by Linda Ladd
“It’s pretty hot. Don’t burn your tongue.”
“Okay.”
He watched her pick up the mug and blow on the hot milk. But she didn’t take her eyes off Novak’s face, not for a single second. Now she looked wary. Novak easily read the change in her mood. So he said nothing else, just sat down across from her and watched her pick up a cookie. She ate four of them in short order. Then she finished the cocoa, which left a milk mustache on her upper lip, which she dabbed off with a paper napkin. Susie was a polite little kid. He hoped she would start talking and tell him something he needed to know.
Finished with her snack, she sat back in the chair and waited, as if she expected him to do something. Novak couldn’t think what else she wanted. He had a feeling the child was done with her end of the conversation, so he ventured a subject that had been bothering him. “I hope you and your sister feel okay. Nobody’s hurt you, have they?”
She shook her head but didn’t expound.
“Good. I’m glad. So how about your mom? Lori said you miss her pretty bad.”
She nodded.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”
She gave a little shrug. “A long time.”
“How long? A week, maybe, or more than that?”
“He took her away so we couldn’t see her.”
“Your grandfather did that?”
She nodded again.
“Do you know where she is now?”
She shook her head. “He took us to this big hotel place and made us stay there with the nanny for a long time, and then he came and got us and took us to the beach.”
“Did he leave your mom at your house?”
“He locked her up in her room. Sometimes we sneaked out in the hall and talked to her under the door, but he wasn’t there or we’d be scared to do that. She’d hold our fingers under the door, but then Grandfather caught us talking to her and took us to the hotel.”
“Did this happen in the big house with the white wall around it?”
She nodded.
“Where’s your mommy’s bedroom?”
“Upstairs. Down the next hall from me and Sammi.”
“But you haven’t been there for a while?”
“When we went back to get our swimsuits, we saw her. She was waving at us from her window. She blew us kisses.”
Tears welled up inside those dark eyes and shone in the overhead light. That’s when Novak felt another urge to kill Calvin Locke. The world would be a better place without him. “Well, that’s good. You got to see her for a little bit.”
She wiped at her tears. “She was crying, and that made us cry, too.”
“Listen, Susie. We’re going to get your mom out of there. You know how I came in and got you tonight at the beach house? I’m going to do that with her, too. That okay with you?”
“Pinky promise?” A hopeful expression had come into her face, and she held out her little finger to him.
Novak vowed to get her mother out of that house, if it killed him. He hooked his with hers. “Pinky promise. I’m going to get her as soon as I can, okay?”
For the first time, the child smiled, but it faded quickly. “Yes sir.”
“Want another cookie?”
Silence descended as she took one from the package. She chewed it awhile, and then she looked back at him. “He hits my mommy sometimes. We saw him do it. You know, like this.” She demonstrated a pretty accurate backhand slap.
Then the child’s remarkable courage cracked a bit, and Novak clearly glimpsed her pain. Her words spilled out in a hurry. “He said Sammi and me has got to do what he says, or he’ll never let us see Mommy again. So Sammi and me are being real good. He said he wouldn’t let her out of her room, if we were naughty and didn’t mind Nanny.” Tears welled up again, and this time rolled down her cheeks.
“You’re safe now, sweetie, okay? I’m gonna get your mommy for you. It might take me a little while but not very long. Think you can be brave and wait just a little bit longer to see her?”
“Couldn’t you just maybe go out there and get her right now?”
He shook his head. “No, not tonight. I’m sorry, but I’ll bring her here soon, I promise.”
“We act bad sometimes and get in trouble with Nanny. Is that why he took Mommy away from us, cause we’re bad?”
“No, it’s got nothing to do with you. Your mother loves you and wants to be with you. Just keep thinking about how she’ll be home soon. Right now, you’ve got Lori here to take care of you. She’s okay, right?”
She nodded. “Do you think Grandfather can find us?”
“No, nobody knows we’re out here.”
“Can we stay here and live with you and Lori until Mommy comes?”
“Sure you can, for a little while anyway, until we find a safe place for you to stay.”
“Sammi gets scared. But I’ll be brave.”
“I know you are. How about we let your sister and Lori sleep some more? When Sammi wakes up, you can give her some cookies. How about that?”
She nodded, more comfortable with him now.
“Okay, let’s get you back to bed. Maybe we can talk some more later.”
She nodded, rose obediently, and walked back toward Lori’s cabin. She turned around at the sliding door. “Is my mommy really okay? He didn’t hurt her again, did he?”
“I think she’s just fine.” Novak paused. “Did you ever see anyone else locked up in your house, Susie? Maybe that other girl named Lucy?”
“Sometimes girls get locked up in the garage. Sammi and me peek out the windows and see them and then Uncle Stephen takes them away.”
So the famous actor was neck-deep in this thing, too. Good to know. “Did you see any girls with long red hair, maybe pulled up in a ponytail?”
“I saw one girl who looked like that. They took her in Grandfather’s office and shut the door. Then they took her down to the garage with some other girls.”
“Was she okay? Did they hurt her or anything?”
“I don’t think so. But she was real mad at them.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she kept trying to kick them.”
