by Rita Herron
The couple clung to each other, nodding, accepting the hope she offered because they had nothing else to do. Because they wouldn’t give up, just like Brody hadn’t. Julie thought about other cases she’d worked, about her and Brody and the night Will had gone missing.
A large percentage of couples who lost children fell apart.
Just as she and Brody had.
She hoped this couple made it. If they found Hank, and she was determined that they would, he was going to need both of them to recover from his ordeal.
Just like Will needed Brody now. All the more reason Brody had to remain strong.
And all the more reason she had to remain focused on the case.
“You’ll call us the minute he talks, the minute you know anything about our son?” Mr. Forte asked.
“Of course,” Julie said. “I promise you I won’t give up until I find him.”
The couple stood, both trembling and holding on to one another, and she and Brody walked them to the elevator.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, Brody sighed, a pained sound that tore at her heart.
She looked over at him and wanted to take him in her arms and hold him, promise him everything would be all right.
But they’d both learned long ago that wishes didn’t always come true, that bad things happened.
The fact that Will had disappeared proved it. The bruises on him and his cold, closed demeanor only reinforced that he’d suffered a severe trauma.
“I need to see him again before I go,” Brody said.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Please, Julie. He’s my kid brother and he’s been through hell. I just want to make sure he’s all right.”
Normally Julie would refuse, but this was Brody and she felt his pain as if it was her own. So she led him down the hall through another hall and an elevator that led to the holding cells.
Julie explained that Kyle would be confined until they finished interrogating him and then he’d be moved to a regular prison. Still, Brody tensed as she escorted him through security and they reached the cell.
She tried to see the place through Brody’s eyes. To her, the TBI was business.
But she’d never had anyone she cared about locked inside, and she knew that could be unnerving.
Then she spotted Will in the cell and her stomach clenched. He was lying on the cot facing the wall, his body tucked almost in a fetal position.
“Will?” Brody said quietly.
But Will showed no response.
“I’m here if you want to talk.”
Brody lingered, his tormented expression tearing at Julie.
“We’re both here if you need us,” Julie said.
“She’s right,” Brody said. “I won’t let you down this time.”
But Will still remained motionless, his face turned away from them.
Finally Brody released a deep sigh and Julie walked him back toward the elevator. He paused at the door, then wiped perspiration from his brow.
“God,” Brody murmured in a choked whisper. “What did that bastard do to him?”
* * *
KYLE STARED at the scratches on the wall, counting them just like he did when he was at home. He had to do something to make his mind stop thinking.
His pulse began to pound, that sick feeling rising in his throat again. What would the people do to him here if he didn’t talk?
But how could he?
If he told them about their father, the police would storm their compound. It was a compound, he’d decided a long time ago, not a home. The outbuildings where his father kept them were stalls like on a ranch. The floors dirt. The walls battered wood. Then concrete in their new compound. They hadn’t been there long.
He was stupid to get caught. So stupid. Father would not tolerate his failure again. He’d punish him before he put him in the ground like he did the others who defied him.
His stomach clenched. He didn’t care if he died. Sometimes he’d even begged for it.
Especially when he had to go in the hole.
He hated the dark pit. He couldn’t breathe there, couldn’t see or hear anything, couldn’t do anything but think about the fear and fight the darkness...
He hadn’t been there in a while. But the new brother was there now.
Suddenly he felt like he was suffocating again. He opened his mouth and struggled for a breath.
The hole was where you went when you were bad.
And he’d been bad a lot.
But he didn’t want the others to suffer because he was bad now.
The pretty woman’s face flashed in his mind. She had a soft voice. Eyes that reminded him of glittering stars. And a smile that reminded him of someone... Someone, but he didn’t remember who.
She said his name was Will. That she’d known him long ago.
But his name wasn’t Will. It was Kyle.
And that other man with the big cowboy hat. Brody Bloodworth.
He claimed he was his brother.
But that was wrong. His brothers lived on the compound. His father picked them because they were special. Because their families didn’t want them anymore.
At least that’s what he told the new ones.
Had he told him that when he’d first come to live with him? He didn’t remember. All he remembered was the voice coming through the pipe in the hole...the voice telling him he was bad.
He closed his eyes, tried to think of a way to escape. He had to go home, beg his father not to hurt the little ones.
The cries of that woman, Hank’s mama, and his daddy’s questions reverberated in his head, and his eyes stung. They said their son had gone missing. That they loved him and wanted him back.
It was Hank.
He was the kid in the picture the lady had shown him.
The blond kid with the crooked teeth.
But Father said his name was Davis.
Still, the little boy had screamed that it was Hank. Over and over he’d cried that name.
Kyle curled his body tighter, wrapped his arms around his knees. He couldn’t trust the police or these people. He couldn’t trust anyone.
If his father even thought they were coming to the compound, he’d put them all in the hole. He might even leave them there and start his family over.
Just like he’d done before.
