Danger In The Shadows (19 page)

The man they were after had stayed on top of the details of the case. They knew that from the letters he had sent over the years. If he had been trying to stay on top of the details during the search… there was a reasonable chance he had been photographed. A good chance if his desire for attention had been high. He would have enjoyed taunting the searchers by actually staying close to the investigators.

Sara’s sketch had been computer aged by twenty-five years. That idea was truly a long shot, but the agents were showing a unique determination to try anything that might succeed.

Just to make sure no possible match was overlooked, two different agents independently reviewed all the material. Anything that looked like a possible match was routed to Sara.

After a long day of work, they had barely made a dent in the amount of material they had to go through.

“Adam, take Sara home. This will all be here tomorrow.” Dave stopped beside them.

“I can do another hour more.”

“Sara, we’re talking at least a week of solid work. This can’t be done in a day. I need you rested.”

“I’ll take her home,” Adam agreed. “Ben and Susan will take us?”

“Yes. I’ll send two other cars as well.”

It was a quiet ride. Sara had been quiet all day.

Adam followed her into the house, considering what he should do. His hand on her arm stopped her in the foyer. “Sara, how about we make a deal. For the next four hours, we can’t think or talk about the search. It will still be there tomorrow.”

Adam watched the tension in her face drain away. He hadn’t realized his comment would have such a profound impact.

“Really? Not at all?”

“I think we both deserve the break.”

She reached up and kissed him. “Thanks. We’ll have it.”

Adam smiled. “Why don’t you select a video? I’ll bring in dinner.”

There were Texas-size hamburgers and french fries ready for them. Dave had called ahead. Adam fixed two plates and carried them back into the living room.

After Sara finished rewinding the videotape, she accepted the dinner plate.

Adam had brought her another couple aspirins to help with the throbbing arm. She hadn’t been complaining, but he knew it had to be hurting.

“Thanks.” She accepted the glass of water.

She started the comedy she had chosen for them to watch, and they ate dinner sitting on the couch.

It was good to laugh. Sara curled up on the couch, settling her weight against his shoulder. Adam made her comfortable, loving the chance to have a stress-free evening with her.

She fell asleep before the movie was over. Adam wasn’t surprised. He brushed her hair back from her face, idly watching her.

It was a reminder of other evenings spent with her. He didn’t want it to end.

Dave finally came home shortly before midnight. He shook his head as he settled into a chair with a soda. Adam paused the movie. “Did you really expect to find a match in the first day of the search?”

Dave gave a rueful smile. “No, but I can hope.” He looked down at the soda can, and when he looked up, it was with an expression Adam had never seen before. “How’s she going to handle it if we can’t find a match?”

Adam felt his gut clench. He hadn’t thought about that. His jaw tensed. He had better start thinking about it. He loved her. He had often wondered if anything might be able to break her. What Dave had just told him would. Remembering the kidnapper’s face had always been her one thread of hope. If they couldn’t find a match, how would she cope without a thread to hold on to?

“Dave, she’ll cope by going to Seattle and starting a life with me. God has gotten her this far, He’ll give her the strength to start over.” He should have realized he had better start tempering her expectations. Part of his job was to protect her. Dave might watch out for her physical security, but that didn’t mean Adam didn’t have a critical role to play as well. She had suddenly seized on the hope that this would be over quickly. She had only been able to endure in the past because she had focused on a long-term hope. He had better start preparing her for the possibility they would not quickly find a match. “I’ll start easing into the subject tomorrow, prep her for the possibility.”

“One of us needs to. I can, if you’d like.”

Adam shook his head. “Let me. I need to introduce the idea of my going along with her to Seattle. She’ll be bothered enough by that; it may take the sting out of why I’m bringing up the subject.”

Dave nodded. “We’ve got about a week of work to do before we run out of first-source material and have to go back to the drawing board for how to do the search.”

“She’ll be as ready as I can get her for the bad news, if you have to tell her.”