That sounded like Lucy Caloroso, all right. He hoped she hadn’t gotten hurt trying to defend herself. But that meant he could tell Frank that it was a pretty good bet she was alive and well inside Locke’s garage. Unfortunately, it didn’t mean she was safe now or that she was on the estate. “Did they hit her or anything?”
“One of them did this.” She mimed grabbing somebody by the shoulders and shaking them. “That’s when we ran away and hid under the bed.”
“When did you see her, sweetie? Was it a long time ago?”
“I don’t know, but it was before we went to the hotel.”
“You are a brave little girl, Susie. So is Sammi.”
Suddenly Susie ran back to him and pressed her little body against his chest. He circled her inside his arms and gave her a tight hug. She felt small and defenseless and like Novak’s little daughter felt a long time ago. His throat burned at the memory, but he shook off the emotion. Susie’s words were muffled when she spoke. “I’m glad you came to get us. We didn’t like it there.”
After that, Susie let go and scampered back to bed. Novak sat where he was and thought about what she’d told him. Now he was sure the judge had Lucy somewhere, maybe not at the mansion but somewhere nearby. Locke was into some ugly stuff, most likely child pornography or worse. They had to find her.
Good news was Lucy had been seen alive and hopefully was still somewhere in Galveston. If she was inside that mansion, Novak could find her. Frank desperately needed some good news, and now Novak could give it to him. Novak had to get in touch with Leslie and persuade her to take the children off his hands until he found their mother. He wanted to bring down Calvin Locke
and his criminal empire about as much as anything he’d ever wanted. He wanted to make sure nobody involved ever walked the streets of Houston or Galveston again.
Novak headed up to the cabin and found his friend in the kitchen nursing a bottle of whiskey. Novak told him the good news, and Frank seemed to deflate like a punctured basketball.
He stared up at Novak out of bleary, bloodshot eyes. “I’m going to kill them,” he told him, words slurred. “I’m going to kill every single last one of them.”
“Sounds good,” Novak said.
Then Frank put his head down atop folded arms and sobbed. Novak sat down beside him and placed a hand on his back, but there was little else he could say. Nothing in the world would comfort Frank’s despair until Lucy was safe at home. They had better find her soon or the judge might retaliate on Lucy for what Novak had done that night. Novak couldn’t bear to think about that. They had to find her—fast.
Chapter 13
As tough as Lori had shown herself to be under pressure, she was every bit as soft and gentle with Susie and Sammi. She kept the children close to her, murmuring reassurances and doling out Reese’s Pieces and M&M’s that she’d found in Frank’s pantry. The children were playing quietly with a Chutes and Ladders game and an old baby doll that Lori had dragged out of Lucy’s closet. The three adults sat around the kitchen table, watching them.
Lori broke the silence. “Okay, we know Judith was at the mansion the last time the girls saw her. Doesn’t mean she’s still there, though. She could be anywhere by now.”
“There’s a good shot she’s in there. It sounds to me like he’s controlling her through threats against her daughters. I say we go in and find out, the sooner the better.” That was Frank, a lot more hopeful now that he’d learned Lucy had been seen alive and well. “They had Lucy there, and she fought back. She still might be there. So I’m with Novak. We go in. We get lucky and maybe we’ll find them both.”
Novak felt better about Frank. He had really settled down and was thinking clearly. He appeared calm and focused and ready to roll. Novak needed him that way. “We’ve got to all be on the same page, because it’s going to take teamwork to pull this off. I want these kids in a safe place before we do anything. I don’t want to worry about them, and it might take the three of us to get inside. No way can they stay out here alone. So I’m for handing them over to Leslie for protection. After that, we go in for Judith. I think Lucy’s somewhere in Houston, too. Or if we’re lucky, Judith can tell us where they’re holding her.”
Frank’s gaze was intense. “Then let’s do it. Waiting isn’t going to help anybody. If we don’t move, we’ll miss our window.”
Lori was in agreement. Novak wanted to move in, too. He pushed back his chair and stood up. “Hang tight while I make the call.”
Outside in the yard, the grass was still soggy from rain and the dirt road had turned to mud. He walked out under a gnarled oak tree and punched in Leslie’s private number.
She picked up on the first ring. “Yeah, Novak? You got Judith Locke?”
“There’s a problem.”
Her sigh was exaggerated and tinged with annoyance. “Oh, Lord, of course there is. Please don’t tell me Judith’s dead or has changed her mind and all my prep work is for nothing.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. I don’t have her yet, but I will soon. I’m talking about her kids, Susie and Sammi. I grabbed them last night.”
“Grabbed them? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“I took them out of Judge Locke’s beach house, so don’t be surprised if he’s turning over every rock in south Texas to find them.”
“You did what? Never mind, I heard you. Where are you? Are those kids with you now?”
“For the moment. That’s where you come in, Les. I want you to take them into protective custody until I can deliver their mother to you.”
“Oh, is that all?”
Novak said nothing.
She came back with incredulity. “You kidnapped a sitting judge’s grandchildren out of his home? Have you lost your mind, Novak?”
