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He found Justin outside by his patrol car, talking to his dispatcher over the radio. He signaled a greeting to Dylan.
“I want every last man on this, okay? Forget the shift roster and call them all in.”
“Got it,” the dispatcher said. “Want me to start calling motels? It could save time.”
“Do it, Becky,” Justin agreed. “Start with the immediate county, then widen it county by county. And make sure I can read your damn notes for once, okay?”
“There is nothing wrong with my handwriting,” she responded tartly. “At least I take notes, unlike some people I could name.”
Dylan would have smiled at the obviously familiar bickering if the circumstances had been different.
Justin sighed as he signed off. “The blasted woman’s known me too long. She thinks she’s the boss, even though I’m the one with the badge.” He studied Dylan. “Lizzy called you, right? I figured she would.”
“I hope you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not. I can use all the manpower around on this, especially if you’ve got experience. Except for old Mr. Elliott, who wanders away from home and gets lost since his Alzheimer’s has gotten worse, and the occasional missing dog, this is not something I’m used to handling. I’d be a whole lot more comfortable calling in the FBI, but Kelsey got so upset when I mentioned it, I backed off.”
“Any idea what she’s afraid of?”
Justin shook his head. “I’d be willing to bet Lizzy knows, though. One year as roommates in med school, and the two of them have been thick as thieves ever since. If we don’t catch a break soon, I’ll pound it out of her, if I have to. Figuratively, of course.”
Sensing his frustration and sharing it, Dylan grinned. “I’ll help. Do you know anything about Paul James?”
“Only that Kelsey wanted to get away from him badly enough that she gave up a promising career in Miami to move here. It came up suddenly, despite Lizzy’s pretense that they’d always talked about working together. One minute Lizzy was running the clinic by herself, the next Kelsey was here and living out at my grandfather’s. Grandpa Harlan seemed real reluctant to let her and Bobby leave to move here in town, and I sensed it wasn’t just because he’d grown attached to them. He had me check the security locks on this place top to bottom.”
“Domestic violence?” Dylan speculated.
Justin shrugged. “Always a possibility, but my gut tells me no. A few years back when Patsy turned up here in town, she was running from an abusive husband. I don’t see the same signs with Kelsey. She’s at ease around men, for one thing.”
“Patsy’s your wife, right?” Dylan asked, trying to recall what he had heard about her situation. Just that she’d run from a husband who’d been a high-profile political candidate in another state, a man who had had a nasty temper. Bottom line, Justin would know better than most about how a victim of abuse would behave.
“Right. She had a little boy when we met and we have another one of our own now. She’s at home with them, in a panic that something will happen to them if she turns her back for a second. Until we know for sure that Paul James is behind this, there will be a lot of other mothers who feel the same way. I’d like people to know as soon as we’re sure that there’s no need to lock the kids inside and bar their doors.”
“Can’t say I blame them, in the meantime,” Dylan said. “How about I start running checks on Paul James? Maybe we can pick up a trail from credit-card receipts, see if he’s in the area.”
“Go for it,” Justin agreed. “If you need access to a computer, use the one down at the station. I’ll deputize you here and now to make it all nice and legal.”
That was more than Dylan had hoped for. Normally, he preferred to operate on his own, but in this instance he was far from his own computer and other resources. A little hand-in-hand cooperation with the local authorities could cut through a lot of red tape. Having access to that computer would be a godsend. Besides, Justin struck him as a good man to work with. The past few minutes had established that he wasn’t a hardliner with an attitude. He was the kind of sheriff Dylan admired, a man who just wanted to get the job done, utilizing whatever resources he could command.
“I’ll let you know what I find out,” he promised.
“I’m not worried about that,” Justin told him. “Nothing gets past my dispatcher. Becky will be all over you while you’re around. If you find so much as an itty-bitty clue, I’ll know about it.”
Dylan chuckled, liking the man more and more. “I should have known you weren’t just trying to make my life easy.”
Justin’s expression sobered. “Nope. Just trying to find that little boy before any harm comes to him.”
“Amen to that,” Dylan said.
Unable to sit still a moment longer, Kelsey wandered into the living room and stared out the window at the two men talking on the sidewalk.
Over the last few months she had gotten to know Justin Adams. She trusted him, but she also knew that Bobby’s disappearance was not the sort of thing he typically had to handle. She’d seen how upset he’d been by her refusal to call in the FBI. Maybe she was crazy, but she thought the fewer police involved, the better the chances of keeping Paul’s secret and keeping Bobby safe. Watching Justin talk to Dylan, she could almost sense his relief at having someone with more expertise involved. She wished she was as confident.
