Once Lured

by Blake Pierce

  “Just forward it to me,” Riley said.

  “It’s on its way,” Bill said. “The meeting’s not in Ohlman. It’s out at the beach. Maybe we’ll get a look at the ocean.”

  When they returned to their hotel rooms, Riley sent a text to April but got no answer. She was sure her daughter was still mad at her for not mounting a search for the absentee boyfriend.

  Riley undressed for a hot shower. As the soothing water tumbled over her body, she felt sure that April’s boyfriend would show up tomorrow. Then surely April would relax the pressure on her. But, Riley knew, the pressure with her current case was about to get much worse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  April gasped when she saw Joel sitting on the bench just outside the school grounds. He looked just fine. But where had he been yesterday? What had happened?

  “Joel,” she cried, rushing over to him.

  When he glanced up and saw her, he smiled as if nothing had happened. He was acting as if he hadn’t just disappeared for a whole day.

  “Where were you yesterday?” April cried. She could feel the tears about to burst out, but she kept them under control. “I was worried about you.”

  “I took some time off,” he said.

  “You didn’t answer my calls.”

  He shrugged. “Like I said, time off.”

  April didn’t know what to say or what to think. Why was he being so casual about this? She sat down beside him.

  “What’s the matter, Joel? Did I do something wrong?”

  “Of course not,” he said. He put his hand on her knee. “You’re just fine. Always. But I had to meet somebody about an interesting purchase. I wanted to try some things out. I didn’t think you’d want to be there.”

  Joel was looking directly at her now, studying her face and still smiling. Even so, he seemed distant somehow. She couldn’t stand that.

  He raised one hand and touched her hair. “You look as beautiful as always.”

  Even his compliments sound lame today! she thought.

  April felt the tears building up again.

  “Why are you so upset?” he asked.

  “You said you loved me.”

  Now his voice started to sound downright cold. “I do love you, April. I want to be with you all the time. But there are some things you don’t want to do, so I have to go on my own.”

  She knew he was talking about the drugs. She didn’t even know what some of them were, new things and new names cropped up so often.

  “So you tried out something new?”

  “Something I hadn’t been able to get before. It was a great experience. I’d like to share that kind of thing with you. Just with you. But you don’t seem interested. That’s cool, I won’t force you. I’d never do that. But even so …”

  April drew a deep breath. She’d faced this wall between them before. “You know I don’t like to do much more than pot. I just can’t screw up my life. My mom is depending on me to keep up in school. She has enough other stuff on her mind.”

  “Well,” he said, “it’s great that your mom can depend on you.”

  April wasn’t sure how to take that. Joel didn’t say anything more for several long moments and she just sat there waiting.

  Then he looked at her and smiled.

  “This stuff is by prescription anyhow. Sick people get them all the time. You know that doctors aren’t going to give their patients something that would hurt them. It’s a painkiller, and it can make you feel really good.” He chuckled and added, “Kills all kinds of pain.”

  “How do you get it?”

  “I know a guy who knows a doctor. It isn’t easy to come by. But this way I can be sure it’s safe to use.”

  “If it was really safe …” April’s voice trailed off. She wanted to ask, Wouldn’t it be legal? But she thought that would make her sound stupid.

  “I thought you understood. I’m just trying to keep from being bored. I’ve been hoping you’d try it. I’d never give you anything that would hurt you.”

  April knew that Joel was really smart and he was so sweet to her. And good-looking. And popular. Lots of girls would die for the chance to date Joel.

  April heard a bell ringing and knew she needed to get to her next class.

  “Will I see you after school today?” she asked.

  He shrugged.

  “Got things to do today.”

  April felt a wave of panic.

  He turned and looked at her.

  “But maybe, if you stop being so uptight, we can get together.”

  It was time to make a decision. April was tired of resisting. What was being a “good girl” getting her anyway?

  She smiled as she felt her last trace of reluctance vanish. She couldn’t risk losing Joel.

  “I’ll try it,” she said. “Whatever you want me to try, I’ll try it.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Riley was filled with numb apprehension as Bill drove their car up to the big iron gate. Even from outside, she didn’t like the looks of the little village called “The Dunes.”

  During her whole career, she’d never had a single good experience in one of these gated communities. She felt sure that this little excursion into the lives of the rich and privileged wasn’t going to be any different.

  Bill stopped the car, and a uniformed guard stepped out of the security hut.

  “What’s your business?” he asked.

  Bill and Riley both displayed their badges.

  “FBI,” Bill said. “A routine visit.”

  The guard looked extremely suspicious. Riley couldn’t imagine why.

  “Let me see that,” he said, holding his hand out.

  With a reluctant look, Bill handed him his badge. The guard held it up to the sunlight and examined it.

  Can he really wonder if it’s fake? Riley wondered.

  “What’s your business?” the guard repeated, handing back Bill’s badge.

  “We’re here to talk with Congressman Wyatt Ehrhardt,” Bill said. “At Dwayne Prentice’s house.”

  Now the guard looked more suspicious than ever. He stepped away to talk on his radio.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Bill asked Riley.

