Amber Alert: Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense (Dangerous Series Book 1)

by Linda K. Rodante

  John reached past her, and tugged the car door open once more, giving her a gentle shove. “Take off before we have to deal with this stuff again.”

  She slid in and started the car. Every muscle ached. She looked up at him, and he reached inside to run a finger down her cheek.

  Raised voices washed over them. The man with the camera, and then others, scurried toward a car pulling into a parking space. She and John watched until a familiar figure thrust his way through the media frenzy. Cameras flashed. People shouted questions. Sharee stared open-mouthed.

  Matthew Thornton, face set, eyes staring straight ahead, ignored the questions and the popping camera lights and headed toward the fellowship hall. Deputy Richards held the door open and Matthew disappeared inside.

  Chapter 30

  Sharee managed to still the tears for the ride back, putting aside thoughts of John and Joshua and Matthew. Her mind went back over last night. Everything appeared to go well. The Lord’s presence seemed so strong. What happened?

  Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed someone walking. She moved her head to see in the rearview mirror. Pedro? She jerked to the left and, at the next turn, headed back. She found the next turn, came back up his side of the highway and drove onto the shoulder.

  He ran to the side of the car and looked at her. “Sherry!”

  “Pedro, what are you doing here?”

  “Walking, hermana. What else?”

  “But where did you go last night?”

  “Last night? I saw you and John were busy, so I headed out.”

  “But you stayed for the program?”

  “No. I thought I might help at first.” He shrugged. “But I have to get on the road early, anyway.”

  “But…” Something felt wrong. What—

  “Are you going to give Pedro a ride?”

  “Oh, yes. Get in. Where do you want to go?”

  Pedro slid into the passenger seat. A stale odor filled the car. “It is cold out today, do you think so?”

  Sharee coughed and steered onto the road. “I haven’t thought about it. Pedro. Until last night, we hadn’t seen you for a while. Not since we started practice on the program. And I didn’t get a chance to talk with you before the program.”

  “You were busy, hermana.”

  “Do you know what happened last night?”

  “About the program?”

  “No, about the baby. Joshua.”

  “The baby?”

  “After the program. Joshua disappeared.” Pedro gave her a strange look, and Sharee realized he had no idea who Joshua was. “Baby Jesus disappeared.”

  Some time passed before he spoke. “Someone took Baby Jesus?”

  “Si`.” She explained about Joshua, the dolls, the search parties, the detectives’ questions and her own.

  “Sherry, are you trying to figure out who took Joshua?”

  “I guess so.”

  “You do not trust the deputies and these detectives?”

  “Of course, I do. But Marci doesn’t deserve this. No one deserves to have their baby taken. She and Stephen go out of their way to help others.” Guilt pierced her. “And I planned the program. I let them bring Joshua.” Is this how John felt? This overwhelming sense of wanting to redo all that had been done?

  I want to move time back, Lord. To change what’s happened. “I have to do something, Pedro. I have to.”

  His dark eyes studied her. “And John has no protest?”

  “John?”

  “He does not mind you trying to find this kidnapper?”

  Her eyes met Pedro’s again. How much had he learned about John in the time they’d spent together? She gave him a half smile.

  “He sent me home to get some rest.”

  They rode in silence a while longer. Marci is my friend, Lord. I’ve got to do something. Let me do something. Show me what to do.

  “So no one knows you are being the detective?” Pedro asked.

  “No, I…”

  “You think someone took the baby to get back at your friend?”

  “Did I say that? Yes, I think so. You didn’t want to watch the program last night? You helped so much with building everything.”

  He glanced her way. “I needed to find a place to sleep before it got late.”

  “But John would have…”

  “With John, there would be strings this time.”

  “He doesn’t like strings either, Pedro.” She thrust aside the quick drop in her heart. “A number of people left after the program last night. Like Bruce, for instance.”

  “Bruce?”

  “He’s in the wheelchair.”

