Love Inspired Suspense May 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Trail of EvidenceGone MissingLethal Exposure

by Lynette Eason

  Mercy took off like a shot to the edge of the road. Brooke followed her at a fast trot, the detective staying with her. “You got this call, huh?” he asked. “They take you off the other case?”

  “Of course not. I’m just like you. I work more than one case at a time.”

  Mercy stopped, went to the edge of the road and into the trees.

  “She any good?” David asked.

  “One of the best.” He glanced at her then back at the dog. “Mercy can find evidence that’s left behind. Her nose is super sensitive.”

  “I know how the dogs work.”

  “Right.” He might think he knew, but Brooke had a feeling he didn’t know details. Mercy sifted through the scents all around them and found the one that didn’t fit.

  “Sorry. I know how they work. I’m not used to working with them, that’s all,” the detective said.

  “It’s fine.”

  Mercy paced, then sat and looked back. Brooke went to her and rubbed her ears. “Good girl.”

  “What did she find?”

  “You have an evidence bag?”

  He handed one to her.

  With her gloved hand, she reached out and picked up the evidence Mercy had focused on. “It’s a pearl earring.”

  “They came this way then.”

  “Yes.”

  “If it was them.”

  “It was. If the earring had been out here for an extended period of time, its scent would have blended with the surroundings. The fact that she picked up on a scent that doesn’t belong says the earring is a new addition to the area.”

  The detective patted Mercy’s head. “Well, you’re a good one.” Mercy rewarded his praise with a tongue swipe to the hand. Detective Delvecchio looked startled, then laughed. Brooke handed him a bottle of hand sanitizer without a word. He used it and handed it back to her. She smiled.

  They made their way back to the road. Brooke led the way, Mercy at her left, the detective on her right. Mercy gave a sudden yelping cry and sat, her paw lifted. Brooke spun. “What is it?”

  “What happened to her?” the detective asked.

  “I don’t know.” Mercy held her paw away from the ground and refused to stand. Brooke dropped to her knees. “What did you step on, girl?”

  Brooke took the dog’s paw in her hand and tried to see, but Mercy kept pulling it away from her. She sighed. “Well, I guess we’re going to see Jonas a lot sooner than we’d planned.”

  In spite of her worry over Mercy, the thought lifted her spirits higher than they’d been all day.

  SEVENTEEN

  Jonas stood at the window waiting. Brooke had called and said Mercy had been hurt and he’d told her to bring the dog in. His imagination took flight. Had she been shot protecting Brooke? Had Brooke been in danger? His breath whooshed out when Brooke turned in to the parking lot of the office. She flashed her badge at the officers and they waved her in.

  Clients had come and gone all morning, eyes wide, curiosity eating at them. Jonas had been vague in his answers to their questions.

  Brooke stepped from the vehicle then opened the back door. She lifted Mercy into her arms and staggered slightly under the dog’s weight. Jonas went to help, but the officer motioned him back. “We don’t want you out here. You’d be too exposed.”

  Jonas chafed at the constraints. “Then help her with the dog.”

  The larger officer, who stood about six feet two, took Mercy from Brooke.

  “Thanks,” she told him.

  “Bring her back here,” Jonas said.

  The officer carried Mercy with ease and gently laid her on the examination table, then left them alone in the room.

  Jonas looked at Brooke. “What happened to her?”

  “I think she stepped on something. Either that or she got stung by a bee or—” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was that serious, but she wouldn’t let me look at it.”

  Jonas reached for the paw that the animal favored. Mercy whined and pulled away from him. He frowned. “I’m going to have to sedate her.”

  Brooke sighed. “Fine. She’s not going to let you touch her without it, I’m afraid.”

  He patted the dog’s head. “I’ll be back in a minute and we’ll get you all fixed up.”

  “Where’s Claire?”

  He paused at the door. “I told her not to come in today. I just didn’t want her in the middle of all the craziness.”

  “You’ve been handling the office by yourself all morning?”

  “Yes.” He gave her a weary smile.

  “No wonder you look beat.”

  “Thanks.”

  She grabbed his hand. “No. I need to thank you.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I’ll be right back.”

  Brooke let him go this time.

  When he returned he had a syringe. Brooke held the dog while Jonas administered the medicine. He noticed her tenderness with her friend, her partner. He also noticed Brooke smelled good. Really good in spite of whatever work she’d been doing.

  Soon the drug took effect. Mercy leaned heavily against Brooke and Jonas had to curb his jealousy. He shook his head. Jealous of a dog? He was being ridiculous. “My wife didn’t like animals.”

  Brooke stilled. “Is that why you don’t have one at your home?”

  “Part of the reason.”

  “And the other part?”

  He sighed. He’d opened the door to the topic, he supposed he’d walk through it. “I didn’t want anything to compete with the time I needed to spend with Felix.”

  “And taking care of an animal would keep you from spending time with your son?”

  “I thought it might.”

  “Or it might bring you closer together.”

  He glanced up. “Maybe.”

  “Come on, Jonas, you saw him with those puppies. He was great.”

  “I know.” He did know. “It’s something to think about for sure. When he comes home.”

