Chapter 14 #2
“At the base of the large oak tree in our backyard.” She forced herself to meet his gaze.
“I remember seeing him outside late one night, digging a hole in the ground. It was late, like two in the morning. When I asked him about it, he claimed he found a dead cat at the side of the road on his way home and thought it would be more humane to bury it rather than leave it on the street.” She couldn’t believe now that she’d fallen for his story.
Clark hadn’t been much of an animal lover.
She hadn’t pushed the issue of getting a pet as Clark worked long hours at the pub.
She knew she’d have all the responsibility and had decided it was too much work.
Especially since she’d regretted marrying Clark in the first place.
She knew better now. Pets were amazing. Archie was incredible. Tears pricked her eyes when she thought of Archie and Trevor. It hurt to know she may not see them again.
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Todd grabbed her arm, wrenching her up from the chair. “You better not be sending me on a wild-goose chase.” His grip tightened painfully. “I’ll make you regret it.”
“I didn’t see the money,” she said, between clenched teeth. “I just remember Clark burying something at the base of the tree.”
“Let’s go.” Todd pulled her toward the front door. “My boss’s truck is outside.”
Bailey didn’t want to leave, hoping Trevor may have had a chance to find her there if he’d sent Archie on her scent.
Riley was standing outside near his cruiser. He looked up as she and Todd emerged from the house. “We need to get back to Clark’s old place,” Todd said. “And we’re going to need a shovel.”
“I have one.” Riley frowned. “You think the money was buried in the yard?”
“That’s what she claims.” Todd jerked his thumb toward her. “And she’d better be right, or else.”
“The ground is going to be frozen,” Riley protested. “A shovel may not work.”
“It has to. Because if we don’t get this cash back, we’re all dead.
The boss has been on edge for months now.
He wants the money back ASAP.” Todd shoved her toward a black truck.
She hadn’t noticed it earlier, parked along the side of her garage.
He’d been the one following her. He’d been the one hiding behind the black cowboy hat.
And he’d been the one to run her off the road.
Riley grabbed the shovel out of his trunk. “I’ve gotta get back on the road. I need to cover my tracks so nobody suspects I’m involved. I’m already late as it is.”
“You do that.” Todd snatched the shovel from his hands. “Keep them away from the house. Give them false intel to follow up somewhere far away from there.” Todd steered her toward the front passenger seat. “Let’s go.”
Bailey thought again about Trevor and his K9, Archie. She didn’t think the dog could follow her scent while driving in a car. All she could do now was pray that Todd would let her go once he had the money.
And if not? That he’d make her death as painless as possible.
“It’s Jeff Riley. I’m sure of it.” Trevor was seated beside Tom Howell as they drove through the town of Cody, following the GPS tracker on Riley’s car.
Archie was stretched out on the back seat.
According to the tracker, Riley was at Bailey’s home.
The one that had been trashed by someone looking for something of value.
Had the house been the target the whole time?
Trevor wished he knew what they wanted. Other than Bailey.
He glanced at Howell. “Where is he now?”
“Still on Windmill Lane.” Howell arched a brow. “Any idea why he’d take Bailey to her house?”
“No.” Trevor leaned forward, peering through the gloom. “But I’m angry he has her. This shouldn’t have happened. Of all places on the planet, Bailey should have been safe inside the Cody police station.”
“I don’t like it either.” Tom’s tone was testy. “It’s not like I enjoy having a dirty cop on the payroll. Especially not for the second time in a year.”
Trevor glanced at him, then sighed. “I know it’s not your fault. I’m just frustrated. I should have realized Riley was involved when we saw Heath at the hospital. He told Riley we were there. It wasn’t much later when I saw the black truck driving past.”
“I’m sorry. I feel responsible,” Howell admitted.
Trevor shook his head. He was angry with himself for leaving Bailey alone. He could have taken her outside with him while Archie got busy. His concern about her needing to sit and stay on bed rest was almost laughable now that she was in the hands of a brutal murderer.
