13

“You think my dad was kidnapped?” Vickie asked. Her husband, Mark, sat with an arm around her. “I can’t believe that. I can’t believe this. This is…”

Maven didn’t know what to say but wanted to comfort her. “I know. It’s a horrible situation. I’m so sorry.”

“And all this time, I was mad at him for what he did to you.” Vickie’s hand flew to her mouth. “I couldn’t believe he would treat you that way. I should have known better. Why didn’t I realize it sooner? I might have…”

She’d felt exactly the same, but Maven knew Paul wouldn’t want that—for either of them. No matter what happened. “Don’t feel bad, Vickie. There was no reason to think he’d been kidnapped. There was nothing to indicate something was wrong. It was a natural reaction to assume he’d simply changed his mind and taken a vacation.”

“Still, I should have known better. It was completely out of character for Dad.” She leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder with quiet sobs. “I should have had more faith in him.”

As I should have. Maven’s own tears flowed.

The two men in the room looked at each other, obviously uncomfortable.

In a determined voice Eric said, “I know it’s easy to fall apart, but we need to stay focused. We can’t let our emotions run the show. We’ve got to do whatever we need to in order to find Paul.”

Vickie straightened up. “Of course you’re right.”

Maven handed her a tissue and took one too.

“We don’t really have any money, but we’ll give what we’ve got.” Mark looked at Eric.

“We don’t think it’s about money.”

“Then why would someone kidnap him?” Vickie stared at her father’s boss. “If it’s not about money, what’s it about?”

“Revenge.” Eric’s voice was quiet as he told her about the note Maven had received.

“Revenge?” Vickie broke down once again. Through her sobs, she said, “That’s not good. Not good at all. That…means they want…to…hurt him.”

Maven put an arm around Vickie. “I know this is really scary, but you need to calm down so you can help us find your dad, Vickie. Just because he’s missing doesn’t mean he”—She took a deep breath. Her eyes met Eric’s—“isn’t alive. Let’s keep praying and believing he’s OK.”

Vickie nodded through her sobs.

“We can find him, but we need to know who wants revenge against him. Are there any cases he ever worked on that come to mind? Particularly nasty or someone who threatened him?” Eric asked.

Vickie lifted her head from her husband’s shoulder, then stared off into space. She wiped away tears. After a few deep breaths, she nodded. “I think there’s one case, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about it. Dad didn’t really talk about it much.”

“Well, it will give us a place to start.” Maven squeezed her hand.

“That’s all we need. And then we’ll have him back home where he belongs before you know it,” Eric added.

“I can’t really tell you much. Dad didn’t really share the details with me. All I know is that after Mom died, he went on a trip to New York City. Just to get away. Something happened up there, and he ended up working with the police there for a few months. There were some big arrests, I guess, and a trial, but he would never explain exactly what happened. Even when I asked him about it.”

“I had no idea.” Maven was surprised. “He never told me anything about a case in New York.”

“Are you sure about this?” Eric asked.

Vickie nodded. “He would never confirm it, but I think he went undercover for a few months to help on an investigation.”

“Undercover in New York City?” Eric was surprised.

“Yep.”

“Very weird.” Eric leaned forward. “Why would he go undercover in New York City? They have more than enough police there. They don’t need Cleveland’s.”

She shredded the tissue, then looked up at them. “I don’t think it started out that way, but somehow he got involved and—you know Dad—he stayed to help.”

That sounded just like the man Maven loved—still loved. How could she have forgotten what a wonderful man he was so quickly? Guilt pierced her heart. Maven asked, “Who can we talk to to get more information?”

“Daniel Wright might know something. Daniel was his partner. I’m sure he knows about it. He’ll have more details.” Vickie stood up. “Let me see if I can find his phone number.”

Mark stood up and hugged Vickie. “I’ll do that.” He walked out.

Vickie sat back down. “I can’t believe this. This is a nightmare.”

“Is there anything or anyone else who comes to mind, Vickie?” Maven asked.

She wiped a tear. “Not really. Dad’s a good cop. And fair. Not many people got angry at him for doing his job.”

“Why did your dad move to Wooster?”

“Not because anything bad happened.” Vickie played with her fingernail. “He need a change after…after Mom died. After he retired, Wooster Department had a part-time job available. Simple as that.”

“Still, it’s quite a distance from you?”

“Only an hour or so.” Vickie looked up at Maven. “Besides, we didn’t actually know where we’d end up at that time. Mark wasn’t finished with school, so…” She shrugged. “We didn’t have any idea where he’d get a job.”

Mark came back, carrying a piece of paper. “Here’s Daniel’s number. I already called him and explained the situation. He’s waiting for you to call back.”

****

Maven walked into the diner as Eric Donelly held the door open for her.

A man stood up and motioned for them. Daniel Wright had retired cop written all over him. His steel-gray hair was cut military short and he stood erect even with a bit of a paunch.

“Are you Daniel?”

He nodded and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Maven. Paul’s told me a lot about you. Sorry we haven’t met before this. I was at the wedding but…”

“So was I.” She smiled. Maven gestured at Eric Donelly. “This is Eric Donelly. He’s Paul’s immediate supervisor at the Wooster Police Department.”

After shaking hands, the three sat down.

“I’m really worried about Paul,” Maven stated. “He’s simply vanished. No one’s heard from him since the night before the wedding, and then I got this.” She pulled out a photocopy of the letter and handed it to Daniel.

