Game time.
Harper let a couple of cars get between herself and the blue Jetta. She’d watched enough detective shows to know all the tricks. Cam hated the idea that the Empty Crib Organization would ever be thought of as some sort of private investigator firm, so Harper never told her. And Cam was good enough not to ask where the information came from. Most of the time.
People thought this kind of stuff was thrilling, blood-pumping kind of action. They had no idea. Most of it was mind numbing. Like this drive, for instance. All she had to do was keep the Jetta in sight. Might as well be following someone to their favorite lunch joint.
But when Jarom took the Pomerado Road/Miramar exit instead of continuing on to the 163 that would take him home, Harper had to swerve over three lanes to make the exit. It was a good thing she’d allowed for some space between them, or she never would have made it.
Jarom wasn’t going home.
He took several turns soon after coming off the freeway. He was a sensible driver with not a whole lot of flair, going five miles an hour over the speed limit. Not enough to attract notice, but enough that it probably made him feel like he was getting to his destination faster. Harper knew the type. Her ex had been the same way.
It wasn’t long before they were entering into an area of Scripps Ranch that was all apartment complexes and track homes. The possibility that this was just a side errand he was taking before heading home was diminishing by the moment.
Harper kept him in her sights, staying back far enough that it wouldn’t cause suspicion, but close enough that she didn’t lose him. She had no desire to either spook him or lose track of him at this point. Her suspicions were turning out to be correct.
He was so busted.
* * *
With some quick maneuvering and the breaking of a few traffic laws, Cam was able to get to the school before the girls were taken back to the office to wait for her. Not before Jules and Meg had gotten huffy, but that was something that Cam could deal with. Judgmental stares from the office staff, not so much.
As for Mickey, she was unruffled and unbothered by the five-minute wait. How a seven-year-old managed to be an emotional rock to her mom was beyond Cam, but she was grateful for it. She just hoped Mickey wouldn’t end up spending years in therapy to make up for it.
“Mom, don’t forget, me and Jules have ballet practice today,” Meg reminded her.
“Jules is mean?” Cam teased.
Meg rolled her eyes. “Fine. Jules and I.”
“Actually, girls, you may have to miss today, unless your gram can take you. And you know how she is with directions.”
“We get to go to Gram’s house?” Mickey asked. She loved her gram.
“Get to?” Jules whined. “She doesn’t have a TV. She doesn’t have a computer. She doesn’t even have an iPod.”
“I know,” Mickey replied. “Isn’t it great?”
Jules rolled her eyes. That was one expression she and Meg had perfected.
“You are so weird.”
“I know,” Mickey said again with a half smile. “Isn’t it great?”
“Mom--” Jules began.
“Enough, you two,” Cam cut her off, looking to avoid the fight. “Mickey, stop baiting your sister. Jules, stop being so…”
“Obstreperous?” Mickey finished for her.
Cam suppressed a smile. She couldn’t be seen to be taking sides when it came to these kinds of confrontations between her daughters. They were infrequent enough, but when they happened Cam was invariably in Mickey’s camp. That would not go over well.
Jules huffed. “I don’t even know what that word means.”
Mickey just crossed her arms like she had won the argument. Which in Cam’s mind, she pretty much had.
She dropped the kids off with their grandmother, Cam’s mother-in-law. Considering the amount of issues that existed between Cam and Randall, her ex, her relationship with Randy’s mom was surprisingly good. Complicated, yes. Strained at times, but Iris knew her son and acknowledged his flaws.
“There’s my three favorite girls,” Iris crooned, holding out her arms wide for hugs. The girls rushed in, giving their gram huge squeezes.
“What are we going to do today, Gram?” Meg probed, excitement tingeing her tone, probably in spite of herself. Jules and Meg might complain about the lack of tech here, but they always came away from these visits chattering about what they’d done with their grandmother.
“Oh, I think you might find our next ‘project’ laid out on the kitchen table if you’ll go and take a look,” Iris said, pinching Meg’s nose. Meg giggled and ran off with Jules while Mickey took another moment to give her gran a second hug. Then she tore off after her other two sisters.
“Thanks, Iris,” Cam breathed. “You’re a lifesaver, as usual.”
Iris reached out and rubbed Cam’s upper arm, concern etched on her face. “I love having the girls. You know I do. But are you okay?”
It wasn’t a question that Cam was used to having anyone ask, and it took her off guard. Her instinct was to say that she was fine, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure. And the tears that had sprung to her eyes at the question made her think that maybe she wasn’t so okay right now.
She cleared her throat, wiping at her eyes. “Oh, you know. Sometimes…”
“… It just gets to be too much,” Iris finished for her, giving a last pat to Cam’s arm. “I know.” She turned and began picking at one of the perfect rosebushes she grew in the yard, a clear sign she was uncomfortable. “I’ve got the bail money pulled together, so that’s something you can take off your list, at least.”
The apparent non sequitur threw Cam off. Bail money?
