Twin Threat Christmas (7 page)

Eric finished connecting the computers and now held out his phone and the download cable. “I saw the man and took a couple of pictures, but it was dark out. I don’t know what we’ll get.”

“Let’s see them.”

Eric connected the phone to the laptop.

Vanessa watched him work, her heart swelling with gratitude for all Eric had done to help her—especially his willingness to take her side and explain things when words failed her. After everything Jeff had put her through, her heart warred against the thought of trusting anyone, especially a man. But Eric was so completely different from Jeff.

Years before, she’d wished Eric cared for her the way she cared for him. But maybe he had. Maybe he still did. At the thought, her heart yearned with a depth of longing that surprised her. Did she want Eric to care for her? On the one hand, all she’d been through with Jeff made her wary. But Eric was so very different from Jeff. Helpful instead of hurtful. Tender instead of terrifying. He was everything she’d longed for all these years, everything Jeff wasn’t.

There wasn’t time to dwell on the difference. The pictures started uploading from the camera on Eric’s phone. One blurry image filled the screen, then another, the outlined figures of men smeared across the front of the building.

“It was too dark.” Deputy Perez shook his head regretfully. “With no flash, it increases the exposure time. You have to hold perfectly still—”

But as he spoke, a clearer image filled the screen—this one with one face pointed directly at the camera, unobstructed by the other man.

Vanessa sucked in a sharp breath. “Arthur Sherman.”

“Arthur Sherman,” Eric repeated. “Isn’t he the guy who owns the Flaming Pheasant restaurant chain?”

Perez turned to Vanessa. “Does he fit the voice you recognized?”

“Yes.” Vanessa pinched her eyes shut against the flood of memories. “That’s why I recognized his voice—oh, my!”

“What?” Eric sounded concerned and took a step closer to her.

Vanessa reached for him, to lean on him for support, surprised when his hand held her, steady yet firm, supportive without hurting. It wasn’t a feeling she was at all accustomed to, but it was one she desperately needed right now. And he kept her upright. “He interviewed me before I was hired. He asked me questions about my family, about not having parents, just a grandfather. He made it sound like he wanted to make sure I’d have alternate means of transportation if I had trouble getting to work, but that wasn’t it at all, was it?”

Deputy Perez looked angry. “There are Flaming Pheasant restaurants up and down the interstate highway system, across several states. Not too many in any one state, so they’re spread out over jurisdictions. If girls went missing here and there, especially if they didn’t have parents or close family to file a report when they went missing—”

Eric looked equally disgusted. “He could target vulnerable girls all over the country, have his boys whisk them away one night, and there might not even be a missing person’s report for the authorities to use to see a pattern.”

“Their employer certainly wouldn’t file one,” Vanessa concurred, seeing the picture all too clearly now, leaning heavily on Eric as the reality weighed upon her, threatening to pull her to the floor. “I always wondered how the restaurant chain could be so popular when we never had too many customers. The food isn’t very good.”

“But if his main source of income isn’t the restaurant or the food—” Perez shook his head “—he can afford to keep the restaurants open as a cover for his real business. I’m going to call the station, have them run a search on missing-person reports all over the country and see how many have ties to the Flaming Pheasant. I think we’re onto something.”

“But what about the evidence on the CPU?” Vanessa asked.

Even before she had the question asked, Perez stepped off to the side, speaking into the microphone of the radio-communications set he wore.

The female officer, whose name badge identified her as Deputy Abbott, explained, “If this is half as big as I think it is, the FBI is going to want that information. Our office doesn’t have the manpower to field an investigation of this magnitude. We need to call in the big guns—but before we place that call, we need to see if my partner’s theory is correct. This shouldn’t take long.”

While Perez spoke to the authorities running the search at the station, Vanessa turned to face Eric, still leaning on him, needing his strength, but still unsure where she stood with him after so many years. She could see the disgust on his face that had been triggered by the realization of what Arthur Sherman was up to—but she couldn’t help wondering how much of that disgust extended to her, for getting caught up in such sordid crimes.

