Kidnapping cold case, p.5
Kidnapping Cold Case, page 5
“Really?” The officer’s eyes rounded with amazement. “Yeah, okay. Give me a few minutes to touch base with Vargas.” Officer Papp turned away to speak into the radio clipped to his collar.
Cash opened the back passenger door of the Jeep and pulled their bags out, slinging them over his shoulder. The two duffels and the laptop were soon out of the vehicle. “We’re going to need a ride to the airport to get that rental after all,” he muttered.
“What I don’t understand is how the assailant knew we were in the Jeep.” She frowned, glancing around the busy interstate. “It couldn’t be that he just happened to notice us in time to toss a smoke bomb into the car.”
“No, you’re right about that. Whoever this guy is, he must have been watching the police precinct, assuming we’d show up after the crash the night before.” Cash scowled. “Or there’s a leak inside the Appleton Police Department.”
“No way, I don’t believe that. Detective Vargas is a good guy,” she protested.
“Not Vargas, but anyone else there could have discovered he’d loaned us the Jeep. Even the guy behind the desk saw him leave and return with the keys, telling us exactly where the Jeep was located.” Cash sounded seriously annoyed. He slammed the door with more force than was necessary. “From this point forward, we’re not telling anyone anything.”
“That’s fine with me,” she agreed.
Officer Papp returned with a sheepish expression in his eyes. “Vargas filled me in on what the two of you have been dealing with. I’m sorry to hear you’ve come under attack yet again. Vargas gave me instructions to give you a ride back to the precinct. I know he wants both of you to provide statements on what transpired here.”
“No, we’re not going back,” Cash said firmly. “We’ll give Vargas our statement over the phone. What we really need is a ride to the airport.”
“I—uh, okay.” Officer Papp looked surprised but then gestured toward his vehicle. “I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go. You’d better call Detective Vargas on the way. He sounded like he really wants to talk to you.”
Cash grunted in what she took for agreement while opening the door of the squad car for her. She quickly climbed inside, hoping they’d be safe inside a police vehicle.
Once they were seated, Cash made the call to Detective Vargas. She listened as he gave a brief overview of what had happened, not surprised when he then handed the phone to her.
“Jacy? What in the world happened? Are you sure this is the same guy?”
“Yes, I’m positive this was the same person who assaulted me with pepper spray outside my apartment.” She met Officer Papp’s glance in the rearview mirror; he was listening intently to their conversation. No doubt he’d have to include some of this in his own report to his boss. “The guy spoke in the same hushed whisper, called me by name and tried to pull me from the car just like he tried to pull me from my apartment building last night. The difference this time was that he had to cut through the seat belt holding me in place. Thankfully, at that moment, Cash pulled me back toward him, and I was able to kick the assailant several times in the belly, which forced him to let me go.”
“Did you recognize the voice?” Vargas asked. “Can you narrow down if it’s male or female?”
“I wish I could.” It was beyond frustrating that every time this guy came at her, he blinded her. “All I can say with certainty is that it was the same voice as the person who attacked me at my apartment.” She hesitated before continuing. “I still have no idea who is coming after me or why.” Well, the why part had to be linked to her police work, but the assailant’s identity was still a mystery.
“I don’t like that you were found in our Jeep,” Vargas said. “To be honest, I think your plan to rent is a good one.”
She glanced at Cash, who still looked grim. Had he told Vargas their plan to rent a car, or had the detective assumed that was the plan based on the Jeep getting wrecked? “Yeah, thanks.”
Cash held out his hand for the phone, so she gave it back. “Listen, Vargas, nothing personal but we’re going to stay off-grid for a while. I would rather not have any ties to you or anyone else at the precinct.” Cash listened for a moment then said, “Yes, I will find a way to get in touch with you at some point for an update on the case. But in the meantime, I don’t want anyone to know where we are or what we’re driving, understand?”
There was another long pause as Vargas said something in response.
“All I will commit to is that you’ll hear from us when we have time. That will have to be good enough for now.” Another pause then, “Thanks, Detective. Take care.” With that, Cash disconnected from the call. He shocked her by opening his window and tossing his phone out. He turned to her and wiggled his fingers, indicating he wanted her phone, too.
“But my work...” The protest was automatic, yet it didn’t take but another few seconds to realize how foolish it was to argue. At the rate this assailant was coming after them, she wouldn’t survive long enough to have a job. Not if they couldn’t figure out who this guy was. She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over. That one went out the window as well.
It was a strange feeling to be completely disconnected from the outside world. No phone, no way to keep in touch with anyone. No job, at least in the interim.
And no place to call home.
She swallowed hard, battling a wave of panic. She wasn’t afraid of Cash; he’d done nothing but support her and keep her safe since showing up in the nick of time to prevent the pepper spray assailant from kidnapping her. But that was a long way from knowing anything about him personally.
Had he ever been married, divorced? Have kids? He’d popped back into her life at the right time to rescue her, but now they were pretty much stuck with each other.
