Page 73 of Deathtoll

They went after her and had her unlock the door, but they went in first.

Two small children stared at the intruders from the middle of the kitchen, eyes wide, the little boy pushing his sister behind him in a protective gesture.

“Is anyone else in here, buddy?” Bing asked in a tone as friendly as Murph had ever heard from him. He could be a teddy bear when he wanted to be.

The boy shook his head.

“Why don’t you and your sister go out into the hallway to your mom while we check?”

“It’s okay, baby,” came from behind them, and at the sound of their mother’s voice, the kids took off running.

Bing went to the left, Gabi, who’d come up behind them, to the right, Murph forward. The apartment was clean and neat, too small to hide much. Kitchen/living room, two bedrooms, bathroom.

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

They filed right back out.

“Thank you for your cooperation, ma’am,” the captain told the woman who was crouching, holding her kids, the gallon of milk and jar of peanut butter on the worn beige hall carpet next to them.

“Are we okay?” She held on tight. “Nobody’s in there?”

“The apartment is empty. You’re free to go in. Thank you again for your help, ma’am.”

Gabi was heading back down the stairs already, and Murph followed, trying to figure out where they needed to check next.

“All right,” the captain said once they were all outside, Mike joining them. “Back to our systematic search of the town.” He pulled a printout from his back pocket and handed it to Murph. “List of abandoned buildings. Map on the back. You can have this area.” He made a circle with his finger on the paper. “You can approach, but if you see anything suspicious, you call it in. You don’t go into any building on your own under any circumstances. If you have a problem with that, turn around and go home now.”

“No problem.”

Bing shot Murph a hard look as if he thought the response was too quick to be trusted. “I know how you feel about Kate. I know Emma is like family to you. But you’re here strictly on my forbearance.”

“I know. Thank you, Captain.”

“Don’t make me regret this.”

“I won’t.”

“We’ll see.” Bing looked at Gabi, then Mike. “Off we go. I expect everyone to check in from each location you inspect.”

They nodded, then ran for their cruisers.

Murph slid behind the wheel of his pickup and slapped the map on the dashboard with one hand, turning the key in the ignition with the other. He waited as, ahead of him, Gabi, Mike, and the captain turned right at the intersection. He turned left. He already had his first target fixed in his mind—the ramshackle old firehouse by Broslin Creek. The new firehouse was in the middle of town, a state-of-the-art facility. The township used the old one to park the snowplows.

His phone rang in his pocket.

“Anything?” Kate asked.

“Not yet.”

“You’ll call me if—” Her voice broke.

“I will. I’m not going to stop looking until we have Emma back. I’m going to find her. I promise. All right?”