Chapter 34
Thirty-Four
E sther smothered a yawn behind her hand. The adrenaline had worn off an hour ago, and she was fully aware it was the middle of the night. Audra and Edie needed to hurry up and get back so Stroud could talk to them. An officer had radioed a few minutes ago that they were on their way back. They’d lost whoever they were chasing.
She glanced at Stroud and caught him looking at his watch. At least she wasn’t the only one feeling the hour.
Another yawn stole over her face, more intense than the last one. “Goodness.” She stood. “Detective, would you like some coffee? Because I need some.”
“If you’re already making it, sure.”
She nodded once, then looked at her friends. “Brooke? Annabeth?”
They both responded in the affirmative, looking as weary as Esther felt. She peeked at the clock on the stove as she entered the kitchen. It was nearly four a.m. At least it was Sunday. She didn’t have to worry about work. Just church. Her parents would freak out when they found out what happened—and they would find out. It was a small town. But she’d worry about that later. There was no use borrowing trouble.
As Esther busied herself adding water and grounds to her coffee machine, the front door opened. Audra and Edie entered, along with two uniformed police officers; one a local policeman and the other a county sheriff’s deputy.
“Welcome back,” Esther said. “I’m making coffee.”
“I don’t need it,” Audra said. “That run woke me up.”
“Same,” Edie said. “I just wish we’d caught the guy.”
“We would have if someone hadn’t stopped us.” Audra tipped her head toward the county sheriff who held the knife she’d left the house with. “I was right on his heels when this guy came screaming around the corner in his car and cut me off.”
The deputy shot an annoyed glance at her, then walked toward Esther. “She said this belongs here. Where do you want me to put it?”
“In the sink.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Would you like some coffee?” She gestured to the gurgling machine.
“Oh, um, no ma’am. Thank you.” He put the knife down with a clink of metal-on-metal.
She turned to the other police officer and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head.
“You’re Audra?” Stroud rose from his spot at the table and came closer, eyes pinned on the dark-haired woman.
Her brow wrinkled. “Yes. And you are?”
“Detective J.D. Stroud. I need to talk to your friend. The one feeding you all your information.”
She blinked at him once, her face serene. “No, you don’t.”
His lips flattened, then he turned to the officer and deputy. “Give me a quick account of what happened. Obviously, you found them.” He motioned to Audra and Edie.
The deputy nodded. “Two streets over, yes. I never saw the man they were after. She said he crossed the street just before I came around the corner.”
“And I’d have had him if you hadn’t.” Audra crossed her arms and cocked out a hip, raising a haughty eyebrow at the man.
“Ma’am, you had a knife. I couldn’t let you keep going.”
Audra scoffed. “You wouldn’t have even if I didn’t.”
“Not on a shots fired call, no. I’m just glad we already knew you two were chasing him.”
Brooke aimed a grin at Audra. “You want your badge back, don’t you?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” she said through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing with anger.
“Anyway,” Stroud said, rolling his hand.
The deputy turned his attention to Stroud. “Anyway, after I detained them, your guy showed up.” He gestured to the officer. “They gave him a quick description, and he went after the man, but he slipped our net. I don’t think we could get enough units into the area quickly enough to prevent him from leaving.”
Stroud clicked his tongue and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Do you have anything else to report?”
“No,” the deputy said. “Patrol is still combing the area, and a crime scene unit is processing the place where he shot at them.”
“Bloody bastard is lucky I didn’t catch up.” Audra scowled. “He didn’t miss by much.”
“Which is why you?—”
Audra held up a hand, cutting off the deputy. “I can assure you I’ve seen more action and been in more dangerous pursuits than you’ll ever experience. So, please, don’t patronize me.”
The deputy’s annoyed stare came back, but he stayed silent.
Esther saw Stroud’s mouth twitch in amusement.
“Okay, thank you. You two may go.” Stroud tipped his head toward the door.
With a final glare, the deputy traipsed outside, following the local officer.
When the door closed, Stroud turned to Audra again. “Your friends filled me in on who you are. We’ve agreed to work together to find Leah and Mr. Horn. I need to talk to your colleague.”
“Again, no, you don’t. We can relay anything you want to ask.”
“That may be so, but it’s much more efficient if I do it myself.”
Edie raised a hand, gaze fixed on Audra. “How about we just call her now and put her on speaker? Then you don’t have to give out her information, but he still gets to ask his questions.”
Audra stared at her for a beat, then nodded. “With the understanding that she’s helping in an unofficial capacity. Her name can’t appear in your records.”
Stroud folded his notebook closed and stuffed it in his pocket.
“Good. Give me a moment. I just need to grab my phone.” She left the kitchen, heading into the living room.
Finished making coffee, Esther wandered over to her sister’s side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” A small frown formed between Edie’s eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, I don’t know… middle of the night run, adrenaline, baby…”
“I’m fine. Tired, but fine. And don’t you dare tell Jordan the guy shot at us. He’s already not happy that we all flew up here on our own.”
Esther held up her hands. “No worries there. That’s a conversation you can have by yourself.”
Footfalls on the hardwood heralded Audra’s reappearance. She walked into the room with her cell in her hand and looked at Stroud. “Remember, you never spoke to her.”
He mimed zipping his lips.
She tapped the screen and a ringing filled the room.
