“Yeah,” Eddie said.
Pastor Rowland looked around the parking lot. “Well, I won’t keep you. Mary and I will be praying, and I’ll check with Abby later this morning. If there’s no word, I’ll call our prayer captains.”
“Thanks, Pastor.”
Jimmy clapped a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Did you hear something?”
Eddie swung around, peering in the direction Jimmy was looking. He may have heard a quiet sound during his conversation. “Where?” he whispered.
“Over there.” Jimmy pointed.
Pastor Rowland stepped closer. “Sometimes we get a raccoon, if the Dumpster isn’t closed tightly.”
Eddie pulled his flashlight from his belt. He turned it on and walked toward the back of the annex and the Dumpster. He didn’t see any movement, but he caught a soft noise. He looked at Jimmy and pointed toward the near side of the Dumpster, while he walked toward the far side.
They rounded the corners at the same time, shining their lights on the huddled form behind the container. Gary let out a little yelp and then sobbed, hiding his face from the light.
“Gary, it’s me, Uncle Eddie.”
Jimmy lowered the beam of his flashlight and focused on a three-speed bike that had seen better days. The front fender was crumpled, and the wheel rim bent. The tire was completely flat.
“You okay, Gar?” Eddie crouched beside the boy and reached for his arm.
Gary squawked and pulled away.
“What happened?” Eddie asked. To Jimmy, he made a “call it in” sign. Jimmy stepped away, and a moment later, Eddie heard him say quietly, “Hey, Captain? Yeah. We’ve got the kid.”
“My arm hurts,” Gary said. “I ran into the concrete steps and fell. I couldn’t see where I was going.”
“Why you hiding?” Eddie asked. “Whyn’t you call your mom? Or go ring the pastor’s doorbell?”
Gary burst into heart-rending sobs. Eddie sat down on the pavement and gently pulled the boy toward him, avoiding the painful right arm.
“It’s okay, bud. It’s going to be okay.”
“My arm,” Gary gasped, then he went back to weeping.
“Let me see.” Eddie touched his bicep gingerly, and Gary let out a little gasp. “Okay, I’m going to have my friend Jimmy call us an ambulance, and we’ll get someone to look at that.”
“No!” Gary stared at him, his eyes glittering with tears. “I don’t want Mom to know I messed up.”
“Well, she already knows you snuck out,” Eddie said, “and she’s worried plenty. I think if you see a doctor, she might even feel a little less worried about you. Hey, maybe Uncle Jeff will come in the ambulance. You’d let him look at your arm, wouldn’t you?” He seemed to remember Leeanne saying that Jeff would be off that day, and he and Beth were babysitting Connor. Still, if it would calm Gary down. . .
“No, don’t call them,” Gary said.
Eddie sighed. “Okay. Tell you what, you let me carry you to my truck and I’ll drive you over to the hospital, and a doctor can look at you there, huh? It might even be quicker than waiting for the bus.”
Gary shook his head and clutched his forearm, huddling in misery.
Jimmy walked over. “Mrs. Hobart’s on the way. Sarah Benoit’s bringing her.”
“You hear that?” Eddie asked Gary. He looked up at Jimmy. “Tell her we’re driving Gary to the hospital to get his arm checked. She can meet us in the ER.”
“What about Andy?” Gary asked, a hitch in his voice.
“She won’t leave him there alone,” Eddie said. “They’ll get someone to stay with him.”
“Who?” Gary asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m not going until we know my brother’s okay.”
Eddie held back a laugh. “Okay, buddy. Hold on.”
He called Sarah. “Hey, Sarah, you with Abby Hobart?”
“I sure am. We’re just getting in my car to come to the church.”
“Who’s staying with Andy?” Eddie asked.
“Officer Crocker. Andy’s sleeping, though.”
“Good. You and Abby come to the ER at Maine Medical. Gary’s arm’s banged up, and I think he needs it checked.”
“Copy that,” Sarah said and hung up.
Eddie looked at Gary. “It’s all set. A nice lady named Allison Crocker is staying with your brother. You may have met her. She came to church here once when we were guarding Chief Browning last winter. Remember that?”