SEVEN

A
nger and revulsion warred inside him. Eric tugged Vanessa securely against him, wishing he could have shielded her from harm as easily as he held her now. For how many years had Arthur Sherman been using his restaurant chain as a cover operation so he could traffic girls? Too many. They had to put a stop to him—soon, before he had a chance to destroy evidence or, worse yet, go into hiding. Then they might never catch him. He could continue to get away with his crimes, and his other victims might never be liberated.

As long as Arthur Sherman remained at large, Vanessa wouldn’t be safe. The man who’d stolen so much from her could still silence her testimony—even that of her children. None of them would truly be free until he was brought to justice.

In the meantime, they still had every reason to believe Virgil and Arthur were headed to the cabin. He wasn’t sure how long it would take them to arrive, but they might not have much time. “We’ve got to do something,” he whispered to Vanessa.

Vanessa looked up at him, so close he could see the moisture that welled in her eyes, the fear and the emotion she had to fight back in order to press on in her fight for freedom. “Deputy Perez is waiting to hear—”

Eric wanted to fight with her, to fight for her. They needed to act. “Yes, but how long is that going to take? Arthur Sherman was in the Land Rover with Virgil. They know you took the CPU from Jeff’s office—they had to have seen you carrying it as you ran across the parking lot, and even if they didn’t, a simple check of the office will tell them it’s gone. They know about the cabin. They know you have evidence against them. They’re bound to do one of two things—either go into hiding or come after you.”

“They could do both,” Vanessa concluded frankly. “Even if Sherman leaves the country, he can issue a hit from a distance. I may have been kept on the periphery, but Jeff always made the threats clear. I know enough of his operations to know that he can reach me even if I can’t reach him.”

Eric realized she’d been subjected to worst-case scenarios for the past eight years. And she was probably right in her guess, too.

“That’s why we’ve got to do something. Now. Tonight. Before they have a chance to hide or to hurt you.”

Vanessa pinched her eyes shut and blew out a long breath. Eric could tell she was thinking. He adjusted his arms around her, and she leaned closer, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Tender feelings flooded his chest. He had to keep this woman safe. But how?

“We’re not going to find him,” she murmured, eyes still closed. “As long as he even thinks there’s a chance I could ID him, he’s going to keep his head down. He’s smart. He wouldn’t have kept this ring going for so many years if he wasn’t smart.” As she mulled over her theory aloud, she pulled back from his shoulder, looking into his face as though to see if he agreed with her thoughts.

Eric watched her as she spoke, enthralled by the unexpected joy of seeing her again, of watching her lips move as she pieced together her thoughts. Maybe the years hadn’t been the best for her, but she still looked good. A little pale and perhaps underfed. Her dyed-blond hair was a little disorienting. But she was Vanessa. Not the teen he’d cared for so long ago, but still, somehow, the same person.

Her next words pulled his attention from her face to her message.

“There’s no way around it. We’re going to have to draw him out.”

“Arthur?” Eric asked, so taken aback he almost thought he’d misheard. “How?”

“You already said he might come after me.”

“I don’t
want
him to come after you.”

“But we need to catch him. If we don’t, he could catch up to me and the kids anytime, days, months, even years from now. We’ll never be safe. My kids won’t ever be safe.” She spoke with determination flashing in her eyes in spite of the tired rings that circled them. Unlike Eric, who’d at least slept before Debbi had awakened him, Vanessa hadn’t slept at all.

Eric was tempted to reach for her hand again, but recalled the way she’d pulled her hand from his before. “What are you suggesting?”

“He wants the evidence against him, right? He wants the CPU and my silence?”

“Yes.” Eric felt sweat beading cold on the back of his neck. What was Vanessa thinking? He knew she was desperate to protect her kids—the fact that she’d driven through the back wall of a garage told him that. And he knew it would take something drastic to pull Arthur Sherman out into the open. That was what worried him.

“He already doesn’t trust Virgil—he was upset that Virgil hadn’t checked out the cabin already.”

Her words sent Eric’s pulse racing. He’d known her too well long ago not to see what she was getting at, and he didn’t like it.