And then it hit her. Tomorrow was the anniversary of Ryan’s abduction. Even with the reminder from Mickey, it had gone straight out of her head. Somehow, every year it ended up taking her by surprise. Classic avoidance.
That tactic might have been fine if it wasn’t for her ex. Every year since Ryan went missing, Robert had gone on a bender and ended up picking a fight in whatever bar he landed. There had only been one year that he hadn’t ended up in prison, and that was just because a kind… and very large… bartender had put him in a headlock.
“Right,” Cam said, after a pause. “I’ll do what I can to be available to help you pick him up.”
“I know it’s awkward, sweetie, but he does respond better to you when he’s drunk,” Iris said, still paying an inordinate amount of attention to her well-tended rosebush. She finally seemed to realize what she was doing and turned back to Cam with a wry smile. “Now. You run off and do what you have to do. I’m going to go have fun with my grandbabies. I’ll make sure they get to school on time tomorrow.” She waved as Cam trotted back out to her minivan.
Leaving her girls, even with Iris, was always felt like surgery without anesthetic. But almost before she could begin feeling the pain, she got a phone call. Harper.
“So have I got some news for you.”
CHAPTER 3
Harper squeezed in between two cars, getting a honk and a middle finger for her efforts. She swerved through the tiny gap and made a blind lane change, hoping against hope that there wasn’t another car there.
Following a car in heavy traffic sucked. Jarom was about to get away from her, and while she was mostly sure that he was headed back to the house in Mission Hills, there was no way to be positive until he got there.
Another horn, this time from a douchebag in a BMW, reminded her that blind lane changes in San Diego were maybe not the best idea. Sloppy, sloppy.
One honk on the freeway wouldn’t attract undue notice. They happened all the time. Two in a row and Harper could end up getting attention that she didn’t want right now. Up to this point, she’d done a good job of tailing Jarom without him suspecting. Too much more of this and she was going to get busted.
At least his Jetta was showing no signs of evasive maneuvers at this point. If he was on to her, there would have been a shift in
driving technique. Right?
After the phone conversation Harper had with her, Cam was now on her way over to Mission Hills as well. The likelihood was that they would get there within a few minutes of each other if Jarom didn’t make any more unscheduled stops. Then, with all of the players in place, it might be possible to get some straight answers out of this family.
Harper had no desire to blow up a family, but to be honest, she didn’t really care what was going on with the parents. The only thing she cared about was getting results, because results meant children brought home. The fact that Jarom couldn’t keep his trouser snake inside his actual trousers wasn’t something that she had to take responsibility for.
The honking had spooked Harper, so she stayed back even farther than usual, giving three or even four cars distance between her and her quarry. If she hadn’t known the destination, there were several times that he might have lost her when there were quick turns in succession.
But he finally pulled up into the driveway of the bungalow, jumping out of the car and heading inside. Harper parked a few houses down on the opposite side of the street. Now she just had to wait until Cam got there.
She continued thinking that until a car showed up. A car that, from the make and model and the flasher lights in the lower quarter of the rear window, Harper was pretty sure was an unmarked police car.
This was not good.
Two female detectives got out of the vehicle and headed toward the door. There was a taller, sharp looking brunette with her hair back in a severe bun. At her side was a much more mousy-looking woman with strawberry hair that fell to her shoulders.
Harper was torn. The police were here, and from what Cam had said, the meeting at the SDPD didn’t go too well. But there was potentially really good information here that they might need to help out with the kidnapping.
What the hell. When it came to tough choices, Harper always went with the one that would get her in the most trouble.
Time to do a little snooping. Ah… a little more snooping.
She opened the door to her car and crawled out, pushing it closed instead of slamming it, as was her usual wont. Creeping around another parked car, Harper raced across the street to a large tree in the yard of the house that was three down from the Young’s.
Fortunately, this was a much older neighborhood, which meant that there were plenty of overgrown bushes and trees that could provide plenty of cover. Her heart beating in her chest… whether from the exertion or the adrenaline, Harper couldn’t tell… she rushed through the intervening yards until she was on the side of the Young’s home, wedged into a hydrangea bush.
From here, she could hear the conversation already in progress. The detectives seemed to be talking to a woman, but it wasn’t Emma, as far as Harper could tell. One of those friends that were there before, maybe? Not the younger one. The other woman. Bethany. Why was she the one answering the door? Did Jarom and Emma really hate solicitors that much?
“… so you can see that there’s nothing wrong here,” she was saying.
“We’re sorry to bother you, ma’am, but you understand that we have to check up when we receive a report like that.” Harper moved further into the bushes, peeking around the side of the house. The detective speaking was the imposing, hard-faced woman. Harper had to give Bethany credit. It would have to be tough to stand up to a face like that.
“I do understand. But we’re fine here. Thank you for coming out, detectives.”
The strong-faced brunette woman held up a hand. “I don’t think you quite understand the situation. We have a report of a missing child. That’s not something we just blow off.”
“Well, you can’t--”
The detective cut her off. “Until I see the child in question, take its footprint and match it to the hospital records, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me.”
