Profile of Fear: Book Four of the Profile Series (Volume 4) (22 page)

“And you think your clients would be interested in one of us?” asked Hailey.

“I know it.” Carlos replied. “Let me share some information with you about salary and perks our girls have received. Many of our models make more than $100,000 a year and receive free beauty care, products, and clothing.”

“We’d have to talk this over with our parents,” Hailey said, as Niki kicked her under the table and gave her a don’t-ruin-this look.

“That’s no problem. In fact, I will meet with your parents personally to answer all their questions. But only if you participate in the casting call.” Carlos pulled out a lined piece of white paper and pushed it across the table to Hailey. We already have three participants in tonight’s casting, so if you’re interested, sign your name on lines four and five. Be sure to list your home address, as well as your parents’ names.” Amusement flickering in his eyes, Carlos watched as the girls signed the papers. “My SUV will be parked outside Macy’s at closing time. You can’t miss it. It’s a new, silver Lexus RX 350. Be on time, we have a lot to do. The sooner I can get your information to our clients, the better.”

Chapter Forty-six

Hailey pulled her car around to the Macy’s parking lot at the far end of the mall. There were few cars parked in the area, and a couple of sales clerks straggled out of the building. Parking, she turned the headlights off and removed her seat belt. Niki finished her call, then put her cell phone in her purse.

“Okay, it’s all set. My mom thinks we’re going to stay with Cheryl Timms tonight. I told her that Cheryl and her boyfriend had a bad breakup and needed some shoulders to cry on.”

“She bought that?”

“Sure. Getting me out of the house so she has more private time with her man is one of her priorities. I could have told her I was boarding a spaceship to Saturn and she would have agreed.”

“This is crazy. My mom is going to kill me if we get caught. She’ll ground me until I’m thirty.”

“We’re not getting caught. We’re getting discovered. The new faces of modeling. Remember?”

A gleaming, silver Lexus RX 350 with tinted windows arrived and parked at the mall entrance.

“Oh, my God,” Niki exclaimed. “Is that Carlos? That car is amazing.”

Just then, a man got out of the car, zipping up his hoodie.

“That’s definitely Carlos.”

As they approached the Lexus, Carlos opened the back door for them and made an exaggerated bow.

“My ladies. Your chariot has arrived.”

The girls slid across the sumptuous leather back seat and inhaled the intoxicating new-car smell. A glass roof opened to a million sparkling stars above. Neither girl had ever been in such a luxurious vehicle.

“Very cool car,” gushed Niki.

“The agency spares no expense when it comes to taking care of our models. Just think. In a year or two, you ladies can afford to buy a car like this.” Gazing at the girls in the rear view mirror, Carlos added, “There are iced bottles of water in the console. Help yourself.”

Thirsty, Hailey took a bottle for herself and gave one to Niki. She thanked Carlos and lifted the opened bottle to her lips and let the cold liquid sluice down her throat. She leaned back to watch as a slice of moon scuttled behind some clouds, while he drove the car out of the parking lot.

Carlos pushed a DVD into the player, and soon Justin Bieber with a group of dancers were strutting across the two LCD screens mounted behind the front headrests. Wearily, Hailey let her head drop to the headrest as her mind drifted into a fuzzy haze.

The next thing Hailey was cognizant of was Carlos and another man helping her out of the SUV. So weak that her limbs felt like Jell-O, she found she couldn’t manage to stand on her own. Looking back, she saw Niki sprawled across the backseat, so passed out she was breathing through her mouth. The men half-carried and dragged Hailey into a large house, into a kitchen with dark cabinets and granite counters. There was a man seated on a stool near the granite island. Carlos was not happy to see the man, and some harsh words were exchanged. She didn’t understand. Where was she? Why did her eyelids feel so heavy she could barely keep them open? Was she dreaming?

Carlos opened a door, flicked on a light, and began the descent down wooden steps that creaked. Holding her tightly with one arm, he braced himself against the railing to balance himself. A musty, mildew odor pierced the air, reminding Hailey of her grandmother’s basement. When he reached the floor, he deposited her on a rug where she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, blissful sleep.

