Chance and Rafe set up the conference room at the sheriff’s station, listing a timeline on the white board. Dusty had returned with the witness statements, but nothing Chance heard gave them any information he didn’t already know. Only the one from Jackie gave him a glimmer of hope, because sometimes rental cars were equipped with GPS tracking or LoJack capabilities.
Rafe stood at the front of the table, cell phone to his ear. He’d called the car rental company’s corporate office and was explaining the kidnapping situation, and the urgency of trying to find out who’d rented the car, or any information they could use to track it, but from the look on his face, things didn’t look promising. He was pretty sure even if they were able to identify the rental, the company wouldn’t provide any information or track it without a warrant. That’s where he came in, because he’d have that sucker signed the minute they needed it, even if he had to put the pen in Judge Willis’ hand and guide it personally.
Sally Anne stuck her head in the doorway and waved at Rafe. Without missing a beat, Rafe pointed to Chance and Dusty, keeping the phone to his ear. Chance followed Dusty into the hallway.
“I’m not sure if this is important or not, but Joel McAllister is here. He wants to talk to Rafe.”
“Did you tell him Rafe’s in the middle of a kidnapping and he can’t talk to him now? Take a message, let him know it’ll have to wait.”
“No.”
Chance stared at Sally Anne, shocked at her one-word refusal. It definitely wasn’t like her to disagree, much less refuse to do what was asked. He noted the beads of sweat along her forehead and the mulish set of her jaw, and decided to play along.
“What’s Joel need, Sally Anne? Is somebody hurt or in trouble?”
“Talk to him, Chance. He said he heard about Tina going missing, and—”
“Where is he?”
“Sitting at my desk.” Sally Anne pointed toward the front, and Chance strode toward McAllister. He knew Joel. He was a good kid, and Rafe suspected once he graduated high school, got his head screwed on straight and thought about anything other than his girlfriend, he’d grow into a fine man. Joel had played a big part in helping with the hostage situation at the high school, alerting Rafe and the sheriff’s office about the gunmen holding a classroom full of kids as collateral to get their guns and drugs.
“Joel, Rafe’s dealing with a crisis right now. Can I help you with whatever you need?”
“Hey, Chance. Rachel called and told me about what’s going on. She was at Daisy’s when all the commotion broke out. Don’t get mad, but she eavesdropped on y’all talking to Jackie about that lady going missing. She said something about a 2017 Toyota with a rental sticker in the back window. Was it an Avalon?”
“Yes.” Chance’s pulse sped up, a thrill of excitement racing through him. This was something; he felt it in his bones. Were they finally going to get a break?
“Tell me it was white.” Joel’s lips curled up in the beginnings of a grin.
“Oh, yeah, it’s white.”
“I’d been out at old man Grady’s place this morning.” A flush spread across his cheeks. “I kind of go out there once a week or so, just to keep the old dude company. Help a little around his place, because he’s having a little trouble getting all the chores done.”
“That’s because you’re a good kid, Joel.” Dusty’s deep voice sounded from beside Chance, startling him. He’d all but forgotten Dusty was there, so intent was he on hearing Joel’s news. “Rafe mentioned Tessa noted Grady seemed to be lonely, because he kept getting calls to go out to his place for ‘stuff.’”
“Joel, get back to your story.” Chance wanted to shake the teen, get the words to spill from him, because his gut told him what Joel had to say was important in finding Tina.
“Right. Anyway, I’m heading back toward town and this white Avalon blew through a stop sign like the tires were on fire. I got pissed, so I turned around and followed it. Figured the jerk was gonna cause an accident. I trailed him for a bit, but I was low on gas, so I had to let him go. But I did get his plate number.”
“Yes!”
Joel continued, “I didn’t have anything to write with, so I took a picture of it. It’s not the best quality, but it’s definitely legible. Here.” He shoved his phone at Chance.
There it was in living color. All the digits they needed to give to the rental company. He took off at a sprint down the hall, bursting through the conference room doorway. Rafe looked up at his sudden arrival, and Chance shoved the phone into his hand.
“That’s the plate number for the Toyota Avalon.”
Rafe’s brow rose, but he didn’t miss a beat, informing the rental company, who was still on the phone, about this latest information. Maybe they’d have a chance, if they could get them to stop dragging their feet and find the stinking car.