Gary shook his head.
“Oh, well, Uncle Harvey and I both know her. She’s a good person. Now, let’s see if I can pick you up without hurting your arm.” Eddie stooped and eased his arms beneath the boy. “Upsy daisy.” He stood with Gary in his arms. “Oof. You weight a ton, kid.”
“Uh-uh-uh.” Gary let out a little shriek.
“I’m sorry,” Eddie said. He probably should have insisted on the ambulance. Too late now. “Jimmy, toss the bike in the back, will you?”
Pastor Rowland walked beside him to the truck. “Is there anything I can do, Eddie?”
“Just tell anyone who asks that Gary’s safe and he’s going to be okay. And if by any chance any reporters get wind of this, refer them to Captain Larson.”
“Right.” The pastor opened the passenger door for them.
Jimmy lifted the mangled bicycle into the truck bed and came to climb in beside Gary. “Easy, fella. I’m Jimmy. Which arm hurts?”
Eddie hurried around the driver’s side, climbed in, and started the engine. “Hey, Gary, how about we put the blue light on, so traffic gets out of our way? Would you like that?”
Chapter 11
Abby ran through the emergency entrance and turned toward the triage desk. She’d worked behind it dozens of shifts, but she didn’t recognize the young woman who manned it tonight.
“I’m Abigail Hobart, and my son was brought in with an injured arm.”
“Excuse me.” A stocky young man with blond hair approached her, holding up a PPD badge. “Abby Hobart?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Detective Cook. We met at Eddie and Leeanne’s wedding.”
Abby recognized him immediately, since she’d actually met him several other times, at Harvey’s house. “Of course. Are you here with my son?”
“Yeah, Gary’s in one of the exam rooms. Eddie stayed with him.”
“I’m so glad. Thank you for helping find him. I can’t imagine why he would go to the church.”
Jimmy shrugged. “On the way here, he told us he wanted to pray for his dad. Maybe he thinks it counts more if you pray at the church or light a candle or something.”
Sarah came up beside them. “I’m parked to the right of the entrance.”
“Thanks, Sarah,” Abby said. “I’m going in to see Gary.”
“I’ll wait out here for you.”
Abby made an unhappy face. “Sorry to drag you over here to spend your shift in a waiting room.”
“No problem,” Sarah said.
Abby could tell she meant it. She turned to the nurse behind the desk.
“Come through that door over there,” the young woman said. “Your son is in exam 3.”
When Abby had passed through the security door into the ER’s main hallway, a nurse she knew caught sight of her.
“Abby! I met your handsome young man.”
“How’s he doing, Tammy?” she asked.
“Dr. Littleton just went in to check his arm. He’ll probably have to set it.”
“It’s broken?” Abby cried. “They didn’t tell me.”
“Yeah. He’ll probably be glad to see you.”
Abby hurried into the exam room. The gray-haired doctor and another nurse consulted near the gurney, while Eddie stood back out of the way. Gary lay on the white sheet, whimpering.
“Doctor, I’m his mother,” Abby said, stepping forward.
“Oh, Abby.” Dr. Littleton glanced at the clipboard he held. “Or Mrs. Hobart, I should say.”
“I�
��m still Abby. Gary is my stepson.”
“Right. He has a fractured radius, and there may be something going on in the elbow. We gave him some Tylenol, and I’m sending him for x-rays. Then he’ll come back here. I want to see the pictures, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be casting it.”
Abby pulled in a deep breath. “Okay. What do I do?”
“You can go down to the waiting room at imaging, or you can wait here.” Dr. Littleton gave Gary a smile and a nod and said to Abby, “I’ll talk to you in a few minutes, when we know exactly what we’ve got.”
“Thank you.” The doctor went out, and Abby moved in closer to Gary. “Hey, Gar. Does it hurt a lot?”
Gary nodded. “Are you going to spank me?”
Abby frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“’Cause I was bad, and you’re the stepmother.”
She laughed. “Well, first of all, I’m not sure you were bad. You wanted to help your dad. I wish you’d told me your plans, but we’re here now. Second, you’re a little big for a spanking, aren’t you? And third, who says all stepmothers are mean?”
