Texas Baby Pursuit
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Across the room Dallas looked at her, their eyes bound together for a few seconds. He broke visual contact first and sauntered in the direction of the door that led to the porch.
“I found something in the dining room.”
He stopped and peered back at her, one brow raised.
She covered the distance between them and withdrew the small evidence bag from her pocket. “It’s a bracelet with a heart charm that has DN engraved on it. Does this look familiar to you?”
He held it up and examined it closely. “No. I’ve never seen Lenora with it or my mother or even Michelle. She spends a lot of time here.”
“Then this could be what the guy who hit me came back for.”
“Possibly. We need to show it to Lenora and Paul. It could belong to one of their friends I’m not familiar with.”
“I will.”
At the rear exit, Rachel stood in the doorway and slowly swept her gaze around the porch. Three walls were half screened on the top while the bottom was brick. The area had been childproofed and had a baby swing in a corner. When she focused on the coverlet on the wooden floor, her throat tightened at the sight of the blood on it and the cell phone Michelle used to call Dallas.
“I asked Deputy Jones to process for latent prints and search for any evidence but to leave the room as it is. I wanted you to see it when you weren’t concentrating on getting your daughter to the hospital.”
“Thanks. You’re right. I wasn’t paying much attention once I saw Michelle.”
Deputy Jones appeared at the back door and came into the room. “You’re gonna have one nice shiner there, sheriff.”
“That’s because the Peeping Tom clocked me with a one-two punch.” She waved her hand at her jaw then her eye.
“I don’t even have to look in a mirror to remind me that the guy got in two packed punches. Except for taking up the blanket and phone, are you finished in here?”
“Yes, ma’am. The area along the dirt road has been searched, but other than the tire tracks and boot prints, that’s all we found. I had a couple of deputies comb the back and front yards, but they didn’t find anything. Another deputy went to talk to Houston Fowler.”
“Good. Let me know if Fowler has any information that will help this case. I want to show Dallas where I think they got away.” Rachel swung her attention to Dallas, who stared at the blood, his jaws clenched so tightly a muscle twitched. “Do you want to go out back?”
He lifted his head, his eyes full of anger. While he battled for control, he marched to the outside door and left the porch.
“Bag the blanket and phone and take them to headquarters. Did we get good latent prints?” Rachel asked her deputy while watching Dallas scope out the yard.
“Yes. There were tons. I’m in the process of getting fingerprints from family members or friends who’ve been here recently to rule them out.”
“Thanks. We’ll be back.”
Rachel joined Dallas, still seeing a struggle between anger and determination. She again felt a connection with him that surprised her. They were both single parents and had daughters, but the two girls were years apart in age. Where was Michelle’s mother? It wasn’t easy raising a child alone, as Rachel was finding out.
With his hands fisted at his sides, Dallas closed his eyes. He spread his fingers wide and shook them. The tense set of his face relaxed, and when he twisted toward her and looked at her, a calm, professional demeanor fell into place. “I have to work this case. I can’t let my emotions take over.”
“I know. If my daughter were kidnapped, no matter what, I would be out there looking for her.”
“It won’t be easy to remain objective, but with the Lord’s help, I’ll find out who kidnapped Brady.”
“Good. We need all the help we can get.” Rachel began walking across the yard.
“The castings were taken for the tire tracks and boot prints on the other side of the back fence?”
“Yes.”
“Did you notice what kind of shoes the guy who hit you was wearing?”
Rachel stopped and closed her eyes, trying to picture the man running away from her. She remembered watching his hoodie, hoping it would slip from his head. When he turned the corner of the neighbor’s house, had she caught sight of his shoes? “I think he was wearing black hiking boots. One of my deputies made a casting of the prints by the dining room window. I haven’t had a chance yet to compare them.”
Dallas climbed the fence, straddled the top and stretched out his arm to help her. She clasped his palm, his large hand swallowing her smaller one. His warm touch engulfed her in a wave of awareness that startled her. He hoisted her up. Their gazes met and held for a long moment. Finally she looked away, afraid that her cheeks were red.
