What she saw made her stop in her tracks.
Flee
Ava stared at the scene before her, too shocked to move. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer. They weren’t in the middle of the woods. Not in a cabin.
A railing stood in front of her, showing a parking lot full of beat-up cars beyond it. Cigarette smoke, marijuana, and other smells hung in the air. Yelling sounded from not far away.
He’d brought her to a motel.
Thud!
No wild animals making noises against a cabin. Nobody trying to break in.
It was only neighbors. And any one of them could help her.
But she had to get away first. Hardly breathing, Ava tiptoed outside then closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. Three-fifty-one. The five was upside down.
She crept away and burst into a run once she was sure Mason wouldn’t be able to hear her footsteps. Her lungs burned. Feet stung.
Ava kept her gaze low, making sure she didn’t step on any needles lying around. She glanced behind her every so often to check that Mason wasn’t following her. Once she reached stairs, she ran down, skipping every other one.
At the bottom, she dug through her bag, looking for her phone. The dead phone.
Her heart dropped. She tried to figure out what to do.
A police car raced down the street, sirens wailing.
The cops.
They would help her.
Ava ran toward the street. Waved her arms. But it was out of sight before she reached the sidewalk.
She glanced back at the hotel. Mason wasn’t outside the room. Yet.
Goose bumps ran down her arms. She stepped over a pile of trash. Raced down the sidewalk. Tried to ignore her pained feet.
In an area like this, nobody would notice her screams. She couldn’t let Mason catch up to her.
Cars zipped by. No more cop cars.
Sharp stones dug into her flesh. She winced. Pressed on.
A police cruiser! On the other side of the street.
Her pulse raced. She stopped. Waved furiously. Jumped up and down.
It drove right past her.
No…
Honk!
She whipped around.
The cop had turned around. Was now parked behind her, lights on but sirens off.
Tears stung. She blinked them back and ran to the car. Put her hand on the open passenger window. She didn’t recognize the officer. That meant Mason had taken her to a different town. “Help! There’s a man after me!”
The cop didn’t even blink. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Please! I’m Captain Fleshman’s daughter! It’s on record that Mason Cooper has been stalking me.”
“Captain Fleshman? Why does that sound familiar?”
“Nick Fleshman.” She gave him other details.
His eyes lit up. “I know him! You’re his daughter?”
“Yes! I swear, and Mason Cooper had me in that hotel back there. He drugged me to get me there after school.”
“Do you have ID?”
Gasping for air, Ava dug through her purse and found her school identification card.
The officer glanced it over. “I’m going to need to call this in, Miss Fleshman.” He got out and helped her into the back of the car.
She climbed onto the hard plastic seat, grateful to be where Mason couldn’t reach her.
The cop called it in and got confirmation that she was telling the truth. Apparently her dad’s force had everyone looking for her and Mason. He turned back to her. “Where did you say Mason Cooper took you?”
“That motel.” She pointed to it. “Room three-fifty-one.”
He called it in. Before he pulled away from the curb, two cruisers pulled into the lot with lights flashing. Then he turned to her. “I’m going to take you to your dad’s station.”
“Thank you.”
The ride seemed to go on forever, even though the officer made light conversation. He was obviously trying to distract her, but she didn’t care.
“Is Mason finally going to be locked up for good? I think this is his third arrest. Isn’t it three strikes and you’re out?”
“It isn’t that simple, but if he’s out on bail like you said, then he broke the terms. That means he won’t be able to make bail again. He’ll have to wait for his hearing behind bars.”
Ava breathed a sigh of relief.
They made it to her dad’s station, and everything was a blur of hugs as everyone from the receptionist to the officers all welcomed her back. Someone got her a blanket. Somebody else got her a first aid kit for her feet while a new officer took her statement.
“Where’s my dad?”
She gave Ava a sympathetic smile. “On his way, sweetie. They were checking out a cabin where we thought you might’ve been taken.”
The officer got Ava some snacks, and she ate mindlessly until her dad appeared in the doorway.
She leaped up. They both rushed across the room and into each other’s arms.
Dad nearly squeezed the air out of her lungs. “How did he get to you?”
“He said someone was going to hurt Hanna if I didn’t go with him. Then he drugged me to get me to that motel. He can’t get out of jail again, can he?”
“No. He broke the terms of his bail.”
“Can I go home now?”
“Yes, definitely. Let’s go.”
More people gave her hugs on the way out. Someone lent her a pair of shoes.
Dad held open the passenger door of his Mustang. “Where’d you get that dress?”
She groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, then. Let’s just get you home. Want some takeout? Fettuccine Alfredo?”
“No. That’s the last thing I want.”
He gave her a funny look.
When they arrived home, Genevieve and Tinsley were there. Everyone hugged Ava, even Parker. Her heart warmed. No matter what genetics said about anyone, all of these people were her family.
