Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Lydia watched in horror as Gregory ran toward the patrol car. He held a rifle. She hadn’t yet buckled herself in. She fell on her stomach, out of view, bracing for the sonic boom that would shatter the windshield.
A tense silence coiled around her, but no shot was fired.
She took in several ragged breaths before lifting her head above the dashboard.
Frankie was running circles around Gregory, diving in and nipping at him while he tried to hit her with the rifle.
River moved in with his gun drawn. She gasped when Gregory lifted the rifle to hit River.
Frankie dove for Gregory’s pant leg and shook it so vigorously that it threw him off balance.
He dropped the rifle and fell on his behind.
Frankie moved in close to the fallen man and continued to bark.
River drew out his handcuffs and secured Gregory lifting him to his feet.
Once she was sure she wasn’t in danger, Lydia pushed open the door and ran to Gregory, grabbing his collar. “Where is Elsie? What have you done with her? Where is my daughter?”
With his hands cuffed behind his back, the man could only angle away from her.
“Lydia.” River wrapped his arm around her waist, lifted her up and pulled her back. “I’ll question him.”
Lydia gasped for air. River kept hold of her until her body relaxed.
“Sorry.” Her voice grew soft as she narrowed her eyes at Gregory. “What have you done with my little girl?”
The man jutted his chin. “They told me what an unfit mother you were. Kid deserves better, just like my kid did.”
“It’s not true.” Tears streamed down Lydia’s face. “They lied.”
“I’m sure there was a big payday for you, too,” said River.
“So what if there was?” said Gregory.
River’s phone rang. Frankie sat at attention. Her butt lifted off the ground every time the suspect twitched. Fear came into Gregory’s eyes when he watched the dog. He wasn’t going anywhere with the yellow Lab standing guard.
With his eyes still on the suspect, River answered his phone, speaking in low tones.
Lydia’s hands balled into fists as she looked at the man who had tried to kill her more than once. “Where’s my daughter?”
Gregory turned his head and looked off to the side, his jaw taut.
As she stared at him, she prayed for self-control.
River addressed his comment to Lydia. “That was Lizzie. There was nothing at the property she and Autumn went to.” He stepped up to Gregory. “Is Elsie being kept at the cabin you’re selling on the other side of Ridge Mountain?” Maren and Eli must be partway there by now.
Gregory pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek and raised his eyebrows in defiance.
Maternal anger coursed through Lydia.
“Have they already left the country?” Lydia could barely get the words out.
River stepped even closer to the suspect. “Look, I contacted a Ridge police officer who’s close. He’s going to come and take you into the police station, where we can question you all day and night.”
Tension knotted at the back of Lydia’s neck. They didn’t have that kind of time.
“Just tell us,” said Lydia.
River held up his hand, indicating she needed to stop, then he looked at Gregory. “You’re looking at several attempted murder charges. If you cooperate now, I’m sure the judge will keep that in mind when it comes to sentencing.”
Gregory pressed his lips together.
Lydia had to take a step back and turn away. She didn’t trust herself enough not to charge at him again. Her whole body was shaking.
“Probably going to be some kidnapping charges, too.”
“I had nothing to do with that. The old lady stayed with the kid while Norm drove the car away to make it look like they’d left the area.”
“You provided Sheryl and Elsie a place to hide. That makes you complicit.”
Gregory’s gaze darted around, as if he was considering what River had said.
Lydia gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. The man was going to jail no matter what. Why was he being so stubborn?
Up the road, the Ridge patrol vehicle came into sight.
River’s phone rang again. “Eli, what did you find?”
She watched as River listened to the response. His body language told her everything she needed to know. Elsie wasn’t at the cabin on Ridge Mountain.
Lydia prayed for peace that was beyond the strong emotions raging through her.
River ended the call.
A calm washed over Lydia as she stepped toward the man who knew where her daughter was. “Please.” Tears streamed down her face. “Please,” she whispered.
The Ridge police officer came to a stop.
Lydia persisted. “What if this was your child? You can imagine what I’ve been going through.”
Gregory’s expression softened as he stared at Lydia for a long moment before speaking. “They’re at the defunct outlet mall on the old highway outside of Ridge.”
“That property wasn’t on your website.” River shifted his weight.
“I haven’t officially gotten the contract to list it. I just knew it was vacant. I didn’t want this to be traced back to me. I’m in debt up to my ears. Once I did my part, I was supposed to get a big paycheck.”
Lydia shuddered, knowing that Gregory’s “part” was to kill her.
“You better hurry. They’re planning on driving out of state tonight to an airport. They knew you’d be watching the Colorado airports.”
“What airport?”
“I don’t know.”
The police officer approached them.
As he was led away, Gregory angled around, shouting back at River, “You’ll let the DA know I cooperated?”
River waved his hand and nodded in response. He turned toward Lydia. “Let’s get out there. You can call the other members of the task force on the way.”
The sky had already turned gray. They didn’t have much time before Sheryl and Norm left with Elsie under the cover of night.
* * *
As they drove toward the outlet mall, River knew that his colleagues were not far behind him. The mall had been built in anticipation of a bigger highway going through this part of Colorado. Growth had turned in a different direction and the mall had gone bankrupt.
By the time he took the turn that would lead to the building, the sky had grown dark. They passed several warehouses and then drove past open fields.
“I remember that mall being quite large. How are we ever going to find her?”
“I still have Elsie’s coat in my car. The dogs will get a scent off that easy. We’ll find her.”
