by Rita Herron
Angie pressed both hands to the sides of her face. “She did seem moody and quiet. I assumed it was the hormones talking, or something to do with a student.”
Brianna nodded. She’d hoped for more.
She turned to leave, but Derrick spoke up. “Was there anything else that had upset her?”
A blush crept up Angie’s freckled skin, and again, she leaned forward as if she thought someone might be privy to their conversation and call her a gossip.
“Well, she and the principal had words about her staying on after she got pregnant, her being an unwed mother and all.” She shook her head, her dark hair shifting around her angular face. “He was worried about the parents, that they’d think Natalie wasn’t a good role model for the students.”
Brianna’s mouth tightened. The two-faced bastard. Billings was four years older than her, but she’d heard rumors that he might have attended that party gone awry eight years ago. The party where a bunch of teens got drunk and had sex.
There had been whispers about a date rape drug, but no one had pressed charges, too afraid of recriminations.
Another downside of living in a small town.
“Did she mention anyone she’d been seeing?” Brianna asked.
“No, not to me. But I think that she and the sheriff—well, he was a deputy before Sheriff Driscill retired—they’d hooked up. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but that’s what I heard.”
Derrick stiffened beside her, and she tensed.
When Derrick had mentioned he might be Ryan’s father, Beau Cramer had never said a word.
Why had he kept the fact that he and Natalie had been involved from them?
“Do you have Mrs. Hampton’s cell phone number?” Derrick asked.
Angie shifted nervously.
“Please,” Brianna said. “We simply want to talk to her.”
Angie relented and checked the files, then gave them the number, along with the husband’s cell number, as well.
Just as they stepped into the hallway, Brianna’s cell phone jangled in her purse, and she froze. Maybe it was the kidnapper calling to make a deal.
DERRICK TENSED, WATCHING AS Brianna removed her phone and checked the caller ID. Her face paled slightly, and he glanced at the display box over her shoulder.
The sheriff.
He took her arm and guided her to the exit. “Answer it, Bri. Maybe he’s found the baby.”
Fear clouded her eyes though as she punched the connect button. “Hello.”
He drummed his fingers on his leg while she listened. “Yes, Sheriff, we’ll be right there.”
She snapped the phone closed and turned to him with a pinched look. “He’s at the motel on the outside of town. The owner saw the Amber Alert and reported that she saw a man leaving early this morning with a young baby. It might be Ryan.”
Chapter Six
Brianna shivered as they stepped out into the cold and rushed to Derrick’s Jeep. Hope mingled with anxiety.
If the man at the motel was alone, where was he going with Ryan? Why hadn’t he called? Was he meeting the Phillipses or Hamptons to give them the baby?
Derrick fired up the engine and sped away from the school toward the motel. “This might be the lead we’re looking for.”
“I hope so.”
Derrick tried both cell numbers for the Hamptons but neither answered, so he left a message asking them to return his call. Then he phoned Ben and asked him to dig around and see what he could find on the couple, if they owned any vacation property or had relatives that might help them out. Then he dialed Running Deer’s phone.
“Any luck on the search in the mountains?”
“Not so far,” Running Deer said. “But we’ve only gotten started.”
Derrick thanked him and hung up. Silence stretched between him and Brianna as he maneuvered along the icy road and parked at the motel. The blinking vacancy sign sent rays of light across the white ground, and mud splattered on the sides of the faded concrete made the building look dreary. Barring the sheriff’s car and a small sedan, the parking lot was empty.
She and Derrick hurried to the entrance. When she stepped inside, the scent of smoke, sweat and other stale odors engulfed her. This place was cheap, off the road, a stopover for truckers en route to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most tourists and visitors stayed in the downtown hotel or the Bed & Breakfast on Main Street.
Brianna spotted a short gray-haired woman with leathery skin and cigarette-stained teeth talking to Sheriff Cramer. Derrick crossed the distance over the threadbare carpet with precision. She pressed her hand to her sore rib to stem the ache walking created.
The sheriff gestured to the woman. “This is Henrietta Stoly. She’s the one who called about the man.”
Brianna introduced herself and Derrick.
“You said there was a man here with a baby?” Derrick asked.
The little woman nodded and gestured toward the photograph of Ryan that Brianna had given him. “I can’t be sure it’s the same baby. I didn’t get a good look at him, but he was wrapped in a blue blanket.”
“Can you describe the man?” Derrick continued.
“He was big, white, about five-eleven, a little chunky and wore dark clothes. He had a hat pulled low over his eyes, and kept looking down. And it was dark, late last night when he pulled in. We get a lot of truckers in here, and I thought he was one of them.”
“But he wasn’t?” Derrick confirmed.
“Wasn’t driving no big rig.”
“What was he driving?”
She twisted the ends of her faded blouse. “I don’t know cars, but it was one of them SUVs. Black.”
“What about the license number?” Sheriff Cramer inquired.
“Didn’t see it.” She worked her mouth from side to side. “I’m sorry. I reckon I’m not being much help.”
“No,” Brianna ventured softly. “Anything you can tell us is helpful.” The man she’d described could have been the one who’d broken into her house.
