Girl in Trouble

by Stacy Claflin

He swore.

  Wait. If the abductor had gone inside, would he have been so stupid to take Ariana in there with him?

  Alex snapped pictures of the SUV from all angles and then went inside, pretending to be unsure what to get. The smell of fried chicken wafted his way. He followed the aroma to the back, where he found a deli. He ordered twice as much as he should have and made his way to the registers, glancing down every aisle.

  He froze mid-step in the pasta aisle. At the very end, stood a man who looked just like Ariana's abductor. No, it was him. Ari was nowhere in sight, though.

  His pulse drummed in his ears. The man picked up a bag of pasta and put it into his short cart.

  Alex's mind raced. Did he confront the man? Walk up and punch his ugly face? Call Fleshman?

  The man turned to leave the aisle.

  "Stop!" Alex dropped the chicken and ran after him. The man didn't seem to notice him. He simply pushed his cart out of the aisle and turned left.

  Fury burned through Alex. His feet seemed to take off on their own. His boots weren't made for running and slid on the sleek floor. He steadied himself and took off after the kidnapper, skidding as he exited the aisle and turned left.

  The jerk turned down the bread aisle.

  "I said stop!"

  The dude either didn't hear him or was pretending Alex was talking to someone else. Oh, how he wanted to beat the crap out of him.

  Alex ran down the bread aisle, nearly crashing into a lady examining two bags of bagels. She glared at him and turned back to the bags.

  He didn't bother muttering an apology. The man was already at the end of the aisle. There was no time to waste. "Stop!"

  The jerk continued ignoring him and went to the frozen food section.

  Alex caught up with him. It was definitely the same guy. Tall, balding, and that same big, ugly nose. "Hey!"

  He turned to Alex, with a surprised expression. "Are you talking to me?"

  "Yes! What'd you do with my daughter?"

  "Pardon me?" He stared at Alex and then glanced around. "I've never seen you before, and I have no idea who your daughter is."

  Several people stopped and stared.

  "Really?" Alex scoffed. "I saw you throw her into an SUV."

  The man shook his head. "You must have me mistaken for someone else."

  "It was you!" Alex grabbed his collar. "Admit it."

  He shoved Alex and stepped back. "I'm telling you, I have no idea what you're talking about. Leave me alone, or I'll press charges."

  "Where's Ariana?" Alex demanded.

  A lady in a suit stepped between them. "I'm the store manager. Is there a problem?"

  "Yes," said the abductor. "This man is harassing me."

  "He kidnapped my daughter!"

  She turned to him. "Did you?"

  "Of course not."

  The manager turned to Alex. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

  "Are you kidding me? He's a criminal!"

  She put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Sir, I'm not going to ask again. He is a regular around here. I've never met a more upstanding citizen. Security has already been called." She turned to the kidnapper. "Do you want to press charges?"

  He shook his head and turned to Alex. "I really do hope you find your girl."

  Anger tore through him. Alex pointed to the kidnapper. "You have my daughter!" He looked at the manager. "Now you're just as responsible for anything that happens to her as he is." Alex balled his fist and aimed for the man's face. He moved to the side and Alex only hit his shoulder. "You haven't heard the last of me." He glared at that manager. "Neither have you."

  Two burly men in mall-cop uniforms sauntered over. One reached for Alex, but he moved out of the way. "I'm leaving."

  He stormed out of the store, muttering under his breath. He bumped into a guy about his height with a baseball cap pulled low.

  "Sorry," Alex muttered.

  "It's fine." The man turned his back to Alex and walked away.

  Once outside, Alex stood behind a pop machine. At the very least, he would follow the man to his SUV. Or maybe he should follow him. Then he might be able to find where Ariana.

  Alex glanced around the parking lot. Clenching his car keys, Alex waited with baited breath.

  Finally, the abductor exited the store. He pushed the short cart to a silver Volvo.

  A Volvo?

  He filled the trunk with paper bags and returned the cart to the store. If Alex didn't know any better, he'd almost believe the man was a decent, responsible human.

