A door opened behind them. Jill heard the low creak and then the heavy thread of footsteps approaching.
“Sheriff Black!” Relief flashed on Carol’s face. “I need your help! Vanessa’s run away and I wanted to get a patrol to search the beaches for her.”
Very slowly, Jill turned to face Hayden. The faint lines on his face seemed deeper, his expression dark. She knew that he’d taken Kurt into custody—Hayden had called her at the hospital and told her that much. But had he learned anything from Kurt yet? Anything like where is the girl? What has he done with the girl?
Carol rushed around Jill and grabbed Hayden’s arm. “She’s mad.” She waved her hand in the air. “You know how teenagers get. I told her that I was thinking about moving. Maybe getting a fresh start somewhere else.” Her voice dropped. “Ron and I aren’t exactly getting along. We rushed into the marriage.”
Jill stood there, her muscles tight, watching, waiting.
“Vanessa doesn’t want to leave so she’s acting out. But when you pick her up in your patrol car, that will scare some sense into her.” She nodded decisively. “Yes, it will. So can you—”
Jill cleared her throat. “Carol doesn’t know how long Vanessa has been missing.” Then, because her suspicions were on high alert, Jill asked, “By any chance, does Vanessa own a blue cruiser? One with a brown basket?”
A wide smile spread across Carol’s face. “She does! You—you’ve already found her?” Her gaze flew around the station. Finn watched the exchange, his face tense. “Where is she?” Carol blurted. “Is she in one of the offices?”
Where is she? That was the question they all wanted to know.
Hayden cleared his throat. “Mrs. Wells, I think we need to talk.” He took the photo from her hand, and then Hayden nodded toward Finn. “Get this out to all the patrols. I want every man and woman we’ve got looking for Vanessa.”
Carol backed up a step. “What am I missing?” She whirled backed to Jill. “Why is an FBI agent even here now? What’s happening?”
There was no easy way to say this. “We believe a girl was abducted this morning.”
“My Vanessa?” Carol staggered.
“We don’t know who was taken yet,” Jill said quickly. “But we are going to find out.” She wanted to get one-on-one with Kurt Anderson. She’d make him talk.
“And...” Hayden added, his voice a low rumble. “We will find your daughter, no matter what.”
Jill’s gaze jerked toward him. In the FBI, the agents were always taught never to make promises like that to family members. Never, ever make a promise that you couldn’t keep.
Because sometimes, the victims weren’t found. Sometimes, they never made it back.
* * *
HAYDEN PULLED JILL into his office and shut the door behind her. “You should still be at the hospital.” She looked too pale, far too fragile to him. The scent of ash still clung to her—hell, to them both.
But Jill shook her head. “I’m stitched up and the doctors weren’t keeping me there.”
“Weren’t?” Hayden repeated. “Does that mean they wanted to and you wouldn’t let them?”
Her lips thinned.
“Jill...” She was killing him.
“I want to see Kurt Anderson.”
“The guy isn’t talking, Jill. He clammed up the minute I mentioned a missing girl. He’s back in holding, and the man is not cooperating.” Every time Hayden looked at Kurt, rage filled him.
“I need to see him.” Her voice was calm, her stare unflinching. “You think I haven’t dealt with my share of uncooperative witnesses and suspects? I know how to handle them. I can handle him.”
He knew she could. But...damn, it felt as if he were being ripped apart. He kept seeing the fire. Seeing her...
And I want to destroy the man who hurt her. But that wasn’t what a sheriff was supposed to do. He was supposed to serve and protect. Deliver justice, not give in to his rage.
“Besides,” she continued, tilting her head as she studied him, “Kurt wants to talk. The perp called me, remember?”
“Only so he could set you up to die.” It had taken all of his self-control not to pound the hell out of Kurt. You’re the sheriff. You have the badge. It means something.
It meant he couldn’t give in to his fury. Not yet, anyway. Because somewhere out there, a victim needed them.
“How does this work?” Hayden asked her. “Your CARD team...what do you do? How do you—”
“There are certain investigative strategies that we always utilize. Normally, we immediately begin a search for any registered sexual predators in the area, we look for anomalies, we review video footage—” But she broke off, shaking her head. “This case is different. For this case, we begin with Kurt. He’s our focus. You keep your men searching the streets for Vanessa, and you and I will make a run at him. We break him, and we find her.”
He wanted it to be that simple.
“I’ve already contacted one of my most trusted friends at the FBI,” Jill said. “She’s on her way here now.”
“Another CARD member?”
But her gaze turned shuttered. “No, not exactly. Samantha is...different. I think we need her talents here, not the other CARD members. Like I said, this case is different. We need different people to get the job done.”
Okay. Well, he’d find out just how different the woman was soon enough. For the moment, they had a perp to interrogate.
* * *
VANESSA OPENED HER EYES. Her head hurt. A terrible pounding that had nausea rolling in her stomach. She tried to sit up but...something was wrong.
She couldn’t move her arms, not fully. Or her legs.
Terror clawed at her.
She opened her mouth to scream, and she realized that a thick cloth had been stuffed between her lips. The cloth was pulling at her cheeks. It’s tied around my head. A gag.
