“Dark.”
“Was the hair long or short?”
“Long, ponytail.”
“You said men. How many?” Emma backstepped to let Bobby Joe out from behind the lounger.
“Two others. Carrying my friend.” He slowly crept forward.
“Piper?”
Bobby Joe gave her one nod, scrambled forward, and hurriedly plopped into his chair, gripping its arms where the holes in the fabric were. He dug his fingers into the padding. He leaned back and closed his eyes, but he continued to attack the stuffing, pulling it out and tossing it on the floor.
Nick indicated Emma and Brody move away to talk. They gathered in the kitchenette. “Emma, I’d like you to get what information you can from Bobby Joe tonight, but I don’t know if he’ll say much more. If that’s the case, can you help me tomorrow continue talking to him about the three bad men? It sounds as if he witnessed Piper’s abduction.”
“I agree. He’s scared and afraid of what he saw. He has autistic tendencies. Autism presents itself differently in people. From what I see of Bobby Joe, he’s on his own at least some of the time and has a part-time job at the grocery store down the street. He’s high functioning.”
Nick scribbled on his pad then looked back up. “We don’t have a lot to go on yet, so anything Bobby Joe can tell us about the people who took Piper will help us find her.” He swung his attention to Brody. “I put an Amber Alert out on Piper and Maria. I called Carlos Ramos earlier to let Maria’s brother know that I was taking over his sister’s case. I had to leave a message on his phone. The police officer who talked with Ramos on Sunday walked away believing what Maria’s brother said about her. I don’t think she came home since she’d disappeared. None of the kids around here have seen her. I can’t dismiss the disappearance of two teenage girls within five days. Now even more with what Bobby Joe is telling us.”
“Did the police officer follow up on her?” Emma kept her attention on Bobby Joe.
“No, he left to go on vacation and didn’t tell anyone about the case. He should have turned it over to a detective.” Anger dominated Nick’s expression from his narrowed eyes to his thinned lips. “I went to Ramos’s apartment after I talked with Mr. Clinton. No one answered my knock. I’ll be talking with the man tomorrow one way or another.”
“I think her brother works at night,” Emma said.
“Where?”
“I don’t know, but I can call Melody and see if she knows where. She may be asleep. If so, I’ll leave a message for her to call me ASAP.” Emma took out her cell phone and walked toward the short hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom, a similar layout to Piper’s apartment.
“I’m going to leave Officer Winters here with Bobby Joe. If he saw the men and they’ve found out, they could come after him.”
Brody nodded. “It might be a good thing his mother’s gone this weekend. She could get caught up in all of this.”
“If anyone comes after Bobby Joe, we’ll have to move him to a safehouse. I may have to use Emma to help with that transition.”
“Let’s hope they don’t know he saw anything. What he’s said to Emma backs up the first scent trail Charlie found.”
“I agree. I’m going to gather footage from any surveillance camera in the area, and while I’m at it, I’m also going to see about Saturday night and Sunday morning when Maria was supposed to have run away.”
“It sounds like you’re going to be one busy detective.”
While Nick crossed to Officer Winters, Emma rejoined Brody. He kept an eye on Bobby Joe, who seemed to have calmed down. The young man’s gaze focused on Emma as though she were his lifeline. “Did you find out where Maria’s brother worked?”
“No.”
“That means Nick has to wait until the man comes home in the morning.”
“Yes, if he can’t find out before that. I even called Amber about Maria’s brother. Melody told me she was still up, but she didn’t know either. Amber will try to get the information from Nancy tomorrow. She should know.”
Brody glanced at his watch. “It’s midnight. You need to get some rest. Remember your seven o’clock appointment?”
“I haven’t forgotten. You’re right. I need to get some sleep so I can help find Piper. I’d like to work with Bobby Joe some more. According to Melody, he’s always hanging around and probably knows a lot about what’s going on here. Maybe even what happened to Maria. I want to address Piper first before delving into what happened with Maria.”
