by Jeff Shelby
Doubt filled her eyes. “I don't know.”
“I do,” I said. “I do. I see glimmers of the little girl I knew before you were taken.” The smile I gave her this time was more forced. I hated that the connection to the girl she was before was just a glimmer; I wanted more. “I do.”
My eyes returned to the road and she laid her other hand across mine. “There are days that I can't believe you never stopped.”
I checked the mirrors again, looking for other cars, and kept my foot steady on the accelerator. “Looking?”
She nodded. “Yeah. And I guess it's more like nights. When I can't sleep. I can't believe you kept looking for that long.”
I shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Give up?” she said. “People do, you know? I've read about other abductions, ones that haven't been solved. People do give up, even when they don't have the answers. Even when they don’t know for sure what happened. They just...stop looking. Because they don't think there's anywhere else to look.”
I glanced at her. “I couldn't. I don't know why. But I couldn't.”
“And you had to do all of this,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Make deals with people or whatever. Do things you didn't want to do. I just—”
“Hey,” I said, interrupting her.
She looked up at me.
I cut my eyes in her direction, then shifted them back to the road. “You were worth it. You are worth it. I didn't do anything I didn't want to do. And your mom would say the same thing.”
Her mouth twisted, the doubt and uncertainty filling her face.
“Trust me on that,” I said, squeezing her hand again. “You are worth it. You can question lots of other things, but you can't question that.”
The wheels thumped against the road and we barreled further into the inky darkness of the desert.
“I'll do whatever you want me to do,” she finally said, her eyes fixed on something in the night I couldn't see. “For Mom. Just like you did for me. I trust you, Dad.”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and hoped I wouldn't let her down.
TEN
The lights of Phoenix lit up the horizon just before midnight.
Elizabeth was propped against her door, snoring softly. I'd made a little better time during the last two hours, pushing the speed limit as much as I could on a mostly empty highway. Chuck told me that I'd have a text on my phone before I got to Phoenix and he was right. It buzzed through around eleven, a blocked number that gave me instructions to a motel on the west side of the city, instructing me to park when we got there and wait.
The tires crunched against the gravel in the lot next to the low slung, two-story motel. The neon sign signaled vacancy and I doubted whether it ever said anything else. The parking lot was maybe a quarter full, with a couple of older model sedans and trucks and a semi taking up the entire back row of the lot. The dimly lit office was a less than welcoming beacon, and the entire property looked like it had never seen better days.
I cut the engine. Elizabeth stirred against the door, but didn't wake. I pushed open my door quietly and slid out to stretch my legs and back.
The cool desert air felt good after the stale interior of the car and I took a deep breath, trying to expel some of the stress and anxiety that had built up inside of me during the drive. I reached as high as I could, trying to unkink my arms and spine, then bent over at the waist, grabbing my ankles, then my knees, flexing against the tension.
When I stood, an enormous man with electric white hair was walking slowly toward me from the dark end of the lot. He wore a gray T-shirt stretched tightly across his massive chest and arms, and blue board shorts that would've been pants on me. He looked like a monster emerging from a cave.
He got to within maybe ten feet of me and stopped. He looked past me, first to the car, then back to me. “You're Tyler?”
“I am,” I said.
“Your daughter's in the car?”
I glanced at the passenger side as if I needed to confirm Elizabeth was still there. “She's sleeping.”
He nodded, his massive head bobbing slightly on his massive neck. “Okay. Chuck give you the details?”
“Just that I'd get the text to meet you here. So here I am.”
He nodded and glanced toward the car again. Then he took a couple of long steps toward me and held out his hand. “I'm Carter.”
My hand disappeared into his. “Joe Tyler.”
“You should also know I'm not alone,” he said, after he let go of my hand. He jerked his giant thumb back over his shoulder. “My partner is back there in the shadows. He's a little shy.”
I scanned the darkness behind him and my eyes finally settled on an image of what I thought was another guy. “Why's that?”
“Just is,” he said. “Let's run with that.”
I stayed focused on the dark image. “I don't just run with things like this.”
“Maybe adapt?”
I was already put off by his tone and by the secrecy. “Not sure I'm good with turning over my daughter if I haven't met everyone who’s going to have contact with her,” I said. “In fact, I know I'm not.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Then I guess we're done.”
I couldn't tell if he was bluffing, but I was not. “Okay. Thanks for your time.”
I pivoted, dismissing him.
“Really?” Carter said. “That's it?”
“Yeah. That's it.”
“Chuck said you didn't have a lot of options.”
I swiveled back around. “Did Chuck also tell you I don't have much tolerance for bullshit? He told me I'd be meeting one guy, so that's what I expected. And now it's changed and maybe there's a reason for that, but I'm not going to just run with it.” I paused. “You're right. I don't have a lot of options. But I'm not turning my daughter over to anyone I haven't met and looked in the eye. I'll figure something else out.”
His head was tilted to the side, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he shrugged, like it was the last thing in the world he cared about.
“Okay, man,” he said. “Good luck.”