Chapter Forty-seven

In addition to the home under construction, there were two other structures on the Chase property: an A-frame cottage, where the sheriff and his wife lived, and a massive two-story. Diego had been watching the two-story house while working on the construction site, and knew the family’s comings and goings. Most activity occurred at the larger house, and he was sure that was where Juan’s kid lived. He’d seen the little girl, but never alone, always with an adult, making it too risky to get to her.

It was the dead of night, and the only sound he heard was the mooing of a cow in the distance. No one was home at the sheriff’s house, and one car was parked outside the main house. It belonged to the blond. She was inside, alone with the child.

All the lights in the house were out, and he prayed the woman and child were in a deep sleep. He’d seen a white crib in a window on the second floor, so he knew Juan’s kid was in a room upstairs.

Earlier in the day, he’d noticed the blond-haired woman take the big dog in her car. When she returned, the dog was not with her, and Diego realized this was the chance he’d been waiting for.

Juan had given his word, whatever that was worth, that Diego and his mother’s safety depended on the safe retrieval of his daughter. Once that was done, Diego would be paid $10,000, and his work with Juan Ortiz would be done. He’d never contact them again. If Juan didn’t honor his promise, Diego would move to Plan B, which was to kill Ortiz and flee the country with his mother. They’d go to Mexico, where his mother still had friends and relatives.

Slipping on a sock hat to cover his hair, and latex gloves to prevent fingerprints, he moved quietly through the tall trees that bordered the Chase property until he reached the back of the house. His plan was to use a method he’d used many times to burglarize fancy homes like this one. It was one of the rare times his small stature worked in his favor. Dropping to his hands and knees, he lowered his body and slid through the doggie door into the kitchen. Once he got his bearings, he listened carefully for any movements within the house. Hearing nothing, he stepped into a dining room and then crept through a huge living space to the stairway. Upstairs in the hallway, he headed for the room at the end. It was a nursery, softly illuminated by a child’s lamp that revealed a large Peter Rabbit painted on a wall, and Juan’s kid lay in the crib near the window.

Looking angelic, the child was sleeping peacefully with her little arms wrapped around a stuffed toy rabbit. Diego’s heart ached. How could a monster like Juan Ortiz have created such a beautiful baby? A better question was: How could he deliver this angel to a predator who took pleasure in slicing the life out of others?

Diego backed away from the crib. He couldn’t do it. He’d done some things he wasn’t proud of, but he’d never hurt a woman or child. He wasn’t going to start now, no matter how Juan Ortiz might threaten him.

His senses on heightened alert, he knew without looking that he was no longer alone in the room. Spinning around on the balls of his feet, he saw her near the door.

“Get away from the baby.” The blond-haired woman sprung forward, viciously swinging a long, aluminum flashlight in her right hand. The blow hit its mark and stars exploded in front of his eyes. A thin trickle of blood ran down his face. He slammed into the crib, waking the baby, who let out a terrified scream. The woman swung the flashlight again, but he dodged before it slammed into his jaw.

A rush of adrenaline shooting through him, Diego pushed her away with all his strength and rushed into the hallway, heading toward the stairs to make his escape.

“Stop!” The woman stood at the top of the stairs with a Glock aimed at his chest. “I will not hesitate to shoot, so you better stop.”

Ignoring her, Diego took the steps two and three at a time until he reached the lower level. Racing through the kitchen, he dived through the doggie door.

Chapter Forty-eight

By the time Cameron and Gabe reached the house, Deputy Gail Sawyer’s police cruiser, lights ablaze, was parked in front, and Kaitlyn was holding Becca tightly in her arms in the kitchen.

Gabe rushed to Kaitlyn, and Cameron pulled Becca into his arms and planted kisses on her little face. “Are you okay, sweetie?” The little girl tightened her arms around his neck and lay her head on his shoulder. A pang of guilt shot through him. He should have been here to protect her. He’d let Becca down.

Gail leaned against the kitchen counter, a small notepad in her hand. “It seems the Chase family had a visitor tonight.”

Cameron glanced at Kaitlyn and Gabe, then focused on Gail. “We have a security system. How is it possible that someone got into the house without the alarm going off?”

“It’s my guess he used the doggie door.”

Incredulous, Cameron glanced at Gabe. “Isn’t that wired too?”

