Chapter 7
7
T he stricken expression in Chase’s eyes made her wince. She should have prepared him better, but their priority had been to find Eli. A task they had yet to accomplish.
Fresh tears threatened when she thought of her dream. Eli lifting his head and asking her to come and get him. She ached to hold her son close. Wanted desperately to find him safe and unharmed.
“Is Eli’s diagnosis the reason you didn’t call me?” Chase asked.
“What? No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know his diagnosis until he was in for his two-year-old doctor visit. He was also so quiet. I was afraid his language skills were lagging behind. Yet when he did talk, he pronounced most words correctly. He just chooses not to talk much.” She wasn’t explaining it well. “The biggest concern now is that he doesn’t interact with other kids or adults the way he should. He’s rather withdrawn and retreats into his own world.”
Chase’s blue eyes bored into hers. “Has he been seen by a specialist?”
“Yes, I took him to Laramie.” She knew where this was going. “The doctor recommended speech and physical therapy. And I took him to a few sessions, but he doesn’t do well with strangers. After the first two weeks, I knew it would take Eli months of sessions to make any headway. I decided it was better to work with Shana his preschool teacher on the strategies they suggested.” She lifted a hand when he opened his mouth. “Don’t. Shana has been making good progress. Eli likes her. I can’t just up and move him to another new home. Eli needs stability first and foremost.” She paused, then added, “Especially after this.”
“I understand what you’re telling me. I have no desire to hurt Eli, but I still plan to be a part of his life.” Chase’s jaw was set at a stubborn angle. In a flash, she was reminded of Eli’s expression when he didn’t want to do something. She hadn’t realized how her son had inherited several of Chase’s traits. Something she hadn’t fully appreciated until now.
“I know that,” she said mildly. “You just need to understand that it will take time. You can’t expect Eli to welcome you with open arms.”
There was a long moment before Chase reluctantly nodded. “He can have all the time he needs. I’m not going to give up. But for now, we need to find him. Knowing this, I’m worried the kidnappers will get frustrated with him.”
“I doubt having a quiet kid will annoy them,” she said. “It’s the one sliver of hope that I’ve been holding on to. I once told Eli that being quiet was his superpower. I wanted him to know that being quiet isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I encourage him to tell me with words what he needs, but I also reassure him that it’s okay to be the way he is. To have has his own way of processing the world around us.”
“Is autism common within Native American tribes?” Chase asked.
“No. In fact, there are less cases of autism reported within the Native American communities. Although that could be in part because the condition is underdiagnosed. Many Native Americans don’t accept western health practices.” She held his gaze in the darkness. “I’ve also been told the disease can be genetic.”
Another long silence as he processed that information. Then Chase stood and raked his hand through his chocolate-brown hair. His jaw was shadowed as he hadn’t shaved since yesterday. She rather liked him that way. “Okay. Thanks for telling me.”
He turned and left Eli’s bedroom. Knowing that trying to sleep would be futile, she set her son’s pillow aside and headed into the bathroom. Feeling gritty, she showered, changed, and let her hair air dry. Then she walked into the kitchen.
A pot of coffee was brewing, the third in less than five hours, she thought wearily. Maybe now that they’d gotten a little sleep, they could focus on their next steps.
She noticed Chase had already been outside with Rocky. The dog sat and stared up at Chase as he stood beside a set of dog dishes he must have gotten from his SUV. The food dish was full, but Rocky had apparently not been given permission to eat.
“Good boy,” Chase finally said. He made a hand gesture, pointing toward the dish of food. “Go get it.”
Rocky stared at him for another heartbeat, then moved forward to begin eating. She gestured toward the K9. “He’s very well trained.”
“He is. Although he tends to balk at taking orders.” Chase offered a crooked smile. “He’s not like Maya’s Zion or Jessica’s Belgian sheepdog, Teddy. They follow their handlers around, eager to please. Rocky is independent and views the search game as a challenge rather than a desire to make me happy.”