No, he couldn’t tell the police or anyone.
He had to find a way to escape.
It was the only way he could save Hank and the others.
Chapter Eight
Brody couldn’t sleep that night.
He and Julie had picked up burgers and carried them to their hotel, and he’d said good night to her at her room, then retreated to his own.
Alone.
Being near her again was playing havoc on his senses. Her sweet feminine smell, the way the light glowed off her golden hair making it look like silk, the husky sound of her voice when she spoke his name—all those things taunted him with what-ifs.
What if they had stuck together seven years ago? Would they have a family of their own now?
Would she be a TBI agent?
God, seeing her with that gun was sexy as hell. But it also instilled a fear in him that he didn’t know how to deal with. Every time she went out on a case she put her life on the line.
Dammit. He poured a cup of coffee from the pot in the room, then stared at the sunlight streaming through.
His thoughts turned to Will, and how desolate he’d looked lying on that cot. What was going on in his brother’s mind? What had the person who’d kidnapped him done to him over the years?
Did Will’s abductor have that little boy Hank?
Stories of sexual and physical abuse, compounded by psychological abuse, were rampant on the news. The scenarios that flashed in Brody’s head made him vault from the bed and pace the room. Sweat beaded on his neck and bile rose to his throat.
Did Will remember him? Or was he too traumatized to ever find
his way back and have a normal life?
And what if the court didn’t show leniency and he went to jail? Armed robbery, and taking a hostage...he could spend years behind bars.
His life destroyed because some maniac had kidnapped him from the safety of his family at that damn rodeo.
Furious, he wanted to pound something.
Too agitated to rest, he jumped in the shower. On the way to the hotel the night before Julie had said that she’d asked for a court hearing this morning.
He had to be there. So did the lawyer he’d called when he’d closed himself in the hotel room. Ethan Houser had come recommended to him by way of Carter Flagstone, one of his buddies who helped out at the BBL. He’d explained the circumstances and Ethan had jumped at the chance to handle the case and help him.
He quickly rinsed and dried off, then dressed and phoned his accountant. He wanted to make sure he had the funds available so he could post bail.
Maybe if they explained the situation to the judge, he would release Will into his custody and let Brody take him to the BBL.
* * *
JULIE GRABBED HER phone to call Brody, her body aching with fatigue. All night she’d wrestled with the demons in her head.
The children who’d been stolen from their families—first Will, then the other cases she’d worked, then the boys they suspected had been kidnapped by the same person who’d abducted Will.
The world had so much evil in it. One case after another, one monster after another. Would it ever end?
Shaking off the desolation, she channeled her emotions to the back burner just as she’d done for years. She wanted a meeting to discuss strategy before she met with the judge. She punched Brody’s number, tapping her foot while she waited. He must have been sitting on the phone because he answered on the first ring.
“I’m heading to the TBI headquarters. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in a second.”
Julie brushed through her hair, pulling it back in a loose bun at the nape of her neck then straightened her jacket. Thankfully she kept an overnight bag in her car with a change of clothes since she never knew how long she’d be gone when she left her apartment.
A knock sounded at the door, and she opened it to find Brody freshly shaven but wearing the same clothes.
“Ready?”
She nodded, grabbed her purse and they headed to her car.
“If we have to be here any longer, I’ll need to get some more clothes,” Brody said.
Julie climbed in the car and started the engine. “We’ll see.” She didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep. She’d already disappointed Brody too much in their lifetime.
“What’s going to happen today?” Brody finally asked.
“Kyle is going to be evaluated by a physician and a psychiatrist this morning. I’ll meet with the task force about this case and the other kidnappings. After lunch, we’ll meet with the judge for Kyle’s arraignment.”
“I called my accountant to arrange to have money available to post bail,” Brody said.
Julie glanced at him but refrained from comment. She’d read that he’d done well for himself, that he was wealthy. And she knew it was true just by looking at the BBL.
He didn’t look wealthy though—he looked like a stronger, tougher image of the boy she had once loved with all her heart. A cowboy through and through. A man with a code of honor she’d always admired.
They lapsed into silence again, covering the short distance to the headquarters in no time. When they got inside, Agent Cord informed them that Kyle was meeting with the psychiatrist.
“I think we should review all the cases involving these missing boys,” Julie said. She’d stayed up researching them half the night.
Agent Cord frowned as they headed into the conference room, and gestured toward Brody. “Do you think he should be here? This is official business.”
Julie tensed, well aware that Brody heard Cord’s comment. “Yes. If Kyle is really Will, it might help Brody to know about some of the other boys abducted. If he could convince him to talk about them, even one of them, it would confirm that the cases are really connected.”
Agent Cord nodded in concession. “I suppose that’s true.”
They filed into the room where Chief Hurt was already waiting. At Brody’s request, his friend Miles McGregor had been called in to work the task force, as well.
