Agent Undercover (13 page)

“—stole the badge and now has access to the school,” Eli finished.

“Right.” She nodded and took a sip of water.

“I suppose changing the locks and codes for the cards are out of the question,” Dylan muttered.

“Too expensive. The school doesn’t have the funds for that kind of thing.” She’d thought about that herself and looked into the cost. It was astronomical. Way too costly for a school already hit hard with cutbacks and layoffs.

Eli glanced at his watch. “First thing in the morning, we’re going to take care of this.”

“The only way to do that is to check every staff member’s
ID card. That teacher’s missing badge keeps ringing in my mind. What if the person who killed Larry and Sandra lost his badge at the scene of the murder? He sure wouldn’t want to report the fact that it was missing.”

Dylan caught on to her line of thinking. “So he stole a badge and forged himself a new ID using some kind of computer software.”

“Right.” Paige nodded. “All he would have to do is place his picture and name on the badge. Duplicating the barcode on the back would be way too complicated unless he has some super-sophisticated equipment.”

“But as long as he has the stolen one, he can put anything on the front, and it’ll work just fine.”

“And as long as no one looked too close, it would be very easy to get away with it,” Eli muttered. “Of course, this is all speculation, but it makes sense to me. I’m going to bring in some officers from Bryson City to be on standby. However, I don’t want that school in a panic.”

“And we sure don’t want to tip off the wrong person that we’re searching. We’ll have to be subtle,” Paige agreed. “Make up a story about key cards needing to be reprogrammed due to some kind of technical glitch in the system. Whatever. The guidance counselor often helps out in different situations. No one would question me taking their key card and returning it ‘reprogrammed.'”

Dylan rubbed his eyes. “I’m taking Will away from all of this. I’ll let him sleep in late in the morning, then we’re going to take a little trip out of town.”

Paige felt a crack in the vicinity of her heart. She understood Dylan wanting to leave, but she sure didn’t like it.

The plan made, Eli left with admonitions to keep him in the loop from now on. By the time Paige touched base with
Charles and filled him in on everything, it was pushing ten o’clock.

Dylan looked like he’d been hit by a truck. She probably did, too.

“Please say goodbye before you leave tomorrow.” Her throat clogged on the words.

And then she was in his arms for the second time that night. She breathed in his scent, a mixture of smoke and cologne. And maybe some leftover fear.

His hand cupped her head and brought her face up to his. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“But have to. For Will. I know and I understand.”

“We’ll be back.”

Paige nodded and felt his fingers slide through her hair to massage her scalp. Closing her eyes, she let her muscles relax as his hands moved from her head to her shoulders, to her upper arms, then back up to her neck.

His lips touched hers once. Twice. She let her arms slip around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “God answered my prayers tonight.”

“Mine, too.”

“Thank you for showing me how to find Him again.”

She felt him smile against her hair. “He wasn’t lost.”

Paige felt her lips turn up. “I know. I was.”

“Be careful tomorrow. Whoever tried to kill us tonight isn’t playing games.”

“I’m the cop, remember?” she chided him.

“A cop I care about. A cop Will trusted enough to break his silence with.”

Paige bit her lip and looked in the direction of the den. She hadn’t forgotten about Will. But it seemed like all of her reasons for staying away from Dylan and Will were being deleted one by one.

Especially her argument that she would make a lousy mother. Dylan didn’t believe that.

And Paige was starting to wonder if she’d been wrong all these years. That she
could
have a family. That she
could
be a better mother than her own mother had been. That she
could
forgive herself for Ben’s death.

Dylan held her for a few more moments, then gently escorted her to the door. “Get some sleep. Morning will be here before you know it.”

Sleep. Right. She had a zillion things to do in preparation for tomorrow. Instead of telling him that, she looked in the direction of the couch.

“Where did Will go?”

D
ylan’s breath lodged in his throat as he spied the empty couch. “Will? Where are you?”

No answer.

“Will?” Paige joined in. Moving from room to room, they searched the house and came up empty.

Panic clawed at Dylan even while he told himself to calm down. “There’s no way someone got in here and snatched him. We were right there. All the doors were locked …”

Raking a hand through her already mussed hair, Paige clamped her lips tight. Fighting tears, he thought.

“No, no one got in, Dylan. I think Will left voluntarily.”

Incredulous, he stared at her. “Why would he do that? He knows someone is trying to hurt him.”

“I don’t know.” She walked to the sliding-glass doors just off the den. “Look. They’re unlocked.”

“But I went through the house checking windows and doors, making sure they were—”

“That’s what I’m saying, Dylan. Will let himself out. Call Eli and tell him what’s going on. I’ll go after him.”

Dylan stopped her move to open the door. Reaching
behind him, he grabbed the cordless and placed it into her palm. “It’s your turn to call. I’m going after Will.”

He left her punching in Eli’s number.

Sliding the door open, Dylan stepped onto the deck, ignored the pouring rain and raced down the steps to the backyard.

