Bounty Hunters: 03 Stay Hungry (23 page)

"He's back here." The woman kept walking through the living room and disappeared down a hallway, gesturing for them to follow.

Jake and Angela competed with the two dogs for hallway space as they followed her.

"One moment," the woman said, holding her finger up at the two of them before disappearing into a room with its door open.

The dogs followed her, their long black tails still wagging, although they were quiet except for their nails clicking against the wooden floor. Angela crossed her arms, glaring after the woman, before turning to Jake and blessing him with the same disgusted look. Grinning at her would probably make it too hard to hold on to her silence. Jake didn't want Angela's presence made known until they were with Huxtable. The woman didn't act as if she knew who either of them were, which meant Huxtable hadn't told her. Jake would find the reasoning behind that soon enough, mainly because he had a feeling it would be the first thing Angela demanded to know.

There were pictures on the wall, and Jake squinted and stared at the printed and framed poses of the woman, who'd let them into her home, standing with a couple children at different ages. The same children were also in pictures by themselves, one of them, the girl, standing in front of this house wearing a graduation cap and gown.

"Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?" It was James Huxtable asking the question, but his tone was so gentle and soft-spoken.

Jake snapped his attention away from the pictures, but Angela was already marching to the door. The woman blocked the doorway when she appeared, and for a moment she and Angela sized each other up. The woman didn't want them there. Jake didn't know what Huxtable had told her about him, but whatever it was, she didn't approve.

Jake placed his hands on Angela's shoulders, standing behind her and inching her back against him to allow the woman to leave the room and get around them with her dutiful dogs in tow.

"Thank you," he said politely, and the woman nodded.

"Come on in and close the door." Huxtable's demanding, cocky tone had returned. Maybe Angela did know a different man than Jake did. Apparently Huxtable saved his good side for the women in his life. "Have a seat." He gestured to a wooden chair across from the cluttered desk that he sat behind.

When Huxtable looked up and saw Angela, his strict expression disappeared and he stood, moving around the cluttered desk as he extended his arms and pulled her in for a hug.

"You had the good sense to bring her after all," Huxtable said over Angela's shoulder, focusing on Jake for only a moment before blessing his daughter with a look filled with love and admiration. "Good. We have a few things to discuss."

"Yes, we do." Angela didn't just use her bossy tone on Jake. "Who is that woman?" she hissed, pointing in the direction the woman had headed when she left the room.

Angela's father didn't appear daunted or even upset at his daughter's tone. He returned to his chair behind the desk and waved at the two of them to sit.

"A friend," he stated, giving Angela a steady look for a moment longer than necessary. "Anne lets me use this room to work when I'm here. It was her husband's office before he died and since has also been used for storage." Huxtable leaned back in the chair and folded his hands over his belly. "She's not on our list for discussion." He allowed only a moment of silence to follow his order before continuing. "As you can see," he started again, giving Jake his complete attention, "no one knows I come here. It is for the protection of all those involved. And as you also noticed, I'm sure, Anne doesn't know a lot about Angela. For your protection, my dear," he offered, and it appeared the comment would appease his daughter, who was quite obviously sitting there fuming. "I don't have to tell you that your average person isn't equipped with the skills to avoid an interrogation from a criminal, be it casual or painful."

"How long have you known her?" Angela demanded.

Huxtable didn't bend to Angela's commanding nature, which was impressive, because at the same time her aggressive nature didn't appear to bother him at all.

"For now, I'm under the radar," he finished, his features softening as he gazed at his daughter. "You need to believe I'm not in danger and not to worry about me, sweetheart," he added, giving no indication he knew he'd intentionally ignored her question, which had her seething even more. "There is something I'm going to share with you, though. And as well, I want to be updated on your case. Would you care to begin?"

