In the Shadow of His Wings (15 page)

Sandy couldn’t believe this stranger coming into her store was asking for the very same book. It couldn’t be a coincidence. She fought to keep her hands from shaking. A call the police might sound silly, because a man came in to ask about the same book Laura had ordered? No, she wouldn’t call the police, she would call Jim. As soon as the man left, she would get on the phone to Jim.

Gerhard watched her suspiciously, it was obvious to him that something wasn’t right with the woman and he wondered what the problem was.

“We don’t seem to have the book in stock right now, but I can order it for you.” Sandy went over to the counter, pulled out her order book. “If you just give me your name and phone number, I will call you as soon as the book comes in.”

“That’s ok, I’ll just see if I can get the book somewhere else.” Gerhard started to head for the door.

Sandy didn’t want the man to leave, she suspected he might be a connection to Laura. She wanted to be sure he came back to the store. “If you like, I can go ahead and order the book and you can just come back in a few days. I’m sure I can get it for you.

You might not be able to find it somewhere else. I think that book is hard to find.” Sandy’s mind was racing now, she remembered the posters Jim and his children had put up after Laura had gone missing. She was trying to remember if this man’s face was similar to the drawing on the poster.

Gerhard didn’t respond to Sandy, he left the store, but he didn’t go far. He went around the side of the shop until he was out of sight. Then turned back far enough so that he could see in the window, and just as he thought, Sandy rushed to the phone. Although Gerhard couldn’t hear what Sandy was saying he could guess the topic of her conversation. It made him very angry to think how he had been set up. He had let his guard down with Christine and come to trust her. When she was younger she used to be so selfish and greedy and she wasn’t like that anymore. She rarely asked him to buy her anything and when she did it was simple things, nothing fancy. When she had asked for this book he didn’t even think twice about it. He was glad to get it for her, not even for a moment did he suspect that she was setting him up. It was obvious by the clerk’s behavior from the moment he mentioned the title of the book. Gerhard was a calm man, his staff often commented on what a great boss he was for that very reason. At that moment he felt anything but calm. Gerhard was angry! He was so angry; he decided it was best if he didn’t go into work right away. He needed to go to the gym and do some serious weight lifting before he did something he would regret later.

Jim sat at his office desk shaking. He had just talked to Sandy from the Christian bookstore and tears ran down his face. Laura was alive! He knew it! He knew she had to be alive and trust her to find such a creative way to get a message out to him. He wiped the tears from his face and scolded himself for just sitting there. He was wasting time! Jim rushed to his car heading straight for the police station. Jim’s heart pounded all the way there. This was an incredible breakthrough! He and the kids had been praying for Laura to be home for Christmas. Maybe now this meant she would be. Jim quickly parked his car and leapt up the steps of the police station. He ran down the hall to Detective Chisholm’s office and was relieved to see Don at his desk. Don welcomed him in and Jim wasted no time in telling him of this latest breakthrough.

Don listened calmly to what Jim had to say. He agreed that the two should go over to the River of Life store together and talk to Sandy. All the way to the store Jim felt it hard to sit still, he was so excited and he couldn’t understand why Don was so calm. But then it wasn’t his wife that was missing, so that must be why. It didn’t take long to arrive at the bookstore and the two men went inside to talk to Sandy. First Sandy explained the story behind the rare book, with a small smile and apology to Jim because she was spoiling his Christmas present. She then told the detective about the man coming in this morning to ask about that same book. She stressed to the detective how old and rare this particular book was. In all the years she owned this business she had never had anyone come in and ask about this book before. She also added that normally when a customer wanted something she didn’t have, they had no problem giving her a name and phone number. This particular man clearly did not want to do that. Jim had thought to bring along a poster from when Laura first disappeared and pulled it out now. He showed it to Sandy to see if the man who came in the shop was the same one. She looked at the poster, but wasn’t quite sure.

“It could be him. I’m sorry Jim, but I’m not sure. His hair is a little different.” Sandy wished she could say it was definitely him. The picture was a drawing and she was not good at remembering faces.

“Well it’s been a few months since this picture was drawn, he certainly could have grown or cut his hair since then. Just look at his facial features and think hard.” Then Jim got an even better idea. “Sandy how about if we take you down to the Falls Mist Hotel and you can see if the owner there is the man who came into your shop today?”

“Jim that’s enough for now, I want to talk to you outside.” Detective Chisholm interrupted and began to pull Jim outside. “Thank you very much Miss Alvarez, you have been very helpful. If we have anymore questions for you we will know where to contact you. Here is my card, please call me if anything else comes up.” Don handed Sandy his card and he pulled a reluctant Jim Reid out the door.

“Jim I’m sorry but we can’t take Miss Alvarez to the Falls Mist Hotel. This is not as much of a lead as you think it is, as a matter of a fact, I’m not convinced it’s a lead at all.” Don told Jim reluctantly. He knew this was not what the man wanted to hear. He hated to dash his hopes. He felt strongly that this was a dead end and he didn’t want Jim’s hopes building up any higher than they already were.

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear her explain about how rare that book was? I know Laura was using this as a way to let me know that she is still alive.