Nick came up to Brody and Emma. “I’ll need your help with Bobby Joe,” Nick said in a low voice to Emma.
“I’ll call you in the morning. I’ll do whatever you want. I have a couple of appointments I need to keep, but the others I’ll reschedule. We’ve got to find Piper and Maria. I don’t want to see this happen to another girl.”
An idea popped into Brody’s mind. “I think we should present a forum Saturday afternoon to tell the kids how to keep safe and stay alert to what’s happening around them. Maybe, Nick, you could speak to the group or do you know of another police officer who would? It would only take an hour or so, and the information might help keep the teens safe from the activity occurring here.” Half the children who came to the center were from the Harrison Apartments, but if the kidnappers were smart, they wouldn’t only take from the complex. Everyone needs to be informed—including parents, in case they try to take another child. Also, the press needs to report on what might be going on here. I’ll invite them to the forum.”
Nick’s intense expression relaxed a little. “I like that idea. It might make the teenagers more relaxed around me. One of them could have seen something they didn’t realize was a clue to what was going on here. If it’s okay, I’d like to invite Sergeant Colby Parker with his police dog to help us out. He has a bomb-sniffing canine named Duke. His Rottweiler can track people, too. Kids love Duke.”
“Good. I know Colby. I’ll let him introduce Duke. Most of the kids know Charlie, but they may not be aware of what he can do.” Brody’s gaze shifted to Emma. “I hope you can be there.”
“I have a few appointments Saturday morning, but I can be available after twelve.”
“Fine. I’ll set the forum at one o’clock.”
“Let’s hope we can get Piper and Maria back before then. But even if that occurs, the forum should still happen.” Nick turned toward Bobby Joe and caught his attention. “I’m leaving Officer Winters here for the rest of the night. You’ll be safe.”
“But I—”
Suddenly the front door open. Both Nick and Officer Winters went for their guns.
An older man of about fifty entered the apartment, his eyes wide with fear, his face drained of all color. The guy dropped his duffle bag and raised his arms. “What’s going on? Is Bobby Joe under arrest?”
Bobby Joe lumbered to his feet. “He’s my uncle.”
The newcomer nodded. “I’m Joseph Patterson. I was running late. When my sister, Opal, is gone overnight, I stay with my nephew. What’s going on?”
Nick slipped his gun back into his holster and moved toward the older gentleman. “Sorry about that. Bobby Joe witnessed a kidnapping today. He could be in danger. I’m leaving Officer Winters here to protect him. In the past eight hours, a lot has happened.”
Brody looked at Emma. He needed to get her out of here. She was fighting to keep her eyes open. When her shoulders slumped, he shifted his attention to Nick. “I’m taking Emma home. I’ll call you after that and see what you need me and Charlie to do.”
“There isn’t much I can do until I get the video footage and see what occurred in the parking lot. I’m praying there’s a camera in this area that caught something on it. In the meantime, the Amber Alert has gone out to the public and law enforcement agencies.”
“Tonight, if you need me and Charlie, call. I’ll be there,” Brody said to Nick then turned to Emma. “Let’s go. It’s going to be a long weekend.”
Emma took a business card out of
her purse, scribbled something on it, and handed it to Joseph Patterson. “I’ve been helping Bobby Joe. If you need me, call.” When she faced Bobby Joe, she added, “If you need me, your uncle has my number. When are you going to work tomorrow?”
The young man scrunched his forehead. “Four.”
“You’ve done a lot to help us, but I’ll need your hours,” Nick said before Emma could say anything. “I’ll have a police officer nearby. Which store do you work at? When do you leave your job?”
Bobby Joe told Nick the big grocery store’s name then the hours he worked and the department he worked in.
“I take Bobby Joe and pick him up like Opal does when he works.” Patterson made his way to his nephew.
“See you, Bobby Joe, and nice meeting you, Mr. Patterson.” Emma started for the door.
