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by Catherine Anderson

  Mac knew what must have happened to Emily. But he still didn’t know why. Lucetti must have taken her. Who else? Like the cop had said, there was no throughway up here, no random passersby who might have taken the opportunity to snatch a child.

  Now, after having assured Mallory that Lucetti probably wasn’t involved, Mac hated to have to tell her he had been wrong. And, boy, did he dread the confrontation he knew was coming when he told her he didn’t want the cops involved.

  Being afraid your child might be dead was bad. But to know she was alive and probably in the hands of a heartless criminal? That would be enough to send anybody over the edge. There was a steep bank at the shoulder of the road. Mac paused below it and gazed up at Mallory. In the next few minutes, he would find out just how much strength Mallory Steele Christiani really had.

  Most people would be basket cases after the day she’d been through, but she stood with her chin lifted, mouth set in a grim line. When he looked closely, he could see that she was shaking, but she hid it well, arms crisscrossed over her small breasts, trembling hands tucked out of sight so they wouldn’t give her away. She had grit, he’d give her that.

  “Anything?” Her voice quavered as she spoke.

  He tried to shake his head in reply to her question and found he couldn’t. A shiver ran the length of her, and she hugged herself more tightly, hunching her shoulders against the cold breeze blowing in off the water. Mac knew she was thinking of her child, wishing she had her arms around her. He’d never had a kid of his own, but he could imagine the agony she felt. There was nothing he could think of to say or do. Not one damned thing.

  She turned her pale face toward Lake Tuck. Her mouth worked for a moment, no sound coming forth. “D-do you think th-they’ll drag it?”

  He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “She isn’t in the lake, Mallory.”

  “Then where is she?” She lifted her hands in supplication. “It’s been three hours.” Her voice grew shrill. “There are so many houses around here, how could she have gotten lost? Where is she?”

  Mac squared his shoulders. “I think Lucetti has her.”

  Dead silence fell between them, broken only by the breeze whispering through the tall spruce and fir trees that crowded the hillsides. The sky had darkened to slate. The wind-twisted evergreens in the background loomed like black sentinels, casting Mallory and the light blue car in stark relief.

  As briefly as he could, Mac told her about the car tracks and footprints he had found.

  “Lucetti.” Her voice rang hollow now. “But you said that didn’t make sense. That he would have—have just done it here.” Her voice broke and a low cry erupted from her throat. “You said you thought she was just lost.”

  “I was wrong. Don’t misunderstand and start thinking she’s dead. If he took her—and I’m pretty certain he did—I don’t think he did it so he could kill her. He must have had other reasons. Like I said earlier, this is the perfect place if he meant to—” He sighed and gestured behind him. “There are houses in every direction going away from Beth’s. She couldn’t have stayed lost this long. The cops think she’s in the lake, but I don’t buy it. They have no reason to suspect foul play, so they probably didn’t take notice of the tire tracks up above. If they did, they more than likely thought it was one of the home builders’ vehicles that had been parked there.”

  “Then why didn’t you call their attention to them?”

  “I didn’t feel I should, not until I had spoken with you—explained the possible consequences.”

  “Consequences? My daughter is missing. We should tell the police everything so they can find her. If someone took her, we’ve no proof it was Lucetti. It could have been anyone, couldn’t it?”

  “I’d say that’s unlikely. Extremely unlikely. Knowing what we know, we have to assume it was Lucetti.”

  “This is my daughter we’re discussing. I don’t want to assume anything. I can’t. We should go back to Beth’s and tell the police.”

  “They’re convinced she’s in the lake. To convince them otherwise, we’d have to tell them why we think the tire tracks are significant, why we feel the footprints going off the road might indicate a kidnapping.”

  “So we’ll tell them!”

  “About Lucetti? Mallory, if they once get wind of it, they’ll be in on this case for the duration. We can’t risk that.”

