Show of Force

by Elle James

  “He didn’t wander away, Margaret. He’s definitely been taken. The man who took him put him on the phone to prove it.”

  Tears welled in the nanny’s eyes. “Poor baby. He must be so scared.”

  Riley’s heart contracted at the trauma her little brother was experiencing. She hardened herself to the inevitable. She couldn’t take that away from him, but she could bring him back. “Tell me about the day before Toby disappeared. I need to know where you went, who you talked to, anyone different you might have run into in town.”

  “It was a regular day. Toby had school in the morning. I took him, dropped him off and went to the store to pick up a few groceries.”

  “Did you see anyone in town that you hadn’t seen before?” Mack asked.

  Margaret frowned, her eyes narrowing as she thought back. “I can’t remember seeing anyone different. It’s such a small town, you’d think I’d notice. If anyone would know, it would be Janice at the convenience store. She’s where everyone goes for the local gossip, since the store is at the center of town and you have to pass it to get anywhere in or out of Havenwood. You should ask Janice.”

  “We will,” Riley said. “And I’ll take this computer with me in case I can find someone who can fix it.”

  Margaret touched Riley’s arm. “Please, find Toby. I’m completely lost without that child. He’s such a ray of sunshine. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt him.”

  “We will,” Riley said. She prayed she was right. She’d hoped the trip to the cabin would yield some small clue. But so far, nothing, and their time was running out.

  Chapter Five

  Mack reached across the console and grasped Riley’s hand as they left the cabin and drove into the little town of Havenwood. “We’ll find him,” he reassured her, though he wasn’t feeling as confident as he had when he drove up to the cabin.

  “How can we find him when we have nothing to go on?”

  “We’ll talk with this Janice woman. She has to have seen something.”

  “And if she hasn’t?” Riley stared through the windshield, her hand squeezing his tightly.

  “Then we ask someone else.” He entered the town, passed a diner that had cars parked outside. His stomach growled, reminding him that they hadn’t eaten breakfast. In fact, he hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch the day before. He would bet Riley hadn’t had anything since she’d gotten the message from the kidnapper. After they talked with Janice, they’d stop in at the diner and have a bite. Waitresses always seemed to have the scoop of what was going on in town.

  Mack pulled up to the gas pump at the only convenience store in Havenwood. Riley went inside while he filled the truck’s tank.

  Once he was finished, he entered to find Riley in deep conversation with the woman behind the counter.

  “Yes, we do get people passing through occasionally,” the woman said.

  Riley turned to smile at Mack. “Janice, this is Mack, my...boyfriend.” She turned back to Janice. “Janice was just telling me how nice it is to live in such a small town. She knows everyone, and everyone knows her.”

  “I’ve seen Riley here just about every weekend, but she never said anything about you.” Janice eyed Mack, her gaze sweeping him from head to toe. “I wouldn’t forget a good-looking guy like you.” She held out her hand, her cheeks growing pinker. “Nope, I wouldn’t forget you.”

  Mack took her hand and gave her one of the smiles he reserved for pretty girls at the bar. “Nice to meet you, Janice.” He gripped her hand with a firm handshake.

  “Ooh, and his hands are so strong.” Janice grinned at Riley. “You’re one lucky girl to have him as your guy.”

  Riley touched Mack’s arm. “I know.” She faced Janice. “I bet from your location you see all the people who pass through Havenwood.”

  The store owner nodded. “I do. I can tell you every vehicle that goes through this town.” She tapped a finger to her temple. “I have a photographic memory. And I like to play games with the license plates. It helps me to remember them. Like just three days ago, an out-of-towner came through with Maryland license plates that spelled WMD 495.”

  Mack tensed. “You remember that?”

  She nodded. “What does WMD stand for to you?”

  “Weapons of mass destruction,” Mack answered.

  Janice frowned. “I guess it could be that, too, but I thought what Mama does. And 495 is my niece’s birthday. April 9, 2005. So, you see, the game helps me remember plates. You never know when you might need to identify them for the police. Knock on wood.” She knocked on her skull.

  Riley leaned on the counter, giving Janice all her attention. “I bet you can remember every type of car with the license plates that have passed through Havenwood in the past three days.”

  “Sure can.” Janice crossed her arms over her chest. “Go ahead, try me.”

  “Three days ago, WMD 495 came through. What kind of vehicle was it?” Riley challenged.

  “Silver Toyota Prius. I remember because I thought it was a silly car. My mother wouldn’t have driven it. It wasn’t big enough. She likes driving big boats of cars.”

  “Do you remember the driver in the vehicle?”

  Janice frowned. “If he hadn’t gotten out and come in, I couldn’t have told you. The windows were heavily tinted.” She closed her eyes. “And there was a bumper sticker on the back. I think it was for one of the car rental companies.”

  “Any others come through?” Mack asked. “Your memory amazes me.”

  “A bright red Mustang convertible with an older couple in it.” Janice tipped her head. “Virginia license plate KNT 552. I think of KNT as knit and 552 as five-feet-two-inch girl like me. See how easy it is to play?” She gave them a triumphant smile.

  “Was that all that came through that day? What about the day before?”