  Snorting, he headed for his car. As he passed the silver sedan, he snapped as many pictures as he could with his phone. Not that it would help if it was stolen. The abductor would probably abandon it as soon as he got his food home.

  Alex hurried into his beater, started the car, and sat low. The kidnapper returned to the Volvo and started it. Alex pulled out of his spot and followed from a distance, even though what he wanted to do was to ram into the car until the driver surrendered and pleaded for mercy.

  The Volvo turned right out of the parking lot. By the time Alex pulled up, a large delivery truck moseyed down the road, blocking his vision of the car. Alex squealed out of the lot and tried to get around the truck, but there was too much oncoming traffic to get around. He tailgated, trying to convince the driver to either speed up or move aside so he could pass. He did neither.

  "Come on!" Alex hit the horn.

  The truck slowed to a stop at an unmarked intersection, his left blinker on.

  Alex ran his hands through his hair. He should have just beat the crap out of the kidnapper at the store. He'd be on his way to jail, but at least the abductor wouldn't be getting away—again. He'd probably be more careful in the future now that he knew Alex was onto him.

  He'd probably only made things worse.

  Finally, the delivery truck turned. The Volvo was out of sight. Alex peeled forward, still not seeing the car anywhere. He glanced down side streets. Still nothing.

  He needed to get the pictures to Fleshman.

  Clue

  Alex burst into the police station and hurried past the desk clerk.

  "Hey, you have to check in!"

  Muttering, Alex spun around. "I'm here to see Fleshman. He's expecting me."

  "Really?" The clerk lowered her glasses and arched a brow.

  "Yeah." Alex stood taller.

  "Then I suppose you know he's home, sleeping."

  Of course he was. Just like Alex had been planning to do before running into Ariana's kidnapper. "That's fine. I'll call him there." Alex held out Fleshman's card, which had his personal number scribbled on the back. "He told me to call anytime."

  "Whatever." The clerk popped her gum, turned back to her computer, and started typing.

  Alex headed back to his car, debating on whether or not to call and wake Fleshman. This was important enough. He'd found the kidnapper! There was no time to lose.

  He started the car and called him.

  The third ring cut off, followed by scratching noise and a groggy, "Hello?"

  "I found him," Alex said. "The kidnapper."

  "What? Where?"

  "At the Giant Pear grocery store over on third."

  "He's there now?" Fleshman asked, starting to sound more awake.

  "No, he left but I got his license plate. He's driving a Volvo now."

  "This is Alex, right?"

  "Yeah, and I know it's him."

  "Okay. Give me a few minutes. Meet me at the station."

  "Already here."

  "You are? Okay, go in and talk to Head Detective Anderson. Tell him everything, then wait for me."

  "Anderson. Got it." Alex repeated the name in his mind so he wouldn't forget.

  "I hope you're right."

  "I am."

  "See you soon." The call ended.

  Alex cut the engine and stepped back into the chilly air. There were some pumpkins by the entrance he hadn't noticed before. Everything about the upcoming holiday was a
reminder of Ariana. She couldn't get enough of any of it.

  He hoped she'd be back in time to enjoy a night of trick or treating.

  She will. Alex clenched his fists. She had to be, or he'd hunt down the abductor and make sure he never saw another Halloween.

  He held his head high and marched back into the station like he owned the place.

  The clerk shot him an annoyed glance. "You again? Fleshman's still out."

  "I know that. I need to speak with Head Detective Anderson."

  She grumbled. "I'll get him. Have a seat. What's your name?"

  "Alex." He glanced around the waiting room. Three others sat, all appearing strung out and agitated. He stood by the door to wait and mentally went over every detail of his interaction with the kidnapper. They couldn't afford to miss anything.

  "Alex?" A male voice broke through his thoughts.

  A familiar man with graying brown hair and bright eyes stood in front of him, wearing a suit and a badge on his belt. Alex thought he'd worked on his sister's case. He nodded. "I'm Alex."

