Chapter Two #2
“I’m looking for your bio mother, Yvette O’Dell. Do you have any idea where she is?” he asked.
“Yvette?” she questioned, and now there was some surprise mixed with the apprehension.
“No, sorry, I don’t know. I thought you were calling about my brother, Shane.
I’ve been trying to reach him all morning, and he’s not answering—” She stopped.
“Wait, is he with Yvette?” And that concern skyrocketed. “Did Yvette do something to him?”
Addie’s gaze snared Judson’s. Their concerns were soaring even more as well.
“I’m not sure if your brother is with Yvette or not,” Judson let Jennifer know. “I’m trying to locate her about another matter. When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Last night,” she said on a heavy sigh. “Before that, I hadn’t seen or heard from her in weeks.
But last night she just showed up at my apartment shortly after I got home from work.
She was crying and going on about how sorry she was for what happened when Shane and I were kids.
She does this about once a year, usually on our birthday. Today is our twenty-second birthday.”
Oh God. Had that been some sort of trigger for Yvette to abduct the twins?
“What has Yvette done?” Jennifer asked, the dread coating her voice.
“We’re not sure yet,” Judson replied, obviously not spilling any details, “but it’s imperative that I get in touch with her. If she contacts you, don’t mention I’m looking for her. Just try to find out her location and then call me or the Renegade Canyon Sheriff’s Office.”
“Has Yvette done something bad?” Jennifer pressed. “Something to do with that foster ranch where Shane and I stayed before we were adopted?”
Everything inside Addie went still, and she waited for Judson’s response. “Yvette’s car was spotted near the Horseshoe Ranch,” he finally said after a long pause. “Do you have any idea what she would have been doing there?”
Jennifer paused, too. “I’m not sure, but considering her state of mind last night, she might try to confront the woman who ran the place when Shane and I were living there.”
Yvette couldn’t have spoken to Jennifer’s former foster mom, since Mellie was dead, but Addie was certain that Yvette, or anyone else for that matter, hadn’t come to the door to ask about Mellie. They’d had no visitors all morning at the ranch.
Well, no visitor who’d rung the doorbell or paid a normal visit.
Obviously, someone had gotten in. Probably Yvette. And the fact that the car had been hidden on a trail meant the person hadn’t had good intentions.
“Call me if you hear from Yvette,” Judson repeated, and he ended the call with Jennifer. “I’m going to try to call Shane now,” he let them know.
They didn’t get lucky this time, because the call to Jennifer’s twin brother went straight to voicemail, but Judson did leave a message asking the man to call him back immediately.
Livvy finished her call with Grace and continued the drive toward the interstate. With nothing else she could do, Addie kept looking for the black car. And tried not to give in to the panic that was building, building, building. She was fighting the tears again, too, when her phone rang.
The sound was so unexpected that she gasped, and because her hands were still trembling, it took her several moments to yank her phone from the pocket of her jeans. She didn’t recognize the number on the phone, but she answered it right away on speaker, praying this was Yvette.
“Addie Jansen?” the caller—a woman—immediately asked.
“Yes,” Addie verified, and she held her breath.
“I’m Courtney Mora, a social worker from San Antonio.”
Addie’s hopes vanished as quickly as they’d come. It wasn’t unusual for her to get calls from social workers, and San Antonio was less than an hour from Renegade Canyon. Those calls were usually inquiries about possible placements for babies and kids that CPS had taken into custody.
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t a good time,” Addie muttered.
“I understand,” Courtney replied. “I just saw the Amber Alert on the missing babies, and I might have some information.”
Addie practically snapped to attention, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Judson have a similar reaction. “What information?” Addie couldn’t get out fast enough.
“Yvette O’Dell,” the woman said, and just hearing the name gave Addie another slam of those raw nerves. “I was the social worker who removed her kids over two decades ago. Needless to say, I made an enemy of Yvette when I did that. She’s tried her best to destroy me and my career.”
This recap might be necessary, but Addie was anxious to get to the reason why Courtney had called. “Did Yvette come after the twins that I’m fostering now?” Addie demanded.
“Yes, I believe she did,” Courtney replied.
“Just yesterday, she showed up at my office to rant about how I ruined her life. I had security escort her out, but she had a wild look in her eyes, and I was worried she would try to do something reckless to get back at me. Perhaps she turned that recklessness on those babies.”
Maybe, but again, motive wasn’t as big a concern right now as finding Lily and Rose. “Do you have any idea where Yvette might have taken the twins?”
“I might. All those years ago when I took her children into custody, Yvette had them in an old fishing cabin. It used to belong to one of her father’s friends. Anyway, if the cabin is still there, that’s where she might have taken them.”
“What’s the address?” Addie pressed.
“I thought you’d ask for it so I looked it up before I called you. It’s number three West Betterton Road, just outside of Bulverde.”
From the back seat, Addie heard Judson phoning in the address so that someone could respond to the location. Since Bulverde wasn’t that far away, only about ten miles, it was possible that Yvette could soon be there with the babies.
Livvy stopped, put the address in the GPS and started in that direction. They weren’t far away, either, and would be there in under ten minutes. Sooner, Addie amended, considering the speed Livvy was driving.
“Thank you,” Addie told Courtney.
“Glad I can help. I believe Yvette could be a very dangerous woman, and she needs to be stopped. I hope you can stop her. But be careful. There’s no telling what she’s capable of,” she tacked on before ending the call.
Addie tried not to dwell on that very dangerous part and instead pinned her focus and attention on the road. Judging by the GPS, they’d be taking a lot of turns to get to the cabin.
Livvy slowed to take one of those turns, but then she slammed on the brakes. Clearly, she’d spotted the same thing Addie had: a red truck pulled just off the side of the road. There was a woman standing outside the vehicle, and she was waving to get their attention.
Addie’s first thought was that the woman had broken down and needed help, but she looked more frantic than just a breakdown would warrant. Then again, she might have been out here for a while, and she might have seen the black car if it’d passed this way.
“Is that Yvette?” Livvy asked.
“No,” Judson was quick to say. “Yvette’s only forty-eight, and according to her latest DMV photo, she still has brown hair.”
This person had to be in her late sixties, and her hair was pure gray. The moment Livvy stopped, the stranger hurried to the cruiser.
“She sped off before I could stop her,” the woman said, her words rushing out with her racing breath.
“Who sped off?” Livvy asked. “And who are you? What’s your name?”
“Nan Fredrick. My farm is just up the road a piece.” She motioned behind her.
“And as for the woman in the black car, I don’t know who she was.
Never saw her before in my life. I’d stopped to gather up some dried twigs to make a wreath, and she pulled up beside me.
I was about to ask if something was wrong, but she got out and picked up two babies from her back seat. ”
Oh, mercy. The twins. They’d been here, right here.
“She shoved them into my arms and sped off,” Nan went on. “I was about to call 911, but then I saw the cruiser and flagged you down.”
Addie’s breath had vanished, and she was glad Judson was able to voice what she wanted to know. “Where are the babies now?”
She pointed to the truck. “I laid them on the seat so I could use my phone. They were squirming, and I was afraid I’d drop them. I put my purse on the edge of the seat so they wouldn’t fall off.”
Before Nan had even finished her explanation, Addie heard a welcome sound. Actually, two sounds—fussing babies.
Addie bolted from the cruiser, sprinting toward the truck and throwing open the door the moment she reached it.
And there they were.
Lily and Rose were cuddled together in a pink blanket.