Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
Lydia’s stomach tightened as she sat down and scooted her chair closer to River’s computer. He clicked on the first file. The car was a lighter gray than Norm’s.
She shook her head.
He brought up the second image. Though not readable, two bumper stickers were visible. Lydia sat back in her chair as her heartbeat drummed in her ear. “That’s their car.” She rose and paced, wrapping her arms around herself. The numbness and the sensation that she was floating overtook her.
Her former in-laws had lied about where they’d been on the morning of Elsie’s disappearance.
River rushed to her side and led her over to the couch. He sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders were touching.
Just having him close helped calm her churning emotions and racing thoughts.
Frankie rose where she’d been sleeping and trotted over to Lydia’s side, nudging her hand.
Lydia’s mind was spinning. Norm had come to her house to feign support for her, knowing that Elsie was with Sheryl.
That’s why he’d made up the story about Sheryl being too upset to visit.
One of them needed to stay with Elsie. Her mother’s distress had meant nothing to him.
It had all been an act to make them look innocent.
They were not the people she thought they were.
She rested her hand against her forehead.
“I still don’t think Norm is the one who attacked me all those times. ”
“Could be that he hired someone.” River let out a heavy breath. “We need to talk to Sloane and find out what he knows. If the rehab place still says he can’t talk to people outside the facility, Emmett can see to it that we get a court order.”
River was a man of action, and he was focused on the next step in the investigation. She simply could not absorb this new revelation.
Norm and Sheryl had most likely abducted their granddaughter.
How could she not have seen who they really were?
“I’m a fool. I believed Sloane’s lies about the life we would have together.
I trusted Norm and Sheryl. I wanted a family so bad.
” She rose from the sofa pacing and combing her fingers through her hair.
She took in a sharp breath. “This is my fault. I’m a bad mother. ”
“No, that’s not true.” River wrapped his arms around her, making soothing sounds while he swayed and held her. He smoothed his hand over her hair.
He pulled away from the hug but rested his hands on her cheeks. “I’m calling the rehab place and getting Sloane on the phone. You can listen in, if you want to. He doesn’t have to know that you’re there. You know him. You’d be able to tell if he’s lying.”
Staring into his blue eyes quelled the tumultuous feelings. “At least I know that if Elsie’s with them, she’s not been harmed.” The idea helped her take a deep breath as he stood and moved over to the table.
River sat down and pressed numbers on his phone. When a woman answered, River identified himself as a police officer and explained the situation. “I know you said part of the protocol of the program was not to have contact with outside influences, but this is an emergency situation.”
“Sloane is far enough in the program that he is allowed limited outside contact if he wants. I can ask him to speak to you, but he may choose not to,” the woman responded.
“The clients don’t have access to television or the internet, so he doesn’t know about his daughter.
He’s had no outside communication with anyone since he checked himself in.
Give me a minute to explain the situation to him and then I’ll call you back.
Either he’ll come on the line, or I’ll let you know he refused. ”
“Okay,” said River. River pressed buttons on his phone. “I’m sending this news to the task force group chat. If we can come up with a possible location for where Elsie might be, we’re going to need all hands on deck. Some of them may be close to Ridge already.”
After he sent the text to the task force, they both stared at the phone.
The anticipation made it hard for her to breathe. “Are you sure you don’t want that cup of coffee?”
“I’ll take it.”
She poured the coffee for him and then sat down again. Her hand rested on the table. He reached over and covered her hand with his and looked directly into her eyes.
“Lydia, what you said about being a bad mother… I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. You’re a good mother.”
She stared into his eyes for a long moment. “I want to believe that. I was a poor judge of character where Sloane was concerned, and now with Norm and Sheryl. I don’t know that I would ever trust myself again, especially in a romantic situation.”
River winced at her comment. She just didn’t trust herself to fall in love again.
The phone rang. They both jumped.
The same woman’s voice came across the line. “Sloane needed a minute to pull himself together. I have to tell you, he seemed genuinely shocked when I told him about Elsie. Oh, here he comes down the hallway.”
A minute passed and then a man’s bass voice came through the speaker. “You the cop that’s looking for my little girl?”
“Yes, I’m Officer Jameson. It appears that your mother and father may have taken her. Do you know anything about this?”
“Mom and Dad are involved?” His surprise sounded genuine. “I didn’t put them up to it, if that’s what you’re asking,” said Sloane. “Look, I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. Being in this program has given me a lot of time to think.”
“So, you didn’t encourage them to take Elsie away from her mother?”
Sloane didn’t answer right away. Lydia felt like she couldn’t inhale a breath as they waited in the tense silence.
When Sloane spoke, it sounded like he was crying.
“I was a very angry man when Lydia divorced me. I blamed her for everything. I probably said things to my parents that poisoned them against her. I’m so sorry I did that.
In this program, they teach you that you have to own your choices.
That’s my part in what has happened to my little girl.
She and Lydia deserve better than me. It was the best thing for Elsie that Lydia got sole custody. ”
Lydia’s eyes glazed. The man she was hearing on the phone was not the same man who had driven drunk with their daughter. Though all the damage he’d done to her meant she felt no deep love for him, Lydia was glad it appeared he’d changed. The apology meant a great deal to her.
“Do you have any idea where they may have taken Elsie?”
“I can’t think of any place. I will tell you that Dad can be kind of a bully. Mom just goes along with what he says to keep the peace. This program has made me see family dynamics more clearly.”
“Are you sure you don’t know where they are?”
“Honestly, I don’t. I’m not trying to protect them.”
Lydia leaned closer to River and whispered in his ear so Sloane wouldn’t hear. “I believe him.”
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Caldwell. If you do think of where they might be keeping the child, please get in touch with me.”
“I will.” Sloane gulped. “Officer Jameson, please find Elsie.”
