Caught in the Frame (18 page)

“If we can’t count on Baylee’s evidence, it’s back to plan A. EV, are you sure you want to go through with it?” Dalton laid a hand on her shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze.

“If I get him to confess, can we put him behind bars?”

“Fraud and identity theft carry a fifteen year maximum in the states—and we can prove multiple counts. Now that we know his crimes were not confined just to the U.S., I’ll need to contact Interpol. Even without Evan being alive to testify, I think we can add extortion to the list—and kidnapping. He’ll have good lawyers, but he’ll do time.”

“What about Baylee and Javier?” Chloe asked. “I assume there will be repercussions.”

Nate’s shoulders lifted. “That will depend on whatever the evidence shows. It will be up to the local authorities to pursue. It was a foolhardy thing to do.”

“What would you have done in his position?” Chloe demanded. Now that she’d accepted him as family, she would defend Javier to the bitter end.

Nate’s sheepish grin was enough of an answer, but he clarified anyway. “I’d have done the same.” His face firmed. “But, we can’t cover this up, or ignore the facts. Even with extenuating circumstances, he broke the law. Whatever happens, it’s out of our hands.”

* * *

The stage was set, the players ready to take their places. Javier, Lila, and Chloe would search for Baylee while Nate, Dalton, and EV handled Remy—keeping him away from Baylee and, with any luck, extracting a confession from him at the same time.

There was one more thing EV needed to do before it was time to act. Unable to sit still with nervous energy coursing through her veins, her feet carried her back and forth across seating area in Lila’s suite.

“Nate, I…”

“You’re not backing out on me are you, EV?” Looking up from the notes he was making on his laptop, Nate took in the set lines of her face, the stiff shoulders, and jumped to conclusions.

“Of course not.” EV crossed the small space, sliding into the chair next to him. One way or another, she needed to get Remy back to the suite so this could all go down in a private setting. On the other side of the door connecting Chloe’s bedroom to Lila’s suite, Nate would be waiting to ensure her safety once she had Remy in there. For Dalton, being half a castle away, even while she was amid the crowded dining room wasn’t good enough. Disguised by a hat pulled low over his face, a pair of thick glasses, and enhanced with makeup applied by Chloe’s skilled hand, he would be sitting several tables away from where EV and Remy were to meet.

“It’s just that there’s something you need to know about Remy and me before I can go through with this. Something that’s bound to come up, and I’d rather you hear it now than be surprised by it later.” EV spoke quietly, but with heavy intent. Nate gave her his full attention.

Each telling of the story of her final days with Remy became easier. By the cold fury that leapt into Nate’s eyes, EV could tell Chloe had kept her secret—this was the first Nate had heard of her history. He called Remy a spate of names that were vicious enough to slap an admiring grin on EV’s face, and release the tension she held inside. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how do you want me to play this?” Nate’s indignation on her behalf had lightened her mood considerably.

“Javier spent some time with the head of security for the castle. The staff here uses handheld communication devices, so it wasn’t that hard for the two of them to rig up a couple of wired microphones and transmitters. We can follow your conversation with Remy in real time.” Nate held up a smallish piece of electronic equipment. “I’ll be on the other end, recording everything.” He spun the laptop so she could see the program open and ready.

“I’ll be wearing the same gear and sitting behind Remy—far enough where he won’t hear me, but close enough so you can see me. I won’t let you out of my sight,” Dalton assured her.

“Javi and his team have a set of handheld radios, which I will also be monitoring, but you’ll only be able to hear Dalton or me through the ear piece. Your hair covers your ears, so Remy won’t see it, and we’ll tape everything down so you won’t have to worry about it coming dislodged when you move. I’ll be here to guide you, but we’re relying on you to pull a confession out of him.” Nate patted her shoulder awkwardly, then turned back to his typing.

“Now, Dalton will do the honors of getting you fitted out with the equipment.” Nate’s face burned red at the thought of touching EV intimately enough to run the wires and tape them where they would stay concealed by her clothing. His embarrassment brought a smile to her face.

