The doors opened, and a family of four walked in. Restless energy suffused him. He really needed to get the girl and hurry back. But he forced himself to be still, to wait patiently, be invisible to those around him.
A dark-haired teen approached the restaurant. Ah, there she was. He straightened, pulled the ball cap lower around his ears. Time to throw out the line. And reel in his catch.
It was as simple as that.
Jenna stepped out of the church van and looked around. Beautiful. It wouldn’t get dark until around nine o’clock. Plenty of time to drink in the vastness surrounding her. The campground held tents of various shapes and sizes. The RV park was within shouting distance. The showers and toilets resided behind the dark wooden structure to her left.
A pay phone captured her attention. She looked at her cell. Very low signal. She wondered if she could text from up here. Probably. Sometimes a text went through when a call itself would fail. But . . .
Who cared? She was here, she was free.
“So, what do you think? Glad you came?”
Jenna smiled at Maria. “Definitely. I needed this.”
“I think we all did.”
“True.” But she wanted to say, “Not as bad as I did.” But that would sound pretty selfish, so she kept her lips closed. The sound of a rushing river pulled her to the left. Maria followed.
“How’s your father doing? With Andrew’s death and all. I know they were partners.”
Jenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, Maria, I don’t want to be rude, but I came on this trip to get away from all of that. I don’t want to talk about my dad, Andrew, or any other icky or sad topic. I’m here to forget my life for the next few hours.”
Maria lifted an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Sure.”
Relief filled Jenna. “Thanks.”
“Wanna go wading?”
“Definitely.”
“Let’s help get stuff set up so we can head down to the river.”
The girls made their way back to help set up camp, but the four chaperones who’d accompanied them shooed the teenagers away. “Go enjoy yourself.”
Jenna, Maria, a teen by the name of Spike, and the biggest surprise of the day, Bradley Fox, let out a cheer. “To the river!”
Jenna brought her backpack that held her towel, sunscreen, and a bottle of water. Her collection of key chains rattled as she walked, and she smiled at the racket. Her dad complained about the noise, but Jenna knew he didn’t really care that she kept them. Her mother had given her every one of them.
“So, Bradley,” she initiated conversation as they walked. “I didn’t know you came to this church.”
“I don’t. I’m a friend of Spike’s. His dad and mine work together and he invited me along. I didn’t have anything better to do, so—” he shrugged—“here I am.”
“I’m glad.”
Bradley gave her a long, measured look, then he smiled. “Yeah, me too.”
Jenna tossed her backpack to the ground and pulled out her water bottle. Then she slid out of her flip-flops and stepped into the river. The current flowed swift and hard. She almost lost her footing, but a strong hand on her arm kept her upright.
Turning, she smiled at Bradley. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He helped her over to a large rock where they sat side by side, dangling their feet into the water. “So, how long have you been going to this church?”
“Hmm. I don’t actually go there. I visited last week, then the shooting happened . . .”
“Yeah, I heard about that. I didn’t realize you were there, though.”
“My dad’s the one investigating the case.”
Realization lit his eyes. “Is that why you have a shadow following you everywhere at school?”
Cutting her eyes at him, she gave him a little grin. “Noticed that, did you?” She shrugged. “Yeah, but I haven’t seen him lately. Maybe he decided nothing was going to happen up here in the boonies.”
“Are you scared?”
Jenna looked down into the water. Was she? “No, not really. Not for me anyway. It’s my dad he wants.” She raised her eyes back to Bradley’s. “That scares me. I’ve already lost my mom . . .”
She looked away again, unable to believe she was opening up to this guy like she was. Forcing a smile, she stood. “Come on, let’s wade.”
The next hour and a half passed in a blur of splashing and laughing. Jenna felt the weight of depression, sorrow, and worry fall from her shoulders as she frolicked like a little kid again.
Maria proved herself true and didn’t bring up any touchy subjects. Instead, Jenna learned about the girl’s background. That her parents were missionaries and Maria’s goal was to follow in their footsteps. Her love of God touched something deep in the recesses of Jenna’s heart. In fact, Maria reminded her of Samantha in that regard. Interesting.
