They followed as he turned and ran back into the shelter. They had to find Callie. But how? Dorothy Tipton! Right now she was the only person he could think of who might have the information he needed. Maybe she knew where Anthony would have taken her.
They slid to a stop in the dining room where Peggy had finally calmed the screaming Sadie. An additional four uniformed police officers ran in the front door as he entered and joined them.
“What’s going on, Detective?” one of the men who’d followed him back inside asked.
“Lieutenant Marty Weaver has been shot by Captain Anthony Wilson. The captain has also abducted Judge Lattimer’s niece. We’ve got to find him before he kills her.” He faced Peggy. “Do you know where Dorothy Tipton went?”
She shook her head. “All I know is I heard her car leave, and she was in a hurry. She might have been going home.”
“Where does she live?”
“She lives in a small cottage behind Anthony’s house.”
Seth turned to the two men who’d been outside with him. “You two stay here. See that Lieutenant Weaver is taken care of and get the crime scene people down here. Get a BOLO out for Captain Wilson’s car and tell them to approach him with caution. He’s armed and dangerous. He’ll have two women with him. One is his abductee, Callie Lattimer. The other is his accomplice, Assistant District Attorney Abby Dalton. The rest of you men follow me to his house. We need to try to find his cousin and see if she has any idea where he might have taken Callie.”
“We’re with you,” one of the officers said.
Seth gave a curt nod and ran toward the door. Within minutes he was roaring down the street, his blue lights flashing and his siren wailing. Two police cars trailed him with their lights flashing as they weaved through traffic.
Seth gripped the steering wheel and gritted his teeth. If anything happened to Callie he would never forgive himself. “God,” he whispered, “please don’t let her die. I still love her so much. Give me one more chance with her.”
He blinked the tears from his eyes and tried to concentrate on his driving. All he could think of, though, was Callie and how she was at the mercy of someone intent on ending her life. He had to find her before Anthony killed her.
THIRTEEN
The first thing Seth noticed when he roared into the driveway at Anthony Wilson’s home was that no lights burned in the house. That shouldn’t surprise him. He hadn’t expected Anthony to bring Callie here. He drove around the house and came to a stop at the small cottage at the back of the property. A black car was parked in front, and lights burned in nearly every room.
Seth jumped from the car, his gun drawn, almost before the car engine had died. Behind him he heard the other officers getting out of their cars. He ran over to the black car, placed his hand on the hood and glanced over his shoulder.
“The hood’s warm. This car hasn’t been here long.”
The other officers pulled their guns, and one pointed to the rear of the house. “My partner and I will go around back and make sure she doesn’t try to leave that way.”
Seth nodded, and the other two officers followed him as he hurried to the front door and knocked. “Mrs. Tipton,” he called out, “we’re with the Memphis Police Department. Open your door.”