Point of Control (10 page)

Damn.
She was about to lose her chance for a big win. And never see Garrett again. “A woman has been kidnapped, and her family would like her back.”

“Yes, what about Dana?” Thorpe added, with a dose of disbelief.

“We’re not giving up. Agents in the field offices will pursue the individual cases. Bailey, we need your analytical prediction skills here in the CI room to help circumvent more looting—or rioting, whichever comes next.”

Bailey had no intention of dropping the broader investigation. She would find a way to solve the disappearances and still keep her job. She motioned at Thorpe to shut off the monitor.

After the screen went black, he turned to her. “Of course, we’ll continue to search for my ex-wife.”

“Good to hear.” Bailey walked out before she said something regrettable.

C
HAPTER
19

Friday, March 20, 2:20 p.m., Seattle, Washington

The agents were still in his house when Garrett arrived home.
Damn.
They’d come back early that morning, after failing to catch the shooters the night before. The two women were drinking coffee and talking at the kitchen table, and his father was sitting in the living room, as if he’d just come in. Their presence was invasive and Garrett wanted them gone.

He sat down on the coffee table to look his father in the eye. “You guys need to get out of here. There isn’t going to be a ransom. They don’t want money. They want her research.”

“I think you’re probably right, but it’s not only my decision.” His father stood.

So did Garrett. “But it is mine.” He strode into the kitchen with his father following him. Garrett looked at the older woman in charge. “Agent Nelson, I need all of you to leave. My mother is out there, and you need to go help find her. The kidnappers aren’t going to call or bring her back.” The thought crushed him, and he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“We have other people assigned to the task force, and they’re looking too.” Nelson gestured for him to sit. Garrett refused, so she continued. “This is protocol for kidnappings. It’s only been a day and a half.”

Anger flooded him. “Only a day and a half? She could be anywhere! She could be dead. Get the hell out of here. Sitting at our kitchen table isn’t helping!”

The agent recoiled, then stood up. “Call me if you hear from the kidnappers.” She handed him a business card and walked out. The other agent, whose name he couldn’t remember, followed her.

His father stood in the hall and watched them go. “I should stay. I don’t want you to be alone.”

Garrett couldn’t hold back a harsh laugh. “That’s a first.” His father looked hurt, and he regretted the remark. “I’m fine here. I’ll call you if anything happens.”

“What if the shooters come back?”

“They’re not after me.”

“You don’t know that.” His father crossed his arms and shifted into taking-a-stand mode.

They were eye-to-eye in height, but his dad’s massive chest and arms intimidated him. Plus twenty-five years as a federal agent, and he was hard to argue with. Garrett took a quick breath. “I don’t want you in the house, because I need my privacy.” Bailey’s kiss came to mind, sending a rush of pleasure through his body. He wanted her here, in his bed, but that wouldn’t happen with his father around.

“Fine. I’ll arrange for patrol officers to come by the house.”

“Thanks.” Garrett’s phone rang in his jacket pocket. He hadn’t even put down his car keys yet. What if it was Agent Bailey? “I have to get this.” He paused, hoping the old man would take a hint.

“I’ll grab my briefcase and let myself out.”

Garrett headed for the privacy of his bedroom, slipping the phone out as he walked.
Bailey!
She either wanted to see him or had a new lead for finding his mother. “Hello. It’s Garrett.”
Dumb thing to say.
She’d called him.

“It’s Bailey. I need your help, so we need to talk in private. Are the other agents still there?”

She wanted his help! Thank god he would have something constructive to do. “I just made them leave.”

“Then I’ll pick up some takeout food and come by in a couple of hours.”

He sensed something was wrong. “Anything new about my mother?”

She hesitated. “No, but I have some ideas. I’ll see you later.” Bailey hung up before he could probe for more information.

At least she was still looking. That meant his mother wasn’t dead. Garrett pulled off his jacket and collapsed into a desk chair. The thought that he might never see his mom again made his chest ache, but he fought the emotions. His father had never approved of tears, big on that old bullshit “I’ll give you something to cry about.” And he had sometimes. So his mother had compensated by making things too easy sometimes. The mixed messages had been confusing until they finally divorced.

