“That sounds doable. We should be able to handle that. Remember, I have to be back in two hours, otherwise, I’ll have to cancel an appointment.”
He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “Something’s off.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I just have this feeling someone else is going to be taken. Either that or the people responsible for the missing children have moved on to another locale. Nick received information about eight children who’d gone missing in the Kansas City area over a month’s time in November. And before that, eight in St. Louis, in October, and in Chicago eight each in September. That’s a pattern we can’t ignore.”
“Which leaves at least four more kids.”
“Exactly. The human trafficking ring comes into a town, using a couple of weeks to scout the area, especially where children are vulnerable. Then they strike quickly within a week to ten days. The cities before here were much larger, which breaks the pattern. I think on purpose to throw law enforcement off track.”
Emma made her way toward the exit. “Do you think they’re heading south toward the border?”
“Yes, and when they’re smuggled out of this country, our chances of finding the children will be harder. That’s why we have to find them now. We probably only have a few days.”
“Nothing like a ticking timebomb with seconds left on the timer.” Emma slipped into the front passenger seat of Brody’s SUV. When Brody climbed in and started the engine, she added, “The best places to go hunting are a homeless shelter with people coming and going and low-income housing projects where so many parents are working two jobs to pay their bills.”
Brody pulled out of the parking lot and turned in the direction of the shelter. When he reached his destination, they climbed from his SUV. Emma waited while he opened the hatchback and clipped the leash on Charlie’s dog collar.
“Ready, Charlie.” His canine barked, and Brody gave him a treat and petted him. “Let’s go.”
Emma entered first and made her way toward Mathew’s office.
Brody followed and quickly caught up with her. “You go in and ask Mathew if he’d seen anyone that fits the description Danny gave to me. But don’t tell him that Danny saw the guy. I’m going to check out the shelter and talk to a few people who volunteer here. Watch Mathew’s body language.”
“You think he’s involved? You didn’t think that before.”
“I still don’t, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. I’ve known him for several years, but what if I’m wrong? Mathew might not know the guy we’re looking for because he would most likely stay away from Mathew. He would be someone who’s only been at the shelter since the beginning of the month.”
“I wish we had more of a description. The limp might be because of an injury, not something permanent.”
The door to Mathew’s office opened, and he came out in the hallway. “I thought I heard someone out here. Can I help you?”
“Yes. I’d hoped to talk to a few of your regular people if that’s all right with you. Nate’s still missing.”
“The police have already been here. Most of the people here won’t talk to the police.”
“But I’m not a police officer.”
Mathew waved his arm toward the main room. “Sure. Go and see what you can find out, but don’t be surprised if they won’t tell you anything. They don’t trust strangers. It hasn’t been easy for me to get them to open up to me about why they’re homeless.”
While Brody left, Emma followed Mathew into his office. “We have a description of a man who might be part of a trafficking ring. He could be a local homeless man recruited to help the kidnappers. Or it’s someone who moves with the trafficking ring. He then moves among the homeless to find an easy target like Nate. If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t know that Nate was missing. You might have also changed the course of three kids’ lives.”
“I understand you’re taking care of them.”
“Yes. For the time being.” Although she didn’t want to give them to another family. It would be another transition that they would have to go through. They needed stability but also more than anything else—love. She had more than enough to give that to them.
“What’s the guy look like?”
Mathew’s question jerked her back to the moment at hand. “He’s big and tall with brown hair. He also favors his left leg. He drags it when he walks.”
Mathew stared out into the hallway, rubbing his chin. “Lately, I’ve seen a couple of homeless men who walk with a limp. I can’t recall if it was the right or left leg. Did one of Nate’s siblings give you the description of the man?”
“Yes, why?”
“What a child thinks is tall and even big might not be an adult’s opinion? I have a camera that continuously records the main room, which is three-fourths of the building. The footage is stored on a cloud for a day. I don’t want to invade their privacy, but since they eat and sleep in there, I want to make sure no fights erupt. I found that out the hard way when a knife fight broke out last year and each one accused the other. One rule here is if you cause trouble, you are banned from the shelter. I had to kick both of them out. I put two cameras in the next day.”
“Can we access the tape you have?”
Mathew pointed at his computer. “It’s on there. I’ll play the last twenty-four hours in fast mode, or you’ll have to sit down for a day to go through the video footage.”
“That’s fine by me. I’ll get Brody to help. The more eyes on the tape the better.” Emma left the office to find Brody. This was probably a long shot that would take hours to go through, but without other information, this was all they had.
* * *
Brody made his way to the kitchen. He hoped to find Cliff in the middle of preparations for lunch as more homeless people were coming into the main room. Some were still asleep on cots in the back of the large room where most of what went on in the shelter was done. Brody swept the area for a sign of a tall, big man with brown hair and a bum left leg.
Exhaustion from little sleep the night before started to catch up with him. He turned to Cliff and rattled off the description of the guy he was looking for.”
