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“ARE YOU THINKING there could be some connection to the big arrest you made three months ago?”
Vic grimaced because Kit had been reading his mind. Two months ago Vic had been appointed to the NIGC known as the Indian Gaming Working Group because of that arrest. The group consisted of representatives in the economic crimes unit of graft and corruption. Their work was to identify resources to address the most pressing criminal violations in the area of Indian illegal gambling interests.
After tracking down violations from one of the Indian casinos near Luckenbach, Vic had arrested lobbyist Edgar “Lefty” Quarls for committing conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He and his slippery gang of thugs had grossly overbilled their clients and secretly split the multimillion-dollar profits. In one case they orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
At the last report, the tribes were being bilked out of $85 million, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. As one of the key people spearheading the scandal and then being appointed to the NIGC, Vic had no doubts Jeremy had been kidnapped as a personal warning to him to lay off.
This wasn’t the case of someone wanting a ransom. Vic didn’t have that kind of money. Like Kit, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced this had to do with his new assignment to the gaming group dedicated to making more arrests.
To take Vic’s child from the school in broad daylight smacked of revenge in its most evil form. Lefty had to be involved with someone very high up politically who knew the particulars about Vic’s life and hated him enough to hire someone to help pull this off. Why not bribe a janitor?
At the thought of anyone harming Jeremy, searing pain reached his gut, almost cutting off his breathing.
“Your son is tough. We’re going to find him, Vic.”
He nodded and brushed the tears from his eyes with his shirtsleeve. They checked every inch of the closet for clues that Jeremy had been held there. As far as Vic could tell, there was no sign of a struggle.
After they’d taken half a dozen fingerprints and put them in bags to send to forensics, Vic looked at the yellow bucket wringer in the corner. He walked over and lifted the mop. In the bottom of the bucket he saw a round two-inch button.
He leaned over and picked it up. The second he saw the picture, his heart leaped. “This looks like one of the action hero magnets Jeremy got for Christmas!”
“If that’s his, he’s left you a clue, Vic. He’s not your son for nothing.”
“Dear Lord, I hope that’s true. It means he was dragged in here and able to get it out of his pocket or backpack before he was taken away.” Vic slid the magnet into another baggie.
Kit said, “You drive to the lab quick while I round up the crew. We’ll meet you at headquarters. Do you have Jeremy’s prints on file?”
“Yes. Last year he wanted to know what it was like when we made an arrest, so I had him fingerprinted at the office to experience the process. I made a copy for him to take home, but his prints are on my computer.”
“Then before long you should know if you have a match.”
Vic made sure the closet was locked and then hurried outside to his car while Kit took off in the other direction. On the drive to headquarters, he phoned Claire.
“Any news?” she cried. Her question meant his precious son hadn’t come home. His heart almost failed him, but he had to focus. Every minute Jeremy was gone, the chances of getting him back alive diminished.
“Claire? Do me a favor? Check on those little two-inch magnets he has in his room with the action figures on them.” This was a long shot, but it was imperative he investigate every possible lead. “I think there were eight of them. Let me know if any are missing.”
“Just a second. He usually keeps them in the top drawer of his desk.”
Thank heaven she knew his son so well. Every second while he waited, visions of what could be happening to Jeremy passed through his mind, torturing him.
“Vic? I found six.”
“Do you know which two are missing?”
“Yes. His favorites—Wolverine and Sabretooth. Why do you ask?”
He looked at the face of the magnet through the baggie. “Because I’m holding Wolverine in my hand. I believe he left me a clue in the janitor’s closet outside his classroom. I found it in the bottom of the bucket.”
“Oh Vic—I know he did.”
The conviction in her voice sent chills through him. “How do you know?”
“Did I ever tell you about the password your son thought up while we were playing spy one day?”
Vic drew in a deep breath. “No. What password?”
In the next minute she explained about their secret code. “He knew exactly what he was doing when he left Wolverine there for you to find. That clever boy. I love him so much. I know you’re going to find him,” she said with tears in her voice. “I just know it!”
