One Little Lie

by Colleen Coble

  He’d flown the coop.

  She exhaled and shook her head. He knew better, so why would he run instead of facing what was happening, especially after calling her over? Her dad had never been one to run from a fight.

  She wasn’t about to go back into that tunnel, so she hurried along the path back to the house. A misty rain began to fall, and thunder rumbled overhead. She picked up her pace and ran.

  By the time she reached the front porch, the downpour was drenching her hair and clothing. Lightning struck several yards away, and she bounded up the porch.

  Brian and Paul were sitting on porch chairs and the state guys were in their car. Paul leapt up when he saw her. “Where is he?”

  “Gone.” She tried to wipe the rivulets of water from her face, but without a towel, all she did was smear the moisture around.

  “You let him go?”

  “He was escaping when I got in. I tried to catch up with him, but he threw locked doors in my way several times and reached his four-wheeler before I could stop him.”

  “That’s a crock. You let him go!” He reached for the handcuffs at his waist. “I’m arresting you for obstruction.”

  Brian got between the two of them. “Hold up there, Paul. You know Jane better than that. Charles had a head start before she even got here.”

  Paul tried to shoulder past Brian, but Brian held him in place. “You’re acting stupid. You’ll be the one in trouble if you do this. I’ll contradict your statement. And I ran cell data. Charles wasn’t with Gary then.”

  “That’s not proof. He might not have had his cell phone on him.” Paul gritted his teeth and released his grip on the cuffs. “Lisa will hear about this.”

  “You think the mayor’s going to let you run wild in the town? Think again. She wants the law upheld, and you’re not a one-man show. She only suspended Jane because she had no choice. You’re wrong if you think she won’t hold you to just as high standards.”

  Paul huffed and stepped back. “Get out of here, Jane. I don’t want to look at your face. And stay out of my investigation.”

  Jane retreated down the steps to the driveway. There were a million things she could have said to Paul, but he wasn’t in any mind to listen. Where would her dad have gone? She needed to bring him in or things would go even worse for him.

  Maybe Scott Foster would know. Dad likely would have contacted him when he knew the police were about to arrest him. Though she couldn’t see Scott advising her dad to run, he might have gleaned something of her dad’s intentions.

  She dashed through the rain and threw herself into the passenger seat. She turned to Reid. “Let’s get out of here.”

  * * *

  The old WWII battleship, USS Alabama, was one of the most popular attractions in Mobile, and the gunmetal gray ship had always been an iconic sight for Reid when he drove through this area. “My buddy should be in a state police car.”

  The sun was low in the sky, and the air held the fragrance of the sea. Gulls cawed and swooped overhead looking for bits of bread.

  Reid scanned the parking lot. “There he is.” He pointed out the slightly built guy with gray hair getting out of the police car. “Will, you stay here with Parker. Jane and I won’t be long.”

  “Can I go see the ship while you’re talking?”

  “We won’t be that long.” Reid got out into the sultry air left over from the earlier downpour and they hurried toward the state policeman.

  “Thanks, buddy,” Reid said. “I don’t suppose you had a chance to study any footage?”

  “I did, my friend.” Morgan passed along a couple of black-and-white photos. “I recognized Charles Hardy right off. The time stamp reads 2:00 p.m. I found another one when they were exiting at 4:00 p.m. so they were at Lowe’s for two hours.”

  Reid stared at the two pictures. They clearly showed Charles with Elizabeth. She’d lied. He handed them to Jane, who gave a sharp exhale.

  “Brian ran the data on Dad’s cell phone on Sunday, too, and he wasn’t with Gary. This is proof Dad was telling the truth.”

  “Looks like it.”

  The cop car beside them squawked, and Morgan leaned in to grab the radio. “Gotta go. Hot case.” He sprinted for the big ship to his right.

  Jane’s phone dinged with a message as she turned back toward Reid’s SUV, and she gasped as she looked at her phone. “Harry is missing!”

