Chapter 19 #2
“What about tailing you?” Jude asked. “Couldn’t we both follow close enough to see what’s going on, but not close enough to be in the fray should something go down?”
El didn’t have time to sit and ponder his request. Not when time ticked down to finding this man and child still on the trail. “Ride with me. I’ll call Mina on the way, and she can decide.”
“Fair enough.” Gabe jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Let us grab our vests, and we’ll meet you at the car.”
“Sounds good.”
As observers, they wouldn’t need their vests, but if it made Gabe feel better to put one on as if he was in the rescue and take-down, she wouldn’t stop him. They all needed to do whatever they needed to do to find this child alive.
Gabe and Jude made their way past the witness sitting and bobbing her knee, a uniform deputy seated at her side.
Gabe started down the unlit trail behind the SWAT team made up of six additional deputies including Mina, El, and Ulrich in the mix.
The trail wasn’t an official one like he’d expected to find as part of this highly groomed park.
It was nothing more than a dirt path packed down hard in a hilly forested area, really only wide enough for two people to walk at a time.
But deputies hauling gear, their rifles at the ready as they advanced on the trail, had to move single file. Gabe and Jude, packing only their handguns, took the rear. Gabe wished he was carrying his semi-automatic rifle, but he wouldn’t be allowed to use it even if he did have it.
Their restrictions could discourage him, but he wouldn’t let them.
Not after Mina had cleared him and Jude to participate, but only by taking up the rear.
If the suspect and Lucy were found, they would stand back while law enforcement rescued her.
The most important point was rescuing Lucy.
Secondary, making sure the charges held against the creep who had taken her.
“I feel naked with only my sidearm,” Jude whispered.
That got him a sharp look from Deputy Price. Mina had instructed everyone to use hand signals only, but Jude was ever the maverick. Marched to the beat of his own drum. That only worked in a law enforcement environment if you were an exceptional officer, which he’d been at the FBI.
They continued to move silently up and down the dark trail.
An owl hooted in the distance, wind rushed through the trees, but otherwise they were surrounded by silence.
The moon hung behind heavy clouds, the morning sun just thinking about rising above the horizon.
It would be helpful if they could turn on their headlamps, but they couldn’t alert the suspect to their approach.
The leaders rounded a curve and disappeared. Price suddenly flipped up his arm like a stop sign.
Gabe and Jude came to a stop. Had they spotted something? Was it go-time? Time for him to hold Lucy again?
His body flushed with a heavy emotion he’d never experienced. Fear for Lucy? Thankfulness for finally finding her? He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t like it. Not when it weakened his knees, and collapse seemed imminent.
El appeared at the curve and made her way back to Gabe. “Abandoned cabin ahead,” she said, her voice low. “Could be where they have Lucy. Mina is taking a close-up look now, and we’ll breach the building, but this is as far as you go until we clear it. Understood?”
Gone was the woman he’d come to love, replaced by the strong detective. In control and in charge. Expecting agreement and cooperation. Nothing else would do.
He gave a sharp nod, and honoring the directive to be quiet, he hopefully transmitted his respect for her in his expression.
“I’ll come back for you when you can join us.”
He nodded again.
She looked at Jude. “This goes for you, too. No cowboy moves. Lucy’s life could depend on you following directions.”
Jude gave her a salute. He didn’t do it in sarcasm, but respect.
“After Mina formulates a plan, we’ll go in as soon as everyone’s been instructed. The path ahead doesn’t have any cover. If you want to keep tabs on the op, you can slip into the underbrush on the south side, but make sure you aren’t seen.”
Gabe nodded again.
Surprisingly, she squeezed his arm. “If Lucy is here, we’ll bring her home alive. I promise.”
Gabe’s knees weakened more, but he forced his shoulders back in an attempt to look like he was in control. No way he wanted her to send him packing. He gave a thumbs-up.
She released his arm and spun, then disappeared once again around the curve.
Gabe leaned close to Jude. “We wait until they move, and then we get that better look.”
“You know it.” Jude gave one of his mischievous grins that he always had when they were about to see action.
As an FBI agent and profiler, he hadn’t often had the need to draw his weapon.
As much as he appreciated the gravity of finding someone like Lucy, he also liked the adrenaline rush that came with rescuing them.
The deputies moved ahead and rounded the curve. Gabe quickly slipped into the trees and underbrush. He wanted to plunge in and forge ahead, but he couldn’t risk being seen and ruining the op.
He moved cautiously; branches scraped at his arms and face.
So what? Minor compared to what Lucy had suffered.
He kept going until he reached a place where he could see ahead but not be seen.
He lifted the night vision binoculars hanging around his neck and zoomed in on the structure huddling in a small stand of trees.
Abandoned didn’t begin to describe the place.
Rotten wood threatened the integrity of the structure.
Cedar siding split and was hanging by nails, looking like it wanted to take the cracked windows down with it.
The porch slanted at an angle as if waiting to fall off the front.
A surprisingly sturdy-looking red metal roof sat on top of it all.
Gabe could easily imagine the matching interior in what looked to be a one-room cabin. Anger for Lucy raged in his gut. How could anyone force a little child to live here? The uncertainty. Her fear. Had she been restrained all this time? Too many days for such a young child. For anyone.
He should’ve found her sooner.
Jude laid a hand on Gabe’s arm and telegraphed strength through his expression. What would Gabe do without his teammates? He might not have his traditional family at his side, but he was part of a family nonetheless. One who had seen him through years of trials. They would see him through this one.
