by Aimée Thurlo
“I think we have to find out more about Biddle, too. If he knows something, we need to get it out of him,” Raymond said.
Tony told Raymond about what he and Amanda had learned. “The guy’s a scumbag, that’s for sure. He’s involved, but there’s no telling to what extent.”
“Let’s go to the source, then, and find out.”
Raymond drove Tony over to Ricky Biddle’s home. Tony checked the porch for the motorcycle, but it still wasn’t there. Something seemed different about the place, however. Tony glanced around. “Hang back. Something’s not right.”
“Like what?”
Tony remained silent, trying to pinpoint the uneasiness he felt. “The curtains in the front room. Those were drawn, but now they’re open. And remember the dog. He would have heard the car. With open curtains, you’d think he would have been at least watching, probably barking.”
Raymond reached back and rested his hand on the butt of his weapon. “We’ll take it nice and easy.”
They approached the front door from the side, making sure neither of them became easy targets. Tony stood off to the right as Raymond knocked. There was no answer, nor did they hear any sign of the dog.
Tony crept up to the front window and glanced in. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home. I’m going to take a look around the back.”
“We’ll both go. But try to remember we don’t have a search warrant.”
“No problem.” Tony led the way to the bedroom, intending to peer through the slit in the curtains like before. Only this time he found the curtains wide open. The photos were not on the wall, and the framed snapshot of Amanda and Hope was missing from the nightstand. Wordlessly, Tony moved to the other side to get a look at the study. “The guy’s cleared out. The photos are gone. So are several boxes of papers that were there before, as well as a whole lot of computer equipment.”
“In that case, I’m going to have the police put out an APB,” Raymond said.
As they were making their way to the car, they heard a loud crash, like wood splintering, at the front of the house. Tony and Raymond began to run and reached the driveway just in time to see a white sedan racing toward them, shattered pieces of the garage door still flying off the hood.
Raymond jumped to one side and rolled into the bushes, the car narrowly missing him. Tony crouched, pistol in hand, and fired off two shots.
The left rear tire seemed to explode, and the car veered sharply to that side, crashing into a cottonwood tree. The frightened rottweiler jumped out the shattered rear window and was halfway down the block by the time Raymond and Tony reached the car.
Biddle was scrambling out the passenger door when Tony grabbed him. Raymond quickly cuffed the shaken man.
“I was only going to go after my dog. My brother will look after him, but I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
“He was well enough to run. No more games. We know you’re in this up to your neck,” Raymond snapped.
“I would never hurt Amanda. I love her!”
“What’s your connection to her ex-husband, Ron Vila?” Raymond demanded.
“Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Kidnapping is a federal offense,” Raymond warned.
“Who’s been kidnapped? Amanda?”
Raymond gave Tony a look, then hustled Biddle to the Bureau car. “You’d make it a lot easier on yourself if you come clean. We know you’ve been terrorizing Amanda Vila for some time.”
“I only tried to let her know how much she needed to be protected. I wanted her to come to me for help. I would have taken care of her.”
“Did you set the fire?” Raymond asked.
“Yeah, but it didn’t hurt anyone. I was careful.”
“And the phony bomb at the day-care center?” Tony barked.
“Three sticks and a clock aren’t a bomb. I would never have hurt her! All I wanted was for her to need me, and maybe love me, too.”
As Raymond placed Biddle in the rear seat of the Bureau car, Tony’s pager went off. Using Raymond’s cellular phone, he dialed Amanda’s number. Her frightened voice chilled him to the bone.
“It’s Hope. She’s gone,” she blurted, her voice unsteady. “Somebody’s kidnapped her.”
* * *
RAYMOND DROVE TONY down the road to Amanda’s home while he used the radio to notify the police about his prisoner and call animal control. “Do you think they’re going to use the girl to get more concessions from you?” Raymond asked finally.
“No. They’ll probably repeat their M.O. and vanish, just like they did three years ago. They’ll use the fact they have her to stall for time, and then split. But this time they won’t succeed in taking her away from me.”