“I didn’t realize dogs could each have such different personalities.” She crossed to the fridge. “I’ll find something to make breakfast.”
“Thanks.” Chase returned to his seat in front of the computer. She knew he was likely reviewing the map of the location around the trailer home. The hour was ten minutes past six o’clock in the morning. She hoped Eli was still sleeping because she couldn’t bear the thought of the kidnappers not feeding him breakfast.
She pulled eggs, ham, and cheese from the fridge and glanced over at him. “Are omelets okay?”
“Perfect.” He didn’t look away from the screen. “I texted Doug; he’s waiting to hear back from his tech expert back in Milwaukee. I want to have some properties for Ian to examine more closely.”
“I understand, but he won’t have access to the tribal housing database.” She broke eggs into a bowl and began to whisk them together. “I can find the names of property owners, but I don’t know how that helps us.”
“I’m hoping Ian can get a line on Julia Stone,” he said. “Once we have a few names of friends or relatives, I’ll ask you to check the housing database to see if any of them live close enough to be involved.”
She nodded, belatedly remembering their conversation from earlier that morning. As much as she hadn’t wanted to sleep, she had to admit she felt better having logged a few hours of rest.
As she diced the ham, she silently vowed that today was the day. They’d find Eli and bring him home.
They had to. She couldn’t stand the possibility of another day going by without locating her son.
By the time she had prepared their ham and cheese omelets, Chase’s phone still hadn’t rung with any news. She carried the plates to the table, then reached for the coffee pot to refill their cups.
“This looks amazing, thanks,” Chase said with a smile.
“No problem.” She folded her hands in her lap. “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to say grace.”
He raised a brow but didn’t hesitate. “Of course.” He reached for her hand. As his warm fingers closed around hers, she was keenly aware of the sizzle of awareness. Totally inappropriate reaction considering Eli was missing, so she lowered her head to hide her expression. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We ask You to keep our son, Elijah, safe in Your care. Please grant us the strength and wisdom we need to find him. Amen.”
“Amen.” Her voice hitched, and she swallowed hard. “Thanks, Chase. I needed to hear that.”
“Always.” He continued to hold her hand. “You’re not alone in this, Wyn.”
“I know.” She managed a wan smile. Somehow, she felt closer to Chase this morning. Maybe because they were in this together. And he knew everything about Eli. “How did you know that Eli’s full name is Elijah?”
“Because it’s from the Bible.” He finally released her to pick up his fork. “As soon as you called him Eli, I knew you hadn’t given up your faith.”
She hadn’t. “I’ve attended church here a few times, although not as often as I should.”
“We often hold Sunday morning services on the ranch during the winter,” Chase said. “Between the forty-five-minute drive to Cody and the unpredictable weather, it’s easier. We don’t do anything formal. We tend to take turns reading passages from the Bible.”
“That sounds nice.” She had no concept of what his life was like while living on the ranch. In some ways, the Chase she knew had been replaced with a different version of him. A more solemn, mature version.
As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I’ve had to take on the role of father figure to our younger siblings. That first year was rough, but things have gotten better over time.”
“I can imagine.” Was that his way of apologizing for not coming to find her? “I only met your parents once at Thanksgiving, and they were wonderful to me.”
“They were role models in every way.” His voice was low and husky. “We miss them terribly, but I know they are up in heaven watching over us.” The corner of his mouth tipped upward. “And I’m sure they approve of the changes we’ve made to the ranch. Especially the new K9 search and rescue services we provide.”
She nodded in agreement. It was an honorable mission. She needed every bit of Chase’s and Rocky’s expertise.
Her appetite had vanished, but she forced herself to eat. She needed to believe Eli would be eating breakfast soon too.
Please, Lord, please keep our son safe in Your care!
* * *
Eli awoke at the sound of something banging loudly. Instantly, he remembered everything. The smelly man and the scary man taking him from Miss Shana’s house. The way they’d driven around for a while, then went to the one house. Leaving that house to drive around again to end up here. Even the cheese pizza Smelly Man had given him.
