Apex Predator (3 page)

Donald went through his process. He took the women to his workshop and did his work, and as he suspected, it was not the same; they were too far gone, too far into a life of excess and waste and worry.

There was none of the innocence and purity that a child had, none of the opportunity to fix what had been done wrong.

The two women had never told anyone who they were going on a date with, and Donald had been careful enough to use a false name in any case.

They had both come from completely different parts of town and from different online dating services, so Donald thought they would most likely be added to the long list of women who disappeared from the streets of New York without a trace. He had been correct in that assumption and had never been questioned about either woman.

Steven Loomis had a long day. Meeting after meeting kept him from returning calls or emails all day long. As he walked out of the building, he saw he had eight missed calls from his wife. He would call her back as soon as he got into a cab, which during that time of year in New York at that hour could be quite a while.

Steven worked as a risk consultant for one of the largest security firms in the world. His job often took him to distant locations, where he would assess the risk situation of any number of companies or foreign government organizations before putting together a proposal on how to best address those risks.

It was a perfect fit for him after having spent 20 years in the Navy, the last 10 as a Navy SEAL. His travel now did not compare to those long tours of duty he would have to go on where he wouldn’t see his family for months. Now he would be gone for two weeks at the most, and while it still felt like a long time to be away from his wife, girls and his little boy, he considered himself lucky to have a job he loved and which he was exceedingly good at.

He was 48 years old and had dark brown hair, cut neatly and peppered with slight spots of grey. He had bright hazel eyes that reflected calm and intelligence, even from a young age. He was six feet tall and carried a solid 195 pounds of well-toned muscle on his frame.

He had played football in high school and received several offers to attend good universities, not because of his size but because of his speed and ability to come up with the big plays when he needed to. He had chosen Annapolis. His dream had been to become a Navy pilot, but a knee injury playing football kept him from that.

So instead, he had decided to go into the investigative branch of the Navy, where he spent his first 10 years in the military police and eventually moving into the sensitive investigations unit, often liaising with the better-known NCIS.

Longing for something more adventurous and which would test him in a more rigorous way, he applied for the Navy SEALs. He’d been old by SEAL standards, 31, but he was in supreme shape and he had honed his mental toughness during his time at the investigative group. He made it through the infamous SEAL training program with no problem at all.

Within his first year he was assigned to the Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) team, one of the most elite units in the program. SEAL Team Six, as it had been commonly called, was the team called when the missions were critical and difficult. Most people would be surprised to find that SEAL Team Six was made up of men in their mid- to late thirties. No one could be considered for the team without years of experience in the field.

In spite of exemplary evaluations throughout his career, Loomis had only risen to the rank of lieutenant commander. He knew that higher rank meant more likelihood of having to sit behind a desk, and that was not something he’d signed up for. He enjoyed the camaraderie and sense of accomplishment that came with being an operator.

After showing his mettle once and again and participating in hair-raising operations, it was time for Steven to retire. He had a fulfilling career where he made lifelong friends and learned more than he had ever imagined.

He raised a family along the way and understood that his priorities had changed. He could no longer go charging into whatever a situation demanded without regard for his safety. He now had people who depended on him, people he loved more than life itself.

That’s when Lieutenant Commander Steven Loomis knew it was time to hang it up. After leaving the Navy, he’d dedicated himself to helping veterans coming home from ‘the sandbox’ of Afghanistan and Iraq, men and women who came home injured or depressed, most suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.

He procured exercise equipment and therapy from a number of companies wanting to help and had taken a few men under his wing to help them to get back into a normal life. He’d also helped organize events to raise money for wounded veterans.

It was during one of these events that he had caught the attention of the CEO of an international security and intelligence firm. After their first meeting, Steven knew he’d found a place and the CEO knew he’d found the man that would eventually take over for him.

The air felt cold but good on his face. After sitting in meetings all day, it was good to feel the fresh air. It was early Christmas season, just after Thanksgiving, and getting a cab at that hour was going to be a nightmare. He stood on the corner of Madison and 52nd waiting for 20 minutes, allowing an older woman to take a car that had stopped for him along the way.

Finally he saw a couple coming out of a cab and ran before anyone else could snag it. He entered the cab, gave the cabbie his address and shook off the cold. Now in the comfort of the cab and with the noise significantly reduced, he could finally call his wife back.

He dialed the number and she picked up immediately, she was hysterical and Steven knew instantly that something was wrong. “Why the hell haven’t you been answering your phone?”

He tried to calm her, “Beth, Beth, calm down, what’s the matter, what’s wrong?”

Beth had to take a couple of breaths before she could answer, “Tracy, it’s Tracy, she’s gone, I can’t find her! She was right with me and now she’s gone!”

Steven took this in and had his mind racing to think of possible answers to where Tracy could be, “Maybe a cop found her and she’s at some station or maybe someone else found her and they’re taking her there.”

But she could not be consoled, “Steven, she’s been gone for hours. The police have an alert out, they’ve checked with every precinct, every hospital, she’s just gone!” Beth was sobbing on the other end of the phone.

He could tell she was barely functional and knew he had to get to her immediately, “Beth, where are you?”

At that point Beth continued to sob and could not speak or answer Steven’s questions, “Beth, if there is a police officer around, let me talk to him, pass him the phone, Beth!”

On the other end Steven could hear the phone rustling and then a male voice came on, “This is Detective Mullins, Mr. Loomis. We’re here with your wife and your other children. They’re fine. We’re at the precinct closest to Central Park. It’s the…”

Steven interrupted, “I know where it is. Where is my daughter?”

