by Robin Perini
“Find her.”
Simple words, but nothing felt simple anymore. Deb rubbed her hands over her arms to ward off the sudden chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.
Gabe adjusted the heater anyway, then his hand squeezed hers. He gave her a small smile of confidence, but didn’t move his hand away. Surprised at how tightly she clung to the simple touch, Deb stared out the window, trying to shear the worst-case scenarios from her mind.
Seconds seemed to tick by like hours. Every mile Deb prayed for a phone call from Ashley. A text. A picture. A miracle.
“We’re here.” Gabe pulled into the entrance to the bus station. Snow piled in huge dirty drifts all around the edge of the lot, reminding her how bleak their prospects looked.
Several policemen and a cadet in uniform stood staring at an ancient green vehicle with a large dent on the passenger side. Typical student junkbox. Could Ashley have broken down on the way here, leaving herself open to predators? But why abandon the car here and not on the road?
Gabe pulled in next to the police cars, and Deb jumped out of the SUV before he’d even turned off the engine.
“Did you find my sister?” she begged the policemen. “Do you have any information at all?”
Gabe came up beside her. She longed to reach out and grab his hand for comfort, but she couldn’t appear weak. She’d learned long ago that respect came from strength. Her father had taught her that, her brothers had taught her that, her Army unit had welded the truth to her core.
A rookie-looking cop spoke first. “She’s not here and so far there’s no location for her. We’re hoping you can help us.”
The cadet scowled at Deb. “I didn’t think Ashley would do something like this to me. Guess that’s what I get for trusting a kid.” He turned toward the cops. “Can I take the car now?”
“Sure.” The cop handed him the keys.
“What, you’re not going to take fingerprints, or fiber samples, or even pretend to investigate?” Deb asked. “This car is a crime scene. My sister has been kidnapped.”
“I highly doubt that,” a second policeman said. “She left you a note saying she was taking off.” The cop handed Deb a folded piece of paper.
Dear Deb,
Sorry. Things just got too hard for me at the Academy. I’m meeting Justin to look at other schools so we can be together.
I really am sorry.
Love,
Ashley
“My sister did not write this note.”
The policeman sighed. “The kid said it was her writing. He could tell by the way she signed her name with the squiggly design she put under the y.”
“It looks like her writing, but it’s not,” Deb insisted. “Besides, Ashley has straight As. It wasn’t too hard for her. Did you even check that out with the school?”
“No.” The cop glared at her. “It looks pretty cut and dried that she wants to be with this Justin character. And if you don’t hold the attitude, I’ll take you in for questioning.”
Deb could barely quell the urge to show this guy exactly what kind of training she’d learned—not at boot camp, but at the hands of her two older brothers before she left for basic training.
As if reading her mind, Gabe gently clasped Deb’s elbow and squeezed before stepping between her and the cop. “I’ve run police investigations before up at Jeffco. Did you at least look at the bus terminal security tapes to make sure that Ashley was the driver who left the car in the lot?”
“They’re broken,” the rookie snapped.
“All of them?”
“No,” the second cop added. “Just the two on this side.”
“Seriously?” Deb glowered at him. “Doesn’t that seem a little convenient to you?”
The third police officer, who had remained silent until now, cleared his throat. “Lady, nothing about this case is convenient, except that note. It sounds like we’re dealing with young love. She’s sixteen.”
“That boy is missing, too.”
“We spoke to his parents and there is no proof these two kids aren’t together. Your sister made the choice to go with the boy. We’ll put out a bulletin on her, but not because she’s the victim of a possible kidnapping. She’s looking at grand theft auto charges for stealing the car.”
“That’s insane. She borrowed the car!” Deb planted herself inches from the cop. “Ashley is a good kid. She’s missing and in trouble. Can’t you see that?”
He ignored her and flipped through his notebook. “Yeah. She’s good at breaking into the NSA. Good at pulling a few pranks in high school and giving everyone straight As in her graduating class. Your sister is in a lot of trouble, lady, and the district attorney will be in touch if the owner decides to press charges.”
Deb whirled to the cadet. “You would do that? Even knowing this is completely out of character?”
“Hey,” he protested, “I don’t know her that well. It’s not like we were best buds or anything. All she did was tutor me a bit. I took pity on her when she begged to borrow my car. I didn’t psychoanalyze her first.” The kid glowered at Deb. “And when Ashley comes back from her little jaunt, tell her not to bother asking me for another favor. I don’t care how desperate she sounds. I don’t need this kind of trouble.”
The engine coughed to life and he screeched out of the parking lot. The policemen sauntered to their squad cars.
Deb rushed one of them, but Gabe held her back and snagged the note from her hands. He scanned it. “There’s nothing they can do, Deb.”
Her entire body shook with fury as the three cars pulled away. She jerked her arm from Gabe. “I thought you believed me.”
“I do, but a note like this changes things.”
“If Ashley was going to run away, she’d never leave me a vague note like this. She wouldn’t hide her plans from me, either.”
