Day six, 9:00 a.m.: Ashley found twenty-five hours ago
Seated at her usual table at the station the next morning after sharing breakfast with J.T. and his family, Madison finished reading a report and shuffled it to the bottom of her huge stack. She was reviewing all the evidence, keeping in mind a woman could be the kidnapper. Her gaze lit upon the next one from Kirk about the metallic blue car. Since the vehicle’s discovery was old news, she started to ignore it when the deputy’s description of the Chevy caught her attention. No tinted windows.
She thought back a few days to her interview with Mrs. Goldsmith. Something was wrong. Madison dug through her reports until she found Ruth’s the day after Ashley’s kidnapping. J.T.’s neighbor had said the reason she hadn’t seen the person driving the metallic blue car was because the windows had been tinted dark, but they weren’t. A mistake on Ruth’s part or a lie?
Madison leaned against the table, her palm supporting her chin. Something else nagged her. What? Closing her eyes, she tried to go back over the interview in her mind, picturing the whole scene. She was on the couple’s porch, waiting for someone to open the door. She turned to scan the street. She saw the reporters, the people hurrying toward the staging area of the search, the white car in the Goldsmiths’ driveway.
A white car! That was it! Coupled with the discrepancy in the description of the metallic blue vehicle and even the time frame of the kidnapping, it was enough to prompt Madison to write Ruth’s name on her list of people to check out.
Then another memory flashed into her mind. The scent of vanilla had permeated the Goldsmiths’ house when she had gone inside that morning. The woman had been baking sugar cookies. Madison put a star by J.T.’s neighbor’s name.
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught Madison’s attention. She looked toward J.T. approaching. The tension in his face had eased some after getting a good night’s sleep. Madison was glad at least one of them had rested well because throughout the night before all she could think about was his kisses.
He slipped into the chair across from her and smiled. His look melted her insides. It took all her willpower to keep herself sitting upright. Again the sensations his kisses had generated the evening before swamped her.
“Did you discover something?”
J.T.’s question forced her to concentrate on the case, not her attraction to the man. She blinked, pushing herself back against the hard slats of her chair. “How long have the Goldsmiths lived in Crystal Springs?”
A frown chased away the lively gleam in his eyes. “I think they moved here about two-and-a-half years ago. Why?”
“It’s probably nothing but Ruth said the windows on the metallic blue car were tinted. They weren’t. She also said she saw it pull away at five-forty. The teen driving said he fled the area at six o’clock because the news had come on his radio station.” She clasped the arms of the chair. “And the Goldsmiths’ own a white car.”
“Along with thousands of others. They have been good to my family. I can’t see either one of them involved in kidnapping Ashley.”
“I smelled vanilla when I interviewed Ruth. She’s known for her sugar cookies. Remember Ashley’s reaction to them last night?”
J.T.’s frown deepened. “It just can’t be her.”
“I didn’t say it was, but I’m going to check them out thoroughly. Where they came from. Do they have a connection to one of the criminals you put away?”
J.T. raked his hand through his hair. “I hate this. I have to suspect my friends and neighbors.”
“While you and your staff work on the list of felons and any females connected with them, Paul and I will look into some of the people in Crystal Springs, not just the ones who have only been here for a short time. If I discover anything, I’ll tell you. Otherwise you don’t have to be involved.”
“Who are you starting with?”
“The people you work with.”
J.T.’s eyebrows slashed downward. “My deputies? They were subjected to an in-depth background check before coming to work here. I can’t see how there could be anything in their pasts.”
“But people like Susan and Elizabeth aren’t subjected to a thorough background search. We’ll recheck your deputies to rule them out, but I agree with you.”
J.T. glanced toward his office with the blinds up and the door open. Inside, Ashley sat at his desk drawing. “Colin will be here shortly to talk with her. I hate thinking someone my daughter knows wanted to hurt her.”
“But the person didn’t hurt her. Why?”
J.T. swung his gaze back to Madison. “You think that’s important?”
“Could be. The felons you described to me wouldn’t have thought twice about hurting Ashley. But she was released unharmed and you were told where to find her.”
“Some mental game he’s playing with me?”
“Maybe. And another thing. The deputy you depend on the most happens to be gone for a two-week vacation at the time of the kidnapping. A coincidence? I don’t think so.” More and more Madison felt there was a personal association between the kidnapper and J.T.
“You go in your direction while we go in ours. I’m also looking into Max Dillard and any connection to the criminals on my list.”
“The FBI agents in New Jersey are still checking into the hotel where Eric Carlton stayed.”
He folded his arms on the table and bent forward. “Neil wanted me to see if you would come to his last game tomorrow.”
