Murder Under the Mistletoe

by Terri Reed

  “I’ll try.” She stood. “Maybe they’re at the house.”

  He doubted it, but the house was as good a place to start as any.

  He escorted her out of the bakery.

  Nathanial was finishing up a call and loped over. “The boss is coordinating with the local law and putting out a be-on-the-lookout for Liv.”

  “She took Colin,” Tyler informed him.

  Nathanial bared his teeth, a clear sign of his anger. “If she hurts a hair on the child’s head...”

  “Stand in line,” Tyler replied. “We’ll make the farmhouse our base of operation.”

  “Let’s go.” Nathanial stalked toward where he’d parked the truck.

  Tyler and Heather were quick on his heels. Heather slid into the backseat. She was a bundle of nerves if the restless way she tapped her foot and drummed her fingers on her knees were any indication. Not that Tyler blamed her at all. Colin was Heather’s world. And she’d trusted Liv. They’d all trusted Liv.

  Liv had a lot to answer for. Not only the drug smuggling and Seth’s death, but why blow up the propane tank? Why send an armed thug to the house? What was her endgame? Tyler wanted answers. But they had to find her first.

  Please, Lord, don’t let Liv hurt Colin. Help us find him. Tyler silently prayed the litany over and over again as Nathanial drove them to the farmhouse.

  Now Tyler understood why the sting operation in Canada went belly-up. Liv had warned her people there.

  Had she also killed Seth by overdosing him with cocaine?

  Heather had mentioned Seth had a phobia of needles. It was logical to assume that Liv had somehow incapacitated Seth and then injected him with the drug. Cold-blooded murder.

  He fisted his hands with anger at himself for not picking up on Liv’s duplicity.

  Now the contents of the vial Heather had found took on an even more sinister meaning. The test kit he carried in his travel bag had ruled out cocaine or heroine. He would need to send the vial out for further testing to confirm his suspicion that the white powder inside could possibly be toxic. Considering how Heather had been feeling the past few days, he suspected that Liv had been giving Heather small amounts. Not enough to kill her quickly, just enough to wreak havoc with her system. The question was why?

  Dusk bathed the world in shadows and gloom. The snow that had glistened in the light of day had turned icy with the evening temperature dropping. As soon as Nathanial brought the truck to a halt, Heather jumped out. She ran inside, calling Colin’s name.

  She’d left the journal on the seat. Tyler grabbed it and handed it off to Nathanial. “Can you make a copy?”

  “Yep.”

  Tyler followed Heather inside, dreading the disappointment he knew would come when she realized Liv and Colin weren’t there.

  He found her in Colin’s bedroom. She stood in the middle of the room holding his plush dinosaur. His bed was messy, toys littered the floor and his baby shampoo smell lingered in the air. Tyler’s chest tightened.

  It tore him up inside to see the distress in her eyes.

  “She took some clothes, but she forgot his favorite toy.” She took a deep shuddering breath. “Surely she won’t hurt him.” Tears glittered. “Right?”

  Tyler gathered her in his arms. She stiffened and then melted into his embrace, sliding an arm around his waist and laying her cheek against his chest. Tenderness flooded him. He smoothed a hand down her back and wished he had some reassuring words. But he didn’t.

  Lord, how do I help her?

  He breathed in the fresh vanilla scent of her dark hair and closed his eyes. “Please, dear Father in heaven, we pray for protection over Colin. And for help in finding him. We know we can’t do this on our own power but by Your might. We ask this in Your precious son’s name, amen.”

  “Amen.” Heather lifted her tear-streaked face. “Thank you. I couldn’t—” She extracted herself from his arms, lifted her chin and visibly gathered her composure. “How do we track down Liv and bring Colin home?”

  That was a question he didn’t have a ready answer for. But he made a silent vow to do whatever it took to find her son and reunite him with Heather. He would do anything to make her happy, to take the anguish out of her beautiful eyes.