Tired, yet relaxed in a way she hadn’t been since before her mother died, she flopped onto her towel and laughed at the others’ antics.
Out of habit, she pulled out her phone and checked it. She had two text messages. The first was from her dad asking if she was all right. She answered that she was fine.
The next text message made a liar out of her. She wasn’t fine. Patty’s text said, “Met Danny. He was mad you weren’t here, but glad to meet me. Wants me to see his studio. Going with. C U later.”
What? But she’d canceled that meeting.
And Patty had been playing with her phone before they left.
Jenna scrolled back through her sent messages. And there it was. Patty, the little sneak, had sent a message saying Jenna had changed her mind and would meet him.
All of Jenna’s tension rolled back onto her shoulders. She started to reply to Patty, to blast the girl for doing something so careless—never mind the fact that she herself had seriously considered it—when another text flashed back on her screen. Another one from Patty. This time nausea swirled. “Get help. Danny is a—”
She never finished the message. She’d hit the send button fast. Which meant her friend was in danger.
Jenna dialed her dad’s number, but the call wouldn’t go through. She jumped up, rustled up some change from the bottom of her backpack, and ran to the pay phone.
Fingers shaking, she dialed his number and got his voice mail. In a rush, she blurted, “Dad, Patty’s in trouble. She’s gone to meet a guy named Danny who she met online and I think she needs help. They were meeting at some coffee shop on Chester Street. I don’t know if she’s still there, but you’ve got to . . .” Jenna trailed off and sighed. Her dad was busy. He’d never stop what he was doing to find Patty. Not when he was busy looking for a killer.
Jenna hung up and dug out more change.
Connor heard his phone ringing from somewhere near the vicinity of his feet, but couldn’t stop yet to grab it. He’d dropped it when he’d pulled into the Steadwells’ drive practically on two wheels.
Absently, he noted the place looked deserted. Great. He opened his door, then knelt down to snatch the phone from the floorboard. Looked at it. An unknown number had called.
Samantha climbed out and headed for the front door. He listened to his voice mail and froze, heart thumping in sudden fear. At the end of the message, he immediately dialed the number Jenna had called from.
“Sam, get back in the car.”
She looked back at him, a frown marring her forehead. Shrugging, she loped down the front steps and looked at him, questions churning in her steady blue gaze.
“Dad? Dad, is that you?”
Relief nearly sucked the strength from his knees. “Jenna, what’s going on?”
“You’ve got to get over to that coffee shop on Chester Street.”
Connor flipped the phone to speaker so Samantha could hear. They both climbed back into the car as Jenna continued.
“Patty’s meeting this guy named Danny who she met online. And I think he’s dangerous. She sent me a text message that said, ‘Get help.’”
“Where’s your bodyguard?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him. He was sitting in front of the house when we left, but I don’t remember seeing him behind the van driving up here. I just figured he decided I was safe with this group, but now . . .” They were about thirty minutes outside of the city. “I called a cab, Dad, I’m coming home.”
“No!” Connor shouted as he headed toward Main Street. “You stay put.”
“She’s my friend, I’m coming.”
Hearing the stubbornness in his daughter’s voice, Connor wanted to swear. He knew she’d be in that cab the minute it arrived if he didn’t do something. Then again, leaving Jenna up there with unsuspecting, innocent potential victims probably wasn’t a good thing. If that guy decided to show up and grab Jenna and one of the church people tried to defend her . . .
“I’ll send someone to pick you up. I don’t want you alone.” And that someone would make sure Jenna was nowhere near any of the trouble going on around here.
“Fine, I’ll wait here, but just hurry, will you?”
Samantha looked at him. “I can call Tom.”
Connor nodded. “Do it.” He couldn’t ask for better protection than a former fed.
Samantha got on her cell and made the arrangements, then nodded to Connor. “He was working his security guard job, but is getting off work immediately and will be on his way within minutes.”
Samantha got back on her phone, trying to track down the Steadwells. She worked on the computer in the squad car, internet access compliments of the broadband card. “I’ve got two numbers for the Steadwells.”