“Unless she knew you’d never go along with them,” he said gently. “Her note—”
“If she was being defiant, she’d address the note to Admiral Lansing, just to get in my face about it. And that curlicue at the end of the y . . . that’s not how she writes it. She’s a geek. She draws a perfect spiral. Some craziness about ratios and math.”
“I do believe you.” Gabe let out an exasperated sigh. “I was going to say, her note looks a lot like some of the letters in my father’s files.”
“Why didn’t you say anything in front of them?” Deb whirled around, her hands on her hips.
“Because I pick my battles. The police won’t believe me. Not now. They’ve made up their minds. Every single case my father looked into was shoved aside by the police. Teens running away because parents put too much pressure on them, didn’t care, needed to find themselves, whatever. A few of the parents haven’t given up hope, but none of the disappearances are active cases anymore. I have no proof of any wrongdoing.”
Deb could barely contain her frustration—and her disappointment. She wanted to punch something . . . or someone. “What about all the stuff we talked about after going to Detective Wexler? The POE plates, the video game, the possibility of a conspiracy?”
“Speculation, Deb. We can’t prove any of it yet. Neil may be our best bet after all, since he’s working Shannon’s case.”
“If they’re connected. So, I just ignore the fact that my sister is missing? I let Neil traipse around investigating an eight-year-old murder while my sister could be fighting for her life? Great. At least you get your investigation solved.”
“Low blow, Deb.”
She let out a slow, deep breath and kneaded the back of her neck. She raised her gaze with a wince. “Sorry. I’m just—”
“Worried. Scared. Frustrated. I get it.” Gabe’s hands settled on her shoulders. He kneaded at the tension, the warmth of his hands easing the knots, his proximity at least making her not feel alone.
<
br /> “I know how things work,” he said. “We’ll file a missing person’s report at the Colorado Springs PD, even if they don’t act on it. We can see if the cadet would sell us his car. But, unless the police do the forensic analysis, the chain of evidence will be compromised. Actually, the way the police and the kid were searching through the vehicle when we arrived, it probably wouldn’t do any good. No one wore gloves, even when touching the note.”
“Then where do we go from here?”
Gabe nodded toward the terminal. “Inside and show Ashley’s picture around. Maybe we can find out if anyone saw her in the last twenty-four hours.”
Deb fell in step with him. She studied his determined jawline. “You believe she’s still alive?”
Gabe glanced over at her. “Yes,” he lied. He had absolutely no clue. Not one of the missing prodigies whose names Patrick Montgomery starred had ever been found. Ashley fit that select victim profile like she’d written it herself.
Deb glared at the police station, the hairs on the back of her neck still standing up. She clenched her fist, her knuckles white.
“At least you didn’t end up in jail,” Gabe commented as he pulled the car out of the parking lot, his voice far too calm for her.
She glared at him. “They threatened to arrest me.”
“You called the guy every synonym for idiot in the book. I had to look up some of the insults on my smart phone.”
“Hardy har har. So, I can curse in several languages. Comes from being an Army brat.” Deb shoved her hand through her hair. “He deserved it. He didn’t take us—or Ashley’s disappearance—seriously.”
“We knew they wouldn’t.” Gabe let out a long, slow breath. “I swear, you remind me of my brother Zach. A hothead.”
“When it comes to my family, you bet I am.”
Gabe was right, damn him. Filing the missing person’s police report went about as badly as they’d expected. But it was Ashley. Deb could handle most anything the world threw her way, but when it came to her baby sister . . . it was a hundred times worse.
“Deb, we knew filing that report wouldn’t be easy. You let them get to you.”
“I fought every day in the Army for respect. I’m not backing down in front of those yahoos.”
“They were jerks, but you have to understand, ninety-nine times out of one hundred, those notes left behind are real.”
“Don’t confuse me with facts, Gabe.”
“Hopefully we’ll have better luck at the Academy.”
She shifted forward in her seat as Gabe turned into the dormitory parking lot. The building rose high against the blue winter sky. Deb had been impressed with the campus the first time she saw it. Now, it brought only sadness and regret.
“This is where Ashley lived?” Gabe asked, ducking down to scan the building.
Deb nodded.
He drove past the dorm and turned toward the main campus.
“Why aren’t you stopping?” Deb asked.
“We’re meeting with Ashley’s advisor first,” he said. “I made a couple of calls while you were in the ladies’ room after arguing with those cops. Caught a break with this guy. My brother knows him.”
Gabe pulled into a visitor space and they headed up the steps to an administration building. Deb could already feel her heart pounding with the desperation of a mission gone wrong. She shoved the ingrained reaction aside. Ashley would be okay. She had to be.
He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. “Room 190A.”
They walked down the corridor against the sea of spit-and-polished Air Force cadets. Their light blue shirts and dark blue pants were perfectly ironed and creased. Their shoes were polished like mirrors. The boys had crew cuts, the girls all wore their hair short or pulled back.
“Ashley really fit in here?” Gabe asked quietly. “From the photos you showed me, uptight and regimented doesn’t seem like her style. Why did she choose this place?”
