“I don’t respect it at all,” Jared said, holding up a finger as he stared at the screen. “Go back just a few seconds if you can.”
Cooper did as Jared asked, moving so he could see the screen as he started the playback a second time. “What do you see?”
“It’s coming up.” Jared was grim. “Right there.” He pointed when Zoe jerked her head to the side. “Someone called to her, got her attention. And there she goes. Whoever it is, Zoe is going to him or her.”
“How do you know it’s a person?” Harper challenged. “Maybe she saw a dog or something.”
“I guess that’s possible, but I don’t think so. Zoe was looking in the opposite direction. The way she turned makes me think someone addressed her directly.”
Cooper played it again, and sure enough, upon second viewing, Harper was convinced Jared was right.
“So someone took her.” Harper swallowed hard. “That means she’s not out there waiting to be found.”
“She’s waiting to be found,” Jared countered. “It just means someone is probably hiding her, which is going to make it that much more difficult to find her.”
“Where do we look first?”
“I think the obvious place is with Luke Mathers. Perhaps he decided he wanted contact with his daughter after all.”
“This is a sick way to get it,” Cooper complained.
“There’s no doubt about that. Come on. We need to talk to Mel and then I want to meet Luke Mathers for myself. I think we’re going to have loads to talk about.”
Three
Jared left Harper in town with Zander and Shawn — and Jason, even though the man still irritated him on a daily basis — and drove to Luke’s house to question him. Once in a vehicle with Mel, he realized pretty much everyone in Whisper Cove felt the same way about the deadbeat dad in question.
“Slimy bucket of entrails,” Mel muttered as he navigated the quaint streets. “I wish someone would castrate him.”
Jared lifted his eyebrows, amused despite the serious situation. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“I really feel as if he’s pretty much the worst man in the world,” Mel replied without hesitation. “I mean ... what kind of jerk doesn’t take care of his own flesh and blood?”
Since Jared didn’t know Luke, wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a lineup, he decided on a pragmatic approach. “Are we sure Zoe is really his daughter? I mean ... I don’t know Ally very well, but is there a chance he thought she wasn’t his kid?”
“There was a DNA test.”
“Oh.” Jared was mostly mollified. “Why was there a DNA test if Ally never intended to go after him for child support?”
“Because he was telling anyone in town who would listen that she was sleeping with other people, something that mortified her. She was embarrassed — and I think there’s probably a chance that she believed if she had proof he would change his ways — but he was even worse when it was proven that the kid was his.”
“It gets worse?”
“He started making noise at the local bars, telling people that Ally probably drugged him so she could eradicate his defenses and purposely got pregnant with Zoe to trap him.”
“That’s kind of low, although ... is it possible she drugged him?”
“You don’t understand. Ally is a good girl. She volunteers her time at all the festivals and even delivers food for seniors with Meals on Wheels. She’s not a bad girl.”
“Even good girls make mistakes.”
“Drugging someone is not a mistake.”
“Fair enough.” Jared’s mind was busy. “I don’t understand why she let Luke off the hook for child support if she was certain he was the father. In her position, I would’ve dragged him to court and gotten every dime I could.”
“That’s not how Ally is. She’s ... sweet, and doesn’t like to fight. She keeps to herself and never causes problems. She never confided in me or anything, but I have a feeling it wasn’t worth the effort for her. She didn’t want to hold on to a man who didn’t want her back.
“He did it to her, broke her heart, and left her with a parting gift of sorts,” he continued, his lips twisting into a grimace. “She’s not the type to want retribution. If she went after child support, then Luke would’ve been granted visitation. Given the way he treated Ally, she was probably afraid that he would be mean to Zoe.”
Jared couldn’t imagine anyone being mean to a small child, but he knew it happened. He knew worse happened. “If he didn’t want anything to do with the kid, why would he take her?”
“I can’t answer that for you. We don’t know that he did take her. It could’ve been someone else.”
“But ... why?”
“We both know the terrible reasons someone might take a child.” Mel was grim. “Let’s hope we’re dealing with someone who simply wanted a child and not the other possibilities. It is close to Christmas. Maybe someone was feeling lonely and saw an opportunity.”
“That would be the best-case scenario,” Jared agreed. “The odds of Zoe being hurt by an individual who is lonely and looking for company are low compared to ... well ... you know.”
“Yes. That’s why we’re hoping that Luke decided to become a father, and did it in a terrible way, or there’s some lonely woman out there who wants to dote on a kid. If it’s something else ... I don’t even want to think about that just yet.”
“Let’s focus on Luke,” Jared suggested. “He’s our best bet.”
IT WAS A GOOD THING Mel and Jared weren’t expecting a warm welcome, because when Luke opened the door, he practically slammed it shut in their faces.
“Oh, geez. What do you guys want?”
Mel was calm as he regarded the blond man standing in front of him. “Can we come in?”
“That depends on what you’re here for,” Luke replied. “I don’t want to donate to any police gala fund or anything, so if you’re selling tickets, you can move right along.”
Mel didn’t as much as crack a smile. “We’re here about Zoe.”