  * * *

  Heather paced the dining room as Nathanial and Tyler worked at finding Colin. Both men had phones to their ears and each had a laptop computer open on the dining room table. Tyler had shared that Sheriff Rodriquez had gone to Liv’s town house, but she wasn’t there. The place had looked as if she’d hurriedly packed up her belongings and fled. The sheriff assured Tyler he’d have an officer watch the place in case Liv showed up.

  Though Heather wasn’t sure who Tyler and Nathanial were talking to now, she could hear the agitation in Tyler’s voice. He was as scared for Colin as she was. And knowing that he cared for her son filled her with affection. But she couldn’t shake the sinking sensation that Liv and Colin could be in Canada by now or halfway to Mexico.

  This waiting and wondering and not being able to do anything was driving her crazy. Her mind kept playing horrible scenarios like an animation flip book. In each image Colin was scared or hurt and crying for her.

  No. No. No. Liv may have betrayed her trust, but Heather couldn’t believe that Liv would hurt Colin. But why had she taken him? And where?

  To give her hands something to do, she went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. She pulled out deli meat and cheeses from the crisper in the refrigerator. Though her hands shook, she set out a snack tray with crackers. Then she began to clean the sink, scrubbing and scrubbing and praying and praying.

  Her cell phone rang, making her jump. She quickly grabbed the device from her pocket. The identification bar at the top blocked the caller ID. She answered. “Hello?”

  “Don’t say a word,” Liv’s voice spoke into Heather’s ear. “If you want to see your son again, don’t let your boyfriend the cop know you’re talking to me.”

  Heather’s fingers tightened around the phone. She turned away from Tyler. Her first instinct was to do as Liv required of her. But she wasn’t good at deception. Hated to be dishonest. Yet her son’s life hung in the balance. For Colin she’d walk on hot coals if she had to. Anything for her son.

  If she didn’t do as Liv demanded, there was a risk she’d never see Colin again. Liv hadn’t been bluffing.

  Heather’s mind told her to go along with Liv, to do as she was told. She had to save her son.

  But her heart, her soul, begged her to reconsider. To offer the sacrifice of faith to God. She had to let go of her need to control and trust that God would bring Colin home safely.

  Deep inside she knew she couldn’t trust Liv.

  Tyler had asked her to trust him. He’d said she needed to trust God.

  She knew Tyler would comb the earth to find her son.

  To do this alone would be foolish. She could end up dead; then Colin wouldn’t have anyone to love him.

  She met Tyler’s questioning gaze across the island counter. She mouthed, It’s Liv.

  He stepped closer and mouthed back, Speaker.

  Forcing herself to remain calm, she pressed the Speaker button so Tyler and Nathanial could listen. Then into the phone she said, “Hi, Marge, it’s been a long time.” She hoped Liv bought her pretense of talking to the wife of one of Ken’s best friends. “What’s up?”

  “Listen carefully,” Liv said. “In two hours, bring Seth’s notebook to this address.” She rattled off a street address.

  Trembling, Heather fumbled to find a pen and paper in the kitchen utility drawer. Tyler appeared at her side and handed her his pen and notebook. She wrote down the address.

  “Come alone,” Liv continued. “Or you’ll never see your boy again.” She hung up.

  Heather met Tyler’s g
aze. “She told me not to tell you. She knows you’re law enforcement.”

  Surprise flared for a moment, then tenderness softened his features. “Thank you for trusting me.”

  Assured she’d done the right thing, she said, “If I don’t show up, I’ll never see Colin again.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” He pulled her to him and held her tight. “We’ll figure this out.” He lifted her chin with a finger. “We will get Colin back.”

  He sounded so sure, so confident. She wanted to believe him. She had to believe him. Believe in him. Otherwise, her life was over. She tugged his face to hers. “I know you will.”

  Then she kissed him with every ounce of love she could pour into him as if somehow she could give him the power to be the hero she needed.

  * * *

  Deeply touched by Heather’s confession, her trust and her kiss, Tyler eased his mouth away and touched his forehead to hers. His breath came in sporadic spurts. Now was not the time to examine why she’d kissed him or what the kiss meant. They had a child to rescue.

