The Moment He Vanished (Kendra Dillon Cold Case Thriller Book 2)

by Rebecca Rane

  “What exactly did he say?”

  “I’ve got to find out for myself.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve got to find out if what he told me was true.”

  “Josh, wait, you need to be careful. If this is true, it’s dangerous.”

  “I’m a grown man now. Thank you for listening to me. But this is my life. I’m taking control of it.”

  “No, don’t. Just wait. The police need to do this, officially. We have the podcast with the evidence. I promise I’ll make them bring Frank Drager in. That’s the right way to do it!”

  “I’m already here.”

  At that point, Josh ended the call. Kendra redialed over and over.

  Josh was headed for Frank Drager. He was headed directly into danger.

  Kendra looked behind her and made a U-turn. If Josh was headed to Drager’s house, maybe she could head him off.

  Drager lived on-site at the bogus ski resort. She’d been there. She punched it up on her GPS as she drove. Her heart raced. She had to get there.

  Josh struck her as innocent, and despite his strange beginnings, as someone who’d been sheltered. He wasn’t someone who could handle physical danger or understood what people did when they were cornered.

  She needed to stop Josh!

  If Frank Drager was the monster they’d been looking for, he’d know how to defend himself.

  “Siri, dial Shoop,” Kendra said as she pressed her foot on the accelerator of her Jeep.

  “Hi, this is Addie Shoop, of The Cold Trail, please leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

  Kendra disconnected.

  “Siri, dial Gilly.”

  Her sister picked up.

  “Sis, I need you. I’m headed to North Slope Golf and Ski, like now. So is Josh, and he’s unhinged. He thinks someone there murdered Ethan Peltz, and it’s a lot, I know. But trust me, it’s a mess.”

  “Do you need 911? That’s the fastest.”

  Kendra thought about it. She didn’t know what she needed at this point. Was Josh a danger to himself? A danger to Frank Drager? Was Frank guilty of kidnapping Ethan? Of killing?

  “I don’t know. All I know is I’m pulling in now, and Josh Wagy’s car is here.”

  “I’m calling 911.”

  Kendra didn’t answer. She was running toward Drager’s. The door was open, so she walked in.

  “Josh, Mr. Drager?” Kendra called out.

  “Thank goodness, this man is insane. He is claiming all kinds of disgusting things.”

  Josh and Drager were standing in his office waiting room area. They were twenty feet apart, but it looked like a standoff without guns.

  “I’m not claiming anything. I’m remembering.”

  Josh looked at Kendra. His eyes were wounded like he was seeing something other than the three of them standing there.

  “Remembering?” Kendra looked at Josh.

  “I know it was him, I KNOW IT. He had me lure those kids, Ethan and Dakota, and more and more.”

  Kendra stood there, horrified at what she was hearing. “Luring?” She was dumbfounded. Dakota had described his experience. He said that a child had lured him. She’d never once thought that child was Josh.

  “I did it. Tim and Frank taught me to do it. I learned how to ask kids to be my friend.” Josh pointed at Frank Drager.

  “You’ve hooked your wagon to a crazy,” Frank Drager spat in Kendra’s direction. “What is this, the second time? I did my research on you.”

  Kendra looked at Frank Drager. The calm and friendly demeanor she’d experienced a few weeks ago, doing the background interview, was gone.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, you believe the nuts that wander into your shitty public station and leave ruined lives in their wake.”

  “She had nothing to do with this. This is you. All of this is you,” Josh said.

  Josh swung his fist at Drager and missed.

  But neither of the men looked menacing or used to any sort of hand to hand combat.

  Kendra put her arm on Josh and yanked him firmly toward her.

  “Josh, the police are on the way. It’s okay.” She knew her sister would have called 911 by now.

  “I should have killed you then, instead of letting him have you as a pet!”

  Josh and Kendra’s focus whipped back to Drager.

  “Oh my God,” Kendra said.

