Kidnapped (Book 1)

Courtney Finder

              Matt had searched the whole basement about ten times already, finding nothing. The cloth had come back indicating that chloroform had been used like Matt expected. The blood was tested to be Ethan's but that wasn't anything new that could help solve the case. There was just nothing else left to find. There was no DNA anywhere. The constant working kept Matt's mind off of his dead wife and Kelly, but only for short periods of time. His mind would always go back to Kelly, wondering if she was hurt or where she was.

               He walked upstairs, glancing at the pictures that aligned the walls around him. It was his home, yet it felt distant, this wasn't his home anymore, not without his family. He went to find Ross, who was examining the electric doorknob trap that had been set up. Matt had to admit he was impressed by the contraption. He most likely set the trap and then climbed in through a window or the back door. Who would think that far as to rig the front door?

              When Ross saw Matt he said, "This is extremely smart Matt. Our guy is a pro, a genius you could say." He continued to look at the contraption.

              "There's nothing in the basement. Our guy must live on latex gloves." Matt said, frowning.

               Ross' phone rang and he answered it. He turned pale as the phone call went on. It was four in the morning and he was getting phone calls that made him look sick. What did they find? Ross hung up the phone and ran to his car and got in. Matt followed and got in the car with him.

              "What?" Matt asked in the panic, afraid of his boss's silence.

             "They found another girl's body." He said turning on his sirens.

                He probably didn't need to put on the sirens but he did anyway. They sped off to the scene, wanting to get there as soon as possible. Matt wasn't sure where they were but it was in a quiet neighborhood. It wasn't quite anymore though. Police were at the scene and another crime scene investigative team was already working. His Colorado town was running out of crime scene detectives. Even some detectives from Denver were coming to help with this epidemic.

              Both men got out of the car and ducked under the crime scene tape. There was a black trash bag on the porch, most likely containing the girl's body. There were a lot of people outside on the street even when it was four in the morning. They were curious of why police were crowding the street and concerned looks were on every person's face.

              The girl was in a black trash bag, most likely left for the parents to find. Matt opened the bag, preparing himself for heartbreak. Inside the bag, a rotten smell poisoned Matt's nostrils, making him quickly cover his nose. Along with the decaying smell, there was a strong scent of bleach, the girl was covered in it. There was a gunshot wound on her forehead, dried blood covering her face. On top of the girl was a folded up piece of paper. Matt adjusted his gloves and read the note out loud to his boss.

            "Dear Colorado Police, this is Courtney Finder, the daughter of Gabrielle Finder, the famous judge. Are you making and connections yet? A police officer's daughter and now a judge's daughter. Think what are the connections? This is my payback again. I hope you all love my letter because it's probably the only clues you have on me. Courtney was a sweet girl and was a great kisser. You could thank her mother for that I guess. Anyways, Gabrielle, I hope you are happy you have your daughter back now. Anyone else want their daughters back?" Matt finished the note and heard the terrible cries of the girl's mother and father as they heard the note also. They kept staring at their dead daughter in the trash bag.

              "Let's get her body out of here." Matt said. 

                He thought of his own daughter and how she could be next body they find. He wondered where she was and if she was okay. He wanted to kill this guy for taking her. He had to find his daughter, nothing would stop him. The coroner took the body from the scene and the detectives started to work. Matt helped examine the area, looking for footprints, fingerprints, and any hair or DNA. He was already so used to examining a crime scene since that's all he's been doing lately.

              "Check the nearby security cameras." Matt yelled out, noticing a camera on a light post near the house.

                Matt kept searching the ground with his flashlight when he came across something. He used his tweezers to pick up a piece of hair. He put it into an evidence bag and looked at it closer. It was a short brown piece of hair. Courtney had brown hair but it was long, not short.

               "Ross! Our guy has brown hair! Someone run this piece of evidence!" Matt yelled out. Someone came and took it and Matt went over to Ross.

              "Great job Hunter." He said.

               "Thanks. He's getting sloppy now. We're getting closer." Matt said.

                 Matt was getting hopeful, as long as his daughter was alive, he was motivated by working day and night until he found her but if she dies, he will be a mess. Matt went to the crime scene van where some people were watching the security cameras.

               "Got anything?" Matt asked as he watched the screen.

                 "Not yet." A man said.

               Matt watched the screen until there was a car shadow pulling up. He saw a man get out and went to his trunk. He pulled out the trash bag containing the body.

              "This is him, guys." Matt said.

                 The man went over in front of the Finder's house and dropped the bag onto the porch. He opened the bag to slip the note into it before shutting the bag and rushing to his car. It was the black Mustang that was stolen but the license plate wasn't visible due to the darkness. The investigators were going to try to see the plates but weren't sure if it was possible.

               Matt replayed the tape until we were able to see the man's face. The police officer paused the tape and printed out a picture of the man's face. Even in the dark, Matt could see him when he walked into the light from the light post. He had brown eyes, which were probably contacts and a fake blonde wig. Even the structure of his face was fake since he had found the prosthetic glue which indicate that his face wasn't real. Fake, fake, fake, everything about this guy was fake. He didn't want anyone to know who he really was. Matt was going to find out though, and nothing would stop him. He was going to get his daughter back.

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This chapter is edited, please let me know if you see any mistakes. Thanks :D