“Liar. Get away from us,” she yelled. Maria could hear Layla still crying in the backseat. She jumped out of the car and began flailing at the man.
A neighbor yelled from her front porch. “Maria, are you OK?”
Help. She can get me help.
Maria yelled, “Call 911. Hurry.”
Maria watched as Raymond marched across the yard. He hadn’t been at the office like he’d told her. He must have been right around the corner waiting for Renata to bring Layla to him.
Falling against the car, she began to sob.
Raymond came up to her. He hissed at her through clenched teeth. “Maria, what are you doing? Do not cause a scene. You’re scaring Layla.”
Hearing her daughter’s name, she pushed Raymond away from her. “You get away from us, Raymond. We’re leaving and you can’t stop us.”
He stepped close to Maria and whispered in a tone so cold her heart froze. “I am taking my daughter, Maria. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way means you will see your daughter again. The hard way means you will never see her again. It is your choice, Maria. Look around you. You can’t stop me.” He meant every word.
Maria’s only hope was that the police would get here soon. She looked at Renata, who stood behind the men. She turned to the woman.
“Please, don’t let them take my baby,” she implored Renata.
Maria saw that Renata’s eyes glittered bright with tears, but she hung her head. She wouldn’t or couldn’t help.
Raymond reached into the car and unbuckled Layla. He spent a few moments calming his child and then gave her a kiss. “It’s OK, honey. Your mommy is just tired. You go with Aunt Renata, and I will see you in a little bit.”
“But Mommy is crying.”
“I know. I’m going to take care of Mommy, and then I will come see you.” He handed Layla to Renata, who turned and walked away without another word.
“I don’t want her to go.” Maria sobbed.
“Stop it. You are scaring her. You give her a kiss goodbye and tell her that everything is fine.” His tone was firm.
Maria did as she was told.
He nodded at the other men. They turned and walked back to their own cars.
Maria hoped that the neighbor had called the police, but there was no sign of her or the police.
Raymond took hold of Maria’s elbow and guided her back to the house.
Maria tore loose from him. “This is insane, Raymond. What are you doing?” she yelled.
He looked at her, his black eyes cold. “It is none of your concern.”
“You’re nuts. I’m calling the police.” She moved to pick up the phone.
“Do what you must. Just remember, I have Layla. What you choose to do will have a great impact on what happens to her.”
Maria stopped walking.
He looked at her with such hatred it chilled her very soul.
The ringing of his cell phone broke the spell. He listened for a moment and then hung up. “The police will be here in a moment. If you want Layla to stay alive, you will tell them to go away.”
The doorbell rang.
“Go.” He pushed her towards the door.
She wiped away the tears. She had to keep Layla safe.
Two police officers stood on her porch with grim expressions. She smiled. “Can I help you?”
The woman officer stepped forward. She was of medium height and stocky, probably in her mid-thirties. Her brown hair was cut as short as a man’s. “We’ve had report of a domestic disturbance here, ma’am. Can we come in and talk with you for a few moments?”
Maria chuckled, hoping to sound casual. “I was afraid that was going to happen. I’m sure some of my neighbors called, but it wasn’t really a problem. I could see how someone else might have thought that it was.”
The woman officer smiled with understanding. “That’s nice, but can we come in and speak with you for a few moments?”
Maria felt her heart palpitate. She had to get rid of these people. If she failed, Layla’s life would be in danger. Only moments ago, she would never have believed Raymond would hurt his own child “It’s not really necessary. Everything’s fine.”
The male officer stepped forward. “Ma’am, we’re going to have to insist you let us come in. We’ll make the determination of whether everything is fine here.”
Maria took a step back. “I didn’t mean you couldn’t come in. I just didn’t want you to waste your time.”
The officers came into the house. Maria introduced herself and Raymond.
Again, the woman officer took control of the situation. “We received a report of a domestic disturbance. The neighbor said your daughter was dragged out of the car and taken away.”
Sweat trickled down Maria’s back but she managed a weak smile. “I can see it looked like that. I had to get my daughter to her swim lesson. When our friends pulled in, I was just going to go around them, but one of them offered to take her to swim lessons.” She shrugged. “So, I let them.”
“Swim lessons, huh?” The male officer didn’t believe her for a second.
She nodded and smiled. “That’s right. I’m sorry you wasted your time.”
“And then what happened to all your friends? They just happened to leave?” the man asked.
“You look like you’ve been crying, ma’am,” the woman officer stated.
Maria didn’t know what to say.
Raymond stepped to her side. “Officers, my wife tends to be a bit high-strung. She gets overwhelmed at times and this just happens to be one of those days. She forgot to take her medication today.”
With those words, Raymond pulled a prescription bottle from his pocket and handed it to the officers. Maria’s jaw fell open. She didn’t take any sort of prescription medicine. She was about to protest but stopped. She had to keep Layla safe.
“Renata Hannah stopped by for a visit and realized something was wrong with my wife. She panicked and began to call everyone she could think of to help. We all just happened to get here at the same time. You can certainly call her if you wish.”
