Deadly Image (5 page)

Ace surveyed his surroundings. A modest, quiet neighborhood with only a couple of people casually watering their flower beds and mowing their lawns. No teenagers standing in the street holding boom boxes with vulgar lyrics spewing from the speakers. No cars speeding down the street with drivers shouting obscenities to their rivals. No gangs huddled together daring anyone to step foot in their territory while their britches sagged like a wet diaper.

Gator Bayou was the type of place where someone would want to raise a family if they had one. The small town actually didn’t have much of anything. Just a few stores, one school, one large park, one church, a small hospital, a couple of gas stations where the attendants still pumped the gas and a handful of Norman Rockwell neighborhoods. This was why Anna’s abduction was so shocking. In a place where everyone practically knew everyone else, it was hard to imagine how such a crime could have been committed.

Yet Ace knew from experience evil lurked everywhere.

Even in small towns.

He tightened his chin. It was possible only the murky waters of the bayous snaking around the back edge of the town knew the truth about Anna’s disappearance. And they weren’t giving away their secrets anytime soon.

He sure hoped he had better luck with Mandy Whitman. His interview with Gina Hawkins earlier this morning hadn’t turned up anything useful, and so far they still didn’t have one solid clue to go on.

With a few brisk steps he made his way to the door and pounded loudly. Seconds later the door opened a crack and two green eyes hidden behind a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses peered out.

“Yes?”

“Mrs. Whitman? I’m Special Agent Valdez with the FBI. I’d like to ask you some questions.” He slipped his ID from his pocket, flicked it open and flashed his badge.

The door cracked a little wider and a small voice asked, “Am I in trouble?”

Not unless you kidnapped Anna.
“No, nothing like that. I’m here about Anna Yates.”

Mandy’s hand flew to her mouth and the door swung open. “Oh. That poor baby. Please…” She gestured toward the living room. “Come in.”

Ace stepped inside the small room, followed her to the stained brown love-seat and sat down. Toys littered the living room floor, and a pile of folded clean laundry stacked in a large basket sat untouched
in the corner under a cracked window.

Mandy’s home was a far cry from Lexi’s picture-perfect one, but it was still a step up from the broken-down shack he had grown up in.

Ace’s chest tightened. He didn’t even need a hand to count the times he’d brought friends to his impoverished home in the Bronx. The answer was easy. Zilch. He’d been too ashamed to even try. Not that he’d had many friends. At least not the kind you could depend on.

A pain shot behind his breastbone. The only person he’d ever been able to depend on was his younger brother, José, and he’d let his brother down in the worst possible way. Now it was far too late to ever right that kind of wrong.

“I just can’t believe someone took that precious child.”

Ace dragged his thoughts back to Mandy Whitman. The past he couldn’t change. It was the present where he might make a difference. “Mrs. Whitman, I understand you frequent Gator Bayou Park?”             

Mandy reached for a picture frame on the end table and handed it to Ace. “Yes. I take my girls there on Saturdays.”

“They’re cute.” He took the picture and studied the two smiling girls with red ringlets and green eyes like their mother. “How old are they?”

“Five. They’re at pre-school right now.” Mandy took the picture Ace held out and placed it back on the end table. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to one of them. I can’t imagine what Lexi is going through.”

“Are you friends with Lexi?” Ace slipped a small notepad and pen from his pocket.

Mandy shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it friends, but we do chat sometimes while our girls play in the sandbox. Lexi brings Anna there about the same time I bring my girls.”

“Have you noticed anyone unusual hanging around the park?”

“Not that I recall. Most everyone who comes brings children. Although, there is a nice elderly woman who comes by herself quite often. I think she just likes getting out of the house for a while. She seems lonely.”

“Elderly lady? Do you know her name?”

Mandy furrowed her brow. “Not really. I think its Mrs. Billows or Burrows or something like that. I’m not even sure where she lives. She hasn’t lived here long.”

“How long has she been coming to the park?”

“A few months I suppose. At least four or five.” Mandy gasped. “You don’t think she took Anna do you?”

“I really couldn’t say at this point. We’re just trying to find out as much as we can about Anna’s schedule and who may have come in contact with her. Is there anyone else who may have seemed suspicious?”

“No, not really…” Mandy eyes widened behind her glasses. “Although there was a car parked near the see-saw a few times. The only reason I noticed is because the motor was always running, so I didn’t think it was someone bringing their children to play. And after a few minutes the car would drive off.”

Ace’s pen stilled on the notepad. “What kind of car? Make, model?”

“I don’t know.” Mandy gave a sheepish half-grin. “I’m not good with that kind of thing. It was a dark green or dark blue mid-size car with tinted windows.”

“Old or new?”

Mandy shrugged. “Probably a newer model, though I really couldn’t say.”

“Did you see the license plates?”

“No, I’m sorry. I never thought to look.”

“That’s fine. How many times did you see the car?”

“Probably three or four. I noticed it the first time about a month ago. It’s not there every time though.”

“Is there anything else you can think of that might be helpful?”

“No, I’m sorry. I wish I could.”

Ace snapped the notepad shut. He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Mandy. “You’ve been a great help. If you do think of anything else please feel free to call me.” Ace shoved to his feet and headed for the door.

“I will … and Agent Valdez?”

Ace paused in the doorway and turned back to Mandy.

“Please tell Lexi we are praying for her and for Anna’s safe return.” Tears smarted Mandy’s eyes. “The church will be holding a candlelight vigil for Anna tomorrow night. We’d love for Lexi to come. She needs to know how much the community is praying for her.”

“Does Lexi attend services there?”

