Deadly Christmas Duty Read online

  “I’m afraid that’s not really true,” he told her. “I found her in the kitchen pantry.”

  She didn’t need him to say the words, and she was glad he didn’t in front of Jason. She could tell by his expression that he hadn’t found her alive.

  She stroked Jason’s hair and tried to comfort him, but inside she was sobbing. Her friend was dead, and her son was now in the hands of a killer.

  EIGHT

  Noah watched as Melinda sat huddled in the back seat of a police car. He hated seeing her this way, and he longed to hold her and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. He was going to bring Ramey home safely. But she didn’t need his promises. She needed action.

  Jason Campbell had been picked up by his grandmother and taken away, but not before being questioned. He hadn’t been able to provide any further statements other than what he’d told Melinda. A man broke into his house and took his mother and Ramey away. But Noah knew there was more to it. Either he’d held Jason and threatened to kill him if Susan didn’t go pick up Ramey from the school, or else she’d been in on it with him and then he’d double-crossed her. He hoped for Melinda’s sake, it was the former. Her friend was dead and her son was missing. Nothing could worsen that feeling except maybe to discover that her friend had been complicit in her child’s kidnapping.

  Peterson approached him, but he didn’t look like he had good news. “We’ve canvassed the neighborhood, but so far no one saw anyone breaking into the house. Most people were at work when it happened.”

  “That makes sense. According to the school records, Susan picked Ramey up at ten forty-five this morning.”

  Peterson sighed. “That means he has about a six-hour head start.”

  “I don’t think he’s gone anywhere,” Noah said. “Melinda has been his target all along. He probably took Ramey to get to her. He’ll try to contact her.”

  “We didn’t find a cell phone yet in the house. It’s possible he has Susan’s phone. I’m sure it has Melinda’s cell phone number in it. I can have her number tracked. Maybe he has it on, and we can trace it.”

  “I doubt he’d be that dumb, but it’s worth a try.” Noah went back to their previous conversation from this afternoon. “Did you have a chance to call the warden at the prison where Ray Steele was housed?”

  “I did, and the news isn’t good. He said Ray Steele was a violent man. He was written up multiple times for brawling and assault, and only a few years ago he cleaned up his act. Became the model prisoner.”

  “After his brother died. He wanted to get out to avenge his death.”

  Peterson nodded. “And the parole board apparently bought it. The warden lobbied against him being released, but they didn’t listen. He was released four months ago and hasn’t been seen since.”

  Noah sighed. “Until now. So, he’s been here in town watching her, learning all about her before he strikes?”

  “It looks that way.”

  “How did he do that? How did he learn so much about her? He knew where she worked, where she lived, who her friends were, even how to get Ramey out of school. Someone had to be helping him.”

  Peterson glanced back at the house. “Susan Campbell, maybe?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why don’t you take Melinda back to the safe house? She doesn’t need to be here while we’re processing the scene. Tell her to try to get some rest. We’re doing everything we can to find Ramey.”

  Noah doubted it would do much good to try to reassure her, but he would do his best to keep her hopeful. If he was right, and Ray Steele had taken Ramey in order to get to her, that meant he wouldn’t harm the boy...at least not until he got to Melinda.

  He helped her to his car, hating the way she trembled in his arms. He wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulder.

  She leaned her head against the headrest as he drove. Her hands shook. “He took him, didn’t he? Ray took my son.”

  She turned her head away from him, but he heard her sobbing quietly. “I believe he’ll try to make contact with you, Melinda. Peterson said he probably has Susan’s phone. When he does, I need you to tell me. He’ll probably try to lure you to him. You can’t fall for that. You have to tell me. You have to trust me.”

  “Trust you?” She turned to him, anger in her expression and nails in her words. “How can I trust you? You promised me you would keep us safe and now Ramey is gone. He’s in the hands of a killer.”

  Her words were like blows to his gut. He stopped the car in front of the safe house and reached for her arm.

  She jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me again. I should have known better than to trust you, Noah. I let down my guard with you, but you’re just like the Seans and Rays of the world. You’re all alike and I can’t trust any of you.” She jumped from the car. He got out, too, calling her name, trying to get her to stop and talk to him.

  She didn’t stop. She hurried inside and ran to the bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.

  He wanted to explain, but what could he say? She was right. He had failed her. He’d failed again, failed to protect this family he’d grown to love. He had no idea where Ramey was.

  Grief washed over him. He leaned his head onto the door frame and just let it come. It didn’t make any sense to him. Why God? Why do You continue to allow this?

  He didn’t understand how a good God could keep letting the bad guys win.

  * * *

  Melinda heard a soft knock on the bedroom door, then Noah’s voice drifted through.

  “Melinda? Chief Peterson is here. He wants to talk to us.”

  Panic burst through her, but she got up and went into the living room. The chief looked agitated as she entered. A frown covered his face, and his expression was forlorn. She’d only seen him this way on a handful of occasions, and none of them had resulted in good news.

  “What is it?” she asked him. “Is it Ramey? Have you found him?”

