Mathilda scrunched up her thick eyebrows. “His dog must of got one of his shoes.”
“His dog?” Laney tucked in her chin. “Did he have an animal with him?”
“Naw.” The child shook her head. “But one of the toes was coming apart. Like when our dog got my brother’s shoe.” She giggled.
Noah lifted his feet. “Which shoe was it? Do you remember?”
“That one.” The child pointed to his left loafer.
“And the other shoe was fine?” He withdrew his feet.
“Yup. All good.”
Noah frowned. Both of Eddie’s shoes had been scuffed up.
“But he had clown hands,” the little girl added.
Laney’s wide-eyed gaze met Noah’s. “Clown hands! What do you mean, honey?” She touched the little girl’s arm.
“Like at the circus. All white and funny and not—” She crossed her eyes as if searching inside for the right word. “Not real. You know!” Frustration tinged the child’s voice.
“The mailman was wearing gloves?” Noah canted his head.
A smile spread across the little girl’s face. “No, silly. It’s not winter time.” She fluttered her fingers. “They felt like my bouncy ball.”
“He touched you?” Horror bled from Laney’s tone.
Mathilda shrank in her seat. “Right here.” She patted her left cheek. “When he handed me the box.”
An audible breath left Laney’s mouth. “That’s okay, then.” She cleared her throat, darting a glance at Noah, who didn’t trust himself to utter a word. “You did great, Mattie. Thanks so much.” But every tense plane of her face proclaimed that nothing was all right. “I’ll have an aide take you back to your classroom.”
“Okay.” The little girl hopped up. The poor kid was probably very ready to get away from the grilling.
Laney rose and took her student by the hand, but her gaze was distant and haunted.
The little girl looked up at her teacher. “Was it nice?”
“What?” Laney focused on her charge.
“Your present.”
“It was…a doll.” The words came out a bit ragged.
Mathilda nodded as they reached the door. “That’s good. I like dollies.”
Laney let Mathilda out and exchanged a few murmured words with someone in the hall, then wheeled toward Noah.
“Surgical gloves,” he said.
“On his hands?”
“Yes. Mathilda has probably never seen any and didn’t know how to describe them.” He scowled. This perp was smart and devious and ruthless. Fat chance they’d find any of his prints on the box.
Laney approached the table. The drawn and frightened look on her face wrapped fingers of guilt around his heart.
“We’ll have to take the next step now.” His tone edged toward a growl.
“Call the sheriff and the feds?” Laney wilted into her chair. “Burns is going to have a fit that we didn’t call him before we talked to Mattie.”
“Tough cookies.” Noah rose. “I’ll go do the deed.”
A wild giggle spurted from her throat. “Is it a crime to impersonate a federal employee like a mailman?”
Noah snorted. “That’ll be the least of his worries when I get my hands on him.” He stalked from the room.
Finally alone in her room after the interrogations, Laney sat slumped at her desk. She glanced at the clock, then rubbed her forehead. Three horrible hours had passed, and the lower grades would be at lunch right now, including her Briana. Thank goodness, her little girl hadn’t been involved in this round of questioning. Just poor little Mathilda and her mother and father.
Laney had called the child’s parents in while Noah notified Hank. She’d warned Mr. and Mrs. Stier to come loaded for bear when talking to Agent Burns, but still the child had come out in tears and the parents pale and shell-shocked. It was all Laney could do not to slap the smug look off Agent Burns’s face as he followed them out of the interview room. Then Noah had dismissed Mathilda for the day and escorted the troubled family from the building. He hadn’t said anything to her then, and she hadn’t seen him since.
What had Noah meant by that last statement in her classroom, before he made the phone call that started the flood of lawmen in the school all over again? He’d talked as if he was going after this creep. Had he reconsidered? Was he going to take her case, or was he only speaking as an angry school principal?
“Laney, can I talk to you?” Noah’s voice called from her doorway.
