In Harm's Way (Heroes of Quantico Series, Book 3) (39 page)

"But you left her somewhere in the cold"

"I didn't kill her"

They were going in circles. Nick dangled the bait again. "If
you tell me where you left her, I'll get the baby."

Debra glanced at Mark, who was juggling the handcuffs in
his hand.

"I think I should talk to a lawyer"

"Okay." Nick pulled the phone on the desk toward her. "You can
make one call. But Debra.. " He waited until she looked at him.
"If you do that before you tell us where Rachel is, this deal's off."

The woman's hands started to shake. "I want to see my baby."

"Then tell me where Rachel is"

Desperation tightened her features. "I want to see my baby
first"

Nick leaned back, considering. "Here's the deal. You tell me
what I want to know, then I'll get the baby. Yes or no"

"Get Danielle first"

Several beats of silence ticked by before Nick gave a slow
nod. "Okay. I'll be back in a couple of minutes"

Exiting the room, he found Steve waiting in the hallway.

"Despite her mental problems, the analytical side of her brain
is still functioning," Steve said. "I didn't expect her to bargain"

"I don't care how much she bargains as long as she agrees to
the deal. Where are the O'Neils?"

"Conference room at the end of the hall:" Steve led the way,
pushing open the door and stepping aside for Nick to enter.

Rebecca looked up as he entered. Megan was in her arms,
the child's face peaceful in slumber. Colin was sitting beside her
but rose as Nick stepped into the room.

"Nick ... what happened to your eye?" Rebecca inspected
the abrasion with concern.

"A little accident:" He wasn't about to tell them Debra had
slugged him. To reveal her capacity for unexpected violence.
Closing the door, he moved beside them. "Thank you both for
doing this:"

"We prayed for guidance," Rachel said softly as Colin laid
a hand on her shoulder. "And we realized if it hadn't been for
Rachel, we might never have found Megan. Her discovery of
the doll, and her trip to your office to try and get someone to
listen to her, took a lot of courage. Even if she wasn't my sister,
I'd feel an obligation to return the favor. Colin and I couldn't
live with ourselves if we didn't do everything we could to help
you find her. Despite the risk"

"We'll minimize that as much as possible," Nick told her.

"I know. Agent Preston explained the plan. And this woman
took excellent care of Megan. The doctor who examined her
said she's in perfect condition. I choose to believe she'll continue
to nurture her."

"I think that's true;' Nick replied.

But all of them knew they were dealing with an unstable
personality. With a woman who had taken extreme measures to
secure a child and who had abducted the person she considered
a threat and left her somewhere in the cold to die.

A woman who was already highly stressed and agitated.

A woman who could flip out with very little provocation.

The FBI would do its best to protect the baby.

But there was risk, and they all knew it.

Nick held out his arms, and Rebecca's grip on Megan tightened for a brief instant. After a squeeze on the shoulder from
Colin, she lifted the sleeping child toward Nick.

The transfer was made without waking her. Megan simply
shifted her position and cuddled into the crook of Nick's arm.

"I'll have her back to you as soon as I can, safe and sound:"

With a nod, Rebecca swiped at her eyes and gripped Colin's
hand.

And as Nick stepped back into the hall, he prayed he would
be able to keep that promise.

Steve fell into step beside Nick as he strode down the hall. "We're
ready to move as soon as you have an approximate location. The
K-9 units are standing by and I also have medevac on alert."

"They need to be prepared to treat severe hypothermia."

"I've already alerted them to the situation. They've called in
one of their crew who used to be a search-and-rescue specialist with the Coast Guard. He has extensive experience with
hypothermia"

"Okay. Sounds like all the bases are covered:" Nick paused at
the office door and took a deep breath.

"Good luck" Steve moved out of the line of sight.

Twisting the knob, Nick entered the room.

Debra was on her feet instantly. Another agent had joined
Mark, and both men grabbed her arms to restrain her as she
tried to surge forward.

Nick took a step away. "Sit down, Debra, or the deal's off."

Her gaze never left the sleeping baby, but she complied.

"Now tell me where Rachel is:"

If he didn't have such a heavy personal investment in this case,
the acute yearning on Debra's face would be almost enough to
rouse his sympathy.

Almost.

Any such inclination evaporated at her next comment, however.

"I don't remember"

Panic threatened to choke him, and Nick fought it down.
Given her unstable mental state, she might very well be telling
the truth. And if she was, they were doomed.

Trying to maintain a calm demeanor, Nick moved his chair
out of touching distance and retook his seat. "No information,
I take the baby away, Debra"

"I don't remember where Rachel is."

"Okay. I'll try to help you. Did you leave her inside or outside?"

"Inside. I do remember that"

That confirmed their theory. And it was good news. At least Rachel would be protected from the windchill. On the flip side, however, a thermal scan would be useless. They'd need the dogs.

"What kind of building was it?"

"I don't know. Small. Empty. Dark"

"Was Rachel alive when you left her, Debra?"

He didn't like the sudden uncertainty on her face. "I think so.
Yes. I saw her breathing."

"Did you hurt her, Debra?" Nick's grip on the infant tightened. Megan wiggled and emitted a soft sound, reminding him
to relax his hold.

