Chapter Twenty-Two
Mariposa Road
Brenda was sick with worry. It was half past one and Mallory had not called back. Did she have some way of knowing they were here at this house—the house where Scott had been murdered—surrounded by police?
She stood in the corner of the living room. This was where Shelton had sequestered them it felt like forever ago. Brenda closed her eyes. She wanted her child. She wanted her life back.
“Excuse me, Ms. Devers.”
Her breath caught as she pulled back from the troubling thoughts. The new special agent from the FBI, this one supposedly real, had appeared in front of her. What was his name? Lance something. English. Yes, that was it. The man was painfully young. Was he even old enough to be an FBI agent?
“Yes?” She glanced around in search of Ben. He’d gone to find Shelton and ask why they hadn’t been allowed to leave.
“I wanted to give you an update about your daughter.”
Thank God. One of the things she’d asked Shelton while he took their statements was why she hadn’t heard anything else from the Amber Alert.
Wasn’t a parent supposed to be kept informed?
As for getting excited about whatever he had to say, there was no point.
She knew who had her daughter and she couldn’t say a word to this man or to Shelton.
“There have been numerous calls and even a few sightings, but none have panned out,” the agent explained.
“But the Bureau is working with Huntsville PD in an effort to find your daughter. You and I, however, need to discuss preparing for the potential of a ransom demand. No one has called you as of yet, is that correct?”
For one instant—a single uncertain moment—she wanted to tell him. But she reminded herself that the other FBI agent, the murdered one, had faked his way into this case. And in truth she still wasn’t certain that she could trust Detective Shelton, or anyone else for that matter.
“That’s correct.”
“Could we arrange a time to meet at your home and see what we can do? We’ll put a wiretap on your phone.”
“Sure. I would appreciate that.” She might as well make her response sound authentic.
“How about two this afternoon? I can have a small team together by then to get the ball rolling.”
“That sounds good. Thank you.” If she were lucky, by then she would have Janey back and Mallory would be just a bad memory.
“All right. I’ll see you then.” He walked back into the kitchen, where Shelton seemed to be holding a discussion with his people.
Hopefully Ben would get an answer soon as to whether they could leave.
They’d given their statements. There was no reason for them to still be here.
Brenda closed her eyes again and thought of her baby’s sweet voice on the phone a few hours ago.
She hoped Mallory called back soon. Then again what good would it do if—
“Detective Shelton says we can go now.”
The sound of Ben’s voice jerked her to attention. “Thank God.”
She followed Ben to the door. “Did he mention if he’d heard anything else about Lena and Trek?”
“Trek is fine, but Lena is in a coma. Her condition has improved somewhat but is still guarded. It’s not unusual for a patient with such severe trauma to remain in a coma for a time, allowing the body to focus on healing.”
Brenda went out the door first. When he’d joined her, she said, “Shelton didn’t tell you that, did he?”
Ben smiled, this one-sided expression that made her feel safe and warm despite current circumstances. “I had a colleague check into the situation.”
The Colby Agency seemed to have all sorts of connections or people capable of finding the necessary contacts in record time. She was immensely grateful for their support.
The one good thing Scott did, she thought again.
“Thank you.” As much as Brenda resented Lena for whatever part she had played in all this, she didn’t wish anything like this on her. Her son needed her.
Ben conducted his usual check of his rental car before they climbed in. Once they were on their way, he said, “You should be hearing from Mallory soon. We’ll go back to your house. I’ll walk you in, see that all is as it should be, then I’ll go next door.”
“You think maybe she’s watching the house. Waiting until I’m there, maybe alone, to make her move?”
“It’s possible. The police are distracted elsewhere. I didn’t notice a tail at any point yesterday other than York. I think you may have fallen lower in Shelton’s priorities given all that’s happened. That gives us an opportunity to present you as being alone.”
Brenda felt sick to her stomach at the idea that had just formed in her head. “You don’t think Mallory killed Scott just to draw the police away?”
Scott was really dead…like Lanier told her.
No, not right. He hadn’t been dead that long.
Some tiny sliver of her brain wanted to be sad and to grieve, but Brenda couldn’t.
