Her Stolen Son (5 page)

So Lyle could have lifted her print from the mug, but if Lyle was dead, then someone else framed her. Had someone been watching him, planning his murder, then seen them together and decided she'd be the perfect patsy to take the fall? If so, he could have lifted her prints from the mug.

She closed her eyes picturing their movie date, trying to recall the details. She had ordered a Diet Coke and dropped the cup in the trash on the way out. But it seemed far-fetched that someone was following them to a movie and grabbed her cup. Still, if this killer was ruthless, it was possible. Something for Kay Krantz to point out in court.

The emails bothered her, too, but as Kay pointed out, someone else could have used her phone to send the emails. Or a professional might have the knowledge to set it up so it appeared the emails came from her phone when they actually hadn't.

But her underwear posed a bigger problem. Her
panties had to have been stolen from her house. She stewed over that problem. She hadn't noticed any signs of a break-in over the past few weeks.

So who had been in her house? Two of her clients had dropped off work, but neither of them had stayed or even come inside. She and Petey were so new to Sanctuary that he hadn't made a lot of playmates yet and she hadn't cultivated friendships either, so they hadn't had company. They'd been too busy settling in.

Only Lyle Rice had come inside to pick her up the night of the movie, and then to have an after-dinner drink.

Which meant that someone had broken into her house and stolen her underwear without her noticing. The thought sent another wave of fear through her.

When she was released, she had to change all her locks. She'd install a security system, as well. If she and Petey had been home when the person had broken in, he could have hurt her or her son.

She'd do anything to keep Petey safe.

 

C
OLT NEEDED
to know more about Serena's husband and why he'd been killed. Could his death be related to Rice and his murder?

The bag of cash and both men having been murdered raised his suspicions.

He glanced at the clock. Five a.m.

Dammit, he had to find Petey. The poor little boy was out there somewhere alone, vulnerable. He scrubbed his hand over his bleary eyes. If anything bad happened to Petey, he'd never forgive himself.

Once again, he tried to climb in the boy's mind. He'd been sure Petey would run home. That would have been the most logical choice. Then again, Petey was scared and smart and probably realized that the police would search his house. So where else would he go?

Perhaps he had a friend he'd turn to. Or maybe Serena had a friend or sitter he liked…

He had to talk to her and confess that her son was missing.

He texted Derrick that he was on his way to see Serena, then locked up the house and headed to the jail. A minute later, Derrick replied that he'd meet him at the sheriff's office.

Only a few early-morning truckers hitting the roads for deliveries were on the road as he drove the short distance into Sanctuary. The sun was climbing in the sky, still half-hidden behind the mountains, and the air held a chill although the July heat would kick in by afternoon and the temperatures would soar.

He sucked in a sharp breath, berating himself again as he strode inside. Deputy Stone Alexander had nodded off in the chair, but he jerked awake, then rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I need to speak to Serena. Now.”

Alexander dropped his boots to the floor. “You find her son?”

“No.” Fresh guilt suffused Colt. “He didn't come home so I need to ask her if she knows where he might go.”

Alexander nodded, then stood and grabbed the cell keys. They jangled in the silence as he escorted Colt
through the double doors. The hall was dark, eerily quiet, and he wondered if Serena had finally fallen asleep. He hated to wake her, but she'd be furious enough that he hadn't come sooner.

Serena glanced up from the cot where she was scribbling on a pad when she saw him. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept a wink, her eyes swollen and red from crying, mascara smeared.

Damn. Her nightmare was about to get worse.

“I've been making a list of questions.” She rushed toward him. But his expression must have revealed that he had bad news because she suddenly went still.

“What is it? What's wrong?”

The deputy opened the cell door, and Colt stepped inside. “Serena, I hate to tell you this, but Petey ran away again.”

“What? No.” Anger and terror streaked her face and she stumbled backward and collapsed on the cot. “When? Where is he?”

“I don't know,” Colt said. “Derrick said Petey finally settled down around midnight, then they went to bed. Derrick heard a noise around 2:00 a.m., and got up to check, but Petey was gone.”

“No…” Serena shook her head in denial.

“Listen, Serena.” Colt lowered himself onto the thin mattress beside her and gripped her arms. “I figured Petey might go home so I went to your house. I've been there all night hoping he'd show.”

She took a shaky breath. “But he didn't?”

“No. Derrick has been combing the streets searching and so has the sheriff. Can you think of any place
Petey would go? Maybe a friend's house or a sitter's, somewhere he'd feel safe?”