  Drager had produced a small handgun. It was tiny, but a tiny bullet could kill. Drager pointed his gun directly at Josh.

  “Don’t worry, he doesn’t have the guts to pull the trigger. He doesn’t have the guts to do anything but abuse and KILL little children. He’s a monster but a cowardly little one.”

  Josh put his arms out, gently positioning himself in front of Kendra. He was protecting her. But she felt the same instinct toward him. He wasn’t Kyle or trained in law enforcement, he was barely an adult, and he was standing in between her and a bullet.

  She needed to figure out the right thing to say or do so Frank Drager didn’t shoot. Maybe he needed to keep talking?

  Kendra focused on Drager.

  He looked at Kendra and Josh. He took a step backward, not toward them and Kendra realized Josh was right.

  “This is going to be everywhere, just like your other big successes,” Drager accused Kendra.

  “No, no, nothing’s been aired. Put the gun down. We can talk about it.” Kendra would promise anything to diffuse the situation.

  “Josh was my star pupil,” Drager said, ignoring Kendra’s promise to stop the podcast.

  Kendra opened her mouth to encourage him to elaborate, to buy time. But in the next second, he lifted his arm. Kendra felt a little relief. They weren’t in the line of fire. They were okay.

  Then Frank Drager put the gun to his own head. Kendra didn’t have time to gasp or even realize what he was about to do.

  Drager pulled the trigger, and blood spray exploded out from the opposite side of his head. He fell to the ground. Josh pushed her back, away from it all.

  Kendra felt the air leave her lungs.

  She blinked, her ears rang, and she blinked again. Josh stayed as still as a statue next to her.

  “He was a coward,” Josh said. He spit the words towards Drager, now a heap on the floor. It dawned on Kendra that she should do first aid for the man.

  But what was first aid in this situation?

  The ringing in her ears subsided and was replaced by sirens.

  The small room was flooded with blue and red flashing lights.

  Her sister had called a crew.

  But Kendra knew that it would all be too late to do any good for Frank Drager.

  Episode Seven

  “He was always a coward, and I was always afraid.”

  Josh Wagy is starting to remember. He’s starting to remember a childhood so horrific that it isn’t difficult to understand why he blocked it out.

  “I was taught how to do this. I was why they got in the van. I was why so many kids died.”

  “You were a victim too. You can’t forget that.”

  We told you how circumstantial evidence had rapidly piled up against Frank Drager, the director of Rising Wings Academy, and Tim Wagy, Josh’s father.

  In our last episode, you heard how Tim Wagy came into contact with Josh’s biological mother.

  And how at least two tips called into the Ethan Peltz tip line took on new significance when paired with pictures.

  Before we continue, I want to warn you that it is difficult to hear what you’re about to hear. We begin with a familiar voice, the one that started us on this season, Josh Wagy.

  “I am not Ethan Peltz. I knew Ethan Peltz. I saw him on the rides. I rode on the ride with him. I showed him how to get off and run off with me. They told me I was getting a brother.”

  “Who told you?”

  “Tim Wagy and Frank Drager told me. Tim was my Dad, and Frank was my daddy’s—my Dad’s friend. I did what I was told.”

>   “What more do you remember about Ethan?”

  “All the things I told you, they were Ethan’s memories. I thought they were mine. I thought I was into astronauts and had moon and stars sheets. I thought I had a fight about the Astro Blaster ride. He sang ‘Rocket Man’ when he was scared, Ethan did, while he was alive.”

  “What happened to Ethan Peltz?”

  “My father, Tim, he told me to lure Ethan. I did that. And then we were in the car. We changed cars a lot.”

  “Do you remember where you went?”

  “We went to the old apartment, I think. Before the house I grew up in, Tim had an apartment.”

  “Where was that?”

  “I don’t know, I was little. I know it had a circular court in the front, where I rode my bike. The bike had training wheels, so I was little.”

  “Is that where Ethan went?”

  “Yes, we went there, and he was my brother.”

  “How long did Ethan live with you?”

