going to. Two patches of blood as we know already. Brute biked them over to my contact at the lab. One’s type O neg which we know Swift is. That’s rare enough for me to stick my neck out and say that it’s hers. The other is O positive.”
“How much blood?” Thor asks.
“The O neg patch, not much. Looked to me like she might have knocked her hand or arm against the door and grazed it. The O positive just a smear.”
“DNA?”
“Will take longer, but I told him the hurry and he’s going to try and rush it along.” Honor looks up. “We’ve got access to lots of databases, but unless he’s already known to cops or has investigated his ancestry, it might not tell us a lot.”
I don’t bother questioning how they can access DNA databases as everyone else just accepts it. I’m beginning to realise their boast about Fort Knox was probably genuine.
“What I did find,” Honor continues, a frown appearing on his face, “was surveillance equipment hidden in her house. It was behind the ventilation grid in her bedroom.”
“Camera?”
Honor nods. “They could see and hear everything.”
Pip growls. “When did we last sweep the private homes for bugs?”
“Kind of leave that to everyone to keep their own places clean,” Snatcher reminds him.
I grimace. “Swift wasn’t expecting to go back there last night.”
Preacher’s watching me carefully. “What’s on your mind, Road?”
I slam my hand on the table. “It’s my fault. I pissed her off, made her uncomfortable so she left the clubhouse.”
Pip snorts, loudly. “Heard you made a pass at her, Brother. Do you think you’re the only one to have done that?” His eyes land on Cowboy who shrugs, and then Stormy who grins widely. My eyes narrow at that. Had any of them been successful? Pip carries on, “She’s an expert at turning men down, and not very lightly. They’re usually walking bow-legged the next day and not for any pleasurable reason.”
“Swift got the hots for Road?”
“If she has,” Honor raises his chin toward Duty, “it might have confused her. Especially if Road’s sticking around and becoming part of the team.”
I’m getting uncomfortable with this discussion, not thinking any attraction between Swift and myself is a suitable topic for church, but I suppose anything is fair game, including my sensibilities, if we’re going to get her back.
“Why she went home yesterday, and why she didn’t do a sweep for bugs are questions for later not now!” Pip bellows. “That the bug was there means someone was targeting her, waiting for her to go back, and that it wasn’t a random pick up.”
“Still could be sex trafficking,” Piston remarks.
Preacher shrugs. “Some run fairly sophisticated operations. Especially when targeting specific types. It’s a lucrative business. A woman living alone might have been seen as an easy target.”
“Anyone notice anything out of place? Strangers hanging around when Swift was about?”
“I’ll get Gears to examine the surveillance footage around both clubhouses and see if anything shows up.” Honor makes a note on his tablet. “Just to recap, apart from the bug and the blood, that was all I could get from the house. I dusted for prints, but apart from Swift’s, I couldn’t find any.”
Snatcher and I had worn gloves, it seems so too did the kidnappers.
“I still wonder if it’s anything in Swift’s past,” Pip observes, tapping his fingers on the table. “We don’t want to focus on one assumption and then find we were wrong. I’ll contact Devil and see whether she was ever deployed on work for MI5 or MI6.”
“I’d find that,” Duty scoffs.
Pip gives a half-grin. “Not doubting you, Duty. Doesn’t hurt to double-check though.” He pauses, then raps the table. “Okay. Honor, Duty and Stormy, the three of you keep digging. Let me know immediately if the DNA turns anything up. Everyone else, stay close and ready to move out as soon as we’ve got a location for her.”
“Mystic’s already got the plane fuelled and ready,” Preacher informs us. “Just in case she’s already been moved out of state or over the border.”
“Everyone check your bikes. If your tyres need changing or oil topped off, bring them into the shop now.” Thor glances at each of us in turn. When he receives nods from each of us, he turns to me. “You want to take that ZX14R for a spin, Road? See how it handles?”
I do. But it would be fun, and doing anything fun right now feels completely wrong. I shrug.
“We might need someone to