Out of Focus

by Nancy Naigle

  A huge man walked toward them with his hand extended. “Chief Phipps.” He had a voice that commanded authority, despite his apparently young age. “You got here quick.”

  “Perry Von, my wife Riley, and this is Kasey Phillips.”

  The chief led them to a private conference room at the back of the station. A buzz-cut ex-marine-looking kind of guy, he pulled out one of the chairs and invited them to have a seat around the table. “Let me bring y’all up to date,” he said.

  Everyone leaned in closer.

  Kasey reached for Riley’s hand and squeezed it.

  Please let it be Jake.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “The gentleman who came forward is Billy Goodwin. He’s fifty-eight, laid off from the mill when it closed this past fall. Worked there over thirty years. Currently employed at Walmart as a part-time greeter. That’s where he saw the child that resembles your son.” Chief Phipps’s eyes met Kasey’s.

  Was there hope in his glance?

  “Reliable guy, well-known in the community.” Chief Phipps pushed the top page of the report to the side. “Mr. Goodwin stated that he saw the picture of your son at a Cody Tuggle concert in Raleigh the first week of January.”

  Kasey nodded. “Yes?”

  I was there.

  The image of Jake, over seven stories high on that backdrop, was burned into her memory.

  Phipps continued, “He’d seen a child who looked familiar while working his shift at Walmart. But he didn’t make the connection until his daughter mentioned the same plea for help and the picture of the child she’d seen at the concert she attended in Louisiana. She suggested he come forward. Which, as you know, he has.”

  Kasey swallowed and forced herself to take a breath.

  “We’ve secured security tapes from two of the visits Mr. Goodwin remembered.” Chief Phipps turned two black-and-white glossy prints toward Kasey. Kasey’s hand shook as she focused on the picture. The image was grainy and from a distance, but it was Jake.

  “Jake!” She swallowed hard. “My baby.”

  She looked at Riley and grabbed her arm.

  “He’s got Bubba Bear with him. Look at the way he has it hiked under his arm with his thumb in his belt loop. Only he would do that. He’s okay. He looks okay, right?”

  Riley nodded. “He does. He looks good.”

  Von agreed. “It’s him. The bear. Yep.” He turned back to the chief. He pointed to the pictures. “Do you have a lead on the woman he’s with?”

  “No, not yet,” the chief said.

  Von opened his leather portfolio, then handed him a drawing. “This is a sketch of the woman suspected to have sent photos of the crash to Kasey from Nashville a few months ago. I can’t tell from the picture if it’s the same person.”

  The chief nodded and looked. “Me, either. The woman’s image isn’t clear in that picture. Billy Goodwin says he’s seen Jake on three occasions. When Goodwin’s daughter called after the Cody Tuggle concert, and went on and on about the missing child, that’s when it clicked for him. She’ll show up again.”

  Kasey held her shaking fingers to her lips.

  “Can I get you some water?” Chief Phipps asked her.

  “Yes. Yes, please.” Kasey‘s tongue felt thick, and she was having difficulty swallowing. “I feel like I can’t breathe.”

  Chief Phipps leaned out the door and asked an underling for water, then came back in and sat at the table.

  Riley pushed Kasey’s hair back over her shoulder and rubbed her back. “Calm down. Inhale through your nose. That’s it. It’s going to be okay.”

  Kasey took in a shaky breath.

  “That’s good,” Riley said.

  Following two raps on the door, another officer entered with a bottle of water and some paper cups. Riley poured a cup for Kasey.

  “It’s Jake,” she said. “What do we do?” Her hand shook as she lifted the cup of water to her lips.

  “We’re working to identify the woman,” Phipps explained. “When she comes back into the store we’ll know for sure, but we’re hoping we can run her down before then.”

  “Can we talk to Billy Goodwin?” Von asked.

  “Yes. That’s fine. He said he’d cooperate any way he can.” Chief Phipps pulled a pen from his shirt pocket, copied Goodwin’s number on a slip of paper, and handed it to Von. “Here you go.”

  “Is that it?” asked Kasey. “This is all we can do? Wait?”