She turned to address Deputy Abbott, who’d been listening to their conversation while they waited for Deputy Perez’s report. Vanessa continued, “He’ll want to make sure he gets the evidence, the CPU, my vow of silence. Unless he’s changed his plans, he’s on his way to the cabin right now, in person, tonight. He’ll show up if it means making sure the job is done right. I’ve heard his voice in my ductwork before. He won’t risk a breach.”

Eric wasn’t sure what she was getting at, but he got a terrible feeling she was proposing a risk he didn’t want her to take. “Vanessa, I don’t—”

“We need to hide the patrol car. And can we get more officers out here and hide them?” she asked Deputy Abbott.

“What are you proposing?” Deputy Abbott looked far more open to Vanessa’s idea than Eric felt.

“If Arthur Sherman shows up here, we need to be ready for him.”

Eric placed a hand on her shoulder. “
We?
I think you mean
they.
The sheriff’s deputies, the FBI. Not us. He could be here any moment.”

“And then what? We hide from him? We’re here already. This is our chance. You said yourself we’ve got to do something. It could be hours before the FBI shows up, if they even agree to come. Arthur could be on a plane to Tahiti by then, or wherever criminals hide out. Who knows? He’ll be gone to somewhere we can’t reach him, but he could still put a hit out on me. This may be our only chance to catch him.”

“Not our chance,” Eric corrected her again. “The FBI’s chance.”

Deputy Abbott had nodded along with everything Vanessa said. “I’ll hide the patrol car right now, in case they get here early. Then we’ll find out what Perez has learned.” She grabbed her keys and headed outside.

Eric took advantage of the relative privacy to grill Vanessa on what she was thinking. “You’re going to let the police handle this, aren’t you? We don’t have to be here. Arthur shows up, the officers jump out and nab him. You don’t have to be here.”

“I don’t want to be here, but—”

“But nothing. Your girls need you.” He pulled out his keys. “We can leave now, go find your girls, wait in safety.”

“Okay,” Vanessa agreed, but qualified, “just as soon as the backup officers get here, we can go.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Perez and Abbott are two people. How many are in Arthur’s car? At least two. They need us.”

“They don’t need you. Your kids need you.”

“This may be our only chance to catch Arthur. He could be here any moment. All I’m saying is, we wait until more officers arrive before we leave.”

“No.” Eric tugged her back into his arms. She leaned against him without resisting. “We leave it to the professionals.”

“There are only two of them. If Arthur gets away...” Vanessa’s voice faltered slightly.

Eric pulled back just far enough to see her face. “He wants to kill you.”

The fear that glistened in Vanessa’s eyes told him she’d already considered that. “How else are we going to catch him? And if we don’t, he’ll always be out there, wanting to kill me.” She sucked in a breath and looked up at him. “I tried, Eric. Don’t you think I tried? I tried to run away three different times. Each time, I thought I covered my bases, thought I’d found a way out. I tasted freedom, but this monster has too many arms. He pulled me back each time, found me long before I ever made it home. We’ve got to cut off the head, Eric. And we’ve got to do it now, as soon as possible. I am not getting caught again.”

Eric felt her desperation. He wanted to slay the monster for her. He really and honestly did. But he couldn’t bear the thought of her facing her enemies again, even if it was only to defeat them. He studied her face, wishing he knew what to say to make her see reason, to make her understand why she couldn’t face Arthur in person. Finally, he admitted, “I don’t want you to be here.”

“Why not?”

The question forced him to analyze how he truly felt. Sure, Vanessa was probably right—they needed to catch Arthur before he went into hiding. They needed to act quickly, and to be honest, he probably wouldn’t show his face for anything less than a meeting with her.

That wasn’t why Eric didn’t want her to stay. His hands fisted at his sides as Vanessa hugged herself. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, but he hadn’t been there for her when she’d needed him eight years ago, so why would she want him near her now?

“Why can’t we be here?” she asked again, sounding a little impatient this time.

“Because I already lost you once. I vowed to God, if He brought you back, I’d make things right. I’d keep you safe. I can’t lose you again.”

* * *

Vanessa’s heart, already flighty with fear and lack of sleep, gave an odd heave, a kind of gasping sensation almost like a sob. She sucked in a breath.

Eric had looked so angry as they discussed Arthur’s involvement and how to catch him. Anger, she could handle. Jeff had been angry all the time. But this confession, this caring?