  “I don’t know how many days, but it was never very long for any of them.”

  “A week? Two weeks? A month?”

  “I’d say, looking back now, probably a week but no more than two. And then it was over.”

  “Over?”

  “Frank Drager smothered Ethan Peltz and other children.”

  “Did you watch?”

  “I was made to watch, so I understood.”

  “Understood what?”

  “How easy it was to kill a kid like me. But more than that. How much they liked doing it.”

  “Why did you lie to me and say you were Ethan Peltz?”

  “Because I thought it was true. It was a memory I had, and I wanted Margie Peltz to be my mother and not Tim to be my father. I’m sorry for what I said and for giving Mrs. Peltz false hope. It was wrong. I was confused about what was in my head.”

  “Where is Ethan Peltz buried?”

  “Well, I don’t know that. Frank Drager took him away, like a doll or a bag of groceries. I never saw him again.”

  “And you, what happened after Ethan died?”

  “Tim moved us here.”

  “Did you keep luring children?”

  “No, Tim said it was over, and it was. Can we take a break?”

  “Yes.”

  Less than a week ago, Frank Drager shot himself to death.

  I was an eyewitness, but it wasn’t for my benefit. It was for Josh and to avoid the arrest and prosecution that was sure to come.

  Since his death, police have found horrific evidence—tokens the psychologists say—of his victims. One of those is a photo of a young Ethan Peltz, dead, but wearing clothes that Margie Peltz has identified as her son’s.

  Tim Wagy is on the run.

  He is wanted by the law, and you’re asked to call Crimestoppers if you see him.

  On this final episode of the season, we finally learn what happened to Ethan Peltz, Joshua Wagy, and perhaps over a dozen victims of Frank Drager.

  This is The Cold Trail. I’m Kendra Dillon.

  Chapter 38

  It had been two days since the last episode of season three had aired.

  It had been less than a month since the entire world turned upside down on this case.

  Kendra wasn’t sure if Margie Peltz would answer the door, but she did. Margie opened the door to Kendra. And she looked different.

  There was also a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn of her home.

  “You’re moving?”

  “Finally, yes. I didn’t want to before in case Ethan was out there.”

  Kendra nodded in understanding.

  “I don’t want to bother you, but, well, this would be it, the last interview about this, about Ethan.”

  “Yeah, I understand. A Channel 19 news crew is also coming. I’ve learned to get it out there, get it done, and leave. I never want to talk to the press about this again. If I do it, they’ll have it and then get bored with it.”

  “I promise to be fast,” Kendra said.

  She and Margie sat at the kitchen table.

  “They showed you the picture that Frank Drager had in his home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you certain?”

  “I was. It was my Ethan.” Margie didn’t cry, nor did her voice waver.

  “You seem more at peace than before, calmer,” Kendra observed.

  “At peace? Not sure about that, but I do know now. The wondering is over, well, except for one thing.”

  “What is that?”

  “I wonder if my boy was mad at me for not saving him. I know I’ll never forgive myself.”

  Kendra winced at the thought.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m moving, somewhere warm. Meriwether is the only one with the forwarding address.”

  “What about Josh? I mean, he duped you, me, a lot of people.”

  “Yeah, but he was a pawn, wasn’t he?”

  “Are you going to stay connected with him?”

  “No, his healing isn’t my responsibility.”

  “That’s true, but him coming forward is how all this was finally solved.”

  “Yes, and I appreciate that. I thank him for that.”

  The interview finished. The mystery of her son’s disappearance was now solved, and Margie could move forward. She carried the pain and was haunted by the past. But she wasn’t in limbo about the outcome anymore. It was over.

  Kendra packed up her digital recorder and headed to the door, noticing that there were boxes in the midst of being filled.

  “Oh, wait, here.”

  Margie stepped forward and handed Kendra an unopened package of bedding. Through the clear packaging Kendra saw the sheets were decorated with moons and stars. Margie had given her the space-themed sheets.

