LAST SEEN... Read online

  "I've got to say, Mr. Spencer, I got a bad feeling about this one. We got nothing to go on. So far nobody has turned up a witness who saw a suspicious car around here, or anyone who has seen little Maggie."

  "Maybe Clay will find something on the blanket that will help," Adam offered.

  "Maybe," Glen replied, but he didn't sound too hopeful. "But only if the perp was on that blanket. If he grabbed her out by the curb where her necklace was found, then he won't find squat."

  "What about Michael Rivers?" Adam asked.

  "We already checked him out. He's been at work all day. I talked to his boss and had one of the local cops check it out. I wish to hell it would have been that easy."

  Without waiting for Adam's reply, the chief of police turned and disappeared into the kitchen. The phone rang and the technician answered. It was obvious by his words that it was yet another acquaintance wanting information.

  Adam sat in a chair in the living room, feeling more helpless than he ever had in his life. He'd just sat down when Alyssa came out of the kitchen, something clutched in her hand.

  He stood. "What's up?" he asked.

  She held out a photo of Maggie. "I'm going to get flyers made and see that they get distributed all over town."

  He could see the remnants of tears, the red-rimmed lids around eyes that held fear … pain … and guilt. "Alyssa, there's nothing you could have done to prevent this."

  "Logically, I know that," she replied. "But emotionally I keep wondering if there is something I missed … some vision that I didn't see clearly that might help." Tears sparked in her eyes, but she drew a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "I've got to go. At least I have something constructive to do."

  The minutes ticked by, broken only by officers coming in and out of the house and the ringing of the telephone. Adam sat in the living room thinking of Breanna … thinking of Maggie.

  Maggie, who had wanted him to tell her he was proud of her because that's what daddies did. Maggie, who had told him if he ever needed a temporary pretend daughter, he could borrow her.

  And now she was missing … apparently taken by a stranger and the pain that pierced his heart was all encompassing. That's why he hadn't wanted to have children … because they always broke your heart.

  He sat on the sofa until the scent of hamburgers cooking filled the air. Rita must be cooking up something for everyone. Breanna had eaten no lunch. He needed to get her back down here to eat something.

  He climbed the stairs, afraid of intruding, yet unable to spend another minute without seeing if Breanna was okay. Of course she's not okay, his brain screamed at him. She may never be okay again.

  She wasn't in her bedroom, although he was surprised to see the clothes that she'd been wearing on the bed. He peeked into Maggie's room and there she was, sitting on the edge of Maggie's bed.

  It was the first time he'd seen her in her official uniform. The khaki shirt and slacks should have looked masculine on her, but instead seemed to emphasize her utter femininity.

  She looked up at him as he entered. Her eyes were tearless, but hollow. "It's going to be dark soon," she said. She didn't look at him, but rather stared down at the stuffed rabbit she held on her lap. "I hope she got to eat lunch … or at least will get dinner. She gets so cranky when she's hungry."

  Adam said nothing and she stroked the rabbit fur and continued. "When she gets back, I'll take her out for chicken nuggets. That's her favorite. I worry sometimes because that's all she ever orders when we go out. She never tries anything new. But when she gets back I'll let her order all the chicken nuggets she wants and I won't say a word."

  He leaned against the doorjamb, letting her ramble, knowing this moment would haunt him for years to come. "She's afraid of the dark. That's why she always sleeps with a night-light." For the first time since he'd entered the room she looked up at him. "We have to find her before dark."

  He nodded, his chest so tight he couldn't speak, couldn't move. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go, wanted to hunt down whomever had caused this pain and kill him. Adam wasn't normally a violent man, but a blood thirst filled him as he gazed at Breanna.

  "Your mother is cooking some dinner." He finally found his voice. "Why don't you come down and get something to eat?"

  She shook her head negatively. "I'm not hungry." He didn't press the issue, had known before he spoke that food for herself would be the last thing on her mind. Her cell phone rang and she leaned over and picked it up from Maggie's nightstand.

  "James," she said as she answered. "Yes, Clay." She stood and her tension filled the room. "Yes … okay … got it. And Clay … thanks." She clicked off and looked at Adam. "He checked the blanket and found several things. Dirt … grass stain … Maggie's hair … just what you'd expect to find on a blanket where a little girl played. But, he also found a bit of concrete, some tar and several feline hairs."

  She frowned. "Feline hair … cat hair," she said softly, more to herself than to him. Her eyes flashed to his, wide with shock. "I think I know who has Maggie." She ran past him and down the stairs. He hurried after her, his heart racing as he wondered why cat hair had given her a name?

  * * *

  "Turn left here," Maggie instructed Adam. She was horribly afraid she might be wrong and equally horrified that she might be right. They'd left the house without anyone knowing where they were going. She knew Glen would pop a cork if he knew what she suspected and where she was going.

  She also knew she was a fool for involving a civilian and going in without backup, but it couldn't be helped. Adam's car was easily accessible, hers was not. And she knew instinctively Adam would have never allowed her out of the house without him.

  "You want to tell me where we're going?" Adam asked as they flew past the Cultural Center.

  "My partner's place."