And it wasn’t even because she had cried way too much over the man already.
It was because every part of her was focused on her daughter…
Finding Janey was everything. It was all that mattered.
“No.” Ben glanced at her. “She couldn’t be sure we would discover this other house. I think Lena Jenner’s car crash may have been the distraction.”
If that proved true, then obviously Mallory had no care for who she killed—even a child. Fear fired in Brenda’s blood. There went the idea that Janey might actually be safe with her. But then she recalled the comment about the black market. Cutting the woman any sort of slack was a waste of time.
“What you’re saying is that with Shelton and the new FBI agent distracted, she feels comfortable maybe coming to my home. But she knows about you.”
Worry gnawed at Brenda. If Mallory had a plan like that…
how would they ever manage to outwit her?
She surely wouldn’t come alone. Then again, Scott was dead.
Cummings was dead. The cartel guy who had shown up at the office the day of the explosion was dead—it was apparently his body they had mistaken for Scott’s.
The intruder, Dirk Lanier, was in jail. Unless he’d made bond with the help of his high-profile attorney.
It didn’t matter, she realized. There could be dozens of them here or coming.
Defeat sucked at her. She looked to the man driving. But she had a secret weapon. She had the Colby Agency.
“She knows about me, yes,” Ben said in answer to her comment. “We’re setting a trap for her—one she won’t see coming. If she shows, we’ll be ready for her.”
“So I’ll go in my house and you’ll go in yours,” Brenda suggested, wanting details. “Let her believe the circumstances are the same as before she left.” She supposed that would work. Mallory probably had no idea she and Ben had spent a night together.
“Yes.” He glanced at her. “But don’t worry, I’ll be close.”
“Okay. I’m ready to do this.”
All they needed was for Mallory to actually show up.
Devers Residence
White Street
Huntsville, 2:30 a.m.
Brenda walked into her house and waited while Ben had a look around. The survey took longer than she’d expected, but she was tired. She wasn’t so sure she could trust her judgment of time. Her body needed sleep, but her mind would not allow it.
Not until she had Janey home.
Once he was satisfied the house was clear, he gave her arm a squeeze. “Good night. Try to get some sleep.”
“I’ll try,” she promised. His suggestion was for anyone who might be listening. While they were gone more listening devices could have been planted in her home.
He left, and she closed the door, locked it and just stood there wondering what to do next.
It had been four hours since Mallory called.
What if she never called back? What if…
Brenda couldn’t do that to herself. Deep breath.
She needed a way to keep herself occupied until whatever was going to happen, happened.
A cup of tea would be good. She had a variety of teas.
She used to drink it every afternoon, but in recent months she’d basically given up all those small, simple pleasures.
She had to get back to that. When Janey was back home, things were going back to the way they should be. No more dwelling on Scott…
Dear God, she had to bury him again. Explaining that to Janey should be fun.
As she lit the flame under the kettle, she considered that at some point in the next day or two she needed to let her agent know that her next project might be a few weeks late. She’d always been on time—surely she was due one failure to meet her deadline.
On top of that there were upcoming meetings about the movie. She so wanted to be celebrating…but how could she?
A soft knock at the back door drew her attention there.
Had Ben forgotten something? She walked to the door. Didn’t dare turn on an exterior light. She peered through the glass, hoping the stars and moonlight would be enough…
Janey stood on the porch staring up at her.
For a moment Brenda was certain she had imagined her, then she waved and said, “Mommy, open the door.”
Heart thundering, Brenda yanked at the door. It was locked. Her fingers fumbled with the lock. She wrenched the door open, reached down, and her daughter ran into her arms.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” she murmured, her eyes closing in relief. She inhaled the familiar scent of her child’s hair and held her soft body close against her.
“Take it inside.”
Brenda’s eyes flew open. Mallory stood maybe two feet away, a gun in her hand.
A new surge of fear had Brenda moving quickly, Janey in her arms. She stepped back into the house. Mallory came in, closed the door behind her.
“You have your daughter,” she said. “Now where’s that list?”
Ben had been waiting for the moment when he heard Mallory’s voice.