“The guy who snatched me was messing with the folder when I walked in,” Sophie said. “Maybe he put the note in there.”
“If that’s the case, then we need to find Jordan immediately,” Luke said.
Katie nodded. “Exactly, So, what’s the plan?”
“Was Jordan headed straight here when he left this morning?”
“No,” she sniffed. “He was going to take Snapper out to the Vanderbilt Parkway and run part of the bike path, then go to headquarters to shower and change before coming over here.”
“Vanderbilt Parkway,” Luke said. Also known as the Long Island Motor Parkway. A big part of New York’s history, it was a great place to run or ride bikes now that automobiles were banned from it—and he knew it was part of Jordan’s daily routine. “Then that’s where we’ll look first.”
“We need to check any of his favorite places, as well,” Sophie said.
“He had a lot of favorite places,” Katie said. “Not all of them are in Queens.”
Luke nodded. “Then we’re going to need more manpower. Someone call Gavin and fill him in on what’s going on.”
“Today’s his day off,” Sophie said, picturing the tall, dark-haired, brown-eyed handler. Gavin Sutherland was another K-9 officer. His Springer spaniel was well-trained to sniff out explosives. And while they may not need Tommy for that reason, she knew as well as Luke did that Gavin would never forgive them if they didn’t include him in the search for their boss. “We’ll also need to get a BOLO out on Jordan and get his face in front of people as well as notify officers in all the boroughs to be watching for him.”
“No,” Katie said.
Carter raised a brow. “No?”
“You know Jordan. He’d hate that. There’s got to be some other way.”
“But we need to find him fast,” Noah said. “In order to do that, we need as many eyes looking for him as possible.”
“But—”
“They’re right, Katie,” Sophie said softly. “I’m sorry, but they are. I’d rather live with his anger than something really be wrong and we not pull out all the stops.”
“And besides,” Luke said, “that guy was messing with the folder. It’s very possible he’s the one who put that note there. If so, this could be some kind of setup to make it look like Jordan’s going to commit suicide. If that’s the case, then speed is of the essence before...”
Before he was killed.
No one wanted to say it, but everyone sure thought it.
Katie swiped another tear and a heavy sigh escaped her. She finally shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. “Okay. Fine. You’re right. We need as many people looking for him as we can get.”
The brothers nodded.
“All right,” Luke said. “I’m going to see if Dani can trace his vehicle.”
“Good idea,” Sophie said. Danielle Abbott, one of the department’s technical analysts would use the GPS attached to the SUV to get a ping on its location.
“Zach,” Luke said, “you get the BOLO out.” K-9 Officers Brianne Hayes and Tony Knight stepped forward with Finn. Luke turned to Katie. “Can you make up a list of all of Jordan’s favorite places and give it to these guys?”
“Of course.”
“Once Katie gives you the list,” he said to the others, “divide up. Bruno and I have the Vanderbilt Parkway.”
“And me,” Sophie said. “We can’t have the ceremony without Jordan, so we’ll just postpone it until he can be here.”
“Postpone the ceremony,” Luke said, “but you don’t need to go. You’ve just been through a major trauma.”
Sophie straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Jordan’s my boss, too. I’m as much a part of this department as the rest of you—”
Luke held up a hand. “I’m not saying you’re not.”
“Good. And I might even be able to identify the guy in spite of his ballcap and sunglasses. Maybe. So let’s not waste any more time debating whether I’m going or not.” She headed for the exit, limping slightly.
Luke frowned. “Fine. I’d rather have you with us anyway.”
“Thank you,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“At least then I’ll know you’re safe,” he muttered.
She grimaced but refused to comment. Instead, she prayed as they raced toward Vanderbilt Parkway. It seemed to take forever to reach it in spite of the sirens that moved traffic out of the way.
Dani had quickly gotten back to them, saying the GPS had been disabled on Jordan’s SUV and she wasn’t able to get a location on the vehicle.
“What could possibly be going on with him?” Sophie asked. “Jordan wouldn’t disable the GPS and he didn’t leave that letter, Luke. I think the man who grabbed me did.”
“I’d say that’s a real possibility, but we have to cover all the bases.”
“I know. I’m just saying that I’ve never seen Jordan so low he’d want to take his own life. Sure, he has struggles, but who doesn’t?” She shook her head as she envisioned confronting her brother about his—in her opinion—questionable decision to join the Marines. “But he’s not even close to being suicidal.” Especially with a baby on the way that he was excited about. But that wasn’t her news to share. “There’s something else going on and we need to figure out what it is.”
“What we need to do is find Jordan and let him tell us.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Keep in mind, though,” Luke said, “everyone has a dark side they never show the world. A lot of people have a hidden pain that can sometimes overwhelm them and no one in their lives ever suspects.”
Silence fell between them for a moment.
“I know about hidden pain,” Sophie finally said, her tone subdued. “But that doesn’t mean it always leads to suicide.”
“I agree. But sometimes it does—or at least thoughts of it.” His low words had her looking at him more closely.
She had a feeling he was speaking from experience. “Did someone you know commit suicide?”
He blinked. “No, nothing like that. I’ve just worked with a lot of people over the years and I’ve worked a few suicides. People who’ve killed themselves, and their families had no idea they were struggling. I guess what I’m saying is that the face a lot of people show the outside world in no way reflects what’s really going on inside them.”
“Jordan’s not like that.”
“You know him that well?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“I guess I’m just surprised. We’ve known each other for two years, worked together on a daily basis, and I don’t know you like that.”
She gaped. “You’ve never made the effort. Every time you’ve come into the office, you’re like, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And that’s about the extent of it.”
He shut his lips and she wondered if she’d spoken out of turn. Asking him about it would have to wait. Luke pulled into the entrance of the park. “Keep going,” she said. “You