Recognition dawned in his eyes and he grinned, an amused twinkle in his eyes. “There’s nothing between me and Patti except friendship.”
“It looked like there was more.”
“She’s my sister-in-law, my brother’s widow, the mother of my niece. But it’s nothing romantic. There never could be.”
“Why is that?”
He smiled and gently brushed her lips with his finger. “Because you, Elise Richardson, have captured my heart.”
He leaned in and kissed her and she melted against him, her heart soaring. She was right. She could lose herself in this man completely and not have a care in the world.
The buzzing of her phone interrupted them. Josh laughed at Nurse Stringer’s timing. “I’ll be outside if you need me,” he told her before disappearing through the door.
Her phone buzzed again, but Elise took a moment to recapture her breath before answering it.
* * *
The next morning, Elise set her laptop up at the kitchen table. How odd it was for her to be inside Max’s home and to feel as if she belonged there. She should have felt like an interloper, but she didn’t. This felt like home and it had more to do with Josh than anything. She could see herself stepping easily into this life, into this family and into his life, but she had to keep reminding herself that what she imagined was just that...an imagination. Although he couldn’t deny an attraction to her, Josh would never be able to get past her involvement in Max’s death to let himself fall for her. And even if he could, there was still the matter of her job with the FBI. He might have left a dangerous life behind, but she hadn’t. Would he ever be comfortable knowing she placed herself in danger every day on the job?
Her phone dinged and she picked it up, expecting it to be Lin calling to talk about one of the reports or Josh, who’d gone home to clean up, checking in. She smiled at that option, welcoming the soft sound of his baritone voice despite her doubts just moments ago.
She saw it was a text message from an unknown number.
This is Taylor Johnson. I want to make a deal. Meet me at Shadow Lake by the old fishing bridge.
Elise’s heart jumped. Taylor wanted to talk? Did he know something about Candace’s disappearance? Would he implicate Larkin?
Logic told her she should phone Chief Mills or the police at least, but she didn’t want to scare this boy off. He’d contacted her instead of the police. Elise thought about phoning Josh but didn’t want to waste the time for him to get there. She needed to go now before Taylor changed his mind. Josh would be angry, but she couldn’t think about that. If Taylor Johnson was ready to give up Larkin, she couldn’t waste any time.
She scribbled out a note for Patti, who was sleeping, then hopped into her SUV. She wasn’t familiar with the area, so she entered the location into her GPS and followed it toward Shadow Lake. When she spotted Chief Mills’s familiar Jeep, she pulled up next to it and parked.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded as she got out and faced Josh.
“I received a text from Taylor Johnson saying he wanted to tell me who had Candace.”
She glared up at him. “And you weren’t going to tell me? You just came on your own?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I received a similar message. So where is he?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“Maybe he changed his mind before I could get here.”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t like this.”
Movement from the brush caught their attention. Elise turned and saw a lanky man walk from the woods. He held something white and raised his hands high in the air.
“You came,” he said. “Good.”
Josh and Elise headed toward him.
“You said you know who has my niece,” Josh said.
He held out a piece of paper. “I’m supposed to give this to you.”
Elise took the envelope from him and ripped it open. She pulled out a typewritten note.
“‘I can get to anyone anywhere.’” She glanced up at Taylor. “What is this supposed to mean?”
“I was just told to give you that. I’m the messenger.”
“Where is my niece?” Josh demanded again.
“I don’t know. I just do what I’m told.”
He started to turn and head back into the woods.
Elise pulled her gun and aimed it at him. “You didn’t think you were really going to walk away, did you?”
He turned to her and grinned, still certain in his getaway. “I’m not alone, Agent Richardson.”
A shot rang out, slicing between Elise and Josh and slamming into her windshield. She ducked as Taylor laughed.
“I told you I’m not alone.”
Shots rang out again, this time hitting Taylor multiple times. Elise crouched by her car while Taylor was racked with bullets. Josh grabbed her and crouched beside her, his eyes scanning the woods for the gunman as best he could without raising his head. After a moment, the gunfire stopped. Taylor lay motionless on the ground.
Josh leaned against the truck then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Daniel.”
Elise stared at the paper in her hands. Taylor had been more than the messenger. He’d been the message, too.
* * *
Elise eyed the body on the ground, shot three times in the back.
She glanced up at Chief Mills. “Whoever made that shot was no novice. Does anyone know if Larkin has any background with guns?”
“None that we’re aware of.”
Nothing pointed completely at one person. She still had no solid proof that got them any closer to Candace, Larkin or the trafficking ring. She was no closer to unraveling this mystery than she was when she’d first come to town.
She noticed Josh draw near the perimeter. He stared out into the night.
Elise walked up to him, sensing that something was bothering him.
He turned toward her. “Someone took Candace, and if Taylor was involved and they killed him, they could have already killed Candace.”
She wanted to tell him differently, but she couldn’t. The chances of finding his niece alive diminished daily. Ironically, being abducted by the trafficking ring seemed to be her best chance of still being alive, yet gave them the worst chance for locating her.