"There are two bugs placed at Mandela's place right now," Angela jumped in, her voice calm, collected, as she leaned back and matched her father's position when she relaxed her hands across her middle and her elbows on the sides of the chair. "His limo is also bugged. The equipment I'm using is working fine," she added. "Last night, though, we recorded the conversation that gave us the edge in handling Mandela when he acted today."

Huxtable nodded. "Did you find the picture on the Internet they were talking about?"

If Angela was upset by her father's all-business attitude, she gave no indication. She responded with the same relaxed tone, debriefing as if this was how they handled their cases every day, keeping emotion out of it and laying out the facts. It was impressive as hell but would never work in Jake's family. The whole lot of them were too hotheaded and weren't afraid to speak their minds.

Angela glanced at Jake and he got the uncanny sensation she was giving him permission to speak.

"No. And I looked." Jake had been the one to search the Internet. "Angela Torres doesn't show up online. Now Angela Huxtable does, but there isn't a picture of her to be found anywhere. I ran a search under your name as well," he said, nodding at Huxtable. "You appear online about as much as I do. Angela has taken on quite a few cases in the four years she's been licensed. If I understand right, she's solved most of her cases."

"All of them," she cut in.

"If I were checking her out," Jake said, not looking at Angela but focusing on her father, "I'd find it a bit interesting that nothing shows up at all under the name Torres and what is online under 'Huxtable' is all less than a year old. That in itself might be interpreted as suspicious."

Huxtable waved his hand in the air. "There just wasn't time. Angela worked hard to create enough history so when a background check was done on her it wouldn't be a blank slate. Creating accomplishments that could be found online wasn't as imperative as having information pop up if a background check was run. Mandela would care more if she was ever arrested or who might have pulled her credit than if she attended this social function or won an award."

Jake wasn't sure he agreed with that, but the point was moot, since obviously they'd already searched the Net and found her.

"Jake was on Mandela's property late last night and believes he knows where the kidnapped people are," Angela announced, changing the subject.

Huxtable nodded. "So he told me. Confirm or deny that ASAP," he ordered, then leaned forward and gathered papers on his desk, straightened them, and put them down. "Is there anything else?" he asked, shifting his attention from Angela to Jake, then back to his daughter.

"You know there is," Angela said under her breath, her voice seething with emotion.

Huxtable didn't look angry. The cocky bastard was well hidden in front of his daughter. "For now, my dear, know that I'm safe. What matters is the success of our cases, right? Our personal lives can't ever interfere."

Jake watched Angela as she focused on her father. He couldn't tell if she held her tongue because Jake was in the room or if this was her and Huxtable's normal way of communicating. For a moment Jake felt a twinge of jealousy over how well Huxtable controlled his willful, aggressive daughter. Jake had the satisfaction of seeing it could be done, though.

"There is something we do need to discuss." Huxtable stood, remaining behind the back of the desk and staring at the incredibly cluttered room. Stacks of boxes along the walls made it appear a much smaller room than it was. "I have news on my case," he began. When Angela leaned forward, suddenly incredibly interested, Huxtable continued, speaking just a bit faster. "Your sister is officially being reported as missing, in her country and ours."

"Oh God," Angela muttered, leaning back and pressing her fingers over her mouth. "You haven't learned anything?"

"It's what I haven't learned that is very interesting." Huxtable sat again, frowning as he seemed to ponder how he would word what he planned on saying next.

"Tell me," Angela said, guessing her father hesitated with not such good news.

"I've shared with you the facts. She disappeared at the airport. She never picked up her luggage. No one witnessed anything that could have been considered an abduction, an argument, or anything at all out of the normal. There are food courts where Marianna would have been after coming off the plane. All employees working that day have been interviewed and shown pictures of her. No one remembers a thing."

"She didn't just disappear." Angela stated the obvious.

"Of course not," her father said, once again using his gentle tone. "Yet she didn't struggle with whoever took her. She didn't try and grab her luggage, nor has anyone called requesting to have it sent. Her luggage was shipped back to your mother."

