The Christmas Bell Tolls

by Robin Caroll

  “Taste?” Darren and Wilson asked in unison. For once, the SAC didn’t glare.

  Lacey smiled at Darren. “Your daughter has a flare for the pretty. The sparkly as you put it.”

  He nodded.

  She held up the picture. “Look at the coat. Not only does it fit her, but it has those big, glittery buttons. And the fake sparkly fur around the collar and cuffs.” She handed the phone to Darren. “She took the time to have a coat not just the right size and ready so Savannah wouldn’t get cold, but also one that Savannah would like to wear.”

  “SAC Wilson, the team at the drug store is sending you a photo from the surveillance video,” an agent interrupted.

  Darren hovered beside Wilson and looked over her shoulder. This picture was much clearer. The surveillance video must be a higher quality. Her blond curls were tucked under a cartoon toboggan cap, but her blue eyes were just as big and bright as the day he’d brought her home from the hospital. “It’s her.”

  “According to the agents there, after reviewing the video, they saw the woman lift two inhalers from the pharmacy.”

  Darren let out a rush of air. At least Savannah had her medication.

  “Has TBI sent a unit there?” Wilson asked the agent.

  “According to our men there, they just received word that a TBI unit is on its way. ETA less than five minutes.”

  Wilson nodded. “Send a picture of the suspect.”

  “They sent.”

  Wilson and Darren once again peered at the smartphone’s screen. The woman hadn’t changed appearances—same ball cap pushed low to cover her hair and face, oversized man’s coat to cover her size, jeans and work boots, and black gloves. One holding Savannah’s hand.

  “Anything?” Wilson asked. “Recognize anything?”

  Darren studied the photo. “With the angles and the cap and the coat…I don’t recognize her at all.”

  Wilson handed his cell to the agent at the table. “Get this picture of her out everywhere. I want to see it all over the news. The picture itself is non-descript, but maybe somebody will recognize something.”

  The agent nodded, his fingers already forwarding the photo and then handing the phone back to the SAC.

  Darren took it and scrolled back to the photo of Savannah. His baby didn’t look to be in serious distress. That was something, at least. And now she’d have her medication.

  “Is that cap hers?” Lacey startled him as he hadn’t heard her join them and hover at his elbow to see the photo.

  He shook his head. “No. She didn’t even have a cap with her today because she wore her hair up in a bow.”

  “Does she like that cartoon?” Lacey tapped on the picture, then used her fingers to enlarge the picture around the cap.

  “It’s her favorite.” The words were hard to push out as the realization hit.

  Agent Lacey was right—this woman who took her had to know her, or at least be around her in some manner. The size, the style, and now, her favorite cartoon.

  That someone had gone to such lengths to make this easier on Savannah made him breathe a little easier. Surely this meant that they didn’t intend to harm his baby.

  “Agent Timmons, I think you need to start thinking along the lines of who had access to your daughter that might want to take her without a motive that has anything to do with you,” Agent Lacey said.

  “What do you mean?” His heart stuttered.

  “Someone who seems to have gone through this much trouble to appease your daughter might want her for their own.”

  “You mean, someone who took her to keep her?”

  Lacey nodded.

  Every muscle in Darren’s body tightened as tense as the emotional charge in the room.

  Not get his baby back? Never see her again? Never hold her or have her hug him again? It was unthinkable.

  But at the moment, entirely possible.

  Wilson pocketed his phone. “You provided a list of your closest friends and people around you and your daughter, Timmons. Maybe we need to look at that a little closer.”

  “You think it’s someone who knows Savannah?” Darren asked Lacey. He couldn’t believe that. “The only females around us are Maddie Baxter, Remington Baxter, and Riley Simpson. All are affiliated, either by their own profession or that of their spouse, with law enforcement. I’d trust any of them with my life.”

  “Would you trust them with your daughter’s life?” Lacey asked.

  Darren didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Without a doubt.”