Raymond shrugged while Maria stared at him slack-jawed. Who was this liar?
The officers looked at Maria with pity in their eyes. Raymond was winning them over, not that it mattered. She would say nothing to jeopardize Layla. It took several more minutes and a phone call to Renata Hannah, but eventually the officers were convinced and left.
Maria shut the door and glared at Raymond.
“You did a good job, Maria. I knew you could do it.” He looked at her with cold black eyes. “I am not here to argue with you. As I told you, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you cooperate with us, and you get to stay Layla’s mother. The hard way is I kill you.”
Maria stared in horror at her husband, believing every word. She’d been married to a monster all along, but had been too blind to see it.
“What is your decision, Maria?”
“I’ll cooperate.” Her voice was low with no emotion.
“Good. I thought you might.” His cold dark eyes glittered with hatred as he smiled at her.
****
The phone rang, jarring her from her memories and back to the present predicament.
She stared at the screen. It wasn’t Raymond. A Sunberry area code.
She pressed the talk button and said, “Hello.”
“Veronica? This is Conrad…Travis…the police officer. Where are you? We have some questions we need to ask you.”
Why would they need to ask her questions? Maybe Raymond wasn’t lying. Maybe he really had kidnapped Emily.
She took a deep breath. Be calm. “I…I had a family emergency. Had to leave town.”
“But where are you?”
“Did you find Emily yet?”
“No. And as I said we have some more questions for you.”
She closed her eyes. What a nightmare. “This is a bad time. There was something I forgot to tell you. I saw a man hanging a
round the square the past few days. He looked suspicious. Maybe, he took Emily.”
“Did he have black hair and a dark complexion?”
A description of Raymond? What was that about? “No. he had brownish-blond hair and a beard. Why?”
“I can’t say. I need you to come in and make a sketch of this man you saw.”
The tone in his voice said it all. He didn’t believe her. But he wanted her back in Sunberry for a reason—maybe Raymond was the reason. Raymond had black hair and a dark complexion. What if Conrad was working with Raymond?
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” She clicked end once again. The phone rang. Sunberry again. Reluctantly, she hit the answer button. “What?”
“Veronica, what’s going on? I know you’re in some kind of trouble. Let me help you.”
He sounded sincere and she wanted to tell him the truth. All of it, but she couldn’t. “I’m fine. Like I said, I have a family emergency. I saw the man leaning against a brown van. I don’t know if it belonged to him or not. I hope that helps.”
“Veroni—”
“Sorry, I really have to go.” She clicked the end button.
The phone rang again. Not Sunberry this time. Raymond. It wouldn’t do any good to talk to him again. He might have Emily, but there was no reason for him to hurt her. Emily wasn’t a child to him—just a tool to get what he wanted. He wouldn’t hurt her until he had what he wanted. Layla
She hit the power button and watched the phone power down.
She put her head in her hands and sobbed.
17
After pulling herself together, Maria walked back into the hotel room.
Layla was sitting cross-legged on the bed. She pointed at the TV. “Mommy, we’re on TV.”
Maria turned towards the TV.
A picture of Maria with blonde hair flashed on the screen along with a picture of Layla. Her most recent school picture. Then another picture flashed of Maria with her natural black hair.
She flopped on the bed, hoping Layla couldn’t see how upset she was.
Maria stared at the TV, barely able to breathe. This was bad—so bad. People would recognize them and call the number flashing across the screen. She’d never make it to Florida—to Patti and Jamie Jakowksi.
Her plan was crumbling.
The perfect blonde newscaster spoke into the camera, looking both sincere and serious at the same time. “Police will not confirm nor will they deny that they are looking for this woman and child. They were going by the name of Veronica and Jasmine Minor here in Sunberry, Ohio, but those names are believed to be aliases. There is some confusion as to whether the child posing as her daughter is truly her daughter or another kidnap victim. This all came to light with the kidnapping of seven-year-old Emily Most from this small Ohio town.”
A picture of Emily Most flashed on the screen.
The fake blonde put a somber look on her face. “It’s horrendous when this happens anywhere anytime, but it’s particularly devastating to this close-knit community.”
“Mommy, why are they saying we know where Emily is?”
“Because they’re confused.” Her heart was racing and her breathing turned ragged. Not an anxiety attack in front of Layla.
She forced her breathing to slow down. What were they going to do now? It sounded as if a nationwide manhunt had been launched. For her—for them.
That manhunt would lead Raymond right to her.
She reached for the remote and shut it off.
She had to get to Patti as soon as possible.
****
Conrad stared open-mouthed as he watched the news on the wall-mounted TV in the squad room.
Ben Martin bellowed. “How did this happen? What is going on? Where did this woman get this information? It’s not even true, as far as I know.”
Conrad shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe the state police gave it to them?”
“Before giving it to us? If that’s true, heads are going to roll. I don’t care how small of a town this is, there are ways to do things and ways not to.” Ben marched to the phone on his desk and hit some numbers. His foot tapped as he waited for someone to answer. “Chief of Police Ben Martin here and I want to know what is going on over there. Why is the TV reporting you have a suspect?”
