Out of Focus

by Nancy Naigle

  “I’m sorry. When I came off break, there she was. She’d just checked out—pushing her cart out the automatic doors. I dialed the police and then ran to the lot. I saw her get in the car, but by the time I got close, she was driving off. I’m so sorry.” Billy looked defeated. “So close.”

  Chief Phipps strode over and patted Billy Goodwin on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You did the right thing.” The chief turned his attention to Von and Kasey. “He did get us a partial tag and the make of the car. We’re working that now.”

  “That’s good, right?” Kasey rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to chase away the chill.

  “Yes.” The police chief nodded. “I’ve also got two men upstairs reviewing the security tapes. They’ve closed that register. We’re trying to match the sequence at the register and tape. With any luck she used a debit or credit card.”

  “Please. Please. Please.” Kasey paced back and forth, clenching her jaw to stifle the sob in her throat.

  Riley put her arms around Kasey while the officer updated Von. “I’ve already called to get a warrant for the information off the card, if she used one.”

  “Good. We don’t want to waste any time.” Von crossed his arms. “Did she see Billy running toward her?”

  “I don’t think so. Sounds like he was a few steps behind her. She didn’t seem to be spooked, from what I gather from the other cashiers. I talked to the employee working the lot collecting carts. He seemed clueless as to what was going on, if that’s any indicator.”

  “That’s good.”

  The police chief nodded.

  A young officer walked up to Chief Phipps. “Bingo, sir.”

  Kasey tensed. Riley hugged her close.

  “She used a credit card. Here’s her name.” He handed the chief the information.

  “Libby Braddock.” Chief Phipps’s gaze settled on Kasey. “Ring any bells?”

  Kasey and Riley shook their heads. “Never heard of her,” Kasey said.

  “Stay right here.” Chief Phipps stepped away. He called in to Dispatch on his radio and spoke to someone else on his cell phone.

  Kasey squatted to stop the dizziness that consumed her and to steady her breathing.

  Von shook his keys toward Riley. “Here. Why don’t you take Kasey back to the room?”

  Kasey jumped to her feet. “I’m good. I’m fine. No. I want to be here.”

  Von started to say something, but stuffed his keys back in his pocket instead.

  Two police cars drove out of the lot. Chief Phipps hurried over to Von. “Good news. She doesn’t have a record, and we have the address. We’re heading out there now. Y’all can ride with me.”

  Von rode shotgun. Kasey and Riley jumped into the back seat of the cruiser.

  Kasey shivered. Even her teeth chattered. The neighborhood was well-lit. They’d been on this street earlier today.

  So close.

  Judging by the size of the yards and the large trees that lined the streets, it appeared to be an older, well-established neighborhood. The homes weren’t cookie-cutter replicas of one another. They turned a corner and slowed to a stop behind the other police cars that lined the curb, one behind the other.

  The house was small, but under the light of the moon and the streetlights, it looked very well-maintained. Garden lights lined the flowerbeds. A flag with a snowflake pictured on it hung from the front porch. A swing set took up most of the side yard.

  Jake loves to swing.

  “I didn’t expect the house to look like this,” Riley said.

  “I know. Normal,” Kasey said. “But thank goodness. I had visions of something terrifying.”

  Riley nodded. “I know. I’m surprised, too.”

  “Nothing surprises me anymore,” Chief Phipps said as he watched his men approach the front door. One peeled away and went around back. Chief Phipps stayed in the car, but he had one hand on the door handle.

  An officer rapped on the front door with the end of his flashlight.

  No answer.

  A neighbor wearing a bathrobe stepped out onto her and leaned over the railing to see what was going on.

  The chief opened the car door. “Wait here.” He grabbed his hat from the dashboard, then walked toward the woman.

  “Excuse me. Ma’am?” Chief Phipps said.

  The woman on the porch spun around, clutching her chest. “Lord, son. You could scare an old woman to death.”