  "I'm Head Detective Anderson. Come on back."

  Alex followed him into one of the interrogation rooms. He shuddered, remembering the times spent there being questioned as a kid.

  "Do you have new information?" Anderson shut the door.

  Alex glanced over at the two-way mirror, but ignored it. The more people who heard what he had to say, the better. "I saw the kidnapper."

  "You did? Where?"

  He told Anderson everything he'd told Fleshman over the phone.

  Anderson scribbled notes onto a tablet as he spoke. "You say this all just happened?"

  "Right before I came here."

  "I need to find out if they called here to report the incident. If not, I'm going to need to get their statement." He rose from his seat.

  "Fleshman is on his way," Alex said. "He wants to talk with me, too. Can I wait for him in his office?"

  Anderson shook his head. "Just relax here. I'll make sure he knows where you are. Need some coffee?"

  That was the last thing he needed at this point. Alex shook his head.

  "Just hold tight." Anderson left the little room.

  Alex glanced around and rubbed his eyes. His body ached with exhaustion, but between all the caffeine and his nerves, he could hardly sit still. He ran his hands through his hair and then over his beard.

  Did all the fidgeting make him look nervous? Someone was definitely behind that mirror watching him. The cops wouldn't give up the opportunity to watch the dad of the kidnapped girl when he was alone—especially when Alex had been the only witness to the crime.

  He sat up straight in his chair and forced himself to sit still. It was tempting to get up and pace. Instead, he grabbed a pad of paper and a pen that sat at the other end of the table and started drawing a picture of the kidnapper as best as he could. Sure, the store should have cameras, but he had to do something with his hands and at least this might help the case.

  Alex was adding the final touches when the door finally opened again. Fleshman walked in, looking no more rested than Alex felt. "Come with me to my office."

  He ripped off his drawing and followed the captain.

  Fleshman slammed his door and turned to Alex. "You assaulted the suspect?"

  Apparently he'd caught up on everything. "He denied the whole thing and the store manager was going to kick me out."

  "Sit," Fleshman ordered.

  Alex sat.

  "Don't do that again. It just makes you look bad. And besides, you're lucky he or the store didn't press charges."

  "What about him?" Alex exploded. "He kidnapped Ariana! I saw him do it!"

  Shaking his head, Fleshman sat in his chair behind the desk. "Next time you want to hit someone, call me. This crap just makes it a whole lot harder for me to do my job. I want to focus on catching the bastard, not cleaning your messes."

  Alex nodded. "I wasn't thinking."

  "Clearly. What's that?" Fleshman nodded toward Alex's drawing.

  "The kidnapper." Alex handed the sketch to him.

  Fleshman studied it. "That's actually pretty good. Looks a lot like the security footage."

  "So, you saw him? Why aren't you out there, busting down his door?"

  "Because this isn't TV. You say you got his license plate?"

  Alex went to his pictures and handed the phone to Fleshman.

  "I'll look into it. Chances are, it's stolen and won't lead us anywhere. Let me just text these to myself." He slid his finger around Alex's screen.

  "But you'll look into it?"

  "Of course. First, tell me everything about your run-in with the suspect."

  "It sounds like you already know everything."

  "Not from your perspective. Don't leave out a single detail. Something small could be a case-breaking clue."

  Alex took a deep breath and told Fleshman everything, not even leaving out details that made Alex look bad. Maybe he'd left a mark on the jerk that would somehow help prove it was him if he tried to disguise himself.

  "That's everything?" Fleshman asked when Alex was done.

  "Yeah." He slunk down in the chair, nearly overcome with the need to sleep.

  "Something doesn't make sense, though."

  Alex's stomach twisted. "What?"

  "Why would there be two vehicles? The SUV is what caught your attention, but we have the guy leaving in a Volvo."

  "I don't know! Maybe he ditched the SUV in the parking lot. He could've stolen the Volvo. If you look into it, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

  Fleshman nodded. "You didn't forget anything? No seemingly insignificant detail?"