Brody walked over to him and the men shook hands. “Thanks for being here, Miles.”
“No problem.” Miles glanced at the photos of the kids on the wall. “This unsub has to be stopped.”
Chief Hurt cleared his throat then asked everyone to sit down.
Then Julie took the lead. “I’ve been studying all of these cases and want us to review them again.” She gestured toward Chief Hurt. “Did you find out anything from interviewing the staff at the locations we discussed?”
“What locations?” Brody asked.
Julie pointed to the board with the map and pushpins. “We’ve tagged each spot where the boys disappeared. Mostly public places, a rodeo, park, carnival and county fair. At least those are the most recent.”
“We’re still working that angle,” Chief Hurt said. “So far, we haven’t found a commonality between the employees. But we’ll keep digging.”
Julie walked over to a whiteboard and drew a line. “I’ve been thinking about our unsub and these cases. If they are connected, the crimes were committed by one kidnapper, which means he started when he was young. Often serial offenders are in their twenties.” She made a note of it on the board in one corner. “That means he would be in his forties now.” She paused again. “We don’t know his trigger for the first abduction. The most plausible reason would be that he lost a child and needed to fill that void.”
“Or he could be a pedophile who simply likes kids,” Agent Cord cut in.
Julie sighed. “That’s possible. The doctor examining Kyle may be able to tell us more.”
A muscle ticked in Brody’s jaw, but she resisted sugarcoating the truth. They had to face reality.
Beside, if Kyle, Will, had been sexually abused, they needed to know so a psychiatrist or counselor could treat him properly.
“The fact that Kyle is still alive is a positive sign,” Julie said. “It means our unsub keeps his victims alive. But it also raises questions.” She pointed to the photographs. “We have a total of ten unsolved cases that fit the profile. How can the unsub hide ten kids? Are they in school? If he’s abusing them, how has he kept neighbors from seeing them?”
“He has to live somewhere off the grid,” Chief Cord said. “Maybe a farm with a lot of acres.”
Julie nodded. “But feeding that many boys, especially teenagers, is expensive, especially if he has a menial job, which, if he worked at the locations where he abducted his victims, is likely.”
“Let’s review the list of victims and see if anything clicks. First, Jeremy Unger went missing from a park twenty years ago. He was seven then so now he would be twenty-seven.”
“How do you force a twenty-seven-year-old to stay and not fight back?” Brody asked.
Julie frowned. “Stockholm syndrome, abuse, fear,” Julie said. “Next, Carl Fanning disappeared eighteen years ago from a birthday party at a public pool. He was five, meaning he would be twenty-three now.” She scribbled the information on the time line, then continued.
“Fifteen years ago, Daryl Derwin went missing from a ball park. He was six, meaning he would be twenty-one now.”
Agent Hurt shifted. “From what we know about this type of predator, he likes victims around a certain age. Other cases show that it’s usually pre-adolescent boys. If he’s keeping them longer, it may not be sexual.”
“Or he may be killing them when they reach a certain age,” Agent Cord said.
“But Kyle is seventeen, and he’s still alive,” Miles interjected.
“And the kid with Kyle in the robberies looks to be around thirteen or fourteen.
”
Julie scratched her head in thought, then jotted the theories in the corner of the board. Something wasn’t fitting.
“Okay, let’s go on,” she said as she drew another line. “Anthony Putnam disappeared ten years ago from a local festival when he was five, meaning he would be fifteen now.” She moved to the next one. “Jeff Wickman went missing from a bingo game at a rec center when he was seven. That was six years ago, meaning he would be thirteen.” She took a breath. “Six years ago, Phil Jasper disappeared from a horse show. He was six, so he would be twelve.
“Seven years ago, Will Bloodworth disappeared from a rodeo. He was ten, now seventeen.” She tacked the next photo on the time line.
“Five years ago, Tray Goodner, the boy who committed the robberies with Kyle, was taken from a carnival in San Antonio. He was eight, so he’s thirteen now.”
“Two years ago, Lewis Renz was abducted from a camp. He was eight, making him ten now. Then Hank Forte disappeared at a county fair. He’s six and as far as we know, the latest victim.”
“There are some lags in the time line,” Chief Hurt pointed out.
Julie nodded. “It could mean someone got close to finding him, and he had to lay low. Or he was satisfied for a while then needed a new conquest.”
A knock sounded on the door, then one of the forensic techs poked her head in. “I have the results from the medical examination and the psych one, as well.”
“What about the DNA results for Kyle?”
“They’re in there, too.”
Julie tensed, her gaze meeting Brody’s. She needed this information to plan her approach to the judge.
And she wanted this boy to be Will Bloodworth so Brody would have him back.
Although even if it was Will, he might never be the same boy Brody had known as a child.
* * *
BRODY TOOK A deep breath. He wanted his brother back.
But he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know what he’d suffered.
You have to, he reminded himself sternly. You can’t help him unless you know everything.