Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-Up\Force of Nature\Yuletide Jeopardy\Wilderness Peril (10 page)

She heard his footsteps on the hardwood. “What is it?”

“I found Mr. Young.”

NINE

J
ordan hated this part of the job. And this wasn't even officially his job. But Katie had asked him to do it while she secured the scene. She already had a crime scene unit and the medical examiner on the way as well as uniformed officers who would canvass the neighborhood, questioning everyone they could find.

When Jordan escorted Hunter from the house and told him the news, the man broke down, his sobs heart wrenching. Jordan didn't blame him. He simply stood there, hand on Hunter's shoulder, until the man could gain some control.

It didn't take him long. Jordan had a feeling Hunter's personality wouldn't let him be emotional for any extended period of time. Within minutes Hunter had wiped his face with his expensive silk tie and hardened his features. Pure fury now blazed from his green eyes. “Who did this?”

Jordan had his suspicions. Unfortunately, he didn't have a name to go with those suspicions. “I don't know, sir, but I promise we'll find out.” He paused. “Did your father have any enemies that you know of?”

Appalled, Hunter looked at him. “No. None.”

“Did you notice anyone following you home from the hospital?”

Hunter blinked. “No.”

And why would he? He had no reason to even think about being followed.

Jordan nodded and as law enforcement arrived. He asked Hunter a few more questions, then did his best to fade into the background. After all, this wasn't his case.

He had to keep reminding himself of that. His case was Katie's case. And while he had a feeling Mr. Young's murder had everything to do with the fact that he'd seen the shooter from the diner, Jordan wasn't going to put his nose any further into the investigation unless he was invited.

He sent a text message to Erica to let her know what was going on. She shot one back.

Come when you can.

An hour later, Katie emerged from the house and veered toward the Mercedes, where Hunter was sitting. He got out of the vehicle, shoulders stooped and looking shell-shocked, his initial fury overshadowed by his crushing grief. For the time being. The anger would return. Jordan knew this from experience.

His phone rang and he recognized the number as the McKinneys'. “Special Agent Gray.”

“Hello, Mr. Gray, this is Eileen McKinney. You left a message for me to call you.”

“Yes, ma'am. Thanks for calling me back.”

Jordan explained what he wanted and Mrs. McKinney clucked. “I don't know what more I can tell. I told that detective the day of the kidnapping everything I could think of—and trust me, that wasn't much.”

“I understand, but sometimes talking to a different person can spark something.”

“Well, if you want to come on out, I'll be here for the next forty-five minutes or so.”

Jordan hesitated, then said, “I'll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

“I'll be looking for you.”

Jordan hung up. Katie still talked to Hunter, who leaned his head back against the headrest and scrubbed his eyes. He saw Hunter nod, and Katie gave his shoulder a squeeze.

She walked toward him. He said, “You look like you've been hit by a truck. You're not doing yourself any favors by pushing yourself like this. You're supposed to be on leave.”

She grimaced. “Tell me what you really think.”

“Sorry. I'm concerned.” Her gaze warmed for a minute and she looked like she might like to fall into his arms and let him shelter her from the world. He almost held them out to her so she could do it. She blinked and the moment was gone. “You think he was killed by the shooter?”

“I do.”

“Because he saw him at the wreck. He was the only one who got a really good look at him, but I'm worried about the others.”

“I've contacted my lieutenant, and he's putting extra patrols on the others involved in the wreck. The young mother and the girl, Miranda.” She glanced around. “I'm going to be here a little longer. I've got a few more things to take care of. Why don't you head on over to Erica's?”

“I just got a call from Mrs. McKinney. She wants me to come talk to her now.”

Hope dusted her expression. “Good. I'll meet you at Erica's as soon as I'm finished here.”

“Leave you to come alone? I don't think so.”

She rubbed a hand down her face. “Seriously, I'll be fine. I'll get in my car and head over there as soon as we're done. I'm surrounded by cops. The killer is long gone.”