  “What about women you’ve dated?” Wilson asked. “You’d said you weren’t seeing anyone and hadn’t in a while. How long is a while? Maybe a jilted lover who knows how much your daughter means to you.”

  Lacey nodded. “That would fit the profile.”

  Darren’s cheeks flamed. “I haven’t even dated anyone in the last six months.”

  “A jilted lover can hold a grudge for a long time. A lot longer than six months. Trust me on this.” Lacey shrugged. “It’s a girl thing.”

  “What’s her name?” Wilson pulled out his notebook. “We’ll check her out. And anyone you’ve gone out with over the past eighteen months.”

  Darren’s discomfort moved to a whole new level. “There’s only been one. She wouldn’t do anything like this.”

  “Did she break it off with you?” Lacey asked in her quiet voice.

  He shook his head.

  Lacey smiled. “I know this is all hard, especially when you’re a private person, but you know why we have to ask. So, why did you break it off with her?”

  Bolts of red heat shot up the back of his neck. “Because I thought she wasn’t ready to get to a more serious stage. I couldn’t risk Savannah getting too attached to her and she not be able to commit.”

  The smile slipped off Lacey’s face. “Did you tell her that?”

  “Not in so many words, but basically. I don’t play games in dating, so I try to be honest.” Darren’s stomach tightened into a knot. “But she would not do anything to Savannah. She’s in law enforcement, too.”

  Lacey shook her head. “What you’ve just told me is pure motive, and focused on Savannah even.”

  “I know she’s not involved.”

  Wilson cleared his throat. “Her name, Agent Timmons.”

  “We can at least clear her,” Lacey offered.

  “Eva. Eva Langston.” Just saying her name to go on a suspect list burnt Darren’s tongue.

  “She’s in law enforcement?” Wilson asked.

  “She’s Maddie Baxter’s partner.”

  Wilson nearly dropped his pencil. “The TBI technician who collected all the evidence onsite today? The woman who might be at either the gas station or the drug store collecting evidence right now?”

  Darren nodded, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Eva would never do a thing to hurt Savannah. Ever. He knew that. She might not be ready to get serious enough to consider being a step-mother, but she cared about Savannah.

  “She could’ve tampered with the evidence?” Lacey asked.

  “She would never do that!”

  “But she could have.” Wilson shot to his feet, mumbling under his breath about jeopardizing the case as he stormed into the kitchen.

  Darren looked at Lacey, who wore an unreadable expression. “Eva Langston had nothing to do with this and she would never, ever not do her job to the best of her abilities. She’s one of the most professional people I’ve ever worked with.”

  “You don’t have to convince me, Agent Timmons.”

  Darren stood and paced. He should probably call Eva and give her a heads-up. No telling what Wilson would do. Who he’d call or what kind of stink he’d make. Then again, if Darren called her, Wilson would be sure he was tipping her off.

  He ran his hands through his hair as he paced. God, I don’t know what to do. I just want Savannah back home safe and sound. And I don’t want to tarnish Eva’s reputation at all.

  Six

  “Black dye,” the d
rug store clerk told the FBI agent questioning her. “Two boxes of the wash out kind.”

  Eva eavesdropped on the FBI interview as Ivan pulled prints off the counter. Lots and lots of fingerprints. Finding one specific to the kidnapper would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but the hope was they would get a match to a print pulled at one of the other confirmed locations.

  “Are you sure?” the agent asked.

  The female clerk looked down her nose at the agent. “Of course I’m sure. It was our store brand, color 47—raven black, washes out in ten shampoos.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the pharmacy waiting chair. “She bought two boxes, gave me a twenty, took her change of six dollars and eighty-two cents, snatched the bag, then hauled outta here. She never let go of the kid’s hand. Not once.”

  The agent scribbled in his notebook as the clerk continued.

  “It caught my attention because I thought to myself that the little girl’s blonde curls were too beautiful to color.”

  Eva swallowed. Savannah’s hair was beautiful. It made Eva sick to think of the emotional and physiological damage being inflicted on the sweetest little girl. They had to find her. Immediately. She took two more evidence bags from Ivan and applied the identifier sticker.

