Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula (27 page)

Liar!
I screamed internally, and then caught myself.
Focus.
Closing my eyes, I visualized Dad.
Losing control could mean his life. Be smart, Cassidy, be smart.
Drawing air in through my nose, I opened my eyes and trained them on the Detective Conlin’s face, slowly exhaling.

“In order to move quickly, we need to gather any information you have that could aid us in the investigation.”

“Since Drake has been abducted, shouldn’t the FBI be in charge of the investigation?” Mom asked in a strained voice.

The detectives exchanged a look.

Detective Drammeh answered, “The FBI will take over the investigation tomorrow morning. Until then, we’re leading it.”

Not knowing if this was unusual or not, I glanced at Emery for interpreting help. His gaze was fixed on Detective Drammeh.

“Mrs. Jones, can you think of any reason someone would abduct Drake?” Detective Conlin asked.

She shook her head. “I can’t think of any.”

“Was he working on a provocative story?”

“No. The last three days he has been focusing on leads in Serena Phillips’s disappearance.”

Mom! No!

Anxious, I quickly looked at her. Her eyes were narrowed on the detective’s face.
She’s trying to figure him out
, I realized.
Dad must have told her about his
conversation with Detective Reed
. Inwardly, I sighed with relief. She would be very careful what she revealed to these men.

Detective Conlin became gruff. “What leads?” he demanded.

My jaw clenched at his tone.
Control. Keep control
.

Mom’s arms tightened around Chazz. “I’m not sure,” she lied.

The detectives eyed her suspiciously.

“You understand, Mrs. Jones, we need to know everything,” said Detective Drammeh, watching her face. “It could mean your husband’s life.”

I listened to Mom’s heart speed. She was conflicted. Breathing deeply, she looked Detective Drammeh in the eye. “I have told you everything I know.”

The room fell silent while the detectives stared at Mom.

Abruptly, Detective Conlin broke the silence, informing us, “We’re going to trace calls to your house and cell phone. We’ll set up here, in the living room. Until we have a clear picture of what we’re dealing with, the officers will remain posted at the front and the back of the house. No one is to leave the premises, and no one will enter without proper authorization. This is for your protection.” He surveyed us three kids. “Understand, kids? You stay inside.”

Yeah, I understand
. Anger expanded in my chest.
This is just a more subtle way of kidnapping.
We’re your prisoners
.

Detective Conlin waited for our compliance. With my brothers, I jerked a nod. I
so
wanted to hurt this man, my dad’s “friend.”

“Is Ben all right?” Mom asked.

“He’s fine,” Detective Conlin answered, his voice edged in irritation. “He’s at the station giving a statement. When he’s finished, he’ll come here. He asked me to pass that along to you.”

Mom nodded.

Detective Drammeh spoke up. “Mrs. Jones, I’d like to take a look around. Does your husband have a home office?”

Mom stiffened. “Yes, he does.”

“Could you show me?”

With an uncertain expression, her eyes rested on Cha
zz
’s face.

Detective Conlin forced a smile. “Please, Mrs. Jones, go with Detective Drammeh. Your children will be fine. We’ll take care of them.”

“We’ll be fine, Mom,” I agreed tersely. “Go help the detective.” I didn’t want him alone in Dad’s office.

As she looked in my eyes, a tear slid down her cheek. Quickly she brushed the tear away as I slapped down rage. I understood she wanted to fall apart but couldn’t. Neither of us could do what our emotions dictated.

Kissing my forehead, she said softly, “I want you all to go to the family room and stay there until I come to get you.” Without clearly knowing our present danger, she apparently thought there was safety in numbers, as if these crooked cops would pick us off one by one. After kissing Nate, she moved Chazz to my lap, kissing him, too. Standing up, she crossed the room. Detective Drammeh followed. Passing Emery, she quickly touched his cheek as she stepped into the foyer.

Following her instructions, we stood to leave. Before we left, Detective Conlin peppered us with questions, such as “Have you overheard any conversations that made you feel uncomfortable?” and “Have your parents seemed nervous or scared lately?” When we answered “no” to everything, he let us leave. Escaping his presence was a relief. His very smell infuriated me.

On the sectional, Chazz curled up on my lap and wept. Resting his head against the back cushion, Nate rubbed Chazz’s back, his expression lost and afraid. Emery, who sat facing us, fixed his inscrutable gaze on my hand balled next to my thigh, a visual of the internal tempest I was fighting to subdue.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Chazz sniffed.

“I’ll take you, buddy,” Nate offered gently, taking Chazz’s hand. “Let’s go.”

When we were alone, Emery moved next to me. “You’re struggling,” he whispered, covering my fist with his hand.

I nodded, unable to form words. For a long moment, we stared at one another, our expressions closed and controlled. Then Emery allowed himself to relax. Sadness replaced his calm, causing me to choke up. My fist unfurled under his hand. His fingers slipped into my palm, grasping it.

“I’m sorry about everything,” he said in a low, thick voice, looking at our hands.

“I know. But none of it is your fault.”