Cliff rubbed his chin. “There’s one who fits your description. He’s been coming several times a week since the New Year. He was here last Friday. He’ll probably be here today.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. He doesn’t have anything to do with the others in the shelter. He usually gets a meal and sits in the back, watching others. Something’s wrong with that dude. I don’t even have a name for him.”
Yeah, if the stranger was into kidnapping young kids, Cliff was definitely right.
Emma came into the kitchen. Brody met her halfway out of sight of anyone in the main room. If the guy they were looking for showed up today, Brody didn’t want the man to see either one of them. He didn’t know if the dude with the limp had seen them working with the police. He couldn’t take that chance and spook the trafficking ring, causing it to leave Cimarron City before the police caught them. Now that the group was homing in on large and medium-sized cities, it would be harder to catch them when the ring had tripled their possible targets.
“They have surveillance video,” Emma told him.
“Is there footage of the interior shelter?” He led her to a storeroom where he’d left Charlie. He wanted his dog nearby but not visible until the guy came to the shelter.
“Yes, but only twenty-four-hours’ worth is in the cloud.”
“That probably won’t help us. According to Cliff, who’s seen a guy matching that description, he hasn’t been here since Friday. Cliff thinks he’ll come today if he’s still in town.”
“Then we should go back to Mathew’s office and monitor the surveillance camera on his computer. That way if he saw us before, he wouldn’t see us now.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to panic the guy.” Brody retrieved Charlie from the storeroom.
They re
turned to Mathew’s office. “We don’t need the footage from the past day, but we’d like to watch what’s happening right now at least for a couple of hours. We both will need to leave, but I’ll come back later to check that footage.”
Mathew brought up the live footage for Emma and Brody and gestured for both of them to sit in front of the computer. “Lunch is being served. I’ll be in the main room if you need me. I’ll keep an eye out if I see the guy you’re looking for.”
Emma sat in Mathew’s chair while Brody stood behind her. “What happens if the man doesn’t show up? What else can we do to find him?”
“If he doesn’t come for lunch, I’m going to go out there and talk to the people who are here. They may know something that can help us.”
“I’m so glad I didn’t say anything to Beth about getting Fluffy today. I have a feeling I won’t have the time. As is, I’ll probably need to move the appointment I have in thirty minutes. I have to meet with one patient later today. I can’t change his appointment. He’s going through a lot.” Tension gripped her neck as stress took hold. She cupped her nape and kneaded it.
Brody massaged her shoulders. “Your muscles are tight.”
“In a week, my whole world has been flipped up in the air. I’m not sure when it will land.”
A man entered the large main room, favoring his left leg. Emma leaned close to the screen then tapped the computer. “It’s him. He fits your description.”
Brody came around and zoomed in on the screen. “I agree. When he leaves, we need to follow him. When do you meet with your patient?”
“Three.”
“I’m going to have Stan come pick you up and take you back to your office. I’ll follow the homeless guy.” He removed his cell phone and called Stan. When he finished, he came back to the computer. “He’ll be here in ten minutes.”
“He’s eating right now, but he keeps looking around the room as though assessing the people as potential targets. The only child I see is a young boy, maybe four or five.”
“Not all their victims are children. According to what I heard, adults went missing during the time period in those cities I mentioned. Human trafficking can be all ages.”
“He’s up and moving toward the exit.” Emma pointed at the screen.
“I’m leaving.”
“Let me know what’s happening.”
“Will do. Stan knows to come to this office. Don’t leave until he shows up.”
As the homeless man left the main room, Emma stood and walked to the blinds on the large window in Mathew’s office that gave her a view of the front entrance. She lifted one slat to peek out. “Go. He’s left the building.”
After Brody departed, Emma paced the room, praying that the end was near. The past week had been a nightmare. She came to a halt when the door opened. The sight of Stan entering eased her tensed muscles. She’d been ready to spring on an intruder.
“It’s good to see you.” She grabbed her purse on the desk.
“Brody’s already gone?”
“Yes. He’s following someone who might be involved in the trafficking ring.”
When Emma returned to her office, she had only fifteen minutes to relax. She’d been fighting the effects of the last week on her, but burying it in her thoughts wouldn’t work for long. She stood and began to pace. A few minutes later, her cell phone rang, and she answered it, not even looking at the number on the screen.
“Hello,” She held the phone out and looked, zeroing in on the caller ID. She frowned. She didn’t know the number.
“Dr. Reichs?”
Emma halted. “Piper?”
“Yes. It’s me. I escaped. I’m not sure where I am, but I was kidnapped.” The words poured from the teen in a rush as though any moment she would be stopped.
“Where are you? Look at your surroundings.”
“At the lake. I broke into a cabin to use the phone.”
“Where on the lake? Does anything look familiar?”
“No. I’ve never been to the lake. I can’t help you.” Panic filtered through each word Piper said.
Chapter Nineteen
Brody followed several cars behind the vehicle the “homeless guy” hopped into and drove away from the shelter. As the gray SUV sped through a yellow light, Brody had to come to a stop and wait. He took the time to call Nick using the Bluetooth on his cell phone.