Mullins answered, “Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out. We have all units notified of a missing child and we have the missing persons unit notified already. There are three detectives at the park interviewing people and retracing your wife’s steps. We’re doing about as much as we can right now, Mr. Loomis. I would suggest you come and pick up your wife and your children. We will stay on this and let you know as soon as we have something.”

After hanging up with the policeman, Steven gave the cab driver the new destination.

When he got there, Steven Loomis could see that this was indeed a serious situation. The level of activity, the number of people on the phones with copies of a picture his wife had given them told him this was not a simple lost girl situation, something else was going on.

He looked around for his wife and his children and found them sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of the precinct. Marybeth was a total mess, her face streaked with makeup, her eyes still full of tears.

As soon as she saw Steven, she launched into his arms and began weeping, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it’s my fault! But she was right with me and we were going skating, and she was gone, just gone!”

Steven tried to calm his wife down in order to get a more cohesive story, but it became clear to him that he was going to need to take his wife to an emergency room to be sedated because she was on the verge of a complete breakdown.

“Beth, breathe, breathe, just relax, baby, and breathe. That’s it, slowly, just calm down and breathe, honey, that’s it.” Slowly Beth began to calm down.

Steven spoke softly to her, “I spoke to the police, honey, and they are doing everything they can.”

Beth looked up at him and began crying again, “But it’s my fault, she was with me and…and I let her out of my sight…it was just a minute…Bethany fell…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence before she broke down again. “Honey, it’s nobody’s fault, it happens, children break away from their parents all the time. Let’s not think the worst yet. She is probably somewhere with someone who is trying to get her back to us.”

Beth looked up again, “You really think so?”

Steven kept his composure and answered his wife with a lie, “Sure I do, honey. Now just relax and make sure Bethany and Chris are okay. They must be scared.”

Feeling a bit calmer, Beth went back to the bench and started comforting her other two children. But Steven Loomis was certain there was something else going on, something serious. His business was security and risk assessment, and he spent 20 years in the Navy doing nothing but investigating and learning how to notice things other people did not notice, and something was going on here, something he intended to get to the bottom of.

He asked around and finally found Mark Mullins, the policeman he had spoken to on the phone. “Detective Mullins? I’m Steven Loomis. We spoke on the phone.”

They shook hands and Mullins told Loomis, “I sure am sorry about this. I have two girls of my own and I can’t imagine what you are going through.”

Steven appreciated the man’s sentiments, but at the moment he just wanted to get as much information as he could, “I appreciate it, detective. It is incredibly difficult. I’m still trying to process everything.”

Mullins nodded in understanding, “So what can I do for you?”

Steven needed to be careful how he approached this if he wanted to get as much information as possible, “Well, I wanted to get an update on what’s going on with my daughter.”

Mullins responded without much preamble, “Nothing new to report. We have had a couple of sightings we followed up on, which unfortunately turned out to be dead ends. Every patrolman has a physical description of Tracy and we have detectives building a file.”

Loomis listened to Mullins telling him all of this, all of which he already knew, but he also knew there was more. “See, that’s the thing, detective, I was an investigator in the Navy and I work in security now, and I can’t help but notice that there is a lot of activity for a child that’s been missing for a few hours.”

Mullins immediately got defensive, “Listen, Mr. Loomis, we take missing persons very seriously, especially when it is children. Actually I’m surprised. Most people never think we are doing enough. I’ve never had someone complain that we are doing too much.”

Steven raised his hands trying to appease the officer, “I apologize, I didn’t mean to come across as complaining. I just noticed that for the time she has been missing there is a lot of activity. It seems as though a case has been already developed and like it’s much further along than I would think if it was just a missing girl at Central Park.”

Mullins looked at Steven’s eyes and could tell the man was not lying; he had the look of a cop, of an investigator. He knew if he lied to him he would see through it, and having the parent of a missing child not trusting the police during an investigation was no way to investigate anything.

Mullins considered it for a moment and then told Steven, “Alright, you did not get this from me. It could mean my job, do you understand?” Steven nodded.

Mullins went on, “You need to speak with Detective Grady, Robert Grady. He’s on the floor above. He should be able to give you more information.”

Steven looked back at his wife and kids and once he made sure they were okay began to make his way to the floor where Grady was. After a few inquiries, he was asked to wait until Detective Grady could see him. Steven sat down and again observed a lot more activity than he would expect for a case like this.

After 20 minutes, a short and stocky man came out to talk to him, “Can I help you?”

Steven stood up, “Yes, I’m looking for Detective Grady and I was told he worked on this floor.”

The man looked him up and down and responded, “I’m Grady, what can I do for you Mr. …?”

Steven stuck out his hand, “Loomis, Steven Loomis.”

As they were shaking hands, Steven saw a sign of recognition in Grady, who became extremely uncomfortable at the same time.

“Detective, to be honest with you, what I’m trying to get at is what’s going on here. My daughter is missing and I appreciate everything your department is doing, but I’m in the business, in the security and intelligence gathering business, and there is clearly something more going on than just my daughter missing.

“I just wanted to get the full update, I’m sure you can understand this is my daughter we are talking about and I want to know everything there is to know that is pertinent to my little girl.”

Grady considered Loomis. He could also tell the man wasn’t lying, he was in the business.

He also thought about his own daughters and what he would do and what he would want if one of them went missing, “Follow me.”

They went past the rows of desks manned by investigators and other detectives and went into an office at the far end of the floor. After they were both in the room, Grady closed the door behind him, “Have a seat, please.” Steven sat down across from Grady and waited for what the detective had to say.