Profile of Fear: Book Four of the Profile Series (Volume 4) (23 page)

“It’s my job to make sure my family is safe—especially Becca. I’m all she has.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could build a protective shield to surround the people we love? Great, but not realistic. You’re only human, Cam. You can’t be there to protect Becca 24/7. I learned that lesson the hard way when I almost lost my daughter, Ellie.”

“What do you mean you almost lost Ellie?” Cameron stared at her, clearly surprised that Robynn’s daughter had been in a life-or-death situation, and he didn’t know about it. He was even more surprised she was opening up a private part of her life to him. This was the woman who claimed she wanted things to be all-business between them.

“It was last year. I had a sitter named Angela, who usually came to my house to care for Ellie. But on this day, Ellie was playing in Angela’s yard with a ball. On the front porch, Angela’s cell phone rang and she raced to get the call. It was a college admissions clerk who needed more information about her application. She didn’t see that Ellie’s ball had rolled into the street. Nor did she see the blue Camaro racing toward Ellie. The screech of the car’s brakes drew Angela’s attention to the street, but it was too late. Ellie lay unconscious near an easement in the road. The driver didn’t stop, instead he gunned the car and sped away.”

“I’m so sorry this happened. How badly was Ellie hurt?”

Robynn glanced at him with despair, her eyes darkened with pain. It was as if she were re-living the memory. He fought the impulse to pull her into his arms to soothe her.

“The car didn’t hit Ellie head-on. The force of the impact threw her little body off to the side of the road. When I arrived at the hospital, the doctor said she had suffered a broken arm and had a concussion. As I sat next to my little girl’s hospital bed, all I could think about was how I’d failed her. I was her mother. I should have been there. Instead, at the same time Ellie was hit, I was involved in a high-speed chase with a hit-and-run driver who’d struck an elderly pedestrian and fled the scene. I put that man in a jail cell. The driver who hit my own child, I never found.”

Cameron reached out and caught her hand in his, grateful she didn’t try to pull away. Instead, she wrapped her fingers around his thumb.

“So I know how you feel about protecting Becca. That’s why I came here this morning looking for you. I knew you would blame yourself for the break-in.”

“Does it get better? Do you ever stop blaming yourself for not being there?”

“Yes, it does, and I have. When I moved to my house outside Morel, my foster parents, Eddie and Barb, purchased a home down the street. When I’m working, Ellie stays with them. She’s very happy with the arrangement, and why wouldn’t she be? She’s their only grandchild and is getting all the love and attention she needs while I’m away. Eddie and Barb would give their lives for her, and they support my work. They want me to put away the bad guys to make the world we live in a little safer.”

Bryan Pittman strode out of the coffee shop and leaned against an elm tree across from them. Robynn withdrew her hand from Cameron’s grasp. “I heard there was a burglary at the Chase house.”

Cameron glanced at Robynn, who had a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. To Bryan, he said, “For pity sake, is the whole town abuzz with the news? How much do you know?”

“A pint-sized idiot got in through your dog door. I mean, who tries to rob a house where two officers live? Not to mention, Kaitlyn the amateur ninja lives there, her purse filled with a self-defense arsenal. Plus a former FBI agent and county sheriff live next door. Who would be stupid enough to target your house?”

“Not stupid—desperate and determined. He was there to abduct Becca. This was his second attempt. Kaitlyn found him in her room, standing over her crib.”

“How would he know Becca was there?”

“Melanie Barrett, Becca’s social worker. She’s only person outside my family who knew where Becca was living. Juan Ortiz tortured Melanie for the location before he murdered her. I’m sure of it.”

“I agree she was tortured, but I couldn’t find any trace evidence on her body. No defensive wounds or DNA under her fingernails. Have you found anything concrete to prove he was the one who killed her? Any witnesses?” Bryan asked.

“No.” Robynn interjected.

“Just my gut. And it hasn’t failed me yet,” Cameron said with quiet emphasis.

“So you’re thinking the guy who broke into your house works for Juan Ortiz?”

“Yes. Gabe and I think he’s been watching the house for a while because he knew when Kaitlyn and Becca were alone.”

“Is Becca okay?”

“For now. But if I’m going to keep her protected, I’ve got to move her into a safe house.”

