Justice at Dawn

by Valerie Massey Goree

  “All right. Come with me.”

  Cooper gave KC a thumbs up for thinking fast, and followed her to the office Joe entered.

  He introduced the manager, Fay Thomas, and relayed the request.

  She eyed Cooper and KC. “We don’t usually let just anyone view our tapes, but since this is an emergency, I’ll allow it. Take care of them, Joe. I’ll run the front desk.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Thomas. We appreciate your help.” Cooper shook her hand before she left the office.

  Joe directed them to a computer on a back table. He consulted a manual, then punched a couple of keys. “Do you want to see when the ladies arrived, or just when they checked out?”

  “Arrival first. Yesterday. We know she arrived here before three o’clock.” Sadie could be traveling with a friend and didn’t tell Bowen. Cooper drew up a chair beside Joe. He snagged his notebook and a pen from his shirt pocket and nodded at KC when she produced her materials.

  “I wasn’t on duty then.” Joe finally located the correct recording.

  The black and white video flickered on the screen. Sadie entered the lobby. She carried Zach’s car seat and rolled her suitcase. Hannah followed, toting a backpack. No one else entered while Sadie registered.

  “I guess I was wrong about who the baby belonged to. Let’s watch their departure earlier today. You’ll see why I was confused.” Joe again tapped keys, and a different video displayed.

  Five minutes after nine, Sadie, holding Hannah’s hand, approached the counter from the direction of the elevators. She wheeled the suitcase with the backpack slung over the handle. A woman wearing a cap low over her light-colored hair carried the car seat. Zach squirmed and waved his chubby arms about.

  “At least we know the baby’s alive.” KC covered her mouth. “Sorry.”

  But Cooper had thought the same thing. “Sadie doesn’t look intimidated. In fact, she’s talking to the woman.” Cooper took a photo of the screen. Maybe Bowen would recognize the other person. No angles revealed enough for face recognition software, though.

  “Hey, do you think the woman had a gun pointed at your friend?” The slim clerk paled.

  “Both of her hands are visible on the car seat handle.” Cooper tapped the screen. “But that doesn’t mean she didn’t threaten Sadie earlier.”

  “Is the woman Sadie’s sister-in-law?” KC asked.

  “No. I haven’t met Reyna, but the photo in Bowen’s office shows her with long, dark hair. I suppose she could have dyed it.”

  “She was blonde, all right.” Joe folded his arms. “I didn’t get a good look at her face. She kept turning away, but I think she had blue eyes. She was wearing dark blue jeans, and a long-sleeved navy top.”

  “Not Reyna. Her eyes are brown, and she’s tall. Sadie and this woman look to be about the same height. Can we watch the outside view, please?”

  “Joe, you’re being very helpful. Thanks so much.” KC removed her cap.

  Joe did a double take. He smiled before returning to the computer. “There they are. I’ll zoom in.”

  Sadie opened the back door of her SUV for Hannah. As the child climbed in, Sadie gestured toward the woman who grabbed the suitcase handle. After what looked like an argument, Sadie opened the backpack and withdrew a book and a box.

  “Coloring book and crayons.”

  “You sure?” Cooper asked.

  “Yup. I have two nieces who love to color.” Cap on her head again, KC shrugged. “I’d recognize the crayon box anywhere.”

  “Isn’t Hannah a little old for coloring books?”

  “Depends on the child.” She tapped her pen on her pad. “In fact, there’s a whole new coloring craze now for adults.”

  Cooper frowned. What next? He jutted his chin toward Joe.

  The video continued. The blonde woman carried the rolling suitcase, backpack, and car seat to a dark four-door sedan near the SUV. She took a couple of minutes to strap Zach in the backseat.

  “That’s odd. Stop the tape, Joe. The blonde took all the luggage with her.”

  “I don’t see a separate diaper bag.” KC shrugged. “Perhaps the baby supplies are in the suitcase.”

  “Right. Carry on, Joe.”

  The blonde waited for Sadie to drive to the exit, then followed her out of the parking lot.

  “Stop again, please.” Cooper took another photo of the screen. “Got both vehicles. Resume.”