  Riley shrugged. She had no idea.

  The guard stepped back over to the car.

  “Okay, you can go in,” he said. “Turn right when you get to Ocean Drive. It’s the last house you’ll come to.”

  The gate swung open. Bill drove through it onto a wide street, between houses that loomed large above private yards. As they drove toward the ocean, the houses got larger and farther apart. Riley was sure that everything in sight would be priced in the millions.

  They pulled up in front of a large modern house with lots of windows. A man standing outside the house stepped up to the car and checked their IDs. He too seemed a bit suspicious. But he waved them to a parking spot. Several other cars were parked there outside the house.

  Bill pointed. “Look at that,” he said.

  Sure enough, one of the cars was a clearly marked FBI vehicle.

  “What’s this all about?” Riley asked Bill. “Weren’t you and Lucy and I the only agents assigned to this case? I mean, aside from local police?”

  “Looks like maybe not,” Bill said.

  At least Riley now knew the reason for the guard’s suspicion a few minutes before. He’d already let some FBI agents through the gate. Small wonder that he’d wondered whether Bill and Riley were the real thing.

  Riley and Bill got out of the car and walked over to the front entrance. A maid answered the door and ushered them into a huge room with a soaring ceiling. The room was lit by sunlight pouring into the enormous windows and a fire that was glowing in a wide stone fireplace.

  Four people seated on large leather sofas rose to greet them. Two were Rep. Ehrhardt and his aide, Rhonda, who was as provocatively dressed as she’d been yesterday. The other two took Riley completely by surprise.

  “Huang! Creighton!”

&nb
sp; The names were out of Riley’s mouth before she could think, and there was a note of dismay in her voice. From their expressions, Riley knew that they’d picked up on her displeasure.

  Agents Emily Creighton and Craig Huang were both fairly new to Quantico, and both very young. They’d made rookie mistakes when dealing with the dolly killer several months ago. Riley was under the impression that Huang, the younger of the two, had grown into his job somewhat since then. She didn’t know about Creighton.

  Riley was well aware that they were favorites of Carl Walder. She was glad that Walder himself wasn’t here. Even so, their arrival here meant that Walder was taking a direct interest in this case. This wasn’t surprising. Ever the opportunist, he would naturally be interested in any case that involved someone with political clout.

  But Riley knew that it didn’t bode well, at least not for her. Walder was undoubtedly giving some thought to yanking her off the case—if he hadn’t decided to do so already.

  Both of the young agents greeted Bill and Riley in awkward mumbles.

  “Please make yourselves comfortable,” Rhonda said.

  Bill and Riley sat down in deep leather chairs. Riley looked out a large window onto a patio and a big private pool. Beyond that lay a sand dune, and beyond that the ocean. The view was almost spookily pristine. She wondered if anybody ever walked on that beach or ventured into the ocean. Probably not. The house seemed too much a world unto itself.

  Riley felt compelled to say something polite.

  “Lovely house,” she said.

  But the truth was, she didn’t find the place lovely at all. Despite the overall pine scent, she could almost detect the odor of unsavory money all around her. She remembered that the house was owned by a political strategist. Just what a political strategist had done to get this rich boggled her mind.

  Rhonda asked Bill and Riley, “Would you like something to drink? Tea? Wine Whiskey?”

  “They’re on duty, Rhonda,” Ehrhardt said.

  “Of course,” Rhonda said.

  Bill and Riley both said that they were fine as they were.

  “Sorry to make you drive all the way out here,” Wyatt Ehrhardt said to Riley and Bill. “I just wanted to get an update, and I can’t go anywhere else without getting mobbed by reporters. Agents Creighton and Huang showed up just a few minutes ago. I wasn’t expecting them. I was hoping you could give me an update.”

  “I wish we had something new to tell you,” Bill said.

  Riley added, “The truth is, we don’t know anything more than we did when we talked with you yesterday.”

  Ehrhardt looked worried. It was the same look of shallow concern that Riley had observed yesterday—as if he’d been rained out of a game of golf.

  “This whole thing is really disruptive,” he said. “We had an important strategy session scheduled for today, but everybody bailed when the news about Nicole got out. And it’s just a few days before the election. Aren’t we ever going to get a break? I don’t understand why there hasn’t been a ransom demand yet.”

  Riley could hardly believe her ears.

  “Congressman, we talked about this yesterday,” she said. “I’m afraid there’s every likelihood that your wife’s abduction is the work of a serial killer. We shouldn’t expect a ransom demand.”

  Creighton and Huang cleared their throats and shifted about uncomfortably.

  “What is it?” Riley asked them.

  Creighton said, “We’re afraid that Special Agent in Charge Carl Walder doesn’t share your opinion.”

  Huang added, “He’s convinced that this is an ordinary kidnapping that has nothing to do with the local killings.”

  Riley was aghast now.

  “How does he figure that?” she asked.

  Creighton shrugged. “Well, what are the chances that your ‘clock killer’ just happened to stumble across a congressman’s wife? Isn’t that kind of a coincidence?”