Brody and Charlie hurried after her, catching up with her outside the second-floor apartment. They walked to the parking lot in silence. He kept assessing his surroundings. He didn’t want another child to go missing, yet he had a gut feeling this was only the beginning of something very sinister. While Brody settled Charlie in the back of his SUV, Emma slipped into his front passenger seat. After closing the back-cargo door and doing one final sweep of the terrain, Brody climbed behind the steering wheel.
“Is something wrong?” Emma asked as he started the engine.
“When I was serving this country, I learned to listen to my gut feelings.”
“And you have one now?”
“Yes. I’m glad Officer Winters is staying with Bobby Joe. The kid may be our only lead.” He glanced at Emma.
“Our?”
He backed out of the parking space. “Yes. No matter what, I’m not going to sit around waiting for the police to find those two girls. What if there are others besides Maria and Piper?”
“I doubt any others have been taken from the apartments. Melody and Amber have a good pulse on what happens at the complex. But if someone wanted to take other girls and, for that matter, boys, look for ones who are living on the street–runaways and places where kids hang out. Their disappearances often go unnoticed. For example, I know the Pins Bowling Alley is one of those places here in Cimarron City. Kids go to bowl sometimes, but mostly to play arcade games and other attractions they have like trampolines. In big cities, predators hang out at the mall and parks. We don’t have a mall, but we do have parks.”
“You sound like you’ve delved into this subject.”
“Yes, I had a friend when I was a teenager who went missing, but I was really awakened to what was going on my first year of counseling in Oklahoma City. A twelve-year-old girl was stolen and forced to have sex with one client after another. When the place was raided by the police, she was returned to her parents. They brought her to me to help her. She was in therapy for over four years. During that time, she tried to commit suicide twice. Now she’s in college. She’ll graduate next year with a counseling degree. She’d considered getting a criminal justice degree but changed her mind halfway through school. She’ll make a terrific counselor.”
Listening to what Emma said made a lump of emotions jam Brody’s throat. He’d seen injustice and evil, but a child shouldn’t have to deal with that. He swallowed several times before asking, “How do you do your job? I thought mine was difficult when I was in a war zone, but working with kids who are hurting would be hard for me.”
As Brody drove away from the Harrison Apartments, Emma glanced back and released a long sigh. “What do you think you’re doing now? You’ve given kids a place to come where it’s safe and fun.”
“But Piper was kidnapped today.”
“Not from the center. You can’t always protect them twenty-four-seven. Not even parents can. All we can do is our best. That lesson was learned the hard way.”
“What happened?”
She released a long sigh. “As I said, my good friend disappeared. She was happy and well-liked by everyone in high school. Kay was very smart with such potential. When she went missing, the police and many people who volunteered, including me, searched for her. The case is still open today; although in the end, a lot of people wondered if she’d run away. I know she didn’t. I talked with her an hour before she disappeared while shopping at the mall. She was excited. She’d just found her dress for a dance at school. The police found it in a trashcan at the mall.”
“Did they ever find her?”
“Yes, her remains three years later in the woods near Grand Lake. She’d only been dead for a few months, but there was indication she had been abused.” Emma’s voice caught on the last word.
At a stoplight, he slid a look at her. In the dim lighting, he could see the firm jawline as she clenched her teeth. She gripped her hands together while she stared out the windshield. “I’m sorry. Is that the reason you became a counselor?”
She nodded. “Like you, I’m going to do what I can to bring those girls home safely. I couldn’t for Kay. I won’t give up on them.”
“I’ve got an idea. I’ll have to run it by Nick tomorrow morning. You said you’re going to clear time in the morning to help with the search for Piper. What if you and I go around to every apartment at Harrison and see if anyone will talk to us.”
“Aren’t the police going to do that?”
“Well, yes. That’s what Nick told me before we came to Bobby Joe’s place, but a lot of the folks there won’t talk to the police. We can go on the pretext that we want them to know about the Pals Center as a safe place for their children and its expansion. We’ll also tell them about the forum. A lot of the apartments are occupied by families with children.”
“I’m in.”