  The vehicles turned right on SR 74.

  “That’s all,” Joe said.

  “Zoom in on her car so I can see the plate number.”

  “Sure.”

  But the plate only revealed bits of the word California at the top. All characters were obscured. However, the rear end of the vehicle appeared to be caked in mud splatter. Not surprising the number plate would be too.

  “What else do you remember? Did you hear what the women talked about? Did they mention where they were going?” Cooper stared at the screen as if deeper scrutiny would erase the muck on the plate.

  “I’ve told you all I can. The women were sort of whispering.” Joe scrunched his forehead. “Oh, wait. The little girl did ask why the baby couldn’t ride with her.”

  “What did they tell her?” KC asked.

  “If they said anything I didn’t hear because the phone rang. Sorry.”

  Tension simmered in Cooper’s gut. He did not have a good feeling about the blonde. “I suppose all the other entry doors require a key card?”

  “Yes.” Joe stood and switched off the monitor. “I need to get back to the front desk.”

  Stepping aside, KC said, “Our friend had a hard time making calls—”

  “Several cell towers are down. It’s a big nuisance and our guests are complaining.” Joe opened the office door.

  “Thanks for assisting us.” Cooper slapped him on the shoulders. “You’re a good kid.”

  KC beamed at Joe. “Yes, you’ve been a great help. One last question. The other woman didn’t check out separately, so I’m assuming she didn’t stay at the hotel.”

  In the hallway, Joe stopped and pursed his lips. “Could be. We don’t do express checkout, so all our guests have to come to the front desk to pay. We keep a credit card number on file in case a guest forgets. Your friend only paid for one room, but the other woman could have stayed with her. Guests are supposed to let us know how many people will be in the room, but sometimes they don’t.”

  Cooper thanked the manager and followed KC toward the exit, stopped and pivoted. “Joe, can you do me one more favor, please?”

  The young man rolled his eyes, but KC hurried to the counter. So far, she was spot-on with procedure. She came back in without being told and made a personal connection to get results.

  “OK.”

  “Can you see if a woman, by herself, checked in or out any time yesterday or before you came on duty today?”

  “I can’t give you names from our records—”

  “No names. If that blonde didn’t share our friend’s room, I want to know if she stayed here.”

  “We weren’t busy this weekend, so it shouldn’t take long.” Ten minutes later, he shook his head. “No women by herself, and so far, everyone has paid.”

  Withdrawing a business card from his wallet, Cooper set it on the counter. “The videos provided vital information. Thanks. If you remember anything else, please give me a call.”

  “You might have saved the baby’s life, Joe.” KC tipped her cap at him and then walked with Cooper to his truck.

  In the cab, he said, “Let’s compare notes. I don’t think the blonde stayed at the hotel. She must have entered through one of the other doors.”

  “Unless she arrived with someone else who checked in.”

  “That would have required a lot of preplanning. How did she know where Sadie would spend the night?”

  “How did she know Sadie was here anyway?”

  “You’re right.” Cooper ran a finger along his scar. “Are we making too much of this woman? She’s certai
nly not Reyna, but Sadie must have many friends. In fact, she might have asked someone to accompany her to help with Zach.”

  “Another relative?”

  “Sadie was raised in foster care. No siblings.”

  A cloud seemed to pass over KC’s face. “What about her cell phone?”

  Of course. KC spent time in foster care, too. He stalled that particular line of inquiry and asked, “Have you had any success in tracing your mother?”

  Her eyes widened. “How’d you know I was still looking?”

  “You’re not the type of person who’d give up easily.”

  Head lowered, she sighed. “I use every spare minute to scour the Internet. But no, I haven’t found her. Yet.”

  Her flat tone nagged at him. Should he tell her he’d asked IRO’s IT guy, Peter Kimball, to keep up the search?

  “Enough about my mother. We have work to do.” KC rapped on the center console. “Sadie’s phone?”

  “Of course.” Back to business. “I’ll call right now.” Cooper dialed Sadie’s number, but the call didn’t connect. He repeated the process. “Either her phone is off, the battery’s dead, or the tower’s still out.”