  Adam eyed her sharply. "You think your partner has Maggie?"

  "Yes … no … I don't know," she replied miserably. Abe, her heart cried. Is it possible? Could you really do something like this to me?

  "What makes you think he'd do something like this?" he asked dubiously.

  "He's retiring and the other day he was talking about how he wished he was going out with a bang … some big bust of some kind. Turn right up here at the intersection."

  "I'm not sure I understand."

  Breanna sighed in frustration. "I don't know, Adam. Maybe he took her and has her hidden away someplace, then he'll be the cop who finds her alive and well. It would be the perfect way to retire, as a hero."

  "It sounds just a little bit crazy," Adam replied.

  "I know." She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. And it would be out of character for the man who'd been her mentor, the man she'd trusted with her life more than once. She'd thought she'd known him, but she'd thought she'd known Kurt as well. Maybe she was just a bad judge of character.

  "He also has a cat," she said, then added in desperation. "I can't not check him out, Adam. Even if I don't want to believe it."

  She stared out the window, absently noting the thick stand of trees beyond which flowed the river. She touched the butt of her gun, hoping she wouldn't have to draw it against a fellow officer … against her own partner.

  "Slow down," she said to Adam, her gaze locking on the copse of trees beyond which Abe's home stood. Dusk was beginning to fall, painting the trees with pale gold light and creating purple shadows amid the trees.

  Was Maggie there? Dear God, she wanted her to be there and she didn't. She wanted her daughter more than anything, but she didn't want her partner to be the one responsible for her being missing.

  "Turn right on the next dirt road. It will lead up to Abe's house." Adrenaline roared through her. "At least we aren't in a patrol car. He won't recognize this car."

  "Why don't I go up and knock on the front door … kind of get a feel for things," Adam suggested as he slowed the car to a crawl.

  "Absolutely not," she replied. "You stay in the car. I'll
be in trouble for having you with me. The last thing I need is for you to get hurt."

  Again he eyed her sharply, his blue gaze hard and cold. "If you think you're going in there alone, then you have another think coming." There was a stern, implacable edge to his voice she'd never heard before.

  "Adam, please don't argue with me," she replied impatiently.

  He stopped the car and turned in the seat. "I told you, Breanna. You are not going into that house alone. You'll have to shoot me to keep me in this car."

  "All right, all right," she exclaimed, not wanting to take the time to fight with him. "The house is just around the corner. Let's go ahead and leave the car here and walk in."

  Together they got out of the car and started walking down the dirt road that led to Abe's place. "Do you have a plan?" Adam asked quietly.

  "None," she admitted. "I just intend to get inside and see if my daughter is there." She was grateful he didn't say anything more. She pulled her gun as the house came into view.

  It was a small, two-bedroom cottage tucked amid the trees. Breanna had visited Abe here on many occasions. She'd eaten dinner with him, brought her daughter here to fish with Uncle Abe in the river that ran across the back of his property.

  As she stared at the house, she reviewed the floor plan in her mind and tried to figure out the best way to approach. "I'm going straight in," she said aloud. "I'm just going to knock on the door and see what happens."

  Adam simply nodded, apparently trusting her judgment. Drawing a deep breath, she started across the yard toward the front door. Adam walked next to her and strangely enough she felt as if he was all the backup she needed.

  He exuded strength and energy and she knew he would have her back. He reached the front door before her and knocked. Even the sound of his fist on the wooden door sounded strong and capable.

  They waited a moment or two for a reply and when there was none, Adam knocked again, this time more forcefully.

  "I'm coming … hold your horses," Abe's voice came from inside the house.

  Breanna tensed, knowing a confrontation was imminent. Abe opened the door and his face wreathed into a surprised smile. "Bree!" His smile faded as his gaze swept over her uniform. "Don't tell me I'm confused on my days and I'm supposed to be working."

  "Can we come in, Abe?" she asked.

  He frowned, obviously sensing the tension ripe in the air. "What's going on?" His fingers tightened on the door.

  "We'd just like to come in and ask you a few questions," Adam said.

  Abe eyed him suspiciously. "Who the hell are you, and hell no, you aren't coming in until somebody tells me what is going on."

  Breanna's heart sank. As she saw the hurt confusion in Abe's eyes, she realized she was wrong. He'd never do anything to hurt her or Maggie. "Maggie's missing, Abe."

  "Missing? What do you mean?" He looked at her with what appeared to be obvious confusion.

  "She was in my front yard this morning and disappeared."

  "What can I do to help? You need me at the station?"

  Breanna hesitated. She had a feeling she was about to break an old man's heart. "No … we're just checking everything … everyone," she said vaguely.

  Abe stared at her, then at Adam, then back again at her, the dawning of betrayal darkening his eyes. "You thought she might be here? You thought I had something to do with this?"

  "There were cat hairs, Abe."

  "Half the people in Cherokee Corners have cats." Abe threw open his door. "But don't take my word for it. Hell, Breanna, come in. Search my house. Do whatever you have to do, then get the hell out of here."

  Breanna promptly burst into tears … because she knew she wouldn't find her daughter here … and because she'd just destroyed a relationship with a man she loved.

