“But why?” Anna asked.
Evan gazed at the tile floor. “After Mom died, I went looking for something… I’m guessing you did, too. That why you went to Miami and became a big shot detective? To find answers?”
“Answers to what?” Anna didn’t follow. Her mother’s suicide was just that.
Evan gestured to the kitchen. “Life. Loneliness. Some sort of meaning on this dying rock. I can’t be the only one who’s ever thought about this.”
“No. You’re not,” Anna scooted close to him and looked at his scarred cheek. “Jesus, Evan. We thought you were gone.”
Evan looked her in the eyes. Crow’s feet grew out of his own as he smiled pitifully. “I was, Anna, but now I am back.”
Anna opened her mouth to speak, but her little brother interrupted her. “We can talk more tomorrow. I made enough noise as is and don’t want to wake Dad.”
Flushed with anger, Anna grabbed his arm as he turned. “You can’t do that. Just show up for five minutes, say something cryptic, and leave like nothing happened. I love you, Evan, but you have to agree that’s messed up.”
“You’re right.” Evan put down his mug and spoke with conviction. “Mom’s death wasn’t the only reason I left.”
“Look at this couple of troublemakers,” Richard said from the doorframe, sleep still obviously holding him. “It’s good to see my kids getting along.”
“Evening, Pops,” said Evan.
Anna crossed her arms. “Hey, Dad.”
“No need to stop talking on my account,” Richard said, sensing the mood.
Evan picked up his mug. “We were just finishing up.” He headed toward the door.
Richard landed his hand on his shoulder on his way out. The old man’s eyes went soft. “Glad to have you back, son.”
Evan smiled at him hauntedly and slipped into the dark living room.
“How long has he been back?” Anna questioned after her brother was out of earshot.
Richard shrugged. “He said he’s staying a few days. I was planning on telling you, but you’ve been busy and Evan comes and goes whenever he pleases.”
Anna glared at him.
Her father’s eyes glossed over. “You aren't mad at me, right?”
Anna reminded herself of her father’s condition and sighed. “No, Dad.”
Taking her mug, Anna said goodnight to Richard and hid away in her room. She stopped before opening her door and turned back to Evan’s. Rock and roll seeped out through the doorway. She knocked. No reply. Anna frowned and went to her room. She’d finish their conversation tomorrow.
Sitting cross-legged, she laid out her portable forensics kit on the floor. She placed a metal desk lamp next to it and removed her laptop and other evidence, setting it up neatly on the dingy carpet. Light shone through the vial containing the strand of gray hair.
After undergoing the proper tests, it could reveal the perpetrator’s ethnicity and whatever chemicals it may have absorbed. If the perp was a marijuana toker or a house cleaner, she’d know. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of it. Mitochondrial DNA could not be used for identification. Another drawback was the testing time. Five to seven days of lab work, and only if the lab wasn’t backed up till next July. Nonetheless, she would drop it off at the Van Buren police station tomorrow. They’ll probably send it to the lab in Fort Smith and maybe learn something. As equipped as her Toy Box was, she couldn’t run those sorts of test.
Anna took a drink of her brother’s concoction and winced. Way too strong. She lifted up the baggie containing the silver bell. It was bent on one side. Someone stepped on it. The dirt and gravel from the railroad made it virtually impossible to lift a fingerprint. Anna would have to find Keisha the old-fashioned away: keep casting until a fish bites. She got out the girl’s diary and placed it face first on her portable scanner. Within thirty minutes, her desktop was crammed with a hundred plus diary pages. She copied the files into her keyword processor and let the software work.
Evan’s drink tasted better by the time all was said and done. Anna sifted through the poems and shoddy grammar, spending a healthy amount of time on every page. Nature, animals, performance fatigue… nothing useful. Anna rubbed her forehead but the headache didn’t subside. She went through page after page until her eyes were bloodshot and blurry. Then she saw it. “I made a friend at the school yard. He said nice things.”
Anna highlighted a portion. The other boy, Joshua, was mentioned a page back. This was someone new.