  She tapped a finger to her temple and stared into the corner of the store. “We had a delivery truck from Maryland stop on its way to the next town, and one of those smart cars that was so tiny it could have been a child’s toy. I remember it because it had the same colors as my favorite hockey team. Green and white.”

  “So, the driver of the WMD vehicle got out of his car?”

  “Actually, he did. He came into the store. He had wavy dark hair and heavy eyebrows.” Janice clapped her hands. “I can prove it. I recently had a security system installed. Got a deal from Henry last month. Got the whole thing put in for under five hundred. Wanna see? It’s the coolest.”

  Riley gave a casual shrug. “Sure.”

  Inside, Mack would bet, she was shaking with excitement. This could be a clue they’d been looking for.

  Janice turned a monitor around so that they could look at the images as she worked the keyboard. “It’s the easiest thing to do. All I have to do is slide the bar back to the date and time I want and voilà!” She pointed to the date and time on the bottom corner of the screen. “See? Three days ago, around four in the evening. There’s the car, just like I said, with the license plate WMD 495.” Janice pointed to one of the images. “And there he is entering the store.” She enlarged the image of the man. “I remember thinking he could use a haircut.”

  “Do you mind if I take a picture of the screen? I’m thinking of installing a security system and I like this one,” Riley said.

  “Go ahead.” Janice waved toward the monitor.

  Riley held up her cell phone and snapped a picture of the man in the image and the license plate of the vehicle in the other image.

  “Janice, you have a good memory,” Mack said. “I’m impressed.”

  The store owner blushed and shrugged. “That was all I had before this fancy-schmancy security system. That and the height gauge on the side of the doors.” She nodded toward what appeared to be a measuring tool on either side of the door, indicating the height of those who entered and left. “Y
ou can’t be too careful these days.”

  “No kidding.”

  “By the way, how’s Toby?” Janice asked. “He usually comes in with you.”

  Riley didn’t miss a beat with her answer. “He’s visiting a relative.”

  “He’s such a good little boy when he comes into the store with Margaret. Such good manners. They were here the same day as that man I described.” She moved the slide button to a few minutes later. Toby and Margaret entered the store. Toby ran to the candy aisle ahead of Margaret.

  “He likes chocolate. Margaret gets him a little bite of something every time they come in.”

  Riley’s smile slipped, and her jaw tightened as she watched Toby.

  Mack studied the little store and noted that the man with the dark hair from the car with the WMD license plate stood at the end of the same row as Toby. He stared at a display of snacks, but he didn’t take anything.

  Mack’s hands clenched into fists. The jerk was watching the kid.

  Margaret came up behind Toby, selected a candy bar from the rack and led Toby by the hand to Janice, the cashier.

  “My, my hair was a mess that day,” Janice said. “I’m surprised I didn’t scare anyone.” She patted her hair and turned the monitor back to face her behind the counter. “Anyway, you didn’t come in to learn all about me and my monitoring system. What can I help you with?”

  “Nothing really. I just never stop and chat when I come through,” Riley said. “However, I would like one of your iced drinks.” She removed her wallet from her purse. “What do I owe you?”

  Janice filled a cup with ice and the soda of Riley’s choice and rang up her purchase. “I’m glad you stopped by. We don’t get too many visitors stopping for longer than to fill up their gas tank.”

  “Did the man with the WMD license plate come back through again?”

  “I thought he was just passing through, but he must have stayed nearby. I was looking through my recordings the next day, playing with the date-time feature, and noticed he came through again late that night.” Janice shrugged. “Must have been visiting one of our residents to be leaving that late. Or early...depending on how you look at it.”

  “What time of the night or morning was it?”

  “Around three o’clock. I wouldn’t have noticed, but nothing else moved on the street shot until that car went by.” She tilted her head. “I’m still trying to figure out who he was visiting around here.” The bell over the door rang and Janice looked past Riley and Mack to the newcomer. “Rocky. I’ve got your quarts of oil you asked me to order.” She glanced again at Riley. “Don’t be a stranger. It gets boring around here, and I love to visit.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ll be back.” Mack cupped Riley’s elbow and led her out of the store.

  “Do you think it was him?” Riley asked as soon as the door closed behind her.

  Mack pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pressed Declan’s number.

  “Yo, Mack. What’s up?”

  “Sorry to bother you on vacation, but I could use some contacts.”

  “For what?”

  “I need to run a license plate and find out who it belongs to.”

  “I can help you with that,” Declan assured him. “Charlie gave me some names in the DC police department and a contact her husband had with the FBI. I’m sure one of them will be able to help.”

  Mack gave him the license plate of the dark-haired man and added, “It’s urgent that we find out whose car it is as soon as possible. I’ll fill you in later. I might need the team’s help.”

  “On it. I’ll get back with you as soon as I hear anything.” Declan rang off.

  “What can your team help with if we don’t find our guy?” Riley asked.

  “We’re going to find him,” Mack said, his jaw hardening. “And when we do, we’ll need help extracting the boy. I’m sure they won’t just hand him over.” He anticipated a fight and hoped the boy wasn’t collateral damage. “Right now we’re getting breakfast at the local diner.”