She studied the private investigator, trying to overcome this fear that kept nagging at her. Once again, she was struck by his size. He was taller than Justin by a good three inches, putting him at six-three or so. He was broader through the shoulders as well. An ex-football hero, she was willing to bet. He moved with the ease of an athlete. None of that mattered, though. All she cared about was whether he could find her son.
She sensed Lizzy coming to stand beside her. Her friend hadn’t strayed far from her side since this nightmare had begun. “Looks like they’re comparing notes,” Kelsey said. “They’re probably wondering how I let something like this happen.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I should have watched him more closely. He shouldn’t have been outside alone.”
“He’s a little boy, not a prisoner. He was in your own backyard. Maybe he wandered out front,” Lizzy consoled her. “It only takes a second and if someone is watching, waiting for that to happen, there’s not a thing you could do to prevent it.”
“I should have—”
“Should-haves will make you crazy,” Lizzy advised. “You’re a wonderful mother. I won’t listen to anyone—including you—who says otherwise.”
Kelsey mustered a faint smile at Lizzy’s fiercely protective tone.
“Why aren’t they doing something?” she asked plaintively. “They’re just standing around talking.”
“Planning, coordinating,” Lizzy corrected. “In the long run, it will save time.”
Kelsey sighed, her gaze once again settling on the private investigator. “I don’t think Dylan liked me much. He was so, I don’t know, cold, I guess. At first I thought he was being professional, just trying to calm me down by seeming competent and practical, but now I’m not sure.”
“Dylan liked you just fine,” Lizzy reassured her. “I was there. He was just trying to get a fix on things.”
Before Kelsey could debate her assessment, the phone rang, startling them both. Kelsey all but dived for it. “Hello,” she shouted, then forced herself to quiet down. “Who is this?”
“Mommy?” a tentative little voice whispered.
Oh, sweet heaven, it was Bobby. She clutched the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Sweetie, is that you?”
“Hi, Mommy.”
“Oh, baby,” she whispered. Her knees went weak and she sank into a chair. She was dimly aware of Lizzy racing to the front door and shouting for Justin and Dylan. “Where are you, Bobby?”
“He’s with me, of course,” Paul said, interrupting.
Hearing his voice confirmed every one of her fears. He sounded as if he were on the edge. Too many pills? she wondered. Or not enough?
“Paul, please, bring him home. We’ll forget this happened.”
“Not just yet.”
“Tell me what you want. I’ll do anything. Just bring Bobby back. I know you didn’t do this just because you missed him and wanted to spend time with him. If that had been the case, you’d have called.”
“And begged? Is that what you want, Kelsey?”
“No,” she said honestly. She wanted him to stay away, but he was back in her life for the moment, for better or for worse. “Paul, what is this about? What do you want?”
The only response was the quiet click of a receiver being put back into place. Kelsey stared at the silent phone in shock. He had hung up on her. She didn’t know any more than she had before.
No, she told herself staunchly, that wasn’t true. She knew for sure now that Paul had their son. She knew that Bobby was okay, at least for the moment.
For the moment. The phrase twisted and turned in her thoughts, terrifying her. What about a moment from now? Or an hour? Then, to her chagrin, she burst into tears, gulping sobs erupting from deep inside. All the pent-up emotion of the past couple of hours came pouring out.
As if from a great distance, she could hear Lizzy murmuring to her. She was dimly aware of Justin barking orders into the phone. And then of a dip in the sofa as someone’s weight settled next to her. For the second time that day, her hand was enveloped in Dylan Delacourt’s. She recognized his touch, clung to him, because he was solid and reassuring and he was here.
“Talk to me,” he commanded.
He tipped her chin up until she was forced to face him, forced to choke back another sob that threatened. He dug a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and silently handed it to her, then waited a minute until she was calmer.
“That was your ex?” he asked then.
She managed to nod. “Bobby first, then Paul.”
“Good. Then we know what we’re dealing with, who we’re looking for. We know it wasn’t a random act by a dangerous stranger, just a dad wanting to see his child.”
She blinked back a fresh batch of tears. “That is good, isn’t it?” she echoed, desperate for hope. Then she considered the rest of what he’d said, the faint note of sympathy in his voice. She didn’t dare tell him he was wrong, that this wasn’t about Paul’s love for Bobby at all.