He stopped and looked around. Did he dare call out for the little boy? What if someone had followed them to the house? If Dylan yelled Will’s name, that person would know Will wasn’t in the house.

If he didn’t know it already.

Dylan ran around to the front of the house, then stopped.

He glanced up the street, then back down. It was hard to see anything in the pouring rain. The darkness didn’t help, either.

Which way would Will go?

Where
would he go?

The front door opened, and Paige loped down the steps to join him on the street. “Any sign of him?”

“No. Is Eli on the way back?”

“Yes.”

“Should we split up?” Dylan wondered aloud as he desperately tried to decide the direction he should take.

“First, you need to talk to me. Where would he go?”

“I don’t know.” Frustration and worry filled him. “I was just asking myself that question a minute ago.” He threw his hands up. I can’t think of a special place for him. Where he would go for comfort.” Dylan cut his eyes to Paige. “Maybe to your place.”

She lifted a brow. “But I’m here.”

“I know. I’m desperate. Grasping at straws.”

“How far did your sister live from here?” Paige asked him as Eli’s car pulled into the drive.

“About a mile.”

“So it’s pretty reasonable that he could walk that,” she muttered.

“Yeah, but it’s all uphill. Sandra and Will lived next to one of the trailer parks not far from the little church on the hill.”

She rubbed her eyes then nodded. “All right. Then you and I will go that way while we send Eli in the other direction.”

Walking over to the police cruiser, Dylan leaned in and explained the situation. The words rushed from him as his adrenaline surge urged him to hurry and start looking for Will.

Windshield wipers going full speed, Eli backed from the drive with the promise to call if he found anything.

Dylan turned to Paige. “Let me get a flashlight, then we can go.”

When he returned, they headed in the direction of Sandra’s house. Dylan wondered if the person after Will had already snatched the child from the dark street. He shuddered and determined not to think along those lines. Not until he had some sort of proof.

Right now, the evidence said Will had wandered off on his own.

But was someone waiting for a chance to take him? Were they searching in vain?

Please, dear Lord, please keep him safe.

“How often does he stay with Cheryl here?” Paige’s questions interrupted his stream of never-ending prayers.

“Often enough to be comfortable, to know the neighborhood. He passed it every day for six years to get to his home when Sandra was alive.”

“So he knows the way.”

“Definitely.”

Dylan’s already-elevated blood pressure notched up as he scanned the darkness. Trees on either side of the lonely road rose up like skeletons wavering in the downpour, reaching out, mocking him, telling him Will was forever lost.

He went back to his prayers, pushing aside the taunting voices, shoving down the raging fear, and concentrated on not missing one detail of the area around him.

They walked in silence, just the crunch of their shoes interrupting the quiet. Rain pooled around the collar of her raincoat and dripped down her back. By the time she reached their destination, she would be soaking wet.

“Should we call for him now that we’re away from the house?” Dylan asked Paige.

“Yes, I think that might be a good idea.”

A car approached, and Paige shoved Dylan to the side of the road behind a large tree as the headlights grew closer. “Do you recognize the car?” she asked.

“No, not yet. I can’t see it well enough.”

“Then let’s stay out of sight until you can.”

Tires whooshed on the mountain road and Dylan froze, feeling the heat radiate from Paige—as well as tension. She kept her hand on her gun, waiting and ready.

Finally, the vehicle was almost on them.

And Dylan took his first deep breath in minutes. “That’s Cal.”

“Cal?”

“One of the deputies and a good friend of mine,” he said as he waited for the right moment to make his presence known.

“Oh, right. Fiona’s brother.”

Dylan stepped out and flagged down the deputy.

Cal pulled up beside them. “I got the call from Eli about Will going missing. Thought I’d check up here.”

“That’s where we’re headed,” Paige said.

“Want a ride?” Cal offered.

“No, thanks,” Dylan said. “We’re checking the woods on either side of the road. He may be scared. Hiding out.”

Cal nodded. “I’ll head on up to the house and see if he’s there. I’ve got your cell number if I spot him.”

Cal drove off and Dylan’s jaw tightened. “Will! Where are you?” he hollered.

He heard the desperation in his voice, but couldn’t do anything about it.

Paige’s fingers curled around his and squeezed her support.

“I can’t lose him, Paige. I’ll never forgive myself if …”

“We’ll find him. We have to.”

Her quiet words strengthened him. “Pray for him,” he asked.

“I haven’t stopped since we saw he was missing.”

Dylan’s heart throbbed with conflicting emotions, aching for his nephew. And glad Paige seemed to have found her peace with God.

“Please Lord …” he whispered. And couldn’t force another word past the huge lump in his throat.

“Amen,” Paige ended. Dylan looked at her. She shrugged and gave a watery smile. “God knows our hearts and our pain. He’ll fill in the blanks.”

Dylan squeezed her to him in a quick hug, his emotions near to overflowing. Then he stepped back, and they continued their search.