  “No, Melinda. It’s nothing like that. We’re still following up leads on Ramey’s kidnapping, but we’ll find him.”

  “What is it, then?” Noah asked him.

  “It’s about Wayne. As you know, his car was taken in as evidence in one of the attacks on you, Melinda. It keeps giving us possible links to Nikki.”

  “How?”

  “As you know, Wayne travels a lot for his job. He has a GPS tracker in his car. It also happens to have a mileage tracker, which he uses for business.”

  “A lot of people have those nowadays.”

  “Yes, but we were looking through his to find out where the car had been. He’s claimed in all his interviews that he was at home all night the day before Nikki went missing. His tracker tells a different story. There was an eighty-mile round trip taken the night before Nikki was reported missing.”

  Melinda gasped. “He used his own car. Unbelievable.”

  “The way I see it, he drove forty miles away, dumped her body, then drove home and went to bed. The next morning he acted like nothing had happened. I’ve got a team working on the search coordinates in all directions from forty miles out. We’ll be getting new search parameters shortly.” He glanced at Melinda. “Of course, I still have men searching for Ramey.”

  Noah shook his head. “You’re stretching yourselves too thin. Ramey is the priority. If Nikki is buried out there somewhere, she’s not going anywhere.”

  “I have officers tailing Wayne twenty-four-seven. If he tries to move her body, we’ll catch him.”

  Noah thanked him and Peterson left.

  As he walked up behind her, Melinda couldn’t help but feel a connection to Nikki through him. They were very much alike in their mannerisms. “I miss her,” she told him. “This is just the sort of thing I would call Nikki and talk to her about. And she always managed to make you feel better. No matter what she was going through, no
matter how difficult her life was, she was always there with a smile on her face and a shoulder to cry on.”

  He smiled. “She was that way as a kid, too.”

  She turned to face Noah. “You didn’t have to say that about Ramey being the priority. I know how badly you want to find your sister.”

  “And I will. I haven’t given up on that, but Nikki’s likely not going anywhere. There’s still time to bring Ramey home.”

  She folded her arms and tried not to get angry. He meant well, but she couldn’t push away the feeling that if he’d been here, if he hadn’t gone chasing down Sean’s memory, Ramey would still be with her.

  He reached for her, but she pushed his hand away. “I can’t. I never should have trusted you. I’ll never trust anyone else as long as I live.”

  She ran into the bedroom and fell onto the bed as sobs racked her again. She didn’t mean to be so ugly toward Noah, but the last thing she wanted from him was to hear him tell her again how sorry he was.

  She had to stop crying and trust that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn’t. Fear had taken control, and she couldn’t push away the horrible images of what might be happening to her child.

  She’d never met Ray, but she remembered Sean talking about him and how dangerous he was. Now he was targeting her for something she’d done. Ramey was being punished because of her. That wasn’t right. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. It should have been her. It wasn’t Ramey’s fault that she’d killed Sean, but the worst way to hurt her was to harm her son.

  Would his connection to Ramey, the fact that he was Ray’s nephew, make any difference to Ray? He doubted it. He’d always believed Ray felt the same way Sean did—that family was his property, his possession. What would that mean for Ray? If he considered Melinda Sean’s murderer, how would he view Ramey?

  She could only pray it would be favorably.

  Her phone buzzed. It was probably Noah checking on her again. She felt sorry for what she’d said to him. She’d been angry and hurt. She didn’t really blame him. How could she? He was the one constant in her life now, and she needed him.

  She glanced at the screen. It wasn’t Noah. The message came from Susan Campbell’s phone.

  Meet me at the marina. Come alone or the kid dies.

  She gasped. Ray! It had to be him.

  Her fingers shook as she typed a response.

  Is Ramey safe?

  He’s fine...for now. Come alone. You have a half hour then you’ll never see the kid again.

  Her motherly side was ready to bolt for the door, but somehow, she remembered Ray couldn’t be trusted.

  I want to talk to him.

  No!

  I don’t go anywhere until I talk to him.

  It hurt her heart to type those words, but she needed to know he was safe.

  Her phone rang and she jumped, nearly dropping it. Susan’s number popped up and she connected the call. Her knees buckled when she heard her son’s voice.

  “Mommy!”

  “Ramey! Are you okay, baby?”

  “I’m scared, Mommy.” She thought her heart would burst at the fear she heard in his voice.

  “I know, I know. I’m coming. I’m on my way.”

  It no longer mattered that she was walking into a trap. She had to go.

  She quietly opened her bedroom door and looked around. She spotted Noah outside on the balcony, leaning against the rails. He looked so pitiful that she wanted to go to him, but she couldn’t. Regardless of what he’d said to her in the car, she couldn’t tell him about this. Ray had promised to kill Ramey if she didn’t come alone, and the sting of distrust was just too strong. She couldn’t put her son’s life at risk again. Noah couldn’t know about this phone call.

  She spotted the car keys on the table and grabbed them, then snuck out the front door before Noah walked back inside. She ran to the car and hopped in. In her mind, she knew what she was doing wasn’t smart, but that no longer mattered. She would do whatever it took to keep her child safe, even if that meant giving her own life to do it.

