After an anxious dash through the maze of hospital corridors, Jake finally found Thea in the surgical waiting room. She stood staring out a window with her back to the entrance. He called her name softly as he approached. He didn’t want to catch her off guard, but she jumped and whirled as if startled by unexpected gunfire.
Her blue eyes went wide when she saw him, and something flashed a split second before she glanced away. Jake didn’t want to put a name to the emotion for fear he’d imagined the tiny flare. But he could have sworn her initial response to his presence had been relief. Perhaps even happiness. He was going with that.
She controlled her visible reaction as she gave him a puzzled frown. “Jake! What are you doing here?”
“Chief Bowden told me what happened. I wanted to see for myself that you’re okay.” His heart dropped in spite of himself as he took in the cuts and bruises on her face and the bloodstained white blouse. Talk about trying to hide your visible reaction. “Damn, Thea.”
“It looks worse than it is.” She brushed back a loose strand of dark blond hair from her forehead. “I’m fine. Most of the blood isn’t mine.”
“How’s your mother?”
“She regained consciousness in the ambulance, so that’s a good sign. She has cuts and bruises, and the CT scan showed some internal bleeding. They took her into surgery a little while ago.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t transport her to Tallahassee,” Jake said.
“Black Creek General was closer, and she’d already lost a lot of blood. This is a good hospital.” Her expression turned apprehensive as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “But it seems to be taking forever. You know how it is when you’re waiting. Time crawls.”
Jake nodded. “Why don’t I go see if I can find out anything?”
“No, that’s okay. They’ll let me know when there’s an update. I would like to go wash my face, though. Do you mind waiting in case someone comes to find me?”
“Take your time.”
As Jake watched her disappear down the hallway, he found himself reflecting on how long it had been since he’d last seen her. Four years and some change, but in a way it seemed as if no time had passed at all. She was still a swimmer judging by her lithe figure and sinewy muscle tone. Still practical in her manner of dress and demeanor, yet even in bloodstained clothing, Thea Lamb had an allure that went well beyond the physical. Tough as nails when she needed to be and unflinching in the face of danger, but Jake had seen her break down inconsolably at the sight of an injured kitten. She mostly kept that side of her personality hidden. It was there, though, beneath the battle-hardened surface, and he could only imagine what a decade of working crimes against children had done to her. To him, too, for that matter. Their defenses were strong for a reason.
He gave her a benign smile when she came back into the room, though all he could think about was how much he wanted to wrap his arms around her. Now was not the time or place, of course. Too many years had gone by and Thea had never been demonstrative even when the smallest of gestures would have kept him in DC for as long as she wanted him there.
Water under the bridge. “You’ve had someone look at your injuries, right? That cut above your eye looks pretty deep.”
“What?” She put a hand to her face. “Yes. They removed glass fragments in the ER and gave me a tetanus shot. No stitches required. Reggie’s side of the vehicle got the worst of it.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can, but I already gave a statement to one of the officers at the scene. It should be in his report.”
“I’d like to hear it from you.”
She looked as if she might refuse his request then she shrugged. “A vehicle trying to pass swerved into our car to avoid oncoming traffic. He knocked us onto the shoulder, we spun out in loose gravel and Reggie lost control.”
“Can you describe the vehicle and driver? Or better yet, did you get a plate number?”
“I really didn’t get a good look at the driver. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, and he kept his head turned toward the road, so I only glimpsed his profile. He was white and I had the impression he was middle-aged or older—in his fifties maybe—and heavyset. Heavyset as in brawny. Muscular. The vehicle was a late-model black pickup truck with chrome wheels. I didn’t get the make, and the grille and bumper area was splattered with mud, so the plate was partly hidden.”
“Deliberately hidden would you say?”
She hesitated. “Possibly. The rest of the truck looked fairly clean. I remember noticing the shiny paint. I’d been watching the vehicle in the outside mirror for a while before the accident. I thought it strange that the driver kept the same distance between us mile after mile. There were hardly any other cars on the road and Reggie was driving the speed limit. Most people go a few miles over, especially in a vehicle like that. I asked her to speed up to see if he would do the same. He dropped out of sight for a minute and then he came up behind us quickly. That’s when he tried to pass.”
“How long do you think he’d been following you?” Jake asked.
“At least since we left the freeway.”
“Did the driver have any distinguishing marks? Piercings or tattoos? Scars? Anything like that?”
