27 - Bright Lights

                                    

                                          
"Okay, everyone be quiet!" Harriet shouted out to the conference room full of people, who still failed to stop speaking. "I said SHUT UP!" 
                          
The room fell silent and fifteen pairs of eyes fell upon Harriet, who coughed and nodded in thanks.
                          
"Right. Andy, please give me some good news." She looked over at Andy, whose cheeks turned bright red at the fact of being called upon in front of so many people. Their looks all shifted to him and he shuffled the papers in front of him before he spoke.
                          
"We managed to track down the location of the laptop he has, sorry had been, using to access the dating website. Now that we've broken through his many many barriers, we can get all his personal information."
                          
"A few days too late but alright. What else?" Harriet fiddled with her brunette locks, tying them up tight in a high pony tail. 
                          
"Here is where things got interesting. The location that you already busted was where he fled from." Andy held up a map of the local area and pointed to the address that Patrick was living at before a text from Harriet alerted him that they were coming. "And this new address is only two roads away. We've been sending patrols to that area and we still never saw him. He was good; you know when he was alive." Andy shrugged and passed the paper to Harriet.
                          
"Has anyone done a report on the building like I asked?" 
                          
"Right here!" An officer to the left passed over a building structure diagram, showing how many rooms and where they all were. The one thing that caught her eye was the basement. There was a whole empty floor above the basement, no records of anyone ever living in that room.
                          
"Okay, I want all officers in gear on the way to this address. I want ambulances on their way. I want every available body." She shouted, the room erupting into chaos. "C'mon people we're on limited time!"
                          
Harriet drove her own car to the address, three police cars behind her and two in front, all with their blues and tunes on. It was so good to sit back in her own little car after it had spent so long getting fixed and used as evidence. Harriet let out a sigh and pushed her foot to the floor. They sped through traffic, communicating shortly through their radio systems. Harriet wanted the place wrecked in a bid to look for anything that could help with Amy. She wanted access to that room above the basement. She needed it done, now. 
                          
All six vehicles screeched to a halt in front of the address. It seemed a normal enough house. Three floors, with the entrance being on the second. The ambulance had already arrived and the paramedics were rushing around to get their equipment ready. What they thought they would find inside was unknown to Harriet, but she prayed it was a live and kicking Amy, not a corpse. She couldn't lose another friend.
                          
The thought of Jason plagued her mind again, sending those familiar pains through her chest and down her arms. She held back a sob as she pulled on her bullet proof vest. Jason, Zara and Roger had all been attacked because of her, that was the one thing pushing her to leave the force once this was all over.
                          
She knew she had promised not to get involved with Amy's case, but it had been too long and now that Harriet had killed the killer, they had no chance of getting some information about her best friend's location.
                          
"Are you ready King?" Officer Smith yelled, the battering ram at the ready near the front door. Four officers, including Smith, were holding it up in place.
                          
"On my count." Harriet ushered the team up the stairs to the front door. "Three... two..." The battering team pulled back the ram. "ONE!" They pushed it forward with all their might and a loud cracking noise was heard. "Again!" 
                          
It only took two more attempts for the front door to swing off its hinges at an angle. Harriet and the remaining officers ran in, closely followed by the paramedics. The team split up into three's going to search each room. Harriet let a smile grace her dry, sore lips as she heard the wrecking around her.