Rogue Diamond (24 page)

When Nick rejoined her, his expre
s
si
on was serious. "Father Ramon called with an identifica
tion of the man in the photo."

Alex's eyes grew round. "He actually knew from half a face? How—"

Nick's eyes halted her.

"I know, don't ask," Alex reiterated. "So what do we do with a name?"

"
Jose
and I feel it's time to include the policia in the investigation. He's going to talk to our contacts in the local police department about the information
we have. The photos. The identi
fication. The abduction
in the photo
. We have a suspect and a crime. We now have proof of a mis
si
ng child."

"Do you think they'll help us find her now
, with all this info
?"

"They should be more willing, with the new evidence."

"Nick, this is amazing!
Wonderful!
I'm so excited! We're actually getting close!"
She hopped up and hugged him.

"Take it easy, Alex. The hard part isn't over yet."

"Oh, God! We're on the verge of finding her! What could pos
si
bly go wrong? What do we do now?"

"That's the hard part. We don't do a damn thing. We wait."

"It's been two whole weeks, Nick! How much longer?"

"I told you this waiting wouldn't be easy. Alex, every cop in this city
will be
looking for th
is
guy. It just takes time. He'll slip up. It'll happen. And when it does, we have our man. Our link."

"What about our child?" She looked at him quickly, then turned away. "I didn't mean it to sound like that. I meant, in the meantime, what's happening to Jenni?"

Nick's hands clasped gently on her shoulders and caressed her down the length of her arms. "Alex, try to hang in there. It shouldn't be too much longer. An
d you have to keep telling your
self she's okay."
He pulled her into the comfort of his arms and held her for a long time.

Two weeks later, she took him up on his offer.

"
How
muc
h longer
?
" she
wail
ed, motion
ing futilely to the stacks of boxes and clothes
piled on
her bed.

“Any day now,” Nick answered routinely.

"That's what I thought two weeks ago. Now, here I am moving in with you. I thought—"

Nick turned her around and held her close. "Never mind what you thought.
We’re doing the best we can. Besides, l
iving
here
with me won't be so bad. I don't snore. And I make a damn good cup of coffee."

"Oh, it's not that, Nick. You know I . . . want to be with you. It's j
ust that this search is so frus
trating. I
know
I won't be such a gre
at com
panion.
I’m really stressed.
Plus, there isn't much for me to do to keep occupie
d, now that my job has been dis
solved."

"Maybe we can find something for you around the office."

She chuckled. "What? Driving getaway?"

"Now, Alex, don't be snide. Don't you trust me yet? I was thinking more of secretarial stuff, like answering the phone and—"

"And brandishing a mop wherever it's needed?"

"There you go, again. Maybe you could help build the tour bu
si
ness, like helping us with ad
verti
si
ng ... we really haven't tried very hard to push it."

"No," she scoff
ed. "You've been too busy trans
porting strange cargoes at night."

"That reminds me, we'd better hurry with this packing.
Jose
should be back with the van any minute to take another load." He kissed her nose then decided on a lingering merger of their lips.

"Nick?" she asked he
si
tantly when he finally lifted his head. "You aren't doing anything to delay the sea
rch just so ... so we can be to
gether
a while longer
, are you?"

His eyes grew penetratingly hard. "I swear I would never do that, Alex. I want to find her almost as much as you do. I want . . . you both."

Alex smiled fai
ntly, wondering if it was pos
si
ble. What would happen to them in the end? Would she lose Nick when she found Jenni? The chugging of a motor out front jarred the unco
m
fortably quiet moment. "There's
Jose
. We'd better get busy."

She moved away from his embrace but Nick took her hand. "I know this probably sounds crazy to you, but after all this time, I feel like I know this little girl. I know about her birth, about her life here, how much she means to you. I've seen her pictures, the happy ones as well as the traumatic ones. Jenni is real to me, Alex, not just a name. I want you to know I will do everything in my power to get her back."

Sudden tears welled up in Alex's eyes. At that moment she knew he really cared, knew she loved him deeply for caring. "Thank you, Nick. . . ." She swallowed hard.

"Perdo
na,
Capitan
, but this is something you should know
.
"
Jose
stood breathlessly in the
open
doorway
.
He motioned frantically to both of them. "We'll get this stuff later
.
Come on down to the station
.
La policia have arrested the man who took Jenni!
They’re pretty sure they have him.
"

CHAPTER TWELVE

Alex's meager belongings, con
si
sting of several boxes of books and teaching supplies, sat piled in the corner. Her clothes were squeezed into Nick's already too small closet. But no one paid attention to the crowded conditions. For hours, Nick's kitchen had served as
head
quarter
s
for hot coffee and heated debates. The vote was two against one,
with
Alex
losing,
until
Jose
left for dinner with his family. With
Jose
gone, Alex managed to score some points as she a
nd Nick continued to argue. How
ever,
winning was measured between
the battle and the war.