  He smiled. Serves her right, being nosy like that. “Sorry about that. I’m Chief Phipps.”

  “My goodness.” She tugged her robe tighter, then ran her hand through her hair, fluffing it. “I voted for you in the last election. Ex-military man and all. I knew you’d keep us safe. What’s going on over at Libby’s place?”

  “You know the woman that lives in that house?”

  “Yes. Libby Braddock. Dear woman. Nothing has happened to her, has it?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Thank goodness. Widowed and all. That would be terrible.”

  “Has she been here today?”

  “Yes. She’s not there now. She just left about an hour ago. Seemed in a hurry. Her and her nephew. She said it was some kind of family emergency.”

  “I didn’t catch your name, ma’am,” Phipps said.

  “Doris Moon. Call me Doris, please.”

  “Thanks, Doris. Her nephew? How old is he?” Phipps pulled a notepad from his pocket.

  The old woman shrugged. “Four, I think.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  “Of course. I babysit when she has doctor appointments and such. That little Jake is the sweetest child.”

  Phipps scribbled JAKE across the page. “Know where they were going?”

  “No. She asked me to pick up her mail and paper. Said she’d be back in a couple weeks.” The old woman studied him. “She was in a hurry. I didn’t want to pry,” she explained.

  Probably a first.

  “I understand. Does she hold a job?” Phipps asked.

  “No. I don’t like to talk about people, but I think she’s on some kind of disability. I’ve noticed her checks when I get the mail sometimes.”

  Phipps laughed to himself. This nosy neighbor was probably the queen of gossip. “The child. You said Jake, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Is he in good health?”

  “He’s fine. So many questions. Are you sure something hasn’t happened to them?”

  “Just following some leads, ma’am.” She didn’t look convinced, but he had a few more questions, and she seemed to have a lot of answers. “How long has the boy been staying with her? Do you remember when she first brought him here?”

  “No.” She shook her head, and then her eyes lit up. “Yes I do. It was right around Sally Mae’s birthday. We met at Shoney’s for lunch. That was...well, wait.” She held up her finger and headed to the door. The screen door slammed behind her. “I have it on my calendar.”

  She stopped and opened the door. “Come on in.”

  He followed her inside. She waddled into the kitchen and took a calendar down from the tack on the wall. “Can I get you some lemonade? Coffee?”

  “Nothing, thank you.”

  “Oh. Here it is.” She folded the calendar back and laid it on the table. “Yes...that would have been September seventh.” She ran a finger around the entry on the calendar. “See.”

  “Yes. Thank you.” He jotted down the information. “Why is he staying with her? Did she say?”

  “Awful custody battle. Her poor brother. Divorce is tough on a man with children, you know.” She reshuffled the calendar and tacked it back on the wall. “He travels a lot, and the mother is just an awful person. She left him. No warning.”

  “Thank you.” Phipps turned to the door. “I’ll just let myself out.”

  When the chief walked out of the neighbor’s house he gave Von a nod, and Von met him in the street. They walked, talking as they joined the other officers in
front of the house.

  Kasey and Riley clung to one another.

  A moment later, Von jogged back to the car.

  “Well?” Kasey asked.

  Von leaned into the open passenger door.

  Riley scooted to the edge of the bench seat. “What’s going on?”

  Von blew out a breath. “She’s not here. They left about an hour ago. The neighbor says it was a family emergency.”

  “Where? Let’s go get them,” Kasey said, her voice filled with frustration. “Why are we still here?”

  “She doesn’t know where they went. But Kasey, the neighbor said the little boy’s name is Jake. He’s been here since September. It’s him. It’s got to be him.”

  “Oh, Kasey,” Riley whispered.

  Kasey tried to force her confused emotions to cooperate. A million questions floated through her head, but none of them made it to her lips. She covered her face with her hands.

  “She said he’s healthy,” Von told them. “He’s fine.”

  “It’s him. It’s really him?” Riley asked.

