Forgotten Secrets (23 page)

“After the girl was taken,” Ed said, leaning closer, his face framed by two iron bars, “no new Caddy. Not ever.”

He let out a long laugh, and the odor of alcohol nearly made Riley gag. She stepped back with a cough, but she had more than enough for a follow-up conversation with Carol.

“Can I bring you a toothbrush?” she asked with a false smile.

Thayne leaned in, took one whiff, and glared at Ed. “Where’d you get the booze?”

Ed just shrugged.

Crossing his arms, Thayne planted himself against the bars for the clear purpose of intimidating Ed. The man gulped so loudly Riley could hear it from across the room.

“I’m not leaving you alone until you give me a name,” Thayne promised.

“If I tell you, will you let me out?”

Thayne placed his hand on his utility belt, near his weapon. “If you
don’t
tell me, there’s no chance, and I’m searching your cell.”

Ed scowled at his nemesis, and Riley had to admire Thayne’s way with the guy. He really was good at his job.

“Some reporter traded me a full bottle for a few pieces of inside information.”

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Thayne’s voice went soft and cold and terrifying. He grabbed Ed by the collar. “If your addiction for the bottle costs my sister her life, you won’t find a hole deep enough to crawl into. I promise you that.”

He shoved Ed back into the cell.

Thayne didn’t say a word until they were clear of the room. He slammed the door shut. “Damn him to hell. I should have sent him home the first day. He always gets off anyway.”

Riley grabbed his hands, wincing at Thayne’s tortured expression. “Don’t do this to yourself. You didn’t know.”

“Maybe not, but we should have kept the damn door closed. We would have, except I know from personal experience how claustrophobic that room gets. I gave the OK to leave it open. I gave Ed the opportunity. Because of that drunk, Brian Anderson could be dead right now and our chance of finding my sister may have died with him.”

The stars’ light pricked the midnight fabric of the sky. Riley pressed her face against the glass, peering into the darkened house.

Carol hadn’t shown up to work in two days. Riley rapped on the door again. She glanced over at Thayne. “Do you think she’s OK?”

Thayne pounded on the door, his fist causing the wood to groan. “Carol, it’s Thayne and Riley. We know you’re in there. Please. We need your help,” he shouted.

Agent Nolan was looking into the Cadillac. Riley knew one had been seen in the vicinity of at least two of the kidnappings she’d studied, but she hadn’t checked into the boys’ abductions. She still couldn’t get over the fact that she’d missed the connection. She’d analyzed those missing kids’ files since she’d been old enough to realize she could.

She’d committed the unpardonable sin of making an assumption. The very thing she fought so hard to prevent by avoiding any contamination of the investigation in progress.

The curtain fluttered.

“Carol,” Riley said, hitting the door. “Please, it’s important.”

Slowly, the doorknob turned. Carol’s pale face appeared. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice slurred, her eyes bloodshot.

“We need to ask you some questions about Gina’s father.” Riley slipped her foot in the door so Carol couldn’t close them out.

“Gina’s dead.” Carol tried to press the door closed, but Riley wouldn’t budge. “Everyone knows I killed my daughter.”

“That’s not true,” Thayne said.

“Just as good as did. I left her alone all the time because I passed out. I let men look at her. I deserved to lose her.”

She flung the door open and stumbled backward. An acrid odor washed over Riley. A nauseating combination of meth, alcohol, urine, and she didn’t really want to know what else.

Thayne shoved open a window to let in some fresh air.

Carol plopped down on the sofa and picked up a tall glass filled with ice. She twisted open a bottle and poured to the top.

Riley sat down across from the woman who could have the key to everything. “We think you can help us find Cheyenne.”

“I can’t help anyone. Not even myself.” She chuckled, her tone sour and defeated. “Was supposed to bail out Ed, but the money’s gone.”

It was easy to see where. A recently used meth pipe lay on the coffee table.

“Ed’s the only one I can count on,” Carol said. “And I screwed it all up with him. For good this time.”

Riley leaned forward and clasped Carol’s hands in hers. “Who was Gina’s father?”

Carol blinked. She looked over at Thayne and shook her head. “Not talking about it around
him
. Men don’t understand. Ed never did. You’re judging me right now. I can see it.” She stood up. “Damn you, Thayne Blackwood.” She pounded on his chest. “The Blackwoods. The perfect family. I was like you.” She fell into his arms, sobbing. “I was just like you.”

Thayne picked her up and carried her to the sofa. She collapsed, a limp body wasting away.

Riley shot to her feet and rested her hand on his arm. “I’ve got this. I think she’ll speak to me if you leave.”