“Aud, I told you I’d call if I had something. I’m at work.” Jo’s whispered voice came over the line.
“There have been some developments. You’re on speaker with all of us, plus a local detective.”
“What? What happened? Wait. Hang on. I need to find somewhere private.”
Rustling sounded, then the murmur of voices. Eventually, things quieted and Jo spoke again.
“Okay. I’m away from Dumbo ears. Fill me in.”
“Someone tried to break into Esther’s house just a little while ago. Edie and I chased him, but he got away thanks to some local intervention.” Audra shot a dark look at the detective.
Esther rolled her lips in. Those poor cops would probably never gain her forgiveness. She couldn’t blame her, either. She wished they hadn’t stopped her too.
Jo let out a soft grunt. “Isn’t that a rub? Okay. What do you need from me?”
“Have you had any luck getting info on Lennox?”
“I found a picture. And I’m running a background check, but not much is coming up. Like your girl, Lindy, he disappeared after her parents died. It’ll take some time to run facial rec against the old license photo I found. I haven’t been able to”—she paused for half a second—“do that other thing we talked about.”
Esther shot a quick look at Stroud to see if he caught her hesitation. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t comment. She was glad. All the digging they’d done was one thing. None of it was illegal. Hacking the pizzeria’s security system definitely was.
“Did he have any criminal history?” Stroud asked.
“No. And I’m betting his new identity doesn’t, either.”
“I agree,” Esther said. “From the way Connie described him, he’s highly intelligent. I think he only lost control back then because she wouldn’t bow to his wishes. Since then, I’m betting he’s buttoned up his emotions. He’ll be a model citizen.”
“What else have you checked?” Stroud reached for his notebook, then grimaced and dropped his hand.
“The standard social media sites. There aren’t any profiles with that name. Not even old ones.”
Esther hadn’t expected her to find any. But it did make her think of something. “What about engineering societies?”
“That’s a good idea,” Edie said.
“Engineering?” Jo said.
“Connie said they both majored in engineering,” Esther said. “She works in a field loosely related to that. With his intelligence and the behavioral traits he shows, he probably wouldn’t want to give up his career. If he could fake a new identity, I don’t think it would be out of the realm of possibility that his new persona included new credentials as well.”
“I’ll run a check. We might need a name first, though. I’m not sure how many of those organizations have pictures of their members.”
“It’s still worth a shot. If we can locate him in one of those, it might give us a place of employment,” Audra said.
“Do you have information on the parents’ deaths?” Stroud said. “I’d like to contact the department that handled the case and review their files.”
“I’ll send everything I have to Audra. Including the image I found of Lennox. I was planning to package all this up on my lunch break, but since you’re all awake, I’ll do it now.”
“Thank you,” Audra said. “We appreciate it.”
“Do you have any more leads?” Jo asked.
“No. Wait.” Audra’s spine straightened. “Can you set up a flag for pharmacy break-ins within, say, fifty miles of here? Leah’s medicines are missing, but I’m not sure how long they’ll last. He might need to get more.”
“Leah’s medication is gone? What?” Stroud frowned. “Mrs. Tyler didn’t mention that.”
Audra held up a finger, making him scowl. Esther didn’t think he found her attitude so amusing now that she directed it at him.
“Yep,” Jo said. “Can you get me a list of her drugs?”
“Probably.”
“Brilliant. Send it over, and I’ll add it to the algorithm.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“No worries. I’ll speak to you soon.” There was a soft click, then silence.
“When did you plan to tell me her meds were gone?” Stroud demanded. “And why didn’t Mrs. Tyler mention it?”
“Because she didn’t want you digging too deep into her background,” Edie said. “But that cat’s out of the bag and you now know what we do.”
Audra’s phone pinged. “She sent the photograph.”
Stroud moved toward her. “Let me see that.”
She turned the device around.
From her position, Esther caught a glimpse of a handsome blond man.
“Hell.” Stroud glowered at the screen. “Add ten years and make the hair a little darker and you’ve got the guy from the restaurant.”
“You’re sure?” Brooke walked over to take a look.
“One hundred percent.”
“Should we put that on the news?” Esther asked. “He doesn’t know we know his identity. What if he decides it’s not worth it and kills one or both of them?”
Stroud’s expression turned thoughtful. “I could put out the still from the restaurant surveillance. Call him a person of interest. It might give him a sense that we don’t know as much as we do, but still get the public looking for him. Because like it or not, we need a lead on his whereabouts. We won’t find Leah and your friend without that.”
“I agree,” Audra said. “Just be careful about your wording. We don’t want to spook him. I don’t think he’ll harm Leah. But Asher’s a different story.”
Esther’s heart clenched. The urge to run and hide from the conversation hit her again, but she planted her feet. Wallowing in her fear wasn’t productive. They—she—needed to stay proactive. “What can we do? And don’t say stay out of your way.”
“Actually, you all have been helpful. Just keep me looped in to anything you discover. And please don’t go off on your own if you get a lead?” His voice and eyes pleaded with them to agree.
Esther just stared at him, unwilling to promise anything. She knew she would do whatever was necessary to bring Asher and Leah home safe. Her sister and their friends would too.
Edie caught her eye, understanding in her gaze. She offered Stroud a smile. “I can promise you we’ll be careful. That’s as good as it gets.”