  * * *

  RILEY DIDN’T WANT to waste time eating when the minutes and hours were ticking by so quickly and they still hadn’t found Toby. But she knew she couldn’t operate without fuel for her body. What good would she be if she didn’t have the energy to fight for her little brother?

  Mack drove his truck to the diner and parked.

  Before she could alight, he was there opening her door for her. She liked the gesture, but she didn’t want to get used to it. Having been an independent woman all her life, she found it difficult letting a man treat her like the weaker sex. Especially knowing she very well could take him down in a few of the moves her father had taught her.

  Her body heated at the thought of tossing Mack to the ground and pinning him between her thighs. He’d put up a fight, but she’d hold him there until he begged for mercy.

  Or kissed her.

  Her lips tingled at the memory of his previous kisses. She wanted more but didn’t know quite how to ask for them. With her brother still unaccounted for and her handler possibly watching her every move, or that of Mrs. Halverson, she couldn’t let her focus divert.

  They entered the diner and chose a booth in a far corner.

  “Hi, I’m Maddie. I’ll be your server.” A waitress with long, straight blond hair pulled back in a ponytail stopped beside Mack. “Our special this morning is two eggs any way you like them, bacon, hash browns and toast.”

  “I’ll have the special,” Mack said.

  “Me, too,” Riley echoed, her stomach rumbling loudly. When she thought back over the past three days, she hadn’t had more than one meal since getting that message from Toby’s abductor. She didn’t feel right eating when Toby might not have been fed.

  Mack reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “You have to keep your strength up to help Toby. When the time comes, we might have to fight our way in and out to get to him. You can’t do that without fueling your body.”

  Riley nodded. “I know. I just can’t help wondering if Toby is being taken care of. I hope they’re feeding him. The boy can pack away some groceries. He’s growing again.”

  The waitress returned with glasses of water and orange juice. “You two are new in town, aren’t you?” Her brow dipped as she studied Riley. “Though I think I’ve see you before.”

  Riley nodded. “I come occasionally.”

  “That’s right.” Maddie smiled. “You come in once or twice a month with Toby. He’s such a good little boy. He’s polite and well-mannered.”

  “Thank you. I’m proud of him.” Considering what all he’d gone through, having lost his parents when he was a baby and living with his nanny and the occasional visit from his sister, he was growing up to be a very well-behaved young man.

  “Will Toby be joining you?” Maddie asked.

  “Not today,” Riley answered.

  Maddie left the table and returned a moment later with a coffee mug for each of them and a pot of coffee. “What brings you to Havenwood? Well, besides Toby.”

  “Actually, we were trying to track down a man who might have come through here a couple days ago,” Riley said. “I believe I left something in the rental car he’s driving, and I want to retrieve it.”

  Mack thought Riley’s story was a little weak, but the waitress seemed to buy it.

  “Oh yeah?” Maddie tipped her head. “What does the car look like? Chances are I’ve see it.”

  “A silver four-door Prius sedan.”

  Maddie smiled. “Dark and four-door describes a lot of vehicles that come through the parking lot. Got anything more than that?”

  “It has the license plate WMD 495.”

  “Oh, that car.” Maddie snorted. “If it weren’t for the license plate, I wouldn’t have remembered that one. But WMD makes me think, what would Mother do?” She laughed. �
��My mother wouldn’t be working in the diner, that’s for sure. The man in the silver sedan pulled up in the parking lot like he was going to come in for something to eat. But he sat in the vehicle, facing the road, and then left a few minutes later. I thought maybe he was talking on his cell phone or something.” She shrugged. “We were slow at that time. I could have used the tips. But whatever.”

  “Oh, well. I guess I’ll keep looking,” Riley said.

  “I’d go back to the rental car company and see if they recovered your item,” Maddie suggested.

  “You’re right,” Riley said. “I’ll do that.”

  Maddie disappeared into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with their plates of food. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “I don’t need anything.” Mack glanced toward Riley.

  Riley shook her head. “Looks we have it all here. Thank you.”

  Once Maddie left them alone, Riley stabbed her fork into the eggs. “What do you think our mystery man was doing in the parking lot?”

  “If he was facing the road, he might have been watching for Margaret and Toby to pass by.”

  “And then followed them out to the cabin.” Riley’s stomach roiled. But she shoveled food into her mouth, determined to be ready when the time came to fight for Toby’s return. “We really need to know who owns that car.”

  Mack’s phone vibrated on the tabletop. He glanced down at the screen. “It’s Declan. Maybe he’s got something for us to go on.”

  Riley leaned forward, her gaze on the phone. “I hope so. Answer it.”

  Mack already had his finger on the button to answer when she urged him to respond.

  “Mack here,” he said, and then listened in silence. “Okay. Send it to me in a text. We’ll follow up.” He ended the call and met Riley’s gaze.

  Her heart fluttered in her chest. “Well?”

  “He got a hit. The car was rented by an Alan Durgan. He lives in Arlington. Declan is sending me his address.”

  Riley started to rise. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go find him.”

  “Finish your food, and then we’ll go.”