Too Close to Home (34 page)

The car had already been moved to the lab, so she examined the area around it. The garage was small, not even really a garage, but more like a storage space that had been converted into a parking spot.

So, did that mean someone had come here often?

If so, what kind of business did that someone have in an empty warehouse?

Nothing good, that was for sure.

The single bulb hanging from the ceiling didn’t do much in the way of illumination, so she panned her flashlight over the walls. The floor.

Nothing.

Connor came up beside her. “Anything?” He added his light to hers.

“No. The car was here long enough to leak some oil.” She indicated the fresh wet stain on the dirty concrete floor.

Connor sat on his haunches. “Jake called me earlier. Nothing was found in the car except DNA and fingerprints belonging to Jenna and Tom. I keep feeling like I’m missing something.”

“I know. I’m right there with you on that one.”

He swept the beam back to the edge of the wall and stood. “What’s that?”

“What?”

“There. I caught a glint of something metal, I think.”

Samantha stepped carefully, following him over to the other side of the garage. He stooped and she heard his swiftly indrawn breath.

“What is it?”

He pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket. Using it to lift the object, he held it up for her to see.

She focused her flashlight on it. “A key chain.”

“Not just any key chain. Jenna’s.”

“What’s it doing here? She kept those on her backpack, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Wasn’t her backpack in the trunk of the car?”

“That’s what they said.”

“Then it was out of the car at one point.”

Connor studied the object, then said softly, “She fought him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The ring’s bent.”

“A tug-of-war over the pack?”

“Probably. Jenna’s mom gave her those key chains. Keeping them with her was like keeping a part of her mother with her. She wouldn’t have given them up easily.”

“Let’s keep searching.”

The bathroom didn’t inspire Jenna. Although dingy and musty, it was clean enough only because of the girls’ efforts.

Think like your dad, Jenna.

All of his warnings, the six years of self-defense classes, games that included finding a weapon where none existed, came rolling through her mind in endless waves.

The towel rack.

The ceramic toilet bowl cover.

All possibilities. She’d slept last night in fits after dinner was delivered by the woman. Jenna hadn’t recognized her, and she hadn’t seen Danny since he’d dragged her down here. There’d been no sign of Crystal, the nurse the girls had told her about.

So, she’d curled up on one of the beds, forming plans and discarding them only to come back to the original idea she’d had earlier.

Soft music wafted from one of the other beds.

Veronica.

The girl had some pipes on her and sang constantly. Sang music about being rescued by her God, being saved by Jesus. Instead of mocking her, Jenna started listening. To the music, to the words, to the love. She thought about Samantha when Veronica sang. And Maria. And Bradley.

And her grandparents. Her heart ached at the thought of their suffering, wondering what happened to her. At her dad’s agony. Losing one more person he loved.

And he did love her. She knew that.

Um, God? I know we haven’t exactly been on good terms. And I
guess that’s my fault. But do you think you could get us out of this so
you and I could have a chance to get to know each other? Cuz I want
to. Um, amen.

Patty had crawled into her mind somewhere and simply lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, her eyes vacant, hopeless. Jenna shook her head. Not her. She’d fight to the bitter end.

The bed.

Another idea took shape.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she wondered what time it was. She wanted this over with by breakfast.

One way or another.

Was she prepared to die?

For the first time, she seriously considered the fact that she might not make it. Might not live through this experience. Even in the car with Danny, she hadn’t allowed her mind to think along those lines.

But now . . .

Julienna snored softly. Veronica continued to sing.

And Jenna went to work.

The Agent ate his breakfast with an outward appearance of calm. On the inside, impatience clawed at him. He needed to get to the girls, to check on Veronica, but couldn’t get away from his current situation without raising eyebrows.

He had to play it low key.

Another bite of stiff eggs. Methodical chewing while he thought.

Boss was already telling him to get his act together and get his tail over to the warehouse. The cops were combing the place.