If anything happened to her or the baby, he’d never forgive himself.
Before leaving the police station, Trevor had called Griff to fill him in on the recent kidnapping.
Griff had told him the FBI in New Jersey had informed him that they’d had their suspicions about Plymouth Properties, believing they were a front for a money laundering scheme.
Gambling money was being funneled through the pubs they owned because they happened to be cash-heavy establishments.
Trevor had wondered if Bailey’s husband, Clark, had stumbled upon the operation and had been killed so he couldn’t blow the whistle.
Then again, that wouldn’t give anyone from Plymouth Properties a reason to go after Bailey. There had to be something more going on here. Some piece of the puzzle that was still missing.
All he cared about was getting Bailey back safely.
Griff was on his way to Cody, but the ranch was a forty-minute ride from here. Unwilling to wait, Trevor and Howell had headed out to find Riley. There was no way Trevor was sitting around while Bailey’s life was at stake.
His attention was abruptly averted by the squad coming down the street toward them. He grabbed Howell’s arm. “There he is!”
Howell reacted quickly, flipping on the red and blue lights, then turning crossways in the road to block Riley’s path.
Trevor tensed, half expecting the oncoming car to ram into them, but it stopped.
For a long moment, Riley sat behind the wheel, staring at them. Then he slowly pushed out of the squad.
“Keep your hands where I can see them!” Howell snapped, using the radio to communicate with his subordinate officer. “I mean it, Riley. One wrong move and I’ll take you down.”
“What’s going on?” Riley lifted his hands, palms facing forward, his expression full of concern. Yet Trevor wasn’t buying his I’m innocent act.
Trevor pushed out of the car. “Where is she?”
“Who?” Again, Riley flashed a feigned look of confusion. “I don’t understand. What’s going on, Sarg?”
“So help me, if you don’t tell me where she is . . .” Trevor paused, struck by an idea. Without a word, he abruptly turned to open the back door of the squad. “Archie, search! Search Bailey!”
Archie jumped down, his tail wagging with excitement. Trevor hadn’t taken the time to give his dog water or to rev him up for the search game. But that didn’t stop his K9 from lowering his nose to the ground and sniffing with interest.
“Search,” he repeated. “Search for Bailey!”
It was as if the two officers were mesmerized by his K9. Archie sniffed at Riley’s shoes, then up his trouser leg. But he didn’t alert. The K9 turned and trotted past the cop to his squad.
A flash of resignation filled Riley’s eyes as he watched the K9 work. Trevor knew this wasn’t the first time the cop had seen their K9s in action. All the Cody cops had watched the K9s in action at some point in time.
Something Riley should have considered before getting involved in something illegal. Like kidnapping Bailey from the police station.
The driver’s side door of the police cruiser was still open from when Riley had gotten out to approach them.
Without hesitation, Archie jumped inside.
The cage would prevent Archie from getting into the back seat, but Trevor had faith in his K9.
He didn’t have to wait long. A minute later, Archie let out a sharp bark.
His alert!
“Bailey was in there. Probably in the back seat, right?” He narrowed his gaze on the young police officer.
“It’s over. We know you took Bailey from the police station and transported her here in your squad.
Archie just proved it. Now tell us where she is!
Did you leave her at the house? Huh? Tell us! ”
Riley dropped his gaze to the ground. Then he slowly shook his head. “I know my rights. If you’re going to accuse me of kidnapping, I want a lawyer.”
No! Trevor ran forward grabbed the officer’s jacket and shook him. To his surprise, Riley didn’t resist. “Tell me where Bailey is!”
“Easy,” Howell warned. The sergeant approached warily, reaching out to tug Trevor away from the cop.
He reluctantly released him, doing his best to rein in his temper.
“He’s right, Riley. You’d better start talking,” Howell advised.
“If you’re involved, you’re in way over your head.
We already know about the money laundering scheme involving the pub. Trust me, this won’t end well for you.”
