Nowhere to Turn (26 page)

Stuart wanted to howl his fury. Instead he narrowed his eyes. “So why have you continued to lead me on? Let me believe you loved me?”

Some emotion he couldn’t identify flickered in her eyes, then they hardened. “I suppose because part of me hoped you would get over this thing with Dani. And part of it was that you were the only one who could
lead
us to Dani.”

“Lead you to her? And who’s us?”

“Kurt wrote me a note to be delivered in case he died. Do you want to hear it? I have it memorized.”

“Sure.” Somehow he got the word out through clenched teeth.

“‘Dear Butterfly—I have to say the nickname fits—I guess I’m dead, but I have something I want to make sure I leave you with. You see, my brother Stuart is obsessed with my wife and that’s just not going to happen. As soon as he hears I’m dead, he’ll move in on her and knowing Dani, weak woman that she is, she’ll fall right into step with whatever plan he has. I repeat: That. Can. Not. Happen.’”

Stuart felt the heat start at his feet and work its way up. He opened his mouth to speak, but she wasn’t finished.

“‘The plan is for Dani to join me in the hereafter. Wherever I am. So here’s the deal. Send Dani to me. If you want your reward, you will have to get Dani to help you. She holds the key to your wealth.’”

Stuart frowned. “Key to your wealth?”

“I know. As soon as Dani tells me what I need to know, she’s dead and I get everything.”

“He sent you a letter? He left instructions for you to kill Dani?”

“Yes. And it gets even better. I quote, ‘The only way to make sure you stay out of prison is to make sure Dani dies. Get rid of her and claim the prize.’”

“What prize?”

“Kurt really didn’t tell you anything, did he?”

He balled his fists at his side and turned his back on the woman with the gun. He glanced down the hall, wondering where Simon was. If only the kid would show up and distract her. He could get the jump on her and—

“Turn around, Stuart.” Her low silky voice made him wonder if she’d come to her senses.

He turned.

She smiled. “Time for you to join Kurt so you two can battle it out for all eternity.”

His anger fizzled like cold water on a flame. Fear blossomed.

He lunged toward her. The gun cracked.

Pain exploded through his head, then nothingness covered him.

Dani wanted to scream, to wail her despair. Stuart’s house was empty with no sign that he or Simon had been there recently. She sat in the car and chewed on her thumbnail while her mind spun. He wasn’t here. But Stuart had him. Where would he take him?

Adam returned to the car, his face grim, jaw tight. “Nothing.”

“Did David get ahold of Mitchell yet?” Summer asked.

“Yeah. David texted me while I was inside and said to call him as soon as I could talk.”

“So call.”

Adam dialed the number and pressed the speakerphone button.

David got right to the point. “Mitchell Lee came home. I’ve been talking to him for the last two hours. Simon stole Isaac’s phone and texted Mitchell to set up how Simon would get back to Greenville. Mitchell stole his mother’s credit card and reserved the bus ticket, faxed the information needed for a minor to travel alone to the bus depot, and arranged to meet Simon at the school.”

“How old are these kids again?”

“I know, right?”

“What else?”

“Mitchell said they met and went to Stuart’s house. Stuart wasn’t home so they headed over to the Bureau office.”

“And the rest is history.”

“Pretty much. Mitchell said he saw Stuart pick up Simon and rush him to his car. Simon managed to sign to him to turn the phone on, so he did, knowing we’d trace it.”

“But he didn’t call 911.”

“No. He said Simon made him promise not to call anyone, just to turn the phone on.”

“And of course he had to be loyal to his buddy and do what he asked.”

“Of course.”

Adam sighed. “All right, thanks.”

Simon rolled over and threw up over the side of the bed. He couldn’t remember when he’d felt this bad. Maybe when he’d had the flu last year. Maybe. The dull ache in his belly had moved back into the arena of severe pain. He pressed a hand to his side and let the tears flow. He wanted his mom. She would know what to do.