And at least the baby was alive.
“What time did he leave?” Derrick asked.
The woman worked her mouth again. “Around dawn. The truckers usually leave early. But he seemed especially in a hurry. He tore out of here like a bat out of hell.”
“Did you see which way he was going?”
“Headed up the parkway going north.”
“Was anyone else with him? A woman maybe?”
“Yeah, some blond bimbo. I didn’t see her face though, just that brassy hair. I wouldn’t have noticed her at all if they hadn’t been arguing. She yelled at him, and he told her to shut up and get in the car.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” the sheriff added.
The woman waddled around behind the counter, then reached for something and put it on the counter. “I found this little pair of booties on the floor of their room after they left.”
Brianna picked them up, tears swelling in her eyes. “They’re Ryan’s,” she said. “I bought them for him last week.”
DERRICK HEARD THE DESPAIR IN Brianna’s voice and wanted to reassure her that this information was a good sign, but he wasn’t sure it was.
The couple the woman had described didn’t match the Hamptons or the Phillipses. Worse, if the man and woman were arguing, they might have fought about the kidnapping, which meant the situation could get volatile.
Little Ryan might be affected. Even hurt.
And if one party wasn’t into the game, that one might be tempted to dump the baby.
A baby abandoned in this kind of weather wouldn’t survive twenty-four hours.
His throat convulsed at the thought. He didn’t want to see another child’s grave.
Especially his own son’s.
He fisted his hands by his sides, a bead of perspiration trickling down his cheek. No, he’d find him and bring him home safely. He had to.
“What name did the man use to check in?” Sheriff Cramer asked.
The woman
glanced down at the register. “John Smith.”
Derrick grimaced. Of course, that was fake. “How did he pay?”
“Cash.”
“Has the room been cleaned yet?” Derrick persisted.
“No. When I saw that Amber Alert, I held off.”
Derrick offered a smile. “Good.”
“I’ll get a CSI team to search the room for prints and forensics,” Cramer said.
Derrick placed his business card on the counter. “If you think of anything else, please call.”
Cramer shot him a warning look as if he’d overstepped his bounds, but Derrick ignored him. Cramer phoned in the description of the man and SUV and asked his deputy to send the information out to the other authorities, then retrieved the room key, punched in another number for the crime lab and requested a unit to the motel.
Derrick and Brianna followed him to the room, but the sheriff insisted they stay outside so as not to contaminate evidence. But one glance inside and Derrick knew finding and sorting out forensics wouldn’t be easy. Judging from the stained carpet, faded bedspread, musty odors and dust, this room had seen hundreds of visitors and very little pine cleaner or bleach.
“You need to let me handle this investigation,” Cramer reiterated.
Derrick squared his shoulders. “I’m just trying to help.”
“By accusing Dana Phillips of kidnapping?” Cramer scraped a hand over the side of his face. “She’s threatening to press charges against you for harassment.”
Brianna cleared her throat. “Beau, listen, I’m really sorry we upset her. But we didn’t actually accuse her of anything. We just asked some questions.”
“In a kidnapping, we have to explore every angle,” Derrick said. “Sometimes we have to ask tough questions and people get pissed. But that’s the only way to uncover the truth.” He hesitated, trying to rein in his temper and his own desperation. “And this woman was angry that Brianna adopted Natalie’s baby. Dana wanted Ryan herself.”
“You should have come to me,” Cramer complained. “I would have followed that lead.”
“You were busy with the crime unit at Brianna’s,” Derrick countered through clenched teeth. “Besides, you held back important information yourself.”
Cramer’s expression darkened. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Derrick stood his ground. “That you dated Natalie.”
Cramer’s mouth thinned into a frown. “I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“Not relevant?” Derrick repeated. “I left my DNA with you for a paternity test, and you didn’t bother to share that you might have fathered the baby.” He pointed a finger at Cramer. “That gives you motive, Cramer, that’s the reason you didn’t confess the truth.”
“There’s nothing to confess.” Cramer scowled. “We dated a few times a while back, no big deal.”
“When was it?” Derrick pressed.
“I don’t know exactly. Like I said, a few months ago.”
Derrick wanted to slam his fist into the cop’s nose. “Think, dammit. When? Could Ryan be yours?”
“No,” Cramer said. “I confronted Natalie after she got pregnant, and she told me the baby wasn’t mine. I even offered to marry her, but she turned me down.”
“So you were in love with her?” Derrick suggested.
Cramer shrugged. “Yeah, but she didn’t want marriage. Not even with a baby. I can’t imagine why a chick would want to go that route alone.”
“When she rejected you, you were pissed?” Derrick asked.
Cramer stepped forward as if he might hit him. “Listen to me, McKinney. I did not kidnap that baby. And I’m doing everything I can to find him. So don’t hold things back from me again.”
IF BRIANNA HAD WONDERED HOW Derrick had felt about Natalie, she knew now. He and Beau Cramer had both been in love with her.
Why hadn’t Natalie accepted Beau’s proposal? Because Ryan was Derrick’s son, and she’d been in love with him?
