Deadly Image (3 page)

Poor spic from the Bronx.

The taunt from his childhood tumbled through his mind. Ace clenched his fist. Even after years as a special agent, finally making a moderate living and giving his life to the Lord a few years back, he still struggled with the feeling of not being good enough.

Just like his father hadn’t been good enough for his mother.

Which was precisely why he kept all relationships at a distance. He didn’t plan on letting anyone – especially a woman – hurt him the way his mother had hurt his father. But there was something about Lexi’s pleading blue eyes that tugged at his heart.

Something that made him
want
her to be innocent.

Ace pushed back his chair, pulled out another caramel and popped it in his mouth. He walked to the doorway, propped his foot on the baseboard and watched the everyday activities taking place inside the precinct.

Two of the local cops drank coffee at the small round table in the corner of the office. The dispatcher spoke quietly on the phone while the receptionist handed someone a complaint form to fill out. The sheriff and one of the deputies, Rob Owens, had left with his federal partner, Zach, to pick up Lexi’s computer.

Ace swallowed the candy, his lips tightening. Someone knew what had happened to the little girl.

He closed his eyes briefly.
Lord, please protect this child from harm and show me the way to find her.
He hesitated for a moment, then added,
And please give Lexi Yates the strength to endure whatever we find.

Ace opened his eyes and stepped out of the interrogation room. If Lexi were indeed innocent, she was going to need all the strength she could get to make it through this trying time.

But if she were guilty...

A knot formed in Ace’s stomach. He steeled his mind against his personal feelings and focused on the case.

If she were guilty, then she’d need God’s strength to endure what he had in store for her. Anyone who deliberately harmed a child was fair game as far as he was concerned.

Ace curled his hand into a tight fist. Somebody was going to pay for taking Anna. And if the child were hurt in any way, that somebody would live to regret it.

He would make sure of it.

CHAPTER TWO

“You really should eat something, hon.”

“I’m not hungry.” Lexi sat cross-legged on her couch, hugging the over-sized stuffed yellow duck to her chest.

A spasm arrowed through her stomach. Had her baby girl cried herself to sleep last night without the comfort of her favorite toy? Could she even sleep at all without Mr. Quackers? What if she was hungry? Were they feeding her? What if…?

“You can’t help Anna if you don’t keep your strength up.” Victoria Carlisle held a foam plate with two sandwich halves toward Lexi. “Just a few bites, hon. Please.”

Lexi dragged her eyes from the hallway leading to Anna’s room to look at her mother. “What if Anna’s not eating, Mom? How can I eat something if my baby is going hungry?”

Victoria sat down on the couch beside Lexi, sympathy filling her dark brown eyes. She held the plate in her lap, her red-painted thumbnail contrasting with the white edge of the plate. “I know this is hard, but you have to take care of yourself. Anna’s going to need a strong mother right now. We’re going to find her, Lexi. You have to stay positive.”

Lexi sniffed back a tear, set Mr. Quackers to the side and took the plate from her mother. She bit off a tiny piece of the sandwich.

Ham and cheese. One of Anna’s favorites. The kind with little pieces of cheese sprinkled through the meat. Anna used to get a kick out of picking each piece of cheese from the ham and leaving tiny holes she could peek through.

Lexi’s chest squeezed again. Where
was
her baby? Were the kidnappers feeding her? Wiping away her tears?

She bit the inside of her cheek to chase those thoughts from her mind. Thinking the worst wasn’t helping.

Focus, Lexi. Focus on something else.

“Where’s Dad?” Lexi took another small bite and swallowed. Her body was so tense she couldn’t even taste the salt in the ham much less anything else. But to appease her mother she took a few more bites.

“He’s out with one of the FBI agents.” Victoria patted her daughter’s leg. “They’re checking abandoned houses, barns and such.”

Nausea gripped Lexi’s stomach. The few bites she had eaten threatened to rush back up. She set the plate with the uneaten half of the sandwich on the coffee table in front of her. “I should be out there looking too. I should be doing
something
.”

Victoria’s dark eyes darted toward the den a few feet away where Agent Valdez and the local sheriff had set up a command post. Beeps and crackling from some of the surveillance machines drifted through the doorway. “Didn’t you say the FBI thought it would be best if you remained close to the phone in case there was a ransom call?”

“It’s been three days, Mom. Wouldn’t they have called by now if it was money they wanted?” Lexi tried to keep the fear out of her voice. If it wasn’t money they wanted, then what? What could they possibly want with her daughter?

Images of child smugglers and seedy-looking predators popped into her mind. Lexi bit back a cry.
No! Please, no! Not that!

“Maybe they’re just biding their time.”

Lexi didn’t miss the doubt in her mother’s voice. Another wave of fear clutched her throat. What if she never saw Anna again? What if…

“Are you still taking your medicine?” Victoria asked gently. “With everything that has happened, the added stress could be a setback for you if you aren’t careful.”

Lexi jerked her wandering mind back to her mother’s question.
Focus, Lexi. Stay strong for Anna.

Lexi swallowed hard and nodded. She glanced toward the den and hoped the FBI couldn’t hear their conversation. That’s all she needed. The FBI thinking she was a nut-case on meds. Keeping her voice low, Lexi whispered, “I’m taking them. Not that they are helping much right now.”

Victoria took Lexi’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It would be so much worse without them, hon. I can’t bear the thought of you having a relapse like when Carl died.” Her mother’s voice quivered. “We nearly lost you that time.”