When he finished retching, he wiped his mouth on the comforter, not caring if Stuart got mad. At this point, he would welcome a fist to the face. At least it would be a pain he could deal with. This hurt in his stomach—

He looked around. Where was he? He didn’t recognize the room. It was different than when he’d fallen asleep. Where had Stuart brought him now?

A shadow moved across the bed and he looked to the door. The man seemed vaguely familiar.

Simon blinked. “Where’s my mom?”

“Call her.” The phone landed on the bed beside him.

Simon grabbed the phone and looked at it. If he called her,
would he be putting her in danger? He lobbed it back. “I’m deaf, moron.”

The man moved fast and was beside the bed before Simon could take another breath. Hard fingers twisted themselves into the collar of his shirt, knuckles pressing against his throat, cutting off his air. Fear, fast and furious, flowed through him. “Dial the number, kid, if you want to see tomorrow.” The man shoved him away to stand over him and stare down at him.

Simon hauled in a deep breath and felt another wave of nausea ratchet through him. He gagged and the man nearly tripped in his haste to avoid getting spewed upon. Simon looked at him. “Who are you?”

“You mean you don’t recognize your own uncle’s partner?”

Recognition swept through him. “Joe.”

“Yeah. Now that the introductions are over, I need your help.”

Simon squinted. Without his hearing aids, he was having to rely solely on speech reading. His head pounded with the effort to concentrate. “What?”

Joe turned to the door.

Simon sighed. “If you’re saying something you have to look at me, I’m deaf.”

Joe turned, his irritation apparent. “I said, your mother has something I want. She and I are going to make a trade and we’ll all live happily ever after, got it?”

Looking into the cold brown eyes, Simon felt sure the man didn’t have a happily ever after in mind for him and his mother.

“Got it.” He shot a glance toward the door. “Where’s my uncle Stuart?”

“He’s tied up with something right now. Quit yakking and start dialing.”

Simon stared at the phone. He looked up. “I don’t know her number.” Again the man started for him and Simon held up his
hands as though in surrender. “I really don’t know. They . . . they gave her a new phone and I don’t know what the number is. I don’t, I swear.” His words tumbled fast from his lips. He wished he could hear how he sounded because he wasn’t sure he was making any sense to the man standing over him.

Without another word, Joe turned on his heel and left the room. Simon lay back against the pillow and groaned. No way was he calling his mom and leading her into danger. He knew the number. Had memorized it the moment she’d gotten it. But he wouldn’t dial it.

He gathered his strength and rolled off the bed, walked down the hall, and saw a woman’s back. She faced Joe. Joe faced Simon. Joe yelled something and the woman looked like she yelled back, her hand movements choppy and agitated. Joe grabbed the woman by the back of the hair and pulled her closer, talking the whole time. Simon wished he could see more of his lips. Then Joe let her go and this time Simon managed to see the words. “I have a plan and I need your help to make it work.”

Simon sank to the floor and leaned his head back against the wall. He felt so weak, so tired, so sick. He closed his eyes and kept them closed. Even when someone shook his shoulder he didn’t open his eyes to acknowledge he was awake. He felt a cool hand on his forehead. A smaller hand that probably belonged to the woman. He pretended it was his mom. Then rough hands grabbed him and carried him back to the bed.

They sat in front of Stuart’s house, not moving, just thinking, planning. Adam knew the minutes counted and he had to make the right decisions. He prayed for divine guidance. “Does Stuart own any other property other than the house that we just left?” Adam asked.

Dani leaned her head back against the headrest. “No. Not that I know of. Stuart never talked to me about that kind of thing.”

Adam called David. “Are you back at the office yet?”

“I am. Sitting here in front of the computer. What can I do for you?”

“Can you look into Stuart’s real estate holdings? He’s not at home, but I’m wondering if he’s got another house somewhere.”

“A lake house,” Dani whispered.

“What?” Adam shot her a questioning look.

“The night Janessa was killed, Stuart came to the door and said he wanted to take me away, let me use his lake house to relax and get away from it all. I just remembered. What’s the nearest lake?”

“Lake Bowen? Lake Greenwood? Lake Hartwell?” Summer suggested.

“Keowee?” Adam said.

