Little Lost Things

by Eleanor Chance

  He went to the counter and flashed his credentials to the tech. “We have information that prescriptions were filled and sold from this pharmacy for a patient named Johnathan Walker today. Is this correct?”

  The tech stared at him for several seconds before saying, “I’m not sure if I’m allowed to share that information.”

  Wes handed her a form. “Grace Walker, Johnathan’s mother, has given authorization for you to share the information.”

  “Excuse me,” she said and walked to the pharmacist. She showed him the form. They whispered to each other before the tech returned with the pharmacist.

  Wes again showed his credential. “We’re investigating a child abduction. We believe the kidnapper purchased refills for the victim at this pharmacy within the last two hours. We’d like to verify that information.”

  The pharmacist went to the computer. “What’s the child’s date of birth?” Wes told him, and the tech stared at him wide-eyed while the pharmacist searched the records. “We filled those prescriptions thirty-five minutes ago. I’ll print a copy of the receipt, but the customer paid with cash.”

  “Thank you, and we’ll need the security footage, too.”

  “I’ll contact out security company. Do you have a card so they can contact you?”

  Wes nodded and passed his card to the pharmacist. He turned to the tech and said, “Did you process the transaction?”

  She glanced at the pharmacist, and he gave a slight nod. “What were the medications?” The pharmacist read them off to her. “Oh, yes. I remember that lady. She was kind of weird. She pretended she wasn’t mad that we didn’t have one of the medications, but I could tell she was. Another pharmacy filled that one. I can tell you where.”

  Wes smiled to put her at ease. “We already know, but you’ve given very helpful information. Can you describe the woman to me?”

  “She was wearing a crazy, pink neon hat. I could see her short blond hair sticking out beneath the rim. She had a lip ring, and a dolphin tattoo on the back of her hand.”

  “Was she tall, short, heavy or thin?”

  “Short to average, I’d say. Kind of thin. I’m sorry, I mostly remember the hat.”

  By design, Wes thought, but he said, “Are you willing to give a description to our sketch artist?”

  “Of course. My shift ends in twenty minutes.”

  Wes gave her a card with the address to the field office. “Do you recall if she used one of your pens or touched the counter for a fingerprint?”

  She shook her head. “If only I’d known who she was. She was right here, and I let her go.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. We appreciate your willingness to help. Citizens like you are vital to our work.”

  “I hope you catch her and rescue that boy,” she said as he and his team were leaving.

  Wes radioed the other team. They’d missed Mara by ten minutes.

  “She used the drive-through, so all we have is the security feed. The cashier couldn’t see Mara’s face clearly. She was wearing a wide-brimmed pink hat.”

  “Same here. Get what you can and head back to the office,” Wes said.

  He was quiet on the drive back. They’d missed Mara again, but this time they had witnesses and security video. Once they found that car, they’d be only one step away from capturing Mara.

  Chapter Twelve

  Grace hung up her phone and went to find Ryan an hour after they got home. He was at his workbench in the garage fixing a broken drill.

  Grace leaned against his car and crossed her arms. “That was Scott. Mara wasn’t at either pharmacy when Wes’ team got there, but they collected some good evidence. He wants me to scour through security footage in the morning. I told him I’d come in tonight, but he wants his techs to go through it first. Wes is following up on the car lead.”

  Ryan put down his tools and looked at her. “How did Scott sound? Did he say anything else?”

  “Not much, but he’s hopeful.”

  “Good to know if that’s true. My gut says he’s not as hopeful as he lets on.” Ryan picked up a cloth and wiped the grease off his hands. “Have you eaten? I was just about to go get a plate.”

  “Can’t remember the last time I ate. I’ll join you.”

  Mark was eating at the table, and Steph and Alec were dishing their plates when Ryan and Grace walked into the kitchen. Grace’s stomach grumbled at the warm, delicious smells. She took it as a good sign that her appetite was returning. She dished a double portion of chicken casserole a neighbor had brought. The doorbell rang as she lifted her fork to take her first bite.