“I know. I’m being careful.” The memories of those dark days following Carl’s death flooded her mind. She wouldn’t let her panic attacks win this time. She couldn’t. She had to stay strong for Anna. Lexi blinked and willed the unpleasant memories from her mind. “I won’t let that happen. I promise.”

“Good.” Victoria offered a half-smile. “I can’t handle the thought of losing you too.”

Lexi clutched her mother’s hand as if it were a life preserver. And in a way it was. “What do you
really
think, Mom? Why do you think someone took my Anna?”

Victoria averted her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe it was a woman who couldn’t have children. Maybe someone is upset with you about something. Maybe…” Her voice shook. “I can’t answer that for you, Lexi. This is why your father and I didn’t want you to move away from home. This–”

Lexi rose to her feet, shoulders slumped. “You think this is my fault, don’t you?”

Shocked, Victoria’s head snapped toward Lexi. “No! Of course not! I just meant–”

“I know what you meant. If I had stayed in Texas like you and Dad wanted none of this would have happened.” Lexi’s throat clogged. “It’s all my fault.”

How many times in the last three days had she thought the same thing? Guilt gnawed at her like a squirrel with a nut. This
was
all her fault. If she’d stayed in Dallas her daughter wouldn’t be missing. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have put Anna in this kind of danger?

“Oh, Lexi, hon. That’s not what I meant. No one blames you.” Victoria sprang to her feet and hugged her daughter tight. “I just meant if you were still living near us, maybe we could have protected you from all of this.” She lifted Lexi’s chin with her thumb. “You’re still
my
daughter. When you’re hurting I’m hurting. I know you feel you’ve let Anna down. Just like your father and I feel we’ve let you down. This is not your fault, Lexi. We’re not blaming you. We want Anna back just as much as you do. She’s our baby too.” Victoria’s voice caught, tears filling her dark eyes. “But so are you, hon.”

Lexi leaned against her mother’s shoulder, tears flowing freely now. She was so thankful to have two wonderful parents who cared. If it hadn’t been for them, she would have already fallen to pieces.

The minute she called to tell them Anna was missing, they had called in the FBI without giving the local authorities a chance to follow protocol, driven straight from Dallas to Gator Bayou and jumped right into the search for Anna. They’d even contacted her employer to let him know she would be out indefinitely and called her close friend and co-worker, Lisa Rollins, who was out of town for a wedding for the week, to let her know what was going on. What would she have done without her parents? They were her rock. Always had been. Even after Carl’s death they had been there to pick up the pieces.

Her parents were the one thing she could thank God for, but with everything else she felt He had forsaken her. With Carl’s unexpected death and her already overactive anxiety, the little faith she had in God had been shaken to the core. Her faith had never been as strong as Carl’s and even though she had tried to be the perfect pastor’s wife, she always felt she had fallen short. Was that why God had let this happen? Because her faith had taken a nose-dive after her husband’s death. Or had God simply abandoned her?

Panic slithered across her spine. Was this her punishment for not being as strong of a believer as Carl?

She lifted her head and whispered in her mother’s ear. “The police think I did it. They’re blaming me for Anna’s disappearance.”

Victoria squared her shoulders in a huff. “Well, I’ve never!” She narrowed her eyes toward the den. “I have half a mind to march in there and set them straight. Why, you would never hurt Anna. Never!”

“Mom, no!” Lexi took a step back. She laid her hand on her mother’s arm and pleaded. “Please, don’t say anything to make it worse. I just want them to find Anna. I’m sure ruling me out as a suspect is simply part of their job.” Lexi’s voice quivered. “I just wish their accusations didn’t make me feel so guilty.”

“Hmph!” Victoria shook her head. “That’s ridiculous! You’re not–”

A light tap on the entryway leading into the den stopped Victoria’s indignant speech short.

Ace stepped through the doorway into the living room. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but we need to speak to you for a moment, Ms. Yates.”

Lexi shot a nervous look toward her mother before settling her gaze on Ace. A pink stain climbed her face. “No. You’re not interrupting. “And please call me Lexi.”

Ace knitted his brow and looked from mother to daughter.
Had
he interrupted something?

Lexi’s red-blotched face and suspiciously moist eyes made her appear even more vulnerable than she had yesterday at the precinct. Lexi’s mother, on the other hand, stood tall and proud in her custom-tailored pale yellow suit. With short, stylishly gray hair, squared-back shoulders and haughty demeanor, Mrs. Carlisle shot him a dark-eyed look that pinned him with daggers.

Ace bristled. Was her anger directed at him or at Lexi? Did
she
think her daughter was hiding something too?

“Lexi…” Ace dipped his chin toward her. “Please come into the den.”

“Lexi will not be answering any more of your questions without her lawyer present.” Victoria’s voice hardened as she turned to her daughter. “I’ll call Mr. Bolten. I’m sure he’ll make the trip to Gator Bayou if we need him to.”

Ace’s stomach clenched. Did Mrs. Carlisle know something? Is that why she was insisting on an attorney?

“No, Mom. That won’t be necessary.” Lexi cleared her throat.

A shiver of unease worked its way down Ace’s spine.
Lord, is she guilty after all?

Victoria pursed her lips. “Lexi, I really think–”

Lexi laid her hand on Victoria’s arm. “Really, Mom, it’s okay.” She turned to Ace, her blue eyes wide and frightened. “I’m ready.”

Ace blinked.