Jordan looked around. Strange faces lined the sidewalks, neighbors vying for a glimpse of the action. “You hope.”

“I've got the photographer discreetly taking pictures of the crowd. We'll take a look at the pictures and see if anyone jumps out at us. Now go on. I'll be fine.”

“I can ask her if tomorrow would be better.”

Katie sighed. “Jordan, I've got a job to do. You can't be with me twenty four–seven. Your job is to find out about Lucy. It's what I've hired you to do, not babysit me. I'm a police officer. I'm trained to take care of myself.”

Frustration filled him. She was right, but he didn't have to like it.

Gregory stepped from the house. “Katie, can I see you for a minute?”

“Sure.” She looked back at Jordan. “Go. I need to know if she has anything to add to Lucy's kidnapping.”

Against his better judgment, he nodded. “All right, text me when you're leaving, what route you're taking and anything else I should know.”

Katie nodded. “All right. If it will make you feel better.”

“It would.”

Jordan headed for his car. Reluctantly. But she was right. She was a cop. She was surrounded by cops. He sent up prayer for her safety and pulled away from the scene.

* * *

Katie watched Jordan go and prayed he'd come back with some answers. Something. Anything that they could grasp and run with to find Lucy. For the next hour, Katie finished working the crime scene and kept an eye on her back.

By the time she texted Jordan, she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was go to the hotel room and collapse in a heap. In fact, she seriously considered just staying where she was and sleeping in her car.

A tap on her window made her jump. When she saw Gregory's concerned face staring at her, she ordered her pulse to slow down. She lowered the window. “Hey.”

“You all right?”

“Hanging in there.”

He nodded, his brow still creased. “You heading over to Erica's?”

“I'm thinking about canceling and going to crawl into bed.”

“You need an escort?”

Katie tried to discern if there was any sarcasm in his tone, but didn't detect any. He was concerned. And she was too touchy.

“No. I'll be extra careful.”

He pursed his lips. “I like working with you, Katie. See that you stay in one piece, will you?”

She shivered as a gust of cold wind blew across her face. “I'll do my best.”

Gregory nodded. “Text me when you're locked in your hotel room, okay?”

Katie smiled. She was glad to know she had people who cared whether she was safe or not. Too bad her parents weren't nearly as concerned. She frowned and ordered herself not to go there. She was tired and didn't need to get maudlin. “Sure.”

Gregory walked toward his vehicle and she wondered why the tall, handsome detective didn't spark any romantic interest in her. Immediately Jordan's face came to mind and she knew why she wasn't attracted to Gregory. Jordan was the one who set the butterflies loose in her stomach. He was the one who made her palms sweat and her heart race.

Gregory was a great guy, but he wasn't Jordan.

She sighed and sent a text to Jordan.

I'm going back to the hotel. I'm going to call Erica and tell her I'm not coming.

He replied in a moment.

All right. I'm almost done here. Let me come back and take you back to the hotel.

She ditched the texting and dialed his number. “Hey. You're all the way across town. I'll be at the hotel and locked in my room before you get back here.”

“Katie—”

The exasperation in his voice made her smile. She was glad he was concerned. “I'll be fine. I'll text as soon as I get there. I do have a gun, remember? And I'm trained in self-defense. And I'm alert and know someone's after me. Should be enough, right?”

“Wasn't enough when someone tried to burn your house down, was it?”

Ouch. “Hmm. Okay, I'll give you that point,” she muttered. “However, I'm leaving now.” She pulled away from the curb and waved to Faith as the woman packed her van. The M.E. was still with Bobby Young. Hunter Young had left the scene, claiming he had to go break the news to his family. She didn't envy him that job.

He sighed. “Then stay on the phone with me.”

She paused. “All right.”

“I'm still going to Erica's. She really wants to talk about this case.”

“Fill me in tomorrow?”

“Bright and early. Cort's going to be outside your hotel room all night.”

“Poor guy.”