Thayne nodded. “I’ll be right outside. I so much as hear a strange noise, I’m coming in.” Thayne walked out the front door, closing it softly behind him.

Carol rubbed her hands against her eyes. “I was like him.”

“I know,” Riley said, patting Carol’s hand. “No one understands, do they?”

Carol blinked at her, eyes wide and foggy. “Your sister got taken. I remember now.”

Riley nodded and pulled out a photo. “Her name was Madison. She was kidnapped soon after Gina.”

“You know they’re dead,” Carol whispered. “No one admits it, but they are. She’d be thirty now. Probably would’ve had a kid. Maybe two. I’d have been a grandma.”

“They’re gone,” Riley said, the words hurting her heart. “But I still want to bring my sister home. For my mother. Don’t you want Gina home with you?”

Tears rolled down Carol’s cheeks. “Will it help?”

“I don’t know.” Riley sighed. “I’m not sure if knowing the truth will be worse or not, but I have to try.” She rested her hands on her knees. “Can I tell you something, Carol? Sometimes I dream that Madison walks through my front door with a smile on her face. It’s so real.”

“Her ghost,” Carol said. “I see Gina all the time in the dead of night. She blames me for her life.”

“Then help me find them so we can do right by them. Who is Gina’s father?”

“One-night stand. He showed up at a bar right outside the rodeo in Casper. I was trying to get in, but I was underage. They’d kicked me out a couple of times already.” She frowned. “He was a college man from a real famous school in California. He spouted off words I’d never heard, but they sounded good.” Carol closed her eyes, her lips upturned in a small smile. “He had soft hands, not like Ed or the cowboys around this place.”

“He sounds nice.”

“He was. At first.” Carol’s forehead wrinkled with thought. “We couldn’t get into the club, so we went to his hotel room. He gave me some drinks. I don’t remember much, except he made me feel special. I fell asleep in his arms.”

Carol gulped down half the tall glass. “In the morning, he tugged on his pants and said good-bye. I asked him if I could go with him. He laughed at me. I wasn’t smart enough or pretty enough. He walked out the door. Never saw him again.”

Riley could just imagine a seventeen-year-old girl from a small town falling for a line. So easy for one choice to change a life. “Did you tell him you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t even know his last name.” Carol shrugged. “I thought I saw his car once. A Caddy. You know how much those things cost? But I was just dreaming.” Carol’s voice petered off. “Just dreaming.”

She fell over onto the sofa, completely passed out.

Riley stood up. She walked over to a photo on the fireplace. A girl with auburn hair smiled back, though her eyes weren’t exactly happy. Gina Wallace had lived a tough life from the beginning. What if Ed had been telling the truth? What if this drifter
had
come back? What if he’d taken Gina?

She was the first victim, and the first victim spoke the loudest.

A long shot? Yeah, but what else did they have?

She picked up her phone and dialed a familiar number.

“Hickok,” Tom answered.

“It’s Riley.”

“What do you want, Lambert?”

“I need a favor. We have Gina Wallace’s DNA on file, right?”

“Did you find a body?” he asked.

A good assumption, considering DNA, like fingerprints, could be used only as a comparison tool. It was valuable only if you had a match on file.

“Her father may be our perp. Can you run her DNA through the system, looking for a familial match?”

Tom let out a low whistle. “Do you know what you’re saying? Are you crazy?”

“Maybe. But I’m also desperate. If I don’t catch a break soon, Cheyenne Blackwood and Brian Anderson are as good as dead.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The glare of the streetlight created a halo. Thayne propped himself against the doorjamb. So far he’d heard a few tears, a bit of crying, and finally the soft murmur of female voices.

He drummed his fingers on his leg. A sense of urgency boiled within him. He had a feeling Riley and he were close to uncovering something big, but he could foresee nothing that pointed to saving Cheyenne, and he didn’t have a clue how to find her.

Right now they’d placed all their hopes on a sixteen-year-old kid. What kind of delusional faith was that?

A rustle sounded off to the left. Thayne drew his weapon and crouched, peering into the trees at the side of Carol’s home.

A loud meow pierced the night, and a cat streaked past him, hissing. Thayne didn’t relax. Something had triggered the animal to flee.

A shadow moved to his left just as the front door to Carol’s house opened.

“Stay inside,” he hissed to Riley. “Don’t leave until I come back.”

The door slammed shut, and the dead bolt clicked into place.

Confident Riley could take care of herself barricaded indoors, Thayne rushed in silence to the trees. Somewhere hidden, perhaps in an alley or even down the road, a car’s engine purred on the quiet street. Within seconds, the sound vanished.