“We’ll find her,” Elise assured him, more intent than ever to do just that. She touched his arm for comfort. He turned and put his arms around her, drawing her into an embrace.
She’d started this journey determined to make up to Max. Now she wanted to do this for Josh...regardless of whether or not they could ever have a future together.
* * *
Elise parked in front of her hotel room. Although she’d spent the past two nights at Patti’s, she didn’t yet feel comfortable enough to let her hotel room go. It mixed too much of her professional and personal lives.
She thought of Josh and the kiss they’d exchanged and realized that line was already tangled.
Elise went inside, locked her hotel room door and pulled up a piece of the carpet where she’d hidden her most recent notes. She read through them again. Somewhere in these interviews had to be a clue she was overlooking, some link that answered the question as to what had happened to Candace. Candace’s case shared so many of the same elements as her other missing girls. Her eyes kept focusing on Brooke Martin. She suspected Candace’s best friend knew more than she was letting on. If only Elise could speak to her again, this time in depth, perhaps she could uncover information that might lead to Candace’s whereabouts.
Her phone rang and Elise answered it without checking the caller ID.
“Agent Richardson? It’s Brooke Martin.” Elise perked up. She’d just been hoping for another chance to speak with Brooke and now the girl had presented herse
lf. Did she have something else to offer? Elise wondered if her father was aware she was calling.
“Yes, hello, Brooke. What can I do for you?”
“I—I need to talk to you. It’s important. There’s something I didn’t tell you. It’s about Candace...and Mr. Larkin.”
Elise sat up. Was this the break she’d been searching for?
“What about Candace and Mr. Larkin?”
“I lied when I said he and Candace didn’t spend much time together. In fact, she stayed after school the day she vanished because he wanted to talk to her.” Elise heard the choke in her voice. “I think he did something to Candace.”
“Do you have a reason to suspect he would hurt her?”
“Yes.” She choked again before dropping a bombshell. “Because he’s been hurting me, too.”
* * *
Excitement revved through Elise, the same excitement she felt whenever a lead opened up to break a case. This girl could be the answer to finding Candace.
“I’d like to talk with you some more, Brooke. Where are you now?”
“I just left the school. I don’t want to go back that way.”
“Tell me where you are and I’ll pick you up.”
“I’m walking down Lake Road toward downtown.”
The road from the school heading into town. She could be there in less than ten minutes. “I’m on my way.”
She hung up with Brooke and grabbed her purse, hurrying down the steps as fast as possible. She hopped into her SUV. As she drove, she dialed Josh.
“Brooke Martin just confessed that Larkin assaulted her. She says he was hurting Candace, as well. I’m on my way to pick her up now.”
“Where is she?”
“She just left the school on foot.” A call beeped in. Elise glanced at the screen. “It’s Brooke.” She switched lines. “Brooke? I’m on my way.”
“He’s following me, Agent Richardson! He’s in his car. He’s chasing me!” Terror ripped through the girl’s voice.
Elise’s excitement turned to fear for the girl. “Who is following you, Brooke?”
“Mr. Larkin. He stopped me on the road and tried to make me get into his car. I got scared and ran into the woods. He’s following me.”
“Hold on, Brooke. I’m nearly there.” Elise gunned the accelerator, thankful the road was clear. “Stay on the line with me, Brooke.”
“He’s here,” she whispered. “He— No!”
Her scream reverberated through the phone. Elise heard the sound of the cell phone hitting the ground and Brooke’s screams of terror. “Leave me alone! Let me go! Help, Agent Richardson! Help me!” Then the cries ended and Elise heard nothing.
Dread rushed through her. This couldn’t be happening. She had to get there faster.
She zoomed past the school, passing Josh and the Jeep coming from the opposite direction. She slammed on the brakes, screeching to a stop in the middle of the road. She jumped out as Josh did the same. She hadn’t passed the girl.
“Did you see her?” Elise asked, her heart pounding with worry and fear.
“No, I didn’t see anyone.”
There was no way Larkin or Brooke had got past them both. She scanned the area. Brooke said she’d run into the woods. Elise called her name but received no response. Nothing seemed to move in the woods along the road.
Josh rushed up the shoulder of the road, searching and calling her name. Elise took the other side. The girl had to be somewhere out here...unless Larkin had found her. And based on what Elise had heard, she feared he had.
She spotted something on the grass a few feet from the road. She slid down the embankment and rushed to it. She grabbed it, recognizing it as Brooke’s purse.
Josh followed her. “Did you find something?”
She showed him the purse and saw the same look of horror in his face that she felt in her soul. This couldn’t be happening again. Not again. She’d lost another girl.
“He took her,” Elise told him. “Larkin just abducted Brooke Martin.”
SEVEN
Nervous excitement lit through Elise as she waited for the confrontation about to take place across the street. She watched a group of local police officers all dressed in their SWAT gear move into position to storm Peter Larkin’s home. Beside her, Chief Mills supervised the operation while Josh paced anxiously behind her. She knew he longed to be the one bursting into that house ready to strike.
