Chapter 2 #2
“They weren’t happy about me divorcing Sloane. They thought I should have hung in there. Sheryl’s hair isn’t white, though. It’s strawberry-blond. Whatever their feelings are toward me, they dote on Elsie.”
He nodded. “I’m just trying to think of every angle.”
“It can’t be them. I got a text from them yesterday saying they were headed to see their daughter in Grand Junction. She just had a baby.” She massaged her temple.
“Do you have any other relatives who might have white hair or a reason to take Elsie?”
She shook her head. “I have no other family. It’s just me and Elsie.”
His features softened. Was that compassion or pity she saw in his face?
Lydia’s mind raced. “Maybe it’s not personal. Maybe someone was on that mountain looking for the chance to take any child, watching and waiting for one of the children to be away from the group.” Even vocalizing the theory made her stomach tie in a knot.
“Like I said, all avenues have to be explored, but in these initial hours, our focus is on searching for your daughter.”
River turned onto Main Street. And then took a side street.
“My house is just a couple of blocks up this street and then take a right, 407 Weston.”
He rolled to a stop in front of her house. “I’ll walk you to your door. Ridge police will have to get a statement from you at some point.”
They stood on her front steps, facing each other. “My daughter is alive and we’re going to find her.” Her voice lacked conviction.
River nodded. “I’m concerned about your safety because you were pushed off that cliff. I’ll make sure the local police run a patrol past your house.”
“Do you really think someone will come after me again? I think they just needed to get me out of the way so they…so they—” Her throat went tight. “So they could get to Elsie.”
The reality that her daughter had been kidnapped was beginning to sink in. She just couldn’t fathom that her life was also in danger. The tears flowed and turned into body-shaking sobs.
River patted her arm and spoke softly. “The tears are understandable. This is a lot to carry.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, she fell against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
Though her actions had been impulsive, she relished the safety she felt in River’s arms. It had been a long time since she’d been held.
Not that Sloane had shown her much affection even before the marriage exploded and she found herself alone.
She pulled back. Her cheeks grew hot when she looked into his eyes. “Sorry I just—” She smoothed her shirtfront, embarrassed that she had fallen into the arms of a man she barely knew. She stared at the ground.
“It’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. You held it together pretty good the whole time we were searching.” He turned to go. “I’ll stay in touch with you.”
She pulled her key from the pocket of her jeans. She hadn’t taken her purse on the hike. Only her license and house key. She turned the knob to open the door. River was halfway down her sidewalk when he pivoted back to her. “Lock your doors. Just a precaution.”
“Yes, of course.” She didn’t want to believe that her life was under threat.
She stepped inside the dark room. Reminders of Elsie were everywhere, from her favorite stuffed animal to the crayon pictures on the refrigerator. She fell face-first onto the sofa and prayed through the flowing tears.
Oh, God. Please bring my little girl back to me. She’s all I have.
* * *
As he drove toward the burger place to do his interview with Danielle Potter, River could not get his mind off of Lydia.
The comment about not having any family had stabbed at his heart.
He’d do anything to end her agony and see light come back into those green eyes.
He could still see the photograph of Elsie in his mind.
Though he couldn’t neglect his duties to the task force, his mind was on finding Elsie. He had to find her.
The Ridge police had given him permission to take lead on Elsie’s case, but he’d have to run it by his task force supervisor too.
Only a few cars were parked in the lot of Ridge Burgers and More. Before he went inside, he pulled up the phone number for Second Chances rehab and called. He identified himself to the woman who answered and asked if Sloane Caldwell was at their facility.
A pert female voice responded, “What is this concerning?”
“An investigation involving a kidnapping of his daughter.”
“Oh my. I can tell you that Mr. Caldwell has been here for over a week, and he’s not allowed to leave the facility or make phone calls at this early stage of the program.
He’s had no news from the outside world as per the protocol of the program.
The only reason we break that rule is for death in the family.
Finding out about his daughter could lead to relapse. ”
“I understand. I just need to know if he had the opportunity to leave the facility.”
“I can talk to staff and see if he was present at his meetings today.”
“Thank you.” He recited his number and hung up.
He drew his attention back to the nearly empty parking lot of Ridge Burgers and More.
It was well past the lunch hour. After deploying Frankie, he pushed through the glass doors and stepped up to the counter.
Only two tables were occupied. One with a mom and two kids, and the other with an older gentleman eating alone.
The scent of salt and grease hung in the air.
A boy of about sixteen stood behind the cash register. “Welcome to Ridge Burgers. What can I get for you?”
River pulled his badge. “I’m looking for Danielle Potter.”
“Oh yeah, she said a cop would be coming by. She’s in the back, cleaning the fryer. I’ll tell her you’re here.”
The boy disappeared and a moment later a woman with brown hair twisted into braids, arched eyebrows and a nose ring emerged. Her rich brown eyes had a sparkle to them. She couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. “Officer Jameson?”
He nodded.
After filling a paper cup with soda, Danielle came around the counter and pointed at an empty table. “We can just sit here. I’m due to take my break anyway. I have fifteen minutes.”
River took a seat and Frankie sat at attention beside him.
“Cute dog.”
Frankie thumped her tail.
Having his partner close always seemed to break the ice with people. “You called the task force because you thought you learned something about Gayle that might be helpful.”
She took a sip of her drink. “Gayle and I were friendly, but we weren’t friends. You know what I mean?”
“So, you didn’t get together outside work?”
