Rescue from Darkness

by Bonnie Vanak

  “Don’t discount the power of a smart woman.”

  The quip that she’d uttered in the past usually made her mother smile. At least her mother’s lips lifted slightly. Then she set her wineglass down with a troubled look.

  “I’ve had several threatening emails in the past day, saying the vilest things about our family taking advantage of people. Some suggested auditing the foundation, claiming it’s used solely for tax evasion.”

  “That’s preposterous. The attention will blow over, eventually. Maybe if the public put more effort into volunteering to find Anna instead of lambasting you, the FBI would have more leads. You’re not to blame in this,” Belle said hotly.

  “They say I am.” Mrs. North plucked at the sleeve of her silk blouse. “It’s our family’s foundation, and I am the chairman. Your father wants to take me out of town for a few days until all this blows over.”

  Belle clasped her hands. “That’s a good idea, Mom. Take a little vacation. You and Dad deserve it.”

  Her mother’s mouth wobbled. “It feels as if we are running away.”

  Throat closing tight, she fought to control her emotions. Shirley Vandermeer North had never hurt a living soul in her life. Her mother deeply cared about the causes she supported.

  She had never seen her mother like this—frail and aged. Fear crept around the edges of Belle’s confidence. Although she seldom was sick, what if the stress affected her mother’s health?

  Mrs. North rubbed her thin hands together. “I’m beginning to wish we had never opened that clinic.”

  “That’s what happens when you try to help those kind of people. They take advantage of what you give them.” Mindy poured herself more wine from the carafe.

  Belle had a bad feeling about this. “Who exactly are ‘those people’?”

  “The kind the clinic aids. Why couldn’t that woman have paid closer attention to her daughter?” Mrs. North burst out.

  Mindy shook her head with a regretful sigh. “It’s in the breeding, Shirley. There is none. So many transients, so many are prevalent here in Florida and they’re ignorant. They simply do not know how to take care of their children. They let them run wild, fail to properly educate them. It’s no wonder many end up in jail. Or in this case, get into trouble.”

  Mrs. North nodded. “If this Rosa had been more careful, and watched over her child, this never would have happened and our lives would have never been disrupted.”

  Belle blinked hard in dumbfounded shock, all sympathy for her family’s plight vanishing. She understood her mother’s desperate need to grasp at someone to blame for the chaos revolving in their lives, but to blame Rosa was unfair. And cruel.

  “I can’t believe you’re both blaming the victim.”

  Mindy’s lips pursed. “Belle, dear, who else is to blame but the mother? She should have been watching out for her child.”

  Stomach knotting, she fisted her hands. “How about putting the blame where it belongs? On the damn person who did this!”

  “Belle,” Mrs. North said, looking uneasy.

  “Rosa Rodriguez lies in a coma in an intensive care unit. Someone tried to kill her. The same person who kidnapped Anna. And you’re both placing the responsibility on Rosa.”

  She turned to Mindy. “Would you do the same if I were abducted? Blame my mother for my disappearance?”

  “It’s not the same...” Mindy began.

  “It’s exactly the same. You’re both saying Rosa is at fault. You don’t know her circumstances, anything about her life. How she lived, what she had to do to survive. Instead you sit here and point fingers at a mother who probably fought with her life to save her daughter.”

  Standing up, she swept them both with a look of contempt. “I never imagined you’re so heartless.”

  Shirley took a deep breath. “That’s a cruel thing to say about your father and me, Belle. We are far from heartless. I have to go pack.” Her mother headed for the stairs, followed by an anxious Mindy.

  There was nothing more to say.

  Her hands shook violently as she jammed the key into the ignition of her Corvette. Belle accelerated and the car roared out of the circular driveway.

  At the gate, she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as the security guard pressed a button to release the gate. Television vans and reporters milled outside, some waving microphones in her face.

  On impulse she stopped, rolled down her window to address the crush of media.

  “I have a statement to make to the press,” she told them in a strong, clear voice. “My family is innocent of anything having to do with this abduction. I promise you, I will help track down the person who took Anna and they will see justice. The power of my family’s money is behind this. If we have to hire a squadron of detectives to aid the FBI, Anna will be found.”

  As they shouted more questions at her, she sped away.

  On A1A, the serene vista of the turquoise ocean waters with their lacy whitecaps did little to soothe her raging nerves. She passed several expensive homes like her family’s, all tastefully tucked away behind ornate steel gates.

  Her world was far different from Rosa Rodriguez’s. She’d never had to worry about a roof over her head, food to eat or money to buy basic necessities.

  Belle Bluetoothed her phone and dialed Kyle’s number.

  “Anderson,” he said in a clipped tone.

  She took a deep breath. “I’ve had a nasty fight with my mother. But that’s not why I’m calling. I made a statement to the press and I thought you should know.”

  “Saw it on the news.”

  The media wasted no time.

  “I thought we agreed you’d avoid talking to reporters.” No recrimination in his voice, which was refreshing.

  “I felt I had to say something because the public is censuring my family and it’s deeply upsetting my mom. Dad is taking her out of town until the feeding frenzy dies down. I wanted the media to know our family stands with the FBI in doing all we can to find Anna.”