Trail
Alex finished off the celebratory donut and took a deep breath. Everyone was settling back into the normal routine now that Ava was home safe and Mason was where he belonged, two towns over.
With everything quiet, he went back to the mommy blog. He’d told Sanchez everything he knew, and she was looking into it also. At least until they were called out again. They were checking missing persons databases for the blogger’s kids.
She’d been smart, waiting to show pictures of the babies’ faces. It made it harder to identify the missing kids since they changed so much in those early months.
He was about to walk around and stretch his legs when he froze. A missing baby picture came up close to Seattle that could’ve been the blogger’s oldest.
Alex found the earliest photos of her, the girl called Willow, and compared them to the missing baby, Emily Amiya Wilkinson.
It could easily be the same baby.
He scooted his chair out toward Sanchez’s desk. “Hey! Come look at this.”
“You find something?” She hurried over. “What do you have?”
Alex showed her. “Same face, right?”
Her mouth gaped. “Has to be. Mackey! Come look at this.”
Before long, all officers on duty agreed it was the same child. Everyone dug in, comparing pictures and studying the missing persons case.
Alex studied the sketch of the alleged kidnapper.
“Found another one!” Sanchez called out.
Alex nearly tripped over his feet, scrambling to her desk.
Sanchez compared images of the blogger’s missing child as a baby to an infant reported missing near Spokane. “Everything fits. And again, looks like the same child.”
Alex tugged on his hair. This was all the proof he needed. The other two kids obviously had to be abducted, as well. Even if not, t
he blogger was guilty of two counts of kidnapping. Not to mention whatever had happened to Connor, who was really Lucas Robert Adams.
The energy in the station grew to an excited buzz as everyone looked for the next missing child. Sanchez called the precincts where the missing kids had been abducted to report the findings.
Alex compared the two sketches of the kidnapper. The woman had the same features, though wildly different hair. Long straight black hair when she’d taken Connor and short curly blonde hair when she snatched Willow. She was also pale in one and tan in another.
Before long, they’d pinpointed each of the missing children. All taken from various locations in the state. Each time, the kidnapper wore a different disguise, but her facial features were the same. She was doing everything short of plastic surgery to change her appearance.
Alex studied the location of each abduction and drew lines from each one, connecting them to each other.
They all intersected in the middle of town.
She was local.
The kids had to be close.
He jumped up. “They’re in our jurisdiction!”
The other officers scrambled over, and Alex showed them what he had. Everyone spoke over each other. They all agreed she had to be near.
But where? That was the one thing they couldn’t answer.
Alex leaned against the wall. “Do we give this information to the media? People will have to recognize her. She goes out all the time with these kids. It’s going to be the quickest way to identify her.”
Sanchez frowned. “Also the fastest way to send her running.”
“She can only go so far if everyone is looking for her!” Alex leaned forward. “She’s going to take another baby soon, if she hasn’t already! We need to stop her now.”
They debated, wasting time.
Alex reached for his phone. “I’m calling Nick. He’ll know what to do.”
“Don’t bug him,” Mackey said. “He just got his daughter back.”
“He’s the captain.” Alex called Nick and filled him in on everything.
Nick agreed with Alex.
Alex ended the call. “He says to let the media know. We need the public’s help on this.”
It only took a few minutes for everyone to divide the responsibilities. At least they didn’t have to contact the parents of the missing children—that was being handled locally. Alex’s job was to post what they had on his blog. That would get the word out to people who were already looking for the woman.
He worked as quickly as he could, uploading the four police sketches of the woman along with current pictures of the kids from the latest blog posts. He shared the locations of the kidnappings along with the general area they suspected she was living currently. Then Alex urged the woman to give herself up. To return the children to the families where they belonged.
Alex read and re-read the post before publishing it. Despite the late hour, it started going viral right away. Pageviews, shares, and comments skyrocketed. Barely ten minutes later, it hit the news stations.
Now it was only a matter of waiting.
Strange
Jess kissed the kids. She turned to Willow. “Are you going to be okay watching them?”
She looked up from her book. “Always am.”
“I shouldn’t be long. This doctor’s appointment is just a checkup after yesterday. If we’re lucky, your new baby brother or sister will be out.” She rubbed her oversized fake belly.
“Yay!” Daisy clapped. “I hope it’s another girl.”
“We’ll see.”
“When’s Connor coming back?” Willow frowned.
Jess took a deep breath. “We talked about that.”
“We miss him!”
“So do I, but that isn’t going to bring him back from your mean daddy. That’s what he is—mean. He takes one of you away. Daddies are awful, horrible people.”
Willow’s mouth formed a straight line.
Jess glanced at the time. “I’m running late. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Fine.” Willow turned back to her book.