We stared at each other for a long moment until I finally broke eye contact. I headed toward the car.
“Hang on,” another voice said.
I stopped, pivoted again, and the shadow I'd been able to make out before had moved a little closer.
He was slightly younger than me, but taller. His dark hair cut short, his skin bronzed by the sun. He would've seemed larger if he hadn't been standing next to his gargantuan friend. He wore a long-sleeve T-shirt and shorts, the clothes hanging on him like he'd lost weight recently. There was a heaviness about him, something I couldn't put my finger on, but I'd seen similar things in people I'd worked for, people who couldn't find their loved ones.
And there was something about him that seemed familiar.
He extended his hand. “Noah.”
We shook hands. “Joe Tyler.” I paused. “Not trying to be difficult here. I just...a lot has happened to her. And I need to know who will be responsible for her.”
He looked around me toward the car, just as his friend had done. “What's her name?”
“Elizabeth.”
His eyes were fixated on the car and he waited a moment before he spoke again. “She okay?”
“Asleep right now, but yeah, she's okay,” I said. “Have you done this before?”
Carter folded his arms across his chest, an annoyed expression settling on his face, like he couldn't believe I was asking that.
“In different ways,” Noah said, his face expressionless. “But, yeah.”
“Where will you take her?”
“Probably better if we don't tell you.”
Anxiety and irritation seized me. “How's that?”
He squinted at me. “If there's a real threat, the fewer people who know where she is, the better. And that includes you.” His voice was calm, expressionless. He glanced at his partner. “We'
ll be the only two who know.”
I didn’t respond, but the anger flaring in my eyes and the muscle twitching in my jaw was clearly visible, even in the darkened light of the motel parking lot.
He fixed me with a hard look. “I'll be responsible for your daughter.”
I started to object, but I knew his reasoning made sense. The fewer people who could locate her, the less chance there would be that anyone would be able to find her. I'd spent the previous few months making sure I always knew where she was, though, and my stomach knotted at the thought of losing that.
But there was something in his expression that made me believe him. I’d become good at reading people, good at figuring out when people were feeding me lines or telling me the truth. Good at deciding what stories to buy and what stories didn’t add up. This guy seemed genuine. He had no reason to play me, and he came recommended by Chuck. Or at least, his friend did.
There was something familiar about him, too. Maybe he was a private investigator I’d crossed paths with before; I was certain he’d never been a client, because I would have remembered that.
And then it clicked.
“The bar,” I said, letting the memory seep back in. “Seaport Village. In San Diego.”
He kept his gaze on me, but didn't say anything.
“We met there one time,” I said, his face and voice finally triggering the memory. “You pointed out a guy who was watching me. From outside. Then you left.”
Nothing registered in his eyes.
“You told the bartender you might not see him for a while,” I said. The memory was strong now, clear as if it had just happened yesterday.
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Okay. Sorry. I don't remember.”
“No reason you should,” I said.
He shrugged and we all stood there awkwardly for a moment. The memory wasn't a bad one for me. He'd actually helped me out by spotting something I hadn't seen. And I just remembered how he'd looked like he was carrying some burden that he didn't know how to get rid of. I had felt badly for him and I didn't even know why. That expression wasn't much different from the one he wore now, and I hoped that it would play a part in protecting Elizabeth.
“Alright,” I said, letting it go. I had more urgent things to deal with than trying to jog this guy’s memory. “But she can't go to back San Diego. That's the only place that's off-limits.”
A thin smile crept on the big guy's lips, but it was more wry than amused.
“That's not a problem,” Noah said. “No intention of going there right now.”
“Payment,” Carter said. “We need half up front.”
I nodded. Chuck had told me their terms. It was expensive but I would've paid more. I walked to the rear of the car, popped the trunk and pulled out a small, nylon backpack. We'd stopped at the bank on the way out of town and I'd withdrawn what I needed from our savings. I walked back to them and handed it to the big guy. He unzipped it, did a cursory search with his hand, and then nodded.
“We should get moving,” Noah said. “Quicker the better.”
“You wanna know the threat?” I asked.
He paused, then shook his head. “No. We'll assume the worst. And we'll protect her from that.”
“You're equipped?”
The big guy smiled for real this time. “Like you can't even imagine.”
I looked at Noah. He nodded solemnly.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, then walked to opposite side of the car. I opened the door slowly and Elizabeth stirred, sitting up straight in her seat.
She tried opening her eyes but they drooped shut. I shook her shoulder and they popped open this time. She yawned and rubbed at her chin. “Are we here?”
“Yeah.”
She lowered her head and peered through the windshield. “Who are they?”
“That's who you're going with,” I said.
She kept staring. “The one guy is huge.”
“I know,” I said. “We need to get moving, okay, kid?”
She blinked a couple of times, almost as if doing so would shrink the man standing outside to a more normal size. “Okay.”
She got out of the car and I made the introductions. They both shook her hand. The big guy smiled at her kindly, and Noah forced a smile that couldn't hide his edginess. I grabbed her backpack from the trunk.