Brianna sighed. She certainly understood why. Derrick had a masculine presence that was irresistible. Watching him in action was even more impressive. His strength, intelligence and drive gave her confidence and hope.
Still, the kidnapper possessed a violent streak. What if Ryan cried and the man lost his temper?
“Will you keep me posted on what you learn from the search party and forensics?” Derrick asked.
Cramer gave a clipped nod. “And if you do uncover any other suspects, let me know. I don’t need you running all over town accusing the locals of kidnapping.”
Derrick glanced at Brianna, and she sighed. “I did discover that Rhoda Hampton had another miscarriage.”
“Good grief, did you go accuse her, too?” the sheriff asked.
She shook her head. “We went to her duplex to talk to her, but she wasn’t home.”
“She and her husband both left town,” Derrick said. “The timing is suspicious. You might look into that.”
Cramer studied them as if he didn’t know whether to trust them, but finally conceded with a nod.
Still, Brianna was grateful Derrick had his own men on the case.
Derrick slid a hand to Brianna’s waist. “Come on, Brianna, he can handle it here. Let’s grab something to eat and go home. You need rest.”
Brianna wanted to argue, but her head was throbbing, and fatigue weighed her body down. She pulled her coat around her as they walked to the car, more snow flurries beginning to drift down from the gray clouds. Daylight was waning, the days shorter now with winter approaching, the dismal sky adding to her bleak mood.
What had the man and woman been arguing over? Something to do with the baby?
Her stomach spasmed at the thought of them harming him.
When she settled into the car, she rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes. The image of little Ryan wrapped in the hospital blanket flashed in her mind, along with other images from the past few weeks.
Ryan cuddling against her as she’d held him. His tiny feet and hands waving as he bicycled them in the crib. His big brown eyes staring at the teddy bear mobile above his bed, the way he’d watched it spin around while it played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” The tiny noises he’d made, the gurgles and coos when she’d bathed him.
She must have dozed off because the next time she opened her eyes, they’d stopped at Delilah’s Diner.
“Brianna, I know you’re wiped out,” Derrick stated. “But something you said at the school is bothering me.”
She pushed a strand of hair off her forehead and opened her eyes. “What?”
“You asked if Natalie had been acting oddly the last few weeks. What did you mean by that?”
Brianna chewed her lip, debating on whether she’d read too much into Natalie’s behavior.
“Bri, tell me.”
“I don’t know if I just imagined it, but the last few weeks before she died, Natalie acted…differently.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “What do you mean?”
Brianna massaged her temple. “Secretive. Nervous. As if something was on her mind.” She released a pent-up breath. “I thought she was simply anxious about the baby coming. But the night I drove her to the E.R. to have Ryan, she seemed almost panicked.”
“Panicked? About childbirth?”
Brianna shrugged. “I thought so at first, but as the nurse wheeled her into the E.R., she made me swear that if anything happened to her, that I’d take care of the baby. I tried to assure her that nothing bad would happen, that everything would be all right. But she grabbed my hands and insisted.” She paused, then decided to share her worst fear. “It was almost as if she knew she was going to die.”
Derrick studied her for a long moment. “Did she mention anything specific that spooked her?”
A chill skated along her arms. “Yes. One night we had dinner and on the way home she seemed jumpy. She kept looking over her shoulder as if she was scared. As if she thought someone might be following her.”
/> “And then she died,” Derrick said.
“I know,” Brianna whispered. “It just seemed—”
“Suspicious.”
She gave a pained nod.
“And now someone has kidnapped her child.” Derrick shifted on the balls of his feet. “You’re right, that does sound suspicious. Maybe we need to look into Natalie’s death and make sure she died of natural causes.” He swung the vehicle toward the rental cabins on Raven’s Ridge. “I’m going to pick up some things before we go to your house.”
She jerked her head toward him. “That’s not necessary.”
“I’ll sleep on your couch, but I’m not leaving you alone.”
Brianna twined her fingers together, her heart pounding. Was it possible that Natalie had been murdered?
THE BABY WAILED FROM THE backseat as the man wound up Blue Ridge Parkway. “Can’t you shut him up?”
His girlfriend rolled her eyes, but continued to file her fingernails. “I told you I wasn’t no mother.”
He jerked the nail file from her fingers. “Well, try,” he snarled. “Or I’m going to dump you both.”
She made a pouty face. “Then you’ll have to find some place to stop. I can’t reach his car seat from here.”
“All right,” he grumbled. “There’s probably a truck stop up ahead.”
He flipped on the radio to drown out the baby’s cries.
“Regarding the Amber Alert for baby Ryan, the six-week-old kidnapped from his adoptive home this morning, the child is still missing. Authorities now believe that the man who stole the child may be traveling with a blond female. They were last seen driving toward the Blue Ridge Parkway in a dark SUV. If you spot this couple or their vehicle, please call the sheriff.”
He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Dammit.
“They know who we are,” she screeched.
“They don’t have our names,” he growled. “But they will be looking for us, and we need to get rid of this vehicle.”
He spotted a sign for a truck stop up ahead and veered onto the exit. He’d ditch the SUV, steal another car and then get back on the road.