  “Yes!” Riley said, almost shouting. “It is a coincidence! And when the two of you get enough experience under your belts, you’ll know that coincidences really do happen. And Walder ought to have learned that a long time ago.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Riley noticed Bill’s anxious expression.

  “Riley …” Bill began.

  But Riley couldn’t keep quiet. She turned to Ehrhardt and said, “Congressman, with all due respect, Agent Walder is a high-functioning moron. And we don’t have time for this kind of crap.”

  “Riley!” Bill said more sharply.

  But Riley continued. “It is extremely likely that your wife is in the clutches of a murderous psychopath. She needs to be found and rescued. We can’t just sit around waiting for a ransom demand.”

  Riley heard Creighton speak sharply.

  “Agent Paige, we’ll handle this.”

  Stunned, Riley turned to look at the two young agents.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  Huang said, “Special Agent in Charge Walder sent us down here to deal with the kidnapping. He doesn’t want you to be distracted from your own case by it.”

  Riley’s mouth dropped open. “Distracted from it? This is my case.”

  Bill spoke her name more forcefully than before. She turned and looked at him. His expression told her that it was time to shut up. She forced herself to do just that. Bill rose from his chair.

  “My partner and I understand,” Bill told Creighton and Huang. “We’ll leave you to your work.”

  Then turning to Ehrhardt, he added, “You have all of our best wishes through this terrible ordeal.”

  Ehrhardt simply nodded, obviously shocked by the rancor in the room. Bill walked out of the house, and Riley mutely followed him. They got in the car and Bill started to drive.

  “Jesus, Riley,” he said. “Remember when you pulled me off Dennis Vaughn a few days ago? Well, now it’s my turn to ask … what the hell’s the matter with you?”

  Riley groaned aloud.

  “Bill, don’t tell me that you believe for a single second that Nicole DeRose’s disappearance is a routine kidnapping.”

  “No, I don’t. But that’s not the point.”

  “What is the point?”

  Bill took a long, deep breath.

  “Think about what’s going on here,” he said. “Wyatt Ehrhardt thinks his wife has been kidnapped for a ransom. Therefore Walder thinks it too. I mean, Ehrhardt’s a famous politician, how could he be wrong? Walder really is that much of a brown-noser, and he really is just that stupid. But we can’t do anything to change that.”

  Riley looked silently out the window as the expensive houses went by.

  Bill continued, “Walder and his minions are right about one thing. Coming out here was a distraction—a detour. We won’t find any clues here. We’ve got to get back to Ohlman and crack this case.”

  Now the guard at the gate hut waved them through.

  Riley sighed. “My ass really is in serious trouble now, huh?”

  Bill chuckled bitterly. “A ‘high-functioning moron’? Yeah, if that gets back to him—and you can be sure that it will—you’re in trouble, all right. You were already in trouble because of that stunt with the camera. Walder definitely knows about that. And you know perfectly well that he’s always itching for a chance to take away your badge.”

  They were out on the highway now. Ohlman was only about fifteen minutes away.

  Bill added, “If you’re wrong about Ehrhardt’s wife, there will be hell to pay.”

  Riley didn’t reply. The truth was she hoped that she was wrong. Even if it meant losing her job, she hoped that Nicole DeRose was the victim of a routine kidnapping, and that a ransom would take care of everything. Riley couldn’t stand the thought of another woman suffering the same fate as the other victims.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  The day had been unproductive, but even so Riley didn’t get back to her hotel room until after 10 o’clock that night. They still weren’t any closer to finding the killer or
the women he was holding captive. To make things worse, she and Bill had been dodging reporters everywhere they went.

  She sat down on her bed and looked at the text messages she’d been sending to April during the day. The last was still marked “delivered,” not “read.” April was going to some trouble to keep on ignoring her.

  Riley dialed the house number and Gabriela answered.

  “How are things at home?” Riley asked. “What’s going on with April?”

  “I don’t know, Señora Riley,” Gabriela said, her voice sounding uneasy. “She has been very odd, doesn’t say much. She went to bed early.”

  Riley felt a prickle of worry.

  “She hasn’t been skipping school, has she?” she asked.

  “No. She got home late on Tuesday, said she had to go to the library.”

  Riley could hear a note of doubt in Gabriela’s voice. She felt the same way.

  Gabriela promised to call if there were any problems, and they ended the call. Riley remained sitting on the bed, wondering if she could sleep. She had so many things to worry about. The case wasn’t going well, and in any case, it looked almost certain that she was about to get pulled off of it. And she simply had no idea what to do about April.

  Can things get any worse?

  She was just getting up to undress for bed when her cell phone rang.

  “Am I speaking with Riley Paige?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “Yes,” Riley said.

  “Ms. Paige, I’m afraid I have some serious news,” the woman said.

  Riley sat down again. From the woman’s tone of voice, it sounded as if the call was unpleasant.

  “My name is Gwen Bannister, and I’m a hospice worker in Moline, Virginia.”

  Riley knew that tiny little town in the Appalachian Mountains. She’d driven through it often to visit her father. He’d lived for years in a little cabin near there. She remembered how ill he’d looked the last time she’d seen him.