“None that I noticed. As I said, I only had a glance.” She gave him a long scrutiny. “Why all these questions, Jake? Do you know something I don’t?”
He said uneasily, “Emotions are running high in this town. There was an incident at Reggie’s house.”
“The vandalism?” Thea nodded. “She told me. Do you have a suspect? Is that why you’re asking about scars and tattoos?”
“We don’t have a suspect. Apparently it was painted late last night or early this morning under cover of darkness.”
“And you’re thinking the two incidents are somehow related?”
“I’m not thinking anything at the moment,” Jake said. “I’m just trying to put the information together.”
Her blue eyes looked troubled and faintly disapproving. “Okay. But why are you involved at all? The local police have jurisdiction over the vandalism and the Florida Highway Patrol over the accident. Why not let them do their jobs? Your sole focus should be on finding Kylie Buchanan.”
Her censure touched a nerve. “She is my sole focus,” Jake said quietly. “I assure you, everything that can be done is being done to find that little girl.”
Thea looked contrite. “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out the way I intended. I’m not questioning your integrity or your priorities. No one is better at this job than you are. I just meant...” She glanced down at her hands and shrugged. “I guess I’m wondering why you’re really here. You could have easily called to check up on me.”
“I could have,” he agreed. “And you’re right, I do have an ulterior motive.”
“Which is...?”
He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Your perspective on this case is unique. Considering your history and Reggie’s connection, it shouldn’t be surprising that I’d seek you out.” In spite of our history.
“When you put it that way...” She looked tense and her voice sounded strained. “How can I help?”
He motioned to a pair of uncomfortable-looking chairs. “Let’s sit.”
She gave a weary nod and sat facing the entrance. Her gaze went back to the clock as Jake took the seat beside her.
“You want some coffee?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You’ve been through a lot. Would you rather I come back later?”
“No, but before we start, can you at least catch me up? Reggie filled me in on her end, but I don’t know what’s going on regarding the overall search. I assume there’s no real news or you wouldn’t be here asking for my perspective.”
“You know the procedure.” Jake ran fingers through his hair as he shifted impatiently. “We’re still conducting canvasses and we’ve set up vehicle checkpoints on all the main roads. For the past day and a half, we’ve had choppers and drones in the air, but the area is heavily wooded with dozens of creeks, lakes and sloughs. It would take weeks to search them all.”
“Lots of places for someone to disappear,” Thea said worriedly. “Do you think there’s a chance she’s still alive? The timeline isn’t working in her favor.”
“She’s alive unless and until we recover a body,” he said with grim resolve.
Their gazes locked.
“Three percent,” Thea murmured.
He nodded. “Three percent.”
Neither of them said anything for a long moment but Jake knew the statistics were rolling around in her head just as they were his.
In seventy-four percent of stranger abductions, the victims were found dead within three hours after being reported missing. After twenty-four hours, the number rose to eighty percent and leaped to a staggering ninety-seven percent after a week. Kylie Buchanan had already been missing for thirty-two hours. They were rapidly approaching the point where everyone involved in the search began to cling to the three percent of victims found alive days after they’d been taken.
“Forget about numbers,” Thea said. “What does your gut tell you? You always have a feel for how these things will go.”
“Not this time.”
“Why is that?”
He hesitated, unable to verbalize the disturbing vibes he was getting from some of the people connected to Kylie Buchanan any more than he could explain his visit to Reggie’s house earlier that day and the inexplicable pull that had lured him into the woods. “It’s an unusual case,” was all he said.
Thea looked as if she wanted to press him further, but the surgeon came into the room and Jake heard her catch her breath as she instinctively reached for his hand. The contact shocked him to his core. Earlier he’d wanted nothing so much as to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders, but now his first instinct was to pull away. His defenses were strong, too. Then he squeezed her fingers in reassurance as they both rose to meet the doctor.
THE SURGEON INTRODUCED himself as he came forward. “I’m Dr. Vaughn. You’re Miss Lamb’s daughter?”
“Yes, I’m Thea.” She realized she was still clinging to Jake’s hand. Embarrassed, she let him go and folded her arms over her chest. “How is she?”
“Your mother’s a strong woman. She came through surgery like a champ. She’s stable and her vitals look good. We’ll keep a close eye on the concussion for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, but if all goes well, you should be able to take her home by the end of the week.”
“When can I see her?”