  “Which is going to be soon.”

  He shook his head, worry consuming him once again. “I’ve put him in God’s hands.”

  “No better place for him to be.”

  “Unfortunately, I keep taking him back, convinced that I can do a better job than God when it comes to Felix.” He sighed. “I know that’s not true, I’ve just got to live like I believe it.” He nodded at Mercy. “I think I’ll be able to take a look now.”

  Mercy’s eyes were closed and a light snore slipped from her. He leaned in to get a closer look at the animal’s wounded paw. “Aha.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s not a thorn or a bee sting, but just as painful.” He reached for a pair of tweezers, pulled a magnifying glass down over his eye and gently pulled a sliver of glass from Mercy’s paw. The dog didn’t even move. Jonas held up the piece of glass. “No wonder she was in pain and didn’t want to put weight on that foot.”

  Brooke laid the dog on the table and stroked her head. Mercy stirred enough to give Brooke’s hand a lick, then fell back into a doze. Jonas threw the glass in the trash. “I’ll clean it and take a stitch. She’ll be all right in a day or two.”

  “I’m glad it was something so simple.”

  “Yeah. We haven’t had much of simple lately.”

  Twenty minutes later, Jonas had Mercy settled on a blanket in a kennel at the back of the office. He shut the door. “She’ll sleep it off and be ready to go in the morning.”

  “Thanks so much, Jonas.”

  He looked into her grateful eyes and felt his heart flip over. He curled his fingers into a fist to keep from reaching out to her. Not yet. Not while Felix’s whereabouts were still up in the air.

  She bit her lip and turned away as though reading his thoughts. “I’ll let Gavin know what’s happened.” She glanced at her watch. “I probably need to get back to my office and get some paperwork done or I’ll be spending the night there.”

  “Go on. I’ll take care of Mercy.”

  “I know you wil
l.”

  His phone rang as she gathered her things. “Hello?”

  “Dr. Parker, this is Officer Davenport. We were patrolling past your house and noticed your front door open.”

  “What?” he snapped.

  At his sharp tone, Brooke looked at him. He told her what the officer said.

  She frowned. “Ask him if someone is inside?”

  He repeated the question to the officer. “No, sir. We swept the place, but you might want to come home and see if anything’s missing.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  *

  Brooke drove with precision and one eye on the rearview mirror. Leaving Mercy behind felt like she’d just cut off her right arm, but the drugged dog would be much more comfortable sleeping it off in the kennel than being transported in the back of the car.

  Jonas rode beside her, his heavy frown and brooding eyes reflecting his inner turmoil. “I need to be searching for my son.”

  “We’re looking for him, Jonas. What do you think you could do that the cops aren’t doing?”

  He shook his head and blew out a harsh sigh. “I don’t know. Something. I can’t believe he could just disappear like that.”

  He could disappear like that if he were dead. Brooke kept her eyes on the road and her thoughts to herself. But the more time passed with no word about the teen, the more her mind went to dark places. “Did you try calling his friends again?”

  “Yes. I’m sure a couple of the parents think Felix is just a runaway.” He tapped his fingers against his thigh. “And I believe he did leave on his own.”

  “The security video confirms that.”

  He nodded. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need help.”

  “I agree. I think he needs help more than ever right now.”

  “I’m scared to death the wrong people are going to find him.”

  “I know.” She turned in to his drive. The front door still stood cracked open and Brooke could see someone standing just inside. The person peered out, then stepped onto the porch. Brooke figured it was the officer whose empty squad car sat on the curb. He motioned them in and Jonas bolted from the vehicle. Brooke stayed right behind him, her nerves stretched tight. Would they never catch a break?

  She followed Jonas through the front door and the officer shut it behind them. “Okay, we’ve gone through the house and found nothing damaged, no electronics obviously missing, but we need you to walk through and see if there’s anything small that’s been taken, anything that I wouldn’t notice.”

  Jonas rubbed a hand down his face. Brooke noticed the smoky smell had faded almost completely, the big fans left by the restoration company having done their job.

  Jonas walked through the house and Brooke stayed behind him. “See anything missing or just not right?”

  “Not so far.”

  They passed through the den, toured the kitchen, then back into the foyer and up the stairs to the master bedroom. She waited outside the room, but couldn’t help a curious glance inside. Large oak furniture, dark browns and beiges and a few red throw pillows on the perfectly made-up bed. Dark curtains and black rug on the floor. It definitely needed a woman’s touch and Brooke already had it redecorated by the time he joined her in the hall.

  She gulped and ordered herself to focus on the task at hand. “Nothing?”

  “No.” He slipped past her and into Felix’s room. It looked the same as it had the last she’d been in here. Jonas simply stood in the doorway and looked. She watched him scan the room.

  And frown.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “There was a sweatshirt tossed over the back of his footboard. Next to the jeans and hoodie.” He picked them up then set it back where he found it.

  “How do you know the sweatshirt’s missing?”

  “Because I put it there.”

  “Maybe Felix moved it?”

