Thursday
By the time Baby Face, whose name, I learned, was Chadwick, came back to the car, two more cruisers had pulled up on the shoulder, and a gapers delay was building on the highway.
I got out of the car and stamped my feet. Chadwick carried a thermos of coffee, which he offered me. I took it as a peace offering and gratefully accepted. An officer from the second cruiser, older and clearly more senior than Baby Face, introduced himself as Lieutenant Wickham and asked me to go over exactly what had happened. In the middle of our interview, my cell beeped. I checked caller ID. Finally. Luke.
“I’m sorry. It’s my boyfriend. He doesn’t know.”
“Make it brief,” Wickham replied.
I nodded.
“What the hell is going on, Ellie?”
Hearing his voice switched on my emotional spigot, and I wanted to cry. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Not until— No. I wouldn’t let myself think about that.
“Rachel’s been kidnapped.” My voice sounded shaky.
There was a long pause. “How?” Controlled fury lined his voice.
As I told him the story, Wickham listened too and made the occasional note. Was he trying to determine whether I’d left anything out?
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Luke, they took my little girl,” I wailed.
“Hold on, honey. I’ll be there soon.”
I disconnected. Wickham said, “Okay, first we’re going to issue a possible abduction alert. Can you describe your daughter and what she was wearing?”
Rachel had still been dressed for work when we left the house. “Jeans, one of those paisley retro vests, a blazer, black boots.” I ran a hand through my hair and paced. “She’s about five-six. Curly blond hair. Gray-blue eyes. She’s twenty-five. Slim…” I stopped abruptly. What if I never saw those curls again? Those beautiful eyes? Terror raced up my spine, threatening to overwhelm me. I covered my head with my arms and bent over. I wanted to curl into a fetal position on the shoulder of the highway.
Wickham must have recognized the signs of shock, because he gently put an arm around my shoulders and led me to one of the cruisers.
“Why don’t you sit in here and get warm?”
I nodded unsteadily.
He picked up his radio and started to issue instructions for the alert. I sat in the backseat trembling and dazed.
My cell buzzed again. I checked the incoming number. LeJeune.
“What happened, Ellie?”
“Rachel was kidnapped.”
“Holy shit, cher. Where are you?”
“Just south of the Wisconsin state line, I think.”
“Where do you think they went?”
“I don’t know.” Somehow, through my panic-induced haze, I realized what he was really asking.
“They could be headed to Wisconsin. Across state lines.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
An hour later, it must have looked to passing drivers like we were having a tailgate party on I-94. In addition to my car, three state trooper cruisers, Luke’s pickup, LeJeune’s Spyder, and Jimmy Saclarides’ Lake Geneva police car were all parked on the shoulder. Luke had obviously called Jimmy. I got out of the cruiser and joined them.
I knew enough about law enforcement to know there could be a tussle over jurisdiction of the case. I also knew that if the kidnapping crossed state lines, it was a good bet the FBI would step in. To be honest, I was relieved to have LeJeune on my side. He might be full of himself, but I’d rather have a seasoned FBI agent than Baby Face Chadwick.
First they designated my car a crime scene. LeJeune and Jimmy conferred with the troopers. Jimmy said he could call in evidence techs from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department, but Wickham cut in.
“Chief, that’s mighty nice of you, but the state police have an excellent crime lab. They’re already en route.”
LeJeune nodded. “Good move, Lieutenant.”
“Of course,” Jimmy said. “Much better.” He said he’d have my car towed to Luke’s when they were finished.
I sucked in a breath. “Oh my God, I forgot to tell you something critical!”
The lawmen and Luke looked over.
“The driver was impersonating a police officer. He was wearing one of your campaign hats. And they had lights and a siren on the car.”
Wickham narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, but the car wasn’t a patrol cruiser. It was just—just a car.”
Wickham reviewed his notes on his iPad. “You said it was a dark four-door sedan.”
“That’s right. I forgot about the siren and lights.”
“I’m glad you remembered.” He got on his cell and punched in a number. He walked a few steps away from us, and I heard him discussing what I’d said.
I started to shiver again. Luke put his arm around me. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “We’ll find her.”
I gave him a perfunctory nod.
Wickham came back just as we heard the chop of helicopter blades above.
“Crap,” LeJeune said. “Fucking media vultures.” He turned to Wickham. “Look, I’m just here in an unofficial capacity right now. Miss Foreman’s a personal friend. But I’d like to run this thing up the chain of command and have us deal with it. What do you think?”
Wickham took a look at me, Jimmy, and Luke, then back at LeJeune. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
I sagged in relief. I almost threw my arms around him.
LeJeune’s response, naturally, was more subdued. “Great. We’ll work with your crime lab people, of course.”
Wickham nodded.
“One favor.” LeJeune pointed upward. “Can we keep this cluster fuck quiet? I mean, I know you have the alert out, but could you tell the media this is just an accident and you’re investigating?”
The hint of a smile flashed across Wickham’s face. “No worries there.”
At least something was going right.
LeJeune shook Wickham’s hand. “Thanks, man. In the meantime, cher, let’s you and Luke and I go to that truck stop up yonder and get you some food.”