Free A Prayer for the Night by P. L. Gaus Page B

kitchenette, and a small front porch. They’re going to be pretty run down by now.” He turned back to Wilsher. “Anything on the Firebird?”
    “I’ve been through the trunk,” Wilsher said. “I found some smoky English clothes, a ratty sleeping bag, some canned and boxed foods, and a box of videotapes.”
    “Pornography?” Robertson asked.
    “I don’t think so,” Wilsher answered. “Not unless it’s homemade stuff. No, these are the little tape cassettes that go in a video camera. Somebody has shot a bunch of videotape.”
    “So what’s on them?” Robertson asked.
    “I’ve got Carter watching them now. It’ll take a few hours before I can tell you what we’ve got.”
    As he spoke, Robertson’s phone rang. He picked up and said, “Yeah.” Then, “OK, I understand. We won’t mess in your game, Tony. But we want to go ahead with an Amber Alert on Sara Yoder. Like I told you, it’s Sara we’re most concerned about. Could be Columbus folk who grabbed her.”
    Robertson listened, scribbled a few notes on a yellow pad, said, “Good. I’ll expect to hear from you if you see her down there. No, it’s not routine at all. It’s urgent. OK. Fine. I understand.”
    Robertson hung up, and through his intercom, he told Ellie, “Set up a press conference for three o’clock, Ellie. And post the Amber Alert to all Ohio sheriff and police departments. Use the state’s system to get it out to everyone.”
    Ellie said, “The stroke of one key, Bruce. There, it’s done.”
    Robertson said, “Thanks,” and switched off. To the men in the room he declared, “Ellie just put that Amber Alert into effect. I’ll announce it to the media at 3:00 P.M. Also, the DEA is going to put double surveillance on all their spots down in Columbus. Evidently Gahanna, too. Watch for Sara Yoder to turn up. Now, what’s our next step?”
    Niell said, “There’s that Firebird to process. It looks like there’s dried blood in the front seat.”
    Wilsher said, “I want the state BCI lab people to go through the Firebird.”
    Robertson nodded approval.
    “Someone needs to go out to Schlabaugh’s place at two o’clock,” Cal said. “Mike and I can handle that.”
    Robertson turned questioning eyes to the professor.
    Branden said, “I’ll meet you at the Schlabaugh place, Cal, if you can give me directions.”
    Cal nodded.
    “In the meantime,” Branden said, “I think I know where to go hunting for Abe Yoder.”
    “OK. Just fill me in before you leave. But listen up, everybody. Sara Yoder is the priority here. Dan, I want everybody we’ve got out looking for her. Call in the night-shift people. Everybody goes out. We’ll have to trust DEA to cover Columbus spots, but if she’s still in Holmes County, I don’t want to hear later that we missed her for lack of trying. It’s been nearly three hours since she was abducted, and I don’t want to hear that we’ve found her dead in a ditch somewhere.”

10
    Friday, July 23
1:15 P.M.
     
     
    PROFESSOR Branden drove up onto the college heights to his home, where he changed into hiking boots and a long-sleeved khaki shirt. While drinking a quick cup of coffee with his wife in their kitchen, he told Caroline about the events of the morning and the pressing search for Sara Yoder, both in Holmes County by sheriff’s deputies and in Columbus by DEA agents operating an undercover investigation there. He gulped the last of his coffee, pushed back his chair, saying, “Got to get going,” and headed for the hall to the garage.
    Caroline sprang up to block him. She stood nearly an inch taller, and resolutely faced him down. “You can take time for some lunch, Michael.”
    She reckoned that he hadn’t told her half the important details in the case. She also knew the danger he sometimes put himself in, and she intended this morning to know his plans before he left. So she pushed up against him, hands on his shoulders, and moved him back to his kitchen chair.
    When he was