Hold on, Tina, I’m coming.
“I don’t care about your policies and procedures, ma’am. I care about the fact that there’s a kidnapped woman being driven away in your company’s vehicle. You can either get on the ball and get me the GPS information, or I assure your company, and you personally, will be named in the prosecution of this case. Yes, I will get you a bloody warrant. Here’s the license plate number for your 2017 Toyota Avalon. Get me that information.”
“I’m on it,” Chance pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Judge Willis. The old goat’s number was in his phone from all the cases they’d worked together. After explaining the urgency of the situation, he got his warrant. It needed to be filed with the courthouse, but they’d get it to him ASAP.
This was the part of the job he hated. All the paperwork, the loopholes that allowed bad guys to slither through the cracks, all because a piece of paper didn’t get signed, or didn’t have a date that allowed criminals free reign.
“Judge Willis is getting the warrant as we speak,” he told Rafe, who relayed the information to the rental company. He listened for a couple seconds more and then disconnected.
Rafe closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb. “How’d you get the plate?”
“Believe it or not, Joel McAllister.” Chance watched Rafe’s eyes go round with shock. “It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you later.
“Fine. The rental company is trying to get the information, but they’re telling me it can take up to seventy-two hours.”
“What! Tina can’t stay in the hands of a monster for seventy-two hours. We both know Webster’s behind this. He might have his butt sitting in California, but he did this.”
“Chance, calm down. I agree Jared Webster has the most motive, but first things first. We find Tina and bring her home. Then, you and I will take a little trip to San Francisco and have a chat with her ex. Make him see the error of his ways.”
“I don’t want to wait; I want to go after him right now. I know, I know,” he added when Rafe started to interrupt. “Every minute she’s gone, it’s eating me alive. What if he’s—”
“Don’t go there, bro. You cannot think about anything but getting her back in your arms. You haven’t said it, but I know you love her. No matter what’s happened, it won’t change the way you feel. Hang onto the fact we’re going to get her back, beat the ever-loving crap out of her ex, and make sure he never even breathes her name again, and you will get your chance to tell her how you feel.”
“I do love her. It kind of snuck up on me, you know? I wasn’t looking for anybody when I met her. I was simply doing Shiloh and Lucas a favor, and meeting her turned my world upside down. She’s funny and outgoing, and I can’t imagine life without her.”
“You won’t have to. Stay focused on the fact she’ll be coming home.” Rafe pulled him in for a hug, and Chance held on tight, allowing the comfort and camaraderie to flow into him. He loved his family, loved the closeness they shared, and wanted to make Tina a part of that. Though she’d had her aunt and uncle to lean on, he had the feeling she had never been part of a family like the Boudreaus.
He turned when he felt a small hand on the center of his back, and found his mother standing there. Without stopping to think, he stepped into her embrace, feeling the warmth of her love flowing into him. Standing in her arms, he felt like a prepubescent kid again, looking to his momma to fix things, make everything okay with a sweep of her hand.
“It’s okay, honey, everything’s gonna be alright.” Though her words were whispered, they were like a panacea to his soul. His mother never lied to him, not once in his entire life, and she wasn’t about to start now.
Glancing over his shoulder, she asked Rafe, “Has there been any news?”
Chanced stepped back, already missing the feel of his momma’s arms around him. He answered before Rafe could. “We’ve got the plate from the car we think drove off with Tina inside.”
His mother’s eyes rounded in surprise. “That’s fortuitous. How’d you find it?”
“Believe it or not, Joel McAllister spotted it. He followed and snapped a picture of the license plate.”
“That was quick thinking on his part.”
Chance glanced over at his brother. “You might want to go out front and talk to him. Maybe give him back his phone.”
Rafe clapped him on the back and walked from the conference room. Chance pulled out a chair for his mother, sinking onto one beside her.
“Tina’s a strong woman. She’ll keep her head. I expect she’ll be home before you know it. Boudreaus are nothing if not resilient.”
The corner of Chance’s mouth kicked up. “Tina’s not a Boudreau.”
His momma patted his hand. “She will be.”
Yeah, she was right, because once he got her back in his arms, he was never letting her go.