The Christmas Bell Tolls

by Robin Caroll

  “Agent Timmons, I’m sure you’re aware of data that proves in most cases, a child abduction isn’t a spur of a moment crime. It’s been carefully planned and plotted.”

  He nodded, not sure where she was going with this, but he paid attention.

  “In recent cases, we’ve found where the abductor actually made contact with the victim prior to the abduction. In a store. At school. Even on buses or subway. Something that would be a connection of some small way that the child would recognize. It makes the abduction a much easier crime.”

  He hadn’t heard that, but it made perfectly logical sense.

  “So, with your permission, I’d like to look at your daughter’s room to see if something sticks out to me so I can begin to build a profile of her abductor.”

  “Savannah,” Darren croaked. “Her name is Savannah.”

  Agent Lacey smiled. “Beautiful name. May I please see Savannah’s room?”

  He nodded and led the way down the hall. Anything to help find his baby girl and bring her home.

  He opened the door to her room and stepped inside. A wall of emotion slammed against him. It felt wrong to be here without her. No giggles coming from her hiding in the closet. No begging to be read one more chapter in their bedtime story. No laughter as she jumped on the bed before snuggling under the covers.

  A vise held his breath tight. Lord, please keep her safe until I find her.

  “A lovely room.” Agent Lacey broke him free from the emotional grip.

  He swallowed. Hard. “Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

  “No. It’s more of an impression for me.” She pushed open the closet door. “I see she loves pretty clothes.”

  He chuckled. “She loves anything frilly and sparkly, that’s for sure.”

  “Agent Timmons,” SAC Wilson called out from the living room.

  “Go ahead. I won’t mess anything up,” Lacey said with a smile.

  Darren rushed down the hall.

  “We have another possible sighting,” an agent on the phone relayed. “Five minutes ago a drug store worker says a child matching Savannah’s description was in the store with a female, buying hair dye.”

  “Sounds like a live one!” Wilson snapped at two agents hovering in the dining room. “Location?”

  “Sylvan Road in Millington.”

  Darren rushed to the map where he’d put a temporary dot on the gas station’s address. He searched for and found the address for the drug store on Sylvan Road. After a quick glance at the clock, he did a mental calculation. “That’d just about fit the timeline perfectly from the gas station to the drug store.”

  “If both sightings are truly her,” Wilson said before nodding at the agents standing at the ready by the front door. “Interview, surveillance videos, send photo immediately for identification confirmation. Call the TBI and ask them to get there as well. Go.”

  Darren put a dot on the map.

  “SAC Wilson, it’s the team at the gas station. They’re sending a photo of a still shot from the video to your phone right now,” an agent called out.

  Wilson pulled out his phone and moved beside Darren, who held his breath as the picture loaded.

  Savannah’s profile filled the smartphone screen. She wasn’t wearing the dress she’d been wearing when abducted, but it was her. Someone wearing a glove held her hand and looked to be leading her toward the restroom.

  “Is that her?” Wilson asked softly.

  Darren nodded. “That’s Savannah.”

  “I can’t stand it anymore—I’m calling him.” Eva plopped onto Maddie’s couch and pulled out her cell phone. “At least I can let him know that we’ve got all the evidence logged into the system and the preliminary testing started.” Even though it hurt like the dickens to leave the lab, Dr. Sebrowski had been insistent, and she was, after all, Eva’s supervisor.

  “Wait a second,” Nick intervened. “That might not be the best idea.”

  “Why not? I want to know what’s happening and it seems like neither of you have any idea.” Eva still couldn’t believe that they’d been shut out of the investigation. “And Darren will want to know we’re doing our best.”

  “Darren knows you’re doing your best, and it’s not the best idea to call because any call coming in will be recorded. I’m pretty sure SAC Leo Wilson would frown upon a key member of the TBI calling the victim’s father.”

  “I can’t stand just not letting him know I’m thinking of him.” She actually wanted to go see him. To grab him into a hug and tell him everything was going to be okay, even though she didn’t know that to be true.