“He’s pitching?”
J.T. nodded. “I’d like you to come. As crucial as solving this case is, I also recognize how important it is to have some time away from it. Kim and Ashley are coming. They wanted me to talk you into it, too. My children have made it clear they like having you around. So do I.”
She rarely blushed but her cheeks burned. “A family outing. I’d like that. Did you say Neil graduates next Monday evening?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to see that, too.”
“You’ve got yourself a date then.”
Date! The word flew through her mind, setting off fireworks. Since Brent, she hadn’t dated more than a few times. She realized J.T. didn’t mean it as a real date, but the thought warmed her. What would a real date be like with J. T. Logan?
Day eight, 4:00 p.m.: Ashley found eighty hours ago
Dressed in jeans, a short-sleeved light blue shirt and sandals, Madison lifted her face to the sun. A perfect day at the ballpark. Not a cloud in the sky. A light breeze kept the temperature cool enough to be pleasant and the best part of the day was that she sat next to J.T. with Ashley on his other side next to Kim.
Neil came out onto the field, heading for the pitcher’s mound. He had a no-hitter going in the eighth inning. Thanks to J.T.’s explanation she knew how rare a no-hitter was, and with each strike Neil pitched, she was on her feet cheering as loud as J.T. Even Ashley and Kim were excited as they devoured hot dogs, sodas and potato chips.
Neil tossed a few pitches as the first batter came out of the dugout and walked to the plate. Madison tensed. There were still two more innings and the odds weren’t in Neil’s favor, but it was about time the Logan family had something good happen.
“Strike one,” the umpire shouted.
The next pitch flew over the home plate. The batter swung and missed.
“Strike two.”
Madison held her breath as Neil eyed the batter. J.T. covered her hand that lay between them on the bleachers. Neil wound up and threw the ball. It sailed toward the batter who stepped into it. The crack of the bat against the ball sounded in the sudden quiet of the park. The ball popped up. Neil backpedaled while the batter ran toward first. J.T.’s grip tightened.
When his son caught the fly, Madison leaped to her feet at the same time as J.T., yelling and pumping their linked hands into the air.
J.T. swung around, scooped Ashley into his arms and hugged her. “Neil’s gonna get a no-hitter. I can just feel it.”
His daughter giggled. “Daddy, you’re funny.”
J.T. slanted a look toward Madison. “I don’t think my daughter appreciates the significance of a no-hitter.”
“Sure I do, Daddy. It makes you happy.”
J.T. smiled. “It sure does, pumpkin.”
Through the rest of Neil’s successful inning with not one hit, J.T.’s presence next to Madison heightened her senses. The aromas of popcorn and hot dogs vied with the scent of the recently mowed field behind the ballpark. Everything from the green grass and trees to the azure-blue sky seemed sharp, clear, the colors more vivid than usual. The brush of his arm against her magnified her reaction to him. Her heart beat faster. Her breathing became shallower.
“This is it. The last inning,” J.T. whispered close to her ear.
Her neck tingled from the featherlight touch of his breath as he spoke. She trembled.
“Cold?” One of his eyebrows rose.
The mischievous expression in his eyes told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her right here in front of half of Crystal Springs. Too much more and she would dissolve into a puddle of Jell-O left out on a hot summer’s day.
She leaned near. “Turnabout is fair play.” She blew on his neck and grinned when a tremor passed down his body.
His laugh that followed spiced the air, prompting Madison’s smile to widen. “Touché. That’s one of the things I like about you.”
Those words caused Madison to float halfway through the last inning, not aware of much that was happening on the field. By the time she’d forced her concentration back to the game, Neil faced the last batter if he managed to strike him out. Vaguely she wondered if Neil still had a no-hitter. She thought he did from all the cheering going on around her.
When he pitched three straight strikes and the fans erupted into wild cheers, Madison got her answer. Neil had his no-hitter. J.T. jumped to his feet, taking her up into his arms and planting a kiss on her mouth. Then he swung around and hugged Ashley and Kim.
Stunned, Madison stared at J.T. with his daughters. The urge to touch her lips was so strong she had to clench her hands to keep from doing that.
“We are gonna celebrate tonight. We have so much to be thankful for.” J.T. shifted back toward Madison. “How about going with us on a picnic at the park along the lake?”
“I’m game.” To spend a few hours not thinking about the case sounded wonderful to Madison. She was beginning to feel she was too close to the facts to see what was missing.
The more she delved into the people in Crystal Springs the more she realized some of them had something to hide. She hadn’t been able to discover what Ross Morgan had done as a teenager because his juvenile records were sealed, but she had an FBI agent interview some people who had known him while he was in high school. She found out Ross had been caught stealing from his neighbors. What else was he capable of doing to his neighbors?