  “If I was traveling with kids, I’d make sure my phone was charged and turned on.”

  “Yeah, and—”

  “Something else that’s bothering me.” KC held his gaze. “You said Zach is only seven months old. Why would Sadie allow him to ride in the other vehicle? If I was a mom, my baby would travel with me.”

  KC had expressed Cooper’s unease perfectly. Since watching the video, his gut had roiled. Now he understood why. “You’re right again. We’ll follow SR 74 and make inquires along the way.” Cooper’s truck roared to life. When he reversed in front of the hotel, a movement caught his eye. Joe, flagging him down. Cooper lowered the window. “Do you have more info?”

  “Yes, no. What is the name of your friend’s little girl?”

  “Hannah.”

  Joe handed Cooper a sheet torn from a coloring book. “Her name’s on it. A guest said he found it in the elevator this morning.” Joe peered across Cooper to KC. “Was that helpful?”

  “Certainly, Joe.” She winked. “I’m in your debt.”

  “Thank you.” Cooper raised the window, turned right onto SR 74 and checked the dashboard clock. Nearly six o’clock. Nine hours since Sadie’s call to Bowen.

  18

  The more KC thought about Sadie’s departure, the more her misgivings accumulated. She’d noted odd actions but needed Coop’s expertise to see if she was creating clues where none existed. She turned over Hannah’s page. Only one side had been colored, a princess, in bold hues, the crayons pressed hard for maximum effect. “This page was ripped out, not carefully torn like a child would do if she wanted to give it to someone.”

  “I see that. And I don’t suppose Hannah wrote anything else?” Coop glanced at her.

  “No. If the family was under duress, I’d think Sadie would have written an SOS message—or have Hannah write it.”

  “The page could have been loose, already torn, and fallen out.”

  KC folded the paper and set it on the center console. “Why did the woman seem to argue with Sadie over the coloring book and crayons? Why not let Hannah have her backpack?”

  “Good questions. I don’t know.” Coop slowed and pulled off the road, stopping outside a café. “This business with the cell towers is also bothering me. Try to make a call, to anyone, and I’ll do the same.”

  She swiped a friend’s contact icon. The call went through but dropped a second later. “Nope.”

  “Same here.” He stashed his phone in his pocket. “I only received a half dozen e-mail notifications since we’ve been here. Usually, I get many more than that. No calls, either, obviously. Sadie could have used a landline to call Bowen, but he can’t reach us.”

  “Have you been on this road before? It traverses Caspers Wilderness Park and the Cleveland National Forest.” KC opened her handbook and removed an aerial photo of the area surrounding State Route 74.

  He shook his head.

  “While you were at the IRO office earlier, I asked one of the guys if I could use his computer to check the area between San Juan Capistrano and Lake Elsinore. This location is sparsely populated with few amenities. Campgrounds, hiking trails. I had him print a screen shot.” She showed Coop the page. “The road is only about thirty-five miles long but winds through the hills.”

  “Proactive. I like that. By the way, you did a good job at the hotel. Made a personal connection with Joe, and you asked substantive questions.”

  His compliment heated her cheeks. She turned away from his penetrating gaze. Whew. She opened the window. “If cell reception is spotty here, then it’ll be worse the farther we travel.”

  “Right. Let’s go inside the café and make a few landline calls.”

  Dusk colored the sky with pink and coral. KC followed Coop into the café. Tantalizing aromas of grilling meat floated toward KC. Would she and Coop have time for a bite? She was starving.

  Coop explained their dilemma to the manager, and he led them to an office at the rear and commented that many people had requested to use their phone.

  “Did this woman come in for that reason?” Coop withdrew Sadie’s folded headshot from his pocket.

  The manager shook his head. “No. Sorry.”

  “How about a blonde with a baby and maybe a little girl?” KC asked.

  “No one with young kids.”

  “Thanks.” Coop dialed Bowen’s number, and he answered right away. Coop punched the speaker button. “Have you heard from Sadie?”

