Broken Promises (23 page)

Her dog was the least of his worries, but he
kept his mouth shut since it would only infuriate her, and they
didn’t have any time to waste.

“Just hurry. We heard him leave, and there’s
no way to tell when he’ll come back. Oh, no—”

He picked up the sounds of a struggle, and
then the connection broke off. “Bette?”

He looked up when Agent Hixson and Detective
Spitz reached the van.

Agent Hixson rushed to Alex’s side and asked
the tech, “Get anything?”

The tech shook his head. “Just a general
area, and we’re already in it.”

“Damn. Okay, she said big house in the hills
beyond
and
above
Naples. Any ideas?”

“Pull out those area satellite maps,” Alex
said. “Compare them with tax records for big houses.”

“Got quite a few of those. Most of ’em rented
out in summer. Tourists, y’know?” Detective Spitz said with a
frown. “What else?”

“Just some garbage about being on the lookout
for her dog, but the next bit didn’t make sense. Makes me think she
was trying to tell me something.”

“Think, man.”

“Being kept in the basement of a big house.
The kidnapper was gone, and they didn’t know why or where he’d gone
or when he’d be back. And then the stuff about her dog’s brother
pining if she went missing. That dog doesn’t have a brother that
either one of us knows about. Hell, Bette just adopted him the
other day. I was there. Guy who gave it to her didn’t say anything
about it having a brother.”

“Then that has to be significant. Maybe she
was
trying to tell you something.”

“But this is more ominous—the call ended
suddenly. The kidnapper was there, or she would’ve told me more.
This reeks of being a trap. He has my family, and now he wants
me.”

“You sure pissed off somebody,” Hixson said.
“Has anyone looked into your old cases?”

“No. And now there’s no time.” His gaze
darted from the agent to the detective. “We’ve got to find them
now.” If he had to get down on his knees and spit-shine the
detective’s shoes, he would.

“Still a pretty large area,” Spitz offered.
“Shouldn’t have to tell you we don’t have the manpower or resources
to launch an all-out search.”

Days too late. A search should’ve been done
already. He bit back the words. Alienating the local LEOs at this
point wouldn’t accomplish a damned thing. “What about bringing in
dogs? Now that we have a general area?”

“I’ll call the sheriff’s department. This is
his jurisdiction.”

“Call that Rigby fellow with the
bloodhounds,” Alex said, restless to get something done.

“Main thing for you is to settle down and let
the locals take care of this situation. They know the area.” This
self-serving statement came from his fellow agent.

Traitor.

He’d never been one to act off profile, but
damn, it’d never been his loved ones involved before. Gave a guy a
new perspective. And not a pleasant one.

Hills above Naples. Big house. Something
nagged at the back of his mind. One of his freshman high school
teachers lived in an old sprawling house which had seen better
days. He made a practice of having all the boys in his class up
there every year for a campout. More than likely the teacher had
sold it to someone who’d either torn it down or remodeled it to
take advantage of the great lake views. Real estate with a view
raked in premium prices.

He pointed to the satellite map showing on
one of the tactical monitors. “What about that place? Used to
belong to a teacher.”

“Current owner listed as a D. K.
Rideout.”

“Yeah, Robert Rideout was the teacher’s name.
Must belong to his son. Don’t remember him having a son, though. He
was single last I remember.”

“Could be a nephew or some other relative,”
Agent Hixson suggested.

“Check your DMV,” Alex said. “What does he
drive?”

The tech accessed the DMV database. “2005
Black Ford Excursion and a 2010 Cadillac CTS.” He finished by
rattling off the plate numbers.

“Damned close to what Bette described. I say,
let’s check him out.”

“Need to get a warrant,” Hixson reminded.

Alex nodded. If they went up there
unprepared, they’d tip their hand and lose the element of surprise.
If
this Rideout fellow was the kidnapper, no telling what
he’d do. “Do we have just cause for a search warrant?” He cut his
gaze to Spitz, who nodded sharply.

“It’s close, but if I call the right judge,
we can get one.”