  "Wait!" Alex sat upright.

  "Yes?"

  "There was a guy at the grocery store. I didn't pay attention at the time, but when I was leaving, he was in my way. He was covering his face with a hat. Maybe he's got something to do with it! He could be working with the kidnapper."

  "What did he look like?" Fleshman asked.

  "His hat was covering his face."

  "That's not a lot to go on."

  "He was about my height."

  The captain sighed. "Okay. I have to look at the store's security footage, anyway. I'll look for that guy as well. Can you think of anything else?"

  "No, but if I remember something, I'll let you know."

  "Okay, I'll go over all this with the team before I go back home for some sleep." He leaned over his desk. "I've also been looking for similar cases, and I found something."

  Alex bolted upright. "What?"

  Fleshman leaned even closer. "It's a long shot."

  "What is it?"

  He seemed to be debating whether to tell Alex.

  "You can't leave me hanging like this."

  "I've discovered a possible pattern. It could be a long shot. For about a decade, each year in late October, a girl goes missing in Washington. They all basically match Ariana's description—similar height and coloring. The locations vary a lot, and there are some other discrepancies, but there are too many similarities for me to let this go."

  Alex stared at him, unable to blink or speak.

  "I don't believe in coincidences. Something's going on." Fleshman's expression grew more intense.

  "So, the same thing? Every year?"

  "The cases have never been linked together, mostly because they're all over the state."

  "Don't kids go missing every day? What makes these abductions unique? How did you figure out they're connected?" Alex's brows came together.

  Fleshman's expression tightened. "In each of these cases, the girls were all found dead in or close to various lakes. All the deaths were determined to be right around Halloween. They all were drowned on or close to the holiday."

  Alex's mouth dropped. "You… how… you think that could be Ariana's kidnapper? The person who killed those other girls?"

  "It's a possibility. A lot of them were taken from a park, and the Ball Palace is basically just an indoor park, wouldn't you say?
"

  It took Alex a moment to find his voice. "And the other girls, they look like Ari?"

  "Most have a little longer hair, but yeah. Most have the same color hair, skin tone, and big brown eyes. The only thing is that they're a little older, but Ariana's tall, so he may have thought she was older."

  The office spun around Alex. "Most? Not all the girls? Maybe this isn't our guy."

  "One girl had bright red hair, but it turns out she was wearing a brown wig with her costume when she was taken. Another girl was Mexican, but otherwise fits the bill."

  His stomach lurched. The guy he'd punched in the store was old enough to have been doing this for that many years. "What do the other cops think?"

  "I haven't brought it up yet. It's only a speculation, and I don't want it to get shot down before I can build my case. The girls have been taken from all over the state, from Vancouver to Yakima to Spokane and even here, not far from Seattle."

  "We have to find him now. There are so many lakes in the area." Alex's breathing became labored.

  "I don't want this theory to get blown out of the water for lack of evidence, so I'm going to keep digging. Once I have something compelling, I'm going to tell the team."

  "Sounds compelling to me."

  "That's why I'm telling you. If you want to search online, I can't stop you."

  Alex nodded. "Okay, but don't you have better resources? Especially with the FBI helping?"

  "Yes, but my time is limited. After I get some sleep, I'm going to be busy with the investigation team. I can't be off chasing theories like this, as likely as I feel it might be. I need to interview our newest suspect, and if the license plate pans out, that could be sooner rather than later. But I'm already up to my eyeballs with things to do."

  Alex got up. "I'll see what I can find. Thanks, Captain."

  "Call me Nick."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Let's talk tonight. Hopefully we'll both have something to share. I don't know about you, but I need some sleep. I'm going to put Anderson on finding the guy. If possible, one of us will have interviewed him by the time I talk to you."

  "Hopefully put him in jail, too."

  "We'll see."

  Fleshman—Nick—handed him a folded piece of paper. "This is what I have on the other kidnappings. Start there."