Brody smiled, slanting a glance her way as he pulled into her driveway. “Good because I can’t sit around and not do anything.” As she opened the car door, he did the same.
“I’m all right, Brody. My front door is only twenty feet away.”
“I know.” He fell into pace with her and mounted the three steps to the porch. “I just want to make sure you’re inside your home and safe.”
She chuckled. “Do you want me to knock on my door when it’s closed and locked?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I’m glad chivalry hasn’t died.”
He bowed at the waist, sweeping an arm across his body. While he waited for her to enter her house, he scanned the area as he often did as a soldier while on patrol. He wished he had on his night vision goggles. He knew firsthand the dangers that lurked behind the veil of night.
“Good night.” Emma closed her door. The sound of the lock being clicked into place filled the quiet followed by a knock.
He smiled. “See you tomorrow.” Then he headed to his SUV.
He slipped behind the steering wheel and switched on his vehicle.
Charlie stood up in his crate in the back and growled.
Chapter Eight
Brody shoved open the driver’s side door, stood, and surveyed his surroundings then made his way to the rear of his SUV. After he lifted the hatchback, he unlatched the crate, and his dog came out.
“Heel, Charlie.”
His canine jumped down and stood next to him.
“What’s wrong? Let’s check the area.” Brody walked the perimeter of Emma’s yard. On the right side of her house, Charlie halted and sniffed the ground. Using the flashlight app, Brody shined his cell phone on the area and spotted a couple of cigarette butts in the dirt at the edge of her yard.
Was someone surveilling Emma’s house? If so, why?
Brody headed back to his vehicle, picked up a napkin from his console, then returned to the side yard and collected the butts in the faint light from the neighbor’s house. He’d give them to Nick tomorrow. It was probably nothing, but he wasn’t taking a chance. Before he left, he mounted her steps and rang her bell.
Emma answered the door. “I saw you on the side of my house. What’s going on?”
“Charlie was growling when I got into my car. He doesn’t do that unless so
mething isn’t right or someone’s around that he doesn’t know. I walked the perimeter of your house. That was when Charlie found a couple of cigarette butts in your side yard.”
“My neighbor on that side smokes. His wife makes him do that outside. It’s possible it was him.”
She was probably right about the neighbor. But why in her yard?
“I’ll be okay. Aunt Polly lives next door, and I have a good security system and a gun.”
“A gun!”
“I was attacked once and nearly raped at knife point, but, thankfully, a couple appeared, and the guy ran off. After that, I went to self-defense classes and purchased a revolver. I learned how to use it. The security I have gives me a peace of mind. If necessary, I’m a fighter. I won’t forget the fear that man caused or what happened to Kay.”
“If you ever need any help, you can always call me.” He wanted to tell her that security systems could fail or be breached. She had to be vigilant at all times. “If you’re concerned about safety, Charlie and I are only a phone call away. I live ten minutes from you. And remember, always be aware of your surroundings.”
She smiled. “I appreciate that. I’ll call you when I’m finished with my two patients in the morning. I should be through around nine.” Again, her smile that lit her whole face appeared.
It transfixed him as though he’d been flash frozen. He yanked his attention away from her and turned toward the steps. “See you in the morning.”
“Good night.”
His movements were slow until he heard the lock on the front door click into place. Then he and Charlie picked up their pace to his SUV. His canine jumped into the vehicle’s cargo area and went into his crate. After securing his dog, Brody headed to the driver’s side door and slipped behind the steering wheel. He would still give Nick the cigarette butts tomorrow even though Emma thought it was her neighbor. He wasn’t convinced they belonged to the guy next door. In fact, he intended to talk to the man and see if they did.
* * *
Emma arrived at the Pals Center at ten-thirty after dealing with a child who had a meltdown at school and was sent home. She’d also worked with her seven and eight o’clock patients. Later, she would return to the house of her client who’d had the meltdown and see how the rest of his day went. He had anger management issues that in the past several months he’d kept tamped down while in class.
Missing (Everyday Heroes Book 6) Page 6