Headlights streamed through her curtain. The clock read 2 a.m. Anna pulled herself up and slowly approached the window. Brushing aside the curtains, she used her hand to shield her eyes from the sedan’s lights. It reversed out of the driveway and sped down the road. Where are you going now, Evan?
Her brother didn’t return that night.
After a hearty egg and bacon breakfast, Anna parked in a guest spot in front of the Hikers Elementary fit for six hundred students. A flagpole jutted out from a grass circle in the middle of the roundabout. Hanging her aviators at the neck of her button up, she headed to the principal’s office. She walked across the cold, smooth concrete floors and past the white and yellow painted walls of her childhood. Lots of old memories. Some good. Others… a flashback of a rainy day came to the forefront of Anna’s mind. The walls twisted and her legs became light. Focus. She rested her hand on the wall to balance herself and entered the front office.
Principal Gutsy was long retired and had been replaced by the quirky Principal Darlyn Axel. The fluffy-haired woman beckoned Anna inside the office. “It’s a mighty shame that Keisha hasn’t been found.”
“I hope to change that,” Anna replied. “Do you mind if I see a list of her classmates? Specifically, one named Joshua?”
Axel rolled to-and-fro in her cushioned office hair to the rhythm of her low volume Christian radio. Her finger clicked the mouse. She turned the box monitor to Anna. “There you have it. Joshua Jacobs. He’s in recess.”
“Thanks. Mind if I speak to him?”
Axel smiled from ear to ear, obviously excited to help out with the case. “Go right ahead, sweetie.”
Anna turned to leave the office when Axel stopped her. “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Rines are planning a town-wide search after school. All the students are getting involved. I hope you can make it.”
“I’ll think on it.” Anna thanked her and headed for the playground at the back of the school. Like most of Van Buren, it was largely flat and spotted with a few rusty relics. Mrs. Bakers--Keisha’s teacher-- pointed out Joshua. He kicked a ball near the chain-link fence that bordered the yard.
“Hey,” Anna said to the boy. “May I ask you some questions about Keisha?”
The pale skin, sandy-haired boy turned his alert blue eyes to Anna. “She missed class yesterday.”
Anna nodded. “I know. I was hoping you could help me find her.”
“You don’t need my help,” Frowning, the boy kicked the ball across the grass.
“Why’s that?” Anna asked kindly.
“Because she is out with her new friend. He’s cool.”
Anna knelt down to the boy’s height. “He a classmate of yours?”
“No. He told Kei a secret. Like this.” The boy leaned into Anna’s ear and whispered pst pst pst.
With a crinkled brow, Anna pulled away. “Where was that at?”
Joshua pointed to a portion of the chain-link fence. A single-lane road ran down on the other end. Past the road was the face of a forest. “It was Friday when he came by. Keisha wanted to talk to him instead of me. He must have a lot of cool secrets.”
The boy kicked a rock.
“This is important, Joshua. What did he look like?”
The boy shrugged. “He wore a hat… and sunglasses! A beard, I think. He only wanted to talk to Kei.”
“Have you told anyone about this?”
Joshua shook his head.
Anna pointed to the teacher. “Go tell Mrs. Bakers everything you told me righ
t now. It will be a big help.”
The boy skulked away. Anna approached the fence. A cold chill ran up her spine as she imagined the stranger talking to the little girl. Only rusted metal separated prey from predator. A sickening feeling pitted in her stomach. The girl needed to be found, and quickly. She’d need to consult with the police. The quicker they were on the same page, the more likely they would be able to find the girl.
Anna turned back, taken off guard by Mrs. Bakers. The short forty-something-year-old woman had a large blonde perm and rectangular glasses over her makeup-caked eyes. “Joshua told me--”
“Did you see anyone on Friday or the days before interacting with the students? A parent or someone out of place? Anyone.”
“Um…” The woman’s voice trailed off. “Not that I recollect.”
“Are you sure?”