No way he could track the getaway vehicle, so Thayne pulled a flashlight from his cargo pants and swept the ground. He sighted a pair of footprints impressed in the ground cover with a tread similar to the print he’d discovered not far from the Riverton waterfall and the unidentified girl’s body.

Thayne dialed his phone. “Pendergrass, meet me at Carol’s ASAP. Bring your forensics kit and someone who can watch over her house tonight.”

“Will do.”

With a tap, Thayne ended the call and gave the area one last look. Had he interrupted the sniper? A reporter? The kidnapper? The murderer?

Taking no chances, he walked the perimeter of the house until Pendergrass pulled up, lights flashing.

Finally, he knocked on Carol’s door.

Riley flung it open. “What happened?”

“Someone was watching.”

Thayne locked Carol inside and gave one of the additional DCI investigators the key. “Keep an eye on her.”

The man nodded. Thayne kept his gun drawn, his body on full alert, until he escorted Riley to the SUV.

Her footsteps were dragging. She had to be exhausted. This roller-coaster ride searching for Cheyenne sucked energy more than a three-mile run in the middle of insurgent territory.

“Another dead end?” he asked.

“Maybe not,” she said, filling him in. “The DNA’s worth a shot. I should have thought of it before.”

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Thayne said, pulling away from the curb. He had to stay alert and aware of anything out of sync.

Riley rubbed her neck, rolling her head from side to side.

“You need rest.”

“I wanted to find Cheyenne today.”

“So did I.”

Riley leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes. “Take me back to the sheriff’s office. I’ll work the boards tonight. Revisit every one of those abductions. There has to be something.”

Thayne put the car in gear. “I think you should sleep for a few hours. Your Unit 6 is working the Brian Anderson angle; DCI and the Denver FBI field officers are combing through the files. If we get a hit on the forensics, they’ll contact us.”

She shook her head. “Not going to happen. I should be there.”

“We both know the golden hours are gone. Losing sleep won’t save my sister.” He let out a controlled breath. “If Cheyenne is alive, it’s because whoever took her wants her alive.” He turned the car toward Fannie’s. “My family needs your intuition, your instincts, your ability to see what others can’t. You need to rest.”

She rubbed her eyes, wincing.

“You know I’m right.”

She scowled at him. “I don’t have to like it.”

He stayed silent, waiting for her to acknowledge the truth. He was right this time, and she knew it.

“Fine. Just a few hours.”

“Of course.”

She tucked her leg underneath her and turned toward him. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

“You can tell me anything, Riley. We’ve been through a lifetime together the last two days.”

“I don’t know how the investigation will end, but I have to say this before everything goes crazy. And it will. Your family is strong,” she said, her gaze boring into him. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Of course.”

“No matter what happens, fight to keep your family together.”

“Unlike yours?” he asked gently.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Madison was the light of my mother’s life. When she was taken, something broke inside Mom. I couldn’t fix it. My dad didn’t know how to, either. I’m surprised they’re still together.” She let out a pained chuckle. “Actually, a divorce probably would have required too much energy and passion.”

He took her hand in his and threaded their fingers. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve investigated a lot of cases over the years. Officially, the last three years; unofficially, long before that. More often than not, an abduction tears the family apart. I’d hate to see that happen to you. Your family, they have something special.”

“Well, I hated all that specialness when I was a teenager. It’s the reason I left and the reason I stayed away.”

“You’re back now.”

“I’ve come to reappreciate Singing River. And my family.”

He pulled up at the B&B. Riley started to open the door. He stopped her. “Wait for me.”

He exited and searched the area between the car and Fannie’s for any unusual movements or signs.

Finally, when he was satisfied, he yanked open the passenger side and escorted her quickly across the lawn and into the lodging.

Fannie hadn’t opened the curtains.

Riley faced him. “If you get a call—”

“I’ll let you know. It’ll be a quick trip, because I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

Cheyenne sat at her patient’s bedside, nibbling on some of the food Ian had delivered, the small wooden stake she’d carved tucked in the waist of her scrubs. Bethany’s breathing had improved, but she still hadn’t awakened again. Instead of a feverish unconsciousness, though, she now slept easily.

A layman could tell the incision was no longer red with infection. The IV antibiotics had been administered, and Bethany would be awake soon. She’d be able to take oral antibiotics and eat and drink.

Cheyenne had become disposable, and Bethany would soon be again under the power of whoever had poisoned her.

A few hours ago Father had entered the room, forcing Cheyenne to show him Bethany’s healing wound. He’d given her a small, satisfied nod and left without so much as another word.

If she got a chance to escape, she’d have to take it.

The door to her cell slammed open, the sound echoing throughout her prison.

Father strode into the middle of the room. “Doctor Blackwood, you spoke with Ian. What did you say to him?”

