Mission--Colton Justice

by Jennifer Morey

  “I doubt Adeline will end up like that. She’s honest with herself about how she feels. She’s also successful. She doesn’t need anyone to take care of her. She’s found her own way. She’ll find a man she trusts.” He tried not to think of that man as himself. He held back.

  “Will that man be you?” she asked.

  “Your daughter is an amazing woman. I wouldn’t lead her to believe I’m worthy unless I believed it myself.”

  Knox stood nearby, a silent witness up until then. His mouth turned up ruefully at Jeremy’s declaration. “I know the feeling.”

  Knox was married now. Had he felt unworthy because he was Livia’s son? Jeremy’s situation was different. He had a son who lost his mother. No decision would come lightly, none that would change Jamie’s life. A new woman would be a big change.

  That new woman was in an operating room with a bullet wound.

  “Mrs. Winters?”

  Feeling a jolt snap him to attention, Jeremy stood with Evangeline. A doctor approached. They’d find out how Adeline was doing.

  “She made it through surgery. The bullet grazed her liver, but most of the damage was to her muscle tissue. She must have moved just before the bullet struck. Either that, or the shooter’s aim was off. The angle of the bullet sent it through her side.” The doctor indicated by drawing an invisible line on his white coat from a point below his rib bone to his flank. “If the caliber of bullet would have been any bigger, I don’t think she would have survived the ambulance ride. There would have been a lot more damage to her abdominal cavity. She lost a lot of blood and when she fell she hit her head. We had to stitch her up there, as well.”

  “Is she going to be all right?” Evangeline asked.

  “I’m concerned that the bullet grazed her liver. We’re going to keep a close eye on her tonight.”

  Jeremy ran his hand over his face again. He couldn’t bear to lose her. And Jamie. The blood left his head thinking of that. What was happening to his son right now? Was he scared? Did he want his daddy to come and get him? That thought killed him inside.

  “You can go see her in about an hour. We need to move her to her recovery room, but she’s just gotten out of surgery.”

  When the doctor left, Evangeline dropped down onto a chair, looking relieved but still stressed.

  “Why would someone try to kill Adeline?” Knox asked Jeremy, keeping his tone low.

  “Why would anyone kidnap Jamie?” Why try to kill Adeline and abduct a three-year-old boy? Ransom? “Somebody was threatened by Adeline. They took her out in order to capture Jamie.”

  “Whoever it is, they must not like her looking into Tess’s accident.”

  Jeremy had known something was wrong with Tess’s accident all along. “This has all the earmarks of Livia.”

  “I’m starting to believe you. I think Adeline will, too, after this.”

  If she survived.

  Livia might have enlisted one of her henchmen to help her. She’d want everyone to assume she was dead, so having someone else carry out a ransom scheme made sense. Adeline and Jeremy had nosed into Tess’s accident too much; now Livia had upped the stakes. She’d use this situation to her advantage to get some money, which would help her escape into obscurity.

  * * *

  Jeremy’s neck began to ache and he realized he’d fallen asleep in a chair with his head back. He lifted his head with a wince. Adeline still lay in the same position with her eyes closed. The nurses had come in several times during the night to check on her. Jeremy watched her sleep, long eyelashes brushing soft, smooth skin. Her blond hair fanned out across the pillow, silky and shiny despite her condition.

  The last time he’d seen her in a hospital, she’d held Jamie in her arms. He’d never forget the look on her face. He’d seen exactly what her mother had described. That look had haunted him over the last three years. Thoughts had interfered with the way he regarded Tess sometimes.

  Jamie.

  Where was he? Although he’d only slept for maybe an hour, Jeremy couldn’t believe he’d slept at all. Knox had called once in the middle of the night to report none of Evangeline’s neighbors had seen anything.

  Rubbing his neck, he checked the time. Almost five in the morning. The hospital room was dark, with the blinds closed and only one small light on above the sink. Lights from the equipment hooked up to Adeline provided more dim light. He could see through the cracks in the blinds that the sun hadn’t come up yet.