“He never sleeps. If he gets four hours a night, he's as fresh as though he's had eight.”

“Not fair.”

“Tell me about it.”

She paused. “Hey, Jordan?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks for caring.”

“You're welcome, Katie.”

The warmth in his voice made her cheeks start to heat. She cleared her throat. “What did Mrs. McKinney say? Anything helpful?”

“Yes. I think we may have something to work with.”

Not what she'd expected to hear. She sat a little straighter. “What?”

“She remembers seeing a car, a gray sedan, parked several doors down. She also remembers seeing the car there every day for about two weeks before your sister disappeared.”

“Someone staking the place out,” she whispered.

“It's one theory, of course, and that's what I think. I could be wrong, but...”

“We need to ask the other neighbors specifically about that vehicle.”

“I'm already compiling the list. Get this, though. Mrs. McKinney took a picture of the car.”

“What?” Her blood started humming. “Why?”

“Well, it wasn't a picture of the car per se. She was taking pictures of her kid on his skateboard. He'd just gotten the board as a birthday present and was up and down the street showing off while she was snapping pictures.”

“And of course she had those pictures in an album somewhere.” Excitement tripped through her.

“Of course. The car was fuzzy in a few of them, but she let me take the best one of the lot.”

“Take a picture and text it to me, will you?”

“Sure.”

New hope sizzled. The car wasn't much, but it might turn into something big. “There wasn't any mention of a strange car in the case file.”

“No.”

“Right.”

Anger filled her. “What were Frank and Danny
doing
while my sister was in the hands of a kidnapper, maybe fighting for her life—” Her voice cracked on the last word and she cleared her throat.

“We'll figure it out.”

“We sure will.” Resolve hardened and she sent up a silent prayer for God's blessing.
Help me find her, Lord.

They chatted until she reached the hotel. “Cort's waiting on me, just like you said. Parked right outside my room.”

“Good. Sleep tight, Kate.”

“Bye, Jordan.”

Katie hung up and let a smile linger on her lips. She climbed out of her car and was greeted by Cort. “Glad to see you looking good. Sorry about the night of the fire.”

She patted his arm. “Don't you worry about that. I appreciate your willingness to do this.”

“I miss the job. Being retired ain't all it's cracked up to be.”

Katie bid him good-night and entered her room. The text from Jordan came through and she clicked on the picture. A young boy, about twelve years old, looked like he was having a blast as he rolled down the street on his skateboard, arms wide to help with balance.

The screen was small so she couldn't get much detail on the car behind him, but zooming in helped. And she had a picture she could show when they questioned more neighbors about seeing the vehicle.
Thank You, God, for this small step.
Her adrenaline ebbed and exhaustion swamped her.

As she prepared for bed, her stomach rumbled. She'd forgotten to eat. A glance at the clock said she was going to bed at 5:49 p.m. So what? She was exhausted.

She shut the light off and within minutes was asleep.

* * *

Jordan inhaled the scent of home-cooked food. Fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. His stomach rumbled. He would be forever grateful that Erica and Max often took pity on him and invited him to share their meals.

He was disappointed Katie had backed out, although he had to admit he was surprised she'd lasted as long as she had. Her body had taken a beating over the last couple of days and was bound to give out before much longer.

Brandon walked into the den, grabbed a red-and-green Christmas pillow from the seat and flopped onto the couch. Erica's brother had become almost a permanent fixture around the place. So much so that Jordan thought Max might be a little worried about what was going to happen after his and Erica's wedding in a little less than three weeks—on New Year's Day. He couldn't believe Christmas and the wedding were coming up so fast.

Brandon asked, “When are we eating? I'm hungry.”

Max laughed. “You're always hungry.” He looked at Jordan and sobered. “So, how's it going with Katie these days? I know she was avoiding you for a while there. How's it going now that you two are working together?”

Jordan grunted and set his tea on the coaster. He settled onto the couch. “It's going much better now, but you're right when you say Katie wasn't happy Erica assigned the case to me.”