Missing in Blue Mesa
Page 10
She hadn’t used a computer in months. A couple of times since joining up with Metwater, she had looked up things on the desktop units at the local library—mostly checking for any updates on Cass’s or David Metwater’s deaths.
An internet search for the names Daniel Metwater and David Metwater pulled up a number of articles, some familiar, some new to her. A small article in an alternative Chicago paper caught her eye. Entitled “The Making of a Prophet,” it detailed Daniel Metwater’s transformation from industrialist to evangelist. “Metwater says the death of his twin affected him deeply and made him see the futility of his materialistic way of life. He longed for peace and found it in a retreat to the wilderness. Afterward, he felt called to teach others the lessons he had learned.
“However, our search revealed the Prophet did not divest himself of his worldly goods. In fact, his fortune has increased since he began leading his group of followers in the Colorado wilderness. One requirement of joining the group is that members contribute their possessions to the Family—of which Metwater is head. His latest coup is the recruitment of prominent socialite Andi Matheson. Daughter of the late Senator Pete Matheson, Andi has a personal fortune estimated at several million dollars. Much of that money is tied up in trusts that will revert to her—and presumably to Metwater—when she turns thirty later this year.”
Michelle printed off this article. She wondered if Asteria would be so favored after she turned thirty and signed over all her millions to Daniel Metwater.
She scrolled through more articles, reading about the brothers’ inheritance of their father’s manufacturing millions, about David’s murder and rumors of embezzlement from the family firm and ties to the Russian Mafia. Daniel Metwater presented himself as the squeaky-clean son, the good twin who had only tried to help his brother and now grieved his passing.
She found a couple of articles about Cass—only one mentioned that the hotel room she was found in after she died had been rented to David Metwater. After a few days her name disappeared from the news altogether, forgotten by all but those, like Michelle, who had loved her.
She was so absorbed in her research, she failed to notice anything going on around her. Only when Ethan stopped by her desk did she look up, blinking. “Something’s come up,” he said, and the grim expression on his face made her heart pound.
She half rose from the chair, then sank down again, too wobbly to stand. “What is it?” she asked. “Have they found Hunter? Is he—?”
“We haven’t found him.” He gripped her shoulder, his eyes locked to hers. “As far as we know, he’s all right. But we’ve received a note.”
“A note?” She looked around, confused.
Simon joined them and handed her a single sheet of paper, encased in a plastic envelope. “This came in the mail a few minutes ago. Postmarked in Montrose, addressed to you, in care of this office.”
She blinked, bringing the block letters typed on the paper into focus:
WE HAVE YOUR KID. WE WANT ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR HIS SAFE RETURN. TELL YOUR RICH FRIENDS TO PAY UP OR YOU’LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN.
Chapter Ten
Ethan took the note from Michelle. Her hand trembled and all the color had drained from her face. “Is this a ransom note?” she asked. “For a million dollars?” She shook her head. “Why would anyone think I have that kind of money?”
“Who are these rich friends the note mentions?” Simon asked.
“I don’t have any rich friends,” she said.
“What about Andi Matheson?” Simon asked. “Asteria. You and she shared a tent at Metwater’s camp.”
“Yes, but—I never thought of her as rich.”
“She is,” Simon said. “Though most of the money is in a trust, she still has access to some of it.”
“Or Metwater does,” Ethan said. “Don’t his followers sign over their money to him?”
“Then maybe Metwater is the rich friend they’re referring to.”
“Who sent this?” Michelle asked.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Simon took the letter from Ethan. “Do you have any ideas?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s crazy.”
Simon tapped the evidence envelope against his palm. “Metwater seems pretty money-motivated to me,” he said. “Maybe this is a ploy to get at some of Asteria’s money outside of the funds that are tied up in her trust.”
“I don’t know why he would need to do that,” Michelle said. “She would give him anything he wanted.”
“Are you sure about that?” Ethan asked. “If she knows he’s cheating on her, maybe withholding money would be a way for her to get back at him.”
“Or maybe he thinks she could break the trust for something like this,” Simon said. “I think we should bring him in for questioning.”
“You’re going to bring him here?” Michelle asked. “He won’t like that.”
“Good,” Ethan said. “I want to make him as uncomfortable as possible.”
“And while he’s here, we’ll send a team out to the camp again,” Simon said. “Maybe without Metwater around, his followers will be more likely to answer our questions honestly.”
“I guess getting this ransom note is a good thing, right?” she asked. “It means Hunter is still alive, and not wandering alone in the wilderness—or worse.”
The yearning in her expression tore at Ethan. He wanted to lie to her, to tell her that yes, that was the case. But kidnappers were just as likely to ask for ransom for someone who was already dead. Or some people might try to make money by capitalizing on something they had only heard about on the news. He didn’t want to raise Michelle’s hopes, only to have them dashed later. “We don’t know,” he said. “I hope so, but we can’t be sure.”
She nodded. “The note didn’t say anything about how I’m supposed to get in touch with the kidnappers, or how to get the money to them—if I could come up with such a crazy sum.”
