by Ty Patterson
Zeb nodded and looked out at the city ahead of him as if he could find Maddie just by looking.
He didn’t know his fingers had tightened on the wheel till Meghan touched his shoulder softly.
‘We will find her.’
He nodded again. ‘It could be some other man, not the dad. He’s missing too, but that could be coincidence.’
‘Yeah, we know. We have done this before a few times, in case you are forgetting.’ Beth retorted.
Attacked and kicked by a stranger, knocked out for an hour, a missing child; none of those were reasons to hold back from ribbing Zeb.
Zeb drove silently, his eyes moving between mirrors and the stream of traffic ahead. Every so often, they dwelled on young children on the sidewalk, on girls of Maddie’s size.
They were in-between Agency missions and during downtime, they were free to take on any other projects. Clare never interfered in their work; she trusted Zeb and his team implicitly.
Heck, she would ask us to find Maddie even if we were on an Agency mission.
Clare had formed The Agency to accommodate the President’s need to have a small, self-contained deep black unit that had none of the bureaucracy of other such agencies.
The Agency took on missions that were a threat to national security; terrorists, recovering stolen weapons of mass destruction, international criminal gangs, among many others.
On joining the Agency, Zeb had recruited Broker, the oldest of them all. Broker had been a Ranger and an intelligence analyst at the NSA. On quitting the Army he had set up his intelligence business that serviced the commercial sector. He was the finest analyst Zeb had come across, though the twins were catching on fast.
Broker and the twins ran the Agency’s intel network, at the heart of which was Werner, a supercomputer that sat in their office on Columbus Avenue. The twins also managed the Agency’s logistics.
Bwana, Roger, Chloe and Bear, who were a couple, comprised the rest of the Agency’s personnel. The first two and Bear were ex-Special Forces like Zeb, while Chloe was from the 82nd Airborne.
Zeb reported to Clare, the Director of the Agency, who in turn reported only to the President. She lived in Washington D.C. and had a nebulous title that no one in the rarefied political circles questioned.
The eight of them were a compact team that worked like a well-oiled machine and had never failed on a mission.
He circled Central Park a few times, entered East 112th Street and drove down toward Thomas Jefferson Park.
He found a vacant parking spot and eased into it, following the twins’ gaze. There were no more cruisers outside the Kittrell townhouse. It looked empty and forlorn.
Meghan sprang out and Beth followed her.
‘Wait for us,’ Meghan tossed behind her shoulder.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Zeb stretched his legs out, pushed back, and closed his eyes. There weren’t many Special Forces operatives who worked as chauffeurs in their down time. He was one of them.
‘I don’t know what else I can tell you,’ Amy Kittrell said. ‘The cops just left and I told them everything that I know. Which isn’t much.’
She tried to smile and failed.
They were in the living room, Beth and Meghan on one soft couch, the distraught mother on another, across from them. The room was decorated in warm colors and family pictures adorned the wall and the mantelpiece.
In one, a man was holding Maddie high above his head while Amy was snuggling into him.
The man had average looks. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Clean shaven. Nothing that would stand out in a crowd. Nothing that would stay in memory.
Amy Kittrell noticed Meghan’s gaze. ‘That was last year, when we were on vacation in Florida.’
Her hands twisted nervously and her eyes darted to the twins. ‘I can’t believe Josh would kidnap her.
‘I am sure there’s some mistake. It must be some other man. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to take Maddie, though.’
‘The cops said they would investigate and find her soon. And Josh too.’ Her voice broke for a moment. She bent her head down, took a deep breath and consciously stilled her fingers.
Her eyes were steady when she raised them. ‘There is no reason to doubt the police, is there?’
Why are you here, asking me these questions?
‘We feel responsible, ma’am,’ Meghan responded to Amy Kittrell’s unasked question.
‘It won’t hurt if we do some digging too. We have some experience in these matters. We work in a security consulting firm.’