  He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Is Jamie with my mother?”

  At the sound of Adeline’s voice, Jeremy sat upright and leaned toward her. She must have gone unconscious before Jamie had been taken.

  “You’re awake.” Relief came in a giant wave. She made it. “How do you feel?”

  “Like someone ice skated over my side. What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” It wasn’t uncommon for people not to remember how they acquired traumatic injuries.

  “I remember leaving my mother’s with Jamie.” Her brow scrunched as though she tried to remember more.

  “You were shot.”

  She stared at him. “I remember a black Suburban. And a man with a gun. I didn’t recognize him.”

  Jeremy reached over and put his hand on hers. “Are you sure?” She could help save Jamie if she could remember.

  She moved her head on the pillow, shaking it no and then touching the bandage on the side of her head.

  “You hit your head when you fell. The bullet grazed your liver. The doctor was concerned about that and the amount of blood you lost.” He’d wait until the doctor checked her out before he said she’d be all right.

  “Where’s my mother? Did she take Jamie home?”

  “She was here until about midnight and went home to try and get some rest.” He had difficulty voicing what had happened to Jamie. Saying it out loud made it too real.

  “Jamie?” She struggled to sit up.

  Jeremy stood and moved the bed to a more upright position. Adeline grimaced in pain as her gunshot wound must have protested.

  “Try not to move just yet. You had surgery.” He took her hand and held it, lowering his head as he searched for a way to tell her.

  After closing his eyes briefly, he met her frightened look. “Jamie was kidnapped.”

  She sucked in a horrified breath. “No!” Now she struggled to sit again, only this time trying to get off the bed, tugging at lines connected to her, and then crying out in pain.

  Jeremy pushed her shoulders so she lay back down. “Don’t move, Adeline. We think you were shot to stop you from investigating Tess’s accident. We also think Jamie was taken to be held for ransom.”

  “Who would do that?”

  He let her come to her own conclusion.

  “Livia?”

  “Knox agrees she could have hired someone to shoot you and take Jamie.”

  “Jamie was with me when the Suburban almost ran me off the road. He would have killed us both.” She paused to catch her breath after a wince that revealed her pain.

  “Do you need the nurse?” he asked.

  She rolled her head from side to side. “Why would Livia try to have me and Jamie killed and then kidnap Jamie after that failed?”

  “She could have changed her plans. Ransoming Jamie gets her money to escape and stay hidden. And remember, something like this has happened before. One of Livia’s employees kidnapped Knox’s son, Cody, when she didn’t pay him for helping her escape. He did it to force her to pay, but Livia didn’t care about her grandson and killed the poor employee herself. Livia is all about money.”

  “You expect a ransom demand?”

  “Yes.” Except the amount of time passing did unnerve him. What if he was wrong? What if Jamie was already dead? He couldn’t thi
nk that way. He would have shot both Adeline and Jamie if he didn’t intend to kidnap Jamie and hold him for ransom.

  Adeline turned her head and looked toward the window. The sun shone today, the sky a pretty blue.

  “I should have been more watchful,” she said. “No one should have taken him from me.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She couldn’t blame herself for that.

  “I should have kept him safe.” Tears bloomed in her eyes. “I was armed. I could have protected him. I was so happy to see him. I didn’t even see the Suburban until it was too late.”

  “Adeline.” Jeremy put his hand on the side of her face, making her look at him. “It isn’t your fault Jamie was taken. I know you love him and would do anything to keep him safe.”

  She blinked when he said the word “love.”

  “Knox has an entire team searching for him. You need to concentrate on healing.” Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her mouth. Then he rose up just a bit and looked her in her eyes. “We will find our son.”

  Just then Evangeline stepped into the room. “Did I come at a bad time?” She smiled big as she entered, holding a vase of colorful flowers. Going to the other side of the bed, she leaned and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “I’m so happy to see you awake. You gave me such a scare.”