Tears welled in Serena's eyes. “No…we haven't been in town long enough to make any real friends. And I haven't left him with a sitter yet.” She gulped. “The only place he's been is at the Y for a camp.”

Deputy Alexander cleared his throat. “I'll call the sheriff and have him check the Y.”

Colt nodded his thanks, then footsteps sounded behind him. He heard Derrick speak to the deputy, then Derrick appeared at the cell.

“You…you were supposed to take care of him,” Serena cried.

Regret and worry stretched across Derrick's face. “I know…. I'm sorry, Serena. Brianna and I are both torn up.” He glanced at Colt. “Can I see you for a minute in private?”

Serena vaulted to her feet and pushed Colt's hands away. “Whatever you have to say you can say in front of me. I'm Petey's mother and I have a right to know what's going on.”

Derrick's look turned tortured. “I…checked everywhere and couldn't find Petey, so I went back to the house and tried to figure out how he snuck out.”

Colt's pulse clamored. “And?”

“The window was open. At first I thought he'd climbed through it, but I have a security system and couldn't understand why the alarm didn't sound. So, I looked around and discovered footprints outside the window.”

“Petey's?” Serena whispered in a raw voice.

Derrick shook his head. “No, these were bigger. A man's.”

Colt's blood ran cold as the inevitable clicked in. Someone had tampered with Derrick's security system. A man's footprints had been found outside the window.

Petey hadn't run away.

He'd been kidnapped.

Serena trembled all over, her mind racing with panic. She had thought things couldn't get any worse.

But now Petey had been kidnapped.

Why was all this happening? Who would abduct Petey and what was the bastard going to do to him?

“Alert the sheriff, Derrick,” Colt said. “We need a crime scene unit out at your place immediately, and he needs to update the Amber alert.”

“I will. I just wanted to let you know first.” Derrick glanced at Serena, his expression full of remorse. “I'm so sorry, Serena. Brianna and I only wanted to help. I don't know how this person broke in without us hearing….” His voice caught. “Brianna is worried sick.”

Serena couldn't speak. She'd put her trust in these people when trust wasn't something she gave away, but now the situation was even worse than before.

Colt rubbed her arms. “I promise you we'll find him, Serena. I swear it.”

Before he'd arrived, she'd finally pulled herself together enough to think rationally. Now all she could do
was stare at him and imagine what might be happening to her son.

“I have to do something,” Serena said, her voice warbling. “I should be out there searching. Maybe I could go on TV and make a plea…”

Colt glanced at the clock on the wall. “I'll call Kay and update her. It's only a few hours until you meet with the judge.”

Serena's adrenaline kicked in and she clutched Colt's arms. “A few hours? In a few hours my son could be dead, Colt.”

His dark eyes flashed with the realization that she could be right. “Under the circumstances, I'll see if Kay can move up the bail hearing.”

She nodded, grasping on to that sliver of hope. “Get a picture of Petey from my purse and put it on the news. Maybe someone has seen him.”

“I'll take care of it, call Kay Krantz and Gage and update the sheriff,” Derrick offered, then rushed to see the sheriff.

“While the police get the search underway, we need to figure out what's going on,” Colt said. “Lyle's alleged murder, your arrest, Petey's kidnapping—it all has to be connected.”

Serena let that comment sink in. “You think someone killed Lyle, then framed me to get me out of the way so he could kidnap Petey?”

Colt shrugged. “That's possible although convoluted. You wouldn't have to be in jail for someone to kidnap him. Whoever took him could have just as easily kidnapped him from your place as Derrick's.”

That was true. It had been riskier to break into a private detective's house.

Serena's stomach knotted. “Which means that the kidnapper really wanted Petey for some reason.”

“Serena, can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?”

Serena shook her head. “No.”

“What about your juvenile record, the boy you assaulted?”

A shiver tore through Serena followed by a burst of anger. “I didn't assault that creep. He attacked me,” Serena said. “His rich father paid the judge off and sent me to juvenile detention.”

“Would he be evil enough to come back and try to hurt you now?”

She shook her head. “I haven't seen or heard from him in years. Last I did hear, he'd turned into a playboy and was living in California. I hardly think he'd take the time to come up with a plan like this.”

“It does sound far-fetched,” Colt admitted.

She showed him her notes. “I've been trying to determine how someone framed me. The fingerprints could have been lifted in public, either from my coffee mug where Lyle and I had coffee, or my soda cup at the movies. But my underwear had to have been stolen from my house. And other than Lyle, no one has been inside the house except for me and Petey since we moved in.”