  He shook his head. “No, he hasn’t been back in his room since we moved over to the office. I grabbed some clothes for him after the whole Molotov cocktail and smoke explosion, but it wasn’t that sweatshirt and Felix hasn’t been here.” He rubbed his chin. “Do you have pictures of his room? A cop took pictures the night of the breakin.”

  “Fiona will have them. She has everything related to the case.” Brooke pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit Fiona’s speed dial number.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Hey, I need the pictures from the Parker scene.”

  “Coming your way. Any pictures in particular?”

  “The ones of the teenager’s bed and the clothes on it.”

  “Check your phone in about two minutes.”

  “Thanks, Fiona.”

  “Anytime.”

  Brooke hung up and waited. Less than the promised two minutes later, it buzzed. She pulled up the pictures and Jonas leaned over her shoulder to see. Her awareness meter shot to the top level. His breath brushed her ear and she swallowed. Why did he affect her so? Even more so than the first time she’d seen him again. Had that just been a couple of days? It felt as though they were picking up right where they’d left off. She shivered and he rested a hand on her shoulder.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.” She scrolled through the photos, noting the slight tremble in her fingers. She hoped Jonas didn’t notice.

  “There,” he said.

  She stopped. “That one?” She pointed to the blue sweatshirt draped over the foot of the bed. Next to a pair of jeans and a gray hoodie. Just like Jonas said.

  “That’s it. It’s missing.”

  “So while you were at work and the police coverage on your house was minimal, someone snuck in and stole the sweatshirt. Why?”

  “Maybe Felix was cold and had one of his friends steal it.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t know.”

  “Or he came back and got it himself.”

  “I hope so, I pray he did,” Jonas said.

  It would mean he was moving under his own steam, that he wasn’t being held captive somewhere. “You know, the fact that there’s been no ransom demand, that’s a good thing. If the people who want the phone knew Felix was missing, even if they didn’t have him, they might act like they did and demand you give him the phone.”

  “Or he told them he handed it over to the police and doesn’t have it anymore and they have no use for him so they—” He bit his lip and turned away.

  Brooke grimaced. She’d thought of that scenario, she just hadn’t wanted to say it out loud. “Just in case, let’s not let on that Felix doesn’t have the phone anymore. I was going to suggest a press conference to announce that the phone had been found and was in the unit’s possession, but now I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not yet. Not until we find Felix and make sure he’s not using the fact that he had the phone as a way to stay alive until help can get to him.”

  Jonas nodded, a sick look on his face. “What if he’s already told them he doesn’t have it?”

  Brooke blew out a long sigh. “Then he might be in serious trouble.”

  EIGHTEEN

  Early the next morning, Jonas hung up with Nicholas after getting an update on the search for Felix. Nothing yet. He turned to grab his jacket when his phone rang for the second time in ten minutes. He glanced at the caller ID, praying for a number he didn’t recognize. An unfamiliar number might mean Felix had found or borrowed a phone and decided to call.

  But he knew the number and his hopes plummeted. “Hi, Claire.”

  “I’m happy to hear your voice, too.”

  He winced. “Sorry. I was hoping you were Felix.”

  “Of course you were.” Her voice softened and sympathy flowed through the line. “I’m sorry.”

  “No problem.”

  “Have you heard anything about him? Has anyone found anything at all that might indicate where he is?”

  “No, but the officers were out looking all night and I’m staying right by my phone in case he calls again.”
He sighed. “I was just getting ready to head to the office. Are you already there?”

  “I came in. I can’t sit at home doing nothing, you know that.”

  “I know. I don’t know what I’d do without you. All right. Is there an officer in sight?”

  “Yes. Two of them. Parked right out front. They got here about the same time I did.”

  “Good. You should be safe enough, then. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  He hung up with Claire and started gathering his wallet and keys when he remembered Chase was probably in his kitchen. Jonas descended the steps and found the man sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. “Morning,” he said.

  Jonas nodded. “Morning.”

  Chase hefted the mug. “Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Are you kidding? You can help yourself to anything you need or want. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all you guys are doing to find Felix and keep me safe.”

  Chase’s expression relaxed a fraction. “You’re welcome. We’ve had guys out all night looking for him. They want a good ending to this story, too.”

  “I know. And I know it’s probably just all in a day’s work for you, but—” He shrugged and grabbed his silver travel mug from the sink. After he filled it with the black brew, he took a sip and breathed in a grateful breath.

  A knock on his door pulled Chase from his chair. His hand went to his weapon and he started for the door. “Brooke said she’d come get you this morning, so it’s probably her, but we don’t need to take any chances.”

  Tension threaded across Jonas’s shoulders. He was ready for this to be over, for his son to be home. To catch whoever was causing the problems and get this burden off his shoulders.

  “It’s me,” Brooke said.

  Jonas shifted and set his cup on the counter. Brooke walked into the kitchen and their eyes met. As always, that special zing whipped through him. He blinked and waved to the coffeepot. “Chase was the hero this morning. May I offer you a cup?”

  “Sure.”

  He filled her cup and handed it to her. “Are you ready to go see Mercy?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Claire called me. She’s there now.”

  Chase stepped to the door. “I’m going to head back to the office. Let me know if you need anything else.”