  Steph started to get up, but Grace said, “It’s probably Brad or Paul. They both said they might stop by tonight.”

  She hadn’t seen Paul for months, and as she walked to the door, memories of their first meeting flooded over her. He was a lawyer friend of Adam’s from their undergrad days. He had a law practice in the city and had come to her rescue more than once during the earlier ordeal with Johnny. She smiled as she remembered how he’d gotten Johnny to take a bottle for the first time after he came out of his coma when she and Alec couldn’t. He’d become far more than their lawyer and had remained a dear family friend. She was looking forward to his visit but wished it came under better circumstances.

  She opened the door without looking through the peephole and found Craig Stuart on her doorstep. She started to slam the door, but he put out his hand in the way to stop her.

  “Move your hand or you’ll be sorry,” Grace said and pushed harder on the door.

  Craig gave a shove, and the door slipped from Grace’s hands. Craig pushed it open and held it in place with his foot.

  “Please, let me in, Grace. I’m here to apologize and offer my help. I want to do what I can to find Johnny, and I want to up the reward.”

  Grace eyed him while deciding whether to believe him. He looked sincere, but she’d fallen for his sincerity before only to have him turn on her. She deserved his apology, and the extra reward money might lead to tips about Johnny. She took the risk and stepped aside to let him pass.

  She studied him as she followed him into the living room. His light brown hair was still thick and without a touch of gray. He looked slightly more fit and healthy than he had twelve years earlier, and Grace wondered if his third wife had anything to do with that. Grace thought how it wasn’t fair that men got better looking with age. He was wearing a polo shirt, khaki pants, and loafers that probably cost more than she spent on clothes in a year. She pointed Stuart to the loveseat, but he remained standing.

  “I’m deeply sorry for the things I said on the phone. You aren’t to blame for Johnny’s kidnapping any more than I was to blame when Mara and Rick took him when he was born. You’re a phenomenal mother. Insulting you the way I did in the middle of this terrible crisis was beyond cruel. I am sorry, and I hope you’ll forgive me and let me help.”

  Grace relaxed her fists and blew out the air she was holding. “Sit down, Craig.” She worked to regain her composure while she watched him lower himself onto the loveseat. “You could have warned me you were coming.”

  “True. I flew here on an impulse. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Johnny since I found out he was missing.”

  “That I understand, and I owe you an apology for what I said on the phone too. I’ve never believed for one moment that Johnny’s kidnapping was your fault. It was a cruel and insensitive accusation.”

  “That wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it.” Before he could say more, Alec burst into the room. Craig sprang up and gave her a sarcastic smile. “Hello, Alec. Great to see you. It’s been a long time.”

  Alec moved two inches from his face and stabbed a finger into his sternum. “How dare you show your face in this house after what you said to Grace? She doesn't need you meddling in this crisis. Please leave, now.”

  Grace gripped Alec’s shoulder and inched her away from Craig. “Down, Alec. He already apologized. We’re good. He’s here to help.”

/>   Without taking her eyes off Craig, she said, “Help? He can help by crawling back to Albuquerque.”

  Grace kept her hold on Alec. “He’s going to add to the reward.” Alec glared at Craig but kept her mouth shut. “It could help Johnny. Nothing else matters but Johnny.”

  Craig held his hands up in surrender. “She’s right, Alec. I told Grace how out of line I was on the phone. I’m sorry for accusing her. Johnny’s disappearance stirred up dark memories. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

  Alec turned to Grace. “You’re buying this?”

  The kitchen door opened, and Ryan, Mark, and Steph filed into the living room.

  “What’s with all the shouting? We’ve been waiting-” Ryan said but stopped mid-sentence when he saw Craig. He turned to Grace. “You let him in?”

  “Yes,” Grace said. “Let me explain.”