“How about repairmen? Salesmen?”

A memory tickled Serena's conscious. “Come to think of it, last week a cable truck was in the neighborhood,
but the man didn't come inside.” Her pulse jumped. “And another day some guy was cleaning gutters on roofs. But I didn't even open the door to him.”

“Do you remember what either of these guys looked like? Were they in official trucks?”

“The cable guy worked for a local company with the logo on the side of his van. But the gutter cleaner was driving a beat-up white pickup truck. No logo or anything official on the sides.”

“It might be nothing, but I'll ask Ben to check it out.” He paused. “What else did Rice tell you about himself? Did he ever mention family? Where he was from?”

Serena twisted her hands together in thought. “He said his parents died years ago. After that, he moved around a lot.”

“Did he receive any strange or suspicious phone calls when you were with him? Maybe a call that upset him?”

“Not exactly,” she said, one incident springing to mind. “Although the day we had coffee, his phone rang as we were walking out. He seemed irritated and turned around and went back into the coffee shop to take it.”

“You didn't hear who he was talking to?”

“No.” She sighed. “I'm sorry, I'm not much help.”

“You're doing fine.” Colt offered her a tentative smile. “Serena, there's something else we need to discuss.”

His voice sounded troubled. “What?”

“Your husband. You said he was shot in the line of duty. What exactly happened?”

Fresh pain gnawed at Serena. “He was DEA, working undercover. The police didn't explain exactly what
happened, but essentially he was working on a drug deal that went bad.”

“Drugs. Did he ever share any of the details about his work?”

She shook her head. “No, but the last few months he was troubled. Brooding. Moody. More secretive than before.” Secretive to the point they had grown apart. She'd smelled perfume on him several times and wondered if he'd been having an affair. “I sensed there was something important he wasn't telling me, but when I asked, he just…shut down.”

“Was his killer caught?”

Serena twisted her hands together. “Yes, he's in jail now.”

A muscle ticked in Colt's jaw, and a frisson of alarm rippled up her spine. “Why are you asking me about Parker?”

Colt averted his eyes, and she sensed he was holding something back. “Colt, tell me.”

He rubbed a hand over his chin. “When I was hunting for Petey at your house, I searched the attic and found a duffel bag full of cash.”

Serena gaped at him. “Cash? How much cash?”

“At least a hundred thousand dollars, Serena. It raises questions about what your husband had gotten himself involved with.”

“Maybe it was money for one of his undercover deals,” Serena suggested.

Colt gave her a noncommittal look. “Maybe. But why would he have hidden it in your house?”

Serena's heart stuttered. She had no answer to that.

 

C
OLT HAD NO IDEA
if the money or her husband's investigation was connected to Rice or her son's disappearance, but there were too many odd things that didn't add up.

Colt glanced at the clock again. “Serena, I hate to leave you alone, but I need to go to the office and talk to Ben and see what he's dug up on Rice. If his murderer kidnapped Petey, time is of the essence.”

Serena straightened her shoulders and nodded. “Yes, of course, I'll be fine. Please go.”

His heart ached at the torment in her eyes, and he cupped her face between his hands. “I promise I'll get to the bottom of this. And I'll be back for the bail hearing.”

“Just find Petey,” Serena whispered hoarsely. “He's all that matters.”

“I will.” Unable to resist, he drew her up against him for a moment, needing to soothe her as much as she obviously needed the comfort. “Hang in there, okay?”

She nodded against his chest, and he thought he felt tears dampen his shirt, but when he pulled back, her eyes were dry, her expression determined.

Deputy Alexander appeared again but kept his distance this time.

Serena tensed as she noticed him watching them. “Go, Colt.”

Yes, he had to. Statistics proved every hour that passed lessened his chances of finding Petey alive.

The deputy cleared his throat. “Sheriff's updating the Amber alert,” he said beneath his breath.

“Thanks.” Colt paused. “Don't harass her, Alexander.”

The deputy shot him a cold look, then Colt headed toward the front. The sound of the cell lock turning echoed in the silence behind him.

The sheriff met him at the door. “Everyone in the state should be looking for the boy now. The deputies in the county are organizing search parties. If he's in the town or mountains, we'll find him.”

A small amount of relief worked its way inside Colt. “Thanks. We're going to need all the help we can get.”

“The mother have any idea who would have kidnapped her son?”

Colt shook his head. “I have a gut feeling the abduction, Rice's alleged death, Serena's arrest—it's all connected.”