She looked up and motioned him inside.
He perched on the edge of her desk, mouth down-turned. “The Stiers have decided to keep their daughter home until the perp is caught.”
Laney shook her head. “I don’t blame them. The poor child has had a scare that will rattle her world. She’ll probably be afraid of mailmen from now on.”
“At least she’s not missing…or worse.”
She gulped and fought prickles behind her eyes. This man had approached Mathilda so easily in a guise that the little girl trusted. What if he found a simple way to get to Briana?
“The parents told me everything Burns wrung out of their daughter,” Noah continued. “Most of it was the same as she told us, but there were a few additional details. Evidently, the bogus mailman wore sunglasses and a hat, and his hair was the color of straw.”
Laney snorted. “What are the odds he was wearing a wig?”
“Excellent, I’d say.” He folded his hands in his lap. “I’ve given it a lot of thought this morning, and I believe you and your daughter should also end your school year today.”
Laney’s gaze fell to the cheerful disarray of colored papers, craft items and lesson plans on her desktop. “What about my students?”
“There’s only four days left of the school year. They can handle mainstream for that long. Fill out your student evaluations at home, and I’ll make sure Briana gets to finish any tests or assignments from your apartment. She’ll be passed on to the next grade. No problem.”
She quavered a sigh. “I agree with the wisdom of your decision for the safety of the school, but it hurts.”
“For your safety and peace of mind, too, Laney. You can be with your daughter every minute. The FBI will have you under surveillance, along with every law enforcement officer in town. And I’ll check up on you, too.”
Her pulse leaped. Would he really? Her nostrils pinched and she glanced away. A phone call or two didn’t mean much if an old wound kept him from doing what truly mattered—catching the scum that threatened her daughter.
“So how long are Burns and his bunch going to stick around?” She twiddled a paper clip between her fingers. “The FBI won’t waste manpower on staking out my place forever if they don’t see some action. And so far, our lurking creep has run below everybody’s radar.”
Noah nodded. “I agree we’re dealing with a clever, subtle stalker, but he seems to be obsessed with taunting you. So maybe he’ll dance too close to the flame and get caught.”
“I’m sure that’s what the FBI is hoping for. I feel like the worm on the end of a hook.” Laney brushed strands of hair off her forehead. “I’d better get my things together so I can leave.” She rose, grabbed up a sheaf of papers and hugged them to her chest.
Tears pressed against the backs of her eyes. After receiving the doll, she’d run instinctively to Noah. But he was leaving her and Briana in the hands of an FBI supervisor who regarded them as little more than bait, and a small-town police force that didn’t often deal with anything more serious than vandalism and penny-ante drug dealing.
And then there was her career to consider. She gazed around her room. Was she leaving this school forever?
Noah stood, and she looked him in the eye. “Maybe it’s a selfish thing to be concerned about at a time like this, but I’m nervous about my position here. I don’t have tenure yet. With the danger that’s been visited on the students because of me, the school board may think twice about renewing my contract.”
/> “You know that’s not my decision to make.” His words were gentle.
“But your recommendation makes a big difference.”
One side of his firm mouth lifted. “I admire your gift with the students. I won’t have a problem recommending you in the professional arena. But I agree that the school board may not consider you a good risk if this joker hasn’t been caught before next fall.” He rubbed the side of one finger across his upper lip. Then he lifted his head. The set of his mouth betrayed an abiding pain, but his gaze held determination. “That’s one of the many reasons I can’t dodge my conscience any longer. I’ve decided to take your case.”
Laney dropped the papers. They fluttered to the floor as she gave a glad cry and flung her arms around Noah’s neck.
For the briefest instant, Noah returned the hug, then he set her away from him.
She backed off, cheeks hot. “I guess you can see how much your involvement means to me.”
He’d better not think she meant anything else by that hug. Sure, she was interested in him as a man, but romance had been the farthest thing from her mind right then. Hadn’t it? Pleasant tingles said maybe her subconscious had a mind of its own.