Paige didn’t get it. Why would Will leave the safety of the house? What was he thinking? As they approached the charred remains of Sandra’s house, the full moon helped light the way. Paige’s eyes scanned the area. “Will? Honey, are you here? Where are you?”

Cal’s car pulled up beside them. He rolled down the window and said, “I haven’t seen any sign of him. But there’s tornadic activity headed this way. I think an active tornado might touch down for real this time.”

Dylan’s face fell at the first part of Cal’s news, hope sliding off to crash and burn. At the second part, worry reappeared.

Paige nodded her thanks, and Cal said, “I’ll drive on past aways. Maybe once he got here and realized no one was here, he kept going.”

Dylan pulled in a deep breath. “Thanks, Cal.”

Cal drove off and the world fell silent, broken only by the sound of the pouring rain.

Paige shifted, the hair lifting on the back of her neck. Had they been followed? Squinting through the water, she caught movement to her right. “Look,” she said.

Dylan looked. “What?”

“I saw something over there.” Not taking any chances, she freed her weapon from the shoulder holster and motioned for Dylan to slip behind the nearest tree. He frowned, took her by the upper arm and pulled her with him. She went, eyes still on the area where she thought she’d seen something, but the rain made it hard to make anything out. “Will? Your Uncle Dylan is here. Why’d you leave the house? We’re very worried about you.” To Dylan, she said, “Keep talking to him.”

“What if it’s not him?”

“Then whoever’s in those bushes will think
we
think it
is
Will, and I’ll be able to surprise him.”

Without giving him a chance to protest, she kept to the cover of the trees and started making her way around to the other side of the property.

More movement about a foot away from where she’d seen the first sign they weren’t alone.

She heard Dylan calling reassurances to Will.

Paige crept closer.

And closer.

Then paused to listen. Dylan’s voice echoed.

Sniffling? Or the rain?

Just a few more steps brought her close enough to see a small form huddled against a tree, face buried in his knees.

Paige closed the distance on silent feet and dropped to her knees beside the boy. “Will,” she whispered.

His head snapped up and anger flashed across his face. “No! You’re not supposed to find me!” Will hopped to his feet and started to race off.

Paige shot out an arm and caught him around the waist. In much the same way that she’d done the day she’d swept him from the path of the car. “Hold on, little guy. I thought we were friends. I thought you trusted me.” She said the words loud, hoping Dylan would hear her and realize she’d found Will.

“I do trust you! But the bad man won’t leave us alone.”

Confused, she simply stared at Will for a minute, trying to wrap her mind around his six-year-old logic. “I know the bad man seems to be winning, but I think we’re going to catch him tomorrow.”

“Uh-uh. You’re not. And he’s going to kill Uncle Dylan.” His little face crumpled and sobs ripped from him to stab her in the heart more effectively than if he’d used a knife.

“Will, Will, what are you saying?”

“He is, he is,” he hiccupped through his sobs. “But if he has me, he’ll leave Uncle Dylan alone.”

And she understood.

She looked up in time to see horror cross Dylan’s face. Rain sluiced down his face as Dylan dropped to the ground
in front of his nephew and wrapped his arms around the child’s quivering frame. Paige shivered, just now realizing she was chilled. The temperatures hovered in the mid-seventies, but with wet clothes and hair, she was cold.

“Will, what are you saying?”

Will lifted tearful, blue eyes and met his uncle’s gaze. “He told me if I said anything about that night, he’d kill you. He said it. And I believe him now. He blew up the house to the sky and—”

Dylan gave a choked cry and pulled Will into his arms. “He’s not going to get me. Or you. We’re going away. Far, far away from the bad man, okay? First thing in the morning.”

Will stilled, sniffled. “Where are we going?”

“Someplace safe. Someplace where you can be a kid and be happy again, all right?”

The child seemed to think about that. His gaze flicked back and forth between Paige and Dylan. “But what about Paige?” he asked, his voice low.

Dylan’s eyes met hers, his filled with an emotion she was almost afraid to try and identify. “When Paige catches the bad man, she’ll let me know, and we’ll come home, okay?”

“And see Paige again?”

“You’ll see me again, Will. I promise.” Paige leaned in to hug him and plant a kiss on his cheek. “One way or another, you’ll see me again.”

“And Uncle Dylan will be safe?” He drew in a shuddering hiccup.

She nodded, the tears clogging her throat, making her swallow twice before she could speak. “Totally safe. And you, too. No more worries, no more scary dreams, no more being afraid.”

Will slipped out of his uncle’s embrace, and Paige felt
him slide his little arms around her neck. She squeezed him tight, smelling his sweaty, little-boy smell—and relishing it. Cherishing it. Holding tight to it.

Please, Lord, help me keep my promise.

Then he was back in Dylan’s arms. She pulled out her cell phone, swiping off the tears and the rainwater with the back of her hand. Once she could see well enough, she dialed Eli’s number. Fortunately, she had a pretty good signal even as high as they were on the mountain.

“Hello?”

“We found him.”

“Then get somewhere safe! There’s a tornado in the area!”