Vigilant

by Sara Davison

  Nicole pressed her hands together, palms sweaty. The last thing she felt like doing at the moment was discussing Holden’s love life. “Does she know about you?” Her voice quavered, and she pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling.

  Holden pushed away from the post. “Does she know what about me?”

  “Does she know what you’re involved in? What you’ve been doing the last four months?”

  Deep lines furrowed across his forehead. “I think you better come inside.” Grasping her elbow, he directed her to the door and into the house.

  Nicole followed him into the living room and, when he gestured to an armchair, sank down onto it, her legs trembling.

  Holden sat down on the couch across from her. “Where’s Gage?”

  “He’s working.”

  “This late?” Holden glanced down at his watch. “Must have a big case coming up.”

  Nicole checked her watch too. After midnight. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I’m sorry to come by without calling.”

  Holden waved away her apology. “Don’t be silly. You’re family. You never have to call.” He clasped his hands between his knees and leaned forward. “I would like to know what you meant by what you said on the porch, though. What do you think I’m involved in?”

  Nicole bit her lip. Where should she even begin? “Holden, if something was going on with you, I mean, if you were in trouble, you’d tell me or Gage, wouldn’t you?”

  “I guess.” He drew the words out, as if he was trying to understand what she wasn’t saying to him. “Do you think I’m in some kind of trouble?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out. I don’t know if Gage ever told you this, but the night he called you Luke, we talked about the deaths of your parents. About the night he killed your father.”

  He jerked as though an electric shock had jolted through his system. “Nic, I don’t have any idea where you are going with this, but Gage didn’t kill our father. I did.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Our dad was out of control that night. He had already killed my mom when he came upstairs after us. As usual, he was gunning for Gage. We were in the closet and he ...” Holden swallowed hard, “… he hauled Gage out and punched him in the face. Gage fell back against the bed and was knocked unconscious.”

  Nicole nodded. She clasped her hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “He told me that much. But what happened then?”

  “Dad was trying to kill him. He was about to kick him in the head with his boot when I ran out of the closet and slashed his arm with Gage’s jackknife. He turned on me then and grabbed me around the neck. I thought I was going to die. From what he told me later, Gage was in and out of consciousness. He could see what was happening, but he couldn’t do anything about it.” Two wine glasses sat on the table in front of him. Holden picked one up and drained the last few drops before setting down the glass with shaking fingers.

  “Anyway, I was close to losing consciousness too. Everything started to go black, and then I managed to kick my dad, really hard, and he dropped me. I felt around for the jackknife and picked it up.” Holden stopped and took a deep breath, clearly trying to push back the feelings of terror and horror he’d felt that night.

  Nicole reached out and laid a hand on his arm. He didn’t seem to notice, just pushed on with his story as if he needed to get it over with as quickly as possible. “When I picked it up, Gage groaned, and my dad spun around and started back toward him. I ran after him and drove the jackknife into the back of his neck and he crashed to the ground. I didn’t mean to kill him, I ...” His voice broke. “I was trying to stop him from hurting Gage any more.”

  Oh God, no. No. It’s Gage. Gage is doing this. A thick fog swirled through her head, but Nicole forced herself to listen to her brother-in-law.

  “Gage was still unconscious, and I thought he was dead too. He didn’t come around until the police arrived. When they did, he told them that he had killed our dad. He whispered to me that the police would arrest me if I told them the truth, so I let him tell the story that way. We didn’t understand then that kids didn’t go to jail. Years later, when I started working for Children’s Aid, I read my whole file, and it turns out the police didn’t believe us anyway, that they knew I was the one who killed him.” He let out a humorless laugh. “We hadn’t thought the story out too well. Like I said, Gage was clinging to consciousness when they arrived, and from the extent of his injuries they knew he couldn’t have been the one to do it. The official police report in our file is much closer to what actually happened than the statement they took from us. We didn’t even use our real names, called ourselves Ben and Luke, like somehow that would help us.”

  Nicole’s body had gone cold and clammy, as if life was ebbing out of it. “Why wouldn’t he tell me the truth?”

  Holden covered her hand with his. “Did he actually come out and say that he was the one who killed him?”

  She scrunched up her face, trying to claw through her fear and confusion enough to remember. “No, he didn’t. He got so upset, telling me about it, that I told him not to finish the story. We never talked about it again. I guess I assumed that it was him. He didn’t make it sound like you were the one who had done it.”

  “Maybe he’s lived with that story for so long he’s actually started to believe it. Or maybe he’s still trying to protect me, trying to keep anyone else from knowing the truth. Most likely though ...”

  “What?”

  “I think it’s always bothered Gage, a lot, that he wasn’t able to save me that night, or our mom. That she died, and I easily could have while he was unconscious. There wasn’t anything he could have done, but he’s always felt like there should have been, you know?” Holden squeezed her fingers. “What is this all about, Nic?”

  She pulled her hand out from under his and stood up. She tried to force a smile, but her lips quivered, and she couldn’t quite manage it. “You know what? It’s nothing. Now that I know what really happened, I realize I’ve made a big mistake.”