  “What’s to explain?” He glared at Craig. “You offended my wife at her most vulnerable. What kind of man are you? I want you off my property.”

  Alec chuckled. “Get in line.”

  Grace stepped between Ryan and Craig. “As much as I appreciating you defending me, it’s not necessary. I was just telling Alec that Craig has apologized. He’s here to offer his help.”

  “It’s true, and I need to tell you how sorry I am, too, Ryan. This is a traumatic situation. We’re all on edge.”

  “Have we all forgotten that Craig lost Samantha and his firstborn child on that horrible day fourteen years ago? He suffered for two years before learning Johnny was alive. He’s as invested in this as we are.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Alec said.

  Grace scowled at her. “We’ve all said and done things we regret this week. Which of us has the right to point fingers?”

  Ryan stepped back, and Alec relaxed her shoulders. “You’re lucky to have Grace in your corner after what you’ve done. I’ll allow you to stay, but I’ll be watching,” Alec said.

  “I’ve made many mistakes in my life but giving Johnny to Grace and Ryan wasn’t one of them, Alec. I love Johnny, but I wasn’t prepared then to give him what Grace could, and has.”

  Alec put her arm around Grace’s shoulders. “Truest thing you’ve ever said.”

  “Do I have your permission to stay, Ryan?”

  Ryan dropped onto the couch and rubbed his face. “Why not? We’ll take help from anywhere we can get it.”

  “I’m grateful. I hope we can all remember the real target for our anger," Craig said. “I can’t believe Mara had the brass to do this twice. She can’t allow her to disappear with Johnny this time. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her and get him home. Melanie and I agreed we can add twenty-five grand to the reward.”

  Grace sank down next to him and took his hand. “That’s as much as the FBI is offering. You can afford that?”

  “Yes, and more if we need to.”

  “So, you do love Johnny,” Alec said. “You can definitely stay. I was about to tell Grace and Ryan that Adam and I are planning to donate the same amount.”

  Grace’s eyes glistened as she looked at her friend. “You would do that?”

  “We’d sell our house if it would bring Johnny home sooner.”

  Ryan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I don’t know what to say. I’ll call Agent Shepherd to get the word out about the reward.”

  “I’ll do it, Dad,” Steph said and started dialing her phone before she reached the kitchen.

  Craig stood and smoothed his pants. “I’ll get out of your hair. I need to check into my hotel and contact Melanie. She was worried about me coming here.”

  “Smart woman,” Alec said.

  “You don’t have to go. We were about to eat, and we can catch get you up to speed on the investigation,” Grace said. Ryan grimaced, but she ignored him. “You’re family. Please, stay.”

  It was Craig’s turn to tear up. “It’s more than I deserve, but I accept. I’d like to know more than what they’re reporting on the news.”

  “Good, then let’s eat,” Grace said and led her family into the kitchen.

  * * *

  Reid, Prince, and Elliott waited in the van outside the motel for their target to make an appearance. A Richmond PD officer had gotten a tip from one of his informants about the blue car and passed it to Reid. They’d staked out the motel for two hours, but the car hadn’t shown. Reid was beginning to think the tip was a bust.

  He was getting ready to call it when the car pulled into the parking lot and drove behind the motel, out of their line of sight. Prince started the van and followed, but the car was empty by the time they got to the back of the motel.

  “What now?” Elliott whispered. “She got inside pretty fast. Johnny must not have been with her. Do you think it’s the room where the car is parked?”

  “She could have parked in front of a different room to throw us off. We can’t go busting through every door,” Prince said.

  “Mara probably has no idea we’re this close but get the desk clerk out here just in case. We’ll start with the room by the car and go from there. Stay here, Elliott. There’s no way to get out the back, so if she makes a run, she’ll have to come out the front.”