She shared his desire. Had it not been for her injured leg, she might have insisted on being part of the team. Instead, she satisfied herself with coming in afterward. She was allowing Chief Mills to lead this operation. All she’d asked was that she could be a part of it. He’d reluctantly agreed, and she knew it was only because he was hoping to avoid a full-scale FBI presence in town. She didn’t bother telling him that wouldn’t happen.
“His car is parked in the driveway. He’s in there,” one of the officers voiced into the mic. That surprised Elise. Why would he be at home? He had to have known Brooke had alerted her. She’d been screaming into the phone for Elise to help.
Elise pushed away that terrible, helpless memory. She hadn’t been able to prevent Brooke’s abduction, but she would find her and have her home for Christmas and bring her assailant to justice.
Another officer peeked inside and relayed what he saw. “I have visual. He’s inside. He’s asleep in the recliner. No one else appears to be in the room.”
Again Elise was struck with the oddity of Larkin’s behavior. How could he be kicking back in his recliner after just abducting a girl not more than an hour ago? Josh moved to stand beside her, his arms stiffly folded across his chest. Anxiety poured off him and Elise longed to place her arms around him and try to reassure him, but she was too conscious of the presence of Chief Mills. Such an intimate gesture would surely be noticed and might affect how others saw her as a professional.
The lead officer gave the signal, and Elise heard the sound of the door being kicked open then the officers spilling into the house.
“What’s going on?” Larkin demanded. “What are you doing?”
Chief Mills waited until he got the word that the house was clear before he allowed them to cross the street.
The head SWAT officer approached them. “The rest of the house is empty. No sign of the girl.”
Larkin, who was already in cuffs and being walked to a police cruiser, glared at her and Josh. “You’re making a mistake,” he insisted. “I haven’t done anything.”
That lit the fire under Elise, who moved toward him. “You were following her. I was on the phone with her. She told me it was you. I heard her screaming for help.”
“No, no. I haven’t done anything. I wouldn’t hurt Candace.”
“This isn’t just about Candace anymore. You abducted Brooke Martin. Now tell me where she is.”
Larkin looked her square in the eye and seemed surprised by her accusation. “I haven’t seen Brooke since third-period biology.”
She motioned for the officers to lead him away. She had to be missing something. There had to be some evidence in this house to lead them to where he was keeping Brooke and possibly Candace.
“What now?” Josh asked her.
“Now we dig into his background. He must have a shed or a storage unit somewhere where he’s keeping these girls.”
She noticed a downcast expression on Josh’s face and knew he was thinking about Candace. She touched his arm reassuringly, no longer caring about anyone’s opinion but his. “We will find them,” she told him. “We will find them and bring them both home.”
* * *
Elise drummed her fingers against the table as Josh paced the police station. She should be happy that Larkin had finally been arrested and sat in a jail cell, but she couldn’t get past the details of
the night. Larkin had kidnapped Brooke Martin in broad daylight, stashed her and then gone back to his home and stretched out in his recliner to watch the night’s programs? It didn’t make sense. Who behaved that way? And why would he abduct another girl when he already had the FBI snooping around?
Chief Mills appeared from an interrogation room. He looked tired and frustrated.
Josh met him. “Well?”
“He won’t give up anything. Keeps insisting he went straight home after school ended.”
Elise expected nothing less. “And we haven’t uncovered any rentals or storage units where he might have hidden Brooke.”
“It has to be close,” Josh added. “Or else he wouldn’t have been able to get back to the house so quickly.”
A commotion in the front of the station caught their attention. Josh and Elise followed Chief Mills to the source—Rick Martin, Brooke’s father, demanding answers about his daughter’s disappearance.
“I want to see him,” Martin insisted. “I want to see the man that took Brooke.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Chief Mills said. “We’re still questioning him.”
“I can get him to talk,” Martin stated. “He will tell me what he’s done to my little girl.”
Elise had seen grieving fathers before, but it never got easier to witness the pain in their expressions or the angry helplessness they felt. She stepped forward. “Mr. Martin, we are doing everything in our power to find Brooke.”
He turned his angry eyes toward her. “You should have protected her,” he said. “You’re the FBI. It’s your job to protect her, but you failed.” He spit the last words out at Elise and they hit their mark, digging into her heart.
Yes, she’d failed. She’d failed to protect Brooke. She’d failed to find Candace. She’d failed to uncover the human trafficking ring. Her entire FBI career was one big failure.
She tried not to let him see how his words affected her, pasting on a calm expression. “We’re going to do our best to find your daughter, Mr. Martin. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going in to question Mr. Larkin.”
She took the file from Chief Mills and headed away quickly, before any of them could see the tears that threatened her composure. She closed the door that led to the interrogation rooms and leaned against it, pushing back the wave of emotion that threatened to explode inside of her.
Yuletide Abduction Page 11
