Her cell rang, caller ID revealing SAC Prado with the FBI. She answered, ever hopeful for good news. “We’ve been going over the list your officer gave us of people who might match the profile we provided. So far, I haven’t crossed any of them off, but I do have a question about someone who was not on the list.”
Interesting. “Go ahead.”
“What about the former sheriff?” SAC Prado asked. “The guy that hired you as a deputy. How well do you know him?”
“Sam?” Rayna smiled. “I trained under him years ago at the academy. And then worked for him before he retired and I ran for sheriff. Why do you ask?”
Instead of answering, Prado asked another question. “During your association with him, did he ever make any advances toward you, touch you inappropriately, anything like that?”
Horrified, Rayna shook her head. “Of course not. Sam’s not like that. He’s a completely honorable man.” Then, as she realized why the FBI agent was asking, she shook her head again. “Surely you’re not considering Sam as a suspect?”
“We can’t rule anyone out yet. And it might be totally coincidental, but Sam arrived in town and then the teenager went missing.”
“True, but the other missing young woman, Nicole Wilson, disappeared long before Sam came back.”
“Good point. Sam doesn’t really fit our profile anyway. But I’m a big believer that you can’t be too thorough. For now, I’ll move his name to the not-likely list.”
“I agree.” Rayna couldn’t believe how relieved she felt.
“Any other potential suspects you want to mention?” Prado asked. “We honestly feel like we’re spinning our wheels while we wait for this unsub to screw up and make a mistake. Which he will. We’ve just got to make sure we catch him.”
“Not yet,” she admitted. “We’ve got an organized search going on right now for the teenager who disappeared. We’re hoping we can bring her home soon.”
“Better do it quickly,” Prado said. “You know as well as I do that the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours are the best chance you have of finding her alive.”
Chapter 14
As luck would have it, Parker ended up with the search area that included Old Man Malone’s place. Since the older gentleman had shown up to take part in the search, Parker had included him in the final group, which he planned to lead.
“Way to go back there,” Mr. Malone muttered, elbowing him. “You showed that woman. People like that, making up lies to suit their own purposes, need to be arrested. As a matter of fact, I’m going to suggest that to Rayna next time I see her.”
Though privately, Parker agreed, he refrained from commenting. Since his group had been comprised of the ones who were left, he had ten people total. He handed everyone a copy of their search quadrant. “Let’s go,” he said. Some of the other groups had piled into cars and driven to their assigned areas, but this one was close enough that they could walk to it.
“My street is on here,” Mr. Malone said, hurrying to keep up. “I think you should let me be the one to knock on my neighbor’s doors.”
“Fine with me.” Parker shrugged. “But not all of them. There’s just too many. I figure we’ll split off into groups of two or three and handle it that way.”
“Mind if I join you?” a feminine voice asked from behind them. His heart jumped. Rayna.
“Hey there, sheriff.” Old Man Malone grinned from ear to ear. “Way to go not letting those idiots back there shame you into not having a life.”
A dusky hue spread over her pale face, but she smiled and nodded. “Thanks. I still can’t believe that woman lied about Parker for no valid reason.”
“Lock her up.” Mr. Malone chortled. “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Her lush mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, her gaze meeting Parker’s. “Are you okay with me coming along?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, conscious of several others watching. “It’s great to have law enforcement with us, just in case we get some pushback. Our area is mostly residential, with only a few houses that are on the outskirts of town.”
“Sounds good.” She fell into step next to Mr. Malone. “Where’s your metal detector?” she asked.
“In the trunk of my car,” he admitted. “I didn’t think it would be helpful in this kind of a search. After all, we’re looking for a person, not an object.”
“True,” Rayna said. “But last time you managed to find that cell phone. Something like that might help point us in the right direction.”
The old man brightened. “I didn’t think about that. After this search is over, I might just go back out on my own.”
“I might just go with you if you do,” Parker interjected.
“Sounds good,” Malone replied.
“Parker?” A man wearing a black cowboy hat walked up. Parker thought he recognized him as one of Ted Sanders’s friends who’d gathered in the motel parking lot. “I just want to apologize to you for the way you’ve been treated,” he continued. “You came here trying to find your friend’s sister and instead, you’ve been accused of just about everything under the sun.” He held out his hand. “I’m really sorry about that.”
Parker shook his hand. “I appreciate that, man.”
They’d reached the neighborhood they needed to search. “Fan out, two or three together,” Parker ordered. “Knock on doors, talk to people, ask questions. If you see anything suspicious, don’t confront the person, just come back here and talk to the sheriff.”
“Exactly.” Rayna nodded her agreement.
“Let’s go, people,” Mr. Malone chimed in. “Who wants to buddy up with me?”
As people paired off and walked away, Parker found himself alone with Rayna. “I guess we’re a pair,” she said, her smile a bit too bright. “Let’s take the houses over there.”
“Wait.” He caught at her arm. “I need to thank you for stepping in back there. That situation had the potential of getting ugly fast.”