“Not exactly kidnapped. I’m calling it rescued. He was going to molest them sooner or later, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
A few beats of silence and then: “Okay, okay, let me think. Good God, I can’t believe this. Please tell me you had some kind of admissible and legal proof of molestation?”
“No, but it was going to happen, trust me.”
“Know what you’ve got, Novak? You’ve got yourself one hell of a dilemma here. He’s probably got the entire Galveston police force out looking for you. Where are you?”
“He won’t call the cops.”
“No? Tell me why. Please tell me something that I can use.”
“Because cops will want to know where the mother is and why the oldest kid says the judge locked Judith up and wouldn’t let her see her own children. I’ve got that much proof. The kids are talking, and what they’re saying is incriminating.”
“But he hasn’t abused the children yet?”
“We don’t think so. We haven’t questioned them much about that. They’re traumatized. They’re scared and confused and want their mom back. Judith was molested by her father at age eleven, and it’s still going on. He’s been locking her up, forcing sex, and using her children as leverage. A jury won’t view any of that too kindly, judge or not. The kids say a young girl who sounds a lot like Lucy was also held prisoner inside his estate.”
“Not enough for a Federal warrant. Not without proof. A toddler’s account won’t stand up in court.”
“She’s four and really bright, so I believe her. It all fits and explains some things I couldn’t quite figure.”
“Where’s Judith now? She’s our primary interest. I’ve got to get her in custody to make this work.”
“I’ll get her, don’t worry about it. I want these little girls in your hands where they’ll be safe and secure. I need you to come through for me on this, Leslie.”
“Novak, you are unbelievable. You’re lucky I even talk to you.”
She was right. They both knew it.
“Oh, all right. I’ll take the girls and get them settled in a safe house, and then we’ll wait for you to deliver Judith Locke. I need her under my control, Novak. My SAC is not going to go for any of this until Judith’s signature is on her statement.”
Leslie instructed him to text photos of the little girls for verification. Novak hung up, walked inside, and had Lori snap some pictures. After he texted them to Leslie, he felt better. He’d been expecting a flat refusal. It was asking a lot of the agent, especially without hard evidence of judicial corruption or child abuse. If all went well, Leslie would come out of this thing as a rock star. Now Lori was reading a book to the girls in Lucy’s bedroom, some story about a brown-spotted pony and a sick little girl who loved him. He hoped it ended well. He hoped what they were doing ended well.
Frank was edgy again. “Lucy could be in another state by now. She could be anywhere.”
“Yeah, she could, but the girls put her in Houston. We’re gonna make them pay for taking her. You’ve done the right thing by staying out of sight. Locke doesn’t know who I am or where to find me. I can show up anywhere in plain sight, and they’ll never be the wiser. All they know is that somebody’s putting the screws to them. I want to go inside that estate, but I’m gonna need help. That’s where you and Lori come in. Once we get the kids to Leslie, we need to find out everything we can about Locke’s operations. Not going in until I know what we’re facing.”
It took twenty minutes before Leslie’s call came back. “Okay, it’s a go, Novak. There’s nothing on the news or in the papers about the kidnapping, and no Amber Alert or reward. You’re right. Locke’s going to handle this on his own. Which is worse for the three of you, believe me. They do not play nice. So good luck. You’re
going to need it. No way that you don’t know that.”
“Just take care of the little girls and let me worry about myself.”
“I’d be better off if I learned to say no to you years ago.”
“Oh, you’ve said no plenty of times.” They had been together for a while, but they hadn’t been compatible enough for a long-term relationship, more on her part than his. That kind of reconciliation was not in the cards. No bridges had been left intact.
“I’ll let you know when we’re coming. Have those kids ready.” She hung up.
Novak looked at the others. “Okay, she’s agreed to take the girls and get them into a safe house.”
So they waited. Lori fixed lunch, and they sat down with the children and ate bologna sandwiches and potato chips and drank Cokes. Novak’s phone vibrated again before they finished.
“I’m on my way with a four-man team. Be ready. Where are you?”
“I’ve reconsidered. I want to meet at a neutral location.”
“Why?”
“Doesn’t matter why.”
“Good God, Novak, now you don’t trust me?” She gave a heavy sigh. “Oh, all right, just give me a time and place so we can get this over with. Being around you makes me nervous.”
“Meet us at the Love’s Travel Stop on Interstate 10 west of Lynchburg. Do you know the place?”
“Hell, no. Why would I? Houston’s a big place, Novak.”
“There’s a strip mall right before you get to the Love’s. It’s got a cleaners called One Day Clean. Next to that, there’s a Subway restaurant and a big Goodwill store that’s been closed down. Park in the Goodwill’s side parking lot, and we’ll find you. Three o’clock this afternoon.”
“We’ll be coming in two black Chevy Suburbans.”
Novak laughed. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know. You Feds are nothing if not predictable. Don’t forget your dark suits and sunshades.”
“Just don’t be late,” she snapped and hung up.
Novak walked back inside, nodded affirmation to the adults, and moved into the room where the kids were now watching a Disney movie. The princess one that had a mermaid named Ariel. They were sitting together on the floor, and Novak lounged down beside them. “Hey, guys, you like this movie?”