  “Yes. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. She called to say she’s spending the night with a friend she met in San Juan Capis…you know. Friend has a cabin near a lake. Ooh, I can’t think straight. Lake Elsinore, that’s it. West of the lake. She mentioned the woman’s name, but I don’t know her. Barbara somebody. Going to follow her. Sadie will head to LA tomorrow.” Bowen’s voice had a sing-song tone.

  “How are you?” Coop asked.

  “Pain’s gone, and I feel gooood.” He whooped. “You can come home now. Sadie’s fine.”

  KC raised her brows at Coop. She didn’t know Bowen well enough to gauge whether his lighthearted tone was legit or due to the meds.

  “How about KC and I continue on our trek? I’ll use it as a training exercise for her. Tracking a person’s movements will be good hands-on experience.”

  That sounded like a great plan. She beamed at Coop.

  “OK, Agent Callahan. See ya—”

  “Cooper?” A female voice cut off Bowen’s words.

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “Charlotte, Bowen’s sister. I’ve been here a couple of hours. I’m so glad you called. He’s been frantic because he couldn’t tell you Sadie was safe.”

  “Were you there when Sadie called?”

  “Unfortunately, no. I’d have asked for Barbara’s last name, phone number, et cetera. I guess the meds made Bowen’s brain fuzzy, and he didn’t question Sadie.”

  “Too bad. Does Cal know of the change in plans?”

  “Yes. I called him as soon as Bowen told me.”

  Cooper ran his thumb along his scar. “When will he have surgery?”

  “We’re still waiting for one more result. I’ll keep in touch.”

  “The storm knocked out a few cell towers. If you can’t reach me, that’s why.”

  Mumbled words, then Charlotte said, “Bowen changed his mind, or is thinking rationally, and now wants you and KC to follow Sadie all the way to LA.”

  “We will. And if my cell doesn’t work, I’ll update you when we have access to a landline again.”

  When he ended the call, KC checked her watch. Six thirty. Practical questions hovered on her lips. Where would they spend the night? What would they eat?

  Coop ushered her out of the office. “I think we should order to-go meals and then travel as far as we can before dark, asking at any place
we pass if they’ve seen the two vehicles.”

  “Good idea.”

  Twenty minutes later, containers of sandwiches, salads, and carrot cake in a sack, Coop opened his truck door. “Show me the map you have, please.” He deposited the food on the backseat.

  Belt buckled, KC unfolded the paper again and held it between them. “We’re about here.” She prodded the map.

  “Let’s drive slowly and look for side roads that might lead to a cabin.”

  “Bowen said Barbara’s cabin was near the lake.”

  “Yes, but we’re using this experience for training purposes. Consult the map and keep your eyes wide open.”

  “Right.”

  He eased onto the road.

  No other vehicles traveled their direction. KC studied the view outside her window, searching for dirt tracks, clues—really, she had no idea what to look for. The map showed no side roads for miles, but she focused anyway. A scrap of a blown-out tire. Plastic bags caught on a twig. A rectangular piece of paper.

  “Stop.”

  He slammed on the brakes. “What did you see?”

  “Back up. It might be nothing.”

  He reversed until she held up her hand. She climbed out and picked up the paper. It was another sheet from a coloring book. Her heart sank.

  Leaning into the cab, she tossed the paper to Coop. “It could be from Hannah’s book. Another princess also done in bright colors. One difference—she didn’t stay within the lines like she did before. I’m no psychologist, but I’d say this kid is angry.”

  He turned over the picture. “Let’s keep looking. Maybe she’s dropping pages like breadcrumbs.”

  A half-mile down the road, KC spotted another piece of paper.

  Coop stopped.

  Sure enough, a third princess, bold, hard coloring. But this time, Hannah’s name was scrawled across the top.

  “Is she leaving clues, or just throwing away pages from her book?” KC asked.

  “I don’t know her well enough to say. She was traumatized by the years she spent with the woman who rescued her, rather, kidnapped her, after her dad died in a car wreck. Hannah was with him when the vehicle plunged into a river. She visited a therapist for a while before Sadie and Bowen married. But this behavior—your guess is as good as mine.”