She was a marvel. More than anything on earth he wanted to believe her. He couldn’t lose Jeremy. The thought was unfathomable. “You’ve given me hope, Claire. Thank you. I’m at headquarters now. I’ll call you later.”
He hung up and, after haphazardly parking his vehicle, hurried through the building to the forensics lab. To Vic’s relief the head lab technician was still there. “Stan?”
Before Vic said anything else, the other man rushed over to him with a concerned look on his face. “I heard about your son. What can I do to help?”
His compassion was touching. “We’ve got more fingerprint samples coming from the staff at the school, but I’d like to find out if Jeremy’s fingerprints are on this.” He handed him the bag with the magnet. “We found it in the janitor’s closet outside Jeremy’s classroom. I’ll go upstairs and send my son’s set of fingerprints to you right now.”
“I’ll get on it immediately.”
Vic raced up the stairs two at a time. Little did he dream that one day those fingerprints he’d taken to satisfy his son’s curiosity would be needed.
It didn’t take him long to get on his computer and send the vital information to the lab from his personal file. When Vic went back down, he found Kit had arrived with the other bags. “I’ve got Leroy Bennett’s address. When you’re ready, I’ll drive over to his place with you and we’ll find out if he was really sick today.”
Vic’s teeth ground together. “Yup. Someone had a key to that closet who shouldn’t have.”
They moved over to the table where Stan was working. He had images of Jeremy’s fingerprints up on the screen in front of him. He studied the print that had been taken off the magnet with his magnifying loop. Finally he turned to Vic. “They’re a match.”
Until Stan gave him the verdict, Vic didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath. Kit clamped his hand on Vic’s shoulder. “Okay. Now we know where we’re going with this.”
He nodded. “Let’s head upstairs and run Leroy Bennett’s name through the IAFIS database. If he has a criminal record, we’ll find out. Thanks, Stan.”
“We’ll do whatever we can down here to help.”
Vic hurried back upstairs to his office and typed in Bennett’s name on the computer in case he had a police record. Kit stood next to him while they waited to see if anything came up.
“Here we go,” Vic muttered.
William Leroy Bennett, 39, Austin, Texas
Six feet
180 pounds
Green eye tattoo above inner wrist of left arm
Two snake tattoos on his chest
A half-moon shaped scar on side of his chin
Dark blond hair short cropped
Arrested in a park in Austin, Texas. He and several other individuals had a confrontation with another group of males. Both sides made derogatory comments. The altercation resulted in a fistfight. Bennett delivered the punch that knocked the victim unconscious. He eventually died. Bennett was determined to suffer from PTSD after a tour of duty in Iraq. After serving two months in prison on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the charge was dropped and he was released.
Kit frowned. “Look at the date.”
“It’s close to the date when I made that arrest. He’s only been out of prison three months. No arrests since then, but it’s too light a sentence,” Vic muttered. “The district isn’t allowed to hire anyone who’s had a prison record, but since the charge was dropped, I guess the rule didn’t apply.”
“The information on Leroy’s school file says he started working for the district a week after his release from prison. Someone higher up had the power to pull strings like that,” Kit theorized. “I’ll get the full police report on the other men involved in the assault. Maybe the ones causing the confrontation with Leroy work for someone who gives them orders when they want a hit made.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Vic got to his feet. “Before the night is over I want to talk to the person at the district who hired him, and find out who put the pressure on him or her. It’s time to pay Leroy a visit to find out just how sick he is. Let’s go in my car.”
“I’ll call headquarters right now to get that process started.”
It was ten to six when they left the building and drove to the Walnut Creek area known as a hot spot for a large number of auto thefts and larceny. Bennett lived in an older three-story apartment building, in unit 22. Vic parked the car and they entered the main foyer. Several tenants had to have been just getting back from work. They were checking their mailboxes, which were located inside the building.
Vic followed the arrow to Bennett’s apartment on the main floor. He knocked on the door. No answer. He tried it again.
Kit grimaced. “We need a warrant.”
