The second detective smiled, faint lines crinkling around bright brown eyes, white teeth sparkling against olive skin. Except for the cop aura, he seemed like a perfectly charming guy. He extended a hand and Amanda shook it. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
Dawson stepped forward, his movements jerky, his face pale. “You told someone else?” he accused Jake. “They told me not to contact the police. I didn’t even want Amanda to call you, but I trusted you, and now you’ve brought in a stranger?”
“It’s okay,” Jake assured him. “Ross has worked kidnappings before. He knows the drill, and I need his expertise. Let’s sit down and talk about this.” He pulled out his perennial pen and notebook and moved toward the table.
“Where did you park?” Dawson asked. “Did you come in a squad car? What if they're watching?”
“We came in an old Ford with plates that will show up as not on file if anybody checks. Don't worry. We know what we're doing. This is not our first kidnapping.”
Dawson let out a long breath and stepped back. “Okay. I’m sorry. Amanda’s right. We need help finding my brother. Thank you for coming.”
“Would you like some tea?” Amanda offered.
“Or coffee. I have coffee. Amanda doesn’t like coffee, but I have some.” Dawson shook his head as if suddenly aware he was babbling.
“No, thank you,” Jake said.
Ross set his backpack on the floor. “None for me.”
Both men had, Amanda thought, made wise choices. The coffee was probably store brand instant.
She gathered up hers and Dawson’s mugs and carried them to the kitchen to refill them. She couldn’t drink any more of the tea, but Dawson needed something to do with his hands. She wasn’t sure he’d notice if she just put water in his mug. It would probably taste better.
“You’ve worked on kidnappings before?” Dawson asked Ross.
“I just finished a case a few weeks ago. We found the kidnappers and got the boy back alive. The bad guys are in jail and the boy’s home with his family.”
Amanda turned at the solemn sound of the man's voice and saw that he was no longer smiling and being charming. His expression had turned serious, his features determined, his own notebook and pen on the table in front of him.
She returned to the table and set another cup of hot tea in front of Dawson then took a seat at the table between him and Daggett.
Charley floated over and stood between Daggett and her. She crossed one leg over the other and deliberately swung her foot through his immaculate khakis.
“Why did you do that?” He made a futile attempt to look innocent. “I just want to be close so I can hear everything that’s said.”
“We did some checking at Grant’s school—” Daggett began.
“What?” Eyes wild, Dawson leaned across the table toward him. “You talked to them? What if the kidnappers find out?”
“They won’t.” Ross spread his hands over the table top between Jake and Dawson. “We’ve done this before. We know how to do it. Trust me. We’re going to bring your brother home safe.”
That sounded like they believed there really was a brother.
It sounded like Dawson wasn’t crazy. That was good.
But that meant Dawson’s brother really had been kidnapped. That was bad.
“Amanda told me the basics of your story,” Jake said, “but I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me everything, all about your parents’ deaths, changing your identities, Grant’s disappearance, everything. You never know what small detail will help us find him.”
Dawson clutched his cup in both hands and repeated the story he’d told Amanda, unwavering in the specifics.
When he concluded, Jake nodded. “That agrees with the information we have. The disappearance of you and your brother right after the murder of your parents was an unsolved mystery until today.”
Disappearance of you and your brother. The brother had not died in the car crash. At least Amanda knew for sure what they were dealing with now.
Dawson nodded. “My dad knew those people were evil. He was prepared.”
“Yeah, he did a good job. Your story was big at first, your parents dead from a car bomb and the two of you missing. But with no clues, the case went cold pretty fast. Then about a month after the incident, your uncle showed up and made inquiries about the two of you.”
Dawson’s knuckles turned white as his grip on his cup tightened. “Uncle? I don’t have an uncle. Mom was an only child, and Dad’s brother died when he was a baby.”
The air in the room became thick and still like the air before a summer storm.