His mother had never remarried, giving him her full attention when she wasn’t working. She’d been good company, making Garrett think and laugh and appreciate everything around him. The world would be a bleak place if anything happened to her. How could he ever pay her back if she wasn’t here? They had to find her before something horrible happened. If the kidnappers would attempt to murder Bailey, a federal agent, just because she was investigating their crimes, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill a scientist after they’d extracted her research secrets. He prayed to the universe to keep her safe.
Please don’t let them torture her.

Garrett forced the image out of his mind. Constantly thinking about his mom was exhausting and unproductive. He either had to study and get caught up on his college classes or drop out for the term. But that would set him back on earning his physical therapy degree. He picked up a textbook for his physiology class and tried to read, but couldn’t concentrate. There had to be something productive he could do to help find his mother.

He sat down at his computer and googled her name. He’d done it before, but had never really read her research papers. Metallurgy didn’t interest him and chemistry confused him, but now that his mother’s life was on the line, it seemed important to understand her work.

Much of what she did involved doping one element from the periodic table with small quantities of another element to create either a shortage or excess of electrons. She’d started with inorganic materials, then moved on to small-molecule organics such as oligomers. Whatever the hell they were.

After a while, he couldn’t process any more chemical terms, so he took a break and checked his email. A friend from the university had sent a brief note, asking if he’d received an earlier email with the homework assignment Garrett had asked about. Something about the email triggered a memory. His mother had sent him an email about two months earlier, a rare midday communication from her. But she’d been excited about a job offer and wanted to share it with him. Now it seemed important. He typed
job offer
into the search field, hoping the file hadn’t been automatically deleted already.

Three emails came up, and the third one, from his mother, dated back to January. He clicked it open and eagerly read it again.

Hey, kid. I was just offered a lucrative job by a tech company in Mountain View. But they wanted me to relocate immediately and sign a waiver agreeing to not talk about the position or the research. Of course I’ll turn it down. I love my role at the university and don’t want to work in the corporate world. I’m not even sure why I’m telling you. Except that it’s exciting to be recruited. And the money he offered was crazy! I could have paid off my debts. Love you. M.

What if the recruiter had come back months later with a strong-arm man and kidnapped her? It seemed bizarre, but clearly
something
crazy had happened. Garrett wished she had named the company. He forwarded the email to Bailey, but except for the location, he didn’t see how it could help them. There were dozens of tech companies in Mountain View.

Had she told one of her colleagues about the job offer? Two professors came to mind. He found their contact information on the university’s website and called Eva Carmichael first. She didn’t answer, so he left a detailed message and asked for a return call. Had the FBI already contacted his mother’s coworkers? It didn’t matter. The agents wouldn’t have known about the job offer. The second call was to another metallurgist. The professor answered, sounding solemn. “Hello. This is Rob Davison.”

“Garrett Thorpe. I’m Dana’s son. We met once a few years ago.”

“I remember. Any word on your mother? Her kidnapping has the whole department upset.”

“Not yet, but I’m hoping you can help. Did she mention a job offer to you in January?”

“Yes, but she had turned it down. Why do you ask?” Student voices buzzed in the background, then a door closed, shutting them out.

“Do you remember the name of the company?”

“Oh boy.” A short silence. “No, I’m sorry. And I sense this is important.”

“It could be. Who else would my mother have mentioned it to?”

“Probably no one. It’s best to keep that kind of information out of your current workplace.”

Then why had she told Professor Davison? It seemed odd, but Garrett didn’t want to get distracted. “The company that tried to recruit her may have kidnapped her, so I need you to remember the name.”

“That’s a wild idea. Does the FBI share your theory?”

“Yes. Can you give it some thought?”

“I’ll try. But I’m not even sure Dana mentioned the name. She did say Silicon Valley, though.”

Not helpful!
“What other companies would be interested in her research? I know she was developing a synthetic metal.”

“There must be a hundred manufacturers lined up, waiting for new sources of rare earth metals or replacement synthetics. But device makers would be my first guess.”

Disappointed at the lack of specifics, Garrett decided to let that angle go. “Did you talk to my mother in the days before she disappeared? Did she say anything about being worried? Or mention being followed?”

The professor hesitated. “I had dinner with her the night before, but she didn’t mention any concerns.”