For a moment, Luke’s veneer cracked. It was brief, but Jared recognized a sliver of something he couldn’t quite identify before the man turned jovial. “What? Does she need Christmas presents or something? Is this one of those ‘Shop With a Cop’ things?”
“No. If she needed gifts, I would simply buy her gifts.” Mel’s ire was on full display. “I wouldn’t bother you over something a real man was needed for. You can be sure of that.”
Luke’s green eyes flashed dark. “Why are you here?”
“Zoe is missing,” Jared interjected, legitimately worried Mel would lose his cool and pop Luke in the face rather than ask the questions they needed answers for. “We need information from you.”
“What do you mean she’s missing?”
“I mean that someone took her and now we need to find out who that someone is.”
False bravado fleeing, Luke pushed open the door and allowed Mel and Jared entrance. Jared gave the house a long scan, his eyes taking in the empty beer bottles on the kitchen counter and the empty pizza boxes stacked on the floor in the corner.
“I don’t understand,” Luke said as he led them into the kitchen, grabbing the two nearest beer bottles and shoving them in a cardboard container. “How did she go missing?”
“She was downtown with Ally,” Mel replied. “She was standing in front of the coffee shop, hopping up and down, when something drew her attention. We have her on camera, and someone very clearly said something to get her to look in that direction. Then she took off, and we haven’t found her.”
“But ... who would take her?”
“Why do you think we’re here talking to you?” Mel challenged. “On our list of people who might want to do Zoe harm, you’re pretty much at the top.”
Luke reared back as if he’d been struck in the face. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“You clearly don’t want to take care of her either,” Mel shot back. “When was the last time you sa
w her?”
“I don’t see her.” Luke swallowed hard. “I’ve never technically been introduced to her. I guess I’ve seen her and Ally in town a few times, like at that big pumpkin carving thing they had around Halloween. I saw her that day. Ally was helping her carve a pumpkin.”
“Did you talk to her?” Jared asked.
Luke shook his head. “No. She doesn’t know who I am. Ally said she wouldn’t tell her until she was old enough to start asking questions. I stay out of their way because ... well, because it’s what seems best for both of them.”
“Yes, you’re a real prince,” Mel drawled. “Has anything changed about your relationship with Ally in recent months? I mean ... has she decided to take you to court for back child support or something?”
“Why not ask her that?”
“Because she’s ... very upset,” Jared replied, remembering the woman who could barely form words in the face of her daughter’s disappearance. “She’s having trouble holding it together.”
“Well, then maybe she should’ve paid more attention to the kid.” Luke’s tone was biting. “If she’d been watching Zoe, she wouldn’t have lost her in the first place.”
Jared instinctively grabbed Mel’s arms before his partner could pummel Luke’s face. “Don’t,” he hissed, his eyes flashing with warning. “It’s not worth it. I need you to help me find Zoe. If you go to jail for assault, I’m going to be on my own. Neither of us wants that.”
Mel looked as if he was going to argue the point, but instead he made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and turned away. That left Jared to finish questioning Luke.
“What’s your status right now?” he asked after a beat. “I mean ... have you been dating anyone? Have you been shooting your mouth off in the bar to anyone? Have you been considering going back to Ally?”
The last question clearly flabbergasted Luke. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because I need to know.” Jared refused to back down. “If you were sniffing around again and Ally cut you off, it might be motivation enough for you to take Zoe to make her suffer.”
“I didn’t take Zoe. I wouldn’t do that to Ally.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Mel deadpanned. “You’ve finally drawn a line in the sand that you won’t cross when it comes to hurting that poor woman.”
“Hey! If you think I feel good about everything that happened, you’re wrong,” Luke spat, his cheeks flushing with color. “That isn’t what I wanted. She knew I didn’t want a family, though. I’m not the settling down type. That’s on her.”
“Yes, she got pregnant all on her own.”
“Oh, you don’t understand.” Luke made a dismissive gesture as he turned his back to them, his shoulders heaving. “Ally and I have an agreement. I don’t have to pay child support and she doesn’t have to share Zoe. I don’t interact with either of them. I’m holding up my end of the bargain.”
“And what about any relationships you’ve been involved in?” Jared asked, calm. “Have you been dating a woman who might see Zoe as a threat?”
“I never date anyone seriously,” Luke replied. “I sometimes date the same person for a few weeks, although I never go over three months, and that hasn’t changed since before Ally.”
“You dated Ally for longer than three months.” Mel’s voice was quiet. “That’s why everyone thought you were finally gearing up to settle down. I bet Ally thought that, too.”
“Well, Ally was wrong.”
“She certainly was.”
Luke heaved out a long-suffering sigh. “I know what everyone in this town thinks of me. I’m not an idiot. As for dating, I go out with women from time to time, but it never gets serious.”
“Who was your most recent un-serious date?” Jared asked.
“Jessica Hayden.”
Jared furrowed his brow. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“She’s a crisis counselor,” Mel supplied. “You met her a few weeks ago when Annabelle Lipscomb died in that car accident on County Line Road. The kids at the school were in crisis and she spent an entire day up there with them.”
“Oh, right.” Jared bobbed his head. “Now I remember. She seemed like a nice woman.”