  Kendra took it. But was confused by the gesture.

  “This is for Joshua; I don’t blame him. I don’t.” Margie smiled at Kendra. It was a true smile. It gave Kendra some hope that Margie would find peace.

  “Do you blame me for what I put you through?”

  “I blame Frank Drager and Tim Wagy. Now give that to Josh. I don’t want to see him, even after all this. I’m done. But this will let him know I don’t blame him, we talked about them when I thought he was my Ethan.”

  Kendra took the package and left Margie to her packing.

  She would deliver the package and the message to Josh.

  For Margie Peltz, a nightmare that started at Sand Point was finally over.

  Josh would have to find his own peace without Margie’s help.

  She deserved that freedom.

  “I just listened. It was unbelievable.”

  “Yeah, I still can’t shake it.”

  Kendra hadn’t seen Kyle since she’d snuck him lunch. Now they were finally touching base on the phone.

  “I hope my interview with Margie is the end of it, that she can move on. However that looks.”

  “And how’s Josh?”

  “You know, I’m not sure. Okay, I guess. He is in counseling. That’s the best thing, I think, to help him sort through his memories. What about Tim Wagy? Any tips in that department?”

  “No, not a one, sorry about that. And as much as we’re looking for him, well, you know there are other pressing issues.”

  The pressing issue was Brylon Coleman.

  There had been no new news on the missing child.

  “How’s my sister? She’s not returning my calls over the last few days.”

  “She’s working all the angles, no time for anything else.”

  “I’ve been there.”

  Kendra knew that she and her sister were cut from the very same cloth. She also realized she’d be handling Big Don and Stephanie for the time being.

  It was okay, and also why she was glad there were two Dillon sisters. The next time Kendra was neck-deep in a story, she knew Gillian would pick up the slack.

  “That said, I’d like to take you to dinner, whenever this is all, well, who knows.
”

  “I’d like you to take me to dinner too, and that’s still an open yes.”

  “Great, thank you for understanding.”

  “It’s a two-way street, Carver.”

  They ended the call.

  Kendra walked out to the podcast office, where Shoop was on the phone, doing the housekeeping that was becoming standard at the conclusion of their seasons.

  “Yeah, sure, of course, she can, but we’re going to have to push that to tomorrow,” Shoop said and gave Kendra an eye-roll.

  “What, me? I, uh—” Shoop put the phone on her shoulder and whispered to Kendra, “They want me on It’s Criminal! To talk about the season.”

  “Do it, say yes,” Kendra said to her Gal Friday, who was also her Gal Monday through Thursday.

  “I, uh, sure. Email me the details. Thanks.” Shoop hung up and shook her head in disbelief.

  “No reason for me to do all these. It’s time we spread the promo love,” Kendra said, and as she did, Art walked in.

  “If it isn’t my superstars,” Art declared with his arms open wide as though he was surveying his land instead of walking into their offices.

  “Good morning,” Kendra said.

  “Good morning,” Shoop added.

  “Good morning indeed! You two may want to sit down for this,” Art said.

  Kendra narrowed her eyes at Art and stayed standing.

  “I’m fine. Are you in here to tell us I need a new season by, oh, tomorrow?” Kendra quipped.

  “No, no, it’s due before lunch,” Shoop chimed in.

  “Ah, laugh if you will, but I’m here with some numbers,” Art said and produced a bottle of champagne.

  “What?”

  “The Cold Trail, Season Three, just surpassed five million downloads.”

  The number hung in the air.

  “Holy crap,” Shoop said.

  “What does that even mean?” Kendra asked. “Last time you told us numbers, we were approaching a million.”

  “Yep, exponential growth is an amazing phenomenon. That’s what’s happening.”

  “Art, this needs to buy us time. We need a proper amount of time for whatever we do next.”

  Art looked at Kendra and Shoop and cocked his head.

  “I’m going to give you all the time you need, and better still, we can afford a bigger staff for the podcast. How does that sound?”