Meghan gave her the spiel which was on their firm’s website and the words seem to calm Amy Kittrell down.
Beth took up the questioning. ‘Maddie said you came to New York five years back?’ ‘Maddie must have told you our life stories. She can’t stop once she starts.’ The mother’s face softened for a moment.
‘Yeah, we are originally from Baybush, Alabama. Josh was working in a law firm there. That firm gave him an opening in the New York office.’
She saw the twins trying to place the city. ‘It’s not a large city. With a population of about five thousand; it barely exists on the map. It’s in Jefferson County, fifty miles south of Birmingham.’
‘It’s a city of transients. There are a couple of defense contractors out there and a lot of floating population.’
‘I was a realtor. I could do that job in any city. Maddie was very young then and would adapt to the move. It was an opportunity we couldn’t pass.’
‘Baybush was where you grew up, ma’am?’
She smiled for the first time. ‘Yeah. Born, educated, lived there most of our lives. We went to the University of Alabama and returned.’
‘We were high school sweethearts. That entire schmaltzy story, that’s us.’
‘New York was our first move. From a city that barely exists on a map, to the largest city in the world.’
The smile faded, the hands started twisting again as if to say, and look what happened.
They asked her more questions; about their marriage, her job, Josh Kittrell’s job, Maddie’s school, and her friends.
‘Peaches and Lizzie are her closest friends. She has a few more, but none who are as close.’
‘And what about the two of you, ma’am? Any friends?’
Amy Kittrell shrugged helplessly. ‘Not really. When we came to this city we knew no one. That hasn’t changed much.’
‘Sure we have work friends and we know a few parents from Maddie’s school. Josh has a busy job and travels a lot. I’m busy too. We hardly get any time to socialize.’
Beth rose and looked at the photographs on the wall. ‘You look very much in love.’
‘We are. We have a great marriage. I can’t think why he would –. No, he didn’t. It must be someone else.’
Amy Kittrell broke down and started weeping.
‘Anything?’ Zeb asked when they returned.
‘Nothing.’ Beth tossed her handbag inside the vehicle and fastened her seat belt.
‘Perfect marriage. Great jobs. He’s a lawyer in a big firm, an outfit called Mayo and Kane. I’ve seen their ads. They’re well known.’
‘She’s a realtor with a big outfit. You see their billboards all over the city.’
‘She’s no ordinary realtor, either. She sells luxury homes to the super rich. Makes big bucks. Lovely daughter. No reason for Dad to suddenly run away with Maddie.’
‘We didn’t tell her about Maddie’s story. It wasn’t the right time.’
Meghan broke the silence in the vehicle.
‘She doesn’t believe he kidnapped her, in any case.’
‘That’s the wife talking,’ Beth replied. ‘No one got a good look at that man. He could be anyone. He could be the dad, too.’
Meghan gestured at Zeb to pull out and drive.
‘I bet he’s the NYPD’s prime suspect, and there’s always a reason. She might not know it.’
‘Or she isn’t telling.’
Chapter Four
Zeb turned on his flasher, waited for a break in the metallic river, and headed out.
‘Where to, ladies?’
‘Downtown,’ Meghan replied, her serious look changing to one of mirth for a moment.
‘To see two of your favorite people in the world.’
‘Pizaka and Chang.’
Pizaka and Chang were First Grade detectives who headed a Major Case Squad in the NYPD.
Zeb and his team had come across the two cops when bringing down serial killers and terrorists in the city. Given the clandestine nature of their agency, Zeb and his crew’s involvement was known to only the Commissioner and Pizaka and Chang.
The two cops were the leads on those cases and got credit for the closures. Their careers received major boosts from the media fall out; rapid promotions followed and the two became celebrities in their own right.
Pizaka had published a couple of books, had a rapidly growing public profile, and was actively seeking movie deals. Chang was more low profile and was content for his partner to hog the limelight.
The two presented themselves differently; Pizaka dressed sharply, his black hair perfectly groomed, while Chang wore a perennial sleepy, rumpled look.
