She smacked him in the shoulder, though she couldn’t help but laugh.
The ringing phone interrupted them and Luke leaned over and grabbed the receiver, lifting it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Luke, it’s Nate.”
Immediately Luke grew serious. He could tell something was wrong by the sound of Nate’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Is Hallie there with you?”
The bottom dropped out of Luke’s heart. “Why would she be with me? You picked her up.”
Nate swore. “I don’t want to freak you out, but I think she’s missing.”
TWENTY-SIX
By the time Luke pulled into the driveway of Nate and Suz’s large country style home, only a mile or so away, Kate was frantic. She’d been on the edge of panic since Luke had hung up the phone and told her Hallie was missing. Whipping open the door, she jumped down and met a tearful Suz at the front door.
“God, I’m sorry. They were playing outside and everything was fine. They were having popsicles.” Suz shook her head, nearly frantic. “Suddenly she wasn’t there.”
“Are you sure she’s not upstairs somewhere?” Luke asked, stepping past her and into the house.
“We tore the place apart,” Suz said tearfully, following them inside. “Where’s Nate?”
“He went driving around the neighborhood to see if she maybe wandered off. She mentioned missing you guys. We thought maybe she walked to your place.”
“Oh God,” Kate looked up at Luke, and he knew what was going to happen. The panic was there in her eyes. “He’s got her. God, Luke, he’s got her.” The hysteria took over and she started to shake.
“Kate, stop it.” He was there in front of her in seconds. “We don’t know that yet. She may be playing a game. She could be hiding. Just calm down.” He gripped her shoulders and shook her lightly. “Do you hear me?”
“I hear you,” she forced herself to say.
“Did you call the cops?” He looked over at Suz.
“We were waiting until you got here,” she said, clearly frazzled. “We thought for sure she would turn up. She’s hidden before but we’ve always found her before this.”
“Call the freaking cops,” he snapped, unable to completely tamp down on his own panic.
Nate walked in right then, his face ashen. Hallie wasn’t with him. He obviously hadn’t found her.
“What the fuck did you do? I trusted you.” The words were out before Luke could stop them.
“I know,” was all Nate could say.
“The police are on their way,” Suz said, stepping back into the room. “You didn’t find her?” She looked at her husband.
“No,” he said quietly, his eyes still locked with his brother’s.
“Damn it!” Luke slammed his hand against a wall, unable to keep it together. “I told you to watch her!”
“I was watching her!” Nate yelled back, then ran a hand through his hair dejectedly.
“You turned your back!”
“I went to the bathroom, Luke! I thought they were okay for two seconds.”
“Well you were wrong. Fuck!” Luke couldn’t control his anger anymore. Hallie was his life. If something happened to her…God, he couldn’t take that. Not his daughter.
“Luke, calm down,” Suz said softly. “This isn’t going to help anything.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. My daughter is missing, damn it! She may be in the hands of a madman right now. I will not calm down!”
“It’s not their fault,” Kate said solemnly. “It’s mine. I brought him back here. I led him straight to her.”
Luke was so mad he couldn’t even deal with Kate. He couldn’t look at her. Because in a way, she was right. She’d lured this crazy maniac back here and now his daughter, his lifeline, was missing.
“Luke, stop it.” Nate’s voice was quiet, but stern.
“If anything happens to her,” Luke met his brother’s gaze. “I’m going to hold you personally responsible.”
“Luke—” Kate began, her voice almost a whisper.
He held up his hand to silence her. “Don’t talk to me right now. I can’t do this with you.”
Suddenly the police arrived in a slew of several police cruisers. They screeched up to the curb. Archer jumped out of one of them, sprinting up the lawn, his eyes locking with Luke’s.
“Tell me you found her.”
Luke only shook his head, his heart squeezing every time he thought about his daughter.
“Shit.” Archer ran a hand through his hair. “What happened? Why wasn’t she at your house? I had a damn cruiser right in front of the house. She would have been safe there.”
Luke knew the words were true and he would have given anything to turn back time and do things differently.
“Get every damned car out and search the neighborhood!” He barked the orders at several patrolmen. “I need a recent picture. Also, what was she wearing?” He looked from Luke to Kate, who both seemed to be in some kind of trance. “Time’s wasting people! What was she wearing?”
“Overalls and a pink shirt,” Suz supplied. “And she had sneakers on.”
Archer wrote this down. “I need a picture.”
Luke snapped to attention and pulled his wallet out. He dug through it until he found a recent picture of Hallie, then handed it to Archer, who clipped the photograph to his notebook. “I’m going to go call in an Amber Alert right now. Stay here and don’t move. Any of you.”
God, his daughter was the subject of an Amber Alert. He felt himself beginning to crumble.
“Luke—” Nate began, stepping toward him. He held up a hand and turned away, his eyes locking with Kate’s. She was destroyed, he could see that now. Her eyes were as empty as they had been the night she’d come home. And he couldn’t help her this time. He didn’t have the strength to put her back together again. Instead, he turned and walked away.