“They’ll probably follow up with another note or a phone call,” Simon said. “We’ll be ready when that happens. We’ll try to trace the call. A letter will be tougher, but we’ll do what we can to try to track down the sender.”
“What do I tell them when they get in touch?”
“We’ll give you a script to follow,” Ethan said. “And we’ll be right there with you. You don’t have to deal with this on your own.”
She nodded, but he had the sense she didn’t really believe him. Hunter was her child—this was her private pain. He couldn’t ease her suffering or take that burden from her, though each day he knew her he wanted to do that more and more.
She was a tough, prickly person who seemed to go out of her way to keep others at a distance, but he had glimpsed the sweetness she carried deep inside her. He wanted to find a way to show her that it was safe to let that side of her show more—to let other people into her life.
To let him in.
* * *
ETHAN AND SIMON, with Marco Cruz and Michael Dance as backup, drove to Metwater’s camp at the base of Mystic Mesa to bring him in for questioning. “You know he’s going to put up a fight,” Simon said as he pulled his cruiser into the parking area for the camp.
“I hope he does,” Ethan said. “I’d like an excuse to give him a little taste of what he dealt to Michelle.”
“I hear you.” Simon checked his Glock, then slid it back into the holster at his hip. “I’m not so concerned about Metwater—I think he’s mostly talk and a coward. Guys that target women and children usually are. But he keeps a bunch of young muscle around him. They’re the ones we need to watch out for.”
“We can handle them.” Marco tapped the stun gun on his belt.
Ethan glanced up the path toward camp. “My guess is he knows we’re here by now. He’ll have had lookouts.”
“Let’s go,” Simon said, and led the way up
the path.
The compound looked deserted, all the trailers and tents shut tight, an eerie silence hanging over the clearing. A breeze stirred a child’s beach ball in front of one trailer, and laundry flapped on a line hung between two trees, but the camp looked abandoned. “Do you think Metwater orders them to hide when the cops show up, or is it just their guilty consciences at work?” Simon asked, looking around.
“They’re watching us,” Ethan said. He walked up to the door of the motor home and knocked. No answer. Michael and Marco moved around to the back of the RV, just in case Metwater decided to duck out a window. Ethan knocked again. “Open up, Metwater,” he called. “We need to talk to you.”
The door opened, faster than Ethan had expected. He had his gun drawn before Metwater stepped out. Metwater scowled. “Are you planning to shoot me?”
Ethan eased the gun back into the holster and struggled to control his breathing. “We need you to come with us to Ranger Brigade Headquarters,” he said.
“No.” Metwater folded his arms across his chest and scowled.
“You don’t even know why we want you there,” Simon said.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going.”
“We weren’t making a suggestion.” Simon took hold of Metwater’s arm, but the Prophet shook him off.
A muscular young man stepped out of the motor home behind Metwater. He didn’t say anything but stood next to the Prophet, muscles flexed.
“Don’t even think of trying anything,” Simon said. He unclipped the stun gun from his belt and reached for Metwater’s arm again. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Don’t touch me!” Metwater jerked back and spat the words, his face flushed with rage. “You have no right.” The muscle lunged for Simon and the Ranger fired the stun gun, the prongs catching the young man in the shoulder. He groaned and staggered back, then fell backward into the motor home.
Metwater stared at his bodyguard, who was writhing on the floor as Simon knelt beside him.
“We need you to come to headquarters and answer a few questions,” Ethan said. “Cooperate and you could be back in time for dinner.”
“And if I don’t cooperate?”
“Then we’ll charge you with impeding a police investigation and take you into custody,” Ethan said.
“I don’t have time to go with you now,” Metwater said. “I’m preparing for an important presentation I’m giving in Omaha next week.”
“You won’t be going anywhere next week if you don’t cooperate,” Simon said. He had removed the stun gun leads from the young man and left him in the care of a young woman, who had emerged from the back of the motor home, possibly from the bedroom.
“Where’s Asteria?” Ethan asked.
“She isn’t here.” Metwater glanced at the young woman. She looked up at him with a worshipful expression that made Ethan a little queasy.
“Where is she?” Simon asked, menace in his voice.
“I sent her away for a while. All this turmoil wasn’t good for her.”
“Where did you send her?” Simon moved closer, crowding Metwater up against the doorjamb.
“That’s none of your business.”
Simon’s body tensed. Ethan was sure his fellow officer was going to deck Metwater—or hit him with the reloaded stun gun. He stepped between them. “People seem to have a way of disappearing from your camp lately,” Ethan said. “First Hunter Munson, now Andi Matheson. You need to tell us where she is.”
Metwater pressed his lips together and remained silent.
Simon turned to the young woman, who still knelt on the floor beside the young man, who was sitting up now, and glaring at the two officers. “Where is Asteria?” Simon asked.
“I... I don’t know,” the young woman said. “She and the Prophet left this morning. She took a suitcase with her. He returned a couple of hours ago.”
“Did she go willingly?” Simon asked. “Was she upset or afraid?”
“She seemed okay to me,” the young woman said. “It’s hard to tell with her, though. She’s not the warm and friendly type.”