  “But—” She stared at him, no longer able to conceal how violently her body was trembling. “You’re supposed to get help from the police when things like this happen. That policeman—the one at Beth’s—he looked really concerned. I’ll bet he’s got a little girl of his own. He’s not one of Lucetti’s men. He’d help us, I know he would. They won’t let Lucetti know the police are involved. They’re trained to handle things like this.”

  Mac wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared into the woods for a moment, trying to consider the situation from all angles. “I’m sure you’re right and the cops we’ve met tonight are all on the level. There are probably only a couple in the whole county who aren’t. Finding men we can trust isn’t the problem. One of my best friends is on the King County force. I could trust him with my life, Mallory. But not with this. It’s the grapevine inside the police force that we’re up against. Stop and think about it. No cop likes to believe the cop next to him is on the take. They have to trust one another to survive. Even my friend Scotty might be working with someone who’s crooked and not realize it. If we turn this matter over to them, the wrong cop could get wind of it. And if he clues Lucetti, it could be dangerous for Emily.”

  “Dangerous?”

  “If Lucetti thinks the police know she’s missing, he’ll dispose of—of any evidence.”

  Even in the dusk, he could see the pupils of Mallory’s eyes dilating. “K-kill her, you mean? You’re saying we should tell the police nothing, just leave? And what if someone besides Lucetti took her?”

  “I don’t think that’s the case.”

  “You don’t think? I don’t want you to think, I want you to know. My little girl could die.”

  “Mallory, whoever has her will have to call if they want ransom. If it isn’t Lucetti, we can contact the police then. Sometimes you have to weigh everything and go on gut instinct. I’m telling you what I feel our next move should be. No cops, period. I told them I was taking you home to get some rest so you wouldn’t see them dragging the lake, and I think that’s exactly what we should do.”

  “And what if you’re wrong? What if we don’t go to the police and Lucetti just kills her? That’s what Keith said he had threatened to do.”

  “That’s the key word, threatened. Men like Lucetti don’t bother with threats, not unless they’re trying to coerce someone. So we have to assume Keith either had something Lucetti wanted or that he was in a position to do something Lucetti needed done. Now Keith’s in the hospital and your daughter is missing. Like I said earlier, if Lucetti had wanted to kill her, he would have had it done here. There’s a lot of cover for a sniper to hide in and several back roads to use to get out of here afterward. It’s the perfect place for a hit. But instead, they took her? They wouldn’t have bothered unless they needed her alive for some reason. That convinces me that Lucetti believes you can do whatever it was he needed Keith to do. You see what I’m saying? He’s taken Em to use as leverage against you.”

  “How can you be so sure you’re right?”

  “I don’t know I’m right. I’m only making an educated guess. I grew up on the streets. I know the kind of people we’re dealing with, how they think.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re saying you’re one of them?”

  “In a sense. I used to be.”

  “What did Keith do, post your bail once? Get you off on a lesser charge? What?” The words shot out of her mouth before she could call them back, then hung there like a cloud between them. She saw something flicker in his eyes. Pain? “I—” Running a hand through her hair, she averted her face for a moment. “I
’m sorry, Mac Phearson. I didn’t mean that. I’m just so scared.”

  He sighed and switched his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s your decision. She’s your child. I could be wrong. My theory makes sense, but that car chase today doesn’t back it up. If Lucetti wants you to do something or give him something, he needs you alive.”

  “Maybe he was just trying to scare us.”

  “That’s a risky way to scare someone. If I’d lost control of that car, we both could have been killed.” The torment in her expression was so pronounced, Mac could almost feel it. “Mallory, it’s your daughter who’s missing. It should be you who weighs the risks and makes the decisions. If you want to drive back down to Beth’s and tell the police, I’ll go with you.”

  She thought for several seconds before she replied. “No. Keith trusted you. For now, at least, I’ll do what you say.” Her eyes sought his. “You don’t think Lucetti will hurt her, do you? If we don’t call the police and we cooperate?”