  Pedro nodded now. “I see him. He go past me very fast last night. Headed toward US 19.”

  “You saw him? After the program? But I thought you left early.”

  “Well,” he shrugged. “It was cold. I kept walking. There’s a place I know.” His voice stopped.

  She knew there were places the homeless would not tell outsiders about—an empty office building, perhaps. Not legal, but warm during cold snaps.

  “Bruce went past you?”

  He nodded. “I have seen his van before. He is at Anderson Park.”

  “Now?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “I do not mean now. I mean many times at dusk when I have been there. He comes to—what do you say—to think.”

  “To meditate?”

  “Meditate. Si.”

  “Well, Pedro, we’re just gonna stop by there and see.”

  “You will take me to the church in Tarpon Springs later?”

  “Yes, Pedro, I promise, just let me drive through Anderson Park. It’s up here a few miles. Not far, you know. In Tarpon Springs, you said?”

  “They will take me in tonight. It will be cold again. I could not get there last night. They might have hot food, also.”

  Dear Lord, she thought, he talks as if his life is normal, and sometimes I forget it’s anything but. Forgive me.

  “Perhaps your pastor, he hire me again?”

  “I can’t speak for Pastor Alan, Pedro, but you know I can get you something to eat. Do you have a blanket for tonight? Something warm?”

  “It is okay, Sherry. Don’t worry. On nights like tonight, the church, she is good.”

  The church consists of people, not a building. We are the church, the body of Christ.

  “Sherry,” Pedro interrupted, “you are awake, yes?”

  “What? Oh.” She yanked the wheel to the right and bumped over the entry into Anderson Park.

  The pine and twisted oaks, the fern and palmetto, had always brought her peace. Her shoulders relaxed as she drove forward. A hundred memories of Lake Tarpon, the hardwoods, the wetlands and the animals—alligators, cormorants, turtles, and other animals—flooded her. If Bruce came here to meditate, she could understand and relate.

  They’d soon spot his van if he were here. The Park’s hundred acres took less than fifteen minutes to drive through. Down near the lake, she saw the small one-family picnic areas that edged the water, half-hidden by cypress and fern. To her left, boat docks and parking spaces for trucks and trailers gave easy access to watercraft.

  “Does Bruce have a favorite place to park?” she asked.

  “All over. He is a loner, I think. He finds a place where no people are.” Then he pointed past her, out her window. “There, I think.”

  She slammed the brakes and wrenched the wheel to the left, following the drive to the boat docks. Bruce had parked close to the water. She could see him in his wheelchair at the end of one dock.

  “Pedro?”

  He shook his head, “No, Sherry, you go. Talk with him. I wait here.”

  “Okay.” She jumped out and walked onto the dock. What would she say? Where did you go last night?

  Just before she reached him, he turned his head. He looked unkempt, and for a minute, a wave of uncertainty, of caution, passed over her. What if… T
hen he smiled, and she shook off the unsettled feeling.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey, yourself.” His smile widened. “Where did you come from?”

  “I came looking for you.”

  His eyes showed surprise. “Looking for me?”

  She sat down on the dock and gazed up at him. “You disappeared last night after the program, and no one’s seen you since.”

  “I didn’t know anyone would miss me. I’ve been here.”

  “Here? You mean all day?”

  “No, I mean since last night.” He turned his eyes back to the lake. “I needed to be alone. Just me and God.”

  She stared at the lake, too, quiet for a minute. “You were here all night? They let you stay?”

  “No, they didn’t let me. I managed to avoid the roundup. You know, like when they’re closing, and you need to go.” He frowned. “I probably do some strange things these days, but last night…last night God spoke to me during the program. I couldn’t talk with anyone. I needed to be alone.”

  Sharee took a long breath, focusing her eyes on the lake for a minute. “Bruce, you don’t know about Joshua?”

  “Joshua?”

  “Marci’s baby.”

  “Yes. What about him?”

  “He’s missing.”