  “Our Harry? The senator’s grandson?”

  Jane nodded and ran for the vehicle. “I’ll call the senator.”

  He slung himself behind the wheel and waited for her to make the call and decide their destination.

  Will leaned forward in the backseat. “What’s happened to Harry?”

  “We don’t know yet. He’s missing.”

  From her side of the conversation, Jane was being put on hold until she could be connected with the senator. He turned down the radio so she could hear once the conversation started. It seemed like a long time, but it was only about ten minutes before Jane finally spoke.

  “Senator, it’s Jane Hardy. I just got word about Harry. What’s happened, and how can I help?” Jane listened to a lengthy statement on the other end. “We’re at the memorial now. I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and gestured to the ship. “They were having an outing here after a fund-raising luncheon today. Harry had been pestering her to see the USS Alabama. They finished the tour of the ship before they went into the airplane hangar for the other exhibit. She took a quick call but said he was only out of sight a few minutes while he was in line for the flight simulator. Now she can’t find him and is afraid he’s been kidnapped.”

  “Let’s go in there.” Will’s voice was urgent. “Maybe he’s just hiding. He’ll come out for me.”

  She stared at him. “He probably would, and maybe Parker can sniff him out. Come on!”

  They got out and ran for the entry. Several state police cars came screaming into the parking lot, and several officers already had the entrance to the exhibit blocked off. Jane explained she’d just spoken to the senator and had been invited inside. An officer verified that before he motioned them on back.

  Reid had been here before so he walked them through the airplane displays back to the flight simulator where he spotted Senator Fox and her cadre of state policemen. Other cops milled through the planes and exhibits looking for the boy.

  Fox spotted Jane and motioned her and Parker to come closer. Reid and Will followed.

  “I don’t see how anyone could have taken him. It was so fast.” Her voice trembled.

  “Has there been any word on your daughter?” Jane asked. “I never heard about the kidnapper’s demands.”

  “That’s because he never called back. My life has been on hold waiting. Fanny’s vanished without a clue. I can’t lose Harry too.”

  “Do you have anything that belongs to Harry? I can have Parker search.”

  The senator looked down at the dog. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything of Harry’s with me.”

  “Dad, I want to search for him,” Will said.

  “What’s that?” the senator asked.

  “Harry and Will became good buddies. Will thinks if he’s hiding, Harry will come out if he calls.”

  “I’m willing to try anything.” The senator motioned to a policeman. “Take this boy around the hangar and let him call out to Harry.”

  “I’ll go with him.” Reid wasn’t about to let his son out of his sight.

  Reid followed Will and the officer into the nooks and crannies of the hangar. They checked out the flight simulator, and Will’s voice grew increasingly plaintive as he called for Harry.

  “I don’t think he’s here,” Will said.

  Reid’s intuition told him the same thing. Someone had taken the boy. But who? And how?

  They rejoined Jane, who was still with the senator. “No sign of him,” he told them.

  Tears pooled in the senator’s eyes. “Why would someone take Fanny and Harry? It makes no sense.”
<
br />   “Unless they thought you wouldn’t do what they wanted unless they also had Harry,” Jane suggested. “You might be getting another call now that they have him. They might know you and Fanny have some estrangement but that you love Harry dearly.”

  “I love Fanny too,” the senator shot back. “She’s the one who’s pulled away.”

  “Of course.” Jane nodded. “I didn’t mean that you didn’t love her. This might be more about leverage and power over you.”

  “I won’t pay a ransom, of course. The police wouldn’t let me. Surely they know we’re never allowed to negotiate with kidnappers.” She wrung her hands and swayed on her feet. “They have to find them. Can you help?”

  “I’ll do my best, Senator.” Jane hesitated. “One thing you should know is that I’ve been suspended as chief.”

  The senator nodded. “I heard something about that. Ridiculous. I’ll call Mayor Chapman myself and ask her to reinstate you. I think she’ll listen to me. Just find my family.”

