“Not here,” Ezra ordered in a hushed tone. He grabbed Rob by the arm and yanked him down the road out of earshot of the first responders.
I followed, and so did everyone else, including Rollo and Howdy.
“I need you all to step back for a moment,” Rob said. “Let me talk to Ezra alone.”
“No,” Lynn refused. “You tell me what’s going on right this moment, or I swear I’ll flag down that young man directing traffic and tell him that my daughter is in danger and you’re hiding information.”
“Don’t do that.” Rob’s cheeks puffed out. On a ragged breath, he hissed, “If anyone finds out, he’s going to kill Elaine. He made that perfectly clear.”
Lynn grabbed Hal’s arm, and he pulled her close, bracing her up against his body. Lorena lost her usual bluster. Rose Marie seemed confused.
When Officer Rogers took note of us and started in our direction, Howdy said, “I’ll take care of him. Whatever you guys need. Rollo is like a brother to me. That makes you all family.
With Howdy away from the group, Rob was more forthcoming. “He wants the key we found in the alley. He said he’ll exchange Elaine for it. But if he gets one hint of a double cross or other police involved, he said he would….” Rob jammed his hands in his pockets. “The key is in evidence, but I can get it. I’m supposed to wait for his next call in an hour, and he’ll tell me where to drop the key. Only when he gets it will he let Elaine go.”
“You could lose your job,” Rollo told him. “You could get arrested.”
“I’d go to jail to save her,” Rob declared. “I’d die for her.” He raked the group with a hard gaze. “But you have to stay out of my way. No one can know about this. No one.” He landed on Rollo. “I need you and Howdy to make sure the search continues, just for a short while. I need all eyes off me until this is over.”
I wasn’t sure going deep off the book was the right call, but I’d seen what the bad guy had done to Clark Faber. He was vicious and brutal, and I didn’t think he would hesitate to follow through with his threat against Elaine.
“Did he say anything about Penny?” Rollo asked, clearly worried for her. “I know she’s had her issues, and a lot of them she’s brought on herself, but she's still my sister.”
“I’ll do everything to get them both home,” Rob said. “That’s a promise. But I need your help to do it.”
Rollo nodded. “Howdy and I will keep the focus off you for as long as we can but call me if you need muscle. We’ll back you up.”
Rob gripped Rollo’s upper arm. “Thanks.”
Ezra looked at his parents and his aunt. “You guys should go home and wait. I’ll call you as soon as we have Elaine.”
“This doesn’t feel right,” Lynn said. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen. Not to people like Elaine.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “I can’t do nothing.”
“You aren’t doing nothing,” Ezra assured her. “You’re protecting her by giving us space to get her back.”
“In other words,” Lorena remarked. “You want us out of the way.”
“In a nutshell,” Ezra affirmed. “If the person who has her gets spooked, there’s no telling what he’ll do. He was willing to run her off the road without any regard for her safety. It stands to reason that he’ll make good on his threat if provoked.”
I knew laying out the facts without mincing words about the danger Elaine was in cost Ezra.
“What about you?” Lorena pinned me with a stare. “Don’t you have a set of skills or some nonsense?”
“Some nonsense,” I mumbled. I didn’t know how my gift could possibly help Elaine. This felt like an unplanned kidnapping. There wasn’t any memory that could help with something that was impromptu. And if it was a new plan, then why? “Wait? How did this guy know about the key we found? Who did you tell?”
“No one,” Rob defended himself. “I logged it into evidence last night, but I haven’t even filled out my report yet.”
“You told Elaine,” I said.
Rollo nodded. “I heard her talking to you at brunch today about it.”
“Which means others could’ve overheard her talking about it,” Ezra added. “Wait.” His brow furrowed. “Does this mean it’s someone in uniform?”
My eye went to taser-happy Officer Rogers. If he hadn’t been here directing traffic, he would’ve been my number one suspect.
“We can’t jump to any conclusions, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.” Rob’s frown deepened. “If he’s a cop, it means he’ll know our tactics.”
“And he’ll know if the police are contacted.” I sighed. This was going from bad to nuclear fast.
“They let you talk to Elaine?” Ezra asked.
Rob nodded. “Briefly.” He winced. “I think she must have a head wound because she sounded confused.”
“What did she say?”
“She said something about lotion.” He anxiously shuffled his feet. “Look, we can keep talking about this or I can go get my wife back.”
“Go get your wife,” Lynn cut in. “Go get her now.”
“Wait,” an inkling of an idea trickled in. “What exactly did she say?”
“Every second we waste puts her in more danger,” Rob protested harshly. “Let it go.”