“What was his name?” Ross asked, his question somehow ominous in the quiet of the room. “The brother who died.”
“Lawrence. Lawrence Franklin Dawson. He was two months old. It was a crib death.”
Ross and Jake exchanged quick, knowing glances.
“Was that the name the man used?” Amanda asked. Even Charley seemed to be holding his breath, anticipating the answer.
Jake nodded. “Yeah. It was.”
Again deep silence enveloped the room.
“That means,” Amanda said, laying a hand on Dawson’s arm and speaking softly, “either your dad lied to you about his brother’s death or the man pretending to be your uncle was an imposter, someone who knew about your family.”
Dawson’s jaw clenched. “My dad never lied.”
“He set you up to live a lie, provided you with false identities.”
“He did it to protect us.”
“From what?”
Dawson spread his arms. “From this! From Grant being taken. From people wanting to kill us.”
“But they don’t want to kill you,” Jake said quietly. “They want the program your father wrote.”
“And I don’t have it.”
“Can we see the e-mail you got from the kidnappers?”
Dawson nodded, brought up the e-mail and slid the laptop toward Jake and Ross.
The two men leaned over the computer, studying the words on the screen.
“Educated,” Jake said. “No bad grammar or misspellings.”
Ross nodded. “Computer literate. Knows about source code and has the expertise to bounce the message all over the world so we can't track him.”
“He could be saying we to make it sound like there's more than one person involved, but I'm going to guess there really is more than one. Kidnapping an eleven-year-old boy would be quite a task for one man.”
“Could be one of them has a religious background since he put 666 in his e-mail name. Thinks it makes him appear threatening.”
“Or that’s what he wants us to believe. There’s no religious context, so it could be something deliberately designed to mislead us.”
As the two men pointed out things Amanda had not even considered, she felt completely useless, as if she’d wasted valuable time that morning doing inconsequential things like talking to the weird neighbors.
Well, she'd called in the cops, the experts. Now she could turn it all over to them. Let them do their job. Stay out of the way.
She glanced at Dawson. He leaned forward intently, listening to every word the two detectives said.
Finally they stood and Ross retrieved his backpack. “Can you show me your brother's room? I'd like to check it for evidence.”
“You have something in there to check for trace evidence?” Dawson asked. “In that bag?”
Ross grinned. “Got my own little traveling laboratory in here. If your brother's kidnapper left so much as a skin cell, I'll find it.”
“But it's not like on TV, is it?” Dawson asked, refusing to be comforted. “It's not as simple as just inputting the DNA sequence and letting the computer find a suspect, is it? Even if you find a suspect, that still won't tell you where my brother is.”
Ross gripped Dawson's shoulder. “No, it won't be as easy as they make it seem on TV, but we can do it.”
“While you’re working on that, I'll go question
the other tenants,” Jake said.
“We already questioned two of them.” Amanda sat up straighter. Maybe her earlier efforts hadn’t been completely wasted after all. Maybe she had done something right.
Jake frowned. “You did? Who did you talk to? What did they say? I wish you hadn’t done that before we got here.”
So much for thinking she’d done something right. “Hey, we didn’t contaminate them or anything. We just asked if they saw something suspicious, and they didn’t.”
“I’ll talk to them again.” He turned and started toward the door.
“No!” Dawson shot to his feet. “What if they’re watching and see you talking to the neighbors after we already talked to them and figure out I called the police?”
Jake opened his mouth as if to protest, but Amanda laid a hand on his arm and looked at Dawson. “I’ll go with him,” she said reassuringly, “introduce him as my cousin. It’ll be okay. You stay here and help Ross.”
Dawson hesitated then sat back down. “Okay.”
He trusted her, counted on her. That was a little scary.
“I think I'll come along too,” Charley said. “Scout the places first and be sure nobody’s waiting inside to blow you away.”
Yeah, a ghost who could only make his presence known as a cold chill was going to be more effective than a cop with a handgun.