But it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t find the underground room. It was near the warehouse, true, but the way in was hidden from sight. However, Boss couldn’t manage the girls alone. Now that Crystal was dead, The Agent needed to do even more, help out until he could find someone to replace Crystal. Because no one could find out who Boss was or everything would come crashing down.

The girls would just have to be patient.

“You’ll never guess who the warehouse traced back to.”

Still combing the garage for every last piece of evidence he could find, Connor looked up from Jenna’s key chain to see Dakota at the entrance, blocking the sun, Stetson pulled low. His jeans rode low on his hips and his cell phone practically disappeared in the depths of his large hand.

“Who?”

“Our lawyer friend, Jefferson Abbott, who is one of the founders of Steam Liners Corporation.”

“Let’s arrest this dude as soon as he steps off his plane.”

“You’re assuming he’s coming back.”

“He’s coming back. He left too much here. I checked up on him again and the conference where he’s speaking is definitely legit. And according to his secretary, he’s also got several adoption cases that need to be wrapped up in the next few days. He’s got a lot of money coming in over the next two weeks.”

“All right. Let’s nab him.”

“I had his bank records and everything pulled. I gotta tell you, other than that warehouse and basically all the evidence pointing to him, this guy comes across clean.”

Connor shot Dakota a dirty look. “That’s helpful.”

Dakota shrugged. “Sorry.”

“It’s not helping me find Jenna, though.”

And although Connor was doing a pretty good job of keeping his focus on the case, keeping his cool on the outside, the worry, fear, and continuous mental pictures of finding his daughter killed by some psycho boiled within him.

“Just telling you what I know.”

It was time. Jenna’s stomach told her it was breakfast time. The girls had agreed to the plan.

Well, most of them. Patty wasn’t too keen on the idea, but once she realized Jenna was going to do it whether she helped or not, she pitched in her muscle.

Sweat stood out on Veronica’s forehead, and she looked scared to death. That was okay. Jenna knew exactly how she felt. Patty paced and chewed all her fingernails down to the quick, reverting back to a childhood habit.

Hope and excitement stood out on Julienna’s face.

Jenna couldn’t believe no one had tried anything like this before. Wimps.

Then she felt bad. She was scared too.

“He killed Sydney, you know.”

Veronica’s soft voice filtered through the fog of Jenna’s scrambling thoughts. With a final grunt, she gave the bed one more push.

Jenna stood and wiped the sweat from her neck. It was hot. She hadn’t noticed the heat before. Ignoring Veronica’s statement, she asked, “Hey, how does the air circulate in here?”

The girls looked at each other, then Julienna and Veronica shrugged.

Stupified, Jenna just stared at them. Did these girls not ever go to the movies? Read novels? What was the deal?

Whatever. She didn’t have time to think about it.

Because the next person who came through that door was going to earn himself a bad headache.

29

Samantha pulled her phone out, ready to give Jamie a call, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

Connor.

Weariness and anxiety oozed from him, and she wished she could offer him some kind of comfort. However, she knew words wouldn’t suffice. “You find anything?”

“No.” He looked around. “I’m going to look outside the crime scene area. Look at the tape. It’s wrapped around convenient stuff. That tree, the pole over there.” He shook his head. “Sometimes you’ve got to think outside the box. Or in this case, look outside the tape.”

“I’ll help.”

He raised a hand to her cheek for a brief moment before turning toward the tape and ducking under it.

Cheek tingling, she followed.

“See this path? It looks worn.”

“True, but it could have been here for ages.”

“I know.” But he had to hope, had to feel like he was doing something to track down his daughter’s kidnapper. “I wish Andrew were here.”

His pain cut her. “He’s here. In your heart. You’re running a conversation about this whole case with him in your head, aren’t you?”

His startled jump and shocked stare made her shrug.

“You’re not so hard to read, Connor.”

The key sounded in the lock. Jenna tensed. Veronica’s eyes went wide with fear and Patty whimpered. Julienna trembled but held firm.

The door swung open. “All four of you where I can see you, now.”

