by Lisa Edmonds
I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know about stolen goods or a murder weapon, but you might have some evidence that could help me. I noticed you have surveillance cameras out front. Do they work?”
“Wouldn’t be of much use if they didn’t.” He took off his glasses. “What do you think you might be able to see?”
“I’ve been hired by a woman who is concerned that her ex-husband has been following their kid around. She has a restraining order against him, but he has a tendency to turn up wherever the kid is. This morning, her son walked over to the convenience store that’s just down the block, and she wanted me to try to find out if her ex-husband followed him over there to talk to him.”
“So you’re just looking to see if the kid walked past my store this morning alone, or with this fellow?”
“Yes, sir. He would have walked by sometime around nine. Would you mind if I took a quick look at your recording?”
“I suppose not.” He got up and lifted a hinged section of the counter. “Come on back to the office and I’ll see if I can help you.”
I followed him down a short hallway lined with shelves full of more antiques, all labeled with little notes about the repairs they needed. The office was small and very neat, with a laptop on the desk.
The security system was in the corner behind the desk. A flat-screen monitor showed four live views: exterior views of the front and back doors and two inside the shop. The video was black-and-white but very clear.
Winchell gestured at the monitor. “Do you know how to find what you’re looking for?”
“I think so.” The shop’s system was a model I’d used before. I pulled up the recording from this morning, starting at eight forty-five and hit Play.
The video showed a surprising amount of foot traffic on the sidewalk for a Sunday morning. A lot of people walked past the camera empty handed and came back a few minutes later carrying bags from the convenience store. Some appeared to be strolling along, enjoying a cool morning.
I figured there was maybe a fifty-fifty chance Aden had walked past the shop, and a slim chance I might see something on the recording that would help explain his disappearance. I studied the video closely, looking for any sign of Aden or anyone or anything suspicious.
At nine-twelve, Aden walked past the shop. I jumped like I’d been electrified and hit the Pause button.
I recognized him immediately from Jana’s photo. He wore a HALO T-shirt, shorts, sneakers, and a backpack. He looked very determined and focused, as if his walk had a definite purpose.
“Is that your client’s son?” Winchell asked, leaning closer to the screen. “A very serious-looking young man.”
“That’s him.” I used my cell phone to take a picture of the image on the screen, then hit Play.
Aden walked quickly out of the view of the camera. Wherever he was headed, he was in a hurry to get there. I watched the recording for ten more minutes but didn’t see anyone who appeared to be following Aden or who set off alarm bells.
I watched the next hour of footage at high speed, but Aden did not walk back past the camera. Winchell watched with me, apparently enjoying the opportunity to play detective.
Finally, I sighed and switched the monitor back to showing the live feed from the cameras. “Thank you for letting me use your system.”
“You look disappointed,” Winchell said. “Were you hoping the boy’s father followed him?”
I was startled by his question until I remembered the ruse I’d used to get him to show me the footage. “I was, actually. If we had some proof, we could take it to the authorities. I’ll just have to keep looking, I guess.”
“Well, I wish you the best of luck. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.” Winchell led me back to the front of the store and raised the hinged counter section for me to pass through. “Feel free to browse around the store before you leave, if you like. Private investigators get a twenty percent discount.”
That made me smile. “Well, that is a first. I’m pressed for time today, but I’d love to come back sometime when I’m not on the clock and look around. Do you have a card?”
He took one from a holder on the counter and handed it to me. When our fingers brushed, I felt a little tingle of air magic.
He studied me. “Do stop by again sometime,” he said earnestly. “I think I have a few things you might find interesting.”
“I think you might.” I tucked the card into my bag. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Winchell.”
“You are most welcome. Have a lovely rest of your day, Ms. Worth.” He settled back into his chair behind the counter.
I wove my way through the tables to the front door. It buzzed and unlocked as I approached. I gave Winchell a wave and left the shop.
When we were out on the street, I headed for the convenience store at a brisk walk.
“That shop is full of low-level magic objects,” Malcolm said as he floated along beside me. “And he’s got a hidden safe in his office with some heavy-duty wards. Makes me think he’s got interesting stuff in there. We should check it out when we get a chance.”
“I plan to. I think there might be more to nice Mr. Winchell than meets the eye.”
I hurried across the parking area to the doors of the convenience store. Around the corner and down the block, I saw the library Aden had claimed to be visiting, where I’d met Sean to hand over the laptop.
I went into the convenience store and spoke to the clerk, giving her basically the same story I’d used with Winchell. She took me in the back to speak to the assistant manager, Margie, who had a dirtbag ex-husband of her own and was more than happy to help. Before I could even finish my explanation of why I wanted to see their recordings from this morning, she’d queued up the video.
Margie put another chair behind the desk so we could sit side-by-side and look at the recordings. The store had nine exterior cameras. Most were focused on the gas pumps and the front door, but the others covered the entirety of the parking area, the sidewalks and streets on both sides, and the rear doors. The video was full color and crystal clear. Hallelujah for store owners worried about shoplifters, robberies, and gas-and-gos.