Amanda ignored him and turned to Jake. “Come on, cousin.”
They had just stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind them, when Dawson's shout stopped them.
“Amanda! It's Grant!”
Jake yanked the door open and Amanda darted back in. “Where?”
Dawson pointed to his laptop. “Another e-mail just came in. Look.”
The image showed a young boy, eyes wide with fear, sitting in a chair with a gun pressed to the side of his head.
Chapter Six
Jake yanked out a chair and sat down at the table again. Ross did the same and pulled the laptop close. Both men peered intently at the image on the screen.
“Look at the wall behind him. Rough wood. Could be a cabin, a shed, a barn. Not a finished room,” Jake said.
“Gun’s a Glock 17. That narrows it down to about a million. But look at the way he’s holding it, palming the grip.” Ross pointed to the anonymous fingers wrapped around the gun.
Amanda leaned over Jake’s shoulder to get a closer look at the picture. The man’s grip definitely looked awkward. His right hand was a little low, and he cupped his left hand under the bottom of the stock.
Jake nodded. “I see it. Probably not an experienced shooter. That point’s in our favor.”
Amanda studied the picture carefully, searching every detail. “What’s Grant doing with his hands?”
“Clenching his fists. He’s terrified but trying not to show it.”
“Grant’s not scared!” Dawson protested.
Amanda straightened and slid an arm around Dawson’s tense shoulders. “Anybody with a gun pointed at his head would be scared. Been there, done that. Trust me, even Batman would lose his cool if somebody aimed a Glock at his bat mask.”
Jake lifted his head and looked at Dawson. “She’s right. If your brother wasn’t terrified, I’d be worried they’d drugged him.”
“Agreed,” Ross said without looking up. “I don’t even want to talk about what I did the first time somebody shoved a gun in my face. Look, I think that’s a wooden ladder-back chair he’s sitting in. They could be in an old farmhouse.”
Jake returned his attention to the picture. “Possible.”
“I’ll go in for a closer look.” Charley darted through the laptop, causing the image to ripple.
Amanda repressed the desire to say something rude. This was a critical situation and Charley just wanted to be the center of attention.
“Grant’s driving!” Dawson exclaimed. “That’s why he has his hands up like that. He’s trying to tell us that they drove him—” He frowned and sagged into a chair. “That doesn’t help, does it? Of course they drove him there.”
“Yeah, not like they could fly.” Charley swooped around the room.
As soon as they were alone, Amanda would tell him what she thought of his flippant attitude when a child’s life was at stake. He was getting farther and farther away from that white light.
Jake reached for the laptop and looked at Dawson. “Can you make it do that again?”
Dawson shook his head. “I didn’t do it. Some sort of electrical fluke. Why do you want it to happen again?”
“I can do it,” Charley boasted and darted through the computer several times.
Amanda clenched her teeth and resisted the urge to smack him. She wouldn’t be able to hurt him and she’d look silly swatting at the air.
“You see it?” Jake asked.
Ross nodded. “Dawson’s right. The movement does make it look like the kid’s driving. The way he’s holding his hands, he’s trying to tell us something.”
“Yes!” Dawson agreed excitedly, scooting his chair around to get a better look at the small screen. “He’s not scared. He’s lived through some terrible things. He’s just a little kid, but he’s brave. He’s smart. He’s trying to let us know where to find him.”
Charley scowled. “Glad I could help. You don’t need to thank me.”
Amanda certainly had no intention of thanking him. He wasn’t trying to help. He was only trying to get attention.
“Driving…a golf course?” Jake suggested.
“Maybe,” Ross said. “There are plenty of them around. Probably have a lot of tool sheds with unfinished walls on them. But that would be too public. They didn’t gag him, so they aren’t worried somebody will hear him scream.”
“Not golf,” Dawson said. “Grant plays baseball, no interest in golf. He wouldn’t think of driving being a golf clue. It’s got to mean actual driving, like in a vehicle.”