Rough hemp bit into her wrists. She twisted and jerked. Someone had tied her up. Bound her hands and ankles, then looped that rope together so that she was trapped in a small ball, hunched over.
This can’t be happening.
Tears leaked down her cheeks. She...she wanted her mom.
She wanted her brother.
She wanted help.
* * *
HAYDEN LED THE WAY back to the holding cell. Kurt Anderson was the only occupant back there, and when the guy saw him coming, he shot to his feet and headed toward the bars. “Came to your senses?” Kurt demanded. “Good, now get me out—”
Hayden moved to the side so that Kurt could see Jill.
Kurt’s words stopped completely and he just stared at her.
“Sorry,” Jill murmured, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “Did I surprise you? After all, you worked so hard to kill me.”
Kurt shook his head.
Hayden stayed silent. This was Jill’s show. He wanted to see how far she could push the other man. I’m betting damn far.
“Hayden said that you haven’t been cooperating with the investigation.” She moved closer to the bars. “Why is that? After all, you’ve gotten away with your crimes for years. Surely you want to talk about them now. You want to tell everyone your side of the story.”
His hands curled around the bars. “I haven’t done anything.”
Jill shook her head. “We saw you. Saw your car at the scene of the arson. Rather full circle, wasn’t it? To lure us back to that particular cabin. To set the bomb to explode right then and there.”
“I didn’t rig some bomb! I wouldn’t even know how to do that!” He jerked his head toward Hayden. “He’s the ex-military guy. Isn’t that his department?”
The shock—or at least, the shocked act—appeared to have worn off because Kurt was sure saying plenty now.
“An
d look, I don’t know what’s up with the car.” Kurt was sweating. “It must have been stolen or something because no way was I driving it—I was out on my run, I swear!”
“The sad fact is...” Jill offered him a tight smile. “Anyone with internet access can get bomb-making instructions. And for someone like you—someone who has committed murder before, I’d think a little bomb making might be right up your alley.”
“I didn’t do it!” Spittle flew from Kurt’s mouth. “Look, this is all a mistake.” His gaze jerked toward Hayden. “I mean, come on, I was a kid back then, too. When Jillian was taken, I was your age!”
Jill stared at Kurt. “You aren’t the man who took me.”
His shoulders sagged. “Damn straight. Now get me out of—”
“He was older. Bigger than you were back then. But...” She gave a small shake of her head. “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t the man who killed Christy. You didn’t take me, but you may very well have killed your sister.”
Hayden’s gaze sharpened on Kurt. Once more, he saw the flash that could have been guilt appear in the guy’s eyes.
“Everyone always assumed,” Jill continued, her voice quiet, “that the man who took me also took Christy. But what if that wasn’t the case?”
“I want a lawyer,” Kurt snapped. “I want to see my father, too.”
“What if...” Jill mused, watching him carefully. “There were two different attacks back then? My abduction...and Christy’s death.”
Hayden kept his expression locked. He didn’t want to give anything away to Kurt, but what Jill was saying...
She thinks the guy may have killed his own sister. It took a special kind of sick mind to commit an act like that.
“Everything was fine for years in Hope, no abductions, no attacks, then I came back to town.” Her lips curved down. “And one of my first stops was Christy’s grave. Bet that made you angry, didn’t it?”
Kurt was staring straight at her. “You should stay away from Christy,” he whispered.
Jill nodded. “So I was told. But I didn’t stay away. I showed up at your house. On your doorstep. I was talking to your father. You knew I was going to reopen the investigation, and you couldn’t let that happen, could you?”
Kurt’s hands fell away from the bars.
“So you had to stop me. You lured me to the cabin near the marsh and you set it to explode.”
Kurt ran his hand over his face. “This isn’t happening.”
“You didn’t want me finding out the truth about the past. You didn’t want anyone to know the truth about Christy.” Her voice had dropped, become sad.
Hayden realized she was manipulating Kurt, pushing at his emotions. She was good. Damn good. But Kurt hadn’t broken, not yet.
Kurt’s shoulders hunched. “I can’t...”
“But Christy is gone,” Jill continued, her voice still soft. Still sad. “There is nothing we can do for her now. The girl you took this morning...she isn’t. There’s still a chance to help her. To save her.”
Kurt’s hand fell. Once more, he looked over at Hayden. “You...you mentioned a girl.”
Hayden gave a slow nod. Yeah, I mentioned a girl, all right. Vanessa Gray. And her mother is currently sobbing in my office.
“Where is the girl?” Jill asked Kurt. “I heard her scream when you called me on the phone. She was alive then.” A pause. “Is she alive now?”
Kurt shook his head.
Hayden’s heart seemed to stop. He couldn’t stay silent any longer. “You killed her.” The words were rough, guttural. He stepped forward, his hands fisted as—
“I didn’t take anyone!” Kurt’s eyes had flared wide. “I never took any girl today! I didn’t set a bomb—I didn’t do this! It wasn’t me!”
Jill glanced at Hayden.