“Exactly, but we got along real well, and she was always chatty when we worked a shift together. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw the news article about her body being found on that hiking trail.”
“So why did you contact us now?” River was afraid this interview was going to be a dead end. He was losing valuable time when he could have been helping look for Elsie.
“Shortly before she quit, she showed me a picture of a guy she was with. Said his name was Joel. She was really falling hard for him. I think she was already pregnant by then, since she started bringing a healthy lunch to work instead of the fast food we serve here, which she could have had for free. I think Joel was the father.”
“Joel?” A first name wasn’t much to go on. The task force didn’t have a lot of information on the murdered teens due to their strained relationships with families. “Do you remember the photograph? What did he look like?”
She moved her hand closer to his and leaned in.
Frankie licked her chops and scooted closer, her attention on Danielle.
“I don’t have to remember the photograph because yesterday he came in here to pick up an online order.
He was kind of jumpy. Maybe he was on drugs.
Maybe he was nervous about being back in the place where his murdered girlfriend had worked. ”
Joel didn’t sound like a very stable person. “Do you think he killed her?”
“He didn’t seem like the type, kind of timid.
I do remember that Gayle said she was concerned about his drug use.
Drugs do change people’s personalities, so maybe he could have found out about the baby after it was born and killed her when he was high.
” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I liked Gayle.
Maybe we could’ve been friends if she’d lived. I want to help.”
“Tell me what he looked like.”
“Short brown hair, acne. Kind of tall and skinny. Oh, and I have this.” She dug through the pockets of her apron and handed him what looked like a receipt. “He ordered from an online app where you have to give your full name.”
River stared at the receipt. Joel Henley. He had a first and last name. Danielle had saved the most important detail for last. “Thank you. This will help us.”
Danielle smiled and took another sip of her drink. “It would be good to get justice for Gayle and maybe find out what happened to her baby.”
Frankie released a whimper that sounded like a vote of agreement.
“We all want that for Gayle and the other young women who were taken too soon,” said River.
He thanked her, bringing the interview to a close, then headed out the door with Frankie heeling beside him. Once inside his patrol car, he phoned his task force boss with the information Danielle had given him.
Emmett Dane’s voice came across the line. “We’ll get Eva on this right away to see if she can track down an address for Joel Henley.” In addition to being the head of the task force, Emmett was an FBI agent based out of Denver. Eva Gomez was the task force’s tech specialist.
“Sounds good,” said River. “Even if Joel is trying not to be found, Eva will be able to track him down.”
“Once we have a solid address for him, I want you to partner with Maren. Her K-9 might be required if things get ugly.”
Maren Anderson, whom he’d only met recently when they’d both joined the task force, was a good cop.
Her K-9 Haven, a Doberman pinscher, was trained in both narcotics and suspect apprehension.
“I’d be glad to have them along.” He took in a breath.
“Did you hear about the abduction case here in Ridge?”
“Yes, Lizzie called me.”
“I asked the Ridge police if I could take lead on this case.”
“A three-year-old girl is involved. I think it would be good for you to work this case.” Emmett knew what had happened with Noah. Maybe that was why he’d said yes.
“I know it will take time away from the task force case.”
“We’ll manage. We’ll try to provide as much support as we can to get it wrapped up quickly. If Eva has the time, she can help you track down information.”
“Thank you, Emmett.”
River disconnected and checked his texts. He had two of them. The first was from Second Chances.
Sloane made all his meetings and showed up for his check-ins.
That ruled out the husband. It would have to be someone who’d known about the field trip. Someone at the school? Another parent? The other possibility was that it was a crime of opportunity by a stranger who made a habit of taking children.
The thought gave him chills.
The second text was a single word from Lydia.
Anything?
River’s breath hitched as if a vise was being tightened around his chest. The photograph of Noah was burned into his memory as well. He covered his eyes with his hand.
Oh, God, I don’t want to repeat history. Help me find this little girl.
He phoned his colleague Lizzie, hoping for something positive he could text to Lydia. If the child had been located, he would have been informed right away. But maybe they’d found a shoe or a coat, anything that might give Lydia hope.
“Any news?” River managed to speak in a strong voice despite the doubt and fear he wrestled with.
“We questioned the owners of the other two cars in the lot. They were high up on the trail and didn’t see anything. A farmer did notice a car coming out where that dirt road meets up with the pavement about the time of the abduction.”
If that car was connected to the kidnapping, Elsie could be miles from Ridge by now…or worse. “What kind of car?”
“The farmer was too far away to see details. He just said it was dark-colored.”
“Frankie and I are coming back up there. I want to take another run at figuring out why she lost the scent.”
“We got two more volunteer teams, additional officers and two choppers. We’ll keep up the search for now, but if that car had anything to do with the kidnapping, the kid’s not here anymore.”
That reality caused his stomach to knot. “I get what you’re saying. We need to shift strategies and for that we need more information. My skills might be better utilized figuring out why the girl was taken.”
“The mother would be a good place to start,” said Lizzie.
“I’ve questioned her a little.” It was the reason he’d offered to drive her home. “She could provide leads for who at the school might be involved. If this abduction wasn’t random, it had to be someone who knew about the field trip.”
“The plan is to keep up the search until it gets too dark to see. It would be good if we had options before we call off the search for the night. I’ll let you know if anything shifts.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep you in the loop as well,” said River.
River disconnected and stared at his phone. Any message he gave Lydia, he wanted to deliver in person.
Right now, he had nothing but bad news for her.