“Don’t kid yourself. These guys can get pretty wild, but the real reason she chose the Air Force was because she’s addicted to flying. Got her pilot’s license at fifteen,” Deb said. “Ashley knew the Academy wanted her for her brain, but she wants to fly an F-22 Raptor, though she’d settle for any fighter. She’s obsessed with the idea. Of course, it didn’t hurt that choosing Air Force over Army drove my dad crazy.”
“Does she get that wild streak from her sister?”
“No. From my dad. He was a fighter pilot in the Gulf Wars. I like the versatility of helicopters, but those two live for speed.”
“Here we are.” Gabe rapped on the door labeled Major Rappaport.
“Enter,” a voice commanded.
Gabe swung the door open, standing aside for Deb.
A man who looked to be in his early thirties rose from the utilitarian desk and walked around the table, holding out his left hand, since his right was missing. “Ms. Lansing.”
After a brief shake, he turned to Gabe. “Deputy Montgomery. Your brother Seth just called to reinforce that you’d be coming by. Told me he’d kick my ass if I didn’t help you.” He shot Deb a sheepish look. “Sorry for the salty language, ma’am. Seth brings that out in me.”
She smiled. “I’m ex-Army. Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
Rappaport studied her more closely. “I remember that now. Ashley thinks the world of you.”
“And that’s why we’re here. This behavior isn’t like her.”
“Won’t you both sit down?”
“Thank you for seeing us.” Gabe shook Rappaport’s hand, then waited until everyone was settled around the desk before taking a seat. “My brother speaks very highly of you.”
“Your brother saved my life. He’s a tough SOB. Carried me out of the fire zone. I owe him.” The major’s gaze rested on Deb. “Have you heard from Ashley? Did she say why she went AWOL? She had an active social life off campus, whenever possible, and she seemed happy here. I’m surprised she’d throw it all away.”
Deb stiffened in the chair.
Ashley’s advisor’s expression was kind enough. He seemed perplexed, but he wasn’t worried. None of them were. Everyone thought she’d just taken off for the fun of it. Deb didn’t get it. Ashley deserved the benefit of the doubt.
Gabe squeezed her leg. “I’m working with Deb to find Ashley. What can you tell us about her school life? Was she having trouble with any courses? Or maybe difficulties fitting in due to her age? She’s young for being here.”
“The youngest we’ve ever admitted. As to difficulty with her classes,” Rappaport chuckled, “hardly. She doesn’t break a sweat in her computer-science and math coursework. English and history, not so much. She doesn’t love to read and write, but she still pulled in solid As. She’s something else.”
“What makes her so special?” Gabe asked.
“Besides the fact she can hack government websites and databases with ease?” Rappaport asked. “Her innate intuition is phenomenal. I’ve worked in intelligence for years, and I’ve never seen anyone like her. That girl knows her way around code and computers like she’s part of them. She could probably break any encryption ever invented, or come close. She’d be dangerous if she wasn’t on our side.”
Deb’s brow furrowed. She’d known Ashley was gifted, obviously, but Rappaport was talking about another level entirely. “Does everyone on this campus know how smart she is?”
Rappaport smiled. “When a sixteen-year-old teenager can blow most of the faculty out of the water in intellect, you bet there’s talk.”
Gabe leaned forward. “Could she have made a student jealous, or even a teacher, because of her abilities? Did she inadvertently show someone up? Can you think of anyone who’d be jealous enough of her skills to do something about it?”
“What are you asking?” Rappaport frowned.
“Deb doesn’t believe Ashley ran away. S
he thinks she was taken.”
“As in kidnapped?” Rappaport stiffened. “But the police told us—”
“The police and I don’t see eye to eye,” Deb said.
Sympathy, then disbelief crossed his face. “I see. Then the note they found—”
“She didn’t write it. I can tell. It’s not her signature.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Then who did?”
“We don’t know.” Deb wanted to shake him. “Why is it so difficult for you people to see Ashley would be a target? For almost anyone. Industrial or corporate espionage, security, investigators. God, even other countries.” She could feel her temper ready to explode because acknowledging anything else scared the hell out of her.
“What did Ashley do with her free time?” Gabe said quickly, shooting her a warning glance. She knew he was right. She had to calm down. For Ashley’s sake.
“First-year cadets don’t get a lot of it,” Rappaport said. “From what I gather, she hung out with a group of computer geeks from the local high school. I caught them trying to sneak in here one night to play a game I’d given her.”
Deb gasped. It couldn’t be. “A game? Was it Point of Entry?”
The major looked startled. “Yes. You know it?”
Deb met Gabe’s shocked glance. “Why did you give her that particular game?” she asked.
“It wasn’t just for her. Some politicians came through on a visit. One of the guests said he was associated with the game maker and asked if he could donate the latest version to the Academy Morale Fund materials. He’d donated to the other academies, too. I played a few levels, and it seemed like something the cadets would go for in their free time. The math was challenging, so the copies went in with the rest of the approved games.”
“Holy sh—” Deb bit her tongue. “What was the name of this politician?”
Rappaport’s brow furrowed. “Sorry, it’s been a while. We get a lot of VIPs around here, but I can check.”
