Rose’s expression darkened. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Join the club. Have you seen Mel and Jared yet today?”
Rose shook her head. “No, but I heard they visited Felicia Hayden. She told Jenn Dombrowski that Jessica is wanted for questioning, and she’s not happy about it.”
“I can’t say as I blame her, but a little girl’s life is on the line,” Harper noted. “She needs to suck it up.”
“I agree with you there. I can’t picture Jessica as a kidnapper, though.”
In truth, neither could Harper. “They’re probably trying to eliminate her from the list. Since they don’t have an obvious suspect, they have to work backwards instead of forward.”
“You know a lot about police business,” Rose said, handing over Harper’s coffee. “Is that because you’re moving in with a police detective?”
Harper shook her head. “No. Zander loves police procedurals.”
“Ah, well, he’s waiting for you in the corner. Let me know if you find out anything.”
“I definitely will.”
Harper sidestepped two excitable women as she crossed the shop, joining Zander at the table. She slipped out of her coat and sighed when she realized he’d snagged the table with the heat vent directly underneath it. The spot had been their favorite since they were kids and their mothers brought them in for quick visits.
“You remembered.” Harper smiled as she sipped her coffee and kicked her feet over the vent. “Ugh. I want to live here it’s so warm.”
Zander smirked as he turned his attention to her. “You look okay,” he said after a beat, his fingers gentle as they ordered Harper’s hair. “I take it Quinn didn’t try to emotionally manipulate you too badly.”
“Oh, he tried. I simply didn’t let him.”
“Good for you.” He patted her wrist. “Tell me what he wanted, though. I’m dying to hear what kind of scam he tried to run this time.”
“I think you’re destined for disappointment. He didn’t try anything unique. It was a little sad really.” Harper told Zander about her morning, leaving nothing out. When she was done, Zander’s fury was palpable.
“I can’t believe he thought you would simply change your testimony to help him out of the goodness of your heart,” Zander seethed, his eyes flashing with malice. “I mean ... what is wrong with him? Did he really think he would be able to charm you into doing his will?”
“I think part of him thought it was well and truly possible,” Harper admitted. “The other part, though, well ... that part knew that it simply wasn’t going to happen. He invited me there to play games. He’s bored and wanted news from the outside world.”
“Did you give him any?”
“Other than telling him I was busy and didn’t have time for his crap, not really. He called me a martyr because I was looking for Zoe. I pretty much ignored him.”
‘Do you think you’ll go back?”
She shook her head. “No. I said all I wanted to say. I have no interest in listening to him. He’s broken, and he has nothing to offer me.”
“What did you want him to offer you?”
“Maybe an explanation. Maybe something to explain his actions. I don’t know. It sounds weak and ridiculous in hindsight, but I wanted to understand how he could be so evil.”
“I don’t think he’s capable of explaining that.”
“No.” Harper took another sip of her coffee and scanned the coffee shop. “It looks like the search is continuing with no luck, huh?”
Zander bobbed his head. “Everyone is out looking, although it’s not going well. I think we’ll be out of places to search by the end of the day.”
“She’s not hiding behind a dumpster waiting for us to find her,” Harper noted. “Someone took her. We need to shift the search parameters.”
“Do you have any idea of how to do that?”
“No, but I’m going to give it serious thought.”
“Good. I ... .” Zander trailed off, his coffee mug close to his lips, and focused on the door as it opened. Naturally, Harper followed his gaze and found Shana striding into the shop. She looked tired, as if she’d been up late into the evening, but her shoulders were broad as she headed toward the counter.
“Rose said that Ally left with Shana last night,” Zander volunteered. “I’m guessing that Shana took care of her, which is pretty nice considering everything Shana has been through.”
“Maybe situations like this bond people,” Harper mused, her mind busy. “Maybe, once you’ve been through a legitimate trauma, you really do have insight on how to help people.”
“Maybe.” Zander didn’t look convinced, but since Shana was heading in their direction, he had no choice but to paste a bright smile on his face as she approached. “Hello. We were just talking about you.”
“Really?” Shana arched an eyebrow. “What were you saying? Good things, I hope. I like hearing good things about myself.”
“We heard you took Ally home last night,” Harper volunteered quickly. “That was very nice of you, especially since no one else could figure out what to do with her given the circumstances.”
“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Shana hedged. “I took her home. To her home, I mean. I sat with her, waited until she fell asleep, and then slept on the couch. I figured she shouldn’t wake up alone.”
“Given the circumstances, I would agree with that.” Harper sipped again, something occurring to her. “Was Ally better this morning? I know Jared and Mel need to question her, so it would be really helpful if she was feeling better.”
“She’s still a mess,” Shana replied. “I think she’ll grow stronger as the day progresses, but it’s going to take some effort. I decided to give her a break and a bit of time alone, which is why I’m here. I also wanted to find Jared and Mel. When I saw you, I thought perhaps you were expecting them to meet you.”
“I believe they’re busy elsewhere,” Harper said. “Is there something specific you need from them?”