  With that thought firmly in place, he asked her, “Do you know this address?”

  “No.” Heather sank onto a chair as if her legs could no longer hold her. “I think it’s out by the Boundary County airport off Highway 2.”

  “Let’s call the locals and get some eyes on the place,” Tyler said. “They can form a perimeter.”

  “I mapped it,” Nathanial said, pointing to his computer screen. “She’s right. It’s very close to the airport. Liv must have an exit strategy.”

  “Call the airport and tell them to ground all planes,” Tyler instructed. Seeing how distraught Heather was made him concerned. He needed her to be strong now. “Heather, this is what we’re going to do.”

  She gave him her attention, her hazel eyes wide with fear, but there was enough of the fire left to keep her going. She may have been knocked back a step or two, but she wasn’t giving in to despair. He was proud of her. And when the time was right, he’d tell her so.

  “You’ll drive while Nathanial and I hide in the backseat,” he said. “As soon as we’re close, we’ll jump out and come the rest of the way on foot. You will give Liv the book in exchange for Colin. Once you have him in your grasp, we’ll step in and arrest her and her thug.”

  “That sounds so easy,” she said with a faint twist of her lips.

  “It won’t be. I’m sure Liv will have lookouts anticipating a trap. But we have darkness on our side and night vision goggles so we’ll see them even if they see us. It will give us the opportunity to deal with any threats,” he assured her. Though the thought of sending her into a dangerous situation by herself made him break out in a cold sweat.

  She must have sensed his inner turmoil because she grasped his hand. “You asked me to trust God, remember?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You need to, as well.”

  He couldn’t refute her statement. “You’re right.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. Then he turned to Nathanial. “Can you outfit Heather with coms?”

  “You bet,” he replied. “Come on over here, Heather. I’ve got just the thing for a pretty lady like you.”

  Tyler shook his head at his team member’s perpetual charm.

  While they were busy wiring Heather with communications so they could hear her and she could hear them, Tyler made plans to make sure Liv and her cohorts wouldn’t get away.

  He had the feeling there was so much more on the line than he’d ever believed possible.

  * * *

  Heather eased the car to a halt at the entrance of a scrap metal junkyard. She consulted the address Liv had given her just to be sure she was at the right place. She was. “Okay, guys, this is odd.”

  She’d let the two men out about a half mile back. They were traveling by foot through fields and woods as the crow flew to the drop-off location Liv had specified. The thing Nathanial had stuck in her ear crackled; then Tyler’s voice filled her head.

  “What’s up?”

  “It’s a scrap metal junkyard.”

  “That’s interesting,” Nathanial stated. “We’ll be there in two minutes.”

  “What should I do?” she asked.

  Tyler spoke, “Go on in. Park near any light that you can find.”

  “Okay.” She stepped on the gas and rolled into the junkyard. She parked beneath a telephone pole that also served as a light source. The place looked deserted. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Get out and hold up the journal,” Tyler instructed.

  Taking a fortifying breath, she popped open her door and stepped out of the car, holding Seth’s notebook up high.

  From the shadows, Liv emerged with a tall muscled man who held a gun to her son’s head. Colin’s little face was tearstained, his lip quivering. The overhead lamplight reflected off the ring on the man’s hand. Heather swallowed her panic.

  To hide the fact she was speaking, she put a hand to her mouth as if to cover a gasp of fear she didn’t need to fake. “Here she comes,” she said. “The thug’s got a gun on Colin.”

  Tyler’s voice helped to calm her nerves. “Steady now. Don’t give her the book until you have Colin by your side.”

  Taking a steadying breath and exhaling to keep from giving in to the urge to rip Liv’s hair from her scalp, Heather said in a loud voice, “Here’s the book. Send Colin to me, and you can have it.”