  Silence for a few seconds, then he spoke in a gentle voice. “What happened? You sound rattled, and it isn’t about the press coverage.”

  Tears burned in the back of her throat. Belle gripped the steering wheel so hard her palms hurt. Driving like this could get her into an accident.

  After pulling into a shopping-center parking lot, she guided the Corvette into an empty space and sat, engine running. Belle wiped her eyes.

  “Mom and her friend blame Rosa for Anna’s disappearance. Rosa, who lost her daughter and is still in a coma, damn it! My mother is a generous, kind person. Oh, she has her faults, but she’s never been cruel or callous. Why would she say such things?”

  “I’ve run into it more than you know,” he said in his deep, soothing voice. “People want to place blame with someone because it makes them feel safe. It’s an odd psychology. If the fault lies with the victim, then the person blaming them isn’t vulnerable.”

  “When, in truth, we all are vulnerable. Because anything bad can happen to any of us. That’s life.” Belle thought of the cases she’d seen in medical school that seemed tragically unfair—from car crashes to cancer.

  “To think the alternative—that the world isn’t safe, no matter what precautions you take—is terrifying.”

  Fingers hurting as she wrapped them around her phone, she wanted to keep him talking. The disquieting incident at home had turned her happy illusion that her family was nonjudgmental into a spiderweb of cracked ideals.

  When had they changed?

  When had she changed?

  “Where are you headed now?” he asked.

  “The hospital.” She took a deep breath. “I need to see Rosa. Then maybe a walk in the park. I’ll call you if I get any news.”

  She hung up. Belle liked the agent, liked making him smile and laugh. And yet what he investiga
ted was no laughing matter.

  At the hospital, Anna’s mother still lay in ICU in a coma. The charge nurse told Belle all her vitals were good. It was only a matter of her finally waking up.

  Belle left the ICU deeply troubled. What if Rosa remained in a coma indefinitely? Or suffered brain damage?

  She went home, changed into jeans, a comfortable long-sleeved shirt and sneakers, and clipped on Boo’s leash.

  “Come on, sweetie,” she told her happy dog. “Walkies!”

  Belle drove to the park. Yellow crime-scene tape still cordoned off the area where Rosa had been found. Belle parked across the lake, tucked a dog water canteen for Boo into her backpack and they began to walk.

  Sun warmed her face as a cooling breeze blew across the lake.

  The visit to ICU to see Rosa had deeply rattled her. She needed fresh air, a chance to purge the vision of Anna’s pale-faced mother lying in the big bed, hooked up to machines keeping her alive.

  Belle could only hope Rosa would make it.

  She sat on the lake’s bank, staring at the crime scene across the water. Sunlight shimmered on the clear lake, and in the distance, she heard a child giggle. Families were picnicking, riding bicycles; men and women zipped along the mountain bike trail.

  So normal.

  So surreal.

  “So many terrible things happen in this world, Boo,” she told her dog, hugging him. “How can I fight them?”

  Boo squirmed. As she released him, he turned and licked a stray tear trickling down her cheek.

  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” a deep voice said behind her.

  Belle blinked hard. “I heard Edmund Burke had said that. A nice sentiment. If only it were true.”

  She turned as Agent Anderson squatted beside her. In his charcoal-gray business suit, blue shirt and tie, he looked incongruous in a park known for mountain biking and hiking. His frown eased as he studied her face. “Why were you crying?”

  Belle shrugged.

  Kyle reached up, wiped away a teardrop with the edge of his thumb. His touch sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. He had great hands. “What’s wrong?”

  His deep voice carried a note of sympathy, but she couldn’t bring herself to fully trust him. “I was thinking about Anna, who’s a little girl and too young to defend herself. And all the evil in this world. It feels overwhelming at times.”

  Kyle scratched Boo, who wagged his tail.

  “Are you stalking me?” she asked him.

  “Do you mind?”

  Belle indicated the space next to her. He sat, rubbing Boo’s ears. No point in asking how he’d found her. He was a skilled agent, and expert at finding people.

  Except he hadn’t found Anna yet. And until she was found, nothing else mattered. Not her personal or professional life, or her feelings.

  She stared at the water. “Do you believe it’s true? Can good men doing something prohibit evil?”

  “Better than the alternative. Terrible things are always going to happen in the world, Doc. And there are good people who will do what they can to stop them.”

  She moistened her lips. “I’m glad you’re one of them.”

  A brief smile touched his mouth. “I do what I can.” He sighed. “Sometimes it’s not enough.”

  For a few moments they sat in companionable silence.

  “I stopped by ICU to see Rosa. She’s still unconscious. I wanted to see about paying for her medical expenses, but they told me someone already is.” She turned and looked at him. His profile was sharply outlined against the bright sunshine. A hank of dark hair hung over his forehead, the breeze playing with it. It made him look younger, almost boyish.

  “Your mother is paying the bill. All of it.”

  Unease shot through her. “How did you find out?”

  “I checked when I visited Rosa yesterday.”

  Not good. Her mother was altruistic to a fault, but this put her family even more under the microscope as suspects. “She probably feels guilty because our clinic was connected to what happened to Rosa.”