  Chief Phipps exchanged a glance with Von. “For now.”

  Von shook the chief’s hand. “You’ve got my numbers and the hotline’s. Keep us posted. Thank you so much.”

  He led Kasey and Riley out of the station.

  “My son is alive, probably somewhere nearby, and we just have to wait?” cried Kasey.

  “We’re getting closer. Don’t flip out on me now.” Von fastened his seatbelt and started the truck. “We’ll get a room and stay for a couple days. Maybe we can speed things along. I’ll give Mr. Goodwin a call and set something up. It’s not that big of a town.”

  The Walmart was near the interstate. There were a couple of hotels and a strip mall there, too. Von pulled into the Hampton Inn parking lot and went inside to register.

  “I can’t believe it,” Kasey said.

  “He’s alive.” Riley turned to her. “We’ll find him.”

  “His hair was long. Did you see how long his hair was in the back?”

  “First thing I noticed, too,” Riley said. “Nick was always fastidious about Jake’s hair being short.”

  “So he wouldn’t look like a girl,” Kasey finished the thought as the memories of arguments between she and Nick about Jake’s hair came to mind. Such a stupid thing to fight about.

  Von came out a few minutes later. “I got connecting rooms. We’re right around the corner here.” Von said as he pulled the vehicle around to the side of the building and parked.

  They piled out of the truck and wheeled the bags to their rooms. Riley propped open the door between them. She and Kasey sprawled across the king-sized bed in one room.

  Von set up his laptop in the other and called Billy Goodwin. He hung up the phone and stepped into the doorway between the two rooms. “Hey, girls, Billy Goodwin will be here around five-thirty. He’s going to stop by on his way to work.”

  Kasey lifted her head from the pillow and looked at the clock. It was just after lunchtime. “What do we do until then?”

  “Rest?”

  “At least you didn’t say wait. I’m about over that word,” said Kasey.

  Von pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’m going to take a ride. Can I get y’all some lunch first?”

  “I’m not hungry,” Kasey said. She turned the pillow over and scrunched it under her chin. “I’m going to try to sleep so five-thirty gets here quicker.”

  Riley said, “I’m not hungry either. Too excited, I guess. Bring something when you come back, just in case.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll call if I hear anything, but I don’t expect news for a while. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Von closed the door behind him as he left.

  Riley got up and twisted the privacy lock, then lay back down with Kasey.

  A knock at the door woke Riley—Von’s knock. She jumped up to let him in. Von gave her a peck on the cheek as he breezed by her and placed a bag of take-out on the small table. “I didn’t know what to get. It’s sort of a buffet.”

  Kasey walked into the room, bleary-eyed.

  Von handed her a large drink. “Diet?”

  “Thank you.” Kasey accepted the cup and took a long sip. “You’re the best.”

  “I know. She tells me all the time.” He smiled and tugged Riley to him. “What do I get for bringing you a regular Coke?”

  Riley raised her brow suggestively. “We’ll discuss that when there isn’t so much going on.”

  “Thanks for that,” Kasey said, rolling her eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Almost five,” Von said.

  “I
slept hard.” Kasey scrubbed her fingers through her hair and tugged her bangs into submission. “By the time we finish eating, it should be time for Billy Goodwin to show up.”

  Von arranged Chinese takeout containers on the table, along with two cups of egg drop soup. “I know you girls love that egg drop soup. Looks like snot to me, but anything that looks that gross has to be good for you.”

  “Thank you, sweetie,” Riley said as she grabbed a container of soup and handed the other to Kasey. “You’ve put a real scrumptious light on it. I bet the Food Network will be hunting you down to write blurbs for them.”

  “I call ’em like I see ’em,” Von said, looking innocent.

  When the knock came at the door, they all stopped in mid-bite. Von wiped his hands on a napkin, strode to the door, and opened it.

  “You must be Billy Goodwin.”

  The round-faced man extended his hand. “Yes, sir.” His smile showed perfect teeth, and his blue eyes almost danced. “Hope you don’t mind I came early.”