He lifted a hand in farewell. “I’ll stop by your apartment this evening, and we can strategize. You can fill me in on the details of what happened with your sister.”
Laney nodded. Talking about her sister’s disappearance would hurt like lancing an abscess, but it was necessary. “Come about seven-thirty. You can say good-night to Briana and then we can talk.”
After Noah left, she straightened her room and stuffed everything she thought she might need into a tote bag, then went to collect her daughter. The memory of Noah’s arms around her replayed in her mind over and over. If only he’d held her a few seconds longer. In that breathless moment, she’d tasted a feeling she hadn’t enjoyed since tragedy marred her childhood—a sense of safety.
SIX
Noah stood outside Laney’s apartment door at 7:29 p.m. He knew the exact minute because he’d checked his watch a half dozen times while walking up three flights of stairs. He didn’t want to arrive early and betray how eager he was to be with Laney and her cute-as-a-button little girl. Then again, he didn’t want to be late. That would be disrespectful to her situation. Noah knocked on the door. A few seconds later, locks rattled and the door opened to reveal Laney wearing a shy smile.
“You’re very prompt,” she said.
Warmth crept up Noah’s neck. Maybe all his planning had succeeded only in painting himself a bit obsessive.
“Hi, Mr. Ryder,” chirped the little girl by Laney’s side.
Noah bent over with his hands on his knees. “Hi, there, princess.”
Briana giggled. “You noticed my pajamas.”
In truth, he hadn’t, but as she skipped away, he saw that her pink pjs were adorned with ball-gowned princesses.
“Come on,” she called. “We’re going to play Chutes and Ladders.”
Laney wrinkled her nose. “I hope you don’t mind. She’s had her heart set on a game with you all evening. When that’s done, I’ll put her to bed.”
Chuckling, Noah entered the apartment. He found himself in a neat living room furnished with a couch, a couple of stuffed chairs and a modest-size, flat screen TV. The décor was tastefully simple in a country theme.
He turned toward his hostess. “I warn you, I’m downright dangerous at Chutes and Ladders.”
“I’m very afraid.” She laughed, motioning him into a small, neat kitchen. The game was set up on the table, and Briana was already perched on a chair.
“You sit there, Mr. Ryder.” The little girl pointed to a chair on her right. “And Mama there.” She pointed to the opposite seat. “And I get to go first.”
“Of course.” Noah slid into his assigned place. “Princesses always go first.”
The little girl’s blue eyes danced, and Laney sent him a look he’d trade an arm and a leg to keep on seeing. A half hour later, after the princess triumphed at the game and was put to bed, Laney brought a cup of coffee to him where he sat in one of the stuffed chairs in her living room.
She eased onto the end of the couch closest to his chair, cradling her mug. “I suppose we need to get down to business. First of all, I’d like to assure you that I’ve spoken to my dad, and he’s more than glad to pay whatever your rate is.”
Noah suppressed a sigh. He hated to start in with this bad business again. But then, that’s why he was here. “Don’t give my fee a thought at this point.” He took a drink from his mug. She made good coffee. “I’ll hammer that out with your father at an appropriate moment.”
Laney nodded. “Fair enough. I suppose my part is to answer your questions. What would you like to know?”
“First of all, I’d like to be as assured as I possibly can of Briana’s safety.”
“I’m with you on that.” Laney sipped her brew.
“Getting her out of here might be the best option. Is her father around? Maybe he could take her.”
She snickered and shook her head. “I have no idea where Clayton is. We haven’t seen him since Briana was two months old.”
“I’m sorry.” Was he really? The little leap of glee in his gut said no. He hid his reaction by focusing on another swallow from his cup.