"LAX has security cameras." Jake moved to the edge of his seat, caught up in the brainstorming of an impossible case. They were always the most exciting when there were no clues. "Also, the employees working at the airport entrances need to be interviewed. All the exits are also under full-time surveillance."

"The order to view the surveillance cameras came through. I've viewed them already. Marianna left the luggage pick-up area with a man. He was tall with black hair, just like Marianna's, and appeared to know her."

"What makes you think he knew her?" Angela demanded. She was gripping the edge of the desk with white knuckles and so focused on her father she didn't even blink.

"He hugged her when he first saw her."

"Well, who the hell is he?" she yelled.

Huxtable stared at his daughter, his voice as intense as his expression. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Jake wasn't focusing on Huxtable any longer. He faced Angela, itching to stroke her hair, rub her back, touch her somehow. They weren't sexual desires but something deeper, drawing up from far down in his gut. All that mattered was calming her down, not seeing her so distraught and upset.

"Did you get any facial recognition at all?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

Angela shot her attention to him as if she'd forgotten he stood next to her.

"His back was always to the camera, or his head was down, focusing on Marianna."

"Do you think he was intentionally avoiding the cameras?" Jake asked.

"Could be. It looks as if all of his attention were focused on her. Honestly, she left so quickly with him, without fighting him, it really appears she was glad to go with him."

"That's impossible!" Angela stated, gesturing wildly with her hands. She took a step backward as if she might start pacing, remembered how closed in they were around the desk, and settled for slamming her hands down on the edge of it. "She doesn't know anyone in this country but me!" Then, fisting her hands at her waist, she glared at her father, then turned her head and looked up at Jake, blessing him with the same accusatory look. "One of you better find her right now," she said in a harsh whisper. "Or I will."

"I have a curiosity," Huxtable said calmly.

"A curiosity?"

Angela turned to Jake. "A curiosity is when there are no clues, which because there are none creates a clue."

Since he'd never heard of the term he guessed it was one Angela and her father had made up. Jake started brainstorming over what no clues might point toward.

Huxtable saved him the time. "We know she knew no one in this country, yet she leaves the airport with a man who is holding her affectionately, or so it appears. He walks up from behind her. Marianna never looks over her shoulder at him. He simply comes up from behind and wraps his arms around her. It's impossible to tell if she jumped, acted startled, or even tried to resist the hug. He is a lot taller than she is and, with his arms around her, hides any reaction she might have had to his embrace. He keeps one arm around her and moves the other to pull her hair back from her face. The next moment, she turns away from the luggage area and leaves with him. She never hugs him in return, nor does she once look up at his face. It doesn't appear that she says anything to him at all. If someone abducted her right off the plane, she would have fought, loudly, if she could. Yet she didn't. There were a lot of people working who could have seen something, yet no one saw anything unusual."

"So whoever took her said the right thing to scare the crap out of her and make her leave with them without a fight," Jake offered.

"Possibly," Huxtable agreed. "Marianna had her clothes with her. One of her suitcases was still on the conveyor belt. She had quite a bit of cash stuffed in her suitcase that she didn't take. Whoever took her didn't care about her luggage."

"They didn't take her for money," Angela cut in, pointing her finger at her father as her face lit up with excitement. "But also," she added, her voice growing quiet, "they didn't care if she had clothes with her."

"That's right." Huxtable nodded. "Whoever he is, he knew how to make her not fight, didn't want her for money, and didn't care if she had a change of clothes. Anything else?" He looked from one of them to the other.

Jake didn't care for the feeling that he was being treated as the student, being judged if he could see the obvious and not so obvious.

"Let me think," Angela said, tapping her finger over her lips. Her straight, black hair streaming down her back and her bare shoulders with her pink sleeveless blouse complemented each other. She narrowed her brow, giving her father's question serious thought.

"Someone could have drugged her." Jake didn't take his attention off Angela, and her attention snapped to his.