  “Not at all. Come on in. Thanks so much for coming to talk to us.” Von gestured for Billy to come into the room. “This is my wife, Riley, and our dearest friend, Kasey. She’s Jake’s mom.”

  Billy walked over to Kasey. She stood and extended her hand, but he opened his big arms wide. “I bet you could use a hug instead.”

  “Thank you,” Kasey said. “I’ve been looking for Jake since the end of August. I knew in my heart he was alive. I never gave up, but I can’t believe we’re finally getting close to finding him. Thanks to you, Mr. Goodwin.”

  “Billy,” he said with a smile. “Call me Billy. Everybody does.”

  “Thank you, Billy,” Kasey cried—tears of joy, fear, hope and frustration.

  They all sat down at the table.

  Von flipped to a clean page on his notepad. “Do you mind talking us through everything? I know you’ve already done all of this with the police. But it might help. If you don’t mind.”

  “No problem. Are you kidding? Anything to help.” Billy started from the beginning and told his story. It lined up with what Chief Phipps had already shared, but with a few questions from Von, they got some additional details.

  “You say you saw him a few times?” Von tapped his pen on the pad.

  “About once a week, I think. He looked familiar. But it wasn’t until my daughter was tellin’ me how it broke her heart when Cody Tuggle made that announcement at the end of his concert that it occurred to me where I’d seen him.” Billy turned to Kasey. “I went to the concert here in Raleigh. Anyway, I remembered the bear. One time when they came in, I greeted them and offered them a cart, and the little guy was standing there hugging that bear.” Billy laughed. He had a hearty laugh, the kind you can feel across a room.

  “He was hanging on to that ragged bear for dear life. I asked him what his bear’s name was. He buried his face in it and giggled. When I asked him how old he was, he showed me on his fingers. I guess he’s three or four. Not sure.”

  Kasey laughed. “I know. He has trouble negotiating all those tiny fingers. He’s four now.”

  Billy nodded. “Cute kid. I had a bear like that when I was young. I guess that’s why I remembered him. Mine was named Brown Bear. It was a pitiful-lookin’ thing, but my mom hung on to it for years. She probably still has it.”

  “He loves that bear,” Kasey said, her voice quiet and steady. “Calls him Bubba Bear.”

  “Cute,” Billy said. “He looked fine. I mean, I didn’t think he looked dirty or mistreated or anything. Trust me, I see some bad stuff come through there sometimes. Nothing stood out as unusual.”

  Kasey dabbed her tears with a tissue. “Thank you.”

  Von continued taking notes. “And they were in every week?”

  “Yeah. I can’t be sure, but I think I saw them when I was working my afternoon shifts, so it would have been either Tuesdays or Thursdays. It’s been about a week since I last saw them.”

  Kasey handed Billy the photo album she’d brought along. “Do you mind taking a look at these other pictures to see if you still think it’s him?”

  Billy slid the album in front of him. “Yeah. Yeah, that looks like him.”

  Kasey relaxed. Her lips quivered as she smiled.

  Von stood. “I don’t have any other questions. I know you have to get to work. Thanks for giving us your time, and more than that, thanks for going to the police with this information.” Von shook his hand.

  “I told the police chief I’d call him if I see them come in again,” Billy said, then turned to Kasey. “I’ll do everything I can to help.”

  Von handed him a card. “Here’s my direct number. If you think of anything else, just give me a call.”

  Von walked Billy out to his car. When he came back, Kasey asked, “What do we do now?”

  “Wait.”

  Kasey grunted. “I would hate your job. It has to be the worst job in the world. Is it always like this? Every time you get one answer it leads to two more questions.”

  “That’s pretty much it, but when the puzzle comes together, it’s worth it.”

  “Well, it’s killing me,” Kasey said. “I’m going to call Scott and fill him in.”

  Kasey dialed Scott, who answered on the first ring. She gave him the update and he gave her just the pep talk she needed. She was glad she’d called him. When she hung up the phone, Von called out to her: “Hey, Kasey. I’m going to take a ride. You want to go?”