As he listened, Ben’s face turned scarlet. Finally, he screamed into the phone. “I’m coming over there, and you better have some answers for me when I get there.”
He clicked the off button and stared at the phone as if he was thinking about throwing it against the wall. “I miss the old phones when you could slam them down. He claims not to know what’s going on, either. They claim the information didn’t come from them. They’re trying to round up the newscaster, but she’s nowhere to be found.” He stomped towards the door.
Conrad stood. “I’m going with you.”
Zink looked up from the computer screen. “Me, too.”
Ben shook his head and pointed at Conrad. “You stay here and see what you can find out about this Veronica woman. The search starts at 4 PM at the lake. Meet us there. Keep calling Nick. Tell him to hold down the office here while we search. If he’s finished with his nap.”
“Fine. I’ll keep trying to call Veronica back, but she’s not answering. It’s going straight to voice mail. She probably shut off the phone.”
“Hopefully, the tech guys at the state police will be able to locate her from the phone call. Let me know the minute they do.”
18
Maria sat on the bed, and then jumped back up. Panic threatened to overcome her, but she couldn’t let it win. Wouldn’t let it win. She sat back down. Staying in control of her feelings would keep her alive—and more importantly, Layla.
“Time to go, sweetie.” She jumped up and started repacking their escape bags.
“I’m confused.”
Join the party. “Me too. We’ll talk about it in the car.” She’d wanted to ditch the rental, but for now, she’d have to use it. She didn’t want to risk going to another rental place and being recognized. For all she knew, her name might be red-flagged, and the minute she tried to rent a car or buy a bus ticket, they’d have her.
Glad she’d paid for the room up front, she hurried Layla out. She took a last glance around the room. Her gaze fell on the cell phone on the bed. She hated the thing. She picked it up anyway.
Once in the car she found the exit for 71 South, the route towards Florida. Patti and Jamie would help her. They would keep Layla safe from the monster. Maria wiped away tears as she drove.
“Mommy?” Layla’s tiny voice jerked her back to the present.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m worried about Emily, sweetie.” She couldn’t admit she was afraid for Layla as well. Her daughter had experienced enough in her short lifetime. Maria wouldn’t add to it.
She drove slow and steady. The last thing she needed was to be stopped by a state patrolman. Time and time again, her attention went to the gas gauge. Sooner or later, they would have to stop.
****
After the chief and Zink left, Conrad stared at the computer for several minutes. This case was like a jigsaw puzzle that had missing pieces.
He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through the names. When he found the one he wanted, he hit enter and waited. “Hey, Leonard. This is Conrad Travis.”
“Hi, haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“I know. Trying to keep busy.”
“I don’t have anything new for you. You know I’ll call you the second I do.”
“I know that. But we got all kinds of crazy here right now.”
“In Sunberry?”
“A little girl was kidnapped. We’re treating it as a stranger abduction. “
“I hadn’t heard. What do you need from me?”
“I need you to do some background searches for me, if you don’t mind.”
“Not a problem, buddy. Give me the names.”
“Well…there’s a woman here. Her name is Veronica Minor but a few months ago, she was living in Utah under the name of Ramona Dye. She has a daughter named Jasmine. Don’t know if the daughter had a previous name. Also a David Hamm from New York.”
Conrad tapped his fingers for a moment. “And Nick Johns. There’s no rush on the last name. He works for our department part-time, and I’m getting bad vibes about him, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the missing girl.”
“Got it. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can with the first two.”
“Thanks.”
19
Conrad looked at his watch. Three forty-five and he still hadn’t been able to get hold of Nick Johns. Veronica wasn’t answering her phone, either. Time to rejoin the search for Emily.
He slugged down yet another cup of coffee, hoping for another caffeine boost. It had been almost twenty-four hours since the little girl had gone missing and longer since he slept.
Their window of opportunity for finding her safe had come and gone. Statistically speaking, it was now just as likely they would find her dead as alive.
He sent up another prayer for Emily.
After a quick call to let the dispatcher know there was no one in the office, he stood. He wouldn’t miss the search because Nick Johns needed a nap and had shut off his phone.
At the lake, he parked his car in the parking lot and walked the rest of the way, just like every other volunteer. No special treatment for Sunberry’s police department.
A woman in a state police uniform stood on a crate trying to get the volunteers’ attention and not having much luck. He watched as Zink inched her way up to the front, and then put two fingers in her mouth.
An ear-splitting whistle brought gazes towards the front.
The woman grinned from her perch on the crate, and then looked at the crowd. “OK, this is the way it works. You will be assigned to an officer, and the two of you will be given a map. That’s your area to check. Now when I say check, I mean check. Look under every bush, tree hollow, or hole big enough for a six-year old to hide in. Any questions?”
When nobody asked a question, she nodded. “Go over to the table with your picture ID, sign in, and get busy. And thanks so much for your help.”
The crowd made their way to the volunteer table.
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