  He stood too and studied her face for a moment. “So you’re okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Tired. I haven’t been sleeping well for a while now.”

  “Do you want me to drive you home?” Holden followed her as she crossed the living room and went into the hallway.

  “No, of course not. I’m okay to drive.” Nicole grasped the handle and pulled the door open. “Gage will finish soon and I should be there when he gets home.” She turned back and gripped his arm. “I’m really sorry to have dredged all that up for you. It can’t be easy to talk about.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Drive carefully, okay? And get some rest.”

  “I will.” Her hand slid from his arm as she turned and made her way across the porch and down the stairs, clinging to the railing so her legs wouldn’t collapse beneath her. Somehow she made it to the end of the walk and around to the other side of her car.

  Nicole tugged the car keys from the pocket of her jeans and was fumbling to find the unlock button on the remote when her brother-in-law came after her.

  Holden took her by the arms and turned her around to face him. “What is going on, Nic? Did something happen with you and Gage?”

  “Yes. No.” She shook her head, trying to clear it so she could think straight.

  His dark eyes, so much like Gage’s that she almost groaned in pain, searched hers. “Is he actually at work?”

  Nicole choked back a sob. “I don’t know.”

  Holden’s hands moved up and down her arms, as though willing her to calm down. “You have to give me something here, Nicole. Is my brother okay?”

  She pressed her eyes shut for a few seconds, and then took a deep, shuddering breath. “I think Gage might be involved in something. Something dangerous.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What?”

  She knew he wouldn’t believe her next words. She couldn’t believe them herself, although she finally understood they
were the truth. “You know those kids that have gone missing the last few months?”

  He nodded.

  “Gage is the one taking them.”

  Holden started to laugh but broke off when his eyes met hers. He stepped back, his face uncomprehending, as if she’d spoken in a foreign language.

  Nicole slumped against the car and waited.

  After several seconds, he stepped closer to her, his jaw tight. “That’s insane. Gage would never be involved in anything like that.”

  “I didn’t believe it either, at first. A detective from Toronto Police Services, Daniel Grey, came to see me a few weeks ago. He told me the police suspected either you or Gage of taking those kids.”

  His head jerked. “Me? Why?”

  “All of the kids were in extremely abusive situations. They believed that the kidnapper was doing it to save the kids, and they figured that it must be someone who had been in that kind of situation himself for him to be willing to take that great a risk. He’d also have to have access to CAS files so he’d know which kids were in the most danger. You and Gage fit the profile.”

  Holden rubbed his temples with the fingers of both hands as though he was trying to absorb way too much information at one time. Then he dropped his arms and lifted his head. “When you came here, you thought it was me, didn’t you? What changed your mind?”

  “I went to see Daniel Grey at the police station tonight, to tell him I thought Gage might be contemplating another abduction. I …” she swiped at a tear that had slid down her cheek. “… I didn’t want to get Gage in trouble. I was trying to stop him before he got hurt.”

  “And what happened?”

  “Daniel wasn’t there, but they let me wait in his office. I saw a note there, the record of a conversation between the abductor and the person who hired him to take the kids. She told him she believed he was the one to save those children, and asked him not to tell anyone about this, even his brother. He replied that his brother had lived with the fact that he killed his father all his life and he’d never ask him to keep another secret.” Hysteria crept into her voice and she stopped and drew in a shuddering breath.

  “Because I believed Gage was the one who stabbed your dad, I thought it was you. Then I got here and you told me you had done it, so I knew I was wrong. That it was Gage after all.”

  Holden studied her for a moment then pulled a cell phone out of his shirt pocket. “Let’s start by calling him at work. Most likely he will be there and all of this will turn out to be nothing.” He held out the phone to her.

  Nicole didn’t move.

  “What is it?”

  “What if he isn’t there?”

  “Then we’ll deal with that. Together. Let’s rule out the most likely scenario first though, okay?” Holden reached for her hand and closed her numb fingers around the phone. “Call him.”

  Nicole drew in a deep breath. At least she wasn’t alone now. She had God’s promise that He would always be with her, and, whatever happened, Holden would help her get through it too. And he was right, Gage would likely answer, and they could all go home and laugh about this. She tried to type in the numbers, but her fingers shook so badly she kept hitting the wrong ones. Holden covered her hands with his for a moment, to still them, then took the phone and punched in the number. Silently, he handed it to her. Nicole pressed the phone to her ear. Please God, let him answer. Please, please. Her heart sank when another male voice came over the line.

  “Crown attorney’s office, this is Robert.”

  “Bob? It’s Nicole. Could I speak to Gage?” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat.

  There was a slight pause before he spoke again. “Sorry Nicole, Gage isn’t here. He left a few hours ago.” He sounded puzzled.

  “Oh sorry, I thought he was working late tonight. I must have misunderstood. I’ll try his cell.”

  “If he does come in, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him, okay?”

  She pressed the off button without replying and handed the phone back to her brother-in-law. “He’s not there Holden. He’s going after another child. But I don’t know where he is, and I don’t know how to stop him.” The words ended almost in a wail, and she covered her face with both hands.

