Chapter 5
Tucked in Brandon’s spotless sedan, David scanned the area. Fifteen, maybe twenty cars lined the popular general store parking lot. Five or six sported heavily tinted windows.
Those were his targets.
He studied his phone then glanced at his watch, a gift from his late grandfather when he’d graduated from the academy.
Shaking it next to his ear, he sighed. Had the timepiece stopped working?
Only ten minutes had passed since the last time he’d checked.
Cracking the windows an inch hadn’t allowed much air flow, but it had helped.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, thankful the temperature hadn’t spiked.
As is, the interior of the car reminded him of a sauna.
“Relax, would ya?” Brandon glared at him. “Just keep monitoring that phone. One of these creeps is bound to open a hotspot soon.”
“Not fast enough.” David rested his head on the back of his seat.
They’d had success before, and he hoped it carried over to today.
But until someone in the parking lot opened an access point, they’d have to wait and sweat in Brandon’s immaculate vehicle.
The man had an OCD tendency when it came to cars, and David feared for his life if he so much as left a piece of trash behind.
Okay, maybe not his life, but the idea of a lecture on cleanliness had no appeal.
His partner tapped the steering wheel. “So, what did you find out about our mystery woman?”
“Jennie? Only that she’s widowed and Emily Hanover’s niece.”
Brandon raised an eyebrow.
“Honest. Miss Emily was pretty tight-lipped after spilling the beans about Jennie’s deceased husband.”
“But you think there’s more.” Brandon shifted to face David and rested his back against the door.
“Yeah, I do. You saw the panic on her face at the hospital and the look between her and Zoey when we asked if anyone wanted to hurt her. Those aren’t the responses of someone at ease and unconcerned.”
“I agree. But if this investigation doesn’t pan out, we might have to dig into Jennie’s background.”
David's shoulders slumped. “I hate the thought of treating her like a criminal when she and Zoey are the victims.” He glanced at the screen of the phone and straightened. “The hotspot ILikeChildren just popped up. Not very subtle, are they?”
“Nope. Never are.” Brandon grabbed his small notebook.
David scanned the lot. “I only see four cars occupied. Tag those license plates.”
“Got ‘em.” His partner scribbled down the numbers and lifted his gaze. “Wait. Blue sedan to your left. He’s parked at an odd angle. I can’t see the plate.”
“I’m on it. Be right back.” David slipped from the vehicle, clicked the door shut, and edged around several unoccupied cars.
Head down, he pretended to text on his phone as he casually waltzed past the vehicle in question.
Bingo. His fingers flew over his phone keys, sending the license plate number to Brandon and a request for pick up a block down the street.
Ten minutes later, he dropped into the passenger seat of his partner’s car. “Time to run the numbers and pray we get a hit.”
With a bit of luck and a lot of divine intervention, the database search would point David in the direction of the disgusting man who attempted to lure in Zoey.
If not, the road to stopping the man could be a long one.
**
Jennie’s thundering heart threatened to explode from her chest. The laptop on the kitchen table taunted her. The subject line from an unknown address simply stated Zoey. Her finger hovered over the mouse. Should she click and see what waited inside? What if her past had come back to haunt her?
Ridiculous. Kenny had four more years in prison. She'd never understand how the man hadn’t received a life sentence. The difference between attempted voluntary manslaughter and murder, she guessed.
She ran her hand under her hair along the base of her neck and lingered on the raised skin that spanned three inches.
The contact point of the coffee table’s edge on Kenny’s initial shove.
Her knuckle feathered across her rebuilt cheekbone.
The second point of his assault, and the one that mercifully knocked her unconscious before he continued his attack.
How had she allowed him to control her and abuse her like that? He’d isolated her from her friends before she’d known what had happened. Then tore down her fragile self-esteem. In the end, he’d trapped her in his controlling world. If it hadn’t been for Tina…
Knock. Knock.
Jennie jumped. Her hand went to her chest, and she spun toward the front door. Sweat beaded on her brow, and her pulse skyrocketed. She closed her eyes and willed her racing mind to settle. Once confident her legs wouldn’t buckle, she stood.
“It’s not him, you coward. He wouldn’t knock.” She padded across the wood floor.
A quick peek through the peephole had Jennie breathing a sigh of relief. Detective Whitman stood with his hands in his pockets.
