Chapter 6 #2
“Hopefully in the same direction as the Subaru. The footage showed it got off at the exit going north about twenty minutes ago,” Nick explained.
“Considering we had to cross town to get to this point after we left Carlos, I feel we made good time catching up. Help me watch for a silver Subaru Impreza. It’s dented on the right rear fender and has begun to rust. That should make it easier to spot. ”
“Right,” Jillian said, scanning the side streets for cars fitting that description. She saw cars parked along the street in front of rows of houses in the neighborhoods, but nothing that matched Nick’s description.
Then they came to a gas station at an intersection. She did a double take. “Wait. Pull in here. I think that car over there has a dent on the rear right bumper like you said, and it is rusted near the taillight.”
“Are you sure?” He asked slowing down and going to the second entrance of the station. Driving past the gas pumps, he inspected the car in question before pulling into a parking spot on the opposite side of the Subaru in front of the Quickie Mart store.
“You saw it, right?” she said, excitement bubbling in her voice and she grabbed the door handle to get out.
“I did, but hold up,” he warned reaching for her hand. “You could scare them off if they are inside. Let me call Detective Simons and report where we are and have him and his partner join us.”
“Okay. Okay,” she said, pulling her hand away like it was on fire.
Nick placed the call. “Detective Simons, it’s Nick. We’ve found the car at the Quickie Mart and Gas over on Ochoa and 6th Street. We’re here now, parked outside.”
The silence while the detective spoke was driving Jillian crazy, but she knew she had to be patient and stay calm.
“Okay. We’ll stay in our car and wait for you to arrive,” Nick finally said. “We won’t engage even if they come out and get in to leave.”
Jillian felt her mouth drop open in protest, but clamped it shut when Nick shook his head at her as he hung up. “You really aren’t going to sit here and let them leave in that car, are you?”
“If it means keeping you and everyone around here safe, I will. We don’t know if those two are armed and dangerous,” Nick said. “And we don’t know if they still have Travis. Do you really want to risk his life by taking matters into our own hands instead of waiting for the police to get here?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
“Then remember that the moment you see them reach the car and begin to get inside.”
They waited in silence. No one came out of the convenience store to get into the car and as the time passed, she realized it was the longest twelve minutes of her life by the time Detective Simons knocked on Nick’s window. He was alone even though Nick had mentioned he had a partner now.
“They’re not here,” she said as soon as he lowered his window. “Those two creeps who took Travis are not in that store. The car may be here, but they’re not.”
Detective Simons looked from her to Nick and over at the car in question. “Are you certain it’s the same car?”
“Absolutely,” Nick declared. “It’s the stolen plates, same make a model. We followed it here on the surveillance feed.”
“Okay,” Simons said. “I’ll get Crime Scene Techs down here to get the car back to headquarters. And I’ll go inside to see if the manager can let me look at their surveillance footage to see where the two men went once they parked. Sit tight.”
Nick rolled up his window and made a phone call.
“What are you doing?” Jillian asked.
“Seeing what Swede call tell us in the event the manager isn’t forthcoming with the information,” he said.
Jillian watched the people who came out of the Quickie Mart to make sure no one suddenly tried to get into the car. She tried not to think of what might be in the trunk of the car. No. She wouldn’t go there.
“Here we go,” Nick said.
“What?” she asked, startled out of her tortured musings.
She slowly looked away from the car and over at him.
He held out his phone for her to see. It showed the car pulling up in front of the mart and the two guys getting out.
They were still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and they didn’t go inside, but around to the side of the building.
The camera angle shifted, and it showed a bicycle rack where they unlocked two black Sirrus X bikes and headed off.
“I’ll be…” Nick said. “So that’s how they got away.”
“Yeah,” Jillian agreed.
“Sit still. I’m going inside to let Simons know we don’t need footage,” Nick said.
She nodded, feeling shaky. She got one of the bottles of water out and unscrewed the cap to take a drink hoping it would settle her frazzled nerves.