Gray adjusted his belt. “We found fibers from an acrylic rug in Ms. Stover's minivan,” Sheriff Gray said. “Forensics is working on comparing it to fibers from Rice's carpet. But my guess is the blood is a match.”

“Doesn't this all seem too convenient?” Colt asked. “Like someone is trying too hard to tie Serena to a murder and make it look like an open-and-shut case?”

Sheriff Gray chewed the inside of his cheek. “Could be.”

“There's no
could
about it,” Colt snapped as he strode to the door. “You'd be a fool not to see it.” He paused at the door and gave Gray a level look. “And I don't peg you as a fool, Gray.”

“I'll do my job,” Gray muttered. “You do yours.”

The investigation would go faster if they worked together. Then again, if Colt found the bastard who'd framed Serena and kidnapped her child, he wasn't sure he wanted the law around.

Knowing he shouldn't waste a moment, he jumped in his Range Rover and sped toward GAI. Thankfully the buildings were close in proximity, and morning traffic was just kicking up. Not that Sanctuary had much traffic, but the few who were out had probably gathered at the diner for their homemade biscuits and gravy breakfast special.

He parked and rushed into the office and found Derrick and Gage waiting. “I still can't believe they nabbed the kid right out from under me,” Derrick said, his voice riddled with guilt. “Bastard disarmed my security system. God, Brianna and Ryan were there, too.”

“Don't beat yourself up, man. This guy is smart and determined,” Colt said. “He orchestrated these details to frame Serena, so he must have been watching our every move.”

“Let's meet in the conference room,” Gage suggested.

When Colt entered, the other team members were there. Slade Blackburn, Amanda Peterson, Levi Stallings, and Brock Running Deer. The only one missing was Caleb Walker. He was on his honeymoon with his recent bride, Madelyn. Ben was in the corner working on his laptop, hopefully digging up something helpful on Rice.

“Gage filled us in,” Amanda said. “How's the mother holding up?”

“She's tough but understandably upset,” Colt said.

Slade steepled his hands. “Understandably.”

Colt started with Serena's arrest and used a white-board to mark off the timeline of events from the moment Petey had asked him for help to Serena's dates with Rice and the confrontation the night of his alleged death. Next he listed the evidence the sheriff had compiled against her.

Slade thumped his boot on the floor. “Definitely smells like a setup.”

“An elaborate plan to abduct a little boy,” Amanda commented.

“There's something else,” Colt said. “Serena's husband Parker Stover was an undercover cop with the DEA. He was killed two years ago when a bust went bad.”

“Was his killer caught?” Gage asked.

Colt nodded. “Yes. He's in jail now for the crime.”

Levi leaned forward, brow furrowed. “You think Stover's murder is related to Rice?”

“I don't know yet,” Colt said. “But when I was searching for Petey at Serena's, I found a duffel bag of cash hidden in her attic. A hundred grand.”

Slade whistled. The others' eyebrows raised.

“Did Serena know about it?” Derrick asked.

Colt jotted down the detail on the board and circled it. “No. She denies knowing it was there.”

“It's a jump,” Gage said. “But maybe Rice had a history of priors or a drug problem and knew Stover. And maybe Rice had a partner who knew about the cash and kidnapped the kid to get the money.”

Amanda pursed her lips. “Then we should expect a ransom call.”

Colt nodded. So far, they hadn't, though, which concerned him even more. “But if Rice's partner wanted the money and thought Serena had it, why not wait till she was gone and search the house instead of chancing jail for kidnapping?”

“Didn't you say that a pair of her underwear was stolen from her house?” Brock asked. “Maybe he did search the house and when he didn't find it, he concocted a plan to kidnap the child and ask for ransom.”

“That's feasible.” Colt still felt like they were missing pieces of the puzzle. “Then who killed Rice?”

Derrick cleared his throat. “The partner?”

Colt nodded, considering that theory. He turned to Ben. “Have you found anything?”

“Nothing on that van or truck in Serena's neighborhood,” Ben said. “And at first not much on Rice. But I used some facial recognition software to change his appearance and look what popped up.” Ben angled the computer to show Colt and the others his findings.

Several photos of Rice in varying disguises and with different hair colors and styles flashed onto the screen.

“Lyle Rice wasn't his real name,” Colt said as he skimmed the information. “In fact everything Rice told Serena was a lie. He has several aliases.”

“And a rap sheet,” Ben pointed out. “He served time for fraud.”