She wasn’t used to those things. Much as she wanted to deny the depth of his feelings, she also wanted them to be true. For so many years, she’d figured she’d never see him again. But now here he was, holding her in his arms as though she belonged there. Did he really care about her, as he said? She wanted him to. She certainly cared about him, so maybe it was possible.

Vanessa was pulled from her thoughts when her stomach growled audibly. She glanced toward Deputy Perez, who stood by the window, deep in conversation with the officers at the station.

As her stomach grumbled again, Vanessa clutched at her midsection, glad for an excuse not to acknowledge Eric’s words or the feelings they awakened.

To her relief, Eric seemed equally willing to drop the discussion. For all they knew, Arthur and his men might not arrive for a long time, if at all. But the longer she stalled Eric, the longer she’d be there in case they did show up—even if she wasn’t sure what she was going to do then. “You must be hungry,” Eric said. “Come on, there’s food in the fridge.”

“Sure.” She followed him to the small kitchenette, where Eric produced a loaf of bread and some cold cuts, pickles and mayonnaise—clearly the sandwich ingredients he’d brought with him for a weekend at the lake. He asked her what she wanted on her sandwich and quickly assembled the meal, including a small bag of chips.

Vanessa felt a little guilty eating Eric’s food, but she thanked him, realizing he’d done far more than share his lunch, putting his life on the line as they’d outrun the shooting criminals.

“How about some caffeine to go with that?” Eric asked, pulling a couple of sodas from the fridge.

“It’s that or fall asleep standing up,” Vanessa acknowledged. Sammy had only recently begun sleeping through the night, but she still wasn’t used to being awake for so long at a stretch. And if she was going to be of any help in catching Arthur, she wouldn’t likely have a chance to rest anytime soon.

As she gulped down a cool Mountain Dew, Deputy Abbott came back inside. She and Perez joined them in the kitchen.

Perez filled them in on what he’d learned. “Just as I suspected, four different missing-person females in three different states have ties to the Flaming Pheasant restaurant chain. I put in a call to the FBI and explained everything. They’re sending out a team.”

Vanessa felt almost nauseated, possibly from the sudden rush of sugar, but more than likely from the officer’s announcement. “What about me? Did you tell them—”

“I explained everything. They’re glad to hear you’ve been found and are excited about the possibility that the evidence you’ve retained might help liberate other missing persons.”

Vanessa hung her head, and tears welled up—tears of relief and hope that other girls who’d been taken might also see freedom.

But they’d have to catch Arthur Sherman before any of that freedom would mean a thing.

She already knew Eric wasn’t going to back her up on this one—he’d been quite clear that he didn’t want her to stay—so she stated her case as clearly as she could. “Arthur Sherman has to realize by now that we’re onto him, or soon will be. He’s not going to wait around to get caught. And assuming he’s sticking to the plan, he could be here any moment.”

The deputy studied her face as she spoke. “But we’re not ready for him. The FBI guys won’t arrive for another half hour at the earliest.”

Since Perez had been on the phone while Vanessa had discussed the issue with Eric and Abbott moments before, she now filled him in on what he’d missed—hoping he’d be more open to her plan than Eric had been. “Then we’ll have to stall him or catch him ourselves, if we can’t stall him.”

“How are we going to stall him?”

Vanessa couldn’t continue staring down the officer. She studied her soda instead. “He wants to get rid of me and whatever evidence I have. I can set a time to meet with him, after the feds arrive—”

“What’s in it for you?” Deputy Perez asked.

Confused, Vanessa explained what she thought was perfectly clear. “Until we capture him, my kids and I won’t be safe.”

“Yes, I know that,” Perez stated. “But if that’s all you have, then he’ll know it, too. He’ll know it’s a trap. You have to have a reason—a reason he’ll understand, no catch, no strings attached—for why you want to meet with him. Or he won’t show his face.”

Vanessa pinched her eyes shut. Even in her exhaustion, the officer’s words made sense. But what could they do, then?

Eric cleared his throat behind her, and she braced herself for what he was about to say, probably reminding her that it was a foolish idea in the first place.