When they both descended to the ground near the dirt road, she put a few feet between them, not sure what had just happened. She strolled to the boot prints. “The smaller set with the larger one fits the scenario that a man and woman took Brady. Her shoe size is about a six.”
Dallas put his cowboy boot alongside the other set. “And he wears a twelve.”
“Now all we have to do is find a couple who wear a shoe sizes of six and twelve.”
“Just one of many clues I hope we’ll find.” Dallas made his way to the tire imprints. “They drove a small compact car.” He took several steps between the tracks and knelt, using a pencil to move the grass. “This vehicle was leaking oil.” He took out his cell phone and took a picture. “A lot. That might help us. Make sure your deputy got a sample of this oil in case we find a car leaking oil.”
Dusk settled over the landscape as Dallas walked up the road toward the Fowlers’ property, then came back and went in the other direction. When he returned, he said, “They turned around about a hundred yards that way.” He pointed toward the ranch. “Let’s go talk to Lenora and Paul. There isn’t much else we can do here, and I need to return to the hospital and relieve Mom.”
As they headed back to the house, Dallas received a call. He stopped and listened, the lines in his forehead getting deeper the longer the other person talked.
“How many babies were stolen?” Dallas turned his back on Rachel and lowered his voice.
More babies taken? When he ended the conversation, Rachel stiffened, preparing herself for the worst.
THREE
As Dallas neared Lenora’s porch, he clutched his cell phone. “That was the Texas Ranger office in San Antonio on the phone. There’s been a series of baby snatchings north of Dallas.”
“How many have there been?” Rachel asked as she moved into the house.
“Three babies were kidnapped by strangers, but that’s not all. They checked throughout Texas, and one other area has reported the same crime pattern in the past year. There was a cluster of kidnappings in El Paso. I don’t think this is just a couple looking for a baby.”
“Which means we’ll have two more before they move on, if they hold to the pattern.”
He grasped her arm and stopped her before she entered the kitchen. “Sounds like a systematic organization kidnapping babies to sell. They only stay a few weeks in one area, then they move on. I’ll be checking to see if this is happening in other states.”
Rachel frowned. “We have to stop them.”
“I’ve already asked headquarters to expand to the surrounding states. To see if there are cases like this there. In the meantime, I’ll get what information I can about the other abductions. Maybe there’s a pattern forming where others were taken from their homes. If not, we need to establish if there’s one—or if the kidnappings are random with nothing in common between them.”
“This is going to send this area into a panic, but it might help. People will be more vigilant. That might be a good thing.”
“So long as they don’t overreact.” He paused in the kitchen. “When will you hold a press conference?”
“I’m releasing information tomorrow morning at eight. I want to see if your sister and brother-in-law would like to address the reporters. Right now, there are only a few outside, but by tomorrow that number will grow.”
“Do you want me to be there?”
“Yes. I want whoever took Brady to know who’s coming after them.”
“They picked the wrong family to mess with.” His words were quiet but lethal sounding.
Rachel was glad to have his assistance. The county sheriff election had been contentious and even ugly, especially toward the end when it appeared she would win. She became sheriff because of her father’s good reputation and the many years he’d been in office, but the only way she would remain in the position was to do a good job, like he’d done. She couldn’t let her dad down.
Rachel continued toward the living room with Dallas right behind her. Lenora sat on the couch, her head down, her hands clutching a blue knitted blanket that had been on a chair in the living room when she’d first walked through the house. All Rachel wanted to do was hug Lenora. The pain she was going through wove its way through Rachel. Katie was the most important person in her life.
Paul entered from the foyer, a scowl etching deep lines in his face. “I took the phone off the hook. It’s been ringing for the past few hours, and I can’t deal with it anymore.” His voice rough with emotion, he took a place next to his wife and slipped his arm along her shoulders.
Rachel sank into the wingback chair across from Lenora while Dallas eased down next to his sister on her other side. “I’m so sorry for what happened. I promise I won’t rest until we track down these kidnappers and find Brady. Have you noticed anything unusual lately—like a person you didn’t know following or watching you more than once?”
Never looking up, Lenora shook her head.