“The best news we’ve had all evening,” he confirmed, giving her hand a squeeze. “We can narrow the search down from the get-go. It’s a good sign, too, that he’s willing to communicate with you, rather than simply disappearing with his son. We’ll get a tap on the phone. Justin’s already got an expert on the way. We can trace the next call, if you can keep him on the line.”
Kelsey recalled Paul’s abrupt hangup. She sensed it had been more than an attempt to keep her from asking more questions, from demanding to speak with Bobby again. “How long?” she asked. “I think he knows he can’t stay on the line very long. That’s probably why he hung up on me just now.”
“You’ll do the best you can,” Dylan told her. “Sooner or later, he’ll make a mistake.”
That’s it? Kelsey wanted to shout. They were going to wait for Paul to make a mistake? Didn’t they know that Paul didn’t make mistakes? He was the champion of doing every last thing right.
Except for the pills, of course. She had caught him at that. She consoled herself with the memory. He was only human. He could slip up. She realized that Dylan was studying her intently with those deep blue eyes of his. They’d gone almost navy in the fading light and once more they were quietly assessing her, leaving her more shaken than she had been. She had a feeling he was doing it deliberately to unnerve her.
“What?” he asked eventually. “What aren’t you telling us, Kelsey?”
“Nothing,” she insisted, aware of the hint of defiance in her voice. “I’ve told you everything.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze, to not look away. “I can’t help that.”
“You want your son back, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then you have to tell us the truth.”
“I am, dammit.”
“The whole truth,” he added with emphasis.
“I am,” she said again, but without the same vehemence.
Naturally Dylan didn’t miss the difference. She could see it in his eyes. He knew she was lying.
What if she told him about the pills? She almost did, then caught herself. For if Paul found out she had broken her promise and told anyone, who knew what he would do? It wouldn’t matter to him that he had broken their agreement first by coming after Bobby. No, she reassured herself again, she had to keep silent, for all their sakes.
Dylan wanted to shake the whole truth out of Kelsey James. She was obviously a bright woman. She had to know that forcing him and Justin to operate blindly just made everything twice as difficult as it needed to be.
The noise level in the living room climbed as neighbors discussed the call that had just come in. He saw Kelsey’s gaze seek out Lizzy, probably for moral support, and realized he needed to get her alone, just the two of them. He had to find a way to gain her confidence, so that she would trust him with the whole truth.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Where?” she demanded, balking.
He latched on to her hand and urged her back in the kitchen, then shooed everyone else out and shut the door. Kelsey looked as if she might protest, but then she sighed and sank onto a chair and accepted the cup of tea he handed her. She sipped automatically and stared warily at him over the rim of the cup, as if she sensed his displeasure. Dylan concluded that she was terrified enough without him coming down on her as hard as he wanted to. Tact wasn’t his long suit, but maybe it was worth a try.
He turned a chair around and straddled it, took out a notebook and pen. “Okay, let’s try this another way. Tell me about your ex.”
She blinked rapidly, then studied her cup of tea as if it were the most important thing in her universe.
Dylan’s short supply of patience was dwindling. “Kelsey, help me out here. I need to get a fix on this guy, get into his head.”
“I know. It’s just…” She shook her head. “I don’t know where to start.”
He bought her confusion. He sensed she really was struggling to sort through the information and put some order to it. He didn’t need order. He needed raw facts. Still, he kept his tone mild as he suggested, “How about the beginning? Where did you meet? How long did you know him before you got married?”
She closed her eyes for a minute, as if the memories were painful. “He was a stockbroker,” she began finally.
“Which firm?”
She named one of the biggest.
“Still there?”
“As far as I know.”
He made a note, then nodded. “Go on.”
“One of Paul’s clients was a doctor at the hospital where I was in med school. We were just finishing rounds when he came in for an appointment to go over the man’s portfolio. The doctor got called away on an emergency so he asked me to take Paul to the cafeteria and keep him company until he could get there.” She regarded him wearily. “How is this helping? It’s ancient history.”
“Trust me. It will. So, was it love at first sight?” Dylan asked.
“Hardly,” she said with a touch of wry humor. “I thought he was way too full of himself. A lot like you, in fact.”
Dylan shrugged off the jibe. It wasn’t the only thing he and Paul James had in common. He wondered how she would feel if she knew the truth about that.
“And?” he prodded.
“I never thought he would look twice at me.”