“You’re now convinced that Hope is really Carmen?”
“Not one hundred percent convinced, but I think the fact that they took her tends to support that.”
As they pulled up in front of Amanda’s house, Raymond remained in his seat. “I don’t think we should have the cops come here to take custody of my suspect. I’ll meet them a mile down the highway.”
“Good idea. I’ll call you just as soon as I’ve got the whole story.”
As Raymond drove off, Tony rushed to the front door. Amanda was waiting, her face pale with terror. “They’ve taken her. They’ve taken my little girl.”
“Who took her?”
“I’m not sure. Miriam called me. Someone lured Winston into a closet and locked him in there, then took Hope out the back door. She’d been lying down for a nap. Miriam had just gone out to the barn to call her husband to the phone. The only thing she knows for sure is that Winston got in one good bite, because there were pieces of bloody trouser cloth still stuck to his teeth.”
“We’ve got to catch them before they leave the area,” Tony said.
“Nobody’s going to take my daughter anywhere,” Amanda said, rage filling her. “I want to go to Ron’s office. He’s involved in this, and I’m going to make sure he rots in jail for the rest of his life.”
“First things first.” Tony picked up Amanda’s phone, dialed Raymond’s car-phone number, and gave him the details. “Pick up Ron Vila.”
“I’ll do that. I’ll also put out an APB on Katrina Clark and Hope. I’ll place the airport and bus stations on alert. They won’t get out of the area.”
Amanda grabbed her purse and started to head out the door. “I’m going over to Ron’s. I have to talk to him alone.”
“What’s going on, Mandy?” Tony grasped her shoulders and forced her to face him. “There’s more to this than you’re telling me.”
The phone only rang once, but Amanda broke free of Tony and dived toward it. “Yes?”
“I don’t have time to play games, Amanda. Listen carefully.”
“Ron! Did you—”
“Shut up. I’ve got Hope. You thought you could hide her at your friend’s sister’s house. You forgot, I know all about Bernice. Tracing all her in-state calls was just too easy. But don’t worry, the little brat is fine for now.”
“Why are you getting her involved in this? Let her go. You don’t want her, you never did.” She saw Tony pick up the extension in the kitchen.
“You’re right. I don’t want her. And just as soon as I’m out of the country, I’ll tell you where to find her. But if I’m arrested, Hope is as good as dead. She can’t survive alone where she’s at, not for long. Back off, Amanda, or you’ll kill her. Hope’s the only family you’ve got left. Don’t blow it for yourself.”
“Vila, if anything happens to that child, I’ll find you no matter where you go,” Tony snapped. “Tell us where she is, now!”
They heard a click, then the dial tone.
Tony looked at Amanda. “You know that we can’t play it their way. If they have time to get away, we’ll never learn where Hope is being kept.”
“Ron won’t kill her. He doesn’t have it in him. He’s no murderer.”
“Maybe not, but what about the others he�
��s allied himself with? Are you certain about them?”
Amanda swallowed back her tears. “What do you want from me, Tony?”
“You know Ron better than anyone else. Where would he hide if he knew the police and the Bureau were after him?”
“I don’t know!”
“Think! Does he have a hideaway place or a friend he would stay with?”
“Katrina and Ron have known each other for a long time. Maybe he’s with her.”
Raymond walked in through the open door, picking up the last of Amanda’s words. “You can count on that. I sent some men over to their office. Their papers have been put through the shredder and they’ve cleared out. We do have one lead, though. There was an impression left on one of the pads with the name of a small charter airline. We’re tracking it down.”
The cellular phone at his waist began to ring. Raymond answered it, then issued a few terse instructions before turning back to Amanda and Tony.
“A woman fitting Katrina Clark’s description is waiting for a charter flight at a small airstrip between Santa Fe and Taos. She’s alone and the ID she’s using doesn’t match the name we have on the APB. But, if it is her, that’s to be expected.”