  “You were scared...”

  Jeremy imagined going unconscious after realizing you’d just been shot would be awful.

  Evangeline put the flowers on the windowsill. “This room needed some cheering up.”

  “They’re beautiful, Mom.”

  “Just like my daughter. Now.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “I’ll go find the doctor and tell him you’re awake.”

  “They’ll be in soon enough,” Adeline said. “Stay.”

  “You two need a moment.”

  When she left, Jeremy shared an awkward moment with Adeline. He’d called Jamie their son. When he’d said the word, he’d felt it all the way to his soul.

  Chapter 11

  A witness came through and claimed to have seen a black Suburban drive by their house. The man had just gotten home from work. He saw a man driving and a young boy with his hands flattened against the backseat window. While that had torn Jeremy’s heart out, he had new hope in finding him. Knox took him along to the witness’s house, where Knox questioned him on the front porch.

  “I saw him drive down the street. He may have turned left at the stop sign. I can’t be sure,” the witness had said.

  Jeremy and Knox went door to door while the sheriff’s deputies searched the entire neighborhood for any sign of a Suburban—or Jamie. Jeremy had to hand it to them. They carried out the search with thorough professionalism.

  After leaving the tenth or eleventh door, Jeremy began to lose his flicker of hope. But then Knox’s phone rang and he went a little still and said, “We’re on our way.” As he walked fast to his car, he said to Jeremy, “Someone else spotted the Suburban. Get in.”

  Jeremy did, and Knox sped a few blocks away to the edge of town and a small, two-story farmhouse; a light at the end of the driveway lit the way and an outdoor porch light welcomed them up the creaky steps. A tall, lanky man with short brown hair and green eyes opened the door, his wife beside him. She was much shorter with her red hair up in a ponytail. The man put his arm around her and she looked up at him with love. The two had lots of land but probably not much money.

  “You Sheriff Colton?” the man asked Jeremy.

  Jeremy thumbed over toward Knox. “He is.”

  “We’ve heard a boy went missing.”

  “My son, Jamie,” Jeremy said.

  The man nodded and the woman looked sympathetic.

  “My neighbor stopped by and said deputies were searching a few blocks from here,” the farmer said.

  “That’s right. Dispatch said you saw a black Suburban?” Knox said.

  “Yeah. I was finishing up in the barn when I saw it drive by. He was driving fast and there was a boy in the back. He sort of moved across the back seat like he saw me and wanted to get my attention. He put his hand on the window, pounding it a few times. You know how kids can be. I thought he was just foolin’ around.”

  It pained Jeremy intensely to hear that. Jamie hadn’t been fooling around. He’d been trying to get the farmer’s attention all right, but for help.

  “Did you see where the Suburban went?”

  The farmer pointed down the street. “That way.”

  “That way” was a long stretch of highway leading out of town. Jeremy’s heart plummeted with dread.

  “I’m sorry, mister,” the farmer said to Jeremy. “I wish I’d have heard about the missing boy sooner, especially that he’d been taken in a black Suburban.”

  “We have two boys ourselves,” his wife said. “I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to lose one of them.”

  Jeremy wouldn’t comment on how horrible it was that he’d lost Jamie. He refused to succumb to feeling bad. He had to find Jamie. How he felt didn’t matter. Only Jamie mattered.

  “There’s more farmhouses a few miles down,” the man said. “Three before it’s a whole lot of nothin’ for several more.”

  “Thanks. We’ll check it out.” Knox led Jeremy back to the car.

  It was starting to get late but Knox drove to the first farmhouse. A grouchy older woman answered and said she’d been inside watching television all day and hadn’t been outside. The second didn’t answer the door and Knox radioed to his team to send someone over in the morning. They peeked into windows but the interior was dark and no sounds came from inside.

  “Can we break in?” What if Jamie was inside?