“Thanks, Adam.”

“We both love her. If I can soften the blow, all the better. What are the odds that we’ll find a match for the picture?”

“It depends on how arrogant the guy was at the time. He was careful, or we would’ve already found him. He knows she saw his face; he purposely let her see it. Did he expect her to remember his face? He had to. He probably didn’t expect her to seize up the way she did, to shut out the memories.

“He would have been far away from the area by the time she was found. But with time? When he realized he was safe? He used the original packages to taunt us that he was still free. He probably returned to his old life—same address, same job, same friends. I would guess that there is maybe a 30 percent chance we’ll find a match.”

“No higher?”

Dave shook his head. “That may already be too optimistic. He stayed tied into the case somehow; his negotiations show that. But I doubt he let himself be photographed at the crime scene of all places. There are over two thousand names in that index of people remotely associated with the case through the years. When those names are exhausted, the search could go on indefinitely.”

Adam carefully brushed back Sara’s hair, watching her sleep. He did not enjoy thinking about Seattle. “We had better find a match in those names, Dave.”

“I hear you, friend.”

The conference room was quiet except for the sound of paper turning. It had been six days. Adam knew he had an ulcer forming. Every day that passed made the stress worse. They were down to the very last of the material.

Dave had been silent during the drive into the district office this morning. Adam didn’t have to ask. By midafternoon, they would be facing the inevitable. The decision to move to Seattle.

Dave had convinced Sara to stay at the ranch. She didn’t need to be here when the last page was turned and hope was gone. She hadn’t protested. Adam watched the hope begin to slip away over the last two days. She was retreating into silence rather than talking about it.

Lunch had been brought in, but Adam’s sat beside him, untouched.

There were still open names in the index file, people they had yet to find a picture for. There was still hope after this afternoon. But it grew more distant with each day. The agents were too efficient in finding ways to rule out people who were on that list.

They would leave for Seattle first thing in the morning if they drew a blank today. Adam dreaded telling Sara that news. She would absorb the blow like she had every other one and set herself to deal with the move. She didn’t like the idea of his going along, but she had resigned herself to it.

The search would start all over with an even broader mix of names. The wait would be open-ended again.

Adam worked through the thick list of names of volunteers who had participated in the nine-day search. In nine days, with a large area to cover, there had been a lot of volunteers. He was one of many working through the list.

The long drawer in front of him held old driver’s license applications with last names beginning with the letter
K
. He was looking through the list and eliminating those he could. Unfortunately, he was marking them off one right after the other. He had not even generated a faint possibility to hand off to another agent.

He pulled out yet another card to match to a name. His hand stilled. “Dave.”

His voice said it all.

Dave came over from the other end of the table. Adam set down the driver’s license application next to the sketch Sara had made. Dave’s hand on his shoulder tightened.

Dave started moving. “Ben, call the team in. Silent alarm. I don’t want anyone attracting attention getting here.

“Susan, get this guy through the airline records. Tell me if we’ve got a match to Chicago. Travis, find out his current address—and do the computer search yourself, don’t ask someone in records. He’s going to have contacts. This guy signed the log as a sheriff’s deputy.”

Adam looked again at the sketch and circled a name. Thomas Krane. He had taken part in the search.

Adam handed Dave a cup of coffee. “Do you take him into custody tonight?”

The guy had traveled to Chicago. They had a match to New York as well as two other locations where packages had been mailed. A team was keeping him under surveillance now.

“It’s enough evidence for a search warrant but not enough to make the case. It’s the memory of a six-year-old child. Any good defense attorney would tear Sara to shreds with only the circumstantial evidence. We need more. We need the money. We need his partner to name him. Somewhere he’s got evidence from the crime scene he has been using to send in the packages. Ideally, we have to get all of it.”

“The longer you wait, the more likely he’s going to realize he’s being watched.”