“You’re not thinking of moving her into that safe house on Elm Street, are you? So many people know about that place, you may as well put a neon sign out front.”

“What choice do I have?”

Bryan gave it some thought. “Remember that house on Shadow Lake my mother left me in her will? All the renovations are finished, and it’s a good place to hide Becca. It’s surrounded by woods, and no neighbors for close to a mile.”

“Who knows you own that house?”

“No one but you. And it can’t be tracked to me in public records because it’s still in Mom’s maiden name. Becca will be safe there. Promise.” Bryan dug in his pocket for his key ring and peeled off a house key, which he handed to Cameron.

“I can’t thank you enough, Bryan.”

“Who’s going to take care of Becca while she’s there?”

“Gabe and Kaitlyn, along with Brody, Carly, and me. We’re going to take shifts.”

“Count me in for a shift,” Robynn said.

Cameron shot her a curious glance, and then continued. “There will be one or more adults with her at all times.”

A ding from his cell alerted Cameron to a text message. “Just got a text from Gabe. He’s waiting for me in my office, and he says it’s urgent he talk to me.”

Chapter Fifty

When Cameron and Robynn reached his office, he found Gabe pacing in front of his window.

“What’s so urgent?”

Gabe spun around to face his brother, worry darkening the color of his expression. He held out a USB flash drive in his hand and sat down behind Cameron’s desk. “A woman who works security at Sycamore Mall sent this surveillance recording to me this morning. It’s from Saturday night after the mall closed. You need to see it.”

With Cameron and Robynn at the back of his chair, Gabe plugged in the USB. Soon a grainy image of the mall’s parking area came into view. A light-colored SUV approached and then parked in front of the mall exit. A man got out of the driver side of the car, zipping up a dark hoodie that shadowed his face. Opening the rear door, he angled his body toward the east end of the parking area and took a bow.

“Who is this guy?” Cameron wanted to know.

Robynn pointed at the computer screen. “Can we freeze and enlarge this shot to get a better look at his face?”

Gabe adjusted the image. “Sorry, this is as good as it gets for this section. Just keep watching. There’s more.”

Two young women came into view and Cameron’s heart sank. “That’s Hailey Adams. That’s her friend, Niki, with her.”

He watched as the two girls slid across the back seat and the man closed the car door. With the hoodie still covering his face, he opened the driver-side door and climbed inside. Soon the SUV moved out of the camera’s viewpoint.

“Gabe, do you have a shot from another camera so we can see where the car headed?”

“Yes.” Gabe clicked a couple of keys and the rear of the car appeared as it raced out of the parking lot. He froze the image to get a better look at the license plate, but the image was too grainy to make out the numbers.

Cameron pounded his fist on the desk. Anger narrowed his eyes, stiffened his jaw. “That sonofabitch knew we couldn’t identify him with that hoodie covering his face. Damn it. Can we not catch a break?”

“Not so fast, Cam. Here’s a section of the recording from earlier that evening. There’s our guy wearing a navy shirt and gray pants. He’s handing out some type of flyer on the main floor.” He used the mouse to move to another camera. “Here he is approaching Hailey and Niki in the food court.”

“I’d like to know what’s on the flyers he’s showing the girls,” said Robynn.

“So would I,” Cameron replied. “Both girls look very interested in whatever he’s talking about.”

“This could be the same perp who abducted Lea Essick and Brandy Murphy at the mall.”

“I agree,” said Robynn. “They both disappeared from Sycamore Mall and Brandy was last seen leaving with a man wearing a hoodie in a newer model vehicle.”

“Gabe, please get me the best quality image of this bastard’s face, as well as a clear shot of the vehicle—make and model. I need it for a BOLO. I also want you to email it to Carly. Maybe one of her buddies in the FBI can run it through their facial recognition system. We need to find this guy and those two girls before it’s too late.” Cameron touched Robynn’s arm and then rushed to his office door.

“Where are you going?” asked Robynn.

“You and I need to talk to Hailey’s mother.”

Chapter Fifty-one

Cameron and Robynn stepped onto Mollie Adams’ front porch. He hesitated before knocking on her door. The last thing he thought he’d ever do was tell Mollie that her sixteen-year-old, who used to call him Uncle Cam, had most likely been abducted. He couldn’t imagine why Mollie herself had not reported her daughter missing by now.