  “He’s safe. He’s alive, and she said he’s okay? I’ve prayed for this moment.” Kasey wiped tears from her face. “I want my son back. Why did she take him?” Sobbing, she choked on the words.

  Riley shook her head. “There are some nut-job people in this world.”

  “I don’t want my son with a nut-job!” Kasey squeezed her eyes tight.

  “I didn’t mean that,” Riley said. “I’m sorry.”

  While Von updated Kasey and Riley, Phipps went back to ask Doris Moon about a few more details.

  “Sorry to bother you again, Mrs. Moon—I mean, Doris. Do you have a key to Ms. Braddock’s house?”

  “Why, yes, I do have a key. We have each other’s. You know, just in case.”

  “Would you mind letting us in? I can get a warrant if you’re uncomfortable giving me access without one.”

  She hesitated, but only for a moment. “I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem—if I went with you.”

  “Thank you.”

  The woman slipped her feet into a pair of bright green gardening clogs that were on the floor next to the front door, then led the way next door. Her steps were short and swift, leaving a trail in the dewy grass. She slipped the key into the door and opened it, stepping aside to let them in.

  Four police officers spread out into different rooms of the tidy house. Especially tidy for a house with a four-year-old boy living in it. Doris stayed by the door as the officers opened drawers and checked trashcans for any hint as to where the woman had gone. Phipps hit the caller ID list on the telephone and wrote the last ten numbers on his notepad. The last call was from UNKNOWN CALLER. He hit *69 to see if the number would replay. No luck. No address left behind, and no notes next to the phone.

  The policemen filed out of the house and it wasn’t long before Phipps cruiser was the only one left. Phipps helped Doris secure the house, and walked her home before joining the others in his car.

  “I’m sorry.” Phipps put his arm on the back of the seat and turned to Kasey. “I know this has got to be hard for you. We’re on your side. We’ll follow every lead to find your son. I promise.”

  “I hope you won’t mind keeping me in the loop every step of the way,” Von said.

  “Not at all. I can definitely do that.” Phipps looked at his list. “I’ve already put an APB out on the car. I don’t think she knows she was made at the Walmart, so if she was naïve enough to use that credit card once, hopefully she’ll use it again.” He looked up from his notes and turned toward Kasey. “Von already updated you on what the neighbor said?”

  Kasey nodded.

  “We’ll find them.” Phipps radioed the dispatcher and asked her to schedule a drive-by check of the Braddock house for the next week. “Mrs. Moon said she’ll call and let me know when they come back, but we’ll keep an eye on things, too.”

  Phipps started the car and took his disappointed passengers back to the Walmart.

  Silence reigned during the drive from the Walmart back to the hotel. Von went to get ice and sodas from the vending machine. Kasey and Riley went back to their room.

  “More waiting.” Kasey got into bed and crawled under the covers, fully clothed.

  Von came back in the room and flipped on the television and his laptop. Riley closed the door between the rooms and crawled into bed next to Kasey.

  “I wish there was more I could do,” Riley said. She lay there, wide-awake, wishing and praying that this nightmare would end.

  After Kasey fell asleep, Riley got up and tiptoed into the other room. Von hunched over his computer, reading something on the screen. She stepped behind him and rubbed his shoulders. “What do we do now?” she asked.

  He reached up and patted her hand. He lifted her palm to his lips, kissed it, then squeezed her hand closed. “Love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She leaned forward, put her chin on his shoulder, and looked at the website he had displayed on the screen. “What are you doing?”

  “Grasping at straws, mostly. Just trying to think a step ahead of her.”

  She took several steps toward the other room, then turned back to him. “Von? We are going to find him sooner or later, right?”

  He nodded. “Oh, yeah. Sooner, I hope.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The next morning, Von met the chief at the precinct for an update, and then did his own drive-by of the Braddock house. Nothing had changed. With nothing else to do in the small town but wait, they decided it was best to head back to the house on Nickel Creek. The ride back was quiet except for the chatter of the all-news station Von had on the radio. Kasey stared out the window.