“Just doing my job. Elizabeth is kind of a dramatic person and prone to exaggeration. Everyone knows that about her, but this is the first time I know of where she’s been caught in an out-and-out lie.”
“I mean for believing in me,” he said quietly. “Several people apparently took her at her word when she lied about seeing me with the missing girl.”
She gave him a sidelong glance and shrugged. “I told you I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.”
They’d reached the first house and trudged up the steps onto the large front porch. Parker pressed the doorbell and stepped back, waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, an elderly woman stood there beaming at them. “My neighbor Mr. Malone said people might be coming by. While I haven’t seen anything strange, I made cookies and a pot of tea. Would you like to come inside and have some?”
“I wish we could,” Parker replied, genuine regret in his voice. “But we’re trying to find a missing teenager and can’t stop looking right now.”
Her face fell. “I understand.” Then she brightened. “How about I give you some cookies to go.” She turned around without waiting for an answer and disappeared inside her house.
Rayna and Parker exchanged amused looks.
“She’s a really good baker,” Rayna whispered. “Her cookies are amazing.”
The older woman returned, carrying two baggies filled with cookies. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, so I gave you one of each. There are chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and peanut butter.”
“Thank you so much.” Accepting them both, Parker handed one of the baggies to Rayna. She also asked the woman if she was certain she hadn’t seen any sign of Donella. When once again the answer was negative, Rayna thanked her and side by side, they walked to the next house.
“You have no idea how much I want to eat this,” she comm
ented, holding up the baggie. “I love oatmeal-raisin cookies.”
Their gazes met and held. If she only knew how badly he wanted to kiss her. Time and place, he reminded himself, lifting up his own cookies. “I’m sure if you have one, it won’t impede our search.”
This made her laugh.
At the next house, no one answered, though he rang the doorbell several times. A dog barked somewhere inside, but clearly no one was home.
As they walked down the sidewalk, Rayna slipped her hand into his. For a second, his heart stuttered in his chest and he froze, but he managed to continue moving and acting as if this was an ordinary occurrence.
“This feels...right,” she said, smiling up at him. “Since everyone keeps calling you my boyfriend, we might as well take this public, don’t you think?”
He wanted to ask her what this was exactly, but her cell phone rang. Pulling her hand free from his, she gave a small self-conscious laugh and glanced at the screen. “I need to take this,” she said. “It’s Ted Sanders.”
Though hearing the name made him tense, he nodded.
Rayna only stayed on the phone for a second, saying very little. When she ended the call, she turned to face him. “You’re not going to believe this,” she said incredulously. “Donella Abernathy showed up at Ted Sanders’s ranch.”
He spoke out loud his first thought. “Maybe it’s time to consider Ted a suspect.”
Though she gave him a sharp glance, Rayna didn’t comment.
Instead, she gestured at the others still knocking on doors up and down the street. “You’ll need to call off the search. Bring everyone in and tell them Donella has been found, but not where. I need to head out there.”
“I want to go with you,” Parker said. “Sam’s still waiting at city hall. I’ll let him get everything shut down.”
“He’ll enjoy that,” Rayna finally said. “Though I’m not too sure how Ted Sanders will react to you showing up at his place.”
Parker shrugged. “Excuse me for not really giving a—”
“We’re done with this block,” Old Man Malone interrupted. “Ready to move on to the next.”
“No need,” Rayna said. “Donella Abernathy has been located. She’s alive and safe.”
“Wahoo!” the older man shouted. He grabbed the air horn from Parker and used it. Not once, not twice, but three times.
Immediately, all the other searchers came running.
“They found the girl!” Mr. Malone told them, his cracked voice now jubilant. “She’s alive and safe.”
Everyone started talking at once. Shaking her head, Rayna touched the old man’s arm. “We’re going to ask Sam to make sure all the other searchers know. Would you mind helping him with that?”
“I’d be honored.” His rheumy eyes sparkled. “Let’s head back now, y’all,” he told the others, practically shouting over all their voices.
Back at city hall, Parker stood back while Rayna spoke with Sam. His uncle nodded, expression still serious, and then eyed Parker. “Are you sure taking him along is a good idea?” he asked. “You know as well as I do that we don’t usually allow citizens to ride along on things with this sensitive of a nature.”
“It’s fine,” Rayna insisted. “Ted Sanders is there, too. And Parker’s been involved in this since the beginning, sometimes involuntarily, so I think him coming along is vital.”
“Your call.” Sam shrugged. “I’ll take care of getting everyone back here and pass along the good news. Now, skedaddle.”
Rayna spun around without another word and marched over to her patrol car. Halfway there, she looked back over her shoulder at Parker, and lowered her aviator sunglasses. “Are you coming?”
On the drive out of town, Rayna fiddled with the radio, made a few calls to let Larry and the others know the situation and finally turned to Parker. “I just want you to know that I’m going to have to ask Donella if she can ID you. I’m telling you now, so you won’t be shocked or upset.”
“Fine by me.” Parker understood and appreciated the heads-up.
“And for the time being, I’m going to have to ask you to stay in the background. No questions, no comments, just quiet observation. This is really important and unless you agree, I can’t allow you inside.”