  * * *

  Chapter 15

  «^»

  Something had broken inside her. Although Abe had consoled her and insisted he wasn't angry with her, something had broken inside Breanna. It was as if all the grief she'd been holding in had surfaced and exploded into uncontrollable tears.

  All the strength had seeped away from her and she didn't look like a cop anymore. She looked like a victim … slumped down in the seat … the inconsolable mother of a missing child. And darkness was falling.

  Her wrenching sobs had finally ceased, leaving behind silent tears that continued to ooze down her cheeks as she stared out the passenger window.

  Adam tried to think of something to say, anything to ease her pain. It filled the car, seeped into his pores and constricted his heart.

  "It's got to be somebody I know," she finally said. The words surprised him. He'd thought she was lost in a sea of grief, but apparently she wasn't so lost that her brain wasn't working. "It isn't a stranger abduction." She sat up straighter in the seat and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Now we're even, that's what the voice said on the phone. Now we're even." She frowned thoughtfully.

  "So, whose kid have you taken lately?" he asked half-jokingly.

  "I don't know." She sat up even straighter in the seat. "Take me to the station, Adam. I need to pick something up."

  He didn't ask questions, he merely did as she bid. When she reached the station house, he followed her inside. Fellow officers who offered their commiseration and aid greeted her.

  They learned that while they'd been away from the house posters had been distributed and Jacob Kincaid had put up a ten thousand-dollar reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Maggie.

  Breanna took in all this information stoically, then disappeared into a storage room and came out carrying a heavy box of files. Adam quickly took the box from her. "What's this?" he asked.

  "All the cases I've worked on since I started in the department. I can't help but think that the man who has Maggie is hiding in these files." Her eyes burned with a renewed sense of purpose.

  "Then let's get them back to your place and get busy on them."

  Darkness had fallen completely as they once again parked in Adam's driveway, although every light in Breanna's house was on and several patrol cars were still parked out front.

  The technician manning the phone greeted them as they came back inside. "Anything?" Breanna asked him.

  "Nothing."

  They went into the kitchen to find the table laden with food. Several officers were filling plates and Breanna's mother was fussing over them like a mother hen. Her father was washing dishes, his face a stoic mask.

  They both stopped what they were doing long enough to hug Breanna and again, the loyalty and love this family had for one another struck Adam.

  "Neighbors have been bringing food," Rita said. Adam looked at the table where there appeared to be at least six different kinds of casseroles. The universal language of support and caring … the casserole.

  Glen came into the kitchen, his face showing the wear of the day. "Where in the hell have you been?" he asked Breanna.

  "It isn't important now," she replied.

  He eyed the box Adam still held in his arms and frowned. "That looks like official police paperwork."

  "It's my files, Chief," Breanna responded. "It's got to be a revenge thing. Maybe somebody we busted for drugs who lost their children to child welfare."

  "Need some help going through them?" Glen asked. "I'll assign some men."

  "I'll help," Savannah said from where she stood drying dishes.

  At that moment Abe walked through the door. "Whatever it is you're talking about, I'll help." He looked at Breanna and even Adam could see the forgiveness in his eyes. "It's what a partner does."

  Breanna's eyes moistened and she nodded.

  They took the file box into the living room and got to work. Abe, Savannah, Thomas, Breanna, Adam and two officers each took a handful of the files and began reading the cases, hoping for something that might jump out at them.

  Breanna had told them to look for cases where the person being arrested had been violent, where the arrest record showed a fami
ly and employment that might pertain to working with concrete and tar.

  Adam made sure Breanna was facing away from the windows, not wanting her to see the deepening darkness of night. The television was on, although the sound was muted. But every time Adam looked at it he saw the amber alert running along the bottom of the screen. Maggie James… Last seen… The words haunted him.

  Adam had never realized before that desperation had a scent, but it did and it filled the living room as everyone read file after file of arrests Breanna had made or had been a part of.

  Breanna's reports were meticulous and neatly typed. It was slow, painstaking work. There was no place on the arrest sheets to indicate a family. The only way to discern that was to read the handwritten notes Breanna had taken and included with each of the arrest forms.

  Reading file after file, Adam got a taste for what Breanna's work life was like and his admiration for her grew. It was obvious that she was good at what she did. He glanced at her, noting the dark circles beneath her eyes, the slump of her shoulders, the redness of her bottom lip where she had been chewing.

  The minutes ticked by … minutes that left Maggie in the hands of a possibly revenge-crazed violent man. Adam couldn't forget the blow he'd received on his head and he hoped … prayed that the person who'd been capable of almost killing him with a brick wasn't the same person that held Maggie captive.

  Was it already too late for little Maggie? Was she already lying in a ditch by the side of the road? He shook his head to dislodge such a horrendous thought, surprised to feel the burn of tears.

  Not Maggie, he prayed. Please God, don't take Maggie … not now … not like this. He refocused on the files, wondering if they were merely spinning their wheels while a kidnapper took Maggie farther and farther away from Cherokee Corners.

  It was midnight when they finally got through all the files. Each person had a small stack of possibilities for Breanna to look through.