There was also Howard Wright, one of Neil’s baseball coaches, who’d had ties to a porn site on the Internet a few years back before coming to Crystal Springs. Charges had been filed but later dropped. Why? How far had the man gone in his interests? Had it extended to little girls? He was definitely someone to watch. Howard always wore cowboy boots to remind him of his home state. He even had them on while coaching Neil’s team.
Madison scanned the fans in the bleachers. What other secrets would she uncover? These were J.T.’s friends, yet one of them could be the kidnapper. She couldn’t shake that feeling as she investigated the townspeople. The more she uncovered, the more she felt this.
“Ready?” J.T. grasped Ashley’s hand. “We’ve got enough food back at the house to invite the whole town on a picnic.” When a frown appeared on his youngest daughter’s face, he quickly continued, “But we won’t. I want you all to myself.”
Ashley beamed. “Can we take our fishing poles?”
“Sure, pumpkin. We haven’t done that yet this year. That sounds like a good idea.”
“Yuck. Fishing.” Kim screwed up her face. “I’m not eating anything you catch.”
Ashley made a face at her older sister. “You don’t have to. Daddy will.”
Kim started toward the center aisle with Ashley right behind her. “Good. Just wanted to make that clear.”
J.T. peered back at Madison. “Now this is what I’m used to. Their bickering is music to my ears. I can’t believe I’m saying that.”
“Colin’s talks seem to be helping Ashley.”
“I slept in her room again on the floor last night, but she only woke up once with a bad dream. Better than the night before.”
“You know what they say about time healing all wounds.”
He turned back to her. “I hope so. It’s hard watching my child in pain.”
“Dad, I’m hungry.” Kim stood at the end of the row with her hand on her hip.
“Me, too, Daddy.” Ashley mimicked her older sister.
J.T. chuckled. “I guess we’d better get moving.”
After gathering Neil and stopping at the house for a basket full of food and the fishing gear, J.T. pulled into the parking lot next to the entrance of the lakeside park. At first Madison thought they were going to the same one where Ashley had been found a few days before, but this park was on the other side of Crystal Springs. She noticed a beach where people could swim and a pier near the sandy shore.
The temperature hovered in the high seventies. The breeze blew off the lake, causing a few whitecaps. Several speedboats passed them. One person waved. For a moment Madison thought about the evening of the botched ransom drop. For some reason she felt the object of the ransom demand hadn’t necessarily been money.
Why had Max been killed? They finally discovered where he had worked before coming to Central City. He had been a cook at Goldie’s Grill in southern Illinois, a few hours away. She still felt Max was the best lead they had so far.
“Hey, quit thinking about the case.” J.T., carrying the food basket, stopped next to her. “Remember we’re gonna have some fun for a change.”
“How did you know?”
He touched the area right above her eyes. “Your face scrunches up right there when you are in deep thought.”
Neil took Ashley’s hand and headed for the pier with the fishing gear. Kim hung back by the beach.
When all his children were out of earshot, Madison looked at him. “We should talk about what we found out today. We haven’t had a chance to brief each other.”
“Later. Ashley needs this. I need this.”
He was fully being a parent, and she was glad. During the abduction she worried that he couldn’t let go of being the sheriff. “Surely if you can do it, I can.”
“It isn’t easy, but Colin stressed to me how important it was for us to spend some special time as a family to help replace Ashley’s bad memories with good ones. Actually it’s not only Ashley’s bad memories. We’ve all had a hard time lately.”
She settled her hand on his arm. “You aren’t alone.”
“I know.” He faced the lake, watching Neil bait Ashley’s hook. “You don’t know how important your presence is to me. When I saw you that first night, I felt the cavalry had arrived.”
She laughed. “I’ve never been referred to as the cavalry.”
“It was a compliment.”
“I know.” She slid a smile toward him as Kim ambled out onto the pier and sat next to her younger sister while Ashley fished. “Where do you want to set up the picnic?”
J.T. gestured to a table under a large maple tree near the water. “Have you ever gone fishing?”
“Nope and I’ll leave it to you and your family.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I’m with Kim. Fish smell and they are slimy.”
While Madison spread the tablecloth over the flat stone top, J.T. opened the basket and began taking out the food. “I can’t get over how generous everyone has been. I had to put some of the dishes in the freezer. There is no way we could eat it all before some of it went bad.”
“You’re lucky to have such good friends.” She hadn’t lived in any one place for that long since she left the neighborhood she grew up in.