“She’ll be in recovery for a while yet. You can see her as soon as she’s moved upstairs.”
“Thank you, Dr. Vaughn.”
He shook her hand, nodded to Jake and then left the room.
“Good news.” Jake gave her a warm smile. “I know you’re relieved.”
“I am.” Thea kept her arms folded at her chest as if she could protect herself from his smile. It had always done things to her, that smile. The way his lips turned up slightly at the corners. The way a single dimple appeared now and then in his right cheek. “I’ll feel even better when I can see her,” she said.
“It won’t be long. In the meantime, are you sure I can’t buy you a cup of coffee? The cafeteria is just down the hall from the lobby. You look like you could use a boost.”
Thea started to decline, but the adrenaline from the crash had long since worn off and she was starting to deflate. A jolt of caffeine would keep her going for another few hours.
She glanced down at her bloodstained blouse. “I don’t know how welcome I’ll be in the cafeteria, but I don’t have anything with me to change into.”
Jake shrugged. “You’re in a hospital. If they can’t handle a little blood, they’re in the wrong line of work.”
Thankfully, the cafeteria was nearly empty. Thea found a table in a discrete corner while Jake bought the coffee. He fitted the disposable cups with lids and carried them over.
“You still take it black?”
“Yes.” She took a tentative sip and cringed.
“Tastes a little like tar smells,” he said as he took the seat across from her. “But it’s hot and strong.”
“It’ll do.” Thea cradled the cup in her hands. “What about leads?”
He glanced up from pouring a healthy dose of creamer into his coffee. “What?”
“You were telling me about the investigation before the doctor came in. You must have narrowed down your suspect list by now.”
“Not as much as we’d hoped.” He stirred his coffee and replaced the lid on his cup. “We’re still in the process of tracking down and interviewing anyone who had contact with Kylie or her mother in the days leading up to the abduction. Friends, neighbors, acquaintances. We’re still hoping someone may have seen or heard something. We’ve also identified and located all the known sex offenders in the area, but that angle hasn’t been helpful so far.” He looked frustrated and worried. “The truth is, we just don’t have much to go on. No fingerprints or trace evidence left at the crime scene. No eyewitness accounts. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”
“No child ever vanishes into thin air,” Thea said.
Another look passed between them. Another flash of understanding.
Thea had forgotten about the unspoken communication she and Jake had once shared, those brief, tender moments of solidarity. They’d spent so much of their time convincing themselves and each other they had no need of a meaningful relationship that they’d failed to appreciate the depth and rarity of their camaraderie. Over the years, Thea had tried not to dwell on how much she missed Jake’s friendship, but the loss hit her now as forcefully as the car crash. She took another sip of bad coffee while she tried to regain her composure.
She glanced across the table. Jake stared back at her, his brown eyes so dark and intense her heart thumped. So much for composure.
She pretended to adjust the lid on her cup so she could break eye contact. “What about Russ Buchanan? According to Reggie, he physically abused his wife and threatened to take Kylie away from her if she tried to leave him. Reggie said he made a terrible scene when he found out Taryn and Kylie were staying with her.”
“We’ve talked to Buchanan at his home and at the police station. He’s arrogant and smug, and seems to think he’s untouchable, but he’s been cooperative for the most part and his story never changes. Both he and his assistant swear they were together in his Tallahassee apartment on the night of and the morning after Kylie’s disappearance. They dined out at a local restaurant on Sunday night and several people saw them arrive at the office together early Monday morning.”
“Sounds like they made sure they were seen together. It wouldn’t be the first time an employee having an affair with her boss gave him an alibi.” Thea watched two nurses come into the cafeteria. They didn’t pay the slightest attention to her shirt. They did, however, notice Jake. She could hardly blame them. He was a good-looking man, tall, fit and in the prime of his life at thirty-four. “Even if the assistant is telling the truth, it doesn’t necessarily put Buchanan in the clear. A man with his resources wouldn’t get his own hands dirty. He has motive and apparently the means to create the opportunity.”
“We’ve got eyes on him,” Jake assured her.
“And Taryn?”
She watched in fascination as something inexplicable flashed across Jake’s face.
“Now that’s interesting.” She folded her arms on the table as she searched his expression.
“What is?”
“Your reaction when I asked about Taryn.”
He took a moment to answer. “She’s hard to read. More difficult in some ways than her husband. Something is going on with her. The fear is palpable, and I’d swear genuine. She’s obviously terrified for her child.”