“We’ve got a bunch of officers on this. Everyone wants to bring Elsie home safe to her mother.”
“That’s the best place for her to be. I was never much of a father, but Lydia was a great mom.”
A tear flowed down Lydia’s cheek.
“Thank you, Mr. Caldwell.” River clicked the disconnect button and sat back in his chair. “So where are they?”
Lydia shook her head. “Maybe they haven’t left the state yet, but that must be their ultimate plan, to take Elsie to a foreign country.
I still think that the man who attacked me at the river wasn’t Norm.
The other times it happened so quick, but that time I was in the car with him for a long time.
” Lydia just couldn’t imagine him attacking her in such a direct way.
“They must be getting help from someone.” River rubbed his chin. “So, that means we look at every known associate of both Sheryl and Norm and start questioning them.”
“Do we have that kind of time? If they are still in the area, it’s just a matter of time before they find a way to leave.” Again, she felt as if a weight had been placed on her lungs. Her breathing was shallow. “There has to be a faster way, River. Please.”
River spoke in a calm voice. “I need you to think about who they associate with. Anyone who might be above the law.”
“I have no idea. He’s a retired contractor and she managed an office supply store. Honestly, my interaction with them was in relationship to Elsie. From the time I met them, they were always a little cold to me. I guess they thought I wasn’t good enough for their son.”
River let out a heavy breath. “Not true. You were too good.” He paced into the kitchen. “You’re right. Going through known associates is time-consuming, and it sounds like it would be a rabbit trail anyway. Maybe we should pray to come up with some leads.”
“That’s a good idea.” She reached her hands toward him.
They held hands while River prayed. “God, we need Your help. We need to find Elsie before she’s taken out of the country. Show us where to look, what leads we need to pursue, so we don’t waste time.”
Lydia opened her eyes. “Give me a minute. I’m going to go splash some water on my face and see if I can clear my head.”
“Okay, I need to take Frankie outside,” said River.
Lydia retreated to her bathroom. The cold water felt good on her face. She reached for a towel. It bothered her that she had not seen through Norm and Sheryl’s act in the early hours of the kidnapping. Norm had come to see her. Even before that, Sheryl had called, acting concerned.
She gasped.
The phone call.
Lydia ran back into the living room and then outside, where River was walking the perimeter of the park with Frankie. As she rushed across the yard, she glanced side to side, keenly aware that she was exposed. So far, it appeared that her attacker had not figured out she was staying here.
She sprinted toward him. “Sheryl called me on her cell the morning after Elsie had been taken. There must be a way to trace where that phone call came from. That has to be where they’re keeping Elsie.”
* * *
It took River only a second to realize that this might be the breakthrough they’d prayed for. River ran back to his house with Frankie and Lydia. Once inside, Lydia grabbed her phone and recited Sheryl phone number while River contacted Eva.
“Hello?”
“Eva, I know you have a lot on your plate, but if you could do something for me right now, we might be able to find Elsie.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I need to know if you can find out where a phone call was made from.”
“Easy-peasy,” said Eva. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what towers the call pinged off of.”
River recited the number. “It was the morning after Elsie was taken.”
“Give me just a little bit of time. I’ll get back to you as fast as I can.”
River hung up. From where they stood in the living room, Lydia gazed at him and then fell into his arms. “I hope this works.”
“Me, too,” said River.
The screech of tires outside on the street reached his ears a second before the front window shattered. He got a glimpse of the tan SUV racing by. His hand went over Lydia’s back as he pulled her to the ground. Another shot was fired.
“They found us.”
More shots came through the back window. There were two shooters.
“Get to the garage. Get in the car. Take Frankie.”
Lydia crawled on all fours as more shots were fired through the back and front windows.
River reached up to grab his gun and his keys. He still had his phone in his hand. He dialed the Ridge Police Department as he made his way toward the open door that led to the garage. “This is Officer Jameson. I’m being shot at in my home.”
A quick glance out the front window revealed that the tan SUV was not parked outside, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be coming back for another drive-by.
He heard the window in Lydia’s bedroom shatter. One of the shooters must have moved in even closer. He hurried into the garage and got behind the wheel of his patrol vehicle. Lydia held the garage door remote.
“Tell me when to open it.”
Frankie was in the back seat in her kennel. With his heart pounding, River fixed his gaze on the rearview mirror. “Now.” After starting the engine, he shifted into Reverse.
The garage door rose. The street looked clear. He floored it and made a tight turn, shifting into Drive.
“He’s coming back up the street.” Fear permeated Lydia’s words.
River sped up the street. In the distance, he heard sirens.
“He turned,” said Lydia.
“He’s not getting away.” River flipped a U-turn and pulled his radio. “Requesting backup. This is Officer Jameson. I am in pursuit of a tan SUV close to where I live.”
He didn’t like that Lydia might be in danger but catching this guy might end the nightmare she’d been living in.
He raced up and down side streets, catching a glimpse of the tail end of a tan vehicle.
When he turned onto a new street, the car he’d been following had parked in a driveway.
A mother and child got out of the car. He’d followed the wrong vehicle.
The sirens wailed through the streets. The Ridge Police Department must have sent most of their force. Maybe they would be able to track down the elusive SUV.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Still waiting for my heart to slow down. This isn’t anything you ever get used to, is it?”
“No.” He let out a breath. “Let’s get you to the police station. That’s the safest place for you for now.”
He drove slower across town. He reached over and patted her leg, hoping to calm her.
His phone, which he’d placed on the console, rang.
“It’s Eva.” Lydia’s voice held a note of tension.
“Put her on speakerphone so we can both hear it.”
Lydia pressed a button.
He leaned toward the phone. “Eva, what you got for me?”
“You’re not going to believe where that phone call from Sheryl Caldwell came from.”