  Prince was back in three minutes with the motel clerk. Reid was climbing out of the van when the motel door in front of the car opened. A rough looking guy in his mid-twenties came out carrying a backpack and unlocked the car. Reid called out for him to stop, but the man tossed the backpack in the car and dove into the driver seat. Reid and Elliott were on him before he got the key in the ignition.

  Elliott cuffed him while Reid and Prince had the clerk unlock the door. The room was small with a tiny bathroom, so it only took seconds to see no one anyone else was inside.

  “Not them,” Prince said. “Doesn’t look like they’ve been here either.”

  Reid went out and slammed the door behind him. “So, who’s our mystery man?”

  “Richmond PD has a unit in the vicinity. They’re on their way,” Elliott said. “Turns out they’ve been looking for Amos here for some time. He hit a liquor store and shot the clerk. The victim is alive but just barely.”

  “So, Amos, you might be looking at a murder charge to add to armed robbery,” Reid said and left Amos lying face down on the sidewalk with Elliott watching him. “We might as well start looking through the car and room to give Richmond PD a head start. We’ll head back to the office as soon as they get here. I don’t want to waste a second more on this than we have to.”

  * * *

  Reid found Shepherd going over the pharmacy evidence with Michaels just after their dinner break.

  Michaels waved him into his office. “I can tell from your face that I’m not going to like what you have to tell me.”

  Reid went in and leaned against the desk with his arms folded. “Bad news and good news,” he said. “We located the car which the neighbor identified, but it has nothing to do with Mara. Good news is that it was used in an armed robbery and shooting at a liquor store. Led to the capture of Amos Jackson. Richmond PD has been after him for more than a year.”

  “Another dead end is so not what we need,” Shepherd said. “Glad they got Jackson, but this is a blow to our case. Mara could be holding Johnny anywhere in a hundred-mile radius.”

  “And she’s probably ditched any ID tying her to the house she vacated. Who knows how many ID’s or disguises she has, and now she has enough of Johnny’s medications to last a month,” Michaels said.

  Reid stroked his beard. “Did she fill all of his prescriptions? If not, she’ll have to crawl out of her hole to get them. If we keep eyes on every pharmacy from that chain in the city, we might get her.”

  “Can you imagine the manpower that would require?” Michaels asked.

  Reid dug through the stack of papers until he found Johnny’s pharmacy records. “There are two medications Mara won’t be able to fill until next week. That’s much further off than I’d like, but if we haven’t captured her by then, we could use locals to
augment my team. Is there a way to red-flag Johnny’s account if Mara attempts to get refills?”

  “I’ll get the techs working on it with the pharmacy, but it’s a long shot. Like you said, she has a week’s cushion, so we’ll keep it as plan D. We need a plan A.” Michaels said.

  “Working on it, sir. If we’re done here, I’ll take the unpleasant task of informing the Walkers. And I know, put a good spin on it,” Reid said.

  “No, call first. If Grace is willing, I want her to go over the security footage tonight. I told her to come in the morning, but I don’t want to wait. We can’t waste time chasing the wrong person,” Michaels said. “Shepherd, I know it’s been a long day, but have the footage ready in the tech lab when she gets here.”

  “Yes, sir,” Shepherd said and brushed past Reid on her way out.

  Reid followed her and went to call Grace.

  * * *

  Grace sat next to Steph, staring at the computer monitor. She’d been there for thirty minutes and was already having a hard time keeping her eyes focused. She’d been excited to get Reid’s call, and Steph had jumped at the chance to go back to the field office with her, but the reality of scanning through the security camera videos was nothing like she’d imagined. As much as she wanted to ID Mara, it was ten-thirty and studying the feed was about as exciting as watching grass grow.

  Agent Shepherd had started the video from the mark forty-five minutes before Grace got the text alert. Grace had watched ten or twelve customers approach the pharmacy counter, but none had looked remotely like Mara. Watching the unsuspecting, anonymous people made Grace uneasy. They had no idea they were being filmed, and she felt like a creeper.