“Brady Huston.”
“Oh, well, that’s Brady for you.” Gary’s friend was the class cut-up.
“He’s got a stepmom.”
“Well, yeah.”
“I told him you’re a good one, but I’m not sure he believes it,” Gary said.
Eddie came to her side. “Well, you can tell that punk you hit the jackpot when you got Abby.”
Gary nodded. “I will.”
The nurse put up the rail on the side of the gurney. “We’re heading for X-ray now, Gary.”
“Do you want me to come?” Abby asked. “I can’t go in the camera room with you, but I can be right outside the door.”
“Yeah.” Tears filled Gary’s eyes. “They gave me some chewy med, but it still hurts.”
“Aw. I’m sorry.”
“Do you want me to come, too, Gary?” Eddie asked.
“No,” the boy said firmly. “I want you to find my dad.”
“Okay,” Eddie said softly. “I’ll sure try.”
Abby followed the gurney out and down the hall. Eddie tagged along.
“Thanks so much for everything,” Abby said quietly. “Did I hear someone say he was hiding behind the Dumpster at the church?”
Eddie nodded. “I think he knew he’d gone about it wrong and was embarrassed that he’d messed up. His bike was useless, and he was in pain.”
“So he wanted to hide.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you didn’t come across angry.” Eddie squeezed her shoulder. “Hey, I’ll grab Jimmy and get out there. They may have some more leads for us to follow.”
Abby hurried to catch up with the nurse pushing the gurney. Tammy gave her a sidelong glance.
“That cop who brought him in is a looker. Do you know if he’s married?”
“Yeah, to my sister.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Abby said. “I’m used to it.”
*****
After an update from Eddie on Gary’s prognosis, Harvey sent all four of his detectives home to get some sleep. He stealthily entered his house after two a.m. and reset the burglar alarm.
Jennifer was sound asleep in their sleigh bed. He’d called her as soon as Eddie reported that Gary was found, and she must have crashed after that. Harvey was glad. Someone in the family should be getting some sleep.
He tiptoed up the stairs and looked in on Connor. The little boy lay resting peacefully, his long eyelashes fluttering with each breath. His hair was getting longer, and it was taking on a decided wave, the way Harvey’s did when it got too long. He rested a gentle hand on the baby’s chest for a moment and went quietly down the stairs.
As much as he longed to crawl in beside Jennifer, he sat down instead at his desk and made some notes. He had to be ready with assignments for the men first thing in the morning. He’d already canceled his Friday morning run with Eddie and told them all to meet at the office at nine, barring any earlier calls pertaining to the case.
Mike had warned him that he would probably have to hold a more detailed press conference early in the day. Ryan Toothaker, who was a good but obnoxious reporter for the Portland Press Herald, had wormed it out of one of Hobart Chevrolet’s salesmen that the business would be closed over the weekend because the boss was somehow connected to the shooting that occurred there on Wednesday night. Harvey jotted a few phrases in his pocket notebook, things he had to make public, and things he wanted to keep out of the news reports if possible.
After that, he scanned his notes from the previous day. They needed to find out who Webster Holden was working for, and his connection to Chad McCafferty. Were they working for the same money man? And was that so-called financier a loan shark? Nate hadn’t turned up anything as far as stolen boats went, and the car Holden had driven to the drop hadn’t told them much.
Emma Skerrit, McCafferty’s girlfriend, seemed like a safer bet. She was out there somewhere with McCafferty. Harvey had asked a tech at the police station to ping her phone and McCafferty’s repeatedly. If things went his way, that pair would be hauled in before daylight, and they would get some solid information. McCafferty was in this up to his neck, or Harvey was badly mistaken. Again he reviewed everything they’d learned so far about Carter Ulrich and his finances. Nothing concrete there, just rumors and speculation. Harvey had a short list of bookies and money launderers that could be connected to this, but so far he had no clues pointing to any of them.