Despite their appearances and differing appetite for publicity, the two worked well together and were two of the best detectives in the NYPD.
‘Why them?’ Zeb flicked a glance sideways at Meghan.
‘They are on the case. Regina called the Commissioner when Beth was attacked.’
‘The Commissioner didn’t have anyone else?’ Beth groaned from behind.
‘They are good cops,’ Zeb replied mildly as he steered their ride to One Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters, and headed to the parking lot.
He exited and tossed the keys in a silvery arc to Meghan.
She caught them one handed and frowned at him. ‘You aren’t joining us?’
‘Nope. I’ll get in the way. I will be at the VA.’
She nodded in understanding. Pizaka didn’t like Zeb; in fact he didn’t like any of them. He regarded them as vigilantes; however it was Zeb for who he reserved his biting sarcasm. That Zeb didn’t respond, riled him even more.
Chang met them, looking as if he had just woken up and had tossed on a wrinkled cream colored suit. His short hair bristled and he walked languidly till he met the twins.
Then he burst into a trot, a wide smile on his face, and hugged the twins tight. ‘You ladies are becoming strangers.’
‘You don’t need us anymore, Chang. You’re getting better at your job,’ Meghan deadpanned.
Chang led them up an elevator and then to an office in which a well-dressed man awaited. Dressed in a tan suit whose edges could slice through butter, shades that reflected light, hair perfectly groomed, Pizaka looked a model. Or a Hollywood star.
Pizaka nodded at them and didn’t offer to shake hands. He looked behind the twins’ shoulders.
‘Zeb isn’t coming. He said you intimidate him,’ Meghan read his glance.
Chang sighed when Pizaka continued looking behind them. ‘Where are the others? You know how he is. He likes to know who else he has to work with.’
‘Bear and Chloe are in Indonesia, on vacation. Bwana and Roger are somewhere in Chile. They are on vacation too. Broker is with his girlfriend, in Washington D.C.’
‘Carter isn’t on vacation?’ Pizaka spoke for the first time.
‘The last time he took a vacation, he came across us. That was enough for him,’ Beth cracked, drawing a chuckle from Chang.
Pizaka’s face didn’t change. Humor was for lesser mortals. Besides, smiling wrinkled one’s face. There were interviews to give, talk shows to go on, wrinkles weren’t good.
‘Why are you here?’
‘You know why, Pizaka. Regina Hunnicker. Close friend of the Commissioner’s wife. Rings a bell?’
Chang cut his tired eyes to his partner. ‘Can we cut through this?
‘They’re here as Hunnicker’s liaison. So what if they investigate on their own? Finding the girl is important.’
Pizaka straightened at his partner’s rebuke, went through the events outside the Columbus Avenue office and cut himself short when Meghan waved him on. They knew the events.
‘We interviewed Amy Kittrell. Didn’t get much there. Usual stuff about good marriage. No enemies. No reason for husband to kidnap daughter.’
‘We talked to Ms. Hunnicker too and the kids. She told us to stop wasting time and start investigating.’
‘A team is interviewing passersby, other offices, door men. So far, not one witness has come forward.’
Chang bent down to straighten a trouser leg; it stubbornly remained wrinkled. He gave up with a sigh. ‘Another team is looking at CCTV cameras. There aren’t many in that area. All airports, train stations, bus stations, have been alerted. Posters and flyers will go up in public places.’
‘We have a few in front of our office,’ Meghan corrected him. ‘We’ll check the feed as soon as we get back.’
Pizaka pulled out a single sheet of paper from a slim folder and handed it to them.
‘Josh Kittrell, from his employer. As you can imagine, he’s our prime suspect.’
Beth skimmed through the sheet quickly and passed it to Meghan.
There wasn’t much on the sheet; a single sentence on Kittrell and an entire paragraph on the firm. No photograph.
Kittrell was a partner in the law firm, in a division called Settlements. Nothing on the sheet revealed what the division did.