Gabe shook his head with an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, Cam. We didn’t think a door that small would be an issue.”

“Obviously, it
wasn’t
an issue for the bastard who broke in. Please call the security company tomorrow to wire the doggie door, Cameron turned to Kaitlyn. “Is anything missing?”

Kaitlyn pulled her Glock out of her robe pocket and carefully placed it in a cabinet. “No, Cam, nothing is missing. He wasn’t here to steal; he was here to kidnap Becca. I found him standing over her crib.”

Fear and anger playing out on his face, Cameron held Becca closer and said, “Tell me what happened.”

Kaitlyn returned to the kitchen table and dropped down in the chair next to Gabe. “I was getting out of bed to come downstairs for some chamomile tea. I always check on Becca when I wake up at night. That’s when I saw the man leaning over her crib. I hit him with the flashlight and he went down. But not for long. He pushed me and made it into the hallway. I followed him, but made a stop in our bedroom for my Glock. By the time I reached the top of the stairs, he was close to the bottom. I shouted for him to stop but he just ran faster. When I reached the kitchen, he was gone. He had to have used Godiva’s doggie door. It’s is the only escape route he had that wouldn’t trigger the alarm.”

Gabe sat down at the table. “Did you get a good look at him?”

“Not the best. It was dark. But I think it was the same man who tried to abduct Becca from GoodBuys. He wore a stocking hat tonight, so I couldn’t get a good look at his hair, but he had dark facial features and the same short body as the man in GoodBuys. I’m convinced it was the same person.”

Gail looked up from her notes. “Think it’s time for Kaitlyn to meet our sketch artist, Sergeant?”

“Yes, and I want the crime scene techs here to dust for fingerprints.”

Kaitlyn interrupted. “Cam, he was wearing latex gloves.”

“Great. Just great.”

“I’ll have them dust just in case he didn’t have them on the entire time he spent in the house,” said Gail.

“Wait a minute,” said Gabe to Cameron. “How did he know you and I wouldn’t be here tonight? How did he know that Godiva wouldn’t be here?”

“Obviously he’s been watching the house.”

“Exactly. Once we get that sketch, I’ll run it by the construction foreman. Our guy may be working on his crew, and has had a bird’s eye view of the main house and the Honeymoon Cottage.”

Cameron, with his small child still in his arms, leaned against a wall and breathed deep. “No one is saying it out loud, but we’re all thinking it.”

Kaitlyn folded her restless hands on the table. “Thinking what?”

“Juan Ortiz knows Becca is here, and he’s sending his men to get her.”

Chapter Forty-nine

Cameron took one look at the menu at the new Java Lava coffee shop and ordered a large coffee with three shots of expresso. That’s when he heard a voice behind him.

“Rough night?”

He turned to find Robynn Burton behind him in line. “That’s a fair assessment. What are you doing here at seven in the morning?”

“Looking for you, Sgt. Chase.”

Cameron paid for his coffee and pulled the warm cup off the counter. He stood aside and waited for Robynn to get her order. Searching the place for an empty table, he saw a couple of millennials sipping coffee behind their open laptops, and an elderly couple sitting near the window sharing a blueberry scone. The new coffee shop was brimming with early risers, like him, who needed some high octane to start their day. He waved to Bryan Pittman, who was leaning back in a cozy reading chair with his newspaper in the corner. There was no empty bistro table to be found.

Robynn paid for her coffee, blew on her steaming brew, and groaned with pleasure after taking her first sip. A creamy foam coated her lips, tempting Cameron to lick it from her mouth. Resisting the temptation, he handed her a paper napkin instead.

“Follow me.” She led him out the door to an empty park bench that faced the courthouse. Sitting down, she patted the place next to her and Cameron settled in.

“So why are you here, Robynn?”

“I told you. I was looking for you.” Pausing for second, she added. “I heard about your break-in.”

“News travels fast.”

“Like lightning speed on the cop grapevine, especially when something like that happens to one of our own.”

“And of course I wasn’t there when it happened.” A mixture of bitterness and guilt lined the tone of his voice, whether he wanted it to or not.

“So it’s your fault someone decided to burglarize your house?”