Jake drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “Drive, car, bus, drive-in theater…”
“Hands on the wheel, turn the wheel, Ferris wheel, Ferris wheel at Fair Park,” Ross contributed.
Dawson sat abruptly upright. “Wagon Wheel Park! In Coppell. About fifteen miles northeast of here. It’s his favorite place to play baseball.”
“That’s brilliant!” Amanda enthused. And she hoped it was accurate. Dawson’s expression had done an about face from despair to hope. She didn’t want to see him disappointed again.
“I’ve heard of it,” Jake said. “Do they have cabins? Outbuildings? Something with rough walls?”
“No cabins, but they have lots of buildings. They have a tennis center and a gym and places you can rent for parties.” Dawson stood, his excitement rising to a fever pitch. “We need to check it out.”
Jake and Ross exchanged a look that didn’t bode well for Dawson’s enthusiasm.
“We’ll check it out, but it’s a long shot that he’s actually being held in the park. That would be too public, too many people around,” Jake said quietly.
“It’s not all crowded with people,” Dawson insisted, refusing to let his enthusiasm be dampened, to lose the sudden thread of hope. “There’s nature trails and lots of open land and trees in the park as well as on the way there. Acres of places he could be.”
“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “Acres. That’s a lot of land to cover and still keep a low profile. We’d need to bring in our search and rescue team. The only way to cover that much ground would be with a lot of men, dogs and helicopters.”
“No!” Dawson shook his head. “We’re taking a chance on Grant’s life just having the two of you here. You read what they said. They’ll kill him if they know I’ve talked to you. I’ll go look for him myself.”
He took a step toward the door, but Amanda moved in front of him, blocking his way. “Your bike’s at the shop.” And he still wasn’t in any shape to be riding it.
“I’ll take the truck.”
“I’ll drive you in the truck.”
Ross stood, lifting his backpack.
“Actually, I need Dawson to stay here to answer questions while I go through Grant’s room.”
Jake rose too. “I’ll drive out there and look around.”
“I’ll go with you.” Amanda picked up her purse and started toward the door.
“No, you won’t,” Charley and Jake said at the same time.
Amanda looked at both of them in amazement. “Yes, I will. What makes either of you think you can stop me?”
“Either of us?” Jake looked around the room.
“You or, uh, Ross.”
Ross looked bewildered. “I didn’t say you can’t go with Daggett. Boy makes his own decisions.”
For the first time, Amanda was thrilled to hear her cell phone ring and draw attention away from her blunder. Even if it was her mother, she’d probably answer it just for a diversion. She yanked the phone from her purse and looked at the display. Sunny. “I forgot! Sunny and I are supposed to go for a bike ride then have dinner to celebrate my name change. I’ll tell her I can’t make it.”
“Go,” Dawson said, grabbing her arm and gazing intently into her eyes. “You need to go for a ride with Sunny.”
He was trying to get rid of her? He thought she’d done so little to help that he wanted to send her away?
No. His expression was too anxious, his grip on her arm too tense.
“Take the scenic route and look around.”
Of course! Jake Daggett might not allow her to come along on an official search, but she and Sunny could ride over to Wagon Wheel Park, take a few side trails, look around. Charley could look around too, cover more ground than they could, check into locked buildings, make himself useful for a change.
“Good idea,” Jake said. “Go for a ride. Clear your head. It may help you think of something crucial about this case.”
“Yeah, go,” Charley encouraged. “Get away from these cops.”
Amanda answered her phone.
“Where are you?” Sunny asked. “I’m here and your shop’s closed. Is everything all right?”
“Not really, but I’ll be there in five minutes.” She disconnected the call, returned the phone to her purse and smiled. “Okay, I’m off for a fun ride. Later, guys.”
Jake arched a suspicious eyebrow. “Where do you plan to ride?”
The Ex Who Glowed in the Dark (Charley's Ghost) Page 5