Dutifully, the girls lined up. The woman came down with the tray filled with grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit. The door snapped shut behind her.

Heart in her throat, Jenna waited. And waited.

“Remember, I’ve got someone waiting on me. Back up.”

Jenna’s lips thinned in anticipation. Just a little farther.

One more step.

Then Jenna pulled.

And the bed came crashing down, knocking into the woman. A howl of outrage and pain had Jenna and the other girls scrambling for the stairs.

Freedom. Jenna could practically taste it.

Patty reached the top first, threw open the door, and came face-to-face with a black gun.

The Agent stared at the girl backpedaling down the steps, practically taking the rest of them with her. Anger, fueled by a desperate need not to get caught, had his finger curling around the trigger.

With sheer force of will, he loosened it. Glared at the one he was sure had been in charge of this little escape attempt. Slowly, he made his way down the steps. Stepped over the woman. She was either dead or unconscious. He’d figure that out in a minute.

Wide, fearful eyes stared back at him. Veronica and Julienna looked scared yet resigned. They knew. They’d seen.

But these two. They didn’t know. He’d have to teach them.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “Sit. Down.”

They sat.

Jenna stared up at him, fear and defiance stamped clearly on her pretty face.

The Agent turned the gun to her. “It’s time to teach you some obedience.”

Fear overrode the defiance and she flinched. Then shot him a glare that should have singed him. She lifted her chin. “Fine. Whatever. It’s better than being stuck here with you.”

Sucking in a deep breath, The Agent clamped down on his fury. He’d teach the little brat a lesson if it’s the last thing he did. An idea slowly formed. He’d seen the investigators processing the scene in the warehouse. Fortunately, this little bungalow was hidden away in a grove of trees surrounding it. The underground room perfect for a short-term stay for the girls. Just until he had another place ready. In another state, far away from here.

But for now, he had to take care of this mess. Jenna backed away. The Agent slowly stalked her. He watched her chest rise and fall. Good, she was scared. She should be.

But not for herself.

He placed the gun under her chin.

Patty squealed. Veronica clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Guess what, little girl?” he singsonged. “Daddy’s here.”

Confusion flickered through the fear.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. The big man himself is just about half a block away from here.”

Hope brightened her eyes.

The Agent smiled. Now for the fun part. “And I’m going to sneak through these woods and shoot him in the head. Shoot him dead just like I killed Andrew.”

Nostrils flared as he watched her reaction. Then something happened. The fear dissipated right in front of him. She relaxed, narrowed her eyes, then every muscle in her body went rigid as she clenched her fists and drew in a deep, controlled breath through her nose. He watched her anger build . . . and build.

And wondered if he’d finally met his match in one of the girls. One he couldn’t intimidate or have cowering at his feet.

Huh. Interesting. Intrigued, he backed off a little, but growled, “I’ll be back with Daddy’s head on a platter. Give me about an hour.”

She had to save her dad.

“You’re going to kill us all!” Patty shrieked.

Jenna turned to her friend. “Then you’d better hold that shower curtain a little tighter.” Jaw clenched, Patty held it while Jenna taped it. She’d rummaged in the bathroom and found some painter’s tape, pulled the shower curtain down, and formed another plan. This one she’d thought of after coming up with the “killer bed” idea, but had discarded it because she hadn’t known if anyone would notice and she would’ve been taking the chance of burning the building down around them.

But now she knew her dad was out there. And close by.

“What are you doing?”

“Playing Indian.” She grunted and ripped another strip of tape from the roll. She’d used a ragged edge of metal from one of the bed frames to tear the shower curtain plastic into a square, large enough to cover the air vent. Three sides were now taped up. She’d tape the fourth one after she had everything going.

After his threat to kill her dad, Danny had grabbed the woman on his way up the steps, lifted her head, examined her face, then let it drop. Had he assumed she was dead? The woman hadn’t moved; the cut from her head was bleeding pretty bad. Jenna didn’t care. She hoped she either woke up with the mother of all headaches or didn’t wake up at all.