Tension built in Alex’s gut. He fisted his
hands and clenched his jaw. Search warrants took time, even with
the right judge. What if they were too late? No, that didn’t bear
thinking about. He shut his eyes, fighting the onslaught of
negativity. Nightmarish possibilities. But negativity wasn’t as
easily banished as a bad dream. He swallowed the bile building in
the back of his throat.

He gazed from Spitz to the agent and back
again. “Where’s this house? I’m kind of hazy on the location.”
Maybe if he’d come home more often, he wouldn’t have forgotten.

The detective looked up and answered, “We’re
about two and half miles southwest of there.” He pointed to their
present location. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get hold of
the DA and a judge.” He pulled his cell phone from his belt, jumped
down from the van, and walked away from Alex and Agent Hixson.

Alex shook his head. “Don’t know how much
more of this—” He broke off and cast his gaze to the northeast
hills and jumped out of the van.

Hixson was right behind him and clapped a
hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Forget it, MacGregor. You’re not peeling
out of here on your own. You might not care about your career with
the Bureau, but I’m damned fond of mine.”

Alex spun, ready to deck the agent, but
pulled the punch just in time. “Fine,” he said, not really meaning
it.

Damn, he’d give a month’s pay to have his
former partner, Jake LeFevre, on hand right now. Good old Jake
would’ve already commandeered a vehicle and damned the
consequences.

The detective returned, all smiles.
“Warrant’s on the way. Suggest we set up a recon some distance from
the house and wait for the go-ahead.”

“I don’t blame you. If I were in your place,
I’d be ready to bust out of here and go running to the rescue. But
we both know the rules and procedures are there for a reason.”

Alex met Hixson’s gaze with a glare but
nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Yeah.” He pulled at his collar. Seemed
like it grew tighter the longer this ordeal lasted.

~~*~~

Without warning, a lancing pain across
Bette’s forearm knocked the phone from her hand. Drew jerked her
around so they were face-to-face. He squinted, and his face flushed
with rage. “I
told
you what to say. Why didn’t you stick to
the script? And what was that crap about the dog and her
brother?”

She rubbed her wrist where he’d struck her.
Bastard was strong. Luckily, it wasn’t broken. So she’d tried to
give Alex a clue. Surely, he was smart enough to figure it out or
at least figure out that something was fishy. She didn’t want him
walking blind into a trap. “My dog—the one you left running loose
in the woods—Jackie has the brother. You know, littermates. They’re
devoted to each other.”

Drew pulled a gun from the back of his pants,
the first weapon she’d seen since being kidnapped. “All three of
you, get into Jackie’s bedroom.”

Bette frowned at Jackie, who seemed to have
forgotten she was supposed to be in severe pain. “What about a
doctor? Jackie
needs
a doctor.”

A quick “duh” expression flashed across her
boss’s face, and she doubled over once more with a groan.

With a wide smile so like Alex’s, Drew
shrugged. “You’re playing me. Understand you needed to try, but it
isn’t going to work. Been there. Done that. Doesn’t matter.”

Was he referring to things he’d tried when he
was first kidnapped?

She tried an understanding smile. “Was it bad
when you were first taken? How long did it take to get used to
being away from your family?”

His muscular hands clenched. His back
stiffened, and for a second, she thought he was going to hit her
again. She ducked, anticipating a blow.

“I won’t hurt you, not as long as you do as I
tell you.”

Keep him talking. Keep him engaged
.
“Who took you?” she dared to ask. “Where he is now?” Hopefully
Drew’s kidnapper wouldn’t be an unknown factor in their
situation.

Drew’s jaw clenched, the muscle jumping like
a demon. His gaze averted quickly. “He died a few years ago.”

“I don’t understand.” Planting her feet
apart, Bette set her hands on her hips, but she tried to keep her
voice calm and soothing. No point in setting him off again. “Why
didn’t you contact your family then? Why all this kidnapping
rigmarole? I’m sure you didn’t mean to, but you’ve upset a lot of
people.”

“By then, my
family
had forgotten
about me, Besides, I had the business to run.” His gaze flickered
away from her and toward the stairs.

“What business?”

“Doesn’t matter, but it takes some work now
and then. All computer, though. Amazing thing, the Internet.” A
wide smile wreathed his face. Unsettling, given the
circumstances.