  Liv walked forward until she stood a few feet away. “You surprise me, Heather. I figured you’d bring your cop boyfriend.” Her eyes glinted with malice. “I guess you aren’t as perfect and smart as Seth boasted you were.”

  “I’m far from perfect, Liv.” Heather’s gaze lingered on Colin. He was shivering uncontrollably. “Let’s get this done. It’s cold out here.”

  Liv held out her manicured hand.

  Heather did the same, while keeping the journal tucked at her side. “Give me my son.”

  Liv harrumphed and gestured for her sidekick to release Colin, who ran full speed for Heather. Needing both hands to gather him close, Heather tossed the notebook at Liv, who fumbled with it. Heather knelt down and hugged Colin to her in a fierce grip. She had her baby back. Nothing else in the world mattered.

  “Thank you, Heather,” Liv said. “It really is too bad Seth had to go and grow a conscience. I was really looking forward to being a part of your family.”

  Heather shot her a glare.

  Liv shrugged and turned to walk away. “Shoot them both,” she said over her shoulder.

  Terror streaked through Heather. She pushed Colin behind her and shielded him with her body as the man aimed his weapon at her heart.

  FOURTEEN

  Hiding behind the stripped-down shell of what used to be a luxury sedan, Tyler’s stomach dropped. Liv had just instructed her goon to shoot Heather and Colin. Tyler couldn’t let that happen.

  The primal instinct to protect the woman and child he loved roared through him.

  With a guttural growl, he charged at the thug holding the gun, tackling him before he could pull the trigger. Knocking the goon down to the hard-packed ground, Tyler wrenched the gun from the man and tossed it aside.

  This was the same man Tyler had wrestled with before. But this time, nothing could distract Tyler.

  His focus had narrowed. Rage infused his body. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he grappled for dominance over the thug. Landing a hard blow upside the guy’s head, Tyler gained the advantage.

  Straddling the man, Tyler delivered blow after blow.

  No one hurt the people he loved.

  Strong arms wrapped around Tyler and lifted him off the now-unmoving thug.

  “Stand down, Agent Griffin.”

  Nathanial’s hard voice penetrated through the fog of fury that had
overcome Tyler. He froze, then tapped Nathanial’s arm, giving him the signal to release his hold. Nathanial let go and stepped back.

  Tyler gathered his control. His chest heaved from the exertion. His heart continued to beat in a sporadic tempo while the adrenaline rush eased, allowing his sanity to return. He held up a hand to Nathanial to let him know he had his self-control back.

  “Thanks,” he said gruffly to his fellow IBETs member. If Nathanial hadn’t pulled him off the thug when he had, Tyler wasn’t sure he would have stopped pummeling the guy. “Cuff him.”

  Nathanial gave a sharp nod, then removed a set of plastic zip ties from his pocket. He flipped the now-moaning goon onto his stomach and tied his wrists and his ankles together.

  With his head now clear, Tyler hustled to where Heather, holding Colin, stood. He hated that she’d seen him lose control like that. He never lost control. But he’d never had to defend someone he loved before. This was unfamiliar and scary territory.

  “Thank you,” Heather said as she threw her free arm around him. “I thought we were going to die.”

  He gathered them both within his embrace. “I promised you I’d protect you. I always keep my promises.”

  Heather rose on tiptoe and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I know.”

  His heart squeezed tight. He wanted to bury his hands in her hair and kiss her with all the love he felt, but there was still something he needed to do. “I’ve got to find Liv.”

  Heather’s eyes rounded. “The journal, too!”

  He urged them over to her car. “Get inside, lock the doors and stay down. I’m going after Liv.”

  Heather placed her hand on his chest. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

  He covered her hand. “I won’t. Now inside.”

  After they were both safely in the car with the doors locked, he withdrew his sidearm and hurried in the direction Liv had disappeared. Once he cleared the light, he pulled the night vision goggles that hung around his neck up so he could proceed into the inky blackness of the junkyard. He moved steadily, searching for any sign of Liv. Toward the back of the junkyard was a mechanic’s bay. Light flickered from inside.