His overly calm tone gave Cheyenne chills. That and Adelaide’s terrified expression as she followed him inside.

Cheyenne rose from her seat and faced the man who controlled her very life, but she said nothing.

His lips pursed. “I have no wish to punish you, but if you force me, I will not hesitate to protect my family. Answer me.”

“Nothing of importance,” she lied.

“You corrupted all my good work.” Father’s soft words belied the high color in his cheeks. “He was brilliant with electronics. Did you even consider what infecting his fragile mind with memories would force me to do?” Father paced back and forth, his hands behind his back. “Of course not. You live in a selfish world thinking only of yourself, never of the greater good.”

As he spoke, Cheyenne almost collapsed with disappointment. Ian hadn’t escaped. No one was coming to their rescue.

Her weapon dug into her side. She’d have only one chance to use it. She’d have to pick the perfect time.

She glanced over her shoulder at Bethany. She’d have to come back for her and pray her enemy didn’t get to her first.

Father’s brow furrowed. “I’d sincerely hoped this wouldn’t come to pass. Adelaide, we have a punishment to administer. To all of them.” He glared at Cheyenne. “Everything about to happen is your responsibility, Doctor. Ian was a good boy. Micah would have learned, and now . . .” He sighed. “Such a shame.”

Father turned his back and started out the door. “Bring her, Adelaide.”

Adelaide winced.
I’m sorry,
she mouthed and gripped Cheyenne’s arm.

The empty hallway beckoned. One chance. She had to take it.

She shoved Adelaide out of the way and launched herself at the door, weapon drawn.

“Close it!” Father said.

The iron slammed shut from the outside. Cheyenne careened into the metal, jarring her body. She whirled around, backed against the door, weapon drawn.

She had nowhere to go.

“Silly, stupid child.” Father rapped twice on the floor. Someone yanked the steel door open behind Cheyenne. She tumbled backward, and before she could move her arms, she was pinned to the floor, a familiar, sickly sweet odor permeating her nose and mouth.

Cheyenne tried to turn her head away from the sweet-smelling aroma. She held her breath and clenched her fists. If she could just . . .

She looked over at the woman whom she’d trusted. “Please. Adelaide. Help . . . escape.” Her words slurred.

Father looked down at Cheyenne and simply smiled. A sickly satisfied expression that made Cheyenne’s stomach roil.

“I’m sorry. I had no choice,” Adelaide said, her face full of regret.

“You will join Ian and Micah for punishment,” Father said.

Cheyenne blinked, tried to fight, but her mind lost focus.

“Ian,” she whispered.

Darkness descended around her. The room went blurry.

A handcuff snapped onto her wrist. She tried to resist, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t open her eyes.

“Bring her,” Father said. “To the omega room.”

Several voices gasped. “Father?”

“I have no choice. Guard her closely. We will fetch Ian and Micah.”

Ian. I’m so very sorry.

Someone tied a cord around her waist. They dragged her along the floor. A small sniffle came from above her.

“Shut up,” a female voice whispered. “Do you want to be punished, too?”

“N-no,” the fearful girl stuttered.

“Then just do it. And never forget what Father always says. Family is everything.”

Fannie’s B&B had never felt so small to Riley. Her heart skipped a beat at Thayne’s promise not to leave until morning. The last time Thayne had told her he was staying the night, he’d stayed all week. The world had been a different place then.

“After you,” he said, his face set in stone in a stubborn, don’t-argue-with-me, it’ll-never-work voice she’d come to know and hate during their Friday phone dates.

“I can still take care of myself,” she said, because she felt obligated to stand up for herself, her job, and her training. “I may not have my badge, but you gave me a gun.”

“We’re being followed. Until we identify the source of the threat, you’re stuck with me.”

“You’re being an overprotective alpha male, Thayne.”

“That’s my job.”

Her lips curved upward. The truth was, she’d already decided to give in. She could use the company. With each step, her body grew heavier and heavier with exhaustion—emotional and physical.

Desperate worry for Cheyenne, a strange but surreal hope for finding answers about her sister and the other victims, and a gut-wrenching desire to make the bastard who had caused so much pain pay with his life had drained her energy dry.

“Come on, then.” She headed up the stairs just as Fannie, Norma, and Willow peeked out from the kitchen.

Thayne paused, frowning at them. “You can’t leave without an escort, ladies. The sniper is still on the loose. Understood?”

Eyes wide, they all nodded. Thayne put his phone to his ear. “Ladies, call when you want to leave. Deputy Ironcloud’s stationed outside. He’ll drive you home.”

Whispering excitedly, they disappeared into Fannie’s private quarters behind the registration desk.