  She started the car and took off for the marina.

  * * *

  Noah heard a car and rushed back inside to the front window. It was his own car pulling away!

  He ran to Melinda’s room, praying she was still there asleep on the bed. He pushed open the door. The bed was empty. She was gone.

  But had she left on her own? Or had Ray Steele somehow gotten inside while he wasn’t paying attention?

  He pulled out his phone and called Peterson. “It’s Melinda. She’s gone.”

  “What? When? How?” He sounded as perplexed as Noah felt.

  “Just now. Someone drove away in my car. I don’t know if she was alone or if Ray got her, but I need you here now.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “Do you think he contacted her?”

  Noah pinched the bridge of his nose as a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him. “Probably.” It seemed the most likely scenario. They’d been careful coming to and from the safe house. Ray must have phoned her from Susan Campbell’s number and threatened to hurt Ramey if she didn’t come.

  And she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him so.

  Peterson sighed. “I’ll have someone put a BOLO out on your car and check her cell phone records.”

  Noah had nothing to do but wait, but he couldn’t stay still, so he headed on foot down the hill. A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind as he hiked. Melinda didn’t trust him, and she had good reason not to. He hadn’t kept his word. He’d allowed both her and Ramey to get past him and into the hands of Ray Steele. Noah searched his brain for some clue as to what he may be up to. He’d taken everything from her—her home, her job, her son...everything but her life, and Noah feared that was next.

  He thought back to the story he’d learned about Sean. If Ray was out to torture her, he would take her to the same place his brother had tried to dispose of her. It was also the thing that frightened her the most. But surely, he wouldn’t take her all the way back to Lakewater to do the deed. No, he would find a comparable place close by.

  A car approached him, and he instinctively reached for his gun, relaxing when he saw it was Peterson. He hopped into the passenger’s seat.

  “Any idea where he would take her?” Peterson asked.

  Noah couldn’t even imagine where or what he might subject her to.

  Somewhere near the water. But where?

  “What about your rental car?” Peterson asked. “Does it have GPS?”

  “It’s a rental. I’ll have to call the rental agency. Maybe they can give me the coordinates.” He took out his phone and dialed the number for the rental agency.

  “My name is Noah Cason,” he said when a woman answered. “I rented a car from your agency several days ago. It’s missing. I need you to give me the GPS coordinates.”

  “Sir, if the car has been stolen, then you’ll need to file a police report.”

  “No, it hasn’t been stolen. It’s just been...misplaced. I just need those GPS coordinates.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t give you that information. We would need a police report. If you’d like to leave your name and number, I’ll have someone call you back.”

  He left his information then disconnected the call, irritated by his lack of progress. “By the time they get back to me, it could be too late.”

  Peterson turned into downtown. “Okay, then we go back to the police station and check in on the BOLO, see if anything has been called in. If it hasn’t, we go back through our suspects list. Despite my initial belief about Dawn, we haven’t found anything to indicate either she or Susan had any prior connection with Ray Steele.”

  “Did Dawn or Susan have any properties that you’re aware of where he might have gone?”

  “I don’t believe so.
Dawn lived in an apartment, not very private, and Susan’s house is still a crime scene. He wouldn’t go there.”

  Peterson turned onto Main Street, passing the bakery Robin Danbar owned.

  “What about Robin and Trey?” Noah asked. He still wasn’t convinced they hadn’t tipped off Ray about Melinda being in the bakery. If they had, it meant they were somehow involved with him.

  Peterson glanced his way. “We never were able to trace who Trey made that call to.”

  “I want to talk to them again.”

  Peterson pulled over, and they got out of the car in front of the bakery. The sign said Open, but when he tried the door, it was locked. Noah saw a light on in the back and knocked on the glass.

  “Robin? Trey? It’s Noah Cason and Chief Peterson. Open the door. I know you’re there.”

  He stared through the window and spotted Robin approaching them. She unlocked the door. “We’re closed.”

  Her face was bruised and her lip bloody. Noah pushed open the door she tried to keep closed. “What happened to your face?”

  She touched her lip but was uncooperative. “Nothing. I slipped in the back. That’s all.”

  “Really? Because it looks like someone beat you up. Who did this? Your husband? Ray Steele?”

  She looked at him when he said Ray’s name, and he knew he’d hit pay dirt.

  “Is he here now?” He shoved past her and hurried into the kitchen. “Where is he, Robin? I know he’s been here. I know you’ve been helping him.”

  She and Peterson followed him into the back.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stated again. “No one is here.”

  Noah rushed at her. “He has Melinda and Ramey. I want to know where he is, Robin, and I want to know now.”

  She stared up at him, her face stricken. “I—I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I know you’re involved in this,” Noah told her. “You and your husband. The night Melinda and I came by, he made a phone call to Ray Steele to let him know we were here. He shot into your bakery. The two of you warned him. I want to know why, and I want to know where he’s taken Melinda.”