  “Missing?” His head swiveled in her direction.

  “Yeah, missing. Somebody…somebody kidnapped him. Right after the program. The Sheriff’s department is at the church. We’ve had major search parties. Everything.”

  He moved his wheelchair. “Marci’s baby is missing?” When Sharee inclined her head, he said, “You’re not kidding?” And a moment later, “I can’t believe it. How’s Marci? And Stephen?”

  “About what you would expect. Frantic.”

  He started to turn his wheelchair then waited for her to move. “I need to get back.” They headed toward the parking area. “You came to tell me? That was thoughtful.”

  She hesitated. “The detectives wanted to know where you were and why you left last night.”

  He rolled his wheelchair forward, moving off the dock and to his van. He stopped at the back of his van and stared up at her. “Why should that concern them?”

  “They’re looking for anyone who left early last night.”

  “They think I might have kidnapped Joshua? Are they crazy?”

  “They just want to ask you some questions.”

  “Why would I take Joshua?” Then his look hardened. “Oh, I get it. I’m getting back at Marci for the accident.”

  “I didn’t say…”

  “You didn’t have too.” His voice grated. “Well, who else could it be? Aren’t I the best candidate? The paraplegic. The wheelchair-bound man. Bitter and vengeful.”

  “Bruce, no one said that.”

  “But everyone’s thinking it.” He nodded toward her SUV. “I see you brought reinforcements. That was smart. Hello, Pedro. So you knew where to find me?”

  “I didn’t bring reinforcements. Pedro just needed a ride.”

  His eyes focused again on her, dark now, and he asked softly, “So, who else knows you came to look for me? Anyone?”

  Chapter 31

  “Who else?” Bruce asked again.

  “Uh, no one.”

  “Not a good answer. You better think this through before you go confronting kidnap suspects. Or is it murder I’m supposed to have done? Look, I’m going back. Stay out of my way, so I don’t run you over. On accident, of course.”

  Sharee jumped out of the way when the back doors swung open, and he rolled inside. She went to her SUV. Bruce backed out a moment later and drove past.

  Her heart ached for him, but anger surged, too. Kill the messenger, will you? She backed out in turn, and in a minute, turned north onto US 19.

  “Pedro, you said Bruce went by you last night.”

  “Yes, Sherry.”

  “Then how did he get into the park? He said something about being here all night, but we know that can’t be true…”

  “You think Bruce is the kidnapper?”

  “I don’t know what I think.”

  “If he took the baby, Sherry, where is the baby now?”

  “I don’t know, Pedro. That is why I am so scared.”

  “Babies bring good money.”

  Her head twisted his way. “What?”

  “You had not thought about that? Babies bring good money. People want them. Especially when they cannot have their own.”

  Her hands tightened on the wheel. “George mentioned that.”

  “Aye. He and I discussed it when I work there. It is something to think about. I think of it first thing.” An uneasy silence fell between them, but another mile or two down the road, Pedro asked, “You will drop me at the church, Sherry?”

  “Yes, but isn’t it early?”

  “I have things…that need to be done. Drop me off. Never worry. I will be fine.”

  She dropped him at the side door, made a loop in the drive, and hit the brakes. Should she go home or back to the church?

  Her mind juggled the information she knew about the accident. The accident. Bruce hadn’t worn his seat belt, and the police cited the other driver; but did he harbor bitterness toward Marci? Would he do something this horrible to get back at her? He had knocked Marci down with his wheelchair. An accident, or was it? He said God moved during the program last night, and he wanted to be alone, but he’d lied to her. The “roundup” as he called it happened at dusk, at closing time. But he wasn’t there at closing time. How did he get in after dark? If he did get in then. Even now, he said he needed to get back to church. Or had he just said that? Because he needed to leave in a hurry? What if he came to the park, to the lake last night for a reason? Not Joshua… She recoiled from the thought.