  “Not without reasonable cause. If you want your son’s kidnapper to get away with what he’s done. Breaking in without that or a warrant won’t help you.”

  Of course, Jeremy knew that. He just wanted his son back. Now.

  Knox drove to the third and last house before tens of miles of nothing but trees and grassland led to the next county. Knox had already notified other sheriffs in the entire state. An Amber Alert had been sent and so far no one had called in with any viable tips.

  This house had lights on. He and Knox went to the door. A man in his forties and wearing overalls and a weary face answered. Kids hollered in the background and a woman yelled for them to quiet down. The smell of hamburgers filled the small space of the ranch house.

  “Sheriff,” the man said.

  “Hello, Mr. Smith. How’s the family?”

  “Misbehaving and late for bed, as usual. How’s your missus?”

  “Very well, thanks. We’re here looking for a missing boy who was last seen in a black Suburban with a man driving.”

  “He ain’t here.” The man chuckled at his bad joke.

  “Have you seen a black Suburban?”

  “No, sir. I spent the day moving cattle, nowhere near any roads.” He turned and called to his wife and kids. “Any of you see a black Suburban today?”

  “No,” the two kids called back.

  “I spent the day cleaning up after these kids,” the wife said. “Sorry.”

  Another dead end. If Jamie’s kidnapper had taken him out of Shadow Creek, they were long gone by now. Jeremy sat in agonizing silence as Knox drove back toward town.

  He watched the landscape change from open fields to trees, darkness swallowing all but the road.

  “We’ll find him,” Knox said.

  Jeremy wasn’t so sure anymore. It had been more than twenty-four hours. He tried not to give in to despair, but his son was missing. Jamie. His sweet, smart, adorable son. What would he do without him?

  “We will,” Knox repeated.

  Jeremy glanced at him and then returned his gaze to the passing landscape. Spotting a dirt road he hadn’t s
een on the way to the third house, he pointed.

  “Where does that go?”

  “It’s a forest service road. There’s a campground a few miles up. We can check it out. Leave nothing left to guessing, no rock unturned.”

  Jeremy heard Knox’s indulgent tone. He doubted the road would yield much other than a ride up a dark dirt road. But Knox was right. Leave no rock unturned. He’d feel better not letting the slightest possibility go to assumption.

  Headlights lit the way, casting an eerie half circle ahead on the road and above on the canopy of trees. The tires rolled over gravel and spit up dust in the taillights. They reached the campground where the road ended. There were a few campers.

  Knox drove through the loops until he drove back onto the dirt road. Jeremy experienced another drop inside. They’d get no leads tonight.

  He stared out the window, thinking of Jamie, fighting his imagination of what he was doing right now, what he was feeling. Was he hungry? Tired and scared?

  Something reflected off the headlights, something off the road.

  “Stop,” he said to Knox.

  Knox stopped the car. “What did you see?”

  “Back up.”

  Knox did, slowly.

  Jeremy saw something in the woods. “Stop.”

  The car stopped. There wasn’t a road there, but Jeremy saw evidence that vehicles had driven through there on occasion and wondered if he’d find a secluded campsite in the trees. Getting out of the car, he followed the worn path just wide enough for a car to make it through. About twenty feet in, he found a black Suburban in a clearing, a rock-bordered fire pit nearby.

  Knox appeared beside him with a flashlight and uttered a single swear word not fit for church.

  “Yeah,” Jeremy said. “Let’s check inside.”

  “Don’t touch anything,” Knox said. “And be careful where you step.” He shined the flashlight on the ground as they made their way to the vehicle.

  Jeremy avoided the tire tracks made by the Suburban and noticed another set of tracks overlapping those. At the Suburban, he looked inside along with Knox, who aimed the flashlight. The car was clean. Nothing littered the interior and there was no sign of Jamie at all. He hadn’t expected to find anything. Besides, the second set of tire tracks might be more important.