  Reid caught her eye and gave her a discreet thumbs-up. Paul wasn’t going to be happy.

  Thirty-One

  The text from Lisa came when they were a mile from the police station.

  Resume your duties as police chief. Lisa

  A smile curved Jane’s lips. “It’s official. Even the mayor can’t buck the senator. I mean, I guess she could, but she wouldn’t.”

  “Congratulations.” Reid’s voice was even, almost deadpan.

  “You don’t approve?”

  He didn’t look her way. “You’re a great chief, but the weight on your shoulders just quadrupled. And Baker isn’t going to make this easy for you.”

  She flicked her wrist in a dismissive wave. “I can handle Paul. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  Reid pulled into the lot and parked. “Here comes Baker now. Looks like he needs some of your special handling.”

  The detective wore a thunderous scowl, and he hadn’t even seen them yet. His stalk toward his car warned people to get out of his way.

  Jane got out into the shimmering heat. “Paul.”

  His thick neck swiveled toward her, and he approached with fisted hands. “You have something over Lisa? Some kind of dirt?”

  “The senator’s grandson has been kidnapped. You find anything helpful?”

  “The senator. I see. She had you reinstated, didn’t she? Smart move, Hardy.”

  “I won’t allow insubordination from you, Paul. Get your head out of your butt and act like a professional. I know you don’t like this, but it’s something out of your control.”

  “And you plan to get your daddy set free, too, don’t you?”

  “I intend to follow the law. That’s all I’ve ever done, but you can’t see past your hate and jealousy. For your information, my dad’s alibi checks out. We have footage of him in Lowe’s for two hours that Sunday afternoon, right during the time the witnesses saw my dad’s boat go out.”

  He ripped his badge from his shirt and threw it on the ground, where it spun in circles before settling onto the pavement. “I quit. I’m not working for you, and I’ll make sure this whole town knows why. You won’t be able to stick your nose in the coffee shop without getting booed.”

  She lifted her chin in a steady gaze. “I think you overestimate your influence, Paul. Clean out your desk.”

  “You clean it out.”

  He stomped to his car, but she followed him and snatched the keys from his hand. “The car is department property. You’ll have to call someone for a ride. Or walk.”

  Red ran up his face and his eyes bulged. His hands came up into claws, and he started for her, but before he could reach her, Reid stepped from behind her and grabbed his arm, then spun him into a headlock. “You need to go home and cool off.”

  Jane hadn’t realized Reid had gotten out of the SUV with her. “I can handle him, Reid. I’m stronger than I look. Let him go.”

  Reid released Paul and shoved him away. Paul stumbled and went down onto one knee on the hot pavement before he sprang back to his feet and turned to face them. He still looked dangerous.

  Paul glared at both of them. “This isn’t over.”

  Jane felt suddenly tired. This hostility had played out so many times over the years. “Why do you hate me so much, Paul? I’ve never done anything to you.”

  He gave an inarticulate noise, then stomped across the street. She watched him enter the coffee shop with a violent thrust of the door.

  “That guy’s deranged,” Reid said.

  “He’s had a burr under his saddle for a long time. I’ve wondered a few times about my sanity in taking this job.” Her legs trembled a bit as the rush of adrenaline subsided. “But let me fight my own battles. I’m not some helpless southern female, you know. This is my job.”

  “And you’re good at it. I apologize if my actions implied I didn’t think you were capable. My feelings got in the way of my common sense.”

  Feelings? She held his gaze for a long moment. The expression in his eyes made her breath catch in her throat. What did he mean? Because she was afraid she was beginning to feel more for him than irritation. A lot more.

  She turned away before she said something she regretted. Or he did. “I want to see what’s happened in our drive down from Mobile. Maybe they’ve found Harry.”

  Together the three of them entered the building and went to her office, where she turned on her computer and had Parker lay down by her feet. She called Brian to her office.