The frazzled teacher ignored the question. “Was Keisha…”
“Mrs. Bakers, please.” Anna asked the lady.
“None that I noticed. If I knew I was supposed to be looking for someone, I would’ve been more attentive. I’m not at fault. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Anna rubbed her hand up her scalp. Perfect. She’s a bimbo.
“Is he still around?” Mrs. Bakers asked in a scared whisper. “Is he watching us right now?”
“No.”
Dread overtook the woman’s expression. “Oh my God, he is.”
Anna wanted to face palm. “Mrs. Bakers, calm down.”
The teacher twiddled her thumbs and looked around nervously. “Yes. You’re absolutely right. No use freaking out about it. What good has that ever done?”
Anna didn’t trust that response. She went directly back to Principal Axel, demanding the playground footage from Friday’s recess. Discombobulated, the woman rushed off to the security room. Anna tapped her foot anxiously. Finally, the case was going somewhere. The perpetrator wiped the footage at the Opera House, but did he have access to the school? If it was revealing enough, the police would take over and Anna would discuss with the Rines about her continual involvement.
A TV was wheeled out. Axel plugged in the RGB cables. The faculty members gathered around the screen. Anna fast-forwarded to Friday morning recess. With racing hearts, they watched the silent, colorless video. Anna’s eyes focused on the road behind the chain-link fence. In the yard, Keisha and Joshua punted the kickball to one another. They giggled and chased one another in a sweet moment disrupted by movement in the adjacent woods.
One of the teachers gasped.
The ill lighting masked the silhouette's features. From the tree line, he beckoned Keisha closer with a gesture. The eleven-year-old girl gave Joshua the ball, telling him to stay back.
Keisha curled her fingers through the fence’s grate. Her back turned to the camera, making it impossible to read her lips or reaction.
The figure said something. The woods still obscured him.
Anna took a step to the television.
“Closer. Come closer,” she mumbled to herself.
The figure stepped out of the woods, looked both ways, and cut across the street. He was a Caucasian adult with average height but nice build. He wore a white t-shirt, long pants, and camouflage hunting boots. A ball cap shielded his eyes, but not the goatee. He whispered into Keisha’s ear. The girl stepped back and retorted something. The stranger grinned. He waved her off and returned to the woods.
The school faculty stood in silence, watching Keisha and Joshua return to the kickball.
Eyes glued to the screen, Principal Axel’s face turned stark white. She cleared her throat. “Now, we don’t know the contents of the discussion so before we jump to conclusions--”
“That monster took her right out from under our noses,” the balding gym teacher exclaimed. “That’s finite proof, right there.”
“I’m…” Mrs. Bakers pulled out her phone. “I’m calling the police.”
Anna paused the video on the stranger. She squinted, trying to make heads or tails of him. Leaving the teachers to their bickering, Anna exited the school and climbed into her truck.
Zipping through town, she landed at the police station in minutes. Taking her portable forensics kit with her, she headed inside. The bullpen was visible from the receptionist desk, and the building smelled sterile and chemically cleaned. Anna introduced herself to the buzzed cut, burly man at the desk.
“I’m working on the Keisha Rines case. There’s something you should see.”
The man looked at her. “We’ve already received the call about the school yard.”
Anna flipped open the kit, presenting the bell and hair sample. “I found this at the crime scene.”
Sheriff Greenbell faced Anna from the other side of the table. Officers bustled back and forth on the other side of the conference room’s blinds. Though he looked young for his age, Greenbell’s beard and hair were whiter than snow. He watched Anna with his piercing blue eyes. “You’re back in town for a few days and the whole place is all riled up.”
“What can I say,” Anna replied. “I’m my father’s daughter.”
Greenbell wasn’t amused. Anna wondered who peed in his Cheerios but thought it best not to ask.
The door opened and Police Sergeant Mathis slipped inside. He quickly shut the door, muting the noise of the bullpen. “The APB is out. Search parties, too. Glad to have you working with us, detective.”
Anna greeted him with a handshake. “It’s private investigator now.”