  And that was probably the hardest part.

  “That little girl…” Eva blinked against the tears threatening again. “Savannah’s a sweetheart and I just adore her.”

  Maddie squeezed her hand. “He knows.”

  “Does he?” Eva stood and paced again. “We didn’t exactly leave things on the most positive note.”

  “What did happen, if you don’t mind my asking?” Maddie’s sister, Riley, sat down on the couch beside Maddie.

  “That sounds like my cue to leave.” Nick stood, but not before planting a kiss on Maddie’s cheek. “If I hear anything tonight, I’ll call. Otherwise, I’ll see what I can find out in the morning.”

  Eva watched him leave, then realized Riley was still waiting for an answer. “Well, we’d gone out several times and had a really great time. I thought we were doing well. Moving forward and all that.” She shrugged, trying to ignore the hurt from the past. “We were on another date, this time without Savannah, because we sometimes took her with us.” Just saying her name now put a ping of pain in Eva’s chest. “We’d finished eating and had gone dancing and I thought we’d had a good time.”

  “But?” Riley probed. It wasn’t out of rudeness, Eva knew, but just Riley’s inquisitive personality. That was one of the reasons she was such a good reporter.

  “But when we left, I could tell he seemed quieter. More pensive. When we got to my house, he declined my offer to come in for a cup of coffee, saying he needed to get back home. He said that while he liked me and had a good time with me, he felt like we weren’t going in the same direction. That he felt like I hadn’t enjoyed the single life enough.” She swallowed. “He said that I would always be special to him and that if only for Savannah’s sake, he hoped we would always be friends.”

  Maddie’s living room got very quiet.

  “Wait a minute. That’s it?” Riley asked.

  Eva nodded.

  “You didn’t tell me all that. You just told me he said he wanted to be friends,” Maddie said.

  “Well, that’s true. I didn’t feel like going into all the details just then.” Eva blinked hard to stop the tears. “I mean, it hurt my feelings.”

  “I bet it did. Especially because that’s lame.” Riley shook her head. “I know he’s going through a nightmare right now, I do, but his excuse for not dating anymore is lame.”

  Maddie nodded. “I have to agree. I can’t believe you accepted that, Eva. It’s not like you.”

  The tears burned, but she wouldn’t let them escape. “I was shocked, to be honest. And really hurt.”

  “Oh. My. Gosh. You were falling in love with him!” Maddie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

  “Shut up.” But Eva’s heart rebelled and raced.

  Riley nodded. “I don’t know you as well as Mads, but I know that look. You had real feelings for him.” She tilted her head. “Still do.”

  “Look, that’s not important right now.” A good offense was the best defense, right? Eva licked her lips. “Would it be awful if I texted him? I want him to know that I’m thinking of him. It was really awkward at the center.”

  Maddie shook her head. “That Leo Wilson…I think he’d take it the wrong way. The worst thing that could happen is for him to throw a fit to have you taken off the case. Who would Dr. Sebrowski get to oversee the lab if you and I are both out of the picture?”


  “Sarah Newton.” Eva groaned. She hadn’t had time to tell Maddie.

  “Why would you mention her?”

  Eva quickly filled Maddie in on the surprise visitor.

  “I’m guessing this woman isn’t a friend?” Riley asked.

  “She’s a piranha, and that’s being polite.” It was as nice as Eva could be at the moment. “And she’s at the lab right now, running tests on evidence I collected.” Maybe she could tell Peter that Sarah was a distraction. At least get her out of the lab for a couple of days while she ran the tedious tests.

  “That woman is vicious, that’s for sure.”

  Eva chuckled, but it was humorless. “Maddie, since you won’t be able to work on the case, you’ll get to start training her on CRISPR/Cas policies and procedures.”

  Maddie hummed a few bars of Hound Dog under her breath.

  “I’ve got the RFLP running on the blood sample from the florist. I set the PCR on a spot that might be from the abductor.”