Ever since the text message debacle, she’d watched over her shoulder.
It was ludicrous, really. She’d spent the last six years stuffing her fears into a manageable box.
Now that the lid had lifted, she had to get a handle on it again.
Thank goodness Zoey had spent the night at Aunt Em’s.
Her daughter didn’t need to see her freaking out like this.
She edged the door open. “David?”
“Sorry I didn’t call. Between a stake out and being a twelve-year-old girl, I lost track of time.”
“Huh?” She scrunched her forehead.
“Professional hazard.” The sheepish expression on his face made her smile.
Her mind latched onto his meaning. She leaned against the doorframe and tilted her head. “Is that how you find the predators?”
“One way. Anyway, sorry for not calling.” He glanced around the yard. “Mind if I come in?”
“Now it’s my turn to apologize. Please.” She made a sweeping motion, inviting him into the house. “Make yourself at home. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine.” The man lowered himself onto the couch and studied her. “Are you okay? You seem a bit shaken.”
Did she dare tell him? What if he thought she overreacted?
But from everything she’d learned about David, he was nothing like Kenny.
He wouldn’t demean her. Wouldn’t hit her.
She hoped. “I-I received an email earlier. It…surprised me.” Her gaze darted to her laptop on the kitchen table.
“I haven’t opened it yet, but that can wait. ”
He cocked an eyebrow.
She ignored his silent question, sat on the other side of the sofa, and clutched her hands together. “Do you have news?” Oh, how she hoped they had the evil man behind bars.
“Some. We think we’ve narrowed it down to two or three guys.”
“Really? How?” Hope sparked. Once they caught the child predator, she’d be able to breathe. At least on that front.
“These perverted men are known to share pictures online through hotspots in store parking lots.”
Bile rose in her throat. Young girls’ pictures online? For others to see? She swallowed. “How do you know it’s them?”
“They aren’t secretive. The SSIDs they use are…let’s just say they’re disgusting at times.”
“Can’t you follow their IP addresses or something?” She was unsure how all of that worked, but she’d heard the term before. Man, she hoped she didn’t sound stupid.
“I wish. They use multiple burner phones. They aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but they aren’t dumb either.”
Reality hit Jennie like a brick to the head.
Her heart raced, and black dots pricked her vision.
She inhaled through her nose and blew out air through her pursed lips.
“You mean my daughter’s picture could be out there for every child predator to see?
” And what about Kenny? Had this led him to her doorstep?
David tucked his chin to his chest. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Blood whooshed in her ears. Had a mistaken text message revealed her location? One she’d tried hard to keep private.
She stood and wrapped her arms around her waist and paced the room. “This can’t be happening.”
**
“I wish I had a different answer, but I don’t.” Something about this woman’s vulnerability tugged at David’s heart. He physically hurt for Zoey’s mother. He stayed seated and watched her move back and forth across the room.
“I’ve been so careful.” Tears trailed down Jennie’s cheeks. “We love it here,” she whispered.
Wait. What? Why did she have to be careful?
Based on the reaction he’d witnessed and her secretive nature, the detective in him said that her husband had abused her, but he’d died before Zoey’s birth.
Jennie had never mentioned anyone else in her life except Miss Emily and her friend Tina.
Which in and of itself struck him as strange.
David rose and gently held her shoulders. “Jennie, what’s going on?”
“I thought—never mind.” She swiped at the wetness on her face. “So now what happens?”
Jennie held tight to the private information she harbored, no doubt about that. He’d let her keep it for now. But sooner or later, he’d get to the bottom of whatever had panicked her.
“We’ll continue to investigate. Background checks and further communication should lead us in the right direction. Plus, we have a secret weapon. Megan, our tech guru, is incredible at her job. The team won’t stop until we figure it out.”
“Promise?” Jennie’s eyes held so much hope that the look almost brought him to his knees.
He longed to give her guarantees, but no one could. And he refused to lie to her. The world was full of evil—he should know. His fiancée had died at the hands of evil. “I promise we’ll do our best.”
She nodded. Her eyes shifted to the kitchen table and back to him.
He followed her gaze. “Is there something I should know?”
Her mouth twisted to the side, and she scrunched her forehead.
Come on, Jennie. Let me into your world. I want to help you.