Her thoughts went to Travis, and she prayed he was unharmed wherever he was and that no harm had come to him.
Surely, he was okay, and they’d find him soon. She had to hold on to that thought.
She turned on the radio, thinking the music would calm her. But it was right before the top of the hour and the station was giving a news report. A prominent family court judge had been found murdered in his home that morning. She turned up the volume.
“Judge Michael Stevens was discovered slain in his back yard this morning by his wife. After he didn’t return from walking their dogs,” the news reporter said.
“Stevens,” Jillian murmured, searching her memory. But the name remained a vague memory. The driver’s door opened, and she jerked away, hitting her head on her window.
“Sorry to have startled you,” Nick said, getting inside. “You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong?”
“A family court judge was found murdered this morning in his back yard,” she explained. “I think I know him, but I can’t be sure.”
“Family court,” Nick said. “Interesting.”
“I think,” Jillian said slowly. “He might be the one who heard the McGinty’s custody case but that was a long time ago.”
“Is there a way for you to find out?” Nick asked.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure and even if it were him, he has seen many cases over the years. His murder has nothing to do with Travis’ abduction or my muggings.”
“Or your hit and run,” Nick added.
“Right. Just another unexplained occurrence,” she said before giving a long sigh. “What did Simons have to say?”
Nick grimaced. “He was surprised by them being on bikes. We assumed they were skateboarders by the way they dressed. He must wait for the crime scene techs to arrive, so he wants us to try to find the guys.”
“Surely they couldn’t get very far,” she said.
“Let’s hope not,” he said, checking the rearview mirror before backing out of the parking space.
Nick drove the speed limit, keeping an eye on the surveillance on his phone to make sure the bike riders didn’t turn off the street. The flashing red dot assured him he was following in the right direction.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jillian after she’d remained quiet for several miles.
“Just thinking,” she said.
“About Travis or that court judge?” he inquired.
“The judge,” she said, sounding defeated. “I don’t know why I can’t recall if he was the one who presided over the McGinty’s hearing.”
“You did have a head injury two days ago,” he pointed out. “Even though it wasn’t a concussion that could contribute to your fogginess. Plus, it’s been several years and not something you’d think about daily since it wasn’t your own case.”
“True, but I still feel like I should know this because it is important to Travis’ life,” she said.
She lapsed into silence again. After a while, she sighed and said, “It’s not like I could do anything about the man being dead if he were their judge.
And I never heard from Mr. McGinty last night.
I don’t know if he reached Geneva or not.
Did Detective Simons mention the twenty-four hours being up before they’d release that Amber Alert about Travis? ”
“No, but he did say he had to get back to his partner Kohl and their other case since it was Kohl’s first day back to work from medical leave.”
“Maybe I should call Mr. McGinty and check in instead. I wonder what time it is there?” she said and began to rummage through her purse, taking out of phone.
It was clear to Nick that she hadn’t paid attention to what he’d said so he let it go.
And with her preoccupied he focused on driving and following the red dot on his phone, then he half-listened as she talked to Mr. McGinty.
He could hear the man’s deep voice on the other end of the line and the concern for Jillian’s safety in the words he spoke.
“We’re looking for Travis now,” she said, her voice getting shaky. “We’ll bring him home. I promise.”
Her call ended soon after and she was sniffling.
“What did he say?” he asked.
“He urged us to leave finding Travis to the professionals, but aren’t you a professional?”
Nick chuckled. “Did he realize you were with me looking for Travis?”
“I’m not sure,” she said and gave a little laugh. “I don’t think I told him. Heavens, I hope he didn’t imagine it was me and Mrs. Hudson driving around looking for Travis.”
Nick smiled at the image of a housekeeper and a nanny solving this caper and bringing the child they cared for home safely. It would be a happy conclusion for sure. When he glanced back at his phone, he noticed the red flashing dot was no longer on the screen.
“Damn,” he muttered. “Damn. Damn. Damn.”
“What?” Jillian demanded.
“We’ve lost them.”