He was hungry. If he was at home, his mom would instruct him to use his words. To tell her, “Mom, I’m hungry.” But here, he didn’t dare speak out loud. He sat up on the sofa, eyeing the smelly man as he banged around in the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
“There had better be some food in this place,” Smelly Man said. “I’m not running out to get breakfast.”
Glancing down at the sofa, Eli spotted his stuffed horsey. He reached for it, squeezing it gently.
Soft. Soft. Soft.
The words echoed hollowly in his mind. It wasn’t the same without the building block. He felt off balance, as if he were sitting lopsided. He began to rock back and forth, trying not to cry.
Soft. Soft. Soft.
He wondered if the building block was in the car? Maybe it had fallen from his pocket and was stuck in the crack between the seats. He considered using his words to ask Smelly Man if he could go outside to check. He really wanted his block back.
“There you are,” Smelly Man said to the scary man when he entered the kitchen. “There isn’t much food here.”
“So what?” Scary Man sounded crabby. Eli called him scary because he’d worn the face mask when he’d come into Miss Shana’s house. Without the mask, he could have been Crabby Man. But he would still be scary. “You’re always yammering on about food. What’s with that?”
“I’m hungry,” Smelly Man said. “I wanna eat.”
“We gotta leave again soon anyway,” Scary Man said. “We’ll grab something on the way.”
“Why do we have to move?” Smelly Man complained. “We just got here late last night. Nobody even saw us come inside.”
“Because the boss wants us to, that’s why.” Scary Man jabbed his finger into Smelly Man’s chest. “Don’t argue. Just do as you’re told.”
There was a moment of silence as the two men stared at each other. Eli worried they might start fighting. If they did, could he run away?
“Fine!” Smelly Man threw his hands into the air. “But I want breakfast from that fast-food restaurant down the road.”
“Whatever.” Scary Man looked over to see Eli watching them. His expression turned dark. “What are you staring at, kid?”
Eli quickly dropped his gaze to his lap. He rocked back and forth faster this time. Back. Forth. Back. Forth. Backforthbackforth.
“Get your coat on, kid,” Smelly Man said.
Eli calmed himself and reached for his coat. He’d thought his mommy would have come for him by now. Maybe now that it was morning, she’d continue searching for him.
He blinked and sniffled loudly. His nose was still running. And he was hungry.
The only good thing was that he could search for his block when he was in the back seat of the truck.
* * *
After finishing his breakfast, Chase carried his dirty dishes to the sink. He’d noticed there was no dishwasher in Wynona’s home and began filling the sink with warm, sudsy water.
“I’ll do that.” Wyn elbowed him out of the way. “Maybe you should call Doug, see if he’s learned anything.”
He nodded and glanced over to see Rocky standing near the front door, the dog’s signal that he needed to go out. “I’ll call after I take Rocky out.”
“Okay.” She took over the dishes.
He hadn’t removed his boots from his earlier trip outside with Rocky to get his food and doggy dishes. He pulled on his coat, hat, and gloves, then opened the front door. Rocky trotted outside, lifted his nose to the air, and sniffed with interest.
The early morning dawn seemed encouraging. No snow in the forecast today, which he decided was a good thing. Not that anything, even a blizzard, would keep him from searching for Eli. The need to move through any type of weather was exactly why he’d brought the snow machines along in the first place.
He stood waiting patiently, knowing Rocky would get down to business without being told. Probably sooner if he didn’t tell the dog to get busy. He swept his gaze around the area but didn’t notice anything unusual. Two houses to the right, he could see there was a light on in Shana’s house.
He was curious about the relationship the young teacher had with his son. He was glad the little boy enjoyed being in her preschool class, and it was obvious by the way Shana had brought Eli home with her that she gave him additional one-on-one attention during the time it took for Wynona to get home from work.
For a split second, he was jealous of the closeness Shana had with his son. A special bond, a relationship he didn’t have. Might never have.
