“Did you ever come to the capitol for a field trip?” Reese asked from the passenger seat.
“Probably. Don’t remember that far back.”
“I don’t either, but I assume we would’ve made the trek, right? How the fuck is it possible that the teachers chaperoning miscounted the kids? Isn’t that like their priority? Ensuring they keep all the kids safe?”
Brantley knew all those questions were rhetorical. Reese was working through this, and evidently, pelting one question after another was his process. Right now, blaming anyone seemed like a waste of time. The objective was to find Kate. They could deal with the how and why after the fact.
“What’d Z say?” In times like these, Brantley knew it paid to have an in with the appropriate people, which was why he was grateful Reese was with him.
“He’s callin’ in a few favors. Askin’ for us to get access to do a search.”
Probably wouldn’t help because he had to believe the APD and state troopers were capable of doing their jobs, but it would go a long damn way to making Brantley feel better.
Ten minutes later, they learned that Z had come through for them. As they strolled into the capitol building, they were escorted by one of the troopers assigned to the building, a man who explained he would accompany them on a full sweep while the Austin Police Department finished up their initial search.
“Have you been on duty all afternoon?” Brantley asked.
“Yes,” David Zeck confirmed. “Since early this morning.”
“Did anything out of the ordinary happen here today?”
“No. Normal day. Lots of visitors moving through.”
“No fire alarms pulled, no metal detectors going off unnecessarily?”
“Standard day,” he said, his patience admirable. “And since we learned of the missing girl, we’ve been scouring the building top to bottom. They’ve checked everything.”
“Well, we’re gonna check it again,” Brantley stated, leaving no room for argument.
“Understand.” David motioned for them to follow. “As soon as it was brought to our attention, we did a full sweep of the building. There were three field trips here today, all elementary schools.”
“No one else missin’?” Reese inquired.
“No. We contacted the other two schools. They confirmed all their students are accounted for.”
Which likely meant this was personal. Brantley figured there’d been somewhere around one hundred students wandering the halls of the state capitol. The odds that Kate was randomly selected by the kidnapper were slim. If that were the case, they would’ve grabbed the first kid available. Otherwise, it would’ve been all based on timing.
“What about video footage?” he asked, stepping into what appeared to be the security office.
“We monitor the grounds and the building day and night. There are hours of footage from a couple dozen cameras. Our techs are currently sifting through them.”
“No issues with the cameras?” Reese asked.
David cleared his throat.
Brantley stopped, waited for the officer to tell him what had his shoulders tensing.
“The cameras at the back exits, as well as one overseeing the staff parking lot were disabled for at least fifteen minutes during the time we believe she disappeared.”
Inhaling deeply, Brantley leveled his gaze on the man. “Please tell me this is information that’s been relayed to the necessary authorities.”
“Yes, of course.”
The way David’s eyes shifted slightly to the left told Brantley he was lying. This was information they were keeping to themselves. At least for now.
“I want to see the footage,” Reese stated.
“Unfortunately, that’s not something we can provide.”
Before Reese could counter, Brantley put a hand on his shoulder, halted him.
“If you don’t mind, we’re gonna give ourselves a tour,” he told the officer. “If there’s anyone you need to notify, you should do so now.”
With that, Brantley turned and walked out of the security office, Reese keeping pace beside him.
“I coulda—”
Brantley cut him off by raising a hand even as he pulled out his phone. He brought up his contacts, found JJ’s number, and dialed.
“Hey, handsome. To what do I owe the honor?”
“I need a favor,” he said easily, peering around at the wide hallway, the white walls, and the various paintings hung throughout.
“Whatcha got?”
“I need to see the video footage of the cameras at the capitol. From roughly noon today until now.”
JJ choked on a laugh. “You’re kidding me, right? Brantley, what—”
“There’s a kid’s life at stake here,” he growled softly into the phone. “I need you to do whatever it is you do to find her.”
“Oh, my God, Brantley.”
Feeling shitty for not easing her into it, Brantley exhaled and offered a quick explanation of what they’d learned about Kate Walker’s disappearance.
“They confirmed she was with them for lunch, but at some point after that, she disappeared. Find whatever you can, JJ. And if you do get a bead on her, get me the information on the vehicle she left in and where they went.”
“Of course,” she said quickly. “I’ll do what I can. But you should know, I don’t have the necessary tools at my disposal right this minute.”