She rattled them off and Connor dialed as he drove. Again, he put the phone on speaker for Samantha’s benefit. It rang four times, then went to voice mail. The next number did the same.
Connor growled and shut the phone. “What’s his work number?”
Samantha clicked a few more keys and told him. Then said, “It’s Saturday, I doubt he’ll be there.”
“Is it still Saturday? For some reason, I feel like I’ve lived a week in the last twelve hours.”
“I know.”
Connor dialed the number, pushed three more numbers when he was prompted to access the man’s extension. They listened to his voice mail, then looked at each other in disbelief.
“He’s out of town until next month.” She could see Connor’s disgust growing by leaps and bounds.
Samantha shook her head and muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish. You heard what I did. He works for a pharmaceutical company, and apparently, he just left on an extended business trip. How convenient.”
“And took his family with him. He was warned we were coming.”
“I get the distinct impression that Jefferson Abbott didn’t want us talking to the Steadwells.”
Samantha frowned as she thought. “But when would he have had time to call them? They would have needed quite a bit of time to get everything arranged to leave, and he was with us while they would have had to have been scurrying around making plans and leaving town.”
Connor blew out a breath and turned into the parking lot of the small coffee shop. “I don’t know, we’ll have to come back to that. There’s Patty’s car. Here’s a picture of her.” He’d had her driver’s license photo sent to his phone.
Samantha took a look. “Pretty girl.”
Connor swung into a parking spot and they jumped out. Samantha hit the door first, Connor pulled up the rear.
Once inside, she scanned the nearest tables. “Do you see her?”
“Nope, keep going toward the back.”
Samantha scooted around the tables, ignoring the looks she got from some of the customers. She glanced at each face, not finding the one she was searching for. Worry and concern ate at her. Not wanting to be an alarmist, Connor hadn’t yet called Patty’s parents. Samantha’s gut clenched at the thought that that would be the next call he’d have to make.
Connor stepped around a corner. “She’s not here.”
“I’ve got Dakota tracking the GPS signal on her phone.”
“I have a feeling that’s not going to get us very far. Not if it’s our killer.”
“Yeah, and unfortunately, I’d be willing to place a bet that that’s who we’re dealing with.” She sighed and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.
Connor lifted his phone to his ear. “I need a tow.” He gave the description of Patty’s car and hung up. Turning to Samantha, he said, “We’ll see if the crime scene guys get anything off the car. However, if she met him in here and left with him, there won’t be anything. And of course, he picked a place that wasn’t under surveillance.”
“There are two cameras,” Sam pointed out. “I’m sure this place was his idea, so we’re not going to see his face.”
“Come on, I need to check on Jenna. And we need to track the Steadwells. I want to know what flight they were on.”
“Right.” She thought for a moment. “We need Jefferson Abbott’s phone records too. Somehow he made a call and warned the Steadwells. Check with Dakota to see if the guy went to the bathroom or something before they took him home.”
“I’ll have his phone records pulled.” He thought for a moment. “And his text messages.”
Dakota made the arrangements on the drive back to his house. He wanted to know what was going on with the man who’d been assigned to watch Jenna, Rick Tremaine, and why he wasn’t answering his phone.
Jenna paced back and forth in front of the entrance to the campsite. She’d already told the chaperones she’d be leaving as soon as her ride got there. One had asked to speak with her dad, so she’d had to call him back and have him explain what was going on.
“Where are you going?”
Jenna whirled to see Bradley, head cocked, eyes intent. She swallowed hard. He was so . . . something. Mature, yes, but a light emanated from him, from deep within him.
“Are you a Christian?” she blurted.
A slow smiled crossed his lips. “Yes.”
A simple answer with a depth of meaning she was only coming to understand. “I’m not.”
Compassion softened his gaze even more. “I know.” He gave a small chuckle. “But you can change that.”
Impatience for her ride to arrive warred with the desire to stand here and talk to Bradley more. She looked at her watch.
He asked again, “Where are you going?”
“A friend of mine is in trouble.”
“Patty?”
He’d not been as oblivious to her as she’d thought. Of course, it was a well-known fact around school that she and Patty were best friends. “Yes.”