“You know, this is probably the first time in my life I’ve ever wished I was a cop,” Parker groused. “I don’t like it, but I get it. So yes, I agree to remain a silent observer.”
Her smile almost had him smiling back. Almost. But all he could think of was the possibility that Donella had escaped the same man who had Nicole. And if that turned out to be the case, would she be able to lead them to him?
When they arrived at the ranch, Ted himself let them in. He glared at Parker, but said nothing, leading them into his kitchen.
Donella sat in one of the chairs, her hair stringy and tangled, wrapped in a thick blanket despite the summer heat. She looked up when they walked in and even attempted a smile, though she failed miserably at that.
“Are you prepared to make an arrest?” Ted asked Rayna, keeping his voice low, though Parker could hear. “If she points out your friend here, will you be able to cuff him and lock him up.”
Without taking her eyes off the teenager, Rayna nodded. “I doubt it will come to that, but yes.”
“Donella, have you ever seen this man before?” Ted asked, pointing at Parker. His closed-off expression showed what kind of answer he expected to hear.
Eyes red and swollen from crying, Donella squinted up at him. “No, sir. I mean, several of the girls at school were Snapchatting with a guy who looks like him. But I never did.”
“What about in person?” Ted pushed. “Ever seen him in person before today?”
Slowly, Donella shook her head, wincing as if the slight movement hurt her. “No. Should I have?”
Rayna moved to intercede, shooting Ted a furious look. “To put this as clearly as possible, is this man the one who kidnapped you?”
Donella’s swollen eyes widened. “No. He’s too tall and not fat enough, for one thing.”
“Thank you.” Rayna smiled gently. “Can you tell us where you were? Any idea at all?”
“I have no idea.” Again, the young girl shook her head. “It was always so dark.” Her large brown eyes welled up and she began to weep again. “I just want my mama.”
“She’s on her way,” Ted promised. “I called her as soon as I realized it was you.”
“Thank you.” Visibly struggling for control, Donella took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I really escaped. The basement... I think we were in a house—the basement window got unlocked. I saw it and tried to jump up and reach it, but it was too high.”
As she peered up at Rayna, Donella’s mouth moved, but nothing came out except a sob. “Please, Miss Rayna. You’ve got to find him. I’m afraid he’s going to kill Nicky. She let me stand on her hands so I could reach the window. She helped me escape, but couldn’t get out herself.” She hung her head, crying again. “I ran away and left her there. Please, please find Nicky and get her away from him.”
Nicky? Parker took a step forward, barely managing to refrain from asking. A sharp glance from Rayna stopped him in his tracks, helping him remember his promise.
“Who?” Rayna asked, her voice tender. “Was there someone else there with you?”
“Yes.” Donella’s head bobbed up and down. “Her name is Nicky. She said only her older brother calls her that. She’s been there a few weeks. For whatever reason, he kept her longer than any of the others. She’s gotten really skinny and is sick. She coughs so much I’m worried she might die. Either way, I think he’s fixin’ to kill her. He was going to make me take her place.”
Parker clenched his jaw and sucked in air. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to speak. Every frickin’ ounce.
“Who’s he?” Ray
na prodded. “Did he happen to give you a name?”
“No.” Donella shook her head, sending her stringy hair moving. “We had to call him Boss.”
“Boss,” Rayna repeated. “Can you tell me what he looked like?”
“He’s older—at least thirty,” Donella said. “Kind of round.” She cast a quick glance toward Ted Sanders. “I think he wears glasses, but I’m not positive. He kept the room so dark, it was hard to see.”
“Were you on a farm or somewhere in town, do you think?” Rayna continued her line of questioning.
“I... I don’t know.” Donella started to cry again, this time silent, fat tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. “When I got out of the basement, I ran. There were fields, lots of fields. I didn’t know where I was, so I kept going. I was so afraid he might find me.”
Aware he’d be breaking his promise, Parker stepped forward anyway, kneeling next to her. He had to know for sure. He got out his phone and showed her a photo on the screen. “Is this Nicky?” he asked, his voice gentle.
Still muffling sobs with one hand over her mouth, she bobbed her head up and down.
“It’s going to be okay,” Parker said, squeezing her shoulder lightly.
Just then the front door burst open and Bertha Abernathy rushed into the room, her husband, Elmer, trailing close behind.
She took in Donella, still bawling, and Parker’s ineffective attempt to comfort her. “Get your hands off my daughter,” she demanded, spinning around to glare at Rayna. “Why isn’t this man in handcuffs?”
Before Rayna could answer, Donella looked up at her mother and began sobbing even louder. “Mama,” she called. “Mama.”
Bertha turned back to her daughter. “My baby girl!” she shouted. “Alive!” She ran to Donella, throwing her arms around her daughter in a tight hug. The two of them began sobbing so hard their words were unintelligible. Elmer tried to fit himself in, and finally Bertha allowed him. The three Abernathy family members rocked and cried, leaving Ted and Parker and Rayna to stand around awkwardly.
Texas Sheriff's Deadly Mission Page 20