Gabe nodded his understanding at Jude and turned back to the cabin, his anger receding a notch.
Mina didn’t stand around, but rifle shouldered, sights on the target, led her team up the steps. At the door, she took her place to the right.
El took the left side. Ulrich stacked behind Mina. Two of the remaining deputies split between each side. The last one, a large burly guy, approached the door.
Mina signaled for the team to move forward. Though the door was so ramshackle it looked like a strong breeze would take it down, a deputy turned and kicked it in.
Wood splintered, and the door disintegrated. They charged inside.
In a matter of minutes, the SWAT team members spilled back out of the building, jogged down the steps, made a circular sweep of the property, and stopped out front.
“All clear,” one of the deputies shouted, and the team lowered their rifles.
El stepped down to the porch, her rifle at rest. She shook her head.
Gabe’s heart fell, and he clung to the nearest tree branch to stay upright.
Did this mean Lucy and her captor weren’t in there?
Most likely.
Why, Father? Why? Why must this little girl continue to suffer?
El waved Gabe and Jude ahead.
“Sorry, man,” Jude said as they slipped out of the brush. “I really believed she’d be there.”
Gabe’s disappointment nearly overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t speak so he simply nodded.
He focused on his anger to get his strength back as he strode across the grass.
He took the porch steps two at a time and entered the one-room cabin.
Someone had lit an oil lamp, and a soft glow revealed a rusty metal bed with a mattress covered in a surprisingly clean white sheet.
Pillows had clean cases too, and the blankets looked new.
The back wall held a small kitchen, the other side, a wood stove with a fire smoldering inside. There was a faint smell in the room that didn’t seem to fit with a secluded cabin, but he couldn’t place it. If anyone else noticed it they didn’t say anything.
He glanced back at Jude. “You smell that?”
“Musty smell common to closed-up cabins?”
“No, it’s something else. Maybe chemical. The owner could’ve stored something here in the past.”
Gabe approached El. Jude matched him stride for stride. “Fire says someone was here not long ago.”
She nodded. “My guess is our suspect came back to get anything incriminating then bolted right after the witness saw them.”
Carrying a single piece of paper, Mina joined them. “Check out the window before you go. There’s a child’s handprint there, and we found this.”
She held out the paper and displayed rudimentary stick figures. A man, woman, and child, and an indistinguishable blue object at the child’s feet.
El leaned closer. “The red hair coloring for the mother and child couldn’t be a coincidence.”
Gabe pointed at the blue blob. “This is your true giveaway. Lucy thinks Bluey is real, and she wants him to come live with her.”
“So she was here,” El said.
“And she’s alive!” Gabe’s gaze burned with fire.
“At least she was when the witness saw her,” Jude said and looked at Gabe. “Sorry, man. Someone had to say it.”
“Then we need to find her now!” El’s words exploded as if she couldn’t contain her increased drive, raised by just missing Lucy. “We need to take a good look around. See what else we might find.”
“You don’t want the whole team tromping through here and potentially disturbing evidence,” Mina said. “I’ll take Ulrich and SWAT with me. Ulrich can interview the witness so she can go to work. You can get in touch with her later if you have follow-up questions.”
“Thank you,” El said.
“I’m not needed here so I should head back.” Jude looked at Mina. “If I can catch a ride, that is.”
“We can drop you off.” Mina pointed back at the picture. “Obviously this is Lucy and her mother, but who’s the male figure?”
“Gabe’s hair coloring matches the picture,” Ulrich said.
“Could be me, I suppose. Not as an actual father figure or Kenna’s partner. We made sure Lucy knew I was just a friend.” Gabe looked around the group. “My brother, Brad, and I look a lot alike and the fetus DNA is probably his.”
Mina gaped at him. “Your brother?”
El nodded. “Sierra called early this morning with DNA results from the fetus. He’s most likely the father of Kenna’s unborn child. I would’ve updated the murder book but this call came in.”
“Have you talked to him yet?” Mina asked.
El shook her head. She told them about discovering the journal and Safe Harbor. “I want to evaluate his potential role along with the suspects from the charity.”
Mina gave her a nod of affirmation. “You need to tread lightly with New Tide. It’s a highly rated charity, predominantly supported by Jonas Trent.”
“We already know about his involvement,” El said, and looked at the others. “He’s the big-time developer and town philanthropist with a lot of political clout. Including having the power to get a deputy fired if he doesn’t like one of us.”
“Sheriff too, and I’d like to stay employed,” Mina said. “He and his wife were never able to have children, so they adopted two boys from Safe Harbor maybe five or so years ago and want to help so-called throw-away children to find families.”
“Good to know,” El said.
The intel about approaching cautiously probably mattered to El, but Gabe’s team could push Trent for answers.
Mina folded the picture and put it in her pocket. “After you finish this scene, get the murder book updated ASAP, and let me know how you decide to proceed before you do. I don’t want a surprise call from either of these guys complaining about being questioned.”
El nodded and stood back to let Mina and Ulrich depart.
The SWAT team had remained outside. Deputy Price had been assigned to secure the scene and was getting crime scene tape and stakes to cordon off the outside.
That left El and Gabe alone together. He hadn’t had a chance to process what had happened yet and didn’t know what to say to her.
“Be right back.” She stepped onto the rickety porch.
He knew her heart ached for this dead end and no Lucy, and some fresh air might be good. And maybe he could help out with her obvious disappointment.
Question was, how did he comfort her when the child he deeply loved continued to be missing and in extreme danger?
Only one way to find out. Step outside and try to help her.