  “Maybe.” He looked at her, really looked at her. Such deep blue eyes, unfathomable like the ocean. “I did a little checking, Dr. North. Maybe your mother has another reason to help Rosa.”

  This couldn’t be good. Belle stiffened. “Which is?”

  “She should tell you.”

  More mysteries. She hated secrets.

  “If you’re going to be coy about it, why bother saying anything?” she snapped.

  Kyle scratched Boo’s head again. “Did you know you have a record with the FBI?”

  Shock filled her. “That’s crazy. I don’t. And my mother has something to do with this?”

  “Yup. It’s a sealed file.”

  “I will make a point of asking her. So, why do you need to talk to me?”

  “We brought your security guard in for questioning. He told us he’d seen Dugin at the clinic before.”

  Belle frowned, searching for memory. “Dr. Patterson usually treated Anna, but I didn’t find any records on Dugin visiting him.”

  “Seems his visits were private. He specifically insisted on seeing Dr. Patterson.” Kyle gave her a pointed look. “Your director, who seems to be missing, as well. And is not answering any of his cell phone calls.”

  Acid churned in her stomach. First the FBI record, now this. “So this isn’t a social call. Or you want to accompany me on a hike.”

  “We could walk.” He gave a languid stretch. “Fresh air might do us both good.”

  Insight struck her. “You waited to talk to me while I was alone. And not in my house or the clinic.”

  A half smile touched his sensual mouth. “You’re pretty damn bright, Doc. Yeah, because I don’t want other ears around. Let’s walk.”

  He pulled her to her feet, his grip strong but not crushing. Belle gripped Boo’s leash as they headed for a less-traveled hiking path.

  “What do you know about Dr. Michael Patterson?” he asked.

  Belle told him. No secrets there. Family friend for years, her brother had gone deep-sea fishing with him a few times on Patterson’s boat, and when they’d needed someone to run the clinic when it opened last year, he’d asked for the job.

  Kyle listened intently, saying little.

  “Where does he go when he’s not in town? Vacation home, anyplace special?”

  This wasn’t sounding good. “He was at a family funeral,” she insisted. “That’s why he was out of town.”

  “Maybe. But he didn’t stay long.”

  Belle turned, glaring at him. “If you have something to say, say it.”

  He gave her a pointed look. “I told you before, I don’t trust doctors and now your medical director has given me a new reason why. He had direct contact with Dugin, our suspect in this case. And now Patterson is ‘unavailable.’”

  “I can contact him for you. I’m sure if you talked with him, it would clear all this up.”

  “I’d love that.”

  Sarcasm dripped from his voice. Belle’s fingers curled into fists. “I still wouldn’t take the word of Tony, our security guard. Tony’s only there because his wife begged my family for a job.”

  “Is your family always in the habit of doing charity and handing out jobs to unqualified applicants? Doctors, as well? Or do you have something else to hide, such as taking little girls?”

  The insult stung. Belle stopped and faced him. “How dare you insinuate my family has something to do with Anna’s disappearance,” she said in a low voice. “And here I thought I liked you. You’re impudent and boorish.”

  He considered. “Funny, my partner usually calls me a pain in the ass. I haven’t been called impudent since my fourth-grade teacher.”

  The slight teasing tone confused her. “I�
��m sure your teacher was correct.”

  “Mrs. Lerner didn’t like the frog I placed in her desk drawer.”

  Belle struggled against a smile. He was purposely disarming her again. “Agent Anderson, my family and the clinic have nothing to hide.”

  “Maybe,” he said softly, getting in her face. “But I can’t believe that until we can find Dr. Patterson and find out what the hell he was doing with the man suspected of taking Anna.”

  He was only doing his job. And she had to do hers. Belle gripped Boo’s leash tight. “Then listen to me, because I’m telling you the full truth. I will do whatever it takes to find her. Understand? Even if it means my own reputation is on the line. Or my family’s. I’m sure once you’re able to contact Mike, you will receive his full cooperation.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded. “Okay, Doc. Then I’ll need any information you have on Patterson. Phone numbers, places he likes to frequent. Everything.”

  Stomach churning, she nodded. “You really think Mike could be connected to Anna vanishing?”

  “I’d bet my badge on it. Where do you keep all that information on him?”

  “It’s at my house.” She gave him a pointed look. “I could request you obtain a search warrant.”

  Kyle leaned close enough for her to count the slight bristles on his chiseled chin. “You could. But it would save a hell of a lot of time in finding Anna if you simply invited me over.”

  * * *

  She ended up doing just that, leading the way as he followed in his SUV.

  The thought of her mentor being involved in this abduction iced her blood. But better to find Mike, have him clear his own name, than make excuses.

  On the way to her house, she phoned her brother. Voice mail. “Clint, call me ASAP. I need to find Mike.”

  Belle couldn’t relax once they were inside the house. Agent Anderson was larger than life, taking up all the space inside her small home. He filled the air with sheer male vitality, and there was no denying the chemistry sparking between them.

  Chemistry that wouldn’t go anywhere, because she sensed he didn’t want this attraction any more than she did.