Annoyance stabbed at Jess. No sense in arguing with a kid. She’d probably forget about Connor once she saw the new baby, anyway. Willow was just being difficult because of the stress of the impending new family member. The kids often got edgy around this time of the pregnancy.
Without another word, Jess stormed out of the house. She needed to calm down, and quickly. The drive wasn’t as far as usual. She was going to take a baby closer than normal.
This time, Jess was pretending to be a lactation consultant. She was going to try to interview a couple moms in a courtyard that was usually empty in the mornings.
Gravel flew from under the tires as she sped away. If she didn’t hurry, she’d be late. She needed to arrive on time and appear calm and collected. Why did Willow have to give her lip on this morning, of all times?
No bother. She’d get herself in a good mood. Jess found her favorite playlist and sang along with her most loved songs. Then she imagined coming home with a new baby in tow. Finally taking off the fake belly. She really hated that thing. It made her back ache like crazy.
Halfway there, the gas light came on.
Jess swore. Why hadn’t she checked that before she’d left?
No time to worry about that now. She pulled off the freeway and into the nearest gas station, adjusting her red wig and floppy hat before climbing out and filling up.
A couple at the next pump were whispering. Glancing over at her.
She glared at them. What was wrong with them? Was it because she wore a beach hat on an overcast day?
Once the tank was full, she flung the hat in the backseat and grabbed a baseball cap. Maybe that would be enough to get the attention off her. It was too bad she didn’t use credit cards—too easy to be tracked—because she’d have loved nothing more than to be able to leave right then.
She headed inside to pay with cash. More patrons stared at her. Whispered. A kid pointed.
Had the world gone mad?
Jess tried to ignore them as she waited in line. She adjusted her sunglasses when she reached the cashier. “Pump eight.”
“You new around here?”
“Just passing through.” She handed him a fifty.
“Pump eight?”
“Yes! Just give me my change.”
He didn’t budge. More whispers sounded behind her.
“Never mind. Keep it.” She stormed outside and peeled out of the parking lot. What was wrong with those people? Some kind of small town bias against outsiders? She’d have to remember to stay away unless her car was running on fumes.
Jess turned up the music and glanced at the GPS. Not too much farther. She needed to shake off her irritation before meeting with the first mom. This was no time for distractions or annoyances.
By the time she reached her destination, her mood had lifted for the most part. It was hard to shake it entirely. The whole morning had been off, first with the kids then at the gas station.
All she wanted was a baby! Was that really so much to ask? Did everything have to go against her? Hopefully these weren’t signs that she shouldn’t bother, that today wasn’t her day. Didn’t matter because she didn’t believe in that superstitious crap.
The day would be what she made it. And today, she would come home with a baby. One way or another, she’d make sure of it.
In the parking lot, she checked all the pieces of her disguise. Everything looked good. She smiled in the mirror. It was strained thanks to the stress of the morning. No matter. She’d just have to push through it.
Going home empty-handed wasn’t an option. Not today.
She hurried through the grass field to the courtyard. Empty as expected.
Nervous energy jolted through her. She walked around, looking at flower arrangements and finally the fountain in the m
iddle. Two sparrows bathed in it and played together. Their lighthearted banter help set her at ease.
Jess took a deep breath and focused on the sunlight warming her skin. The clouds had broken and everything was brighter. That was a sign she’d be happy to take if she was into superstition. But she made her own destiny. Life had tried to prevent her from having a family, but she’d shown life. Today she would get her fifth child.
Sure, Connor was no longer with them but he was still her second child. She would always mourn his loss. And she would hold onto the fact that she was the only one with the treasured knowledge of what had really happened. Only she knew. Nobody else. Just her.
Footsteps sounded from behind.
Jess’s heart raced. She took a deep breath and focused on the image of placing a sweet baby in the car seat in the back of her car.
She turned around and smiled. “Are you Shay?”
The young mom pushing the jogging stroller stopped and smiled. “I am. You’re Jess?”
Jess held out her hand and nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Do you want to sit over there?” She gestured toward some tables and chairs.
Shay’s brows drew together as she studied Jess. Her smile melted. “You’re a lactation consultant?”
Jess’s heart rate sped up. “Yes. If we’re a good fit, I can come to your home and help you with your breastfeeding.”
“You have references?”
“Plenty. Did you see my website?”
Shay didn’t respond. She pulled some hair behind her ear. Swallowed. Her face lost some color. “Um, you know what? I think I’m going to keep trying on my own for a while instead. I’ll give you a call if I still need help later.”
She spun around and ran the other way.
Jess’s heart sank. Where had she gone wrong? Maybe she needed to go back to snatching random babies. Or perhaps she needed to stick with her plan.
One way or another, she would get her baby.
Close
Alex pressed the phone between his shoulder and ear. “Thank you for calling. Do you have anything else to tell us about the woman you saw at the gas station?”
Tainted Love Page 19