  Riley nudged Kasey’s arm. “Are you going to answer your phone?” Riley leaned forward in her seat.

  “No,” Kasey said without turning around.

  “Want me to get it?” Riley grabbed Kasey’s phone.

  Kasey shrugged and looked outside.

  “Hello, Kasey Phillips’s phone,” Riley said. “Hey...No. We’re on our way back to the house...I know.” Riley prodded Kasey and mouthed, “It’s Scott.”

  Kasey shook her head, and waved off the call. She didn’t have anything to say to anyone right now.

  Riley let Scott know what had transpired since Kasey had last spoken to him and promised to keep him up to date.

  “He’s a nice guy,” Riley said, tucking Kasey’s phone back in her handbag.

  Kasey nodded vaguely distracted by the thought that one woman stood between her and her son. She was relieved when the Nickel Creek Road street sign came into view an hour later. They pulled into the driveway and went into the house.

  “Y’all don’t have to stay,” Kasey said. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go to bed and wait for news.”

  “I’m not leaving you here alone,” Riley said. “You need your friends right now.”

  “I need my son.” Kasey took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. I appreciate everything y’all are doing for me. I just feel...sad...and mad today.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Kasey dropped her purse on the end table. “The guest room is made up. Make yourselves at home. I’m going to bed.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” Riley said.

  Later that afternoon, Von sat in a rocking chair on the porch, drinking a beer, when Scott drove up. Scott pushed his sunglasses on top of his head as he walked up to the porch.

  “Kasey’s inside,” Von said with a nod.

  Scott didn’t go to the door. Instead, he sat in the other rocker. “Mind talking through all the updates with me?”

  “Not at all.” Von put his empty bottle on the ground next to the chair and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He went through the whole scenario, step-by-step.

  “Libby Braddock was tipped off,” Scott said.

  “She had to be.”

  Scott’s jaw tensed. “Do you think it was someone from the store who knew her?”

&
nbsp; Von rubbed his morning stubble. “I really don’t think so, although that seems most likely”

  Scott rocked back in the chair. “Who else knew?”

  “No one. Well, that’s not true. Kasey talked to you, Cody Tuggle, and to her grandmother. That’s it. Riley and I came here as soon as we heard, and that leaves just the local folks in Leighsboro. It’s a small town. I’m sure half the population is related. News could’ve gotten around pretty fast.” Von paused, remembering Scott was a small-town guy. “No offense, man.”

  “None taken.” Scott shook his head. “No mother should have to go through this.”

  “Especially Kasey. She’s a terrific mom.” Von lowered his head and picked at his fingernail. “It’s been hard for her. Losing Nick, then not knowing if Jake was even alive. At least now we know he’s alive.”

  “I’d like to work on this with you. Let me know what I can do. I’ve got resources.”

  “Good deal. Maybe between the two of us we can figure this out.”

  “I’m going to call in a favor over in Southampton County,” Scott said. “I want to go back through the evidence from the crash site. Maybe they overlooked something.”

  “Good idea. Will they cooperate?”

  “Oh, yeah. I went to school with most of those guys.”

  “Let’s stay connected,” said Von.

  Scott stood and extended his hand. “We will.”

  They shook hands, then Scott went inside.

  “I didn’t hear you drive up,” Kasey said when Scott walked into the kitchen.

  “You look beat,” Scott said. He gave her a hug and nodded to Riley.

  “Want a cup?” Riley lifted her porcelain teacup to her lips.

  “I’m not a tea kind of guy.” Scott held up his pinky. “Not me.”

  Kasey couldn’t help but snicker.

  Riley went to the fridge. “How about one of these?” She grabbed a beer and held it out.

  “I am off duty.” He smiled, accepted the beer, then turned to Kasey. “You hanging in there?”

  “It’s torture to sit here waiting. What am I supposed to do?” She chewed the inside of her cheek, holding back tears.