Vanished (12 page)

“I don't think so, but if it is, we still don't know where Ashley is.”

Suppressed emotions laced J.T.'s voice. Madison wound her way back to J.T.'s side. She wanted to take his hand and hold it for moral support, but she didn't. Frustration gripped her. It was becoming more difficult to keep a professional distance.

Ross straightened. “If I can help in any way, please let me know.” He strode toward the front door and grasped its handle, ushering them toward it.

Time to leave. Something wasn't right here. J.T.'s neighbor was hiding something. What? And was it connected to Ashley's kidnapping?

J.T. and Madison thanked Ross for his time and left.

J.T. stopped halfway down the sidewalk and surveyed the neighborhood. “He's lying.”

“I think so, too. I'll start checking him out when we get back to the station.”

An elderly lady in a flowery dress came out of the house next to the Morgans' and shuffled down the driveway to get her newspaper. J.T.'s grim expression melted some as his gaze lit upon the woman. She saw him and waved.

He made a beeline for her. “Marge knows everything that goes on around here.” He nodded toward Marge. “How are you doing?”

“My hip is giving me some problems, but that's for another day. The more important question is, how are you doing?”

“Not good until I get my little girl back.”

“I'm praying every day and night for her return.”

“As the whole church is, and I appreciate those prayers.” J.T. turned toward Madison. “Have you met FBI agent Madison Spencer?”

Madison smiled at the older woman. “I interviewed you the other day. You were most helpful. She told me about a car that she had seen on the street the day before, parked a few doors down from your house.”

J.T. tensed and started to say something.

“But it turned out,” Madison hurried on, “to be a teenager named Kyle waiting for his girlfriend to get home.”

“Kyle and Neil are friends. His mother and his older brother clean the station.” J.T.'s anxiety seeped from him. “Marge, can you think of anything else strange that has occurred in the past few days? Sometimes small things turn out to be big leads.”

The older lady scrunched up her mouth and tapped her finger against her chin. “I see you were coming from Ross and Jill's. You know, she left him early yesterday evening.”

“She did?” J.T. shifted his attention back to the Morgans' house, his gaze narrowed.

“They had a big fight. I was out in my backyard watering my roses when I heard them shouting. I think she poisoned their dog.” Marge leaned close to J.T. “You know she hated that dog. Once she told Ross all his pet was good for was yelping and driving her crazy.”

J.T. picked up Marge's newspaper and handed it to her. “If you think of anything else, please let me know.”

“I'll think on it. I want Ashley back.”

He touched her arm. “Me, too.”

After the older woman went back into her house,
Madison walked with J.T. to his Jeep. She opened the passenger door and climbed in. “Why did Ross lie about when Jill left? Do you think she is capable of poisoning their dog?”

When J.T. situated himself behind the wheel, he twisted toward her. “I don't have an answer to those questions, but then the Morgans have only lived here for a year. Jill never seemed the type to poison a dog. She was always nice to my kids.” J.T.'s mouth tightened in a scowl.

“Did she go out of her way to be friendly?”

J.T. gripped the steering wheel. “I don't think so, but truthfully I never thought about it. People in Crystal Springs
are
friendly. I never questioned the motives behind that friendliness.”

“I know you think it's someone from your past, but we can't rule out other possibilities.”

“Like it might be someone from Crystal Springs?”

“Yes.”

“I don't want to ignore anything. The Morgans are definitely worth checking out and keeping an eye on. Ross is hiding something.”

“Some people are very good at erecting a false facade. With that in mind, I would like to start looking into people who moved to Crystal Springs in the past year, especially people connected to you in any way.”

“For the record I still think it's someone from my past in Chicago.” J.T. turned the key and the engine roared to life. “But you're right. Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.” He pulled away from the curb and glanced toward her. “But I feel instead of ruling people out, we are just adding more and more to the list of suspects.”

“I'll do it quietly and utilize Paul so no one in your office will know.”

“That's probably best. I have to live with these people when you leave.”

Day four, 7:30 p.m.: Ashley missing seventy-three hours

At an evening prayer service for Ashley, Madison sat sandwiched between Emma and J.T. Kim and Neil were on his other side. Madison peered around her—not one seat was empty. People even stood in the back and along the side aisles.

Colin rose to offer one last prayer. Madison bowed her head, her gaze gliding down the row. The haggard lines in J.T.'s face had deepened over the course of each day. She wanted to take him into her arms and hold him until his daughter was found alive.

The main reason J.T. had stopped long enough to come to the prayer vigil for Ashley was because Kim had asked. She wasn't doing well, either. Her eyes held a bruised expression and even her hair was unkempt. Kim's growing silence worried Madison.

“Lord, we ask You to bring Ashley home and to protect her. Please keep her safe and in Your hands. Be with J.T. and his family in their time of need. Touch them with Your bountiful love and mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.”

Madison had always liked how Colin communicated with God: simple and to the point. The power of hundreds of prayers gave her an added boost of energy. She had only begun her search into the background of the people
who had recently moved to the town. So far she had discovered Jill Morgan had indeed left her husband the day before in the late afternoon, not evening and the vet had been suspicious the last time their dog had been brought in for an injury. But if Jill had poisoned her dog, then why did she report it to the police unless she did it to keep Ross from finding out the truth? And why had Ross lied about when Jill had left? What else had they been lying about? So many questions and not nearly enough answers.