I knew Aden had passed the antique shop at nine-twelve, but I asked her to start the video at nine, just in case someone was lying in wait at or near the convenience store.
Most of the store’s Sunday morning customers seemed to be on foot—local residents buying milk, snacks, lottery tickets, or breakfast. Fuel customers pulled up to the pumps, filled their tanks, and departed. A few people arrived in vehicles to go into the store, but everyone looked like customers and no one seemed to be loitering.
When the little digital clock in the corner read nine-twelve, I started watching for Aden. At the pace he’d been walking when he passed the antique store, he should have been in range of the convenience store’s cameras within a minute or two, but minutes ticked by with still no sign of him.
My stomach sank. What if he’d been grabbed between the two stores, out of range of all the cameras? The slight ray of hope I’d felt after seeing him on the camera at the antique store faded.
“Is that the boy?” Margie asked suddenly, pointing at the screen.
I leaned closer. Sure enough, there was Aden, walking slowly into the camera’s range from the direction of the antique store. His head was down, looking at something in his hand. A phone. Was he texting someone he intended to meet?
We watched him cross in front of the convenience store, his attention still on the phone. Suddenly, Aden looked up and across the parking lot, toward the opposite street, and waved. He stuck the phone into his bag and hurried toward a dark-colored, two-door car that had pulled to the curb on the far side of the convenience store.
Margie made a little growly sound that reminded me of an angry werewolf. Humans could be fierce too. “Is that the ex-husband’s car?”
“No. It belongs to one of his friends’ moms,” I said, so she wouldn’t realize she might be seeing either a kidnappin
g or a kid running away and decide to call the police.
I leaned over to get a closer look as Aden approached the car and the passenger-side window went down. I couldn’t see the driver at all, and none of the other cameras were at a better angle. There didn’t appear to be anyone else in the car other than the driver.
After a brief conversation, Aden opened the passenger door and got into the car. The window rolled up and the car pulled away from the curb. It turned left at the intersection and disappeared in the direction of the interstate.
Well, now I knew how and when Aden disappeared, but not why or with whom. “Just so I can set my client’s mind at ease, can you run the video back so I can get a picture of the car?” I asked.
We found the best view of the car and I took a photo with my phone, and another of Aden getting into the car. I couldn’t see the license plate, but I was pretty sure I could identify the make and model. That wouldn’t do us much good unless we had a suspect we could connect with that type of vehicle, but I had visual confirmation that whoever was driving, they had a prearranged rendezvous and Aden got into the car willingly.
I wondered which phone he’d been using to text: the one provided by his mother or the secret phone Garrett had given him. If it was his mother’s phone, she would be able to see who he’d been texting, and maybe even the contents of the messages. If it was Garrett’s phone, though, he probably wouldn’t be able to find out who Aden had contacted, since prepaid phones usually didn’t include access to that information.
I sent Jana a text asking her to check her cell phone account and see if Aden had used his phone to call or text anyone in the past day. She replied that she would check and get back with me. I sent Garrett a similar message, and received a text back confirming the prepaid phone account didn’t keep records he could access.
I thanked Margie for letting me see the video and headed back toward Jana’s house with Malcolm trailing invisibly along beside me.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t see the driver’s face,” Malcolm said when we were alone on the sidewalk.
I sighed. “I know, but I’m hoping Jana will recognize the car. Aden waved at the driver, which makes me think he knew who he was meeting.”
“Maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with Bell after all. I sincerely hope that car doesn’t belong to some pedophile.” A pause. “Jeez, compared to that, I almost hope it’s Bell.”
“I hate to say it, but me too.”
There didn’t seem to be much else to say after that.
My legs were sore from all the running I’d done over the weekend and my knees hurt from falling in Sean’s garage, but I jogged the rest of the way to Jana’s house. The image of that car disappearing out of the camera range with Aden in the passenger seat was more than enough motivation for me to ignore the discomfort.
Jana opened the front door when I was halfway up her driveway. She read my expression and her eyes lit up with hope. “What did you find out?”
I already had my phone out with the picture of Aden walking in front of the antique store. I held it out so Jana could see. “I’ve got him on video walking in the direction of the library at nine-twelve this morning.”
Jana took the phone and stared at the screen as if she was drinking in the sight of her son. Her eyes filled with tears, and she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a short sob. “But he didn’t go to the library.”
“No. He was headed to the convenience store on the corner.” I swiped the screen to pull up the next photo, which showed Aden crossing the parking area in front of the store with his phone in hand. “It looks like he’s texting someone. Did you find out if he sent any texts or made any calls on the phone you gave him in the last day?”
She frowned. “I looked on the account and there weren’t any since Friday. How is it possible he’s texting in this picture, if it’s not showing up on the account?”
Aden must have been using the phone his father had given him, and now I’d have to tell Jana about it. “I’ll explain that in a second. I need you to look at this picture.” I swiped again, to the photo showing Aden getting into the mystery car. “He was apparently meeting someone at the store. Do you recognize this car?”