  Holden grasped her arms again. “Nicole, listen to me.”

  She looked up at him.

  “I still think this is crazy, but we need to try and find Gage, make sure he’s okay. All right?”

  Nicole nodded.

  “On the off chance that all of this is true, he might have gotten instructions about where to go and when. Do you know if he got a phone call today? A text, anything like that?”

  “UPS delivered an envelope to the door for him. But he told me they were legal documents. I looked inside to make sure and that is what they looked like.”

  “Did you see anything on them that might have been a message? A name or address? Anything?”

  “I glanced at them quickly. I don’t remember …”

  His fingers tightened around her arms. “Think, Nic, please. Can you remember anything at all?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to see the top paper again in her mind. “There was a name. The people versus Gordon or Gilbert, something like that.” Her eyes flew open. “Gibson. It said Gibson.”

  Holden’s face paled in the light of the streetlamp above them. “Matthew Gibson?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes, that’s it. You know who that is?”

  He let go of her arms. “Give me the keys. I know exactly where Gage is.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Daniel leaned back in his chair and took a bite of the doughnut, hoping the sugar hit would help wake him up and clear the fog in his brain. Sleep would be better, but he couldn’t bring himself to go home yet. Not until he was exhausted enough to stumble in and go right to bed without thinking about anything … or anyone.

  Sharleen had told him earlier that the team watching Holden’s house last night had seen a woman come by around 8:30 and leave at 11.

  “Do we know who she is?” Daniel had asked.

  “They’re still analyzing the footage, but no ID yet. All they gave me was…” She’d spun around in her chair and grabbed a piece of paper from her desk. “… Hot. Long, reddish-brown hair. Longer legs.”

  “Helpful,” Daniel had said, drily. “Let me know if they manage to come up with an actual name, okay?”

  The papers he’d printed off after he’d gotten the warrant to access CAS files sat in a pile on his desk. He hadn’t dared use Holden’s password again—he’d been lucky to get away with it the one time. With a sigh, he reached for another one and scanned it. Reading about kids in his city that were in the most horrific situations imaginable was not his idea of a good time. His stomach roiled as he worked his way through the pile, reading story after story of hospital visits, injuries, violence, and lies. He was ready to fling the whole lot across the room when the front legs of his chair hit the floor with a clang.

  A picture was attached to the top of a pile of reports with a red paper clip. The face of Matthew Gibson, dark bruises on his cheeks and chest, stared up at him. Daniel fought a surge of nausea. He’d been called to Matthew’s house several times. His mother was dead, and his father was a real piece of work. Arrogant and charming, he could spin tale after tale of the ways his tiny son had found to hurt himself, speaking so smoothly and eloquently it was almost impossible not to get sucked in, to start to believe every word coming out of his lying mouth. Although they almost always took him in anyway, the charges never stuck. Daniel had stopped being shocked when he heard that Matthew Gibson was back at home with his father, but he had never stopped feeling sick and frustrated at the news.

  He drummed his fingers on the desk, frowning in concentration. All of the stories were horrible, but Matthew’s had to be the worst. If any situation could entice the kidnapper to risk everything by going into one more home, it could be this one. He’d take Matthew’s file in to his boss fi
rst thing in the morning and tell him his suspicions. Maybe they could put a team out there to watch the Gibson place too. The problem was it could be days or even weeks before something happened, and even then it was merely a hunch that this child was the next target. And the DS had made it pretty clear how much he loved acting on a hunch. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

  Holden would certainly know about Matthew’s case. If Holden was the one passing on information, no doubt he’d have sent this file to whoever was behind the child abductions. And it did make more sense that it would be him. Especially since he’d inferred that whoever was taking the kids wasn’t doing it with any intent to harm them. Daniel wished he’d had a chance to push him further on that, but they’d been interrupted at that point by—

  His head snapped up. The redhead with the legs. He knew who she was. The woman who had stuck her head in the door and asked Holden about going for coffee. What was her name? Daniel made a fist and tapped it against his forehead. Think, Grey. Chris. It was Chris something. He’d have to check the list of social workers and see how many women named Chris or Christine worked at CAS. What had he done with that list? Was it still on his desk?

  Daniel lifted the reports and a loose piece of paper slid across the surface of his desk. He reached for it and scanned the words quickly. Drawing in a sharp breath, he jumped to his feet. “Shar!”

  She swiveled in her chair to face him when he stepped into her office. “Yeah?”

  “It’s Gage.”

  Her dark eyes widened. “What? How do you know?”

  “This transcript. Did you see it?”

  “No.” She craned her neck to look around him. “Is Nicole gone?”

  “Gone?” Her name still hit him like a slug to the jaw.

  “Yeah, she came in half an hour ago while you were out. I told her she could wait for you in your office. Didn’t you see her?”

  “No. She wasn’t here when I got back. Why didn’t she wait for …” A chill moved through him. “Oh man. She saw this. She’ll think Holden is the one taking the kids.”