“Barring that, let’s check with that woman across the hall.” Vic walked over to the woman who held a sack of groceries in one arm and was in the middle of opening her door. She looked to be in her twenties.
“Ma’am? Can we speak to you for a minute?” He pulled out his ID. “I’m Ranger Malone. This is Ranger Saunders.”
She eyed them suspiciously. “What do you want?”
“Can you tell us about the man living in apartment 22? He doesn’t seem to be home at the moment.”
“I try to avoid him. He’s been bugging me to go out with him since I moved in here two months ago. He bragged about being in Iraq.”
“Does he ever have friends over?”
“Not that I’ve noticed.” She hunched her shoulders. “He’s weird, wanting to show me all his tattoos, you know? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in some kind of trouble.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“This morning. His parking stall is in the rear near mine. I saw him loading up the back of his truck. I asked him if he was moving out. He just nodded and drove off. I’m glad he’s gone and good riddance.”
Vic felt as if he’d been stabbed. His only lead already had a ten-hour advantage on him. “Can you describe the truck for us?”
“I don’t know models. It was blue and looked old with a bunch of dents.”
“Four doors? Two doors?”
“Two doors I think.”
“What time was that?”
“Quarter after eight. I have to be to work at eight thirty.”
“Thank you for your time.”
“Sure.”
With that news, the two of them rushed out of the building to Vic’s car. “I’ll call in for a license plate number. Once it’s found I’ll ask TJ to send out an Amber Alert. I wouldn’t doubt if Leroy was paid off to do his part in the kidnapping, and now he’s headed for the border.”
Kit nodded. “He must have driven to the school right before the bell and put Jeremy in the garbage bin. All he had to do was put it in the truck parked outside the door and take off with no one being the wiser.”
Bile started to rise in Vic’s throat. “We’ve got to find him.” He put in a call to the captain. The blood pounded in his temples. Someone had used Leroy to carry out the kidnapping. He could be anywhere in the state by now. If he slipped over the border, it could take a long time to track him down.
When he got off the phone with the captain, Kit looked at him. “As soon as you drop me off at headquarters, I’ll ask the boss to get us a warrant to search Leroy’s apartment and take a look at his bank and cell phone records.
“Good. Pray we’ll come across something that could give us answers. Whoever in Human Resources hired him was taking orders from higher up. I’m hoping we’ll catch a break here.”
“After we make the search I’ll get on the phone and help you talk to the other teachers and school staff who might be able to give us more information about Leroy.”
“Claire will help us. We’ll call everyone from home with the list the secretary gave me. Someone has to know about his private life and the people he hung out with. I’ll call to let her know I’ll be home soon.” Vic held the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Kit. Someone has my son—”
“We’re going to find him, Vic.”
Chapter Two
After hearing from Vic, Claire hung up and started to fix dinner. She was so horrified over Jeremy’s disappearance that she’d lost her appetite. As for his poor father, she knew Vic wouldn’t be able to eat, but he needed food in order to keep going. That meant making something light.
Taking stock of the groceries they had, she put together some dinner rolls with ham and cheese. Accompanied by fruit and hot coffee, they would hopefully tempt him. While she listened for Vic’s car in the driveway, her mom phoned again to hear if there’d been any word on Jeremy.
“Not yet. Oh, Mom—” Claire broke down in tears. “I couldn’t bear if anything happened to him.”
“We’re all praying he’s found soon. Barbara and Kaye have offered to help any way they can.”
She loved her sisters. “Tell them thank you.”
“You have to have faith that Ranger Malone will find him.”
“I do. You don’t know how much I love that boy.”
“I’ve known that for a long time.”
Of course she did. Claire never stopped talking about him. “This is a nightmare, Mom. Oh—I think I hear Vic now. I’ll call you later.”
She clicked Off and dashed across the living room to the front door. When she opened it, Vic had just reached the porch. Before walking through the door, he flashed her a look that revealed his terror.
Claire followed him through the house to the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
He’d gone over to the sink and was drinking water from the tap. The poor man had been gutted. Claire had never felt so helpless. Once he’d washed his hands, he turned to her while he wiped them with a towel. “How are you holding up? I haven’t even thanked you for phoning me the moment you knew he’d disappeared.”