She gasped, her reaction part fury, part grief, and part terror. “He got into someone’s car? I’ve told him a million times never to get into anyone’s car unless I’ve said it was okay.”
“I’m sure you did,” I reassured her. “On the video, he waved at the person in the car, then went over to talk to them before getting in. I’m thinking whoever is driving, it’s someone he knows. Do you know this car?”
“It’s hard to see what kind of car it is.” She zoomed in on the car and scrutinized the image. “It looks like it’s kind of an older model, doesn’t it? Maybe ten or fifteen years old? There’s a big dent on the side.”
I waited while she thought about it. Finally, she sighed. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about everyone we know, trying to remember if any of them drive a car like this.”
“Think about it while I look through Aden’s room,” I suggested.
“Okay. I can do that.” Jana opened her front door and led me into the house, which was cluttered and cheerful. I followed her down a short hallway and into Aden’s small bedroom.
The kid loved video games, Star Wars, and Pokémon, judging by his bedding, the posters on the walls, and the collectibles on his shelves. He had a small TV and a game system with a stack of games next to it. There was an empty spot on the desk. I wondered if Sean had found anything on Aden’s laptop. He probably would have texted or called if he had, so he must still be working on it.
“Other than his backpack, does anything seem to be missing, like a favorite collectible or something like that?” I asked Jana. “Would you be able to tell if he took a change of clothes or any of his toiletries?”
She was instantly angry again. “My son did not run away.”
“I’m not saying he did,” I said patiently. “But his backpack looked like it had some stuff in it and he met someone at the convenience store and got into their car willingly. Can you see if you notice anything missing?”
She crossed her arms. “What I want to know is how he was texting whoever the hell took him without it showing up on my bill.”
I exhaled. “I think I know how that happened, but I don’t want to distract you from what you’re doing. Remember the most important thing right now is finding Aden.”
Her gaze turned flinty. “I need you to tell me right now what’s going on.”
I told her about my conversation with Aden’s father. Since I wasn’t sure whether Jana might try to use the information that Garrett had magic against him, I left that part out, but I revealed he’d given Aden a prepaid phone and had been in regular contact with him for the past year. Then I stayed quiet and let her rant and rave about that for a few minutes.
When she paused for breath, I broke in. “Look, Jana, I’ll tell you what I told Allan: I’m not here to play mediator or take a side. My job is to find Aden. But something you might want to take into consideration is that Aden has been talking to his dad pretty much every day for a year, and according to you, he’s doing great in school and you haven’t had any problems with his behavior.”
“Are you telling me I shouldn’t be angry about this?”
“Nope. I’d be angry too. And I’m the last person to offer anyone parenting advice, so that’s all I’m going to say on the subject. You can yell at Allan later, when this is settled and we have Aden back.”
“I can’t believe he gave Aden a phone,” she fumed. “And then Aden used it to talk to whoever is in that car. How do we know he didn’t get snatched by someone Preston—sorry, Allan—knows?”
“I’m going back to talk to him after I get done here. I’ll show him the car. I’m pretty good about reading people. If he recognizes the car or knows something about what happened to Aden, I’ll know.”
Faint green earth magic sparked on Jana’s fing
ers, a sign she was having trouble containing her anger. “I could just throttle him for this.”
“Save it for later,” I reminded her. “In the meantime, back to my original question: does it look like anything is missing?”
Still visibly angry, she looked around the room as I searched Aden’s desk, checking all the places I would hide something if I wanted to keep my mom from finding it. I didn’t know what I was looking for, exactly, so I skimmed all the scraps of paper I found, looking for anything that seemed odd.
Meanwhile, Jana returned from checking the bathroom. “His toothbrush is still on the counter and I don’t see any clothes missing,” she reported as she sat down on Aden’s bed. “I can’t swear he didn’t take any of his toys with him, but nothing’s jumping out at me.”
I hadn’t seen any obvious gaps on the shelves either, and if there weren’t any clothes missing and he’d left his toothbrush, it seemed likely Aden hadn’t planned to be away for any length of time. I continued my search while Jana went back to studying the image of Aden getting into the car.
Just as I was starting on his closet, my phone rang. Jana handed it back to me and I answered. “Hey, Sean.”
“Hey, Alice.” His tone was businesslike. “I’ve been going through the kid’s laptop. He did a good job of clearing the browser history, but I retrieved the information. Are you where you can talk freely?”
“Hold on.” I turned to Jana. “I’m sorry—it’s a personal call. I’m going to step outside for a moment.”
“Go ahead.”
Malcolm and I went outside to my car, far enough from the front door that I didn’t think I could be overheard. “Okay, I’m outside. What did you find?”
“In the past week, Aden’s been searching for anything he could find on Darius Bell.” Sean sounded grim. “He’s been reading news stories, blogs, and information on the FBI and SPEMA websites about the cabal. He even read a bunch of news stories about Storm Girl and has the video of you controlling the storm bookmarked on YouTube. I hate to say it, but I think Natalie was right—he heard her talking to her teacher about Bell.”