Dinner?
That surprised him. “You’re good friends with her?”

“Yes, we’re very close.”

What was he saying?
“How close? Are you dating?”

“Yes. She didn’t tell you?”

“No.” Why wouldn’t his mother want him to know? “I’m happy for both of you. Call me if you remember the company’s name.” Garrett hung up, feeling a little rattled. When had Mom planned to tell him?

The doorbell rang and he jumped up. Relieved by the distraction, he hurried toward the front door. What if it was Bailey? He stopped in the hall bathroom and swished mouthwash over his teeth. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but he’d had coffee. He wanted to be ready—in case she kissed him.

The doorbell rang again, and he sensed her impatience. She wasn’t a gentle soul, but that was a big part of the attraction—an older woman who wouldn’t coddle him. He’d dated younger women, but they never held his interest for long. Their concern about clothes and shoes and what other people thought drove him crazy. He needed to be with someone confident and serious. He’d been to enough therapy sessions to accept that he wanted to date someone like his mom, but who wouldn’t actually mother him. Bailey probably wasn’t looking for anything long-term, but maybe she would help him get the older-woman thing out of his head. He laughed as he ran to the foyer. As if she was even interested in him. The kiss had been a fluke.

He pulled open the door and she was there. Stunning, in a snug green pullover that matched her intense green eyes. Her pulled-back hair only highlighted her strong cheekbones. She held plastic bags in one hand and a gun pointed at the floor in the other. The sight of the weapon in her hand stole his breath, in a way that had nothing to do with being frightened or concerned. Bailey was badass and it turned him on. Maybe he was weirder than he thought. “Come in.” He closed the door behind her.

She’d caught him staring at the gun and slipped it into her satchel. “I was almost killed here last night, so I was being cautious.” She turned toward the kitchen.

His father’s comments came back to him. “I’m starting to think I should be armed.”

She spun around. “Have they been back?”

“No, but my father seemed worried they might.”

She moved toward the table. “It would be pretty stupid and risky, considering the agents they ran into here last time.”

Garrett followed. “Why did they take my mom? I mean, I know it’s about her research, but what do you think their plan is? To sell it?”

“Maybe.” She put down the food. “A glass of water, please.”

“Sure. We have wine too.”

“I don’t drink when I’m on a case like this.” Bailey sat down, pulled out cartons of Thai food, and dug in. “If Jerry Rockwell’s involved, he’s probably a hired hand. I can’t find anything new on him, so he’s managed to stay out of trouble and the media.” She ate with gusto and talked between bites, with some overlap.

He watched her, fascinated by how comfortable she was in her own skin.

“There’s nothing in Rockwell’s old file to indicate he has any real brains or ambition. Yet it’s possible he’s using an alias now.” She noticed he wasn’t eating. “You’re not hungry?”

“I am.” He helped himself to a beef dish. “Did you get the email I forwarded you from my mother?”

“Yes.” Bailey scowled. “I’m still trying to figure out what it means and whether it’s connected to one of two Mountain View companies I’m looking into.”

“I made some calls to her university colleagues, but no luck in figuring out which company it was.” Garrett remembered Bailey’s earlier comment on the phone. “You said you wanted my help. What can I do?”

She hesitated for a long moment. “Garrett, I’m going to trust you with confidential information. But you can’t share it with anyone. Especially not your father.”

She was keeping something from the task force? “I don’t understand.”

A flash of disappointment on her face.

“But you have my word,” he added quickly. “Please tell me.”

“I’ve been pulled off the case.” She put down her chopsticks and met his eyes. “But what’s important is that there’s a broader investigation that involves more than just your mother.”

As he’d suspected. Why else would FBI headquarters send her to Seattle when they had local agents handling the kidnapping? “What’s going on? And why did they pull you?”

She came around the table, bringing her chair, and sat next to him. “Your mother is the third metallurgist to disappear.” Something dark passed across her face, only inches from his.

“What? You think she’s dead?” He fought to suppress his fear.

“No, but the second kidnapped scientist was killed, so I’m worried for her.” Bailey stroked his shoulder. “I can’t tell you why they took me off the case, but I don’t intend to give up, which is why I need your help.” She gave a funny grin. “Without agency support, I need someone to do the grunt work.”