No, he refused to consider that option. He would forge a relationship with his son. Granted, it may take time. Weeks for sure. Maybe even months. Up to a year.
A depressing thought, but he quickly shoved it aside. He didn’t care how long it took. He would exude a patience that he’d never displayed before. As Rocky trotted off to finally get down to business, he wryly realized he and his partner were alike in one way.
Stubborn and independent.
After cleaning up after Rocky, he headed back to the front door. As usual, it took Rocky a full minute to decide whether to accompany him. He sighed and opened the door.
Rocky finally turned and trotted toward him.
As he shrugged out of his coat, his phone rang. Seeing Doug’s name on the screen, he quickly answered. “Hey, Doug. What’s going on?”
“I just heard from Griff. He and his team are en route to the scene of the fire. He would like to speak with you and Wynona about the case, and of course, he wants that shell casing you found.”
“I have the shell casing in my pocket.” Chase glanced at Wyn who was obviously listening. He should have put the call on speaker for her benefit. “Of course, Wynona and I would be glad to discuss the case with the FBI,” he said. “We’ll meet agent Griff Flannery at the trailer house.”
“Great,” Doug said. “I knew you would, so he’s already expecting you to be there. I’m guessing he’ll be there in about thirty to forty minutes.”
“Thirty to forty minutes sounds good to me,” he repeated for Wynona’s sake. “What about your tech guy, Ian Dunlap? Have you spoken to him?”
“Yes, I’ve given him the name of your suspect, Julia Stone,” Doug said. “Ian has agreed to get right to work on seeing what he could find about her.” Doug paused, then added, “Keep in mind, Ian doesn’t work for me anymore. He may have to abandon the search in favor of working more pressing cases back in Wisconsin.”
“I know.” He decided not to reiterate that for Wyn. She needed to stay positive. “I understand. Anything Ian can come up with would be very helpful.”
“I called another tech friend of mine, a guy by the name of Gabe Melrose,” Doug went on. “He works for the Milwaukee Police Department’s tactical team. He’s getting married to a cop by the name of Cassidy Sommer next week, but he agreed to see if he could find anything on Julia Stone too.”
Chase was touched by Doug’s efforts. “Thank you so much. Having two tech experts digging into Julia Stone is going above and beyond.”
“Not really, and they haven’t come up with anything yet,” Doug said modestly. “But we’re doing everything possible on our end.”
“Thanks.” He glanced down at Rocky who was rolling around on his back as if trying to scratch an itch. “If we find anything useful, I’ll call. If we can identify an area to begin searching, I may need backup.”
“Maya and Zion are ready to go at any time,” Doug assured him. “Jessica and her K9 Teddy want to help too.”
“They may get their chance.” At least, he hoped so. Teddy was more of a drug-sniffing dog, but Jess had been cross-training him with other scents too. “Take care, Doug. Stay in touch.”
“You too.” Doug ended the call.
“The FBI wants to talk to us?” Wyn asked. “Does that mean they’re taking over Eli’s kidnapping case?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I know the feds don’t like to overstep, especially when jurisdiction rests with the tribal police. But Eli is a young child, so I’m hoping they do take over the investigation. I think we need all the resources we can get.”
“I agree.” A glimmer of hope shone in her brown eyes. “I want everyone out there looking for Eli.”
He did too. But the rez was a large place, and other than the burned shell of the trailer house, they didn’t know where to start. “Let’s head out to the trailer home now. I know the feds won’t be there for a while, but maybe we can look around. See if Rocky can come up with anything new.”
“Yes! I’d like that.” Wyn was almost back to her usual self, and his heart ached for what they’d lost. He took a step toward her, then caught himself. This wasn’t the time to think about rekindling their relationship.
No matter how much he wanted to.
He’d never been interested in dating after Wyn. Sure, he could blame the airplane crash that had stolen his parents. Or the need to be there for his younger siblings. To spend every spare minute they had searching the mountainside area that was the most likely spot where their plane had gone down.
