Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The men drove back to command central.
Titus dropped Chase, Ford and Ryker off. They would meet up with Colt when he got back and go over what they had while Titus headed to Lilypad Confections.
He parked his truck behind the gym and stopped by to update Vanessa and Neil. Vanessa’s shoulders slumped as she covered her mouth.
Her voice trembled as she spoke. “This is my fault.”
“How is it your fault?” Titus asked. That didn’t make any sense to him.
“If I didn’t cancel picking up Leo, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Titus let out a heavy breath and sat on the corner of her desk. “Vanessa,” he replied. “This would have happened one way or the other. Someone is out to get Emelia. You couldn’t have stopped what happened.”
“That poor girl,” she said, brushing away a tear. “She’s been so brave through all of this. Have you any idea who kidnapped her and Stacy?”
“Not yet. I’m going over to the bakery and her apartment now to see if anything pops up.” He frowned. “Can you think of anything or anyone who’s been suspicious, or maybe something Emelia said to you?”
She thought for a moment. “No. I know Emelia’s been upset, but she had no idea who was behind the harassment.”
That’s what he thought, too. Knowing the gym was in good hands, he walked down the alleyway to the bakery. He fingered his pocket and took out the key to Emelia’s apartment.
Opening the door to the bakery, he was assaulted by the comforting scents of home and Emelia. Josie was placing some tarts on a tray and didn’t see him.
She screeched when she turned around, and the tray fell on the floor. “Dang, you scared me.” She looked over his shoulder. “Is Emelia with you?” she asked hopefully.
Fuck. Titus felt his stomach lurch. He never reached out to Josie to update her. Looking at his watch, he realized it’d been over four hours since he left. It seemed like all he was doing was putting out fires with no results.
“Josie, I’m so sorry I didn’t get back to you.” Titus cursed himself for neglecting to let her know. He stooped to help her pick up the tray and tarts. “Someone kidnapped Emelia and Stacy. He grabbed them from the park.”
Her mouth fell open. Silence. Finally, she squeaked, “Who?”
“Humph. We don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to figure out. A man in a black van grabbed them at the dog park, took off, crashed the van outside town and disappeared.”
She placed her hand over her heart. “Disappeared? How?”
“We don’t know yet.” Titus didn’t want to just dismiss Josie, but he needed to get up to Emelia’s apartment. “Listen, I’ll keep you posted.”
She nodded. He walked over, inserted the key to her apartment, but turned to look at Josie. “Can you, John, and the other employees keep the bakery open, or should we close it?”
“No, don’t close it. I’ll call John. He’s more than capable of making the tarts and pastries and whatever else we need. I know the rest of the employees love Emelia and will be happy to keep things going.”
“Great. That’s one thing off my mind.”
Josie nodded and started refilling the tray.
Titus turned away as he headed up the stairs to Emelia’s apartment. Each heavy footstep carried a sense of dread. He didn’t want to go into her apartment alone.
He wanted Emelia there, laughing and cooking, and he wanted her friends there having a party. Most of all, he just wanted to make sweet love to Emelia and never let her go.
All the wants in the world weren’t making up for the fact that she wasn’t there. He walked into her living room. It was just like when she left. Neat. The heady scent of garlic from last night’s dinner of spaghetti aglio e olio lingered in the air, triggering a happy memory of Emelia. He glanced around. Every corner of the apartment held a memory.
Damn. Was it only last night? He felt a lump forming in his throat, threatening to cut off his air. Tears welled up in his eyes. Was he really going to cry? He never cried. A tear dropped down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away.
Taking deep breaths and letting them out calmed him. Falling apart was not going to bring Emelia back. He walked into the bedroom, straight to the dresser, moving it away from the wall.
Opening the door, Titus pulled out several boxes he knew belonged to Emelia. Glancing inside the storage space, he noticed nothing else. Strange. Emelia told him there were several old boxes there.
He got up and walked to the kitchen to get the flashlight Emelia kept by the stove. He went back to the bedroom, crouched down, and stuck his head in the storage unit, turning on the flashlight.
There! In the far corner sat three old boxes. He pulled them out one by one, brushing dust off the tops, and opened one.
In it were old black-and-white photos. Pictures of a bygone era when the bakery was new. Titus dug down and pulled up receipts. He could only shake his head at the cost of inflation today. He pushed that box aside.
The second box was newer. He recognized the chain’s logo. Nothing in the box that interested him, just a bunch of advertising posters.
It was the third box that caught Titus’s attention. Inside were records kept by Roger Stein, whose son had disappeared. Roger kept meticulous records. The bakery was making a profit—a good profit. Until it went out of business and Roger declared bankruptcy. Why?
Titus dug deeper. An arrest report—so junior was a thief. A yellowed article detailed how young Timothy Stein was caught with his hand in his father’s till. Roger had him arrested, but he wasn’t in juvie very long and was considered rehabilitated. He wondered if this had something to do with the sudden collapse of the family business. More receipts. Ah, a letter from Tim to his father. Titus swallowed hard. He searched through the box but there were no more letters.
This was enough information for Colt, or probably Tex, to investigate further. It was the only lead, albeit a long shot, that they had.
Titus put the papers back in the box and set it aside. He pushed the other boxes back into the storage area and returned the dresser to its original position. No sense leaving a mess if Emelia returned.
Fuck. Not if—when. When Emelia returned. Titus was certain that this information was important and Timothy Stein was the kidnapper.
The only question was why. Why, after all this time?