“Has someone called and hung up when you picked up the phone?”
“No.”
“Did the woman who was supposed to pick something up ever come?” Rachel pulled the evidence bag from her pocket.
Lenora’s glistening eyes lifted to Rachel’s face. “No, but she called me to let me know she wasn’t while I was in the meeting. I should have told Michelle, but I didn’t get a chance.”
“Who is the friend?” Rachel would need to check out the woman.
“Mary Jane Martin. I’ve known her for years.” One tear ran down Lenora’s face, then another. “If I had let Michelle know she wasn’t coming right away, this might not have happened. It’s all my fault.”
Dallas covered his sister’s hands. “You aren’t to blame. The kidnappers are. It’s very likely you and Brady were targeted.”
“How? Why?” Paul asked Dallas. “We don’t have much money to pay a ransom, but we’ll find a way.” Paul dropped his chin against his chest. “If they ever contact us.” He jerked his head up. “I guess I have to put the phone back on.”
“Why don’t you get one of our relatives to answer the phone for the next couple of days?” Dallas asked.
Paul frowned. “I guess I can ask my uncle. I don’t think either of us can deal with the calls right now, but what if the kidnapper does call?”
“We’ll trace your calls. If that’s okay with you.” Rachel shifted her attention from Lenora to her husband. She was worried about Dallas’s sister.
“Yes, anything to bring Brady back,” Lenora murmured, her words so low it was hard to understand her at first.
“Then I’ll set it up, and I’ll have a deputy answer the phone. Excuse me.” Rachel left the room to find Deputy Jones. She wanted to give Dallas a moment to talk with his family alone. When Rachel located her deputy on the back porch, she told him about answering the phone and tracing any calls, then returned to the living room.
“Why is this happening to us?” she heard Lenora wail.
Dallas’s face paled. “There are several common reasons why someone abducts a child. A familiar person like a divorced mother or father. An individual or couple who have lost a child and want to replace theirs. And people who sell babies on the black market.”
And it was easier to track down a kidnapper who fit the first two motives, but she kept that observation to herself. Rachel didn’t think that was the case here, which meant time wasn’t on their side.
Lenora turned toward her brother. “No. This doesn’t happen in Cimarron Trail. This is a safe town.” Sobs tore from her, filling the air with the sound of agony.
Dallas drew her against him, his arms enveloping his sister. “I’ll find Brady. I promise.”
With all color bled from his face, Paul stood, opening and closing his hands. “I need to turn the phone back on. They may be calling right now with a ransom demand.”
“Everything has been arranged,” Rachel said while Paul charged into the kitchen.
Dallas looked at Rachel, his brown eyes darkening even more. Pain etched his expression, the hard planes of his face tearing at Rachel’s composure.
Lenora leaned back and switched her attention between Rachel and Dallas while swiping her tears from her cheeks. “Y’all think he was taken to be sold.”
Dallas nodded.
Rachel’s chest constricted. Why, Lord? Why this baby? For the last two years of her marriage, she’d struggled to keep it together and prayed to God for an answer. The Lord never answered her call for help. She hoped He would for Lenora.
Rachel inhaled a composing breath. “Lenora, where did you go while Michelle was babysitting?”
“I went to church for a meeting about the building expansion. I’m on the committee. Then, afterwards, I’d planned to go to the grocery store before coming home. The meeting was just ending when I got the call about Brady.”
“I need a list of the people on the committee.”
“None of them would take my son!”
Dallas patted Lenora’s hand. “We have to check every lead possible. We aren’t accusing anyone, but we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t consider who knew you would be away from the house.”
“Pastor John Wiggins, Carl Stevens, Marvin Compton and Sue Palmer.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “They would never do something like this.”
“I can’t see they would either.” Not even Marvin Compton, who’d run against Rachel for county sheriff.
“Please do it quietly.” Lenora swiped her hand across her cheek. “I’ve known them for years.”
“We found something I’d like you to look at.” Rachel rose and closed the space between Lenora and her. She held up the bracelet in the plastic bag, making sure the heart with the initials was visible. “Do you know who this belongs to?”