But he knew the real reason was that he still cared about her. And now that they’d been thrown together in the search for their son, he was glad he’d never found anyone else.
And that she hadn’t either.
“I’m ready.” Wyn’s statement interrupted my thoughts. Her long hair had dried and was shiny in the pool of sunlight streaming in from the eastern window.
“Okay.” He pulled himself back to the issue at hand. He belatedly realized she had the computer tucked under her arm and realized it would be smart to bring it along. Pulling on his coat, he glanced at Rocky. “Give me a minute to store his food and dishes in the back of the SUV.” Better to be prepared for a long day than to be forced to buy dog food along the way. On the ranch, they used a rather expensive brand, mostly because their dogs were their livelihood and worth every penny. Of course, they’d had to make do with other brands in a pinch.
He hauled the bucket of kibble and the dishes out to the SUV. Then he took another few minutes to slide the vest back over Rocky’s head, cinching it around his chest. Rock took the vest in stride because he loved the search game.
“Get up,” he said, gesturing to the back crate area. For once, Rocky obliged without complaint.
Wyn was already settled in the passenger seat with the laptop. He opened his door and leaned in. “I’m going to connect the trailer too, okay?”
Her eyes widened. “You think we’ll need it?”
“I’m not sure, but I’d rather be prepared.” He stepped back, closed the door, and then set about removing the trailer lock and connecting the snowmobile trailer to the hitch on the SUV.
Five minutes later, he slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. His fingers were frozen, and he held them in front of the heating vents for a few seconds to warm them up. The sun may be on the rise, but the wind was still freezing cold. “Let’s go.”
The trip back to the trailer house didn’t take long, but seeing the blackened ruins was like taking a fist to the gut. It looked bad.
Really bad.
He didn’t see how it was possible anything left behind by the kidnappers would be processed as evidence. Yet he pushed forward, only pulling over to the side of the road when he reached the same spot they’d parked in last night.
Or early this morning. The timeline was foggy in his brain.
Wyn had her hands over her mouth, staring in horror at what was left behind. He reached out to touch her arm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the feds will salvage something out of this.”
She lowered her hands and nodded. “Okay. What’s next?”
“I’m going to send Rocky off to do a search.” He hit the back hatch to let his K9 out. “From there, we’ll move a few miles away and try to have him search again.”
She didn’t appear hopeful but pushed open her door. He quickly got out too and went around back for Rocky.
“Are you ready?” He poured water into a bowl as he spoke, revving the dog up. “Are you? Are you ready to search?” He set the bowl on the ground and reached for the bag containing Eli’s clothing. Rocky surprised him by slurping a bit of the water. He opened the bag for the dog. Rocky sniffed for a moment, then lifted his nose to the air. “Search! Let’s search for Eli!”
With his nose still held high, Rocky trotted in the general direction of the burned rubble of the trailer house. As he had earlier, he began to take a zigzag pattern moving in the direction of the driveway and the general location where the front door had been.
Rocky sat at the spot and let out a sharp bark.
“Good boy,” he praised the K9’s alert. “Search! Search for Eli!”
The scent of smoke had obliterated whatever scents Eli had left inside the house, so he wasn’t surprised when the dog wheeled away from the wreckage in another zigzag pattern. He hurried to keep up with Rocky just in case the dog was able to pick up a scent trail.
Wyn hurried to join them. Neither of them spoke for a few long minutes. The dog was headed west, and it took him a minute to realize the wind was coming from that direction, blowing from west to east.
Suddenly Rocky stopped and lifted his snout to the air. Then he took off like a rocket.
“What caught his attention?” Wyn asked.
“I don’t know. But hopefully, we’ll find out.” Rocky wasn’t prone to false alerts. He didn’t get distracted often. Chase’s heart lodged in his throat as he broke into a run to keep up with his K9.
Maybe, just maybe, Rocky had caught Eli’s scent.