“What did they leave in?” Ethan asked. “Did someone drive them?”
“The Prophet drove.” The young man spoke, with the nasal, clipped tones of the upper Midwest. “He used that old beater Starfall used to drive.”
“We’ll get a team in to search the car,” Simon said, his gaze fixed on Metwater. “If we find anything suspicious, all the lawyers in Colorado won’t be able to help you.”
Ethan took hold of Metwater’s arm. The man tried to resist, but Ethan held tight. Simon took hold of his other arm, pulled it behind him and snapped on the cuffs. “Am I under arrest?” Metwater asked.
“You’re a person of interest,” Ethan said. “We need you to answer some questions about the disappearance of Hunter Munson and Andi Matheson.”
“Asteria hasn’t disappeared. She’s perfectly safe. And I already told you I don’t know anything about Hunter.”
“We’ve had a new development in the case,” Ethan said. “We need your input.”
“I don’t have to talk to you. I want my lawyer.”
“You can call him from headquarters.” Ethan nudged him forward, toward the steps.
Marco and Michael rejoined them in front of the motor home. “Question anyone you can find in camp,” Simon said. “See if any of them know where Andi Matheson went this morning.”
“She’s resting and doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Metwater said.
“Tell us where she is and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble,” Ethan said.
“You’re the ones who are going to be in trouble once I get hold of my lawyer,” Metwater said.
Ethan tugged him toward the cars. “I’m more worried about Ms. Matheson than I am about your lawyers,” he said.
Metwater clammed up then, and Ethan tucked him in the back of the cruiser. Neither he nor Simon spoke on the long ride back to Ranger Headquarters, though Ethan sensed his partner’s agitation. They had left Michael and Marco to deal with the other residents of camp, and to wait for the crime scene team to search Michelle’s car. He only hoped they would turn up something positive.
At Ranger Headquarters, they led Metwater into the conference room. “I want to call my lawyer,” he said as Simon uncuffed him.
“Fine. Tell him you’re a person of interest in the disappearances of Hunter Munson and of Andi Metwater,” Ethan said. “And tell him we want to know why you sent a ransom note for a million dollars to Hunter’s mother.”
He had hoped to catch Metwater off guard with the accusation, but the Prophet’s response was not at all what he expected. Metwater dropped into a chair, his face pale. “A ransom note? What are you talking about?”
“Show him,” Ethan said.
Simon retrieved the evidence envelope and held it up in front of Metwater. “Look familiar?”
Metwater scanned the note, his expression growing more agitated by the second. He jumped up from the chair. “Those idiots!” he shouted, and tried to push past Ethan.
Ethan didn’t think; he reacted. He landed a punch that dropped Metwater to his knees, and the Prophet toppled to the floor, out cold.
Chapter Eleven
Michelle hated being stuck in this back office with a computer, unable to hear or see what was going on elsewhere in Ranger Headquarters. But Ethan had stressed that she couldn’t be involved in questioning Daniel Metwater, and it would be better for everyone if he didn’t even know she was here.
She guessed she could understand that—but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to keep tabs on what both Metwater and the Rangers were up to. Yes, Ethan and the other Rangers had been great with her so far, but they were still cops, and she didn’t trust them to put her interests first. Only she could do that.
So when she hear
d the hum of conversation in the front room rise, she crept to the door of the office where they had put her and peeked out. Sure enough, Daniel Metwater stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by Rangers. The angry, arrogant expression on his face made her stomach churn. She wanted to launch herself at him and demand he tell her what he had done with her son—to kick and scratch and destroy him the way he was trying to destroy her.
Ethan took Metwater’s arm and led him toward the conference room. Only then did she see that the Prophet’s hands were handcuffed behind him, and giddy relief staggered her. She clung to the doorjamb while relief surged through her. If they had Metwater in cuffs, that must mean they had arrested him. Had they found some proof linking him to Hunter’s disappearance? Would she be reunited with her son soon?
She forced herself to remain quiet and hidden as Ethan and Simon led Metwater into the conference room and shut the door. She had to give them time to question him—to make him tell them what he had done with Hunter.
Eyes closed, forehead pressed against the smooth wood of the door, she tried to picture the reunion with her son. He would smile his beautiful smile and reach out his chubby little arms for her. She would hold him and rock him and breathe deeply of his sweet scent, and reassure him that he was safe.
The door to the conference room opened and Simon emerged. He retrieved something from his desk, then went back in. A few seconds passed, and then a loud shout from the conference room made her jump. Sounds of a struggle, a loud smack, then a thump that shook the floor beneath her feet.
She came out of the office. Lance Carpenter ran past her. “What’s going on?” she asked. He didn’t answer but kept going, so she followed. She burst into the room in time to see Metwater facedown on the floor, Ethan kneeling in the middle of his back, cuffing him. “What happened?” she asked.
Ethan looked up at her. “You aren’t supposed to be here,” he said.
“But I am. So tell me what happened.”
“We showed Metwater the ransom note and he went ballistic,” Simon said.