“Actually, there’s something I want to share with them.” Shana glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening and then lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I heard gossip on the street on my way here, and someone said there was a van with dogs painted on it in the intersection close to the time that Zoe disappeared yesterday.”
Harper was taken aback by the conversation shift. “A van with dogs on it?”
“Yeah, like a white van, but it had cute puppies painted on it,” Shana replied. “If you ask me, that seems like a weird thing to paint on your van.”
“I would agree with that,” Harper said. “Unless ... well, I guess the van could belong to a mobile veterinarian or something.”
“I don’t know about that.” Shana held her hands up in mock surrender. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. It’s just ... I think it’s important for the police to look everywhere. If they overlook something, they might regret it later. I know all about regret. It’s not fun.”
Harper instinctively nodded, her heart constricting at the way Shana said the words. “I definitely agree with that. I’ll call Jared right away and make sure he has the information. Do you know anything else about the van?”
Shana shook her head. “Just that it was white with either decals or a custom paint job. I’m sure it can’t be hard to find.”
“That would be my guess, too.”
“Thank you for relaying the information to the police for me.”
“No problem. I ... .” Harper didn’t get a chance to finish what she was saying because Shana had already turned on her heel and moved to the other side of the shop and was already engaging in a new conversation. “Apparently she found people who were more interesting than us, huh?”
Zander snickered. “No one is more interesting than us, Harp.”
“What do you think about the van story?”
“I think that a van with puppies on it would be a good way to entice kids.”
Unfortunately for
Harper, she felt the same way. “Yeah. I need to call Jared. It might be nothing but ... .”
“It might be the break we needed,” Zander finished. “Definitely call him. It couldn’t hurt.”
Eight
Harper called Jared right away, which was a relief to his continually expanding emotional upheaval. Instead of explaining the information she had over the phone, he insisted on coming to her. He assumed she needed to talk about what happened with Quinn. So, when she immediately launched into Shana’s van story, he was understandably confused.
“Wait ... what?”
“There was a van with puppies on it?” Mel asked, furrowing his brow. “That doesn’t sound normal.”
“Not even remotely normal,” Zander agreed. “I think that a puppy van would be the ideal vehicle for snagging children because ... who doesn’t love a puppy?”
Harper slid him a sidelong look. “I wanted to get a dog years ago and you said no.”
“That’s because they’re dirty and we work too much to have a dog.”
“We could’ve taken the dog with us to the office so it was never alone.”
“That doesn’t solve the dirty issue.”
“Whatever.” Harper rolled her eyes until they landed on Jared. “Can you believe this guy? You’re open to getting a dog one day, right?”
“I don’t see why not, but I would prefer we talk about it when we have time to sit down and really hammer out the issues,” Jared replied. “I don’t want this to turn into a thing where we get a dog and I end up taking care of it.”
Harper balked. “I would be an excellent pet owner.”
“Then I’m sure it will work out.” Instinctively, Jared stroked her hair. “Are you okay after what happened at the jail this morning?”
Harper’s sea-blue eyes widened. “Of course. Is that why you thought I called? I’m perfectly fine, Jared. Nothing bad happened.”
“What did happen?”
“We can talk about it later. It’s not important now.”
“I think you should at least give him a hint,” Mel interjected. “He’s been a whiny baby all morning because he’s been worried about you.”
Harper studied Jared’s strong profile for a long beat and then acquiesced. “Fine. It was nothing. He wanted me to change my testimony and he promised that he would leave and never come back if I did. I told him that wasn’t going to happen and I was looking forward to him spending the rest of his life in prison.”
“That’s it?” Jared was dubious. “That’s all he wanted?”
“Well, his initial approach was to claim he got involved with me as a cover but then fell in love with me,” she admitted. “It was kind of like a bad romance novel. He couldn’t keep up the facade long, though, and when I called him on it he let his true colors show.”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No. We were separated by glass and there was a guard on my side of the window, as well as his. He didn’t do anything but cry like a little girl.”
“I wish you would’ve taped it,” Zander muttered, his expression turning dark. “We could’ve uploaded it to YouTube and had a grand time.”
Harper patted his hand. “Next time.”
Despite himself, Jared smiled at the interaction. If Harper was putting on an act, it was a good one. She seemed genuinely relaxed and happy, eager to get to work on finding Zoe. That was a much better outcome than he envisioned. “Well, as long as you’re okay, we’re going to start looking for this van. I don’t know that it will lead anywhere, but it can’t hurt to try.”
“Good luck on that,” Harper said. “Zander and I are going to hit a few lesser-known places and look for Zoe. We know she’s probably not there, but at least we can say we looked. We don’t have anything else going on.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Jared gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you for dinner tonight, right?”
“The Christmas festival is downtown tonight,” Harper reminded him. “I’m guessing it’s going to become something of a candlelight vigil given what’s going on, but there will be food at the festival.”
“And good food,” Zander added. “They have these mini-pumpkin pies that are to die for. I wish someone would share the recipe, but alas, it’s apparently a secret that Rose is going to take to the grave.”