His eyes widened as he read it. “What is this about?”

“We have no idea,” Eric broke in. “It must be something that happened before he came to Wooster. His time has been rather uneventful there.”

“What about the Decker case? I wouldn’t call that uneventful.”

“True, but I know the Deckers. They aren’t behind this,” Maven said.

“What about the other guy involved?”

“We checked that out. He’s still in prison and has no family visits, so chances are there’s nobody out there looking for revenge,” Eric told Daniel.

Maven spoke again. “Vickie told us she thought it might have something to do with some case Paul was involved in from New York City. She didn’t know the details, but thought you might.”

“I almost forgot about that. Yeah, he probably didn’t want to worry her with the details. And believe me, there was plenty for her to be worried about.”

“So, what happened?” Eric asked.

“It’s a crazy story actually. You might want to order something first.”

After the waitress took their order, Maven looked at Daniel. “OK, let’s hear it.”

“Paul was a mess after his wife died. He couldn’t cope with his life. Couldn’t focus. Couldn’t do much of anything.”

“Same thing happened to me when my husband died.”

Daniel touched his wedding ring. “I can’t even imagine how hard that can be. Anyway, one day he woke up and started driving. Ended up in the Big Apple. I guess he wanted to lose himself in a sea of humanity.”

“That would sure be the place to do it. Not that I’ve ever been there. And have no desire to.” Eric nodded.

“Well, one night he walked into a bar. Some guy mistook him for someone else. Long story short, Paul ended up going undercover and bringing down a murder-for-hire ring. These were some nasty, nasty people.”

“What are you saying?” Maven was shocked.

“The guy at the bar thought Paul was a hit man. He was brazen about it. Walked up to him and asked how much it would cost to have his wife killed.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Not kidding. Turned out Paul really did look like the hit man.” Daniel shook his head. “Let that be a lesson learned. Make sure you know who you’re talking to before you try to hire someone to kill your wife.”

The waitress brought their orders.

“Looks great, Martha. Thanks,” Daniel told the waitress.

“Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Eric bit into his burger.

“Or maybe it was the right place at the right time,” Maven said. “I’m assuming he saved the intended victim.”

“He did more than that. In the end, he put away the guy looking for a hit man as well as the murder-for-hire people. It was a bad situation, but it all worked out in the end. Thanks to Paul.” Daniel sighed as he took another sip of his coffee. He smiled at Maven. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it has anything to do with his disappearance.”

“Why not? Those type of people don’t forget or forgive. ”

“Paul’s real name was never part of the investigation. They had no idea who he was or where he lived. Finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Didn’t he have to testify? That would be in the court record.”

“All the court records referred to him as John Doe number something or other.”

“That’s allowed?”

“It is if the judge orders it. Paul refused to testify unless that happened. He wouldn’t do anything to put Vickie in danger.”

“I don’t understand. How would they contact Paul if something came up like an appeal? Wouldn’t they have to be able to contact him?” Maven moved French fries around on her plate.

“That’s true. Someone somewhere knows Paul’s name and address.”

“And that person might have been persuaded to tell someone who Paul really was,” Eric said.

“I suppose it’s possible but not very likely.”

“Still, money can buy most anything if the price is right,” Eric replied. “I think it’s something to follow up on. Paul’s missing and we don’t have any idea why. It could be connected. So, how do I get in contact with the people involved?”

Daniel shook his head, then gave a meaningful stare at Maven, then back to Eric. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. How about if I do some follow up myself and then get back with you?”

“Why?” Maven demanded.

“Uh…because I’ve heard all about your exploits. No way I’ll let you get involved with these people.” He shook his head even as he smiled at her. “Paul wouldn’t want that, and it won’t happen on my watch.”

“He’s right, Maven,” Eric agreed. “Let us handle this. It’s not your job.” He pulled a card from his pocket. “Email me the information when you’ve checked out the situation.”

“My job is to find Paul. And I don’t care what I have to do, I will do it.” Maven glared at the two men. “With or without you two.”

“Maven, Paul is still one of us and that case happened while he was employed in Cleveland.” Daniel was grim. “I’ll follow up on it. I promise. I want to find Paul too. We’ll do everything we can for him.”

“Sounds good. I don’t want a jurisdictional fight with another department,” Eric spoke.

“Same here.”

“Any other cases come to mind?” Maven asked.

“Actually, there are.” Daniel glanced at Maven and Eric. “I’ll email you that info as well, but I need to call in a few favors. Have someone follow up on them. When I get a list, I’ll take half and send you the other half. How’s that for cooperation?”

“Perfect,” Eric approved.

“But the truth is, it’ll be easier for us to follow up since most of the cases happened here in Cleveland. So maybe we should handle that part.”

“That makes sense.” Eric looked at Maven. “Let’s leave it like this. Daniel can check it out. If he finds something of interest, he’ll let me know and I’ll be back up. Or do what I can from Wooster.”

“Sounds good.”

“What should I do?” Maven asked.

“Nothing.” Both men answered at the same time.

“I won’t pretend this isn’t happening. I have to find a way to help Paul.”

“Paul wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger.” Daniel’s voice was firm. “Let us do our job.”

“But I can help.” She looked at Eric. “You know I can. I’ve done it before.”

“And almost died. I want to find Paul and bring him home to you. Not go to a funeral for you.”

She bit at her lip, knowing the men were right. But she refused to do nothing while Paul was missing—and in danger.