He swept his gaze toward Ashley and for a second thunder entered his expression. “If you’re right, one of those friends could be my daughter’s kidnapper.”
The pain in his features was fleeting but piercing. She hurriedly said, “J. T. Logan, I thought you were the one who said the case was off-limits, at least for a few hours.”
He held up his hands, palms outward. “You got me there.”
The crestfallen look that passed over his face produced her laugh. “We have it bad.”
“What do you mean?” He finished placing the last item, a chocolate pie, out on the stone table.
“Our work consumes us.”
“I think it’s part of what makes us good officers. It’s not a nine-to-five job.”
“Working for the FBI was something I wanted to do for a long time. What part of the job do you like the best?”
J.T. eased down on the bench so he could watch his children. “That’s easy. Helping others.”
“I like that, too, but I also like solving puzzles. I used to do crossword puzzles as a teen. I loved finishing the one in the New York Times every Sunday.”
“In ink?”
She spun toward him. “You, too?”
He nodded while Ashley’s giggle floated to them. His smile grew to encompass his whole face. “That’s a beautiful sound.”
“None better.” She sat next to him, so close their sides touched.
His nearness seeped deep into her heart as they both stared at his three children on the pier, Neil standing up and fishing while Kim was seated next to Ashley, who had her pole in the water. Over the edge of the pier Kim swung her legs back and forth lazily, her head bent toward her younger sister while she listened to Ashley tell her something.
“That’s a Kodak moment. Where is my camera when I need it?”
The humor in J.T.’s voice added to the intimacy of the moment. For a few minutes Madison could imagine them as a family, on an outing, as if nothing was wrong, as if no one was after him and his children. What would it be like to be a mother? At the age of thirty-two time was flying by her.
“I gave up taking pictures years ago when all I did was put the photos into a drawer never to look at them again.”
The light breeze scattered J.T.’s chuckle. “I have a few drawers stuffed with photos, too. Maybe I can convince Kim that scrapbooking is the best hobby she could take up.”
“Go for it. It might work.”
“I doubt it.”
“Daddy,” Ashley yelled, scrambling to her feet, “I’ve got a bite.”
J.T. rose and hurried toward his daughter. “I need that camera!”
Madison followed at a more sedate pace and arrived to see Ashley pulling in a foot-long, silvery fish. Her smile split her face, her eyes lit with pleasure.
“This is a fine crappie, pumpkin.” J.T. took it off the hook and put it into the bucket of lake water next to Neil. “We can have it tomorrow night for dinner.”
“Yuck. You all can. I’m not.” Kim wrinkled her nose.
“That’s okay. I’ll eat it all.” Ashley put her pole down on the pier. “I’m hungry, Daddy. Can we eat?”
“Sure.” J.T. put his hand on his youngest child’s shoulder and walked toward the picnic table.
Neil picked up the fishing gear. “I doubt we’ll do much more.” He glanced toward the western sky. “It’ll get dark soon. Get the bucket, Kim.”
Kim eyed the bucket, said, “You get it,” and stalked off the pier.
Neil sent Madison an exasperated look. “She’s up one moment and down the next.”
“It’s called hormones. Well, and the yuck factor. But I’ll get it for you.”
“Thanks.”
Madison slowed her pace to keep the water from sloshing out. As she neared the end of the wooden planks, she stopped and adjusted her grip to get a better one. Before stepping off the pier, she surveyed the park. Although the sun, low in the sky, still warmed the air, she shivered. Again she scanned the area, imagining someone behind each tree watching them. She couldn’t shake the sensation as she covered the space between her and J.T.
He gave her a smile, saw something in her expression, even though she tried to conceal her concern, and looked around. Anxiety leaked into his gaze.
He pushed his worry away as he faced his children, handing each one a ham sandwich. “Eat up. We’ll have the pie back at the house. When I brought it, I didn’t think about how messy it would be.”
Madison slipped in beside him on the bench, the hairs on her neck standing straight up. “Well, in that case, let’s hurry. That chocolate pie looks delicious.” She forced a cheerful tone so she wouldn’t scare the kids, all she wanted to do was pull her gun and search the park.
Day eight, 9:00 p.m.: Ashley found eighty-five hours ago
“We’ve got church tomorrow so I don’t want you watching TV too long. I’ll be in the kitchen helping Madison clean up.” J.T. boxed up the board game they had been playing, put it on the shelf and headed toward the den door.
He paused and peered back at his family. Kim and Ashley settled on the couch and began watching a movie while Neil sat at the desk and made a call. The incident at the park earlier in the evening only reaffirmed the urgency in finding who was behind Ashley’s abduction. There would be nothing normal about their lives until that happened. Whether the kidnapper had been watching him and his family wasn’t really the point. In his mind it was as if they were being held captive by the unknown threat.