Not acknowledging this, his eyes narrowed. “I really believed at this point we wouldn’t be dealing with this on our own…There is something I haven’t told you, that I haven’t told anyone.” He paused. “I do know how to contact my dad. It’s a secret way, sort of like sending out a distress call. When my mom disappeared, I sent out that call. Normally, he would have been here by now, which tells me something has gone wrong. If he had simply been delayed, he would have contacted me somehow. The fact that he’s silent, means…well, it isn’t good.”

“I am so sorry.”

His face turned to mine. “I’m telling you this for a reason. We’re not sure if law enforcement can be trusted. There will be no one coming to help us.”

“What about Riley? Or Mickey?”

“No, I can’t involve them any further. It’s too dangerous. From this point on, we’re on our own. It will be up to us to find your dad and my mom.”

“So, what do we do? Beat the truth out of these detectives?”

Emery smiled faintly. “No, that wouldn’t be prudent. If they’re on the kidnapper’s payroll—”

“If?” I questioned, squeezing his hand. Shock and pain crossed his face. “Oh,” I gasped, releasing the hold.

“That was intense,” he said in amazement, carefully opening his hand. “With a little more force, you would have fractured bones.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Staring at his hand, he ignored the apology. “I understand how extremely challenging it is for you to keep your emotions in check, but you must. For both our parents’ sake.” He looked at me and frowned. “There’s no room for guilt, Cassidy. My hand is fine.” He opened and closed it as proof, and then picked up where he had left off. “We don’t know for certain Detectives Conlin and Drammeh are on the kidnapper’s payroll. We’ll err on the side of caution, though, and assume they are. Fortunately, we have an advantage they’re unaware of—Heart’s computer files and a location where our parents may be held captive.”

“King Pharmaceutical. We should go now!”

Emery put a finger to his lips, reminding me to keep my voice down. “Not yet,” he said in a hushed tone. “We can’t afford to run into anything haphazardly. We’ll be patient and see how things unfold. I also need time to access the remaining files. They may contain information crucial—” He stopped talking, hearing Mom speaking low in the hall.

She entered the room, her hands resting on my brother’s shoulders. “Are you both all right?” she asked us, glancing around warily.

Emery and I nodded.

My ears alerted me to someone at the front door. Tuning in, I heard Ben’s voice and inhaled his scent.

Briskly walking into the family room, Ben surveyed us, his forehead creased with worry. In long strides, he walked over to Mom, wrapping his arms around her. “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. I was too far away to stop them.”

“I know you did everything you could, Ben.” Her voice cracked. “Please don’t feel responsible.”

Pulling away, he nodded miserably with downcast eyes.

After making a round of hugs, whispering to each of us he was sorry, Ben collapsed on the sectional diagonally from me. Mom sat next to him, pulling Chazz into her lap. Nate returned to his place next to me.

Turning his head to Mom, Ben whispered, “I can’t tell what’s up or down. I mean, I always thought Bob was a good guy. He helped Drake and me out on a few stories. I seriously didn’t see this one coming.”

She nodded, glancing at Nate and me. “Did you and Drake go
earlier?”

Ben’s brow knitted in frustration. “Yeah, we did, and the guy’s whacko.” With his eyes, he quickly motioned to the living room. “Those jokers told me the guy checked out. Even after I told them what happened, they said they were aware of his ‘eccentricity.’” He imitated quotation marks with his index and middle fingers. “But they found no link between him in either case.” Ben’s response had started as a soft whisper to Mom, but in his vexation, his voice rose so we could all hear.

“Who are you talking about?” Nate asked.

Ben looked at him, startled. Forcing a smile, he answered, attempting to sound casual. “Oh, this head case your dad and I met with earlier. The guy is a trip. Want to hear about the crazy meeting?”

Glancing at Ben, Mom slightly widened her eyes, warning him caution.

Understanding, Ben smiled at her. “Really, Elizabeth, it’s all right for everyone
to hear.
You’ll want to hear this, too, before the detectives need you.”

After she nodded consent, Ben began. “Your dad got a lead on this guy who met up with your mom, Emery, last Wednesday at her lab. His name is Arthur King.”

My heart skipped a beat.
King Pharmaceutical.
Arthur
King has my dad!

“He’s the CEO of this swanky company. Your dad contacted King, and the guy was willing to talk, so we went to meet him at his office.”

Sensing my anger climb, Emery moved his hand next to mine, which pressed tensely into the cushion. His pinky began to slowly brush the side of my hand. The calming gesture said,
Control your emotions, Cassidy
.

“Now, I thought I knew this city inside and out but, somehow, I missed this crazy place. The building is random, shaped like a pyramid, and the weirdness continues on the inside. Okay, you have to picture the set of some futuristic sci-fi movie. The lobby is posh, everything is expensive, but it’s also white.
Everything
is white—the walls, floors, furniture—everything. The only thing that isn’t is this huge black monitor mounted to the wall behind the lobby’s front desk, and the sad little receptionist who is also dressed completely in black. Black and white. That’s it. No color. At least, there was no color until King popped up on that screen behind the desk.”