Louis looked down at the bawling kid, wondering if he’d made a mistake. She’d been crying since he’d snatched her from the backyard of Nate Garrison’s house. He’d only managed to keep from attracting unwanted attention, by closing his hand over her mouth. Then he’d dragged her through the greenbelt to the place he’d left his car. The drive to the motel had been eventful. The child had kicked and screamed, nothing like her mouse of a mother. He was beginning to re-think his plans. This little girl was clearly going to be a handful.
“Listen, sweetheart, I’m only babysitting you for a while, okay? Just until your mommy gets home.”
The child continued to bawl. God, he hated kids. Even his own kids. He grimaced. “How about we watch a movie, huh?” He dug through the pile of videos the motel supplied stacked under the VCR. There had to be something in there for a little girl. The Little Mermaid caught his eye and he held it up. “How about this one? You like mermaids?”
Either she liked mermaids or she was just plain tired of crying, because she quieted suddenly, her thumb snaking its way into her mouth.
“That’s a good girl.” He put in the video and pushed play. He was earning his fucking money, that was for sure. All this trouble. He almost wondered if it was worth it. A million dollars was definitely worth it, he concluded, picturing himself lying on a beach in Tahiti.
Now that the kid had quieted, he could think a little. He knew the police would waste no time putting out an alert. He was going to have to travel only at night. All he had to do was keep her quiet until then. For a moment he wished he hadn’t killed Karen. She would have come in very handy right now. Oh well, he decided, lighting up a cigarette. He could handle this himself. For now, the kid was complacent.
“Do you know my daddy?” she surprised him by asking. He looked down at her absently. “Yeah. I know of him. I know your mom better.”
She sniffled, clutching her stuffed monkey to her tightly. Fleetingly, he felt a little sympathy for the brat. She was afraid of him and he couldn’t blame her. Hell, even his own kids were scared of him.
“Look, I’m not planning to hurt you. Just be a good little girl and we’ll get along fine, sweet cheeks.”
“I want my daddy.”
“You’ll see him soon,” he lied. “Just watch your movie.”
“I don’t want to,” she said defiantly.
“Do it anyway,” he said through gritted teeth.
Apparently she got the message because she didn’t say any more. Sighing, he turned away and picked up his phone. He dialed his home number and grimaced as his bitch of a wife answered the phone. What the hell do you want wasn’t much of a greeting. He ignored her acidy voice. “I’m going to be coming home soon. I’m not coming alone. Get the place ready.”
“What do you mean, get the place ready? Who are you bringing here?”
“Your niece,” he said simply. “Now shut the fuck up and do as I say.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Hours went by with no word on Hallie. Everyone had moved back to Luke’s house at the suggestion of the police, on the off chance that someone would contact them for ransom. That someone being Louis Ferndale. But he hadn’t called. The silence in the house was deafening. Luke, not speaking to anyone at this point, had gone outside for some fresh air.
Kate, sitting in the living room with Luke’s family, felt herself coming apart at the seams. Every minute that ticked by, she felt more and more helpless, unable to stand the feeling that her daughter was alone and scared with a psychopath. God, she had caused this. If she’d only stayed away like Karen had warned her.
“It’s not your fault,” Nate said, from across the room. He was studying her face intently. “You came back here because this is your home and Luke is your husband. What else could you do?”
“He was doing okay on his own,” she heard herself say.
“No, he wasn’t. He was a freaking mess.” Nate sat down on the couch, shaking his head. “He’s been a mess since the accident, Kate. Losing you nearly killed him. And now this…” His voice broke off. “I’m sorry, Kate. I am. I thought I had everything under control. I would never have put Hallie in jeopardy on purpose.”
Kate heard the tears in his voice. Nate was not the crying type. “I know you wouldn’t.” She didn’t know what else to say. Her heart was breaking inside. She wanted Luke to comfort her but it was obvious that he blamed her, on some level, for what was happening. Hell, she blamed herself. The guilt was eating away at her like a virus and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“I should have paid him off,” Luke’s voice said, startling her. She looked over to see him leaning against the doorjamb. “If I had paid him off, none of this would have happened.”
“Money is the root of all evil, don’t you know that?” Kate stared up at him. “There would never have been enough.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he walked over and stared out the front window at the mess that had once been his perfectly manicured front yard. All that was there now was a badly scorched elm tree and a large patch of burnt grass.
“She’s my daughter too, Luke.”
He turned, his eyes meeting hers. “I know that.”
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Tell me how to fix it.”
“I can’t. That’s the problem.”
“You have to,” she said, her voice cracking. “You have to tell me how to fix this or I’m going to fall apart at the seams.”
“Kate—” He stepped toward her.
“No. I don’t need you to coddle me. I need you to tell me how to fix this!” The panic was overwhelming and she stood up quickly. “I know you blame me, Luke. It’s there in your eyes. You can’t even look at me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes it is.” She lowered her voice, forcing herself to calm down and breathe deeply. “It’s true. Do you think I can’t read you like a book, even after all this time?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“That she’s going to be okay,” Kate said hopelessly, giving in and letting a tear roll down her face. “That I didn’t come back here and sign her death warrant.” She looked into his eyes desperately. “If anything happens to her, I’ll die, Luke. I can’t live with that.”