“I’m going over there. I’ll be able to identify her for sure,” Amanda said.
“Good idea. Sierra implicated both Ron and Katrina a short time ago. They’ve been creating phony identities for criminals for years. Their latest client, Jonathan Henderson, was paying enough for them to retire.”
“He’d certainly have the funds after that armored-car heist,” Tony said.
Amanda tried to concentrate on what Tony and Raymond were discussing, but her only concern was for Hope. “Do you think Katrina knows where Hope is?”
“Yes. But she may not tell us. If she’s that loyal to your ex-husband, she may decide to take the fall by herself and give him time to make his getaway.”
Amanda’s mind reeled with visions of her daughter, scared and alone someplace. “Give me some time with Katrina. I guarantee that witch will tell me everything she knows.” Her voice was suddenly very cold.
“Let’s get going, folks,” Raymond said. “Tony, you follow me in your car. I hope to be needing my back seat for prisoners.”
Tony’s finger’s were clenched tightly around the steering wheel as they got underway.
Amanda opened her mouth as if to speak, then shut it again.
“What’s on your mind?” Tony asked.
“We’re caught in an all-or-nothing situation,” Amanda said in a taut whisper. “There’s something you have a right to know.”
“Go on,” he said, his voice filled with emotions too raw to conceal.
Amanda swallowed back her fears, forcing herself to go on. “I received another call from Ron earlier. I erased it, because I was afraid of what you would do.” Amanda’s voice shook. She paused for a moment, gathering her courage, then continued. “I found out that Hope is not legally mine. It wasn’t just a matter of forged papers, either. Everything was a sham. Hope is a kidnap victim.”
Tony never once took his eyes off the road. “What are you saying?” he croaked.
“My daughter, Hope, is Carmen.”
Tony pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the small, private airstrip. “I’ve searched so long and so hard. I never figured it would end like this.”
“And now?” Amanda was afraid to speak above a whisper.
“You’re afraid I’ll take Hope away from you,” he observed.
“Will you?”
“I need my daughter,” he said slowly.
“I need her, too. I may not be her birth mother, but I am the only mother she’s ever known. And I love her with all my heart.”
“I know,” he said softly. “But...” Tony took a deep breath, then let it out. “We’ll have to deal with this later. Right now, we should both be concentrating on one thing only—getting Hope back safely.”
“You’re right.” Despair, black and suffocating, slammed into her. As Amanda walked through the doors of the small building, creating a brief distraction, Katrina broke free from the police officer holding her and grabbed the revolver from his holster.
Holding everyone at bay, Katrina stepped back, angling her way to the entrance. “Hate to disappoint you, people, but I’m not going to jail.”
Amanda moved toward her. “I don’t care where you go, but I want my daughter back.”
Katrina glowered at her. “Tough. If you were drowning, I’d toss you a shark. You’ve ruined everything.” She pointed the gun at Amanda, gripping the weapon with both hands. “If you know any prayers, say them fast.”
Suddenly, there was a loud pop, and Katrina was slammed against the wall. She crumpled slowly to the ground without a sound.
“No!” As Amanda ran to Katrina’s side, she saw a state policeman in an adjacent hallway rising to his feet. Smoke was still curling up from his pistol. Amanda knelt beside Katrina’s still body. A mass of blood had appeared in the center of her chest. “You’ve got to tell me!” She shook the lifeless body as if trying to will it back to life.
“She can’t tell us anything now,” Tony said, pulling Amanda up gently.
Raymond crouched next to Katrina and felt for a pulse at her neck. “It’s over.”
Amanda let out a tiny, anguished cry. “It’s not over!” She turned to face Tony. “You’ve got as much to lose as I have! Do something! Where’s my daughter?”
Tony grasped her tenderly by the shoulders. “Listen to me. You’re the only one who can help us now. Think, Amanda. Where would Ron have taken her?”
“I don’t know!”
“Slow down, man,” Raymond warned. He took Katrina’s purse from the counter and dumped out the contents. “There’s a credit card receipt in here dated yesterday. It’s from Jessie’s County Store. Mean anything to you?” he asked Amanda.
