Somebody to Hold (Tyler Jamison #2) - April Wilson Page 0,64

to find her, and we think Chad knows where she is.”

She frowns as she bites her lip. “Like I said, he was here for first shift. He said he was going out for a smoke break, and when he came back in, he was agitated. Really antsy. A few minutes later, he said he was sick and had to go home.”

“What time was that?” Tyler asks.

The woman thinks about it. “It was before lunch, maybe ten o’clock.”

“Do you know if Chad is involved in any illegal activities? Is he using drugs? Selling them? Anything?”

“He does coke. And there are rumors that he deals out of this plant. I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard others talk about it. But there’s something else.”

“What?” Tyler says.

“Today, I went out to my car on my lunch break. I usually eat in my car where it’s quiet so I can read. While I was sitting in my car, I saw Chad pull into the parking lot. At first, I thought he must be feeling better and had returned to work. But when he got out of his car, he wasn’t alone. He had a girl with him. They stopped to talk to one of the shift managers—Larry Johnson.”

I lean across the center console, toward the open driver’s window. “What did she look like?”

“Young, really pretty, with long black hair and dark eyes. She seemed out of it, like she was stoned or drunk. Chad and Mr. Johnson were arguing. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was definitely heated. Chad had his hand on the girl’s arm, practically holding her upright. Then Mr. Johnson took her from him and put her in the backseat of his car. Chad got in the front passenger seat, and they drove off together.”

“Do you know the make and model of the manager’s car?” Tyler asks.

She shakes her head. “All I know is it’s black and expensive.”

“Thank you.” Tyler pulls out his wallet and hands the woman a business card and some cash. “Here’s my number, Loretta. If you think of anything else, or if you see Chad, please call me.”

She nods as she glances at his card. “Detective,” she says, and then she pockets the card. “You should have led with that, handsome. I’ll call you if I hear anything.”

After she leaves, Tyler raises his window and sits staring out through the front windshield. After a moment, he glances at me. “You okay?”

“No.” My voice is tight, and I have a death grip on the door handle. “She’s out there, Tyler, and who knows what’s happening to her.”

Tyler reaches over and grasps my hand. “You can’t think like that, Ian. You have to stay focused on the here and now—on what we can do for her. Otherwise you’ll fall apart, and you won’t be able to help her.” Tyler pulls out his wallet and counts his cash. “How much money do you have on you?”

“I usually carry a couple hundred bucks. Why?”

“I only have a hundred. We’ll need more. Let’s go find an ATM.”

“What for?”

“We need cash so we can bribe someone in Tillerson’s security office. We need to find out the make and model of Larry Johnson’s car.”

Tyler starts the engine and backs out of the parking space, and we go in search of a bank.

* * *

After we locate the closest automatic teller machine, we both withdraw the maximum amount of cash allowed. We return to Tillerson Packaging and park in the visitor lot next to the security building.

“It’s amazing what you can learn from watching surveillance video,” Tyler says, as we approach the company’s security office, which is little more than a freestanding shack located in the parking lot.

Tyler raps on the door, and a uniformed security guard answers.

“Chicago PD,” Tyler says. “I’d like to ask you some questions.”

The guard opens the door to let us in. He stares at me curiously, probably wondering who the hell I am. I’m certainly not dressed like a cop.

“Where’s your badge?” the guard asks Tyler.

Tyler ignores the question. “I need to see your parking lot surveillance video from earlier today, approximately eleven-thirty am to one pm.”

The guard’s brow furrows. “Do you have a warrant? You can’t just barge in here—”

Tyler pulls out his wallet and counts out five crisp hundred-dollar bills. “Here’s my warrant. Bring up the footage, then go take a bathroom break. We’ll be gone before you get back.”

The guy eyes Tyler with a great deal of suspicion, but then he grabs the