“It’s for the best, really.” She set her mug on a trivet on the side table. “Clay and I were frivolous college kids when we met, fresh out of high school. We fell madly in love—or so we thought—and pretty soon Briana was on the way. She wasn’t in our plans, but I couldn’t think of her as a mistake. Clay did.” She scowled. “Marrying me was his attempt at honor, I suppose, but he bailed after two months of being trapped in the trials of infant care. End of story.”
“His loss.” Noah crossed an ankle over his knee. And some other lucky man’s gain. He kept that part to himself.
Laney blushed and glanced away. “The only place I could send Bree that I’d feel comfortable is my parents’ home in Louisville, Kentucky.”
Noah nodded. “I think you should both go.”
“Both? But I want to help you with the investigation.”
He frowned, evil memories crowding his head about that other time his client got involved. “The best thing you can do is find a safe hidey-hole and let me figure out who this guy is.”
“Without distractions.” Her gaze was frank and direct, not offended.
He answered with a thin smile. The lady was sharp and level-headed.
She frowned but nodded. “I suppose I can understand that. I just want this guy caught and put away so I can take a deep breath again.”
Noah nodded, a weight leaving his chest. Laney wasn’t going to argue. Renee would have given him twenty reasons why she needed to get in on the action, and look what her enthusiasm got her—an early grave. But then, she hadn’t had a daughter to think about, and life had taught Laney caution at an early age.
“Tell you what,” he said. “You lay low here for the next few days until school is out. You can finish your evaluations and make sure Briana gets her work done.” He polished off his coffee and set the mug aside. “I checked with the sheriff, and he’s heard sort of sideways from one of the FBI agents in town that the team is heading back to Minneapolis tomorrow. But they’re leaving an agent to shadow you around in case this guy tries to make another move.”
“Great!” She rolled her eyes. “I get to keep my shadow.”
“You don’t find that comforting?”
“I don’t find comfort in any aspect of this situation.” Her nostrils flared. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but even the efforts to protect me are intrusive.”
Noah looked away and studied a painting of a pastoral scene on the wall. He wasn’t about to tell her that, in his opinion, Agent Burns wasn’t as concerned about protecting Laney or Briana as he was about adding a major notch in his belt by solving a cold case.
“You said until school lets out.” She cocked her head. “What di
d you have in mind then?”
He smiled. She didn’t miss much. “I’ll escort you to Louisville personally. I’d like a chance to talk to your parents before I visit the scene of the original crime.”
Laney shifted in her seat. “Maybe while we’re marking time until the end of the school year, you could do a little research on Richard Hodge.”
“The school custodian?”
She nodded. “I don’t have any reason to suspect him other than the built-in opportunity he’d have to plant that backpack on the playground, and he doesn’t seem to like me.”
Noah let out a wry chuckle. “I’ve yet to determine if Richard likes anyone, including himself. But I’ve checked people out on less. Sure, I’ll look into Richard.” He unbent his leg and stretched it out beside the other one. “Maybe you heard that I caught a guy watching the kids on the playground yesterday.”
“Ellen told me.” She nodded. “Sounds like he was some brokenhearted dad.”
“I don’t think the story’s that simple. Hank told me Edward Foreman claims he was on the road for his office supply business the day the backpack was left on the playground. But following up his story, the sheriff’s office can’t account for at least two hours of his time. The playground watcher’s not off the hook as far as I’m concerned.” Noah gave her a quick description of the man. “If you see him anywhere near, call the cops pronto.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” Her brief laugh held a sharp edge. “Anyone else I should know about?”
Noah planted his elbows on his knees. “Do you know a man by the name of Glen Crocker?”
“You mean the electrician? Sure. The building super had him up here to fix an outlet problem a few weeks ago.” She gasped. “You mean, he’s a suspect?”
“He went missing the day before the backpack appeared and hasn’t surfaced since. The timing could be a coincidence, but it’s enough to warrant a little digging.”
Laney pressed a hand to her cheek. “I’ve never heard a bad word about him, but I thought he seemed a little too full of himself.”
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