Mandy shook her head. “No. I guess she doesn’t attend church unless she goes somewhere out of town. Faith Community is the only church we have here in Gator Bayou. Our community is small, you know. I’ve invited her before, but so far she hasn’t come. I wish she would. It would be good for her and for Anna.” Mandy sputtered another gasp. “I–I mean when you find her, that is.” Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. “I can’t imagine going through something like this without God to lean on.”

Emotion clogged his throat. Now that he knew the Lord on a personal level himself, he couldn’t imagine dealing with a situation like this without God either.

Yet, he had.

The day his brother was killed.

Ace swallowed hard. “I’ll let Lexi know.”

* * *

Lexi rearranged Anna’s multi-colored, three-tiered toy shelf for the third time in as many hours: Snakes and Ladders, Candyland and Operation stacked on the bottom beside a neat row of picture books, three Barbies and a talking dollhouse on the middle shelf, plus the baby doll or two staring back at her from the top shelf.

Lexi reached for one of the books.
The Gingerbread Man
.
A lump formed in her throat as she flipped through the worn pages. The words blurred before her tear-filled eyes. But it didn’t matter. She knew them by heart. And so did Anna.

“How are you holding up?”

Lexi started at the soft-spoken words. Book clutched to her chest, she spun around only to find Ace a few feet behind her with one hand shoved into his trouser pocket and a pair of concerned brown eyes studying her.

“As well as can be expected.” She was afraid to find out the truth, but she had to ask. “Did you find something?”

Ace shook his head. “Nothing concrete. We do have a few more leads.” His eyes darted from the bed to the toy shelf. “Nice room.”

Lexi attempted a smile, but she was sure it came off as more of a grimace. “I finished decorating it the day Anna was taken. This is why I don’t have an alibi. I was here working on the wallpaper.” A choke clogged her throat. “I thought it was time to give Anna a big girl room, but she didn’t even get to see it.”

Ace knitted his brow. “You redecorated her room by yourself?”

“Four days ago. It was supposed to be a…” Lexi hiccupped on a sob. “A surprise.” She nodded toward the top of the wall where a pink border with purple stars stopped halfway along one of the walls. “The hardware store was out of the border, but they ordered some more for me.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “It’s probably in now. I forgot to go pick it up since … since Anna ... disappeared,” she finished softly.

An odd light flickered in the inky darkness of Ace’s eyes.

Surprise? Compassion? Admiration?

Lexi couldn’t be sure.

Ace lowered himself to the toddler bed and sat down. It creaked beneath his weight. “Tell me about Anna.” He patted the edge of bed beside him.

If she hadn’t been so worried about her baby, Lexi would have found the scene amusing. Ace’s strong muscular physique and strikingly handsome features seemed completely out of place on the hot pink and light-purple comforter with princess designs sprinkled throughout.

A very masculine man in a little girl’s domain.

Lexi blinked. Masculine? Strikingly handsome? Where had those thoughts come from?

Yet he was. In a charming, safe sort of way. He had an honest face. A face one could trust and depend on.

Lexi’s chest squeezed. She needed someone she could trust. Someone who would be in her corner, but was Agent Valdez the one? Somehow she didn’t think so. Not while he still suspected her of being involved with Anna’s abduction.

For now, she’d have to stay on her toes. Watch what she said and how she acted. She couldn’t afford to have any more suspicion cast her way. But it was exhausting being on guard all of the time while the FBI followed her every move when all she wanted to do was let go, grieve and let someone else share her burden. But she couldn’t. Not while she was the prime suspect in her own daughter’s abduction. Every action, every word she uttered was under federal scrutiny.

Lexi’s lips thinned. She ignored his invitation to sit. Instead she remained rooted to the spot. “Anna is my pride and joy. I don’t know what I would have done without her after Carl died. She is my reason to live.”
Watch it, Lexi. Don’t let him know you were so close to the edge a few months ago.

Lexi closed her mind to the dark thoughts. “Anna loves Disney movies, finger painting and lightning bugs.”

“Lightning bugs?” Ace arched a dark brow.

A smile tugged on Lexi’s lips. “Yes. Actually they’re fireflies, but we call them lightning bugs down here. She has such a ball chasing them after dark. I can still hear her little giggles each time she’d grab for one.”

“Anna doesn’t have a bedtime?”

Heat singed Lexi’s cheeks. Was this a trap? A way of determining whether or not she was a fit mother?

She gripped the book in her hand. “Of course she does, but sometimes, if she’d had a long nap during the day, I’d let her stay up later and we’d go outside for a little while and look for them. Not very often,” Lexi added hurriedly.

Ace grinned. “Sounds like fun. Maybe I should try it. What else does she like to do?”

Lexi blinked again. Big shot FBI guy chasing lightning bugs? A mental picture of his tall body running behind Anna’s tiny one after the elusive nocturnal bug popped in her mind. But instead of seeming ridiculous, the image brought a lump to her throat. Anna needed a father figure in her life. Someone who would love her and treasure her as much as Carl had. Someone like…

Don’t even think it. Not for a moment!
Lexi chided herself sharply.
How could you betray Carl with such a thought?

No one could ever take Carl’s place in either of their lives and she should be ashamed for even contemplating it for one second.

Sleep deprivation. That’s what was causing such insane thoughts. That and the fact it was time for her anxiety meds. Why else would Ace’s handsome face be occupying so many of her thoughts?

Lexi shoved the image from her mind. “Anna likes for me to read to her.” She held out the book. It trembled in her hands. “This is her favorite story. I read it to her every night.” She lowered her lashes. “At least I used to until…”

Ace was beside her in two quick strides. “Lexi, you can’t give up hope.” He lifted her chin with his knuckle. Salty tears trickled down her cheek, past her lips and pooled between his fingers.

“I–It’s been four days. My baby has been missing for four days.”