“Do you remember at your house? There were two people shooting at us. Norm must have gotten a gun from Gregory.”
He had thought of that, too. “Yeah, Gregory must have given him some lessons.”
The mall came into view, just a dark silhouette of a long, narrow building.
When he peered in his rearview mirror, he saw headlights behind him.
He would not be going into this alone. He glanced over at Lydia, whose jaw was set.
She’d laced her fingers together. When she looked at him, he saw total trust in her eyes.
He hoped that trust was not misplaced just like it had been with Noah’s mom.
As he drew closer to the parking lot, he slowed and turned off his headlights.
Norm or Sheryl might be watching. There were no cars in the parking lot and the building was dark.
The two cars behind him had turned off their headlights as well and had rolled into the far corner of the lot where he’d parked.
Tension suctioned his chest. The deep breath he took to relax seemed to get stuck in his lungs.
He reached over and put his hand on hers. She turned slightly and leaned toward him, resting her hand on his cheek. His lips pressed against hers then he rested his forehead against hers.
“Stay safe,” she whispered.
He could smell her floral perfume as the warmth of her hand permeated his skin. Her touch and her closeness gave him courage.
He straightened and stared through the windshield. The total darkness of the facility and the fact that he didn’t see a car anywhere was concerning. He hoped they weren’t too late. Not a thought he would vocalize to Lydia.
He squeezed her shoulder before opening his door and then deploying Frankie and grabbing Elsie’s coat. The other handlers were already waiting in the parking lot. With Frankie heeling by his side, he ran over to them.
“Two to the inside, moving in opposite directions, and one on the perimeter,” said River.
“Haven and I will take the outside,” said Maren.
After allowing the K-9s to get the scent off the coat, they moved toward what had been the main entrance of the mall at the center of the building.
Evidence of vandalism was everywhere, broken windows, trash and graffiti.
Eli and River entered the building and split off.
To prevent detection, they’d be searching in the darkness relying on the dogs’ noses.
No surprise that Frankie picked up on Elsie’s scent right away.
The child may have been all through the facility, which meant they might be running in circles for a while.
A noise in one of the smaller stores caused them to turn down a side corridor.
Once at the threshold, River pressed against a wall and listened.
More noise, a sort of rushing sound. He heard one object colliding with another.
He angled his body so he could peer in with one eye.
A light breeze from a broken window ruffled some papers on a broken shelf. Frankie growled and lurched.
“Stay.”
A moving shadow on a high shelf indicated the source of Frankie’s ire. A raccoon scrambled down and disappeared through the broken window.
River let out the breath he’d been holding before heading back to the main corridor. They moved past a chair with no cushion laying on its side and more garbage and debris.
Frankie pulled hard when they came to a large store filled with broken display cases and empty clothing racks. Hangers and trash cluttered the floor. River stepped on broken glass, which made a crunching noise. He stopped and listened.
Frankie moved forward, padding silently. She alerted at the closed door of what must have been used for storage or a break room. He pulled a treat from his pocket as a reward for her.
River stared at the closed door. He didn’t hear any sound inside.
Though all the task force members had grabbed their shoulder radios, he dare not use it for fear of giving himself away. If someone was inside, he assumed there was no other exit.
Taking in a deep breath, River pulled his weapon and reached for the doorknob. Frankie wiggled her butt with a laser focus on River as she waited for a command.
He twisted the nob and pushed the door open with his gun raised. “Police.”
No rustling sound or voices reached his ears.
No one was in the room. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw why Frankie had alerted so strongly.
There were two cots and sleeping bags, children’s toys and books, as well as some boxes of ready-to-eat food.
This must be where they’d kept Elsie. She would have trusted her grandparents and maybe they had found a way to make a game out of why they were in such a place.
Still, he wondered if Elsie had asked about her mother, maybe even cried over her not being with her. The notion was like a stab to his heart.
He moved back out into the wide corridor that led to the display floor of the store. A shuffling noise and then moving shadows caused him to lift his head and stare into the darkness. Frankie emitted a low growl.
Nanoseconds before the first shot was fired at him, River pressed against the wall. Frankie sounding the alarm had saved his life. The dog slipped in close to him. Two more shots were fired in his direction.
Still staying close to the wall, River raised his gun and moved toward where the shots had come from.
The sound of his own breathing augmented the silence as he listened for any noise that might indicate the shooter’s location.
Eli would hear the shots and come running with Wrangler. They’d be able to trap Norm.
River scanned the darkness for any sign of Norm. It had to be him who had the gun. That meant Sheryl was probably with Elsie.
His phone vibrated loudly in his pocket. Probably Lydia wanting an update.
Even though the phone was on vibrate, he heard retreating footsteps. The noise had been enough to alarm Norm. No time to answer it. He and Frankie raced through the store toward the corridor that connected to all the empty stores, moving in the direction he’d heard the footsteps.
On high alert, he stayed close to the wall, watching and listening as he scanned the entire area. There were a hundred nooks and storefronts Norm could have slipped into.
At the other end of the corridor, he spotted Eli and Wrangler making their way up toward him.
He saw the muzzle flash right before he heard the bullet leave the chamber.
Shots resounded, breaking the glass storefront behind him and raining glass down upon him. He put his arms up to protect himself. Another shot caused him to grip his arm where he felt a radiating and intense sting. He’d been grazed.
He dropped to the floor just as another shot whizzed toward him. Gripping his arm, he sought the cover of an overturned chair before lifting his gun to fire back, praying that the bullet found its target.