Madison rose as J.T. did. He'd waited until most of the people had filed out of the church.

“Daddy, do you think the prayers helped?”

That was the first full sentence Kim had spoken since J.T. and she had picked up the children to come to the prayer vigil.

J.T. wound his arm around his daughter's shoulders. “Definitely. That's one thing you can do to help your sister.”

“Then I'll keep them up. I just didn't know if they were helping.”

“Always. We have to practice patience. God works in His time, not ours.” He hugged her against his side.

“Are we going home tonight?” Neil sidestepped toward the center aisle.

Kim followed her brother from the pew. “Yeah, can we?”

“Yes.”

“Now?” An eager gleam pushed the dull flatness from Kim's eyes for a few seconds.

“I've got some things to wrap up down at the station, then we can go home.”

Neil saw a friend and headed toward him while Kim continued to cling to J.T. Short of prying her loose, he wasn't going to get away easily.

At the back of the sanctuary he stopped in front of Colin. “Thank you for putting this together. I should be by to pick Neil and Kim up in a couple of hours.”

“We'll take care of them until you can. Don't worry.”

Madison hung back while J.T. talked with Colin. She studied the people left in the church. Living most of her life in a big city, she missed the feeling of family in a small town. No wonder J.T. had come home to Crystal Springs. She hoped no one from here was involved in the kidnapping. She didn't like the fact that Ross Morgan had a sealed juvenile record. What was the man hiding? Even though he wasn't really from Crystal Springs, he was J.T.'s neighbor.

“Ready to leave?” J.T. approached her.

She glimpsed Emma taking Neil and Kim into the foyer. “Go with your children. I can take care of the few loose ends. If anything breaks, I'll call.”

“We should be getting the medical examiner's report soon on the body in the boat. I want to be there for that.”

She stopped him moving toward the double wooden doors. “You need some sleep.”

He peered back at her, his gaze slipping to her hand on his arm. “And you don't?”

“Yes, and I plan to get some or I won't be able to put two words together to form a coherent sentence.”

“I'll only stay a few hours. Besides, who would take you to the station?”

She grinned, releasing her hold on him. “You, on your way to pick up your kids at the Fitzpatricks'. I can call you about the medical examiner's report.”

He turned toward her. “I want to know who that man was.”

“We may never know who he was.”

He sucked in a deep breath. “I know. Why can't it be easy? The man was the kidnapper, or his best friend. I hope we'll discover who he was, raid his home and find Ashley alive and well.”

“We'll get a break.” She walked beside J.T. as they left the church.

At his Jeep she scanned the parking lot. Cars streamed out of it. She noticed that Emma, Grace and Colin had already taken Kim and Neil to their house. For a moment the sensation that someone was watching crawled up her spine, leaving a chilled film of perspiration in its wake.

Inside the confines of the car Madison tried to relax her taut muscles, but she couldn't shake the feeling.

J.T.'s gaze riveted to hers. “You feel it, too.”

She nodded.

He made a slow sweep of the area, his eyes narrowed as though that would help him see into the dark shadows. “He's out there somewhere close. I can feel him.”

“This does seem personal.”

His grip on the steering showed white knuckles. “It's a criminal I've put in jail who wants revenge. I'd call that pretty personal.”

“What if it isn't? I've discovered Ross Morgan isn't
the upstanding citizen he's led everyone to believe. What other secrets are there in Crystal Springs?”

J.T. opened his mouth to say something when his cell phone rang. He answered it. His frown deepened as he listened. When he ended the call, a storm brewed in the depths of his eyes. “That was Kirk. No positive identification on our burned corpse. He was dead before he was set on fire. There wasn't any smoke in his lungs. He was shot, up close and personal.”

“How about the bullet?”

“Too damaged to get ballistics on it.”

“So there's nothing we can use?”

“Not exactly. Central City police did phone to say there was a missing person report filed this evening. He's a short-order cook at a grill on this side of the city. He's about the size of the man in the boat.”

“Who is it? Can we confirm it with dental records?”

“Max Dillard, and the police are checking about dental records, but they aren't too hopeful.”

Madison sat forward, angling around to face J.T. “The name isn't familiar?”

“No, but they're going to fax a picture if they can find a photo of the man or have an artist draw one from his coworkers' description. He's been working at the grill for about a year.” J.T. started his Jeep and backed out of the parking space.

“Maybe he's moved on and is not really missing.”

“The owner insisted something was wrong. Max was all excited about a chance to earn some extra money. He was sweet on a waitress at the grill and had a date with
her tonight after their shift. He never showed up for work today.”

Could this be the break they were looking for?
Father, please let it be.

When J.T. pulled up in front of the station, he switched off the Jeep and started to get out.

“Where are you going?”

He glanced over his shoulder, then pivoted around to face her. “Inside.”

“So you can sit by the fax machine and wait for a picture that might not come for hours or until tomorrow. We have pictures of each of the felons on your list. We can compare them. Go home. Your children need to see you. You need to see your children. Be the parent, J.T.”

He scowled. “I am. I'm being Ashley's father.”

“How about Kim and Neil's?”

He flinched. “That's low. They aren't in trouble. Ashley is.”

She needed to shake some common sense into him and make him slow down before he collapsed. “In case you haven't noticed, both of your other children are in trouble, especially Kim. They may be trying to hide their pain from you, but it's there for anyone to see if you stand still long enough to look.”