Robynn touched his arm. “How do you want to play this? You knew Hailey, so it’s personal for you. Let me take care of the difficult questions.”

Cameron nodded and pounded on the front door. He waited a couple of seconds. When there was no answer, he knocked on the door again. Finally, Mollie answered the door, tightening the belt of her robe, looking sleepy and disheveled. She seemed surprised to see him.

“Cameron? What’s wrong? It’s barely eight in the morning, you’re going to wake up the whole neighborhood.”

“Mollie, may we come in to talk to you?”

Mollie’s glance swung to Robynn. “Who are you?” When Robynn introduced herself and held out her badge, Mollie’s face froze in fear as she opened the door for them. “What’s happened?”

She led them to a small living room, where Cameron and Robynn sat on a sofa, with Mollie nearby in an easy chair. There was a school photo of Hailey on the lamp table next to her. Cameron swallowed past the knot of emotion lodged in his throat. “We’re here about Hailey.”

Mollie paled, her hand pressed against her chest. “Has there been an accident?”

“No, Mollie, but we have reason to believe that Hailey may have been abducted from the mall Saturday night.”

“That’s not possible,” Mollie insisted, denial ringing through her voice. “Hailey stayed the weekend with her friend, Niki Smith. You must understand, Hailey just got her driver’s license. She’s not allowed to drive to the mall. She’s staying at Niki’s house. Let me call her mother.” Before she could get out of her chair, Cameron’s hard hand gripped her wrist.

“Niki is missing, too. A deputy is at Niki’s house right now.”

“Oh, my God,” Mollie cried. Realization that her daughter may be in danger sunk in. She paled and had difficulty breathing. “How do you know she’s missing?”

Robynn interjected, “We have a surveillance recording from the mall. Hailey and Niki are seen getting into a light-colored SUV. We’d like to show you the tape to see if you can identify the man they’re with.” Robynn pulled out her cell, and pushed play on the recording. She then handed the phone to Mollie.

Eyes wide and horrified, Mollie watched the surveillance recording of the two girls joining a man and then entering an SUV. “Oh, no. Why would Hailey do something like this?”

Robynn fast-forwarded to a better shot of the man’s face. “Do you know this man?”

“No, I’ve never seen him before. Where has he taken my daughter?” Mollie gulped hard, hot tears slipping down her cheeks.

Cameron placed his hand on Mollie’s arm to comfort her. As he did, he heard the creak of a door opening in the back of the house, footfalls sounding in the hallway, and Bryan Pittman appeared in the room, barefoot, wearing sweatpants and buttoning his shirt. Hadn’t he just seen him in the coffee shop?

Cameron stood up, and was momentarily speechless in his surprise to see one of his best friends half-dressed in his old flame’s house. For a second, both men froze, too surprised to do more than nod.

One look at Mollie’s face and Bryan rushed to her side, easing down into a squat beside her. “Mollie, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Hailey.” Her shoulders slumped, tears blinded her eyes and choked her voice as Bryan wrapped his arms around her.

“I’ll get you a glass of water, Mollie,” Robynn said as she left the room searching for the kitchen.

Cameron dropped down to the sofa with his elbows propped on his knees, feeling more than a bit awkward as Bryan consoled Mollie. What he had with Mollie ended a long time ago, and it was none of his business who she dated. But he was confused as to why Bryan hadn’t told him he was involved with Mollie.

Robynn returned and handed Mollie a bottle of cold water she found in the refrigerator. “Mollie, we need to move quickly to find Hailey. She’s already been missing over seventy-two hours.” She pointed to the framed photograph of Hailey on the end table. “Is that a recent photo of Hailey? May I borrow it?”

Mollie nodded and handed the photo to Robynn.

“Does Hailey have a cell phone? Is it here, or with Hailey?”

“I’m sure it’s with my daughter. She never goes anywhere without it.”

“I’ll need the number so we can get a warrant. We need her call history, cell tower history, latitude and longitude of where the phone was when it was used.” Robynn handed Mollie her small notepad and Mollie provided the number.

“What is the make, model, and year of the car Hailey was driving?”

“I bought her a blue, 2014 Honda Civic when she turned sixteen. I have the license plate number in my desk.”

“Thanks,” Robynn said. “We’ll also need her date of birth and the account numbers of any credit or bank cards.”