“I’ve left the shelter to follow the man Danny described. The homeless guy is driving a gray Ford SUV.” Brody gave Nick the license plate number. “I’m at the traffic light at Fifth and Buffalo Streets. He turned onto Seventh going east.”
“Good. I’ll head that way. Keep me informed.”
The second the light changed to green, Brody pressed his foot on the accelerator, hurrying toward Seventh. He prayed he hadn’t lost the SUV in the minute he’d sat at the stoplight. Up ahead he spied the car whipping across two lanes and increasing its speed as the man drove north on the main road leading to Prairie Lake.
His cell phone rang. Brody punched the button to take the call from Nick. “I’m now on Prairie Lake Road heading north.”
“I just got a call from Nancy Meyers’ mother. She had a message left on her phone from the school. Her daughter didn’t show this morning. Sharon Meyers left her work and went to her apartment in the Harrison complex to check to see if Nancy stayed home. She wasn’t there. She’s afraid something happened to her daughter like with Piper and Maria. I’m heading there to investigate. I’m sending Colby with his canine to follow the homeless guy. Stay back and see where he’s going. Then notify me and Colby.”
“I will. I’m not stopping until we find the children. Give Colby the description of my car. And let me know what happened with Nancy. She’s one of the girls who comes to the center.”
“Will do. I’ll let Colby know where you are now but keep him informed of your location.” Nick confirmed he had Colby’s number.
As the gray SUV stayed ahead of Brody with four cars between them, he received a call from Emma. “Hi, are you through with your patient?”
“No, I had to call it off. I’m driving to Piper. She escaped, and she’s scared they’re coming for her.”
“Where are you?”
“Heading toward the general area where she is. She broke into a cabin on the lake to call me. She described the place she’s hiding in and the area around her. I think she’s on the north cove near the marina. The one-story cabin is an old place. There are a cluster of them on the west side of the lake. I think seven or eight are near the Prairie Lake Marina. She’s been hiding and running since she left the large house where she was kept. I’m nearing the turnoff for Sweet Bees Store.”
“You’re ahead of me. Pull off the highway so I can pick you up. Duck down if you see a gray Ford SUV. That’s the car the homeless guy’s driving.”
“I’ll let you know if the gray SUV passes by. I’m calling Piper back to let her know we’re near.”
The connection went dead. Brody’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. He passed a large sign for Sweet Bees Store. One mile to the place. Each second he didn’t hear back from Emma, his heartrate kicked up a notch.
Finally, only yards from the turnoff, Emma called again. “First, I saw the gray SUV go by here. Second, Piper didn’t answer the phone when I called back.”
“She may be afraid to answer and give her location away.” Brody pulled up behind her, scrambled from his vehicle, and hurried to Emma. “Come on. Get into my car. I’ll drive. I need you to call Nick and let him know what Piper said. Have him bring her jacket we used to track her last week.”
Emma went to the passenger side and climbed in at the same time Brody slid behind the steering wheel. She connected with Nick and recited everything she’d told Brody. “He’s on his way. He has Piper’s jacket in his car.”
Brody made a U-turn and pulled back onto the highway, increasing his speed to catch up with the gray SUV. A couple of minutes later, he caught sight of the vehicle turning o
nto a gravel road. An incline blocked Brody’s view of the lake. Once the gray SUV disappeared on the other side of the incline, Brody followed and parked off the gravel road behind a wall of brush to hide his SUV as much as he could.
He grabbed binoculars from the compartment between the passenger and driver seats and handed them to Emma. “Do you think Piper’s nearby?”
“Yes. It fits her description of the area she gave me. She remembered bits and pieces of places she saw as she fled as far as she could from where she was held. She’s been on the run, hiding, trying to evade anyone she sees. She doesn’t know who to trust.”
Brody walked to the back of the car, lifted the rear door, and released his canine from the crate. As soon as Nick brought Piper’s jacket, he would use it to try and pick up her scent with Charlie’s help, if that was needed. His dog would be ready to go. “Sit. Stay. We have to wait on Nick.”
Charlie followed Brody’s direction. Brody took the binoculars, moved forward, and scaled the small incline that had blocked his earlier view, so he had a good advantage point of the man from the shelter. The homeless guy walked up to a cabin, kicked down the door, then went inside. Most likely he was looking for Piper. He kept his full attention on the place. “Check with Nick to find out his ETA,” he called to her.
Emma made her way back to his car and used her cell phone to call Nick. Then she climbed the incline and knelt next to Brody. “He’s only five minutes away with Colby and Duke.”
Brody swept his visual search beyond the cabin the homeless guy had broken into. Off to the right in the distance, he spied another old cabin but this one was larger. On the left was a two-story place and then farther down a small house, much like Piper’s description of where she was.
He gestured to Emma and passed the binoculars to her. “Does that look like what Piper told you?”
“Yes, down to the big clay pots on either side of the front door.”
Missing (Everyday Heroes Book 6) Page 14