“Which begs the question of why she was dating Luke,” Mel spat. “I’m guessing it’s because — like every other woman who has been stupid enough to take him on — she probably figured she was going to be the one to make him change.”
“You’re not far off,” Luke agreed. “She kept wanting me to talk about my feelings and make plans for the future. We didn’t have a future. She just couldn’t see it.”
“How did she take the breakup?” Jared asked. “Was she bitter?”
“She was surprised. I could see that. She wasn’t bitter, though. She just told me I was a jerk and left. That’s pretty tame for some of my breakups.”
“Yeah, well, we’re going to need a list of all the women you’ve dated for the past two years,” Mel said. “We’re probably not looking at them as the guilty party, but we need to be certain.”
“Fine. Anything else?”
“That will be it for now,” Mel replied. “Well, other than searching your house, I mean.”
“Why are you searching my house? Do you really think I have Zoe here, stashed in some room, perhaps gagged and tied up or something?”
“We’re going to make sure you don’t,” Mel said. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Even though he was clearly frustrated, Luke read the determination on Mel’s face and merely threw his hands in the air. “I don’t think I have a choice. Knock yourself out.”
HARPER WAS FROZEN SOLID when she returned to the coffee shop after searching the beach with Jason, Zander, and Shawn. The endeavor took longer than she imagined — the beach seemed much smaller when it was sunny and warm — and she didn’t bother grabbing gloves before leaving the house.
“Oh, that smells heavenly,” she intoned as the woman behind the counter handed her a gingerbread latte. “I want to kiss you this smells so good.”
Rose McGovern, the owner of the shop, merely smiled. “You were out looking for the little girl. I think you deserve a reward for that.”
“I didn’t find her.” Harper rolled her neck and looked to the corner table where Ally sat with two women, staring into nothing as they tried to cajole her into talking. “How is Ally?”
“Not good,” Rose replied, keeping her voice low. “She’s no longer speaking, for the most part. She hasn’t said a word in at least an hour.”
“And before?”
“She babbled a bit. She said that Zoe liked going to the park and she was determined to go there and find her. Karen stopped her from leaving, though, and went herself. The park, for the record, has been searched three separate times.”
“Well, that’s not necessarily a bad idea,” Harper noted. “If Zoe is out there wandering around on her own, she might be hitting different spots at different times.”
The look Rose shot Harper was full of pity. “Oh, honey, you know she’s not out there on her own. There’s no way. The entire town is looking for her.”
“I know.” Harper felt sick to her stomach as she sipped the latte. “Someone took her, Rose. I saw the video. The angle is bad, so you can’t see exactly who called to her, but it was obviously someone she knew.”
“I wish I’d paid better attention. It was busy, though. The town is always busy with shoppers this time of year. I saw her a few times through the window. She looked to be having a good time bouncing around. You know how kids are. They find enjoyment in the oddest things.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s not anybody’s fault but the person who took her.”
“What kind of sick loser would take a child before Christmas?” Rose hissed.
“I don’t think it would be less worrisome if she disappeared in the middle of summer.”
“No. You know what I mean, though. It’s just ... this is supposed to be the happiest time of the ye
ar. Kids like Zoe are supposed to be dreaming about visits from Santa Claus and baking cookies for his visit. They’re not supposed to be worried about being taken from the street.”
Harper was thoughtful as she thought back to the video footage. “I couldn’t see Zoe’s face very clearly, but she almost looked as if she recognized whoever called out to her. I don’t suppose you know who Ally spends her time with, do you?”
“Ally stops in here at least twice a week. She always has Zoe with her, and the little girl gets a cake pop and a hot chocolate. Then they sit in the window seat and talk about stuff, like unicorns and the elves working in Santa’s workshop. That’s what they were talking about the other day.
“Usually, Zoe is perfectly fine in here and never puts up a fuss,” she continued. “Today, though, she didn’t like all the people. Marge Hefferman was in here and talking at the top of her lungs. You know what that’s like.”
Harper nodded knowingly. “I do. She makes Zander look demure.”
Rose snorted. “Yes, well, he was a hero today, too. He was out there for hours looking. He’s not a bad boy, even if he is dramatic and loud.”
“I would fight to the death with anyone who thought otherwise,” Harper agreed. “Basically you’re saying that you don’t know who Ally spends her time with, right?”
“I’m saying that Ally spends all of her time with Zoe,” Rose replied. “I mean ... I’m sure she has friends. She’s not the wallflower type. Zoe is the beginning and end of her world, though. She’s a wonderful mother.
“Sometimes ... sometimes I think that Ally dotes on Zoe so much because she feels as if she did wrong by the little girl when it came to picking her father,” she continued. “Luke is the worst man alive, so Ally has to be the best mother ever to grace the Earth. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Surprisingly, Harper found she had a lump in her throat. “We’re going to find Zoe. Don’t give up. Jared and Mel are on the case. They know what they’re doing.”
“They do, but we all know the statistics. The things that could be happening to that little girl ... .” Rose’s eyes filled with tears.
Ghostly Holiday (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 11) Page 3
