Spencerville

up his mobile phone and called headquarters. Officer Schenley was acting desk sergeant, and Baxter said to him, “Hear anything?”
    “No, sir. I would’ve called—”
    “Yeah. You would’ve called. I’m making a goddamned communications check.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “And like I told you, if anybody calls from the state police, or anyplace, you don’t mention where I am.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Just call me, and I’ll get back to them. Don’t bullshit with them.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Stay awake.” He hung up and said to Blake, “Hey, pull into that Sheraton.”
    Blake pulled into the Sheraton parking lot and commented, “We’re not getting a sounding here, Chief.”
    “Shit, I don’t trust this thing. I trust my eyes and my ears. Pull up to the lobby and let me off, then cruise the lot.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Baxter got out and went into the lobby. He approached the desk clerk, an attractive young woman, and said, “How’re you tonight, darlin’?”
    She smiled. “Pretty good. Yourself?”
    “Could be better. Lookin’ for a bad guy, ran off with a woman. You know about that?”
    “Sure do. Seen it on TV.”
    “That’s good. I hope you seen it come across your fax, too.”
    “I did.” She rummaged around and found a piece of paper behind the counter. “Got the descriptions here, names, make and model of the car—”
    “And you ain’t seen them.”
    “No, I told the state trooper that about an hour ago. I’ll keep an eye out.”
    “You do that, sweetheart.”
    She looked at his uniform and asked, “Spencerville? Isn’t that—?”
    “Sure is. That’s where the kidnapping took place. Hey, if you ever get down there, you look me up.”
    “You’re… you’re the Chief Baxter whose wife—”
    “That’s right.”
    “Hey, I’m real sorry. I hope she’s all right—I know she’s going to be okay—”
    “She’ll be fine as soon as I find her. She’ll be real fine. See ya.”
    Baxter went outside and met the cars. He got in, and Blake said, “Negative here.”
    “Negative there. Let’s roll.”
    They continued on down the highway, passing several motels. Blake asked, “Want me to stop?”
    “No, we’re gonna cruise right into Toledo and see if that damned noisemaker goes off. If it don’t, we’ll double back and start checking motels. Jesus Christ, I never seen so many motels.”
    “You think they’re here?”
    “Don’t know. But if I was him, and I just missed a flight, I might hole up in the area, especially if I was listenin’ to the radio and found out there was a bulletin out on me. And if he don’t know that, then he’ll find out when he gets pulled over. He ain’t gettin’ too far either way.”
    “Right.” Blake thought a moment, then said, “I don’t understand how he thought he could get on a plane with her, without somebody noticing that she was being held against her will.”
    “Why don’t you just fucking drive?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “He had a gun on her. That’s how. And probably got her drugged up.”
    “Yeah, that’s it.”
    That wasn’t it, and just about every cop in the state knew that by now, Baxter thought. The truth was, he didn’t see a real good future for himself or his career after this. But for the time being, he had the power, he had the law on his side, and he had the balls to do what he had to do as a man. By morning, it would start to come apart, so he had to find them before then. And because he was finished as a cop, he could do whatever he wanted to do to them when he found them.
    They continued on another few miles and saw the highrise buildings of downtown Toledo in the distance.
    The receiver on the dashboard beeped, a faint sound, followed by silence.
    Blake and Baxter glanced at each other but said nothing. False readings, especially in built-up areas, were common. A minute later, the receiver beeped again, then again, then got louder and more continuous, until the beeps ran into one another and made a continuous electronic squeal. “Pull over.”
    Blake pulled onto the shoulder, and the police car behind them did the same.
    Blake and Baxter sat listening to the electronic noise. Baxter looked around outside, then said, “Go ahead. Slow, on the shoulder.”
    Blake drove slowly on the inside shoulder. The intervals between the beeps decreased, then the sound itself grew fainter.
    Baxter said, “Make a U-turn and go back.”
    “Right.”
    They swung onto the highway, then turned at a break in the median. The