“We won’t let him slip out of the net. The agents on the front line will prevent that; they know what’s at stake. Hopefully we will have a lead on the money in the next few hours.” He glanced at his watch. “Sara is going to be wondering. We should have been back to the ranch an hour ago. Let’s go tell her.” Dave smiled. “It feels good to be ahead of the curve for a change. Ben, call me as soon as the bank traces are complete.”

The agent nodded.

Adam reached for his jacket. The ride to the ranch was spent discussing possible options for how they might proceed.

Adam realized to his surprise that he was seeing a different side to Dave. He was beginning to see his friend relax deep inside. Dave had been good at hiding the burden, but now that it was lifting, the difference was noticeable. Sara was likely going to be the same.

Sara was stretched out on the couch reading a book, or had been. She was fast asleep.

Dave sat down on the edge of the couch beside her and gently shook her shoulder. “Sara, you want to drift toward opening your eyes for a moment?”

She yawned as she woke up. “Dave.” She didn’t look pleased to be awakened; she still looked too battered for that.

“I’ve got some news for you.”

She pushed herself up and ran her hands through her hair.

“His name is Thomas Krane. He worked for the sheriff’s office over in Jefferson County. He’s retired now.”

She blinked, her face not showing any emotion.

Dave waited for the news to sink in. “Adam found the match. The sketch is incredibly accurate. His photo came up when we were going through the volunteers who helped with the search. He was volunteer eight-seven.”

“He took part in the search,” Sara said in disbelief.

“He took part in the search,” Dave confirmed. “He was assigned an area about fifty miles north of where you had been hidden.”

“We’ve already confirmed he flew to Chicago, was there for two weeks. We’ve confirmed New York as well, and two other locations where packages were mailed. We should know about the money by morning.”

“What happens now?” Adam was surprised at her calm. He had expected elation.

“Now that we know his identity, we are quietly going to take apart his life. He’s under surveillance and will be until we take him into custody. Sara, I want to catch him sending another package. If his pattern holds, another one is due to be mailed next week. We’ll use the time to build up a profile on his movements. A week, ten days, and this will all be over. He’s going to jail for the rest of his life. I promise you that.”

Adam saw the moment Sara’s composure broke. She leaned forward against her brother and the sobs began to fall. Adam reached over and laid a hand on her back. They were sobs of relief. A lifelong prison sentence had just been lifted. They let her cry until there were no more tears to shed.

She finally rubbed away the last of the tears. She looked up at her brother. “I don’t want you there when they take him down.”

Dave’s jaw tightened. “I have to be there, Sara; you know that.”

“You want to be there. You don’t have to be.”

Dave raked his hand through his hair. “I know why you’re worried. Yes, I want this guy at practically any cost. But I won’t put my team in danger to make it happen. It will be handled by the book.”

“Can you promise that?”

“I’ll do everything I can, but you know I can’t make promises. They don’t exist in our world.”

Adam didn’t reply. He was too busy praying to the only One who could make—and carry out—every promise.

Adam watched Sara pace the living room. She had not sat down in the last three hours.

“Why isn’t he back yet?”

“Dave said not to expect him until late this evening.” Adam couldn’t change the anxiety. Word came two hours ago that Thomas Krane had broken his pattern of travel and was apparently heading to a neighboring town. Dave left to join the team shadowing him. They had been slowly building the case over the last six days, tracking the money trail, his past travels, watching, waiting. Today might be the main event.

She rubbed her arms as she paced. “Why hasn’t he called?”

“He probably has nothing to report. This is a matter of patience, Sara. Let them do their job.”

“He’s going to get hurt. I know it.”

“Sara…” He stopped what he was going to say. There was no way to remove the fear. He was worried too. He crossed over to her side and pulled her into a hug. “Stop. Don’t panic. That won’t help anything. Let’s pray about it.”

She turned into his hug. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to Dave.”

Adam understood that only too well. She had already lost a sister. She couldn’t handle something happening to Dave too. “He’ll be okay. You want to pray or should I?”