  “Blood?” Maddie bolted upright.

  “No. Ivan actually found it when he was dusting. Might be sweat or saliva.”

  “You people and your bodily fluids. Very gross.” Riley shuddered.

  Eva and Maddie both chuckled.

  “Without us, most cases wouldn’t get solved,” Eva said.

  Maddie nodded. “Or the criminal wouldn’t be brought to justice.”

  Eva sobered. “Which is why these tests are critical. I need to feel like I’m doing something to help Savannah.”

  And Darren. Because somewhere in Eva’s heart, she suspected Maddie and Riley just might have been right about her feelings for him.

  Her phone buzzed. “Eva Langston.”

  “Eva, it’s Peter. The FBI has a confirmed sighting of Savannah at a gas station on Thomas Street. I’ve called in Neal and the interns.”

  “Do you need me in?” Eva stood, her body humming.

  “Not yet, but know that the FBI is getting leads. You, Ivan and Kurt are on the other truck if we get another call.”

  “I’ll go ahead and get them on standby and head to the lab. I can at least be ready.”

  “Y’all be on standby.”

  Eva grabbed her keys. “I’ll be ready.”

  Anything to help get Savannah back.

  Five

  “I’m sending the best shot we have of the suspect from here.” The agent at the gas station’s voice warbled over the connection.

  Darren refrained from snatching SAC Wilson’s cell phone from his hands. But only just. He and Wilson stared at the photo that loaded.

  “This is an awful grainy shot, agent,” Wilson barked into the other phone the onsite unit had called. “Do you have anything better?”

  “No, sir. That’s the best shot we could get from the video. She was careful to angle herself away from the cameras at all times.” The bad news came over the speaker. “Attendant who called it in didn’t get a good look at the woman.”

  Darren stared at the figure in the distorted photo. It was definitely a woman holding Savannah’s hand. She wore a baseball cap situated low on her head, hiding all of her hair so no telling the color or length. Judging by her placement by the racks in the gas station, he’d guess she was about 5’4” or so. Slim build, as best he could tell because she wore an oversized man’s coat that wrapped around her. Denim covered her legs down into work style boots. She wore black gloves.

  “Can the attendant give you anything else about her?” Wilson asked.

  “He said he thought she had brownish hair. She wore tinted glasses. Paid with cash.”

  “Did she take off the gloves at any time? To pay?”

  A pause over the connection. “The attendant says no. The TBI unit just got here and they’re pulling prints off anything she might have possibly touched.”

  “Description of the vehicle?” Darren’s interjection won him a warning glare from Wilson.

  “Dark blue, two door, midsize. He hasn’t a clue about the make or model, but said it could’ve been something like a Toyota Camry.”

  “A gas station attendant doesn’t have a clue about make or model?” Wilson’s frustration came out in his question.

  “Apparently not, sir.” The agent on site sighed over the speaker. “He’s not that observant, sir. Said he really didn’t pay attention to the car until they were leaving, after he thought that might be Savannah.”

  “He recognized the girl! Push him.”

  “Yes, sir. We have.”

  “I guess it’s too much to ask that he got a plate number? Even a partial?” Wilson shook his head even as he asked.

  “No, sir.”

  “Did he say anything about how Savannah looked?” Darren ignored Wilson’s scowl. “Was she crying? Pulling against the woman?”

  “He said he didn’t pay attention when they first came in because he was texting his girlfriend. They went to the restroom, then brought two water bottles to the counter. The woman paid for the gas and water and then they got into the car and left.”

  “Did the attendant see which way they went when they left?” Wilson asked.

  “North on Thomas Street.”

  “Okay, agent. Is there anything else?”

  “No, sir. Mr. Helm with the TBI called in the owner of the store because they need to shut the store for at least an hour to pull prints.”

  “Then finish up there and head out.” Wilson disconnected the call while Darren went to the blown-up map on the easel. “Let’s go on the presumption that the drug store sighting will be confirmed as well. Go ahead and call the TBI to get a unit sent there as well.”

