One Step Ahead

Out Of Options

3:10 PM

      As Eloise Han pulled into Ashley's driveway, Sanger noticed several residents milling about at the edge of the street, looking confused and worried as officers swarmed around their homes. He stepped out of the car, and one of the patrol sergeants, Doug Rudisill, jogged across the lawn, wearing civilian clothes.

      "What are you doing here, Doug?" he questioned. "I thought you were supposed to be on vacation."

      "Yeah, I am. But Tad knew I was gonna be at my in-laws today, and they only live a couple of blocks from here, so he called and asked me to do a pass in my personal car to see if I could spot anybody. I drove around the block, and then pulled into the driveway next door. I called Tad and let him know I hadn't seen anything, and I stayed here in my car to watch the door while they got into position, since I don't have my gear."

      "Where's Tad right now, do you know?"

      Rudisill gestured past Sanger's shoulder, and he and Han turned to see Tad Baldwin approaching them, and the frustrated expression he wore told them that they most likely didn't want to hear what he was going to say. "We missed the bastard, dammit!" he growled, confirming their suspicions. "Some way or another he managed to sneak out right under our damn noses! Forensics just got started inside, but I can tell you that the security system was disabled, and the sliding door to the back deck was standing wide open when we made entry."

      He turned back toward the house, and the two detectives fell in behind him. As they neared the porch, they observed one of the forensic technicians, who was crouching by the front door, wave to a uniformed officer holding a camera. Quickening his pace, Sanger approached them, inquiring, "What have we got here?"

      The tech shone her flashlight on the doorknob and pointed, saying, "Toolmarks on the lock, but very small, I almost missed them. This guy is good with a pick."

      Stepping around the tech, Sanger and Han walked into the house. There were several officers milling around, snapping pictures, searching closets, and dusting nearly every available surface with fingerprint powder. The two detectives walked through the residence, inspecting each room and quizzing the patrol officers and technicians about their finds, which resulted in frustration, since, as usual, their quarry was careful not to leave evidence. They eventually returned to the living room and walked out through the sliding doors onto the deck. As they stepped outside, Doug Rudisill rounded the corner, spotted them, and raced up the stairs from the backyard.

      "We found out how he got away!" he announced. "Cominski found a loose board on the fence over there, and we went around to check the next yard. And fortunately, the homeowner is having some work done on his pipes, so we've got footprints in the loose dirt. I'm gonna go grab a tech to see if they can do a cast." He dashed inside, while Sanger leapt down the stairs and jogged toward the fence, with Eloise Han close behind. 

      They made their way around to the next yard, finding a cluster of officers in the back of the home, one of them snapping a series of photos while another wound crime-scene tape around a number of small wooden stakes which had been planted in the dirt. Moving closer, they were able to see the clear outline of an athletic shoe in a mound of freshly-dug earth near the fence separating this house from the next. Barely a minute after their arrival, a member of the forensics team trotted through the grass and loose dirt, carrying a small case in one hand.

      "I don't know how much help this is gonna be," Sanger grunted. "Everybody and their fourth cousin wears athletic shoes around here, when they're not running up the beach barefoot, so it's not exactly a distinguishing feature. Too bad the sonofabitch couldn't find it in his pustulent little heart to leave us something like a fingerprint, or some DNA."