Gentle on her skin, Dalton’s hands sent tingles of electricity shivering across it when he tucked the thin, black strand into her bra. His eyes lifted to hers, held there for a moment to speak promises for their future when this was over. He leaned in to whisper, “I believe in you.”

Pulling her eyes away with difficulty, EV checked her watch. Five minutes and counting before she had to leave in order to meet Remy in the cafe; her heart kicked in her chest. Never before had the weight of caring for her town—for Ponderosa Pines and every soul who lived there—pressed so heavily on her shoulders. Concern for Baylee’s safety only added to the burden. If she couldn’t figure out a way to lead Remy into confessing his reason for targeting her town and committing crimes in the process, he would feel free to continue on with his vendetta.

More, she had to time this right in order to give Lila, Chloe, and Javier a chance to find Baylee in case she failed. If Remy decided they were on to him, there was no telling what he might do to Javi’s sister-in-law before they could stop him. Or what he might have already done to her, which was EV’s biggest fear. She was going on the assumption that, even after all this time, she was at the heart of his motive. If Baylee got hurt because of her, EV would never forgive herself.

A second laptop sat on the table—this one Dalton’s—linked to Javier’s, which currently displayed the castle’s security camera feed. Feeling like a guillotine hovered above her neck, EV watched Remy leave his room. Once upon a time, this man had been the boy who she loved with her whole heart. Looking at him now, all evidence of that boy seemed tarnished and jaded—and she mourned their loss even as she burned with fury at everything he had done. The pedestal she had set him on at fourteen had obviously been formed from wet sand, tempered by time—not into cement, but into a crumbling foundation that toppled him to the ground. The time for mercy was long past. She reached for Dalton’s hand; let his strength course through her one last time before he left the room to find his place in the cafe.

* * *

In the cramped security room, Javier
slammed his fist down on the table, jarring the state-of-the-art laptop resting there. He’d split the display into four separate video inputs: one replaying security footage of the hallway outside Baylee’s suite, one of the hallway outside Lila’s, and a third showing the perspective from the only camera close enough to have caught any extraneous images at the time of Baylee’s disappearance.

The final quadrant—the camera nearest Remy’s room—played in reverse, from now to the time of Baylee’s disappearance, so Javier could watch his movements during the period in question. “There, he’s headed in that direction after leaving his room three separate times in the last 24 hours.” Javier looked hopeful as he watched Remy skulk out of his room in the opposite direction of the bank of elevators that would have been the easiest way to get to the main section of the castle.

“So what now?” Lila asked. “Where does that course take him?”

“To the west wing, and to the stairs leading down the level our rooms are on.”

Javier was already clicking furiously between files on the main security console, his sharp eyes scanning between several sets of blueprints and security plans, searching for the most likely place Remy would have stashed Baylee. Chloe and Lila exchanged a nervous glance; this was their best chance to find Javier’s sister-in-law. With Nate and Dalton monitoring EV’s attempt to wheedle a confession out of Remy, they had a clear shot at a rescue, and would receive a heads-up if Remy tried to break away.

“There are several unmonitored areas he could access once he entered the turret, depending on whether he went up or down. Some are unusable; others are pending construction, so there’s nothing there to steal, which is why we didn’t install cameras. When we get there, we can split up and cover more ground. If this doesn’t work, we’re going to have to trust EV to pry the information from him, or trail him until he leads us to her. I’d rather not go there; he’s unpredictable and reckless, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

Lila wrapped a protective arm around Chloe’s shoulders while they both remained silent and allowed Javier to come up with a plan of attack. Minutes later, he whipped three sheets of paper off the portable printer resting in the far corner of the room and handed them each a map. “He could have gone up or down; I’ll take the bottom floor and work my way up. You two start at the top and work your way down; we’ll meet in the middle. We’ll stay in contact with these,” He passed Chloe a hand-held radio. “This one is set to communicate only with mine, while I will be able to monitor both yours and the same frequency Nate, Dalton, and EV are using. This way, we can stay in constant contact in the event that EV’s plan goes south and Remy tries to make off in this direction. You’ll need to push this button to talk, and this is the volume. Call me with your progress; I will do the same, and I’ll relay to Nate when we find her. And we will find her. Be quick and be safe.”