  Darren stuck a red pushpin at the gas station address. Confirmed sighting. His nerves calmed at little. Savannah was okay. “May I see the photo again?” he asked Wilson.

  The SAC handed him the phone with the woman’s photo. He scrolled to the previous one. The one of Savannah. His heart caught in the back of his throat.

  Savannah’s curls were a mess without something holding them out of her face. He stared at the photo, demanding his paternal emotions take a backseat to the training he’d had. Black pants stuck out from under the coat she wore. Yet…

  “Wilson, this isn’t her coat, but it fits her.”

  The SAC came to look at the picture.

  Darren continued, excitement flaring inside of him. “Her coat was left at the community center. This is a child’s coat, one that fits her pretty well. And because of Savannah’s health issues, she’s smaller than most her age.”

  “You think someone knew that? Knew her well enough to know her size?”

  “There’s no other explanation. I don’t believe in coincidence. And with a woman abductor—it makes sense. We both know that females are less likely to harm a child.”

  “Are you sure you don’t recognize the woman? There has to be a reason your child was targeted.”

  “She could be working with someone else,” Agent Lacey said as she returned to the living room. “But I doubt it. I tend to think the woman is the abductor. I also don’t think she means to harm Savannah. May I see the photo?”

  “Elaborate, please.” Wilson sat on the couch and motioned for the others to sit as well. He handed Lacey his phone with Savannah’s picture pulled up.

  Lacey sat beside Wilson on the couch and studied the photograph. “I’ve looked over the initial crime scene notes from the officers who were first on the scene. The only act of violence was to the florist, and even then, it was just to subdue her in order to take Savannah. It could have been much worse.”

  Darren nodded, but kept quiet.

  She continued. “So the abductor only used as much violence as needed. She took the time to have a coat in Savannah’s size ready. She took her to the bathroom and bought her water. I think it’s safe to say she means no harm to Savannah at this point.”

  “Then why take her?” Wilson asked what Darren was thinking.

  Agent Lacey turned to lock stares with Darren. “As there’s been no ransom demand, I th
ink she wants Savannah. Either to manipulate you into doing something for her, or to hurt you.”

  Darren shook his head. He couldn’t fathom someone wanting to hurt him so badly that they would take his daughter.

  “Sir?” an agent interrupted.

  Wilson glanced up. “Yes?”

  “Barbor’s PO confirmed his address. He’s staying with his sister. Maria Barbor.”

  Darren vaguely remembered the crying woman who swore on the stand that her brother would never, ever video a little girl.

  The agent continued. “The agents arrived at the house to find no one there. The sister called in sick to work today and Barbor hasn’t found a job yet.”

  “Any idea where they might be?” Wilson asked.

  The agent shook his head. “The guys there said they spoke to the neighbors, who confirmed Barbor living with his sister. They also said that brother and sister are usually home all the time when she isn’t at work. But they haven’t seen either of them all day. And the car is missing.”

  “What does the sister drive?” Darren asked, earning a sharp look from Wilson.

  The agent asked the question to the team over the phone before replying. “They didn’t know the year, but they said it’s a dark blue Honda Accord.”

  Which looked enough like a Toyota Camry.

  Wilson must have thought the same thing because he snapped at the agent, “Check with DMV and get a BOLO out on Barbor, his sister, and her car. And tell the agents to get local police to stay at the house and to call us immediately if they see either of them.”

  No, Maria couldn’t have Savannah. There was no mention of a man in the video or from the gas station attendant.

  Unless Maria hadn’t picked up her brother yet.

  “You know we have to check every lead, even if we don’t think it’s the right one.” Agent Lacey spoke in a very soothing voice. “I don’t believe that’s who took Savannah.”

  “Why?” Wilson asked.

  “Because it doesn’t fit the profile. I believe whoever took her had opportunity to get close to her. At school. In a store. Somewhere. She knew pretty accurately her size. And her taste.”