Early the next morning, Jonas hung up with Nicholas after getting an update on the search for Felix. Nothing yet. He turned to grab his jacket when his phone rang for the second time in ten minutes. He glanced at the caller ID, praying for a number he didn’t recognize. An unfamiliar number might mean Felix had found or borrowed a phone and decided to call.
But he knew the number and his hopes plummeted. “Hi, Claire.”
“I’m happy to hear your voice, too.”
He winced. “Sorry. I was hoping you were Felix.”
“Of course you were.” Her voice softened and sympathy flowed through the line. “I’m sorry.”
“No problem.”
“Have you heard anything about him? Has anyone found anything at all that might indicate where he is?”
“No, but the officers were out looking all night and I’m staying right by my phone in case he calls again.” He sighed. “I was just getting ready to head to the office. Are you already there?”
“I came in. I can’t sit at home doing nothing, you know that.”
“I know. I don’t know what I’d do without you. All right. Is there an officer in sight?”
“Yes. Two of them. Parked right out front. They got here about the same time I did.”
“Good. You should be safe enough, then. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
He hung up with Claire and started gathering his wallet and keys when he remembered Chase was probably in his kitchen. Jonas descended the steps and found the man sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. “Morning,” he said.
Jonas nodded. “Morning.”
Chase hefted the mug. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“Are you kidding? You can help yourself to anything you need or want. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all you guys are doing to find Felix and keep me safe.”
Chase’s expression relaxed a fraction. “You’re welcome. We’ve had guys out all night looking for him. They want a good ending to this story, too.”
“I know. And I know it’s probably just all in a day’s work for you, but—” He shrugged and grabbed his silver travel mug from the sink. After he filled it with the black brew, he took a sip and breathed in a grateful breath.
A knock on his door pulled Chase from his chair. His hand went to his weapon and he started for the door. “Brooke said she’d come get you this morning, so it’s probably her, but we don’t need to take any chances.”
Tension threaded across Jonas’s shoulders. He was ready for this to be over, for his son to be home. To catch whoever was causing the problems and get this burden off his shoulders.
“It’s me,” Brooke said.
Jonas shifted and set his cup on the counter. Brooke walked into the kitchen and their eyes met. As always, that special zing whipped through him. He blinked and waved to the coffeepot. “Chase was the hero this morning. May I offer you a cup?”
“Sure.”
He filled her cup and handed it to her. “Are you ready to go see Mercy?”
“Absolutely.”
“Claire called me. She’s there now.”
Chase stepped to the door. “I’m going to head back to the office. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks.”
Jonas grabbed his keys and headed out after Chase.
“Hey, wait up,” Brooke called.
Jonas turned. Brooke was on his heels, holding out his phone. He took it from her with a crooked smile. “I guess I’m a little distracted these days.”
“You think?”
Jonas went to his vehicle.
Brooke bypassed him. “Go back on the porch and wait, will you?”
Jonas frowned. “Why?”
“I want to check the car.”
Her meaning dawned. “You think someone planted a bomb in my car?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m checking.”
Jonas stood on the porch, one hand cramped around his phone, the other around his cup. A bomb? The thought had never occurred to him. He watched her cover the car bumper to bumper. She’d even pulled out a small mirror to check the undercarriage.
Finally she pushed herself up off the concrete drive and held out a hand. “Toss me your keys, will you?”
Jonas narrowed his eyes. “So you can start it and see if it blows up?”
Brooke laughed. “I’m relatively sure it’s safe. I don’t have a death wish.”
“Then I’ll start it myself.”
“Jonas.”
He stepped around her. “No way.” He opened the door and tossed his stuff inside and slid into the driver’s seat.
Brooke crossed her arms and glared at him.
Jonas met her glare for glare. “Are you sure this thing’s not going to blow?”
She sighed. “Yes. I didn’t see anything to indicate a bomb. Nothing under the car, nothing under the hood. I’m willing to put the key in the ignition and start the car.”
“Then I trust you.” Without hesitation he inserted the key and turned it. The car started with a low growl and he realized he still held his breath.
Brooke shook her head and went to her own vehicle. She climbed in and motioned for him to go ahead. He pulled around her and drove the short mile and a half to his office. When he arrived at the parking lot, he noted the police officers and offered a short wave.
Brooke parked and climbed from the vehicle. He could see her tapping her hand on her thigh while she waited on him. She wanted to see her dog and couldn’t quite hide her impatience. He led the way into the office, noting she scanned the area in spite of the police coverage. Nothing must have set off her internal alarm. She stepped inside and he shut the door just as Claire came from the back, her brow furrowed.
“What is it?” Jonas asked.
“You didn’t turn the alarm system on when you left last night.”
“Of course I did.”
The woman’s frown deepened. “It wasn’t on when I got here.”
Jonas went to the panel. It was dark.
“Did you leave one of the cages open last night?” Claire asked.
Jonas turned, a ball of dread forming in his midsection. “No, of course not. Why?”
“Because I think one of the animals is missing.”