“But?”
He gave her a brooding frown. “I can’t help wondering about the real source of her fear.”
“Meaning?”
He leaned in, lowering his voice as his dark eyes met Thea’s. “She took Kylie to church on Sunday night. More than a dozen people say they saw them together on the playground and later inside the sanctuary. But a witness who left early and drove back after the service to retrieve a forgotten umbrella claims she saw Taryn exit the building, get in her car and drive away without Kylie.”
“What does Taryn say?”
“She went back inside to collect some paperwork from the office. Kylie was asleep in the back seat and she didn’t want to wake her. She says the child was alone in the car for no more than a couple of minutes.”
“You don’t believe her?”
“One of Reggie’s neighbors said that Taryn was always hovering nearby anytime Kylie played in the front yard. She wouldn’t let the child out of her sight.” Jake paused as he absently swirled his coffee. “Leaving her daughter alone in the car at night, even for a couple of minutes, doesn’t exactly jibe with this neighbor’s observation.”
“And Reggie was asleep when they got home that night. She said she didn’t hear them come in.” Now it was Thea who leaned forward. “What are you saying, Jake? Do you think Taryn had something to do with her daughter’s disappearance?”
A mask dropped over his expression. “All I can say is that we’re exploring every possibility.”
“Don’t do that,” she grumbled.
“Do what?”
“Shut me out. You’re the one who wanted my perspective, remember?”
He hesitated then nodded. “Fair enough. I’d like to hear what you think of what I just told you.”
Thea shrugged. “I haven’t talked to Taryn Buchanan. I’ve never even met her, so all I can do is speculate. But something occurred to me while you were describing her behavior. It won’t make a lot of sense at first, but hear me out.”
“I’m listening.”
“Do you remember Operation Innocent Images?”
“Yes, of course. It was an undercover operation, launched back in the nineties, that identified and tracked predators through chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards. The expanded program eventually brought down entire networks of online pedophiles and the producers and distributors of child pornography. It became the Innocent Images National Initiative when it was absorbed into the Violent Crimes Against Children unit.
“One of the agents I’ve been working with in Cold Cases came from Operation Innocent Images. That’s how long she’s been tracking missing children. She has a theory that an underground railroad for at-risk kids of a tender age has been active in various parts of the country for at least thirty years. The people involved operate exclusively from the shadows. They step in when the system fails.”
“How does it work?”
“I’ll give you one example. Someone from the organization approaches a woman in a similar situation to Taryn Buchanan’s. The contact can be made directly or through an intermediary. The woman has already exhausted every legal means available to protect herself and her child. She’s desperate and has no place to turn to for help. The police and courts have either been powerless to help her or are too slow to react.
“The underground operative presents a plan of last resort and if the mother agrees, her child goes missing. Vanishes into thin air,” Thea said with a note of irony. “He or she is moved through a series of safe houses until the dust settles and the mother and child can eventually be reunited with new identities. It’s much more complicated than I’ve made it sound, but you get the gist.”
“Who are the operatives?” Jake asked.
“Social workers, police officers, FBI and Homeland Security agents. People in trusted positions with wide-ranging resources. Professionals who’ve seen firsthand what goes on inside the system, and have figured out a way to work around it when a child is in imminent danger. If both parents have failed the child, a friend or family member is sometimes contacted to make the arrangements. The child is then kept hidden until a permanent home can be found and a new identity established.”
“Does money change hands?”
“Sometimes. Which means no matter how noble the intent, an operation of this nature is ripe for exploitation.”
“And vulnerable to the infiltration of child traffickers, I would think.”
“The fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world,” she said with a grim nod. “The sheer number of trafficked children worldwide is mind-blowing, Jake.”
“You think this group accounts for some of your cold cases?”
“We think it’s a very real possibility,” Thea said. “Let’s suppose for a moment that someone approached Taryn with a way to remove her and Kylie from Russ Buchanan’s reach forever. It could explain why, despite her genuine fear, you’ve picked up on something from her that doesn’t ring true. It could also explain why you have a witness that saw her leave church on Sunday night without Kylie.”
He seemed to ponder the possibility. “A plan like that would be risky in any number of ways. The person making the approach would have to be someone Taryn trusted implicitly. Someone with intimate knowledge of her situation. I take it you have someone like that in mind?”