  She needed time to think and pray. She put the car in drive and edged forward onto US 19 once more. A few miles down the road, she pulled into a McDonald’s drive-thru, ordered a small coke and parked. She sat and thought and prayed.

  Pedro’s story didn’t make sense, either. He said he’d left the program early, but then he saw Bruce leaving at the end of it, and he mentioned about babies bringing good money. Why would he say that?

  Someone needed motive and opportunity. Opportunity limited itself to those acting in the program last night. Or did it? Someone might have snuck into the back of the set while the spotlight highlighted the players in front. But then, they would have to know where the baby would be and that everyone else would be occupied beforehand. That severely limited the suspects.

  Who had a grudge against Marci? That’s what the disfigured dolls and notes indicated. Had someone planned to kidnap the baby all along?

  Bruce had motive and opportunity, but how would he get Joshua to his van without being seen? Impossible. Unless… Could the baggy costume he’d chosen hide a baby in his lap? And no one saw him leave last night. He just disappeared.

  What about Ryann? Could Ryann’s pain have evolved to such a point that kidnapping Joshua seemed a solution? Her story about being in the sanctuary while the others sought high and low for the baby seemed farfetched. But if so, where was the baby now? Surely, she’d have left with the baby.

  And Abbey? She’d disappeared after the program, too. Could she have taken the baby someplace? Sharee’s breath caught. What if they were in it together? Ryann and Abbey? She pondered it for a while then shook her head.

  Ted. Did he resent the baby enough to do this? But where could Joshua be? No one had disappeared like you would expect if they had kidnapped the baby.

  Sharee rested her head in her hands. So many people acted in the program, all with opportunity. And she had felt so pleased and encouraged about how many were taking part! If she’d only substituted a doll for Joshua’s part…substituted…

  Her mind whirled and held the thought. But that was too crazy. Think real, Sharee. That’s too improbable. Or was it?

  Sharee bowed
her head and prayed.

  Ten minutes later, the CR-V’s engine came to life. She knew how out of place one thing appeared. If she took that one thing and put the other information around it, then things made sense. She could be wrong. Other evidence that she did not have could prove her wrong, but she could be right, too.

  Go.

  She hesitated, her hand on the gear shift. John would think what she planned foolish and dangerous. She shouldn’t worry. She knew, and he must, too, that their relationship wouldn’t work. He didn’t want to be pushed, and she wanted someone with whom she could serve God. She’d push for sure, and she’d make him miserable. Her heart jerked at the thought. Pain enveloped it.

  Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. He got angry too fast, anyway, and was way too protective. She understood about his wife and Alexis, but she could foresee the problems. Again that erratic jerk of her heart. It didn’t matter, anyway. Joshua topped all priority lists.

  Go now.

  She dug her phone from her purse and texted a reply to his last message. How long ago? Two nights ago? It seemed like forever. At least, she had used her head, her common sense, and texted for back-up. That should make him happy.

  She stepped on the gas and headed back to church. All around her, the air seemed to vibrate.

  Hurry.

  Her foot pressed harder on the accelerator.

  Chapter 32

  She drove through the parking lot at the church, praying under her breath. The air still vibrated with urgency. She passed the office, the work buildings, the parking lot full of cars, and pulled onto the back road where she and John had jogged. The Honda slowed to a crawl. She wasn’t exactly sure which house, but she would recognize it.

  The Dodge van stood in the driveway. A straight line could be drawn from the house through the cypress trees across the field to the fellowship hall. The lawn needed mowing even in winter. It spoke of neglect.

  Sharee parked in the street, climbed from the CR-V, and glanced around. John should have seen her text by now. Perhaps she should wait. She wrapped her arms around herself. Not so brave now, are you? Her gaze went back down the road toward the church. He’ll be here. Unless he put his phone down. She rubbed her fingers across her forehead. He did that sometimes—took it off the belt clip and laid it down somewhere. She tugged her jacket tighter, feeling the sense of urgency still. I can’t wait forever.