“Yeah. Yeah. I get it.”

“Oh, it is. There’s all sorts of ways a guy
can cash in, if he’s smart.” A single brow shot up. “And I am.”

“Tell me about it. What kind of business can
you run on the Internet?” Not that she cared. She just wanted to
keep him talking long enough for Alex to arrive…preferably with the
FBI version of the cavalry in tow.

He turned and narrowed his gaze, sending a
chill up Bette’s spine. A very real urge to run almost overwhelmed
her. If she were alone, she’d give it a go. But she wasn’t about to
leave Jackie and her son alone with this creep who looked so much
like Alex in spite of carrying an extra forty pounds of muscle.
Good old Drew was seriously whacked-out. No doubt he’d suffered
God-only-knew what kind of abuse for years. Maybe his personality
wasn’t as strong as Alex’s. Whatever…

Drew preened, running a hand back through his
hair. “I run an escort service.”

“Canandaigua has an escort service?”

“Not here. You’re thinking’s too provincial.
In the
city
.”

“As in New York City?”

“None other.”

Great idea, the Internet. Now pervs could run
their business hundreds of miles away, somehow keeping their
proverbial hands clean. “How did you learn to use computers?”

Briefly, his brows drew together, but he
couldn’t keep the corner of his mouth from twitching. “Bob taught
me to run the business.”

“Why didn’t you use the computer to let your
sister or brother know you were alive? I still don’t get it.”

“After all this time, what was the
point?”

His fists hung at his sides. Was it her
imagination or was his body tensing? His gaze bored into hers. It
seemed as if she could feel his rising agitation. “Oh-kay…” She
drew out the word, still stalling for time. “So what’s the point of
having a family reunion now?”

“Shut up!” He swung at her, but she dodged
out of his reach. “Don’t ask so damned many questions.” He took a
deep breath, his massive chest rising, and lumbered forward.

Holding up her hands as a sign of surrender,
Bette stepped back. “Chill out, big fellow. I just wondered. No
biggie.”

She felt a soft touch on her arm. Jackie
moved in closer, supporting Bette.

“We’re just happy to be here now, Drew,”
Jackie said in a mollifying tone. “You can’t blame us if we’re a
little upset with the manner of your invitation.”

Invitation, hell. Kidnapping plain and
simple.
Bette’s gaze ricocheted between the two siblings.

Jackie continued in soft,
nursery-school-teacher tones. “I’m sorry we tried to trick you. It
was
my
idea, not Bette’s.”

“No.” Drew shook his head and clenched his
fists. “You weren’t any trouble until
she
showed up.” His
gaze narrowed to slits as he glared at Bette. “Damned if I know
what Al sees in you.”

Showed up? Yeah, right.
Bette
swallowed the annoying lump in her throat. He took two steps toward
her. Omigod. What now?

Chapter Twenty-four

With one ear, Alex listened to the assault
plans for his old teacher’s residence. While the other agent and
detective pored over details and schematics, Alex eased away from
the group. Granted the plan included time-tested tactics, but would
they work with whatever nutcase had Bette and his family?

His mind kept going back to her aborted phone
call. Bette’s giving him a partial location was a trap. Had to be,
because as soon as she digressed from the kidnapper’s script, he
ended the call. So what
else
was she trying to tell him?

All that nattering about the dog’s
brother
. Made no sense, unless…

No, but the idea that popped into his head
made even less sense. Maybe it was her way of telling him the
kidnapper was the same person responsible for his brother’s death,
after all.

The location wasn’t all that far. As the crow
flies, about a two mile trek, northeast uphill through forest and
brush. Much farther if going by the twisty-turning roads. By the
time the authorities obtained a warrant and moved the team into
place, too much time would’ve passed. Time Bette and his family
might not have.

His gut tightened. Too many images of too
many bodies found too late to do any good crowded his mind. The
first—his brother’s bones lying bleached in the sun. What could be
worse?

Several things. But thinking about them only
paralyzed him. No way could he stand by while the local LEOs
debated with the Buffalo field office over a mission plan,
objectives, and feasible outcomes.