Deadly Image (8 page)

Ace stopped and pinned Sheriff Dawson with a cutting look. “I check out
all
leads before jumping to conclusions.”

A flush climbed Sheriff Dawson’s ruddy face, but he didn’t say a word.

Ace crept into the thicket. “Cover me.”

Sheriff Dawson positioned himself behind Ace, pistol raised, and Deputy Owens did the same.

An owl hooted in a nearby tree. Spanish moss slapped Ace in the face as he made his way into the dense greenery. He pushed it aside.

Small beams of light filtered through the tall oak trees casting shadows among the branches all the way to the ground. The woods, eerily silent other than the occasional owl, seemed to close in on him. Ace tightened his grip on his piece and eased deeper into the thicket. He could hear the light footsteps of the local law enforcement as they followed him in.

He stopped to get his bearings. It would be easy for a young child to get lost in the woods. Everything looked the same. The trees, the weeds, even the occasional cypress knee protruding from the edge of the small bayou on his left. It would be very easy for someone to disappear in the swampland.

Ace inched deeper into the forest, but only found more of the same.

A few minutes later, he was convinced nothing was there. Not even an animal. No prints. No clues. No nothing.

All three men emerged from the woods and replaced their weapons in their holsters.

“Are you ready now to bring her in?” Sheriff Dawson cleared his throat when they reached the front door. “I think formal questioning is in order.”

Dread pooled in Ace’s gut. What choice did he have? Right now the only suspect they had was Lexi. And the evidence was stacking up.

“Yeah. I’m ready.” He pulled a caramel from his pocket. This time the sweet liquid sliding down his throat didn’t quench his urge. It took everything he had in him to ignore the craving. He couldn’t even savor the rich flavor because his mouth tasted like bile. He pierced both Sheriff Dawson and Deputy Owens with a determined look. “But I’m the one who’s going to do it. Got it?”

CHAPTER FIVE

Lexi’s questioning blue eyes met them at the door, hope flaring in their limpid depths. “Did you find anything?”

“No.”

“Must have been my imagination then.” Lexi shook her head as dull acceptance replaced the hope in her eyes. “This whole situation has me jumping at every little thing.”

“I’m sure it does. Keeping up the charade must be exhausting.” Sheriff Dawson’s disgusted snort grated on Ace’s nerves. Did the parish cop have to be so blatant with his accusations? No wonder Lexi didn’t trust anyone in the town if this was all the support she was getting. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned ‘innocent until proven guilty’ motto?

Lexi flinched. “There is no charade. I don’t understand why everyone thinks I’ve done something to my child?”

Ace shot Sheriff Dawson a warning look then cleared his throat.

“What Sheriff Dawson means is that we’ll need you to come down to the station for a few more questions.”

“Why the station?” Lexi’s lips thinned into a straight line. “Am I being charged with something?”

“No. Not yet. We just–”

“Not yet?” Lexi’s voice rose an octave. “Not yet, but soon. Is that what you are trying to tell me, Agent Valdez? In other words, you have no idea what happened to my little girl, and because you all can’t seem to do your job and find her you’ve decided to convict me.”

“Now, see here, Mrs. Yates.” Sheriff Dawson’s faced darkened angrily. “We’ve done everything humanly possible to find your daughter. The problem is all the evidence we have is pointing at you.”

“What evidence? The fact Mrs. Jenkins
claimed
I picked up my daughter? The fact someone in town
claimed
I was seen with Anna after she was picked up?” Lexi clenched her fist. “I don’t see any real evidence. I don’t see anything that you or the FBI has done to find Anna other than assume I’m guilty of this horrendous crime.” Lexi took a step toward Sheriff Dawson and pointed her finger toward him. “You, sir, have tunnel vision. You assumed from the git-go that I did something to Anna and you haven’t done one thing to find her real abductor.” Lexi’s voice cracked. “Someone still has my little girl and all you want to do is charge me with the crime.”

“No one is charging you with anything right now, Lexi. We do have to bring you in for formal questioning.” Ace’s voice softened. “We saw the surveillance video. You
were
at Bill’s Best Burgers with Anna an hour and a half after she disappeared. There’s no denying that.”

Lexi sank against the wall with a sob. “Why is this happening? That is not possible. I wasn’t there that day. I had a peanut butter sandwich at home for lunch.” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t care what the surveillance camera supposedly shows. I wasn’t there.”

“Mrs. Yates, I don’t know what kind of game you are playing, but you’re not fooling anyone.” Sheriff Dawson’s voice was thick with reproach. “Do you really think the entire town of Gator Bayou is suddenly out to get you? Why on earth would these people lie about you? What possible connection could Bill’s Best Burgers have with Lil’ Gators Daycare fifteen miles away? Do you really think the two businesses came up with this elaborate plot to nail you?” He shoved his hand through his graying hair. “Ma’am, it just doesn’t make any sense. If you’re covering up some kind of accident, then you need to stop wasting our time and just tell the truth. Where is Anna?”

“I don’t know.” Her soft whisper was nearly drowned out by the sound of an engine pulling into the circle drive outside. “I just don’t know.”

Ace pulled back the drape and frowned.

A dark green truck with yellow lettering reading
Gator Bayou Hardware Store
sat parked in the drive. An elderly man wearing overalls reached into the bed of the truck and pulled out a box, then started toward the house.

Ace shook his head.
Now what?
He flung open the front door and stepped outside. “Can I help you?”

The man started at the gruffness in Ace’s voice, then offered a tentative grin. “I have a delivery for Lexi. Is she home?”