Lenora’s eyes grew wide. “Where did you find it?”
“In your dining room by a chair under the table.”
“It’s mine. Mom gave it to me a few months ago. It used to be hers, and I would play with it when I was a child. She doesn’t wear it anymore, so she thought I would enjoy it.”
“The initials are DN?” Rachel asked.
“Mom’s maiden name was Dorothy Nash. I didn’t think of that.” Dallas twisted his mouth into a wry look.
Rachel took the evidence bag from Lenora and returned to the wingback. “I thought this might have been left by the kidnappers.”
“It could have been.” Lenora straightened. “I lost it last week when I was shopping with Brady. I looked everywhere when I realized it was gone, but I never found it.”
As Paul returned to the living room after taking the portable phone out to the deputy, Rachel withdrew a pad and pen. “Where did you go that day?”
“What’s going on?” Paul took his place next to his wife.
“Remember when I lost my bracelet? Rachel found it in the dining room, but it couldn’t have been there. I remember having it when I left the house last week, and at the drugstore, but when I was through shopping and heading back to the car, it was gone. I retraced my steps to the last store I visited. I couldn’t find it in Knit n’ Pearl. Brady was so fussy I didn’t go to the other two shops. I called each one and left my contact information, but no one had turned it in.”
So how did it end up back at their house? Rachel had planned on showing the bracelet at the news conference tomorrow morning and asking for leads to whoever owned it. She couldn’t do that now, but it was possible the woman kidnapper had found it and lost it in the dining room today. Rachel would have any prints on the piece of jewelry run through the system. “Besides Knit n’ Pearl, what other places did you go to?”
“I went to two other stores in the Chesterfield Shopping Center on this side of San Antonio—Chesterfield Drug Store and Baby and Things. I normally go to the pharmacy in town, but I frequent the Chesterfield one when I shop at Knit n’ Pearl and Baby and Things. We don’t have anything quite like those places in Cimarron Trail.”
Rachel wrote down their names. “Are the people at those stores familiar with you?”
“Knit n’ Pearl, yes. I’m not sure about Baby and Things because I’ve only been going there for six months, after a friend told me about the store. It’s a great place to buy baby clothes at a reasonable price. I doubt the cashier where I checked out in the drug store would remember me being in there.” Lenora scrunched her forehead. “I don’t understand. How can this help you?”
“It’s possible the woman kidnapper had been following you, and when you lost your bracelet, she picked it up. I’ll be interviewing the people working at those stores, and if they have any security video cameras, she might be on one of the tapes.” It was the best lead they had, and after the news conference tomorrow, Rachel would go to the shopping center. “Which day and time last week did you go to the shops?”
“Friday in the morning. I left here at nine when the commuter traffic was less. It’s about twenty-five minutes away.”
Rachel glanced at Dallas. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“No, not at the moment.” He rose. “I wish I could stay, but I need to get back to the hospital. I still hope that Michelle will eventually remember more about what happened. There’s a lot she can’t recall.”
Tears still in her eyes, Lenora looked up at her brother. “Please tell Michelle I don’t blame her for any of this. She’s a victim, too.” She struggled to her feet, nearly collapsing back onto the couch.
Dallas steadied her at the same time Paul did. “I will.” He enveloped his sister in a hug. “If you remember anything that might help the investigation, call me at any time of day.”
Lenora nodded and eased back down onto the sofa.
“Will it be all right if the deputy stays in the house tonight? He can continue to screen your calls. If there’s a ransom demand, he’ll get in touch with Dallas and me right away.” Although Rachel didn’t think there would be a ransom demand, she was still concerned the guy in the hoodie might come back, possibly looking for the bracelet his partner wore. She was almost positive he was the male kidnapper. If the boot prints under the window and on the dirt road matched, she’d know for sure.
“Yes,” Paul said.
“We’ll let ourselves out.” Dallas waved for Rachel to go first as they left the house. “I wish I could stay the night, but Michelle needs me.”
“Not to worry. Later Deputy Owens will be relieving Ellis. He’s very good at his job. Tell Michelle I hope she gets better soon.” Rachel paused next to her deputy on the porch to tell him to be on the lookout for anyone hanging around the house.
