Chapter 30: Search Party

Savannah and I cleaned up. There was a bit more kissing and petting but my need to find my family kept us focused. After meeting Yvonne and Chloe in the lobby, we piled into Monique's SUV and left for the police station.

Officer Colburn met us just inside. Either she had set the matter aside or I looked in enough control of myself, because she neither said nor looked disgruntled in any way. Then again, she may have been, and used her cool cop expression to cover it. Either way, it was her problem. We needed to focus and her professionalism was what I needed.

Other officers were already gathered, waiting to help search and were glad to hear that I hadn't been hurt as badly as everyone had thought. Apparently my missing family was the big news of the area and many people were pitching in to help search. So far, nothing had turned up.

As I met the other officers, I made sure to shake everyone's hands. Any special training they had, whether just police training or something more, I gathered. One officer had been a sniper in Desert Storm. Another was a former demolitions expert. Several had had some kind of personal defense training or martial arts. All were tools that might come in handy. I was grateful that I wouldn't have to fully depend on others who didn't know me.

After a tour of the station, there was a short meeting. On a map, the captain showed me where everyone had searched and nothing had been found. There were very few locations to really look but the more time that passed the greater the distance the abductor could put between us and him. The captain was certain the perpetrator hadn't gone far though because of the series of incidents they were sure were connected.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, Officer Colburn's phone rang again. She answered it and handed it over to me.

"Ral, it's Michael. What's going on?"

I stepped away from the small crowd and around a corner. "I've just been introduced to the police department helping with the search for my family. After meeting them all, I'm probably the most skilled person in the group."

I heard Michael chuckle. "You have got to be the most amazing Mind Magi ... Still, you need to be careful. Those skills will do little good against the power this thing seems to have. Andrea told me what it was able to do before, and now that fire has been added to its arsenal..."

"I know. I'm going to have Andrea take me by a fire station so I can garner some useful firefighting skills next."

"Not a bad idea. Hey, you can share memories too, you might share them with her. She's very smart and quick as a whip."

"And not bad looking either, but hey, who's looking, right?"

Another chuckle. "I'd steer clear of her, Ral. Last guy that looked at her wrong or tried something ended up with a broken wrist."

"Oh, believe me, I'm steering clear. The last thing I need is that kind of distraction."

"Good. Now, let me talk to her before you leave there."

I went back to Andrea and gave her the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

She took it with a nod and went back to the same corner I had just come from.

Once everyone was ready, she was standing by me again. The look on her face was grim determination but I thought I saw a flush across her face. I leaned over and whispered. "Michael suggested that I share this with you..." I grazed her hand and just as quick as before, I shared the combined training with her. She would feel like she had had years of training in all the fields that I had collected. After blinking a few times, she grinned up at me. I nodded as did she.

"I'd like to stop by the fire station before we leave. They're going to have lots of good tips to fight fires."

Andrea understood my meaning and nodded. Some of the other officers didn't catch on, but figured if the perpetrator tried using some kind of fire weapon against us, but more help we had, the better.

Fire Marshal Talley was a big help. He gave instructions in the basics of putting out fires and made sure everyone had a small fire extinguisher. I talked to him for a moment, thanking him for the quick tips. When we shook hands, I suddenly knew far more than I had ever known about fire, including that the most common starting point of most fires was a cigarette. The list of chemicals and the combinations that led to combustible mixes was certainly useful and knowing there were a few catalysts that would leave no trace was useful too. I made sure Andrea found all of this out.

The line of vehicles leaving Charleston for my home town consisted of four squad cars, a SWAT van, a line of personal vehicles and Monique's SUV, which Yvonne was still driving. Hopefully we would find this guy. Hopefully he hadn't done anything truly harmful to my family. Hopefully I'd have a chance to put him on the ground like he had done me.