Their lives depended on their ability to figure out who was coming after her and how, if at all, the attacks were related to the missing girls.
A seemingly insurmountable task.
* * *
Jacy remained quiet as Officer Papp navigated the traffic. When they arrived at the small airport, Cash was relieved. He was anxious to move on with their badly needed anonymity.
“Thanks, Officer.” He nodded when Papp let them out of the back of the car.
“Anytime.” Papp’s eyebrows were furrowed with concern. “Stay safe.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Cash stood beside Jacy, their bags slung over his shoulder, waiting until Officer Papp drove away before turning to search for the rental car sign. “This way,” he said, nodding toward the closest rental counter.
Jacy fell into step beside him, still unusually quiet. Maybe tossing their phones out the window had been a bit drastic, but they’d been under siege for less than twenty-four hours. And that was more than enough.
The entire situation was getting out of hand. At this point, he didn’t want anything to tie them back to the Appleton PD or to Jacy’s apartment.
It didn’t take him long to secure another SUV. Jacy still hadn’t said anything when he stored their bags and his laptop in the back of the vehicle.
“Are you okay?” He raked his eyes over her, wondering if he’d missed an injury of some sort. “We didn’t hit the side of the barrier that hard.”
“How can I be okay?” Her voice sounded harsh. “I’m stranded with you for the foreseeable future! I don’t know who keeps coming after me or why, and I don’t know anything about you other than you’re a cop.”
“Whoa, Jacy, you know me.” He reached out to touch her arm, but she jerked away. “I’m the same guy who found you ten years ago at the bottom of the ravine.”
“Ten years, Cash.” She huffed out a sigh then asked, “Do you have a girlfriend? Wife? Fiancée? Kids?”
“None of the above, although I was seeing someone up until a year or so ago. We were engaged to be married.” It was a little cold to be standing in the parking garage talking, but Jacy obviously needed some reassurance. “Until Lana decided she didn’t want to be with a cop anymore and left me.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He shrugged. “Don’t be. I don’t think I loved her as much as I should have, since I didn’t miss having her around as much as I thought I would.”
“Yet you asked her to marry you.”
He shuffled his feet, feeling his cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Well, technically, she asked me. We ended up shopping for a ring together, as Lana had very specific ideas on what sort of ring she wanted.”
“I see.” Jacy tipped her head to the side. “I bet she kept the ring, too, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but what was I going to do with it?” He waved a hand. “That’s not important. I want you to be comfortable with me. To know that I would never, ever hurt you.”
“I do know that.” She blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry, it sounds idiotic, but losing my phone has made me feel—isolated and vulnerable. Which is ridiculous, because it’s just a phone.”
“Your feelings are important.” He eased a step closer, wishing he could pull her into his arms. “I care about you, Jacy. I’m sorry that going off-grid is scary. It’s just that we keep getting found and we need time to get to the bottom of what’s going on here.”
“I know.” She offered a crooked smile. “I apologize for going off the deep end.”
He reached again for her hand and this time she didn’t pull away. “We’re going to be okay, Jacy. I promise to do everything humanly possible to protect you.”
She tightened her grip on his hand and stepped closer. “I know you will. Thank you.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief hug, keeping the embrace light and nonthreatening. “You didn’t mention a boyfriend, fiancé or husband, either.”
She arched a brow then nodded. “Okay, that’s fair. I dated a guy for a while. A cop, actually, but he cheated on me. I can’t say I’ve bothered to try the dating scene again.”
Her comment about the cheater being a cop stung a bit. He wanted to point out that not all cops were cheaters, but that would sound as if he were vying for the chance to date her. That was ludicrous. Jacy wouldn’t be interested in a guy who held memories of her past she’d rather forget.
And he didn’t blame her.
“I’m sorry to hear things didn’t end well, but I appreciate you letting me know.” He privately thought the guy was a jerk to cheat on a woman like Jacy. “If you’re okay, let’s hit the road.” He glanced around, glad that none of the rental car employees were paying them any attention. “Maybe this time, we can get to Madison without a car malfunction or being hit by a smoke bomb.”
“Yeah, let’s hope so.” She didn’t sound too confident.
“I’ll take an alternate route.” He didn’t have his phone to use, but the rental car was relatively new and would have a GPS built in. “We’ll avoid the interstate and take rural highways. It will add time to the trip, but I’m hoping this is better for us in the long run.”
“Okay.” She pulled away to open the passenger’s-side door. “Do you think this attacker knows we were planning to head to Madison?”
He hesitated, unwilling to lie. “He might know that’s our ultimate destination, but he won’t be able to follow us there.”
She nodded and ducked into the passenger seat. He quickly slid in behind the wheel, too, anxious to get out of Appleton.
Yet her question about the assailant knowing their ultimate destination nagged at him. So far, all the attacks against Jacy had taken place around Appleton, not Madison.