He paused when he came to the notebook page where he’d copied the names off Baby Girl Ervin’s birth certificate. Her adoptive parents had named her Leah Viniard. He almost wished he had a right to look out for her. Thinking back over his brief meetings with Steve and Denise Viniard, he knew they loved Leah, no question there. He had no reason to think they wouldn’t do right by her, so why did he feel so protective? He ripped out the page and set it aside. He would think about Leah’s family after Peter was found.
He got up and walked out to the living room, where he kicked back in a recliner. He didn’t want to wake Jennifer, and he didn’t want to waste time having to dress if he got a call during the next few hours. Responding slowly might result in Peter’s death.
*****
Harvey woke to the smell of coffee and sat up to stretch. Jennifer poked her head in from the kitchen. She looked like a kid in her Piglet T-shirt and denim cut-offs, with her hair in two long braids and bare feet.
“Hey.” She walked toward him smiling. “I wouldn’t have cared if you woke me up.”
“Aw, I just wanted to be ready to spring into action if I got a call.”
The sun streamed in through the front window, and he looked at his watch. It was almost eight.
“I guess I got a few hours in.”
“Yeah. Connor’s in the highchair. Want to eat breakfast with him?”
“Terrific.” He rose, wondering how she’d managed to get the baby up without waking him.
Connor burst into a huge grin when he saw his father and bounced up and down in the highchair, babbling.
“Hey, buddy.” Harvey stooped to kiss the top of his head. He’d have unbuckled the harness and lifted him out, but Connor was halfway through a very messy breakfast of sliced banana and oatmeal.
“I’ll have what he’s having.” Harvey sat down in his usual chair and scooped up a spoonful of cereal for Connor. Jennifer set a mug of black coffee beside him.
“Thanks, gorgeous.”
She put her arm around his shoulders and bent to kiss him soundly.
“How’s everything?” he asked.
“Fine. I talked to Abby a few minutes ago. Gary’s at home with a cast on his arm. She’s keeping him and Andy home today, but they might come over here later to see the folks if Gary feels up to it. I expect Mom, Dad, and Randy this afternoon.”
“Not Travis?”
“No, he’s started his job up there, and he’s working today and tomorrow, but he’
s torn up about Peter. Randy’s really eager to get down here.”
“I’d better give Mr. Donnell a call.”
“Do you have time?”
“Dish me up some oatmeal and I’ll do it now. Then I’m hitting the shower.”
The call to set up a twenty-hour-a-week job for Randy took three minutes, and Harvey sat at the table with his son for another ten. If not for Connor, he’d have been out the door, but watching his son mug at him and say “dadada” kept him glued to the chair while he ate not only oatmeal and a banana, but a scrambled egg.
“Are you all set for the Wainthrop invasion?” he asked Jennifer as she wiped the oatmeal and banana slime off Connor’s hands, chin, and cheeks.
“I think so. Beth is going to do some cooking. I guess we’ll put Randy right into Trav’s room, huh? He’ll be moving in there next week, after he finishes his finals.”
“Yeah. It’ll be good to have Randy for a while. I can get to know him better.” Travis, the 19-year-old, had stayed with them for the spring semester, from January to mid-May, while pursuing his degree in business. After being disappointed that he wasn’t offered a sports scholarship, he’d bounced around a little, trying to decide what courses to take. Before he’d left them for the summer three weeks previously, he’d decided to change his major to computer science. Harvey didn’t know if that was a good fit or not.
Unlike Travis, Randy knew exactly what he wanted to do. For some time, he’d wanted to be a police officer and was taking steps to make sure he succeeded. Harvey wasn’t certain if his own profession had influenced Jennifer’s youngest brother or not, but it made him happy to see a kid so enthusiastic about law enforcement. He tried not to go overboard in showing his pleasure, but he thought Randy would do well. He was a serious, studious young man who thought deeply about topics like justice and serving the public. Already he was reading books about ethics and criminal psychology. Harvey knew his idealism would fade somewhat when he got a dose of the job, but he thought Randy could handle it.
Jennifer lifted Connor from the highchair and handed him to Harvey. “Give him a hug and then go get your shower. And don’t toss him around. Remember, he just ate.”
Ransom of the Heart Page 13