Debra's eyes glazed over. "She wouldn't do what I asked. And
she tried to hurt me. It was self-defense. This is all her fault anyway. If she'd left the stupid doll alone instead of going to the FBI
with all that psychic stuff, I wouldn't have had to do anything
to her. I want to hold Danielle now."

"You haven't told me where Rachel is."

"I'm not sure" Debra's eyes narrowed as she watched him.
"But I might remember if I was holding Danielle"

He was running out of options. And time. Nick glanced at the
two agents, who moved in even closer as he scooted his chair
a few inches toward the woman. Near enough for her to lean
forward and touch the sleeping baby's foot.

"Are you remembering, Debra?"

No response as she stroked the tiny toes through the fleece
sleeper.

"Debra"

Still no response.

"I'll take the baby back if you don't talk to me"

At the threat, panic gripped her features. "I'm trying. It was
off a dirt road. Through the woods. I saw a lake nearby."

"What road was it?"

"I don't know. There wasn't a sign"

"How far off the road was this building?"

"I'm not sure. I could see it through the trees in the daylight.
When I was there by myself, I walked to it in a few minutes. It
took longer with her. She kept tripping. I made her take off her
shoes. Wearing high heels in the woods is silly, anyway"

Stroking the baby's toes, she began to croon in a singsong
voice. "You're Mommy's little girl, aren't you, sweetie? If you
could talk, you'd tell them that, wouldn't you? You'd tell them
you and I are supposed to be together. And how much we love
each other"

She was slipping. And they didn't have enough information.
Nick's adrenaline surged.

"Debra" It was everything he could do to maintain a normal
tone.

When she didn't respond, he leaned over and gave her shoulder a slight shake. She lifted her head. "Is the building where
you left Rachel close to your house?"

She seemed to have difficulty processing the question. "My
house?"

"The house where you live with Danielle:" He spoke slowly,
enunciating each word. "Did you have to drive very far to get
home after you left Rachel in the building?"

Her face took on a dreamy quality. "I didn't go home. I had to pick up my little girl. She was waiting for her mommy.
Weren't you, sweetie?" She transferred her attention back to
the baby.

Nick and Mark exchanged a look. The urgency in the room
was almost palpable.

"Ms. Kraus, how did you find the building where you left
Rachel?" Nick persisted.

She blinked. Once. Twice. "I drove around one day ... trying
to find ... a place"

"Near your house?"

"Not too far away. I didn't want to drive a long way on country
roads with Danielle in case I had car trouble. It wouldn't be good
for a baby to be out in the cold, you know"

"What kind of road was the building near?" Mark interjected.

"It was just two tire tracks. It didn't seem like anyone had been
down there in a long time. There was an old, rusted plow where
I turned in. Someone didn't take very good care of their tools.
My father wouldn't have liked that" Her features tightened in
distress. "He always got mad when I left my toys out. Like the
night I forgot to put my bicycle in the garage. He gave it away
the next day. Said I didn't deserve to have it if I couldn't take
care of it" Her lower lip quivered. "I loved that bike:" She stroked
Megan's foot again. "I would never do anything like that to you,
sweetie. I wouldn't expect you to always be perfect"

Motioning to Nick, Mark slipped through the door into the
hall. He was replaced by another agent a few seconds later.

As Nick rose, panic flashed through Debra's eyes. "I want to
hold my baby!"

"She's not your baby, Ms. Kraus:"

He joined Mark in the hall, muting her keening wail by pulling the door shut behind him.

"I don't think she knows any more than she told us;' Mark
said.

"I don't, either."

A door opened down the hall, and Steve emerged, followed
by the police chief. "I think we have a possible location. Chief
Richter says there's some property a few miles from here that
has a rusted plow near the entrance"

"Some city slicker bought it a few years back, Joe added.
"Investment property, I guess. Never see him around. There's
no house on the land, but there could be a shed of some kind.
Haven't been on the place myself."

"Is there a lake?" Nick asked.

"Could be a small pond in there. Like I said, it's on the edge
of my jurisdiction, and I've never had any reason to wander
around on the land. I could call Floyd Mueller, though. He
owns the next spread. Might be able to answer that question."

"Get him on the line," Nick said.

After rousing the farmer from a sound sleep, Joe confirmed
the presence of water on the property. "Floyd says there's a couple
of small ponds on the land. A few outbuildings scattered around
too. Most of them are falling down"

It sounded like the place. Nick's adrenaline kicked into high
gear. "We need to get there. Fast"

Five minutes later, after restoring Megan to the arms of her
anxious parents, Nick took the wheel as he and Mark followed
the police chief's patrol car at speeds far in excess of the posted
limit. An ambulance and both K-9 units were on their tail, followed by Steve and a few of the other agents. The medevac
helicopter had also been dispatched.

As they raced through the dark night, Nick's gaze kept straying to the digital outdoor temperature reading on his dash. Half
an hour ago it had been holding at fifteen. It had now dropped
to twelve.

Time was running out.

"This is it:" Mark gestured ahead as the chief pulled to the
side of the road and opened his door.

Easing in behind him, Nick set the brake and stepped out of
the car. The other vehicles lined up behind him. One K-9 team
drew alongside.

"That's the road:" The chief gestured to an overgrown twotrack path leading into the woods. "And there's the plow:" He
pointed out the rusted implement that had been abandoned
near the entrance. He also handed Nick a hammer. "I'm assuming there's a new padlock on the shed. Hit it on the latching
side"