  “You never saw her lean across the counter and grab the medication bags?” the agent asked.

  The clerk shook her head. “We always get the inhalers shipment from this pharmaceutical company on Fridays and always set them on that counter for the clerks to stock on Saturday. Never had asthma medication stolen before.”

  Stealing was wrong, Eva admitted that, but she was relieved to know that Savannah had her breathing medicine.

  “We still wouldn’t have known the woman took the two inhalers if you FBI guys hadn’t pulled the video.” The clerk crossed her arms over her chest.

  Eva had heard the shock from the drug store manager when they’d watched the surveillance video. The woman who had Savannah had hardly looked over her shoulder before leaning across the counter and grabbing two inhalers and shoving them into the pocket of the oversized coat. No one had suspected a thing until it was seen on the video.

  The FBI agent continued his questioning. “And the woman? The video doesn’t allow any shots of her face.”

  “The cap she wore covered all her hair. She didn’t even have any stragglers sticking out, if you know what I mean.”

  The agent wore a blank stare. Eva resisted the impulse to shake her head. She didn’t recognize the agent. Maybe he was one of the new ones sent in to help on the case. Did they have to send the most clueless agents on something so important?

  “The cap put shadows on her face, but I could see she had dark eyebrows,” the store clerk offered. “Well groomed. Arched.”

  That was a good detail, right? Eva studied the agent from the corner of her eye even as she logged more evidence from Ivan.

  “We have a sketch artist on the way.” The agent flipped a page in his notebook. “In the surveillance video the woman wore gloves. Did she ever take them off? Even to pay?”

  The clerk shook her head. “I never saw her take them off.”

  “How did the child seem to you?”

  Eva turned her head slightly to catch the other agent who had been hovering near the edge of the counter take a step toward the clerk. He’d been so quiet that she’d almost forgotten he stood there. He moved in silence, yet he looked familiar to Eva. Maybe he was one of the agents who worked with Darren all the time.

  The clerk tilted her head. “She wasn’t screaming or crying, if that’s what you mean. That’s why my warning bells didn’t go off immediately. Looked like a normal mother and daughter, even if the little girl was quite subdued. Most kids that age who come in with their moms are squawking or trying to run off.”

  “The woman’s appearance didn’t make you cautious?” the first agent interrupted to ask.

  The clerk shrugged. “Well, I’m used to oddities, if you catch my drift. We get all kinds of people in here. Some of them…well, we’re just thankful when they leave, if you know what I mean.” She shrugged again. “It’s cold out, so we’re seeing a lot of people in here who are wearing caps and gloves.”

  “Anything else you can remember? Anything at all?”

  “No.” The clerk shook her head, slowly, as if still replaying the episode back in her mind. “They came to the counter with the two boxes of hair color, I rang her up, smiled at the little girl and that’s when I noticed the little girl’s blonde curls. I didn’t say anything, but took the woman’s cash, gave her change and her receipt, and they were out the door. It was only when they were walking away that I realized the child was the same one in the picture I’d seen on the news.”

  The quiet agent leaned forward and spoke so softly, Eva had to shift to be able to hear him. “What was it that you noticed when they were leaving that triggered an alert?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You said it was only when they were walking away that you realized the child was the one you’d seen on the news. What made you realize that?”

  “I don’t—I mean, I didn’t—”

  “It’s okay.” The agent’s voice sounded as soothing as it was soft. Almost seductive. Hypnotic. “Close your eyes. Go ahead, close them.”

  Eva couldn’t help herself, she had to turn to see the clerk fully. The woman closed her eyes. The agent sat in front of her. “Good. Now I want you to see the woman. See the child. You just handed over the change and receipt. The woman took it, what did she do with the change and receipt?”

  “She put it in the plastic bag with the hair color.”

  “And then what?”

  Eva pressed her lips together. This agent was good.