  Mac could scarcely bear to look at her. There was no gentle way to tell her the truth, so he chose to say nothing at all. Before he realized his feet were moving, he was nearly up the bank. Two more steps and he was standing over her, feeling like a cumbersome clod as he grasped her shoulders. She wasn’t a very large woman. Her collarbone felt fragile under his hands. The flood of tears he was expecting didn’t come. Instead of leaning against him, Mallory pulled back. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she raised her chin.

  “If he touches a hair on her head, I’ll kill him,” she said evenly. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Mac took a moment to respond. For some reason, he’d always equated small with weak. Now he realized he couldn’t have been more wrong. “Where?”

  “To find him.”

  There was a deadly gleam in her eye. If it hadn’t been such an awful situation, Mac might have laughed. “Mallory, people like Lucetti are roaches. They crawl out of the woodwork after dark. We can’t just drive into Seattle and look him up in the phone book. He keeps an extremely low profile. He’s renowned for it. I’ve never even seen him. I don’t even know anyone who has.”

  “Then how do we find him?”

  The question took him off guard. She was serious. If he pointed her in the right direction, she would take off without hesitation. “We have two choices. We can hit the streets. Start asking questions, which could take days and might get us nowhere, or we can wait for him to find us. That would probably be a lot quicker, judging by what happened this afternoon.”

  “In other words, we should stay extremely visible?” She turned decisively toward the Volvo. “Then I’m going home. I can’t get much more visible than that. You don’t have to stay involved in this, Mac Phearson. She’s not your daughter.”

  He grabbed her arm, steering her away from the driver’s door. “It’s my car, remember? Where it goes, I go.”

  “You’d be wiser to walk back to Beth’s and call a cab. They’ll be watching for the Volvo. I’ll leave it parked at the hospital and you can pick it up after things have calmed down.” She looked up at him. “I’m serious, Mac Phearson. Why should you risk your neck? This isn’t your problem.”

  “Nobody ever said I was smart.” He studied her face for a moment, then shook his head and gave a halfhearted grin. “Keith asked for my help. He’s my friend so I’m making it my problem, okay? You can’t do this alone.”

  “And why should you care? You scarcely know me. You’ve never even seen Em. Keith wouldn’t hold it against you if you backed out now. He isn’t that kind of fellow.”

  “You forget I know what kind of fellow he is, probably better than anyone does.” Mac felt a strange tightness rise in his throat. “He did me a favor once, a big one. I owe him.”

  “That’s ridiculous. No matter how big a favor Keith did for you, you don’t owe him your life.”

  “Oh, I owe him, all right. There are some things you can’t put a price on. Let’s just leave it at that. Besides, you and I were nearly killed together this afternoon. You don’t go through something like that with someone and then just walk away.”

  “If it was me, I wouldn’t be walking, I’d be running.”

  “I doubt that.” Mac was surprised to realize he really meant it. “If it was my kid, you wouldn’t rest until we had her home.”

  “You’re crazy, Mac Phearson,” she said softly.

  “So you’ve been telling me most of the day.” He gave her a little shove and stepped toward the car. “And please, stop calling me Mac Phearson?”

  “Bud?”

  His gaze met hers over the top of the car. “My friends call me Mac.”

  She paused by the passenger door, peering at him through the gloom. His friends? All day long, she’d been getting the distinct impression that he didn’t like her. She tried to read his expression, but he was standing in the shadow of a tree, which made it impossible. Perhaps it was just as well. If he was making an overture, she should accept it and leave it at that, not wonder what had happened to change his mind. “All right, Mac it is.”

  Once they were inside the car, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Again he braced himself for a deluge of tears. Shoving the shift into first, he eased the car forward, casting uneasy glances her way. “You okay?”

  “No.” She straightened. “I—want to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For staying.”

  “No big deal. A few thrills every once in a while keeps life interesting.”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw her wiping a tear from her cheek. He pretended not to notice. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth for a moment, then dropped her fist onto her lap. “I’m going to get her back. If it’s the last thing I do...”