  The big guy was grinning as he strode though the door. “Welcome back, Boss. I thought old Paul was going to have a heart attack when he heard the news.”

  “He quit too.” Jane told Brian about the scene in the parking lot. “I would have had to suspend him for insubordination if he hadn’t.”

  Brian rubbed his big hands together. “Man, I would like to have seen that. Who you going to hire in his place?”

  Hiring someone. Ugh. She hated interviews. “I’ll have to write up an ad. You got anyone in mind?”

  “Yeah. A buddy of mine wants to move out of Pensacola to a smaller town. He’s a detective there.”

  That would make it easy. “Have him send me a résumé. Any updates about the senator’s grandson?”

  He shrugged. “We got nothing. Whoever took the kid managed to get out of the parking lot. State boys are going over video now to see if they can ID the perp and get a description. Maybe a vehicle too. But it’ll take time.”

  And Harry might not have much time. While she knew the full burden of this was on the state police, Jane had felt a connection to Harry and to his grandmother. She wanted to be part of the team that found him.

  * * *

  The sandwich had long ago dried to a brick along with the other sandwiches Fanny’s captors had brought. She’d been in a stupor after three days with no food. Though she’d forced herself to drink the bottles of water, she hadn’t been able to force down the meals.

  She lay curled on the gritty mattress and prayed for death. Nothing she tried had worked. She was useless as a mother, useless as the protector of her son. She deserved to die just as Harry had. Because there was no way her little boy could have survived this long on his own.

  She wanted to cry, but there was no moisture left. Oh, God, let me be with Harry now.

  The smell of the cellar was potent with mildew, and it permeated the cot as well. Would she ever feel sunlight? She wanted to step into heaven and catch Harry in her arms.

  A creak on the floor forced itself past her despair, and she wobbled to a seated position as the door opened for a few brief seconds. It was probably more food she didn’t want. Food would make her stay here longer, away from rejoining her son.

  At a wail her eyes widened, though she couldn’t see anything. “Harry? Harry, is that you?”

  “Mommy?” His voice trembled.

  She crawled out of the cot and nearly fainted from the sudden movement. “I’m here, Harry, right here. Come to my voice, honey.” She tried to move in
his direction, but she was so dizzy she staggered like a drunk.

  Then his hands were around her knees.

  She knelt and gathered him into her arms. Burying her nose in his neck, she drank in his familiar scent. “Oh, honey, I was so scared. You ran just like I told you. Where did you go?”

  She couldn’t lift him in her weakened state, so she scooted with him on the floor back to the cot, where she pulled him onto her lap. His small arms circled her neck, and she wanted never to let him go again. But what did their captors want? Harry would be frightened. He hated the dark.

  He nuzzled into her neck. “I ran fast, Mommy. I had my backpack so I had some snacks with me. I hid in the woods and slept there until I got too hungry. Then I found the road and walked to town. You always said to find the police, so I did. There wasn’t anyone at the desk, so I found a closet to hide in. A big kid helped me.”

  “A big kid?”

  “His name is Will.”

  The only Will she knew was Reid’s son. Was it possible Reid and Will had protected Harry? If so, how had he ended up here? “Then what happened?”

  “Grammy came to get me. She was sad because we couldn’t find you. She had lots of people looking for you.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  Her mother had been right all along about Gary, and if she ever saw her mother again, Fanny intended to tell her so. And apologize for being such a jerk to her.

  It didn’t take any prompting for Harry to continue his tale. “We were looking at the ship, and I wanted to see inside an airplane. There was a bad man in there, and he stuck me in a sack.”

  She had so many questions, but Harry wouldn’t know the answers. “And they brought you here.” She felt him nod. “Did you recognize anyone?”

  “No, and I didn’t even cry when the man said he’d bring me to you.” His arms tightened around her neck. “I missed you so much, Mommy. Don’t ever leave me again.”

  “I won’t,” she promised, though she had no idea what the future held.