“No,” I argued. “It’s important. What did she say exactly?”
“The lotion, she said the lotion is everywhere.” He let out a frustrated growl. “I told you it doesn’t make sense.”
“Hey,” Rollo interjected. “When we got down to the car, there was a tube of hand lotion squeezed out all over the console and seat. The stuff was everywhere. It’s smelled like one of those Yankee Candle stores.”
I grabbed Ezra’s hand.
He looked at me. “You think you can?”
“I think Elaine thinks I can.” I gave him a meaningful look. “I told her about when Pippa was kidnapped.”
“The eucalyptus and mint balm.” Ezra turned to Rollo. “I’m going to need you to get me a sample of that lotion.”
Rollo looked extremely confused, but he nodded. “I got it all over my climbing gear,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
Rob studied me. “You think Elaine left you a trail to follow.”
“Maybe,” I said. My entire body tingled with both hope and dread. “I can’t promise anything, but maybe.”
“What kind of trail?” Lorena asked suspiciously.
“The kind that only Nora can find,” Ezra replied, daring her to say another word. “Now, you all go home. I promise to call the minute I know anything.”
Hal put his foot down when Lorena started to protest. “Ezra and Rob know what they’re doing, and if the only way we can keep Elaine safe is by getting the heck out of the way, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” He leaned close to Ezra and spoke in a hushed voice. “Don’t let me down, son.”
“No, sir,” Ezra said. “I won’t.”
* * *
Rollo returned in short order with a pair of insulated, tan canvas coveralls. There was a dark smear on the hip and the sleeve. “That’s where I got creamed,” he said. “What else can I do?”
“You’re doing it,” Ezra replied. “And I can’t thank you enough. We just need a minute, if that’s okay.”
“Sure.” Rollo handed him the coveralls. “If you need me, holler.”
After Rollo walked away, Ezra asked me, “Are you ready?”
The last two visions with this guy had been powerful and awful, like nothing I’d experienced. I’d had visions of killers that had made me puke, but none of them lingered like the ones with this guy. He felt like a textbook sociopath, with no regard for anyone but himself. I believed with all my heart, given a chance, he would kill Elaine. As for Penny, I worried he wouldn’t kill her, but he would make her wish she was dead. “Ready,” I told Ezra.
Rob hadn’t said a word. I thought he was still skeptical but willing to grab onto any lifeline, even if it wasn’t tethered to anything.
I hoped I was right. I hoped that Elaine had managed to send me a message. I tentatively took the coveralls and held the sleeve under my nose.
Lavender, vanilla, and tangerine. The combination reminded me of an Orange Creamsicle with a floral base. I concentrated on Elaine, inhaled deeply, and allowed the aroma to really penetrate my senses.
I instantly recognize the ugly sweater and the dark blonde hair of the woman in the car. It’s definitely Elaine. She groans as she pushes herself back from the deployed airbag. She’s dazed but reaches to her right and feels around until she finds a large tube of hand and body lotion.
“Nora, I hope you get this,” she mutters, then chuckles. “I’m losing my mind.” She squirts half the tube and spreads it around as much as she can. “A black SUV drove me off the road,” she says. “My left wrist feels broken. I can’t open the door to get out of the car.”
A man yanks the driver door open, and for the briefest of moments, Elaine feels rescued. He’s wearing tan coveralls and a black ski mask, and he has his hood up.
“No, no,” she protests.
He has a gun. “Get out of the car,” he demands.
“What do you want from me?” She sounds like she’s crying.
“I want the key to Faber’s safe room,” he says. “And you’re my price of admission.”
“Clark Faber?” Elaine asks.
He grabs her by the arm, and her wrist snaps. She screams, but he doesn’t care. He yanks her out and onto the ground. “Climb.”
My knees buckled as the vision faded. Ezra kept me from collapsing to the ground as I sipped the cold air so it wouldn’t choke me.
“Did she leave you a clue?” Rob asked, no longer on the fence about me. “What did you see?”
“Faber,” I gasped. “The key belongs to Faber. He wants it to open a safe room in the house.”
“Faber?” Rob asked. “He’s in the hospital.”
I shook my head. “The kidnapper. He wants whatever is in that room.” I ran my hands over the tan coveralls in my grasp.
“Rob, are these coveralls standard issue for city workers in Hillside?”
He nodded. “Everyone gets a pair for severe cold weather. I have a pair in the back of my truck.”
“Then I learned something else about the man who took Elaine.” I glanced at the firefighters, police officers, and EMTs admirably doing their jobs and swallowed at the knot of fear in my throat. “He wore coveralls that looked just like these. I think he’s one of you.”