The law firm was the fifth largest in the country, had over two thousand employees, and worked with large corporations, most of them defense contractors.
Meghan handed the sheet back and with her next words, sucked the air out of the room.
‘Josh Kittrell has a history of hitting his wife.’
Chapter Five
Beth filled in the shocked silence that followed Meghan’s revelation as she briefed the two cops on what Maddie had told them.
‘Ms. Hunnicker knew about this all along?’ Pizaka asked, his face white.
‘Yeah. She brought Maddie to us today, to get her to tell us.’
Chang exchanged a silent look with his partner, excused himself and left the room. No one broke the silence in his absence and when he returned fifteen minutes later, his sleepy look had left him.
‘No complaints were filed by Amy Kittrell in the last five years. A couple of cops are calling the Baybush PD. We will know soon enough.’
‘What about hospitals?’ his partner reminded.
‘I have that covered. Another couple of cops are calling hospitals and clinics in the city. If Mrs. Kittrell was hurt or injured –’ Chang didn’t complete his sentence.
He went to a water cooler in the room, filled plastic cups and handed them around. ‘That child. Carrying that within herself. No one to speak to.’
He lowered himself heavily in a chair. ‘We have requested a meeting with Mayo and Kane. Will you ladies wish to come along?’
Meghan nodded, but before she could reply, Pizaka cut in. ‘The girl didn’t see anything. She just heard stuff. She could be mistaken.’
Meghan placed a calming hand on Beth’s shoulder before her sister could flare. ‘Yeah. That doesn’t mean we should discount it.’
‘No one is discounting anything.’ Chang’s soft voice was calming. ‘We will investigate it. If it’s true, there could be a motive for the husband to run away with his daughter.’
‘Right now, all we know for sure is that the daughter has been kidnapped and the husband is missing.’
Meghan turned her head and watched Beth for a long moment when Zeb, who had returned just as they exited One PP, was driving them back.
Her sister was watching the traffic silently, stony faced, her fists balled. She was still fuming at Pizaka’s insinuation.
Nothing more had been discussed with the cops. Chang had promised to get back to them as soon as he heard from the law firm. The twins, in turn, would share their CCT
V feed with the NYPD.
Pizaka said he would look into how Maddie’s claim could be investigated.
‘Beth.’
‘BETH,’ she called louder when her sister didn’t look at her. ‘We will talk to Amy Kittrell, okay?’
Beth nodded, still not meeting her eyes, and resumed her silent watch on the city as it blurred past.
It was evening. Traffic was thick, loud, and angry. People were in a hurry to get to wherever they were headed. Cars cut in and out. Traffic snarled. Lights winked and high rises lit up.
‘Maddie could be anywhere.’ Beth’s eyes were bright with unshed tears when she finally looked at Meghan.
‘What must be her mom going through?’
Meghan was in the office early the next day. A coffee to start the day right, a tap on the keyboard to bring her screen to life, and the hunt started.
She glanced once at the clock on the wall. It had Mickey Mouse on its face; it was the one item Beth and she had brought from their home in Wyoming.
Not quite twenty-four hours, but close enough. Still no clue where she is or who has taken her.
She was querying the CCTV feed when Beth wandered in an hour later. Her sister mumbled a greeting, she returned it without raising her head.
There were four cameras at the front of the building which caught the street from various angles. There was a fifth camera mounted discreetly on a lamp pole on the opposite side.
There were several cameras inside the lobby and a couple inside the elevators.
Beth joined her and they watched the feeds in silence.
Relentless traffic. Then a figure emerging from the building. Beth. More figures. The rest of them.
The first figure raised a hand. A vehicle arrived, a cab. People clambered in. At the edge of the screen a figure appeared. Grew larger. Became a man.
He hurled Beth aside, grabbed Maddie and ran.
For a micro-second nothing happened.
Then figures emerged from the opposite end of the cab. Tiny figures clambered out from inside.