“Hold on. I’m checking,” David said. He would access a secure database used only by law enforcement personnel. Thanks to the governor, Operation Refuge also had permission to use it.

“Come on, David.”

“Hey, I’m only as fast as this computer.”

A few seconds later, David came back on the line. “He has a lake house at Lake Keowee.”

“About an hour from here. What’s the address?”

David gave it to him and Adam repeated it so Summer could put it in her GPS. Adam made a decision. He dialed another number.

“Ralph Thorn.”

“This is Adam Buchanan. I need your help again.”

“How?”

Adam filled him in. “I trust you, Ralph. Dani trusts you. We don’t have anywhere else to turn for this one.”

A slight pause that was only a brief two or three seconds, but felt like minutes. Finally Ralph agreed. “I’ll call the Seneca police
and have them head out to that address. I also have a friend, an agent, who’s there for the weekend. I’ll call him and have him scope out the house.”

“Let us know as soon as you hear something.”

“Will do.”

“Wait a minute,” Dani said. “Aren’t we going out there?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because if he’s there, the FBI will let us know and we can set up a plan of action to get Simon away from Stuart.”

“Stuart is the FBI. He knows all of the plans of action. I need to talk to him. I need to be there. He’ll listen to me. I’ll beg, I’ll lie. I’ll do whatever it takes to get my son away from him.”

Adam gripped her fingers. “I know you would, Dani. But trust me. This is the best way to handle this.”

Tears swam in her eyes and he expected her to flat-out refuse. If she did, he had no idea how he was going to convince her to sit tight.

Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, then up to him. “It’s Stuart.”

Dani answered the call and put it on speaker. “Stuart. Where are you? Where’s Simon? How could you do this to your own nephew?”

“Dani, so good to hear your voice.”

Dani froze. “You’re not Stuart.”

Adam’s eyes slammed to hers. He lifted a brow. She shrugged.

“No. I’m afraid Stuart wasn’t invited to this party.”

“What party?”

“I have your son, Danielle Harding, and if you want him back, I’m going to have to insist you give me my plates.”

“Your . . . what?”

“Plates. I’m sure you’ve seen the news and figured out the money you’ve been passing around is counterfeit. Very good counterfeit. Almost exactly like the real thing. I’m actually surprised someone caught it. But that’s beside the point. Those plates were very expensive and I want them back.”

Dani shot a look at Adam. He waved a hand encouraging her to keep talking. “Stuart had Simon. How do I know you have him now?”

“Hold on for a minute.”

Heart in her throat, desperate to find her son, Dani held. Within seconds her phone beeped. The man came back on the line. “Check your messages. I’ll call you back soon.”

He hung up and she clicked over to the messages. And gasped. “No. Oh no. My baby. He really has him and he looks so sick.”

Adam took the phone from her hand and looked at it. “We’ve got to find him fast.”

“How many hours is it that hostages have before they’re living on borrowed time?”

“Don’t go there.”

“I don’t know where else to go, what to do, or how to do it. I’m completely dependent on you and your agency to get my son back.” A slight pause. “And I don’t like it.”

Adam rubbed his chin. “We could not wait on Ralph. I could call in the FBI.”

“They’re probably the ones who have him,” she snapped. She rubbed her eyes. “Sorry. No, I don’t want to call in the FBI or any other law enforcement. I want to give them what they want, get my son, and move to an island in the Caribbean.”

“Then we need to know where the counterfeit plates are.”

“I have no idea.”

Adam thought for a moment. “I’m willing to bet if we find out what that key from the safe goes to, we’ll find the plates.”

Her phone rang and she didn’t bother waiting for it to finish the first ring. “I’m here. What’s wrong with my son?”

“Nothing he won’t recover from, I’m sure. Assuming you will cooperate.”

“Of course.” Somehow she found the strength to keep her voice steady. Somehow she found a way to press down the terror raging inside her. Simon needed her calm. He needed her to think. “Where are the plates?”

A moment of silence stretched her nerves to the breaking point.

“You have them,” he said.

“No, I don’t.”