“I’m all right,” she lied. “After all the times we talked about what we should do in situations like this...” She fought the tears stinging her eyelids. “I just never thought...”
“That one would become reality?” he said.
“No.”
“Neither did I,” he ground out.
She took a deep breath. “Now that it has, I’m here to do anything you need.”
“I’ve got dozens of phone calls to make while I wait to hear from Kit. We’ve put out an Amber Alert on Jeremy naming Leroy Bennett as his abductor.”
“Who is he?”
In the next breath Vic told her all that had happened since he’d driven ninety miles an hour to the school, breaking every law in the process. “He could be anywhere, Claire. As for Jeremy...”
“Come and sit down,” she urged him. “I’ll help you make those calls while we eat.” She took the things she’d prepared out of the fridge and put the food on the kitchen table. The coffee was ready. She poured a cup for both of them.
To her relief, he sat down and pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. “This is the list of the school staff. Someone who works there has to have information that could help us figure out where Leroy might have gone.”
“Or know some of his habits,” she murmured. “I agree. Why don’t you call the names from A to M and I’ll take N to Z? Just a second. I’ll get some paper for us to take notes.”
She ran to his office and pulled some sheets from the printer tray. After plucking two pens from his mug that said World’s Greatest Dad—the mug she and Jeremy had bought for Vic’s Christmas present—she returned and gave him the materials. He was already on the phone.
Claire pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket and got started on her section of the list. As they worked through the list of names, she noted with satisfaction that he automatically reached for a roll. Before long, three of the rolls had disappeared and he’d started on the grapes. She topped up his coffee and finished her section of the list.
But her spirits plummeted when it became clear that no matter how many calls they made, they weren’t going to get any pertinent information on Leroy. Everyone said he was a loner. The gym teacher said Leroy had serious social problems, which corroborated what the woman at the apartment building had told Vic.
While Vic was still on the phone, Claire got an idea and phoned Nate’s mom. “Sorry to bother you, Ann.”
“Not at all. Did you find Jeremy?”
Claire struggled not to break down. “Not yet. We’re still looking for him.”
“Oh, no...what can I do to help?”
“Would you mind putting Nate on the phone? He and Jeremy are best friends. I’d just like to ask him a few questions without worrying him.”
“Of course. I’ll get him.”
After a few seconds, Nate came on the line. “Hi, Claire.” The boy sounded croupier than when she’d spoken with him earlier.
“How are you doing, bud?”
“Not very good.”
“I’m sorry. Listen, Nate. I’ve got something really, really important to ask you. Do you know the custodian who cleans your room at school?”
“Is he the one with the big green eye on his arm?”
Claire swallowed hard. “I didn’t know that. Has he ever talked to you?”
“Last Friday he was in the closet in the hall after class. He called out to me and Jeremy.”
The admission filled her with alarm. “What did he want?”
“He said he had some neat tattoos to show us.”
Her eyes closed tightly. “Had he ever talked to you two before?”
“No.”
“What did you say?”
“We both kept walking.”
“Good for you. That was exactly the right thing to do. Did you tell your mother?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I forgot.”
Good grief. Jeremy hadn’t said anything to Claire or Vic either. She guessed the incident hadn’t frightened them. “Thanks for telling me, Nate. I hope you get well soon. May I speak to your mom again?”
“Sure.”
While she waited, she looked at Vic, who’d just gotten off the phone. “Nate’s mom doesn’t know everything that’s happened. I think you need to talk to her. Nate just told me something scary. It happened last Friday.”
When she related what Nate had told her, Vic reached for the phone and talked to Nate’s mom while Claire took the dishes to the sink. After he hung up, he walked over to the stove to pour himself another cup of coffee.
“What made you think to call Nate?”
She turned to him. “Nobody at the school could give me any information. The custodians don’t eat in the cafeteria and they don’t attend the staff meetings. Leroy was invisible to the teachers I phoned on the list. But none of them had complaints about his work. At that point I figured maybe one of the kids might know something.”