Jared chuckled. “Festival it is. I’ll be in touch. You guys be safe while you’re out and about.”
“You don’t have to worry about us,” Harper said. “Worry about Zoe. She’s the one who is in trouble.”
“That’s why we’re tracking down the van. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“You do that.”
FINDING A VAN WITH DOGS painted on the side turned out to be harder than it sounded. Finally, Mel did the unthinkable and called his busybody wife to see if she knew who the van belonged to, which seemed doubtful. To his utter surprise, she offered a name right away.
“Edwin Partlow.”
“Excuse me?” Jared raised his eyebrows. “Who is that?”
“He’s supposedly the guy with the van,” Mel said as he disconnected his phone.
“Your wife actually knew?”
“You would be surprised at the odd and strange things my wife knows.”
“Apparently so.” Jared typed the name in on his computer and frowned as he searched the records. “He lives on Pleasant Ridge Road.”
“That’s isolated out there,” Mel noted, shuffling closer to Jared’s desk. “The neighbors aren’t on top of one another. If he took Zoe, he could’ve easily gotten her into the house without anyone noticing.”
“Yeah.” Jared scanned further down in the file. “He’s a sex offender.”
Mel’s blood ran cold. “You’re kidding.” What had been a lark a few moments before, a far-off possibility, now became more than that. “What’s his level?”
“Level one.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Mel said after a beat. “He might’ve been assessed as low risk to repeat because of his age or something. Can you get into his file?”
“No. It’s sealed, which means he was a juvenile when he committed the crime.”
Their eyes locked as they slowly got to their feet.
“We should head out there and have a talk with him,” Jared said. “We have to be sure. Even if he’s not guilty, if someone did really see him in the area yesterday afternoon, maybe he witnessed something helpful.”
“Good point. Let’s get on it.”
HARPER AND ZANDER SPENT AN hour re-visiting childhood haunts, including visiting the river by their house just in case Zoe was drawn by the water. They came up empty, which was ultimately a relief. Not knowing was terrible, but in this particular case, finding a body would be worse than wondering. Harper had no doubt about that.
With nothing better to do, Harper decided to play a hunch and visit Ally. It felt invasive, as if she was intruding on the woman’s grief, but she had to at least try and get information from the traumatized mother. If the van turned out to be a dead end, they needed a place to look.
Ally was forlorn when she answered the door, all traces of energy and life missing from her features. She seemed broken, as if the world had started kicking her and refused to let up. She blinked several times when she realized who was on her porch, and then disappeared inside — leaving the door open — before offering a half-hearted greeting.
“I guess you can come in.”
Harper and Zander exchanged a long look, a myriad of emotions passing between them, and then they disappeared inside. This obviously wasn’t going to be a comfortable visit, but they had no choice but to push forward.
“How are you doing, Ally?” Harper asked as she followed the woman into a messy living room. There were toys from one end to the other, a pink blanket on the couch, and a stuffed bear that looked like he’d seen better days resting on the coffee table.
“How do you think I’m doing?” Ally asked as she grabbed the bear and threw he
rself on the couch. “My daughter is missing. My life ... is over.”
“Don’t say that,” Harper chided, moving to the couch. Even though there were items strewn in every direction — clothes, coloring books, dolls, and dress-up clothes — she did her best to ignore the mess and sat. Zander, on the other hand, was so appalled he decided to stand in the corner and pretend his head wasn’t threatening to implode due to the overwhelming urge to clean.
“You don’t understand,” Ally said, gripping the bear tighter. “She’s gone. I wasn’t paying attention, and she’s gone. This is my fault. I deserve this.”
Harper’s heart rolled. “You most certainly don’t deserve this. You didn’t cause this, Ally. It’s just one of those things.”
“I should’ve made her stay with me.” Ally steadfastly avoided eye contact, which Harper recognized as a way to distance herself from her guests. “She doesn’t like being around too many people at once and I thought she would kick up a fuss. That shouldn’t have mattered, though. I should’ve kept her with me.”
“That will be enough of that,” Zander announced, taking everyone by surprise when he pushed away from the wall and strode toward Ally. “You’re her mother. You’re not doing anyone any good wallowing like this. You’ve got to snap out of it.”
Hurt flashed hard and fast across Ally’s face. “You don’t know how I feel.”
“I don’t,” he agreed, bobbing his head. “I have no idea what you’re feeling. I assume it must be crippling doubt for you to be acting this way. The thing is, now is not the time for you to fall apart. If ever you needed to be strong, this is it. Zoe is out there, waiting for you.”
Ally’s lower lip began trembling. “It’s all my fault.”
“Then make it up to her.” Zander refused to back down, instead sitting on the coffee table so he could stare directly into Ally’s eyes. He didn’t give her an option to look away. “You need to pull it together, because everyone else is out looking for your daughter.
“The state police are in town with dogs,” he continued. “Search parties are all over town, looking in every nook and cranny. Jared and Mel are tracking down a van someone saw close to the intersection yesterday afternoon.
Ghostly Visions: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 10-12 Page 27
