I Needed You

8

Colby’s pov

Taylor has been gone for two weeks now.  I’ve hardly slept.  I haven’t let myself sleep.

She could be dead, but she could be alive.  Something tells me that I’d know deep down if she was dead or not.  It would be a feeling I couldn’t shake.

But for now I could shake the feeling, flick it off like a fly.

Sam and I were constantly talking to police and each other, sometimes Katrina would too whenever she could.

There was not enough blood in the hotel room for her to die of blood loss.  Drugs were involved, the detectives said cocaine and broken open benadryl capsules.  

Taylor was kidnapped, that was obvious.  What Officer Caddel assumed was that she probably found the cocaine that was in the room somewhere, was dumb enough to actually snort some based on how it was in lines on the nightstand.  The cocaine was mixed with the benadryl, which knocked her out and the kidnapper came in and took her.

She must have put up a fight, causing someone to get injured in the process.  What alerted people on the ground below was the window being broken open, and with the fire escape not even being three feet below the window, whoever took her simply went down the stairs and left.

There was a motivation behind it, it was premeditated.  Sam and I both knew Taylor did not do any type of drug.

Her purse was spilled over the bed, and based on the fingerprints, Taylor was the one who spilled the bag.

Now, I was waiting for a call.  We were waiting for the fingerprint testing to get back, which would clearly indicate who took her.

I would rip them to shreds.  As soon as I got Taylor back, she was taken from me.  Whoever it was would pay.

Just as the phone rang, I reached for it, standing up off my bed and pacing back and forth across my bedroom floor.

“Hello?” I asked in a rushed tone.

“Colby, sir, we have the tests back,” Officer Caddel seemed excited, with the new lead and since it was relatively early in the investigation there was a chance Taylor could make it home alive and safe.

“Can you give me a name? Please?” I asked, twisting my helix ear piercing.

“Yes I can.  But I’d rather you come into the station.  You know how easy someone could overhear you,”

“Consider me there,” I said before hanging up.

I ran out of the room, yelling when I heard Sam in the movie theater.

“I’m going to the station!” I grabbed my shoes, not bothering to put them on in the house when I could do it while I was driving.

“Did they find anything?” Sam yelled, but I didn’t answer, shutting the door and fumbling with my keys as I ran to my Corolla.

Taylor loved my Corolla, maybe she only rode in it four or so times but she loved it either way.

Fortunately the station was less than ten minutes away, so I was there in three.  I didn’t bother stopping at the reception desk, I’d been here plenty of times to know that Officer Caddel’s office was the third on the right in the hallway to the left of the desk.

“What’s going on?” I walked into the room, shaking his hand as he stood up to greet me.

“Have a seat, sir,” Caddel motioned to the chair that I’ve sat in multiple times.

I didn’t know what to say or do with my hands so I folded them in my lap.

“Okay, we got the tests back maybe an hour ago,” He confirmed, pulling down his glasses off his head to read the screen.

I was annoyed that he waited so long to tell me, but at the same time I’m just lucky he told me at all.

“The fingerprints belong to Aryia Emrani,” He clicked away.

“No way,” I gasped, “He doesn’t even live around here anymore,”

Nobody that I knew had any clue as to where Aryia was.  He fell out of contact with us back at the beginning of the year.

“You recognize the name?” He glanced at me over his glasses, and I nodded.

“He’s such a nice guy.  Aryia would never kidnap Taylor.  They weren’t ever that close,” I explained, rubbing my chin.

I felt old when I did things like that, but all the stress has caused me to pick up on habits most people my age wouldn’t do for another ten years.

“Do you think he was set up?” He glanced over at the screen again, “His body frame matches the one we got pictures of from security systems at the hotel,”

“I don’t think he’s completely innocent,” I admitted, “I just think he’s been put up to it.  Most likely either paid to do it or was forced.  Maybe he’s in Taylor’s situation, too,” 

“That’s not a bad idea,” The officer complimented, and I gave him a small nod, “You know what, give mister Emrani a call.  Do something simple, invite him for dinner.  Not at your house,” He added when I went to object, “But somewhere that wouldn’t be undordinary.  Say you want to catch up with him, and we’ll get him,”

“How would that work though?” I asked, raising my eyebrows, “There’s no way that-”

“Oh, Colby,” Caddel chuckled, “One thing you need to learn is that my men are very, very good at what they do.  We’ll get him, we’ll question him, we’ll get your Taylor back for you. Now,” he motioned to my phone that I must have set it on the desk at one point or another.

“Give him a call,” He smiled.

“Here?” I asked, double checking to make sure I wasn’t doing anything that I shouldn’t.

“No, there’s an open holding cell right down the hall that has your name on it,” He continued with a sarcastic tone when I stared at him like a deer in headlights, “Yes, call him!”

“Okay, okay,” His number was at the top of my contacts list.

I waited as the number dialed, setting it on speakerphone.

“Hello?” Aryia asked.

He answered the phone.  That’s one step closer to finding her.