He studied her features for a moment. “Since you’re a chemist, I shouldn’t be surprised you’re a natural born detective. I think you’re looking for work in the wrong field.”
Claire smiled but let the remark pass.
“That bit of information from Nate about his wanting to show them his tattoos proves that Leroy was getting ready to set things up and had been waiting for the right moment to kidnap Jeremy.”
“It was perfect timing. Nate was sick and didn’t go to school today. The janitor saw Jeremy was alone and grabbed him. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened.”
“The kidnapping was no random act. It proves my theory that it was in retaliation for cracking down on the illegal gambling taking place at the Indian gaming casinos.”
Claire was certain of it. “Nate says the janitor has a tattoo with a green eye.”
“According to the rap sheet on him, he has snake tattoos running down his chest, too.”
She shook her head in revulsion. “I take it you didn’t learn any helpful information.”
“No. So far you’re the only person who’s given me some clues to work with. If you weren’t such a great nanny, you wouldn’t have even known where he keeps those little magnets, let alone know the names of them. I’m indebted to you, Claire.” His voice throbbed, revealing the depth of his pain.
“It’s so little to work with.”
“But every tiny scrap of evidence starts to form a pattern.” His black eyes took on a savage look as he stared into space. “Frightening, isn’t it, that people like Leroy get into our school system when they have a prison record?”
She let out a gasp. “He was in prison?”
“On an involuntary manslaughter charge. It usually carries a sentence from ten to sixteen months. But he was let out after only serving three. Someone fixed it for him to be released early.”
“How could he have gotten a job at the school?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Normally he couldn’t, but someone high up the chain who has a vendetta against me made sure his record was expunged so he could be hired.”
“Do you have an idea who it could be?”
“I’ve got a hunch, but it’s a big one. Actually, several people come to mind.” Politics was a dirty business. He could think of a few names, but they weren’t for her ears.
Vic’s phone buzzed and he grabbed for it. When he’d hung up, he turned to Claire and said, “Good old TJ. The Amber Alert has gone out with all the information on Jeremy and Leroy, including pictures.”
“It’s going to work, Vic. Whenever I get an alert on my phone, I’m extra vigilant. Someone out there is going to recognize one of them and call it in to the police.”
In profile he looked as stiff as a block of wood. Heartsick, Claire started when her phone rang, too. She clicked On. “Dad?”
“Sweetheart. We were watching TV when the Amber Alert flashed across the screen.”
“I know. It’s out all over. Keep praying someone’s going to have information.”
“We’re doing that. Are you okay?”
“I will be when Jeremy is home.”
“You need to be extra careful.”
“I know, but Vic has provided protection for me. Thanks for calling. I’ll keep in touch with you. Love you.”
She clicked Off and glanced at Vic, who took one phone call after another. He belonged to that special Ranger brotherhood known as the Sons of the Forty. No doubt they were calling Vic to give him hope and offer their services. Her heart ached for this courageous man who protected everyone else. Now it was time everyone came to his rescue. Inwardly, Claire was leading the charge.
While he was occupied, she went out back to the barn to check on the horses and make sure they had enough food and water. She moved to Comet’s stall. “Hey, Comet.” She patted his neck. “I know you’ve been looking for Jeremy. Sorry you didn’t get your exercise today. We’ve all been looking for him.” In a flood of emotion she rested her head against him. “He has to come home. He has to, or I don’t know what I’ll do.”
While she hung on to Comet, she felt a hand cup her shoulder. She didn’t realize Vic had come out to the barn. He’d probably heard her talking to the pony. His touch triggered her tears. She started sobbing and before she realized it, he’d pulled her into his arms. They clung to each other, seeking comfort while the tears gushed down her face, wetting his Western shirt.
As his body heaved with unshed tears, tearing her apart, she was aware of the warm smell of the horses combined with the soap he used in the shower. The heady combination plus the feel of his hard body reminded her he was a man as well as her employer. A beautiful man. A loving father. The ultimate protector. One who was utterly desirable and had been utterly devastated.