  Kasey jumped to her feet and appeared in the doorway. “Absolutely. Anything is better than sitting here.”

  “Where are we going to go in this little town?” asked Riley.

  Von shrugged. “We’ll just cruise around. Who knows, we might stumble onto another clue.”

  “In that case,” Riley said, picking up her purse, “I’d like to go, too. If there’s any chance in a million that it might help us bring home Jake faster, I’m in.”

  They piled into the SUV, and Von cruised the streets. It was a small town, with a typical main street and a grid of numbered and named streets. Several of the storefronts on Main Street were empty. The economy was tough on these small towns and family-owned shops.

  They drove through neighborhoods, not really sure what they were looking for. After they’d driven every street in the grid around the town’s center, Von headed back toward the interstate. Traffic got heavier as they neared the strip mall. Von turned into the parking lot of the small shopping center.

  “What are we doing?” Riley asked.

  “Surveillance,” Von said. “There’s a pizza joint, an ice cream store, and a grocery store. All places someone with a kid might go.” He pulled his money from the front pocket of his jeans and peeled off a twenty. “Why don’t y’all get us some milkshakes?”

  Riley snagged the cash from his hands. “You don’t have to ask me twice. Chocolate for you, right?”

  “You know it.” He pushed his seat back from the steering wheel and got comfortable.

  Riley and Kasey came back with the milkshakes.

  When Kasey got into the back seat, she leaned forward and said to Von, “Okay. This might not be the worst job in the world. I could get used to sitting around drinking milkshakes for a living.”

  They watched for a while. Not long after the lights in the parking lot came on, Von’s cell phone rang.

  Seven-thirty.

  “Yeah, Von here.”

  Kasey and Riley strained to listen.

  Von nodded. “Yeah. Okay...When?...Right.” Von tucked the phone between his cheek and neck and turned the key in the engine. “What color?...Thanks. We’re on our way.” He let the phone drop from his chin to his lap as he threw one arm over the back of the passenger seat and whirled the SUV out of the parking spot.

  “What?” Kasey and Riley asked in unison.

  Von sped back out to the main road.

  “What’s going on?” Riley fumbled for her seat belt, steadying herself by grabbing for the dash as Von squealed around the next corner.


  “She just left the Walmart.” Von’s jaw tensed, his attention laser-focused on the road.

  “Who?” asked Riley.

  Kasey reached over the seat and grabbed Riley’s arm. “With Jake? The woman and Jake.” She slapped the seat like a jockey urging a racehorse. “Go!”

  Von got to the main highway and turned right.

  “Where are you going?” Kasey yelled. “Walmart is the other way.”

  Von weaved in and out of traffic. “Keep your eyes open for a black Nissan sedan.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Von navigated through three traffic lights on green and hit the accelerator to catch up to the cars ahead of them on an open stretch of road.

  “Be careful, honey,” Riley said.

  They came up behind the first vehicle. A white Volkswagen. Von maneuvered around it and floored the accelerator to catch up to the next cars: two SUVs, and the last a battered blue pickup truck. The road ahead was dark. No taillights in sight. Von smacked the steering wheel and swerved to the side of the road. “Damn.”

  “What the hell was that all about?” Riley hung on to the door and console. “Why are we stopping?”

  Von squealed tires back onto the road in the other direction, then slowed to the speed limit.

  “When Billy Goodwin came back from his break, he saw the woman leaving Walmart with Jake. He got the car description and a partial plate number.” Von’s lips pulled into a tight line. “I thought we might catch up to them. He said they went left out of the parking lot.”

  “Could we have beaten her to the light?” Kasey asked.

  “Possibly. I’m still looking. Keep your eyes peeled.”

  Kasey leaned against the window. Her breath fogged the glass as she focused on each passing car.

  “He called the police. They should be at the Walmart by now. We’ll go see what they’ve got.”

  When Von pulled into the Walmart parking lot, four police cruisers were already there, blue lights still flashing. Billy Goodwin stood out front. Von, Kasey and Riley bailed out of the truck and headed toward the crowd. Billy walked over to meet Von. He looked upset.