“You have everything?” I asked her.
“I don't know,” she said, pushing her hair from her face. She’d pulled it back into a ponytail but several strands had slipped out. “I guess. Yeah.”
I handed her the backpack and she strapped it around her shoulders.
“They're going to take care of you,” I said, glancing at them and then back at her. “I trust them.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
“And I will be back as soon as I can for you,” I said. “Couple days at the most.” I looked at them. “If she needs to call me, she needs to be able to do that.”
Noah frowned and looked like he wanted to say no. He glanced at Carter.
“We can manage that,” Carter said to Noah, then to me. “Might be from different numbers, but we can figure that out.”
“If I need to reach you?” I asked.
“The number I texted you from,” he said.
“It was blocked.”
“Record this.” He rattled off a number and I yanked out my phone and punched the number into my contacts. “Call that number and leave a voicemail. I'll be back to you within two minutes.”
“Alright,” I said. “It'll be from a different number, just so you know. I'll be changing phones in a little bit, but I'll send you the number and we can use that one from either side.”
He nodded in agreement.
I took Elizabeth by the hand and walked her a few feet away from them. I hated that we were in this spot, hated that I was being forced to leave her with strangers. The entire drive, I'd tried to think of a different way to go about things, but failed to come up with one. My hands were tied, in more ways than one. And the one thought I kept coming back to was this: I'd been unable to keep Lauren safe. I wasn't going to fail Elizabeth the same way.
She stepped into me and hugged me tightly.
“I'm sorry, Elizabeth,” I told her, wrapping my arms around her. She was warm and solid and I wanted to crush her to me and not let go. “But you will be safe with them.” I said it as much for my benefit as I did for hers.
“I know,” she said, her voice muffled against my chest. “I trust you.”
“And I swear I won't be gone long,” I said. “I’ll be back just as soon as I can for you. I promise.”
“I know.”
I squeezed her. “I love you, kid.”
“I love you, Dad.”
I wasn’t prepared for the goodbye. I’d spent so long looking for her, so many years wondering where she was and what she was like, that I’d decided I was never going to say goodbye to her again; at least not during what remained of her childhood. But here I was, in a deserted motel parking lot in Arizona, handing her off to two total strangers. Not knowing what the next day would hold, or even the next minute, really.
I tried steadying my racing heart. I had to be strong; if not for me, then for her. I kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of the shampoo she’d used, trying to sear it into my memory. We stood there for a moment longer before she finally broke the embrace. She readjusted the straps on her backpack and wiped at her eyes, forcing a smile at me. I forced one back.
Then she walked toward the two men and Noah offered to take her backpack. She declined. He nodded. Then he held up a hand toward me.
“She'll be okay,” he said. “You have my word.”
I needed more, but I knew it was all he had to offer and I wasn’t in a position to make demands. I nodded and watched them walk off with her. I kept waiting for Elizabeth to glance back over her shoulder, to offer one last look, one last wave, one last something.
But she disappeared with them into t
he shadows.
ELEVEN
The temptation was for me to fixate on leaving Elizabeth with them, but I knew if I was going to get back to her, I had to move forward and focus on the things I needed to learn and do.
I drove first to a Wal-Mart and bought a cheap pay-as-you-go phone. It wasn't an iPhone, but it could do what I needed it to do, just minus the familiarity and the speed of my own phone. I took it back out to the car and entered the few contacts I wanted in the new phone: Anchor's number, Lauren's numbers, the number Carter gave me, and a couple of others I thought might be of use. I sent a quick text to the number Carter had given me, identifying myself. Then I took my old phone apart, removed the battery, and stuffed the parts into my backpack.
I didn't know what kind of eyes Anchor had on me, but I didn't want to take any chances that he might somehow be tracking me through my phone. Maybe it was overkill, but the fact that he'd found Dennison was a reminder that he could get to anyone he wanted. I didn't want him monitoring me if I could help it, so I was going to be careful with my phone.
I parked my car at an off-site lot near the airport and rode the shuttle to the terminal. I didn't know where I was going yet, but I figured it was better to be there so that when I was ready to go, I'd just have to go get the ticket. Plus, I knew I could get on the Wi-Fi at the airport if I needed to. I found a seat in the main terminal, plugged my laptop in, and pulled up the photo image I'd uploaded of Dennison so I could study it more closely.
I enlarged it as much as I could. I'd hoped that somehow it wouldn't be Dennison's face, but there was no denying it once it was blown up. I'd spent too much time with him to try to convince myself it was someone else. The picture appeared to have come from surveillance video, and it was clear enough that it could've been used to identify him.
I focused on the sign I’d noticed in the background. It was blurred in the initial image, but I could make out that it was for some sort of real estate company. I could also see the license plate of a car in the parking lot, though I couldn't make out the state. I worked for several minutes, using my rudimentary Photoshop skills to enhance both images.
The name on the sign was Island Realty. I did a cursory Internet search for that name and found Island Realty in two different states, North Carolina and South Carolina.