  “She turned the little girl around without letting go of her hand and they walked away.”

  “Think carefully. What did you see that was out of place as they walked away? Hand-in-hand, they’re moving down the aisle—”

  “Her shoes!” The clerk’s eyes popped open. “The little girl was wearing dress-up shoes, the kind you wear to a party. They clearly didn’t go with the sweatpants she was wearing. It made me stop and think, and that’s when I remembered her picture on the news. I called immediately.”

  “Excellent. Thank you.” The agent stood and moved away from the clerk, closer to where Eva and Ivan stood.

  Eva turned so her back was to the agent. Usually she was kept in the loop about an investigation, but from what she knew about this new Special Agent in Charge, she’d eavesdrop to get info if she had no other choice.

  “Get the surveillance video back up. Focus in on the child, a full body shot if you can get it. Send a copy to Timmons, the father. Maybe he’ll see something that will give us another clue as well.” The second agent took off toward security while the first agent turned back to the clerk. “The sketch artist should be here soon. Thank you so much for assisting.”

  Eva finished logging all of the evidence they’d collected. Itching to get back to the lab and start testing, she pulled off her gloves and put them in her pockets. Her phone rang, and she fumbled in her pocket to grab it. She took note of the caller-ID and drew in a deep breath before answering.

  “Darren?” She turned away from the FBI agents and Ivan, taking a few steps toward the main aisle that had been closed off.

  “Eva, I’m really sorry.”

  “What’s wrong?” Whatever was he apologizing to her for?

  “I didn’t want to give your name. I know you had nothing to do with this.” His voice held a world of stress in its tone.

  She felt all the blood drain down to her toes. Eva leaned against the edge of a display rack. “Of course I didn’t. Why are you telling me this?”

  “Eva.”

  She stepped into the aisle to see who’d called her name. Peter strode toward her. “Hey, Eva.”

  “I’m truly sorry,” Darren said before the call disconnected.

  She pocketed
the phone, straightened her shoulders, and met Peter. “I thought you were heading back to the lab?”

  Peter sighed. “I need to talk to you.” His face flushed.

  “I was about to start loading the truck to head back to the lab. Can it wait?” Although she was pretty sure it couldn’t since her supervisor had made it a point to come to her.

  He shook his head. “Walk out with me.”

  Eva forced the smile she didn’t feel. “But what about loading the truck?”

  From out of nowhere, Ivan appeared. His tattoos seemed more vibrant than ever under the drug store’s weak lighting as he held out his hand. “I’ll load up the truck.”

  Eva opened her mouth to argue, then realized it was moot. She dug in her pocket for the keys.

  Ivan winked at her, took the keys and then left.

  Eva let out a long sigh before falling into step beside Peter. “Just shoot it to me straight, Peter. What’s going on?”

  “I have to remove you from the case.”

  They’d reached the front door of the drug store. She stopped just short of stepping outside into the biting cold and turned to face Peter. “You what?”

  “I’ve been instructed to remove you from the case.” The tips of Peter’s ears were fire engine red. “I didn’t want to, I don’t think it’s necessary, but I have no choice, Eva.”

  Her pulse echoed inside her head. “I don’t understand.”

  Peter leaned against the block wall. “Because you dated Darren. That FBI guy Wilson demanded you be removed.”

  “Since when does the FBI tell us how to run our program?” She fisted her hands into tight balls.

  “Since he called the Director and raised all sorts of questions. The Director was quick to call me. There’s no wiggle room here, Eva. I’m sorry.”

  This was unbelievable. “All because I dated Darren?” She jabbed her fists into her jacket pockets as the enormity of the accusation slapped her. “Do they think I’m involved in Savannah’s abduction? That’s ridiculous!”

  “I know you aren’t. I told the Director as much.”

  Eva shook her head. “They think because I dated Darren but we aren’t dating anymore, that makes me a suspect. Except I was at work today. All day, which anyone can easily verify so I don’t see why they want to pull me and keep from doing my job of finding Savannah.”