“No, I’ve never heard of it.”
“I have.” The officer who had shot Katrina spoke up. “I own a cabin a few miles from there. It’s near Jemez Springs.”
Amanda stared pensively across the room, an idea forming in her mind. “I remember Ron bragging once, after our divorce, that he’d bought a cabin in the mountains. He was fixing it up.”
“Where’s the property?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been there. All I know is that he mentioned a spring and a creek nearby.”
“I’ll have the state police check the real-estate records. We have the county records, so let’s see what comes up. In the meantime, maybe we can find something else in the suspect’s car that’ll help us narrow it down even more,” Raymond said quickly. “Let’s go take a look.”
Amanda hurried outside, following Raymond’s lead. When they reached Katrina’s car, Raymond opened the front door and reached into the glove compartment. It contained only the owner’s manual, the registration and a flashlight.
The state police officer came up to them. “We have a location. Ron Vila bought a real fixer-upper at the edge of the National Forest,” the officer said. “Shall I get a team together and go check it out?”
“No!” Amanda protested, looking at Raymond. “You can’t walk in there without jeopardizing my daughter!”
“She’s right,” Tony added. “I have a better idea. I’ll go up by myself, the last part on foot. One man is hard to spot. If Hope’s being kept there alone, I’ll get her out. If not, I can create a mild diversion, anything that will make whoever’s keeping Hope in there come outside to take a look.”
“We have to check out the location first.” Raymond picked up the mike from his car. “I’m going to contact the Forest Service. Maybe they know the layout of the terrain around here.”
As Raymond spoke, Tony made his way back to the car. Amanda noticed what he was doing and followed him. “You’re not going there alone.”
“I have to. Two people will be a lot easier to spot than one.”
Raymond approached as they argued. “If it comes to that, I suggest y
ou both go. A frightened child is more likely to go to her mother than to someone she barely knows.”
Tony’s eyes narrowed with pain. “I won’t jeopardize Hope’s life. I’m just going to see if she’s there.”
“If she is there, and you try to sneak her out, you’ll need me,” Amanda argued.
“You’re both getting ahead of yourselves. First, we’ll have the rangers check out the place. Maybe it’s visible from one of the watchtowers by telescope. That could save time and effort.”
“You do what you have to. I’m heading up there now,” Tony said flatly.
“No one’s going to go near that cabin until we know what we’re up against.” Raymond crossed his arms over his chest.
Amanda glanced at Tony. In her heart, she knew that he’d never place Hope in jeopardy, but at the moment, she was more worried about what Ron might do. “News of Katrina won’t be on the radio, will it?”
Raymond shook his head. “I’ve already taken care of that. I can’t suppress the story forever, but we’ll have a few hours delay.”
Tony slipped into the driver’s seat of his car. “The least we can do is stop wasting time and start heading over that way.”
Raymond nodded. “Agreed. But stay cool. If I have to, I’ll place you in custody, clear?”
Tony started the engine as Amanda joined him inside the car. She remained silent, watching the trees along the side of the forest road. If there was one time she wished she could have looked into the future, this was it.
“She’ll be okay,” Tony said flatly, reaching for her hand and holding it securely in his.
“Everyone keeps telling me that,” Amanda answered wearily.
“Who’s everyone?”
“The people most involved.” Amanda gave him a wan smile. “The woman I keep meeting when I’m asleep constantly assures me of it, too.”
“I’m talking reality, not dreams.” Tony shook his head.
“They’re more than dreams. I can’t explain it, but that woman is real.”
“Did you recognize her?”
“No. She said she’d come to me as one mother to another. She’d lost her child once. I saw it in the vision. She was reaching for her baby, but a misty barrier kept them apart. It was so sad. Then the image cleared, and I saw the woman as she is now. There was light all around her. As she started to fade, it seemed as if the stone on her necklace, like an opal, glowed with a fire all its own.”