Javier kissed Lila quickly and enveloped both mother and daughter in a tight hug.

* * *

“You take the left side, I’ll take the right.” Lila nodded at Chloe’s suggestion, took a deep breath and turned the handle of the first door. A once-elegant, now dust-covered sleeping area lay behind the entrance. Light spattered across the room through heavy brocade draperies ravaged by time and a particularly hungry eclipse of moths. No disturbance in the thick layer of dust and dirt caking the floor told Lila this room hadn’t been entered recently, but she stepped a boot-clad foot inside and searched the adjoining powder room and closet anyway.

Halfway down the hallway, Chloe let out a frustrated grunt. “I really don’t think he’s been on this floor. Nothing has been touched here in about a hundred years. It seems like he’d want to be as close as possible to wherever he’s keeping her, which means we’re all starting in the wrong place.”

“I think you’re right.” Lila crouched down, cocked her head to the side, and peered at the stone floor spreading down the rest of the hallway. “There are no footprints anywhere. Just more dust. Let’s go downstairs. I think we’ll have better luck there.”

Chloe keyed up the radio, “No one’s been up here for a very long time. We’re moving down a level.”

In response, she heard a short burst of static, then Javier’s voice, “Noted.”

* * *

Javier, near upon the same conclusion Lila and Chloe had drawn, was making his way through the last of the first floor rooms when the hallway’s connecting door creaked open. Quick as a cat, he assembled himself into a casual stance, silenced the two-way radio, and ambled toward the exit closest the main section of the castle.

From around the corner peeked the curious face of none other than Hannah Frank. Her searching gaze spoke volumes; clearly, the relentless woman had followed him, hoping to ferret out some nugget of useful information. Several thoughts buzzed through Javier’s mind: how much did she know? How long had she been following him? Was she connected to Remy, or just an intolerable snoop?

“Hello, Javier.” She greeted him brightly, as if a chance meeting in a deserted castle hallway was completely normal. “Where is our blushing bride?” Looking past him, her expression turned to one of defeat when she realized Lila was nowhere to be seen.
Intolerable snoop, it is.

Javier sighed heavily, his face darkening to convey irritation—he didn’t have time for this, and had hit his limit with the pestering woman. Even as they spoke, Chloe or Lila could be trying to contact him via the two-way radio.

“She’s down in the salon, I think, or maybe she said she was going to take a steam.” Javier pasted on a fake smile and directed Hannah to the furthest reaches of the castle, hoping she’d take the bait and scurry off on the misguided mission.

The unexpected jangle of his cell phone nearly had him jumping out of his own skin. “Sorry, Hannah, but I have to take this.” He barked. Without absorbing the hard edge to his words, she was already headed back toward the exit with a hopeful smile on her face.

“Are you alright?” Lila’s voice rang clear with concern. “Why aren’t you answering on the radio?”

“That damnable Hannah woman was tailing me, looking for you. I think I’ve dispatched her for the time being.” Javier cracked the door she had disappeared through, making sure he was fully in the clear, then broke into a sprint in the other direction.

“We’re close; she’s got to be in one of these rooms. Someone has been through here lately; we can see footprints going in and out. Call Antoine; he’s going to want to see this, and we need to make sure a staff member can attest to her condition.”

“On my way.” Elation coursed through Javier’s veins; for a moment, he didn’t care what happened to Remy Vincent, as long as Baylee was alright. Still, he felt a responsibility to take the bastard down. It was clear Remy was getting desperate, and that meant it was only a matter of time before someone else got seriously hurt.