“I want a lawyer. Get me a lawyer!” Kurt pleaded. “I am not going down for this! I didn’t take any girl today! I didn’t do it!”
Jill turned away from him.
“Where are you going?” Kurt stuttered. “You’re not leaving me here again?”
Hayden just stared at him. “You want a lawyer, then we’ll get you one. But if that girl dies, if you’ve set her up to suffer while you’re in here...” His teeth clenched. “I swear, you’ll be sorry,” he promised.
Then Hayden followed Jill out of the holding area, making sure to secure the doors shut behind them.
He took a few steps, then realized that Jill had stilled in that narrow hallway. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him. “Something isn’t right,” she said.
There were a whole lot of somethings not right with that case.
“He’s denying taking the girl today, denying the bomb...” She rubbed the back of her neck. “But did you notice that he never denied being responsible for Christy’s death?”
Hayden realized she was right. The guy had flinched, he’d flushed when she mentioned Christy and the idea of two separate perps, but Kurt hadn’t denied guilt for his sister’s death.
Damn.
“We’re missing something,” she said. “I know it. I need to talk to Samantha. She can figure this out, she can help us.”
And he needed to find out the damn status on the hunt for Vanessa. The girl was his priority. His citizen, his responsibility. And every moment that ticked away...
“Let’s set up a base of operations here,” Jill decided. “We need to retrace Vanessa’s steps, figure out where the killer could have taken her. Any other empty houses that are close by—cabins, beach rentals—we need to search them all.”
Hell, yes, they did.
His hand tightened on her shoulder. “Everything we have on Kurt is circumstantial at this point.” The truth grated. “If he sticks to his story about his car being stolen, if he can produce witnesses who saw him on his run, then the guy will be walking right after his lawyer arrives.”
She swallowed. “I know...just...keep him as long as you can, okay? I’m telling you, he’s holding back on us. I could see it.”
So could Hayden.
She started to pull away, but he didn’t let her. He brought her closer. They were alone right there, and he needed to—
I just need her.
His head lowered. His lips pressed to hers. Not a desperate, wild kiss. Soft. Careful.
Tender.
Emotion was in that kiss, all of the emotions he’d kept bottled up for far too long. When he thought of the danger around them, around her, he wanted to rage. “I can’t let anyone take you from me.” He bit off the words against her mouth.
Her hand pressed to his chest. “I am not going anywhere. I promise.”
Promises were easy to make. But life was cold and hard and twisted, and fate could rip anyone’s world apart.
She pressed another kiss to his lips. “Thank you, Hayden.”
His brow furrowed. What was she thanking him for?
“You saved me today,” Jill whispered. “I won’t forget that.”
He let her pull away. He watched her walk away, and Hayden shook his head. Jill just didn’t get it. He wouldn’t have left that cabin without her.
Not years ago.
Not that morning.
She’d saved him, long ago, and there was no way he’d ever let her suffer.
Chapter Twelve
Five hours later, Vanessa Gray was still missing. No one had seen her when she was on the beach. No one had seen her vanish from the parking lot.
No one had seen the girl at all.
Deputies were canvasing all of the vacant properties in the area. The news was running Vanessa’s photo, and Jill feared they were running out of time.
Jill had established an on-site command post at the sheriff’s office. She’d mapped out the locations of
all registered sex offenders within a one-hundred-and-fifty-mile radius. Law enforcement personnel were en route to question all of those offenders. She was following standard CARD protocol but...
But this case is different. I don’t think we’re going to find some registered sex offender who has the girl. This case is deeper than that. Darker.
She looked at her phone. The guy had called her before. He’d lured her to the cabin, and then he’d rushed away.
If...if Kurt Anderson was telling the truth, then the perp had set him up. He’d deliberately taken Kurt’s vehicle. Why?
So that if he was seen, the authorities would focus on Kurt? Did the guy want them looking at Kurt?
Tension was heavy and tight in the back of her neck. This case was driving her crazy. She wanted to find Vanessa. Every time that she thought of that girl...
I see myself. Scared and alone in the cabin.
And it was just like the jerk on the phone had said. There was no one to rescue Vanessa. No one had seen her.
A knock sounded, a gentle rap against the side of her office door. The door was open, and Jill’s head whipped up at the knock. She blinked, staring in surprise at the woman who stood in the doorway.
Samantha Dark gave her a slow smile. “You were expecting someone else?”
Jill jumped out of her chair. She was so glad to see the other woman that she almost hugged her, but protocol held her back. “I am so glad you’re here.”
Samantha Dark was the rising star when it came to profiling killers at the FBI. The woman’s mind seemed to always be working, spinning, plotting, dissecting. Samantha took the darkest cases, the most gut-wrenching investigations, and the lady seemed to pull out the motives of the killers as if she were working magic.
Samantha’s black hair was pulled back into a twist. Her golden eyes glinted as she shut the office door behind her. “You said you needed me, so that meant I got on the first plane available and got my butt down here.”
Because Samantha was also a great friend. They’d first met at Quantico, and they’d bonded during training. Jill had known that she wanted to work the child abductions while Samantha had been bound for the behavior analysis unit. On day one, they’d clicked.