Ace eyed the man suspiciously for a moment. “What kind of delivery?” Sheriff Dawson might have tried and convicted Lexi, but Ace learned a long time ago sometimes things weren’t as they seemed. If Lexi really wasn’t guilty as she claimed, then the real perp was still out there. The lack of a ransom demand left one of two possibilities. Either the kidnapper who took Anna was a pedophile, or else the reason for the kidnapping was personal, which meant Lexi might be the next target. Either way, it didn’t look good.

A delivered package was always a red flag in any crime situation. Could be a bomb. Anthrax. Or any number of potentially deadly devices. One could never be too careful.

“Wallpaper border.”

“Set the package down over there.” Ace pointed to an oak tree a few feet from the house.

“Over there?” The man puzzled. “But–”

“Yep. Under the tree.” Ace pulled out his badge and flashed it to the man. “FBI. We're in the middle of an investigation. No packages are to be delivered or opened without proper evaluation first.”

The man’s eyes widened. “I see. Well, I can open the package for you. I packed it myself so I know it’s safe.”

Ace hesitated, then shook his head. “No. I have to check it first.” Ace’s loafers tapped down the steps as he made his way to his SUV. He pulled out a handheld explosives detector and walked carefully toward the man holding the box. Chances were it really did contain wallpaper border and if the delivery guy were willing to open it, then it should be safe enough, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

Ace turned the device on and scanned the box. No alarming beeps. He heaved a sigh. Thank goodness. But powder residue wouldn’t be detected by the machine.

“You can open the box now.” Ace took a few steps back and held his breath.

The man carefully pulled back the packing tape and opened the lid. He reached in and pulled out the sealed package of wall border and held it up for Ace’s inspection. Nothing. No white powder. No other devices. Looked like the box was clear. “Okay. Bring it in.”

Thank you, Lord
. No problems. A simple delivery of wall border. Although he was thankful the package was clear, a part of him had hoped there had been some kind of threat. Anything to indicate someone other than Lexi was involved in Anna’s disappearance. Unfortunately, all the evidence still pointed to the little girl’s mother.

Lexi managed a small smile when the man stepped inside the foyer with the wall border. “James, I’m so sorry. I completely forgot to come by and pick up my order. There’s been so much going on, it just slipped my mind. But you didn’t have to bring it all the way out here. That’s way too much trouble.”

“I didn’t mind, Lexi. I know you’re dealing with a lot right now. I wanted to come by anyway and offer my help. If there is anything I can do, please let me know. My wife and I are praying for you and for Anna’s safe return. I know she’ll love her new room when…” James floundered for a moment, embarrassment coloring his features. Then finished without much conviction, “When she comes home.”

“Thank you.”

James reached into his pocket. “You left this at the store when we ordered the rest of your wall border. Bertha found it on her register.” He handed her a credit card. “I planned to call you and let you know we had your card, but after hearing about Anna on the news that evening, it slipped my mind. I apologize and hope it didn’t cause you an inconvenience.”

“No. Thank you, James. I didn’t even realize it was missing.” Lexi took the card and tucked into her jean pocket. “I haven’t been too many places since Anna disappeared, so I really didn’t need it.”

“You ordered the wall border the same day Anna disappeared?” Something clicked in the back of Ace’s mind.

“Well, yes. I came home and started working on the room, then I realized that I didn’t have enough of the border so I went back to the store to get some more, but they were out of the one I needed, so I had to order it. Bertha assured me it would be in the next day. I didn’t think Anna would really notice a bit of missing border.” Lexi bit her lip. “I figured she’d be so excited about her new bed that she’d never even realize it.”

“Who is Bertha?”

“My wife.” James interjected. “She runs the store most days while I’m out delivering or consulting on home projects.”

Ace turned to Lexi. “What time did you go to the store?”

Lexi knitted her brow. “Um … I’m not sure. Probably around three or four.”

“Here.” James reached into the box and pulled out the invoice. “The time of the order should be on there. It’s all computerized, so as soon as we placed the order it should have logged it for the invoice.”

Ace opened the folded paper and scanned the page. His heart galloped. The order went through at 3:46 the day Anna disappeared. There was absolutely no way Lexi could have been fifteen minutes south of Gator Bayou at Bill’s Best Burgers at 3:33 and made it back to the hardware store to order wall border by the time on the invoice. Not to mention she’d have had to dispose of Anna somewhere along the way between the two destinations.

A tingle of excitement fluttered through him. There was a chance Lexi was indeed innocent. He wasn’t quite sure why that should matter so much to him, but it did.

Ace arched an eyebrow at James. “You’re sure it was Lexi who placed the order for the wall border and not someone else who did it for her?”

The older man sputtered. “Well, now I wasn’t there, but I’m pretty sure Bertha said it was Lexi who came in the store to place the order. I don’t have a surveillance camera, but my wife wouldn’t lie.” James set his jaw. “She’s a fine Christian woman. One of the pillars of the Faith Community Church. She wouldn’t lie.”

Ace nodded. “I’m sure she is. We’ll have to talk to her, of course.” Then he turned to Sheriff Dawson. “Looks like we have a problem. Lexi couldn’t have been two places at once. If Bertha confirms James’ story and we can match the signature on the credit card order, then that means Anna’s abductor is still on the loose.” The implication that Sheriff Dawson had jumped to conclusions – possibly the wrong conclusions – hung in the air.

Sheriff Dawson paled. “But … then … why was Lexi on the surveillance video at Bill’s Best Burgers? You saw the video. She had Anna with her.”