“I’m afraid that I still can’t let you in,” Bethany said, but it was clear in her tone that she was less and less sure of herself.
“Is this your home?”
Bethany cleared her throat. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“It’s my business because I’ve been put in charge of a missing child case. And right now you are obstructing that case,” the detective said. “So unless you want me to take you in to the station…”
“We have rights,” she answered, her voice becoming shrill. “You can’t force your way in here.”
“Maybe not, but I can come back with child services and a warrant,” came the response.
There was an extended pause, in which Bethany was probably sorting through the possible options. Harper couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t just let the detectives in. That seemed to be the simplest solutions with the least chance of negative repercussions in the future. So Bethany’s response was a real surprise.
“I’m afraid that’s what I’ll have to ask you to do.”
The detective’s face was hard with what looked like frustration. As she walked down the stairs, she called out over her shoulder, “Let them know we’ll be back. And when we do, it’s them we want to talk to.”
Harper heard Bethany mutter something about government snoops before she slammed the door shut. Whether that was just her opinion or that of the Young family as well was anyone’s guess. Maybe they were hardcore Tea Partiers or something. Hey, Harper got it. There were moments, especially right after getting pulled over for speeding, that she kind of agreed with that whole small government idea.
The unmarked police car drove off, and just in time, as Cam pulled up in her Chevy moments later from the opposite direction. As much as Harper had wanted everyone here at once, when she’d had that idea it hadn’t included law enforcement.
Harper briefed her partner on all that had happened, minus the fact that she’d been hanging out in the shrubbery. That point seemed extraneous. Besides, if Cam couldn’t figure it out, the whole detective thing was maybe not such a good idea for her.
They got to the door, knocked, and once more Bethany answered. She took one look at Cam and Harper and yelled over her shoulder into the house.
“Benedicta Arnold is back. And she brought her sidekick with her.”
The only thing Harper could think as she waited for Emma or her husband to respond from within was, Which one was the sidekick?
She wasn’t so sure she wanted an answer for that.
* * *
Cam stood across from Emma and her husband, Harper at her side. They had been invited in, if invited was the word you used when pretty much everyone there was glaring at you. So far, there had been no indication that their hosts were going to ask them to sit down.
“You told me to do anything I had to,” Cam said to Emma, breaking the silence that had settled over the group when she and Harper entered the living room.
“You… you called these two women?” the man seated next to Emma choked. This must be Jarom.
“I had to. You weren’t doing anything about it,” she answered, her tone sullen.
“You didn’t give me a chance.”
Emma shot back, “It’s our baby! And you heard them,” she said, pointing to Cam and Harper. “We have 48 hours. How much of a chance am I supposed to give you?”
Jarom clenched his jaw. “I told you I’d handle it. Without any help.”
“Oh, Jarom, shut up,” Bethany interrupted. “I don’t like interference any more than you do, but Emma’s right. We should have gone to the cops to start with and just…” She darted her eyes over to Cam and Harper and fell silent.
And so, to Cam’s surprise, did Jarom. Whatever his friendship with Bethany was, he clearly held her in high regard. He had gone from hot under the collar to cowed in the space of less than thirty seconds. Riding the wave of that respite, Cam stepped back into the conversation.
“I’m sorry if you feel that I betrayed your trust, Emma. That wasn’t my intent at all.”
“I know that. I can tell that you want to help,” she replied,
shooting a look at her husband. “It’s not like you didn’t tell me what you were going to do. And to be honest, I wanted you to.”
“Emma!” Jarom began, but then caught a look from Bethany and shut up again.
Cam held up her hand. “There are things that we don’t have access to that the police do. Databases, fingerprint and DNA testing, a larger workforce.” Doing what she could to keep her voice reasonable and calm, Cam laid it out for them. “If you want your child returned to you safely, you’re going to need to involve the police.”
“That’s fine, I guess,” Emma said, giving her husband a look. “As long as you’re here while they are. We’ve just heard horror stories about the way they treat families, coming in and…” She trailed off, giving a much different look this time to both Bethany and Jarom.
“It’s true,” Cam confirmed. “They can and will look at close family members as suspects. That’s part of their job. But if you cooperate, and you have nothing to hide, that part will be over soon.” She made discrete eye contact with Jarom, raising her eyebrow just slightly.
Jarom flushed and looked away. “We have nothing to hide.”
Harper guffawed. “Oh, come on. That’s a load of horse--”
Cam cut her off with a gesture. “Secrets, whatever they are, get in the way of an investigation. If you have any, now is the time to speak.”
The silence was like another person in the room, obstinate and sullen. None of the three Cam was talking to would look at her or at each other.
“I know you think that whatever it is has nothing to do with this,” Cam continued. “Everyone always does. But my experience is that it’s the very thing you don’t want to talk about that can lead us right to your baby.”
In a small voice, Emma answered. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Emma,” Jarom said in a warning voice.
“Oh, come on,” Harper broke in. She had the attitude of a pressure cooker that had to release some steam or risk exploding. “Can we just call a spade a spade? He’s cheating on you.”
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