The most recent missing girls were also from Appleton. But if these vicious attacks were somehow related to Jacy’s attack ten years ago, they would be heading right back into the hornet’s nest.
Doubt assailed him. Should he just head to a different city? Maybe Green Bay? Somewhere no one would think to look for them?
Running away wasn’t his style, but he had Jacy’s well-being to consider as well. As he left the Appleton airport, he almost turned toward Green Bay, but forced himself to head in the opposite direction instead.
Two young high school girls were missing, and who knew how many others were at risk. No matter what they’d been through, Cash couldn’t just ignore them.
No, he’d just have to find a way to make sure Jacy remained safe while they continued investigating the current attacks and the one that had taken place ten years ago.
In his gut, he knew the attack against Jacy was the one that had started the ball rolling. He wasn’t sure why there’d been a nine-year gap in the assaults, other than the most obvious theory that the guy had been in jail. It didn’t matter why; he remained convinced both Claire Simmons and Suzanna Perry were both taken by the same man.
An assailant Jacy couldn’t remember.
FIVE
Staring with red-rimmed eyes out the passenger’s-side window, Jacy struggled to hold herself together. Whoever this guy was, he seemed determined to get to her. What she didn’t understand was why. Why her? Just because she’d sketched criminals to assist in finding and arresting them?
It was all so surreal. As if she might wake up from this to discover it was just a nightmare.
She drew in a deep cleansing breath, trying to relax. The assailant might know they were heading to Madison, but there’s no way he could know what vehicle they were driving. The knowledge should have made her feel safe.
So not.
She watched as Cash navigated the traffic, weaving between cars as if trying to avoid anyone following them, until he exited the interstate. The GPS in the SUV provided an alternate route to Madison, which would take them two and a half hours. Using the back roads added another thirty minutes to their commute.
She still felt vulnerable without a phone. Glancing at Cash, she said, “If we get in an accident, we won’t be able to call for help.”
“I know.” He shrugged. “I plan to stop and pick up some disposable phones, but I’d like to push through to Madison, to get them there.”
“Makes sense.” She told herself a disposable phone was better than nothing. “I wish I could have left a message on my voice mail about being out of touch. I’m worried the various police precincts won’t be able to get the help they need.”
“I understand your concern, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” He arched a brow. “Have you ever taken a vacation?”
“Not really.” She grimaced. “I’ve taken a few weekends off here and there, but my schedule is rather erratic anyway, so it seems silly to send a group email announcing I’m taking a few days off when I may not get a call in the first place.”
“Okay, when we get to the motel, you can use my laptop to send an email. At least then the precincts you work with will know that you’re not ignoring them.”
“That works.” Email wasn’t as good as having a phone, but at least she wouldn’t be leaving the cops among the various departments she worked with in limbo, waiting for her to respond.
If not for the missing girls, she wouldn’t be sitting here beside Cash at all, heading back to the city where she’d been attacked long ago.
For years, she’d believed it was a blessing that she couldn’t remember anything about the attack. One of her counselors had suggested her mind was protecting her from something horrible in blocking the memories.
Yet here she was, heading back to the city to pry the locked box of memories open. She shivered but tried to ignore the deep sense of foreboding.
If unlocking the past was the key to saving lives, then she absolutely needed to try.
“Are you having second thoughts about this?”
Cash’s question was far too close to the truth. “Rest assured, I’m determined to do this.” She hesitated before saying, “I just can’t guarantee this attempt to break through the wall surrounding my brain will work. I want to help find Claire and Suzanna. But it’s been a long time since I tried to go back to the night I was attacked.”
“Near the Colgate house,” Cash said.
“I guess so, since it’s the last place I remember.” She frowned. “Did Detective Ash talk to the elderly couple who owned the place?”
“I believe everyone who lived on the route you took home that night was interviewed, yes.” He met her gaze. “I plan to talk to them again, though. If they’re still around and able to chat.”
“I’m not sure going back all these years later to talk to them will help,” she protested. “They were an elderly couple ten years ago. I highly doubt their memory has improved over time.”
“You thought they were elderly at sixteen,” Cash pointed out. “Chances are, they weren’t as old as you assumed and are still around. Besides, the only way to know if they remember anything new is to ask.”
“Maybe.” She shifted in her seat, trying to ignore her aching muscles. The doc had been right about the next day being worse. She wouldn’t have minded stopping at a drug store to get some ibuprofen. Something they could do when they picked up the disposable phones.
Thankfully, traffic wasn’t an issue on the winding country highway. The curvy roads made it impossible to go very fast, but at least it was easy to see there was no one behind them.
Jacy wished she’d thought to grab her sketchbook and portfolio from her overnight bag stored in the back of the SUV. Closing her eyes, she mentally reviewed the sketches she’d done over the years, trying to add to the list she’d given Vargas.
She must have dozed a bit, because the next thing she knew the white dome of the Wisconsin Capitol building could be seen in the distance.
“Sorry about that.” She flushed. “I didn’t mean to sleep.”