“The preacher at her church is new to the area and has evidently been quite helpful. According to Reggie, he and Taryn have grown very close very quickly. He helped her find an apartment and even arranged a job for her at the church so that she could keep Kylie with her during the day. Also, according to Reggie, he hasn’t left Taryn’s side since Kylie went missing.”
“His name is Eldon Mossey,” Jake said. “We’ve looked into him. He doesn’t have a criminal record.”
“I wouldn’t expect him to. Although he could be using an alias.”
“All the database searches came back clean, including CODIS. But the phone number he provided for his former church in Butler, Georgia, has been disconnected.”
Thea sat back. “There’s a red flag.”
“Could be. The Atlanta division is sending an agent from their Macon office to see what he can turn up.” Jake studied her for a moment.
She frowned at the scrutiny. “What?”
“We both know of someone else in town that Taryn trusted.”
“You mean Reggie.” Thea tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “I figured you’d get around to her sooner or later.”
“Given her personal experience with your sister’s abduction, it’s not hard to imagine how protective she’d feel toward a child she perceived to be in danger.”
Thea’s defense was automatic. “She doesn’t fit the profile. She wouldn’t have the know-how or resources to pull off something like that. And, besides, I can’t see her subjecting even a creep like Russ Buchanan to the hell she went through when Maya disappeared.”
“She might if she thought she was saving Kylie’s life.”
Even as Thea formulated another argument, Reggie’s words echoed at the back of her mind. Bad men do bad things and get away with it all the time.
She glanced up. “What is it you want me to do, Jake?”
“Nothing overt. Keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Spy on my mother, you mean.” Thea took a breath, suddenly so weary she could hardly hold up her head. His request distressed her in a way she couldn’t explain. It prodded at all her old doubts. Dragged too many memories out into the open. Why had she ever thought coming back here a good idea?
The answer to that question was simple. This wasn’t about her. This was about a missing child. In the world she and Jake had chosen for themselves, nothing else could ever be allowed to matter.
“I’ll do what I can, but Reggie’s injuries are serious. I have to be careful,” she said.
“Of course. I would never ask you to do anything to impede her recovery.”
She brought her eyes back to his. Their earlier camaraderie had vanished. The walls were up again and, everything considered, maybe that was a good thing. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve something else on your mind?” Her voice sounded stilted and slightly accusatory.
He returned her scrutiny for a moment then wordlessly took out his phone and slid it across the table.
Thea tore her gaze from his and picked up the phone. Goose bumps prickled as she studied the primitive figures then enlarged the image to bring the grotesque faces into focus.
“Have you ever come across anything like that?” Jake asked with a strange note of dread in his voice.
“Looks like some kind of talisman or totem,” she said. “Not like any voodoo doll I’ve ever seen. Maybe Santeria, but I’d guess more Appalachian in origin. Or the Sea Islands, maybe. Seems like something that might be used in folk magic.” She swiped and enlarged, bringing various parts of the figures into focus. “Where did this photo come from?”
“I took it. I found them hanging from a tree limb behind Reggie’s house. Someone must have put them there after the initial canvass.”
Thea couldn’t tear her attention from the screen. “Where are they now? I’d like to see them in person.”
“I’ve sent them to the lab for analysis.”
She swiped again. “Do you think that’s real human hair?”
“We’ll know soon enough. I asked for priority.”
She said slowly, “Maya had blond hair.”
“So does Kylie Buchanan.”
“And you found them behind Reggie’s house? Where exactly?”
“Three or four hundred yards into the woods and directly over the path. I don’t see how they could have been missed during any of the searches.”
“Do you think they were put there as a way to connect the two missing girls?”
“That would seem the logical conclusion.”
Thea studied the image a moment longer before handing back his phone. “Can you send that photo to me? I’d like to run it by someone. She’s had some experience with occult-related abductions.”
“Your number is the same?” When she nodded, he texted the image and then pocketed his phone. “You’ll get back to me if you find out anything?”
“Of course.” She pushed away from the table and stood. “I’m willing to help in any way I can, but right now I need to go and check on Reggie.”
Jake stood, too. They walked out into the corridor and paused to say their goodbyes. He seemed hesitant to leave her alone. Sliding his hands in his pockets, he gazed down at her. “It’s been a long time.”
It was crazy how emotional she felt all of a sudden. “Yes, it has.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Thea.” He turned and walked away, and this time she was glad he didn’t look back. She brushed her hand against the wetness on her lashes and went to find her mother.