“Do you think I can?” he asked incredulously. “And I don’t blame you. I blame myself. I told you I would keep her safe and I didn’t. I didn’t keep you safe three years ago either.”
“No one could have kept me safe then, Luke. You were injured and unconscious under water. There was nothing you could have done.”
“She’s right,” Nate agreed.
“That doesn’t make this any easier to deal with,” Luke snapped. “My wife was held captive for three years and beaten, tortured. That eats at me every day. If something happens to Hallie, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“No, you’ll never forgive me,” Nate said quietly. “And I’ll never forgive myself.”
Luke looked at his brother. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said earlier.”
“Yes, you should have. I turned my back for a split second. I knew better.”
“This is counter-productive, guys. Our goal is to think and get Hallie back, not place blame.” Suz looked from Nate to Luke. “The police are doing their part. What can we do here?”
The phone rang, interrupting their thoughts. Luke looked to the kitchen where the cops had set up tracing equipment. Archer poked his head through the door and nodded at Luke to answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“By now I’m sure you’ve figured out who she’s with,” the voice said, echoing from the speakerphone in the kitchen. “I wouldn’t waste time asking questions. She’s a pretty little girl, Mr. Garrison.”
Luke’s blood began to boil. “You sonofabitch. Don’t you hurt her. She’s just a little girl.”
“She’s quite happy here right now. She’s watching a movie and she’s eating some McDonalds.”
“You expect me to believe a word you say?”
“I don’t frankly give a rip what you believe. I want my money. I suggest you and your wife look closer at the Fitz finances. You will find the information you need. I know how Carl Fitz was and I know for a fact that underneath all his gibberish is the key to this. Find it. You have got twenty-four hours. I’ll be in touch.” The line went dead.
He looked at Archer, who shook his head.
“A few more minutes and we would have had him. He knew that.”
Luke swore and bashed the phone against the wall until it was nothing but a million small pieces littering the floor.
“You’re going to have to get a hold of yourself, Mr. Garrison. This isn’t helping.” He motioned to one of his patrol officers. “Go find another phone and bring it out here.”
“If he hurts her, I will kill him.”
“Our goal is to find her before anything happens. If you break all the phones, he can’t contact you.”
Luke scowled, ignoring the detective. He turned to Kate. Her face was void of all color. She didn’t look well at all. Suddenly worried, he crossed to her. He knew he’d been an ass all afternoon and finally things had taken their toll on her. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, the shaking beginning again. Sighing, he crouched down and tugged until she all but fell into his arms. “I’m sorry. I know this is hurting you too. I’m going to get her back, baby. I promise.”
“What’s he talking about, paperwork?” Nate asked.
Luke looked at him over the top of Kate’s head. “We have a box of their old bills, but that’s it. We already looked through it.”
“Maybe this warrants looking at them again,” Nate suggested. “Where are they?”
“Up in the bedroom.”
Nate left the room and Luke backed Kate away from him so he could see her face. She was beyond exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced than they had been that morning. She was near a breaking point. “You need to eat something and get some sleep.”
She shook her head. “Not until she’s home.�
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“Kate, it’s not going to do any of us any good if you break. And you will if you don’t get some rest.”
“Luke’s right,” Suz said, standing up. “I can make some dinner. Then you can take a little nap.”
“I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to,” Kate said, rubbing her eyes as she sat back on the couch again.
Nate returned, the box in his hands. He plopped it down on the floor and began going through it. Kate leaned back against the couch and Luke sat down on the floor in front of her.
“Wow,” Nate said, after a few minutes of sifting through the Fitz bills. “If they had money, you sure wouldn’t know it by how in debt they were. Have you seen these?” He held them up for Luke’s view.
“I have.”
“Don’t you find it odd that they were so far in debt, if they had all this money hidden?”
“It’s odd,” Luke agreed. “But we still haven’t proved there is hidden money.”
“All I can say is that if he hasn’t hit you up for money, knowing you made a fortune playing ball, the money Fitz supposedly had must be a really large sum,” Nate pointed out. “Don’t you think?”
“It’s possible.”
“How would my father have made that kind of money?” Kate asked.
No one apparently had the answer to the question because everyone was silent.
“What’s this?” Nate held up the little black notebook, a moment later.
“Just something he scribbled in. It’s fairly useless. I already looked,” Luke said.
Nate opened the notebook and looked through it. Apparently nothing popped out at him because he tossed it into the discarded pile.
“Let me see that again,” Kate said, reaching over Luke’s shoulder and taking the notebook. She skimmed through the pages until she came to the one marked Isle. For some reason it stood out. She just kept staring at it, wanting the answer to pop out at her so she could let it rest.
“What?” Luke asked, looking up at her. “What is it?”
“I can’t shake it that this means something. I’m reading it wrong.”
He looked at the word and then shrugged. “Ike. What’s that mean?”
Root of All Evil Page 24