paper. He pulled away from the phone and looked down at it before putting it back on the cradle.

"Well?" Everyone asked.

"A man from the area says he thinks he saw the SUV on an abandoned, industrial pier," he held up a little slip of paper, "This is the address. Guys."

***

The Pier

It was the SUV. As soon as they pulled up to the pier & they called CSU immediately. While they waited, they put on their own pair of gloves & started their own search.

They found a tiny bloodspot in the boot & & an empty syringe in the on the floorboards of the driver side behind the brake pedal.

Max's head was spinning, looking at her blood in the boot of the car, the evidence left behind of what happened to her. He looked out towards the water, his gaze catching on a small black object towards the end of the pier. Max squinted, trying to figure out what the object was on the end of the pier, moving towards it slowly. He quickened his pace as he got closer to the black shape. He froze once he got a clear view of it. It was a handbag; Her handbag. Oh god he felt sick.

He heard footsteps coming closer to him but he didn't look back, instead staring at her handbag, his heart beating faster like it was dancing a samba & his stomach twisted & turned into knots. She was here. She was somewhere on the river or in the river. He was going to throw up.

"Max?" he heard someone saying his name. "CSU is here." David said, already pulling out his phone, "I'm going to call Inés," David he added "Have her contact the Coast Guard & get a no boating zone & a team out here on the water." As he walked away "We're going to find her, Max" Max looked away from her handbag & stared out onto the marina. Max was trying to say something but no words came out.