  “Correction. We are going to get her back. I told you earlier that I’d find her for you. That’s a promise I intend to keep.” He sighed and adjusted his side mirror. “The way I figure it, Lucetti will get in touch if we make ourselves available, probably by phone.”

  “To make a ransom demand?”

  Mac frowned. “My gut instinct tells me it’s not money he’s wanting.”

  “Earlier, you said you thought he needed me to do something, that he’d taken Em to use her as leverage against me. What could he need done that only I could do?”

  Shaking his head, Mac threw her a puzzled glance. “I wish I knew.”

  “Whatever it is, I’ll do it. When it comes to my daughter’s safety, the word no isn’t in my vocabulary.”

  “Then broaden your vocabulary,” he retorted softly. “No may be the most important word you can utter. We can’t let him bully us. When he calls, you’ll have to insist on speaking to Em, so we know she’s all right. That’s her life insurance. Unless you insist on that and keep insisting, he has nothing to gain by keeping—” He broke off and looked uncomfortable.

  “No reason to keep her alive?” Mallory finished for him. Fear rushed through her, but she refused to give in to it. “Don’t pull your punches, Mac Phearson. I need to know exactly what to expect.”

  “If we don’t talk to her, he can get rid of her without our realizing it,” he said hollowly. “There’s no way we can second-guess what he wants or what he might say, but on that one point—assuring ourselves that Em is safe—we have to stand firm, no matter what he threatens. Think you can handle that? He’s liable to get nasty.”

  “I can handle anything if Em’s life might depend on it.”

  She sat quietly for a moment.

  “You know,” she added thoughtfully, “I have a phone that’s equipped with a speaker. We should probably turn it on when he calls so both of us can hear. If we listen closely, perhaps the background noise will give us a clue as to where he is keeping Em.”

  “Good idea. We also need to find out everything else we can manage while you’re talking to him. What he wants. Why he needs you. How Keith became involved with him. Any tidbit of information you can get out of him may help us find Emily.”

  She murm
ured her agreement. In the darkness, he saw her face crumple before she turned to gaze out her window. He gripped the gear shift until his knuckles hurt. His first inclination was to stop the car and take her into his arms to comfort her, but he instinctively knew it wouldn’t be wise. She wasn’t the type who wept easily. Before she would break down in front of him, her pride would have to go. And right now, her pride, and fear for her child, were all that held her together.

  Chapter Four

  Mallory was quiet as Mac Phearson pulled his Volvo into her driveway. The windows of the house yawned black against the white siding. A shiver raised goose bumps on her skin. Without Em and Keith here, the place looked as lonely as a tomb, an impersonal mass of wood, plasterboard and brick. As they climbed out of the car, he shot uneasy glances over his shoulder to check the cul-de-sac. Her heart lifted with hope. Surely Lucetti knew where Keith lived. Coming home had to be the smartest move.

  “Got a key?”

  As she climbed the steps, she unzipped her bag and became so engrossed in her search she stubbed her toe. Mac snaked an arm around her waist and steadied her. Too tired to care, she leaned against him, letting him guide her up the remaining steps. “My keys aren’t here.”

  “What?” He released her and grabbed the purse. After rummaging a moment, he swore and dumped the contents of her handbag onto the porch. He sorted through the pile and then said, “Well, isn’t that great. Did you leave them in your car?”

  “No. The alarm goes off if I leave them in the ignition. I know I had them when I went into the hospital. I do have a spare set in the house for all the good it does me.” Mallory groaned and plopped down on the top step, hugging her bent knees. “I’ve heard of Murphy’s Law, but this is too much.”

  “I can get in. That’s not what bugs me. Was there an opportunity for someone inside the hospital to have had a moment alone with your handbag?”

  Mallory pursed her lips in thought. “I left it for a couple of seconds—right before I went into the ICU to see Keith, I stepped up the hall to a sitting area to get a National Geographic that I had seen earlier, lying there on a table. I wasn’t gone but a second, though. And there wasn’t anyone else in the hall.”