Entering the kitchen, J.T. found Madison standing by the sink, wiping it down. “Did I time it right?”
She swung around, her eyes twinkling with humor. “If you mean am I through cleaning up, then yes, you timed it just right. What are the kids doing?”
“They wanted to watch a movie.”
“Which gives us some time to talk about earlier.”
He nodded and moved toward the kitchen table. He pulled the blinds by it and sat. “You think he followed us to the park?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. It felt like someone was watching us. I know your deputies we called didn’t find anyone when they searched, but still…”
She laid the washcloth over the middle hump in the sink. “I could have been overreacting to a shift in the wind or something.”
“No, I felt it, too. Someone was out there. Which means my children aren’t safe. I can’t take any chances. I’m keeping Ashley out of school this last week. It’s only a few days until the end. She’ll stay at the station with me and I’ll have a deputy go with Neil and Kim. Neil only has one more day. The seniors get out of school earlier than the others. He can help down at the station, too.”
Madison eased herself into the chair next to J.T. “That would probably be wise. We need to meet with Paul tomorrow and review all the evidence we’ve discovered so far. There’s got to be something we’re not seeing. Paul has some leads to finish up this evening so maybe he’ll know more by then.”
“Yeah, I have Rachel working on some information on the women in each of the felon’s lives. We had to go back to the original list, but she should have it completed by then.”
Madison leaned against the table, her arms on its top. “Maybe I’ll stop by the station on the way to the motel. See if Paul needs any help. He was waiting on a couple of faxes.”
J.T. covered her hand with his. “We needed this evening. This case has consumed us 24–7 for the past week. As I remember someone telling me not too long ago, we have to take some time for ourselves if we’re going to be worth anything in this investigation. Come to church with us tomorrow morning, then I’ll see if Kirk can stay with my children while we have the powwow with Paul in my office.”
“That would be nice. I love spending time with your family.” She dropped her gaze to their linked hands.
“Just my family?”
“Spending time with a certain sheriff isn’t bad, either.”
Her words produced a burst of elation in the midst of the horror of the past week. Lord, what is happening to me? After his failed marriage with Lindsay, he’d never imagined having a second chance at love, but the feelings developing with Madison certainly resembled love.
All the reasons why this wasn’t a good time to fall in love engulfed him. He slipped his hand away from Madison’s, and disappointment glinted in her eyes before she masked it.
She rose, an emotional barrier now firmly in place. “I’d better be going.”
“To the station?”
She gathered her purse from the counter. “I won’t stay long. I just want to check and see if those faxes came in. Truthfully I’m so tired I probably wouldn’t be able to make any sense out of them anyway.” She started for the front of the house.
J.T. pursued her, finally catching up with her on the porch. He grasped her arm to still her flight. “Madison?”
She peered back at him, her gaze lowering to his hand on her. “I know this isn’t a good time for us. There probably isn’t a good time for us. I live in Chicago with a job I really enjoy. You live here. Crystal Springs is perfect for you and your family.”
“But not you?” No matter how much he rationalized, he couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I understand what is happening between us.”
J.T. stepped close, invading her personal space, his hands framing her face. “I care about you, more than I should at the moment. My energy and focus must be on protecting my family.”
“Of course. And so should mine. I don’t want anything to happen to your children. They’ve come to mean a lot to me.”
Her words soothed some of the pain. He wanted to care for her freely, but he might never be able to. Even if the kidnapper was caught, how could he ask her to give up her FBI job, her dream, and live in Crystal Springs? He knew he could never live in Chicago again. There were too many bad memories to build a new relationship there.
“I’m glad we had this evening,” he whispered right before claiming her lips in a gentle kiss meant to communicate.
Her arms wound about him, her body pressed against his as though chilled and seeking warmth. She had been by his side every step of the way, supporting him through a nightmare he hoped never to relive.
When he tugged away and put a few feet between them, his ragged breathing sounded in the quiet, matching hers. He couldn’t see her expression, but he sensed the profound effect their kiss had on both of them.
“Good night, J.T.”
She spun around and hastened down the steps. She climbed into her car and pulled away from the curb in front of his house. He watched her drive away until she turned the corner and her taillights disappeared in the dark.
J.T. started to go back into his home when that sensation of being observed deluged him as if someone had thrown a icy bucket of water, freezing him solid. Tremor after tremor rippled through him.
The watcher, filled with hate, zeroed in on J.T. standing on his porch searching the dark shadows.
Soon, J.T. An eye for an eye.