“Which one?” The dread blew up into outright fear as he rushed through the door to the kennel. Brooke stayed right behind. He came to a stop at the open cage.
“Mercy,” Brooke whispered. “She’s gone.”
* * *
Brooke blinked, then blinked again as though the act would change the facts. The cage was still empty. “Someone stole her.”
“That’s impossible,” Jonas snapped. “I remember activating the alarm system when I left yesterday. After all the crazy stuff going on, there’s no way I would forget that.”
Brooke believed him. She spun to find one of the officers behind her. “Can you check the alarm system?”
“Of course.” He left and Brooke turned back to Jonas. “This is crazy. Why would someone steal Mercy? It’s not like she can tell them what she knows.” She couldn’t help the sarcasm.
He still looked stunned. And angry. He’d just about reached his breaking point and she didn’t blame him. She was pretty mad herself and terribly worried about Mercy. Now she had to track down a missing teen and a stolen dog. She pulled in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “All right. I need to think for a minute. And call Gavin.” She pulled out her phone as the officer stepped back inside.
“Whoever it was is a professional. The box cover was unscrewed, the phone wire cut first, then the alarm wires cut and the cover replaced. Just to look at it you’d never know anything was wrong.”
Jonas reached across the desk, grabbed the phone and pressed it to his ear. “Dead.” He slammed it down.
Claire gasped. “I didn’t even pick the phone up this morning. I saw the alarm was off and thought you must not have turned it on when you left. I was just going to read you the riot act and—” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Claire. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“But—”
“I mean it. Really, I think you should go home and stay there until this is all resolved. I’m going to call my clients and refer them to another vet.”
Claire and Brooke gasped in unison. “Jonas, your business will go under,” Brooke said.
“Right now, I can’t worry about this practice. Mercy is missing. Someone is trying to kill me. I have to find my son.” He looked at Claire. “And I don’t want to risk putting you in danger just because you happen to work for me.”
Claire’s gaze bounced between Brooke and Jonas before she finally sighed. “Okay. You’re probably right.” She bit her lip. “But will you stay in touch? Let me know you’re all right and when you find Felix?”
“Of course.” Jonas escorted her to the door and Brooke dialed Gavin’s number. Her heart was heavy. For Jonas and Felix and for Mercy. Please, God, don’t let them hurt any of them. She knew why they wanted Felix—they thought he might still have the phone. That and they thought he could ID the guy he saw in the woods. But why would they take Mercy?
Gavin answered and Brooke drew in a deep breath. “Mercy’s been stolen.”
“What?” His shout made her flinch, but she didn’t back away.
“Someone broke into Jonas’s practice last night and took her right out of the cage.”
“Any video?”
“No. The wires were cut. Telephone, video cameras, everything.”
“Of course they were.”
She could almost picture him pacing the floor of his office.
“You’ve got to find her, Brooke.”
“I know. If she can get away from whoever has her, she’ll find her way home, but if they’ve got her tied up somewhere...”
“Okay, we’ll put out a BOLO on her. Get her picture on the news and all that. I’ll also have Fiona work any angles she might have in tracking Mercy. She has the GPS on her collar. Hold on one second.” Brooke held. She heard Gavin shout for Fiona. He came back on the line. “Okay, Fiona’s on the computer right now.”
Brooke paced from one end of the room to the other.
“Anything?”
“Not yet.”
Brooke paced another route. “Well?”
“Working on it, Brooke. Fiona?”
“Nothing like a little bit of impatience,” she heard the woman say. Brooke pictured her in a pink flowing skirt, matching Hawaiian shirt with pink flowers, her hair pulled up on her head and held in place with her glasses. “Brooke?”
“Yes, Fiona.”
“I can’t track Mercy, I’m sorry. The GPS unit on her collar has been removed.”
Brooke groaned then pulled herself together. “All right. What now?”
“I want to have a meeting. Let’s assemble the team, but tell Nicholas to stay on Jonas. I don’t want him unprotected,” Gavin said.
“I’ll do that as soon as we hang up.”
“Hanging up now.”
She dialed Nicholas. He answered with a gruff hello. “Hey, I need some more help. Do you think Margaret would release you one more time?”
Gavin was the captain and in charge of the investigation, but Margaret was Gavin’s boss and had the final say in where Nicholas was assigned.
“If it’s related to catching Michael Jeffries’s killer, I think I pretty much have carte blanche.”
“Great.” She updated him about Mercy and her need to leave. “If you can cover Jonas, I’ll work on finding Mercy.”
“I’m on the way.”
“Thank you.” She stopped and thought. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going to run by my house and make sure Mercy isn’t wandering around there. If she got away, that’s the first place she’d go.”
“Do that. I’ll take care of Jonas and see you at the office soon after.”
Brooke hung up and told Jonas, “I’m going by my house then on to the meeting. I’ll check in with you after. Please text me and let me know if you find Felix.”
“Of course,” Jonas said.
His anxiety and worry grabbed at her and she just prayed that Jonas or one of the officers found him before anyone else. Because if the good guys didn’t find him soon, she had a sinking feeling the bad guys would.