“I will.” Dallas descended the steps and walked toward his car. He was immediately surrounded by the five reporters waiting on the sidewalk for any tidbit of news.
Again, Rachel saw his professional facade fall into place as he dealt with the press. After Dallas’s departure, she talked with Deputy Carson, then made her own way toward her vehicle, stiffening when the reporters flocked to her.
One of them stuck a microphone in her face. “Sheriff Young, what do you say to Marvin Compton’s concerns about your competence to lead this investigation?”
Rachel gritted her teeth and continued toward her vehicle. She opened the driver’s side door. “No comment.”
* * *
Dallas entered the dimly lit hospital room to find his mother sitting next to the bed in a lounge chair that she’d moved closer to Michelle. His daughter slept.
“How’re Lenora and Paul doing?” his mother whispered.
“As well as to be expected. Lenora needs you. I’m afraid she’ll start blaming herself because she wasn’t home when Brady was taken.”
His mother pushed herself to her feet. “When Michelle was awake about an hour ago, she was doing the same. She’s going to need us, too.”
“Did she say anything else about the abduction?”
“No. The nurse came in to check on her, then changed her IV fluid with a new bag. After she left, Michelle and I talked a little, but every time the kidnapping came up, she started crying. I steered the conversation away from it. I could tell her head hurt, but she was trying not to say anything about it. She’s always been a tough little girl.”
“She’s not that little anymore, Mom. She’ll be fourteen soon, and before we know it, she’ll be graduating from high school.”
His mother gathered her purse and walked over to where he was standing. “You’ve been a good parent to her—both father and mother since Patricia left.”
“I’m just thankful that I have you for Michelle to talk to about girl things.”
“Anytime.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be at Lenora’s if you need anything tonight.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He hugged her.
After she left, he took her seat next to Michelle’s bed. He sighed as he tried to relax. Tomorrow would be a long day. He had to find the kidnappers before they sold Brady. And his daughter would never be safe if they were still out there, especially if they thought Michelle could ID them. He could never rest until they were found.
He closed his eyes. He didn’t think he could sleep, but he’d try. He needed to, but he’d gone without much sleep while working cases before. But he didn’t want to miss an important lead because he was exhausted.
As he reclined in the lounge chair, his thoughts drifted to the new sheriff. She’d grown up in Cimarron Trail, whereas he’d moved here right after Patricia left him because Lenora and Paul had settled here years before and had raved about the town. He’d wanted his daughter to have people she could turn to, especially women, and he couldn’t think of anyone better than his mother and sister.
For the past three years, he’d either thrown himself into his job or spent time with his family. He hadn’t had time for anything else—and certainly not another woman. In spite of his declaration, the image of Rachel Young came unbidden into his mind. Medium height with auburn hair and green eyes, there was something about her that made a man look twice. If he were totally truthful with himself, she was stunning, which immediately put him on the defensive. Patricia had been gorgeous. Men had fallen all over themselves trying to get her attention, and she’d loved it. That should have been a red flag.
In the little he’d seen of Rachel, she didn’t seem like Patricia, but he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. Better to remain single and focus his life on his family and job.
As a sheriff, she appeared competent and caring. That would make working with her easier, especially if she was anything like her father. He was a good man. No wonder the county had voted for her rather than Marvin Compton, a retired police officer from Fort Worth.
“Daddy!”
Wrenched from his thoughts, Dallas shot to his feet, preparing to battle what had frightened his daughter. His eyes panned the room. No one else was there.
“Daddy, help!”
He looked toward the bed as Michelle’s eyes popped open wide. Fear stared at him. “I’m right here, honey. You’re okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Tears coursed down her cheeks. “Brady is gone.”
He sat on the bed and cuddled her against himself. “I know, princess. We’re looking for him.”
As Michelle buried her face against him, sobs racked her body, tearing his heart into pieces. Overwhelmed with helplessness, his own eyes glistened with his sorrow.
Sucking in shaky breaths, Michelle leaned back. “You’ve got to find Brady, Dad. You’ve got to.”