“Glad either way. With my accountant on my back and a million other problems regarding improper protocols with a few of the boys, it will be good to have an extra set of eyes and hands at the station. Especially with a case of this caliber.” Mathis pulled out a chair and plopped down. He was a big man with a bald head and a no-BS personality. “We’ve sent the bell, hair, and car door fingerprint samples to our forensics guy, but I’m not optimistic.”
“I agree,” Anna said. “Now that the town suspects a kidnapper, I’m afraid he’ll try to run. Time is short.”
“We’ve set up extra patrol cars around the town’s borders with orders to pull over any suspicious party,” Mathis explained.
“With the police department and sheriff’s office working together, we should make quick work of it,” Greenbell added.
“It seems like you’re bringing out the big guns,” Anna pointed out.
“Have to,” Mathis said. “The Rines are big donors and their kid means a lot to this town.”
“Did you find anything at the abduction point?” Anna asked.
The two men shook their heads.
“Not a lick,” Greenbell said. “There weren’t even signs of a struggle.”
“Makes sense. Keisha had some rapport with the guy. It may be a relative or friend of the Rines. Perhaps someone she met on tour.”
Mathis’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out, held his index finger to Anna and Greenbell, and stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Anna stroked her chin with her thumb and finger, contemplating the new information.
“You’ve done a fine job, Anna.” Greenbell took her out of the moment. “We’ve got it from here though.”
Anna studied him. “I feel like we need all hands on deck for this one.”
“Eh,” Greenbell replied. “You know what they say about too many cooks.”
Anna glared at the man who used to be her father’s friend. “What’s your angle, Garrett?”
“My angle?” he chuckled. “I want everything to run smoothly and as your family friend, I want you to know that we have it from here. I’m sure Mr. Rines will reward you for the evidence you’ve acquired.”
“They already paid me,” Anna replied, not pleased with Greenbell’s pushiness. “If it’s fame you want, Garrett, I’m sure this will be all over the news now. Honestly, it’s better you than me, but I’m not leaving the case. I’ve promised someone I’d find Keisha, and I will.”
Garrett smiled angrily. “Suit yourself.”
Anna smiled back in kind. What the hell did I do to him?
Trisha Rines had been crying all day and her face showed it. Her legs were tired and her clothes were glued to her sweaty skin. She turned on the faucet and splashed herself with cold water.
“There’s always tomorrow,” she weakly reminded her reflection.
She left the bathroom and found Avery in the study. He sat with his leg sprawled out over the recliner’s arm. A book rested on his lap, but he stared lifelessly at the main hall and the practice room beyond.
“You were right.” He turned a crazed gaze to her. “Someone took our daughter.”
Stopping in the doorway of the study, Trisha’s face sank. “I didn’t want to be right. Besides, there’s still no solid proof.”
Avery took his leg down and turned to face her. Dark circles curved under his restless eyes. “A man followed our daughter to the school. Stalked her, talked to her, and stole her away not thirty feet from us. What more proof is there? He’s probably halfway across the country by now and using our daughter as some--”
Trisha shook her head. “Don’t say that. Don’t you say it.”
Avery’s voice filled with fire. “It’s the truth and you know it.”
Trisha looked at her toes and sniffled. The little control she had over the world was crumbling before her. There must be an escape; some way to step away from the horror and be something outside herself. She sheepishly looked up to her husband and softly approached him. The back of her fingers gently stroked down his cheek, just the way he always liked.
“Join me in the shower,” she whispered, desperate and seductive.
Avery grabbed her hand and pushed it away with little hesitation. “Our daughter is out there with some freak and you want to do that? No, Trisha. This is not the time.”
Trisha stumbled back. She felt a tear slide down her cheek but quickly wiped it away. Look at me! She wanted to scream, but instead she headed to the stairs. She stopped on the first step. “You going to stay out here again?”
Avery picked up his book, pretending to read it. “Someone has to stay on guard if she comes home. Rest up now. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow’s search.”
Secrets Boxset: A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Collection Page 38