Chapter 31 - The Second House
Trey continued running, trying to stay out of sight of humans the best he could. Atlas did scare a few homeless people with tents near the river, but they probably didn't believe what they saw.
After they had run for a good thirty minutes, Trey knew it was time to return to Caleb's house. He had been hoping to pick up Cat's scent, but it was no use. Caleb could have her anywhere by now.
Trey shifted back to human form and got the clothes he had left near a tree by the river. When he walked into the house, he went straight to Roger.
"I couldn't pick up anything. Have you had any luck here?" Trey kept reminding himself he had to stay calm if he was going to be of any use finding Cat. The longer she was with Caleb, the more he could hurt her.
"Nothing yet, but I have Marc looking for any other properties in Caleb's name or any family in the area. Hopefully, he finds something because Caleb had to have another location set up to take her. We tried to track his phone, but he has downloaded software that makes it jump from tower to tower all over the state. We'll find her. Caleb's not as smart as he thinks he is."
Roger could see the anguish on Trey's face and knew he would be the exact same way if anything happened to Valerie. He had to keep Trey's head straight so he didn't go off and start killing everyone he came into contact with until they found Cat.
"Did you ask anyone at the hotel how Caleb was able to get a key to the penthouse? Those aren't handed out like candy, so he shouldn't have had one." Roger tried to distract Trey by giving him a task to focus on that may get them somewhere.
"No, I didn't ask them. I'll run over there now and find out. No one should have had access to our floor except those we buzzed up or the serving staff. Let me know if you find anything here." Trey quickly left the house and went back to the hotel.
Once inside, he walked to the front desk, where there were still police combing through the videos. He saw the man he had talked to earlier and motioned for him to step to the side.
"When the man came to the penthouse, he used a penthouse key in the elevator. Can you tell me where he got it from?" Trey was trying not to show too much anger when asking the guy for help. He was mad at the world, and anyone in his path would feel the effects.
"No, sir, I have no idea. The only penthouse key is the one you have and one other that staff uses for deliveries and cleaning." Trey thought about the woman who delivered their food.
"Right after my girlfriend was kidnapped, a woman brought the food that we had ordered. She had a penthouse key. Can you see if anyone had it before she did?" The man nodded and went behind the counter to a computer.
"When they take the key, they have to check it out with us first. Brenda checked it out at one this afternoon, and it doesn't look like she's returned it. That's odd. She took it two hours before you ordered your food." Trey heard Atlas growl in his head. The woman who tried to flirt with him when Cat went missing had apparently helped Caleb. The man looked worried for a minute that Trey was mad at him.
"Do you know where she is?" Trey asked through clenched teeth.
"All staff has to wear a little device that shows where we are at all times. According to the monitor, she is sitting at the bar in The Moonlight Lounge."
Trey didn't need to hear anymore. He ran over to the Moonlight Lounge and saw the young woman from earlier sitting at the bar eating a sandwich. He walked up to her and grabbed her arm, yanking her off the barstool. She was startled at first, and then when she saw it was him, she tried to throw her arms around his neck.
"I knew you would come around now that your girlfriend has run off with someone else. How about we go to your room, and I make you feel better." She tried to put her mouth on his, and Trey pushed her hard, so she fell on her butt.
"Stay off me, you stupid woman. I'm a detective, and I have some questions for you. Come with me, or I'll arrest you for impeding a police investigation." Trey dragged the woman out of the lounge and to a bench in the lobby, forcing her to sit roughly.
"Watch it, asshole. Isn't this police brutality? I don't know what your problem is. The other man told me your girlfriend called him to pick her up because she was leaving you. He paid me one thousand dollars to let him use the penthouse key to go up and get her. Don't blame me because she ran off with another man."
Trey was getting more enraged as the woman talked. It was taking everything in him not to strangle her right there in the hotel.
"Listen, you idiot. That man is wanted for kidnapping. He's not her boyfriend. He tricked you into giving him the key so he could take her away at gunpoint. Does that sound like she wanted to go with him? Now you can be charged with conspiracy, and if he kills her, you will also be charged with assisting in her murder. Get this bitch out of my face." Trey called to one of the nearby officers, who came and took a very pale Brenda out to a patrol car so she could be questioned at the station. He pulled out his phone.
"Roger, the stupid woman who was supposed to deliver our food, gave the penthouse key to Caleb. He told her that he was Cat's boyfriend and she wanted him to come and get her. The woman believed him and gave him the key. In return, he gave her a thousand dollars. Have you had any luck?" Trey went back out to his truck. There was nothing else left for him to do at the hotel.
"Actually, I was just about to call you. It looks like Caleb's mom lived in this area and still has a house in her name, even though she passed away a few years ago. We are getting ready to go there now. It's in Folsom; I'll text you the address." Trey felt hopeful. This had to be where Caleb took Cat. To keep a house in his mother's name all this time, he had to have plans for it.
To get there from the hotel would take him a good thirty minutes. With each mile Trey drove, he began getting increasingly anxious. If this wasn't where Caleb was keeping Cat, then he knew he would lose it.
When he pulled up close to the location, there were already numerous police cars, but they stayed back out of the house's line of sight. He was grateful because he didn't trust Caleb not to hurt Cat if he realized he was caught. Trey jumped out of his truck and ran over to Roger and Ellie.
"What's going on?" Trey asked, coming up behind him where he could see the house through the trees. It was a small ranch house that looked like every other house on the street.
"So far, there's been no movement. We haven't infiltrated yet, because we're waiting for SWAT. They should be here in the next fifteen minutes. How are you holding up?" Roger could tell that Trey was hanging on by a thread.
"I'll be honest, I'm close to losing it, but the only thing holding me back is I don't want to be the cause of him hurting or killing Cat." He knew if she was injured, he would kill Caleb without a second thought when he got in there. She had already been through more than most people in a lifetime.
Trey was hoping against all odds that Cat wouldn't go back to how she was before they met. He would understand why she would, but he would do whatever he needed to support her and show her how much she was loved. After this, no one would lay a finger on her again.
When SWAT finally pulled up, Trey was almost ready to tear down the door. He ran over to them and explained the situation. They listened as they got their equipment ready.
"From what you said about this guy, I think it's better to do a soft entry rather than bust down his door. I don't want to put the victim in any danger. So a couple of us will sneak onto the porch and pick the lock. We'll apprehend the suspect, and then you can come in. I know that's your girlfriend in there, detective, but let us do our job. We'll do everything we can to keep him from hurting her any more than he already has, okay?" The commander could tell the young detective was ready to go in. He sighed with relief when Trey nodded.
"Okay, commander, please hurry. I don't know how much longer I can wait. When you get in there, no one is to go near her other than me. She's already terrified of men, and this piece of shit has just made it worse." Trey was so worried about Cat his heart was aching.
"Understood, detective. Let's go."
The SWAT team silently headed to the house as if one unit. They broke up, going in different directions the closer they got so they could surround it. Trey held his breath when he saw them picking the lock. It didn't take long, and then they disappeared inside.