Riley barked out a laugh. It was all Trevor could do not to step forward to grab him again. They didn’t have time for this. They needed to move. He wondered how quickly Griff would get there.
Probably not soon enough.
“Fine,” Riley said. “I’ll talk, but only if I’m granted full immunity.”
Trevor forced himself to remain calm, allowing his anger to cool. He needed Riley to cooperate. “Great. Start talking.”
“Hold on a minute.” Howell raised a hand. “I need the DA’s approval to make a deal.”
Trevor whirled on the guy. “We don’t have any time to waste! We need to find Bailey before it’s too late!”
“I don’t have the authority to grant him a deal!” Howell gave him an exasperated look. “It won’t take long. I’ll call now and . . .”
“No! There’s no time!” He didn’t want to hear platitudes.
“I’ll ask Griff to support it. He’ll be here any minute.
Just work with me, please.” Trevor wasn’t above groveling.
Archie jumped down from the squad, his tail wagging.
Trevor belatedly bent to lavish praise on his K9.
“Good boy. Good boy, Archie.” Then he turned back toward Howell.
“Don’t you understand? Bailey is supposed to be on bed rest. Her baby could die if we don’t find her soon. Two lives are at stake here, Tom.”
Howell sighed. “Okay, I’ll make the deal and hope the DA goes along.”
“No, I think I’ll wait for the DA,” Riley said. He continued standing near his cruiser, his hands up. “I’m not going to risk being tossed in jail. Do you have any idea what it’s like for cops in the joint? It ain’t pretty.”
Trevor took a step toward him. “If she dies or her baby dies, you’ll be charged as an accessory to murder. That’s life without parole. Understand? You’d better start talking, right now. Before it’s too late for a deal.”
The young cop seemed to consider that. Then he glanced at Howell. “Make the call to the DA. But you’d better hurry. Bailey was alive a few minutes ago, but once they have what they want, I can’t guarantee her safety.”
“Who?” Trevor demanded. “Who has her?”
Riley didn’t answer, his gaze centered on his boss. Or his soon-to-be-former boss. Riley’s career as a cop was over.
How he spent the rest of his life was up to him. Trevor prayed he’d cooperate.
“If Trevor is right about Bailey’s condition, we have exigent circumstances,” Howell said.
“I promise I’ll convince the DA to go along with the deal.
He’ll understand time was of the essence.
” When the cop didn’t look convinced, Howell pressed again.
“Come on, work with us, Riley. Don’t throw your entire life away.
There’s a chance you can walk away from this without jail time.
But only if we find Bailey within the next few minutes. ”
After what felt like an eternity, Riley nodded. “Fine. I expect you to hold up your end the bargain. If they find out I talked, they’ll kill me.”
“Understood. We’ll make sure you get protection too,” Howell promised.
Riley sighed. “She’s with Todd White. He works with Duncan Durango, one of the owners of Plymouth Properties. They’re in Durango’s truck. Todd is taking her to the house she shared with Clark.”
“Why?” Howell asked. “What’s at the house?”
Trevor didn’t care about why, he only cared about getting there as quickly as humanly possible. “I know where they lived; it’s not far from the pub. Four blocks down on Robin Street. Let’s go!”
“Put your hands around your back,” Howell said to Riley, pulling his handcuffs from his utility belt.
Trevor didn’t want to wait for Howell to take Riley into custody. He turned toward Archie. “Let’s go, boy.”
“Wait,” Howell protested, but Trevor ignored him.
Robin Street wasn’t that far from their current location.
He took off running with Archie galloping along at his side.
He briefly heard Howell speaking into his radio, requesting backup to Robin Street.
He found himself hoping Riley was the only bad apple in the group, but even that thought didn’t make him back down.
Trevor ran with all his strength, knowing Archie would be able to keep up. Without hesitation, he cut through backyards, ignoring stares and shouts as one neighbor protested. He was determined to take the most direct route to Robin Street as possible. He was beyond desperate to reach Bailey.
Silently praying he wasn’t too late.