"
I say, n
ow that we know where she is, let's go get her!
Now!
" Alex's arms fl
ailed the air helplessly.

“We have other obligations. And the big picture in mind,” Nick reminded her.

“Not the well-being of one little child.” Alex sulked, angry and hurt.

“Jose thinks – ”

"
I don’t care what
Jose
thinks. He
doesn't have to go
with us
. He can stay here and keep
your
bu
si
ness going
– whatever the hell it is
."

"
Be realistic, Alex.
We only know she'
s been sent out of Hermo
si
llo, probably
traveling northward," Nick
sai
d
calmly
.
“And we just think it’s her. Not entirely sure.”

Alex pointed a finger as if catching a flaw in his
reasoning. "We know she's with a couple, a man and woman po
si
ng as a family. Hell, Nick, there are just so many roads cros
si
ng that region of Mexico. And we can figure she's bound for the Valencia-Jessup border."

"We think she is," Nick inserted.

"Nick, he said—"

"Dammit, Alex, you can't believe every word of a criminal who would be willing to sell kids on the black market. He would also
si
ng any song the cops wanted to hear in order to sweeten his case."

Alex sank into a chair and propped her elbows on the table. "Then do you believe anything he said in his confes
si
on?" she asked earnestly. "That he was actually the one who took Jenni? That he left her at his
si
ster's house, and she took care of Jenni until he made his connections?"

Nick poured
fresh coffee and an
swered thoughtfully. "You have to sort through every word in a pressure confes
si
on like this. Yes, I definitely believe he's the man in the photos who snatched Jenni at the scene of the accident . . . and it's pos
si
ble that he took her to his
si
s
ter's, or it could
have been his girlfriend's. Re
member,
si
ster sounds better
to the police
." He paused for a
si
p of coffee and let his eyes travel to hers before continuing.

"But I hope you noticed that he in
si
sted the child was alone and unattended and that he thought she was abandoned. He very cleverly didn't comme
nt when questioned about the ob
vious fact that Jenni was clean and well-cared for.
Nor did he give a reason for not turning her over to the police. He was very wily."

"In that identification lineup he reminded me of
Raul
, the one in Guaymas who wanted to sell us the baby," Alex muttered. "It was easy to despise him."

"Yes, I can understand that."

"So what do you propose to do, Nick? Wait some more?"

He nodded. "Yep, 'fraid so. It'll prevent us from going off on a wild goose chase to Jessup when she might have been taken to Yuma."

"You could fly us there in no time, Nick," she pleaded. "Anywa
y, the man said there was a con
nection at Jessup. I feel sure that's where they've gone! It makes the most sense."

"It's the entir
e chain of connections we're in
terested in, Alex.
The big picture.
"

"It's Jenni I'm
interested in, Nick!" Alex coun
tered hotly. "To hell with the stupid chain. To hell with all the others! I just want my little Jenni back!"

"Take it easy, Alex. We'll get her. In due time."

Alex glared
angrily at Nick. He was madden
ingly calm when she wanted to jump through her skin! Now they had something to do, a direction, yet Nick was content to wait here. She
si
mply couldn't understand it. "I'm tired of waiting. Your 'due time' isn't soon enough for me. Jenni is heading for Jessup—"

"Maybe!"

"Maybe," she conceded. "And you want to
si
t here and wait until the Customs officers call."

Nick leaned toward her, his lips tightly drawn beneath his mustache. His tone was tense. "Alex, I'm trying to convince you how important it is for this scene to play itself through all the way to the end. The way the police have explained it, in order to catch everyone involved in this ring, it's crucial that it be allowed to run its course."

"Why?" Alex asked, aghast. "What the hell are you talking about, anyway?"

Nick realized he was damn close to telling her far too much, and changed his tone. "Alex, just because Jenni
supposedly
left the city with a couple po
si
ng as husband and wife doesn't mean she'll complete the journey in their care."

"It doesn't? Sounds like a good way to hide to me. They could take a whole carload of kids across the border and no one would bother to ask about them."

"
And maybe they are. A whole bunch of stolen kids.
It's
possible
."

"
That’s outrageous
.
How could they get away with something like that?
"

"People use many ingenious methods to cross the border. Sometimes they stow away in special compartments in trucks or vans. They might pose as a family vi
si
ting relatives or impersonate American touristas. There are various ways to make Jenni difficult to spot, even with Customs looking for her."

"I never thought of that." Alex scooted anxiously to the edge of her seat. "Nick, they wouldn't harm her, would they?"