I’m sure of it! Listen to me,” Jim begged, “Laura has been with her kidnapper a few months by now. She’s probably been working on him, figuring out how to gain a measure of trust with the guy. He’s starting to soften towards her so she asks him to go buy her a book to read. She asks for this one, knowing that the guy won’t have a clue how rare it is and she sends him here to get it. Laura probably hoped Sandy would pick up on the ploy and Sandy would have him come back in a couple of days. That’s your chance to nab him! Or, even better, when he comes back to get the book, we can follow him back to where he is holding Laura and rescue her. Yeah, that’s an even better idea!”

“Jim I’m not so sure this guy will ever come back. I’m still not buying that he had anything to do with your wife’s disappearance.” Don shook his head, hating to shatter Jim’s hopes, he could see why Jim was so excited. “Listen, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll put a plain clothes female officer in the store for the next few days and have her work along side Miss Alvarez or whoever else is on duty and if someone comes back in looking for that book the officer can follow him. I can only do that for three days. If he doesn’t come back, then that’s it.”

“What about going to the hotel then? Sandy could identify if it was Gerhard Bloone who came into her shop or not. Couldn’t we try that?” Jim was grasping at straws, he was desperate and he didn’t want to let any possible lead slip through his fingers.

“Absolutely not! I’m sorry Jim, but Mr. Bloone is not a suspect.” Don led Jim towards his car and the two got back inside where the detective started up the engine to get the heater going. The December air was turning colder and their breath was freezing in the air as they talked. Once they got settled in the car Don continued talking.

“At the time we searched his home and business we also did a thorough investigation on the man. We found nothing, Jim. The man is totally clean. I told you back then, he had no police record of any kind. We didn’t stop with that. We interviewed his staff and friends as well. Everyone seems to love the guy. Turns out he’s a great boss who treats his employees with fairness. He has a gentle nature and is soft spoken, they even said the guy has a great sense of humor and throws great staff parties at Christmas time. They are looking forward to it this year and apparently he’s quite generous with the bonuses too. Jim, I have to tell you that normally I wouldn’t tell you all this. The only reason I am is because I truly don’t think Mr. Bloone is the man who took your wife. He just doesn’t fit the profile. I talked to some of the women he’s dated to see what type of guy he is. They all agreed that he was terrific guy. The one thing that turned them all away and stopped each one of them from ever considering marriage with the guy, was his mother. Gerhard Bloone is so devoted to his mother that if a woman were to marry him she would, in a sense, be marrying the mother as well. Gerhard dotes on her.

He tends to her each day before he goes to work and goes straight home from work each night to spend the evening with her. It’s very rare that he will ever vary from that routine, and for that reason his relationships don’t last. He has always refused to put another woman first. That seems to be his only flaw. Other than that, he’s a prince of a guy and everyone, even the women who used to date him, like him.” Don paused, thinking about how much information he should be sharing with Jim. He then decided he might as well tell him everything.

“One other thing Jim, I had the guy followed. For three days after we searched his house I had him followed, just in case he had your wife captive in another location. I wanted to be sure before I ruled him out as a suspect. It was just like the women who dated him said. He went straight home from work every night. Gerhard Bloone does not have Laura, Jim. I’m sorry, I wish it were that easy, that we could go pick her up, but it’s not.”

Jim sat in the police car quietly. He was not a man that cried easily but he found himself struggling to hold back the tears. He was so sure this was a major lead. He still wasn’t totally convinced it was not, but the detective’s somberness definitely dampened his enthusiasm.

“I would appreciate you putting that officer in the store just in case. I’m sure Sandy will cooperate with you completely.” Jim said quietly.

“No problem. I will get on that right away.” Don started up the car and headed back towards the station. Jim was quiet all the way back and Don felt bad for the guy.

Over the past few months they had had little contact since there hadn’t been many developments in the case. Don had tried to stay in touch with the family and let them know that the police hadn’t given up. He was still keeping an eye on Jim but by now he was totally convinced that this man had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance. Don had been a detective for several years and he thought he had seen it all. Not too much surprised him anymore.

When he first met Jim Reid he strongly suspected the man had something to do with his wife’s abduction. Through the weeks, and now months, of observation and investigation he was convinced of Jim’s innocence. On three different occasions he had to pick up Jim and take him down to the city morgue to identify an unknown female body that had been washed up on the shores of the Niagara River. He had watched Jim’s reaction carefully as the sheet had been pulled back and the man had looked to see if it was his wife. Each time Don could see the raw emotion on Jim’s face as the tears of relief would pour out. His body would shake when he realized it was not his Laura.

Each time Don knew it was a good thing he had picked Jim up for the trip to the morgue for the man was in no shape to drive himself. This was a man who clearly loved his wife.

Another thing that helped convince the detective that Jim was still waiting for his wife to return home, was that Jim had not once called the insurance company to check into his wife’s insurance policy. This was something the police checked into right away, and kept an eye on.

Over the months the two men had developed a respect for each other, even a type of friendship. Don certainly hoped that one day he would be able to call Jim up with good news about his wife. He had to admit that after all this time it was highly unlikely.

In his experience on the force, after this amount of time, chances are the woman was dead. They would certainly have heard something by now otherwise. That’s one of the reasons he was so quick to discount the possible lead that Jim was so excited about today.

In his heart he knew it was nothing and would only give Jim and his children false hope.

They needed to move on with their lives. They pulled up to the police station and before they got out of the car Don turned to Jim and gave him a bit of advice.

“Jim, I strongly advise you to keep today’s events from your children. There’s no point in getting their hopes up when this could very well be nothing. If something does come of this in a few days, well, we can tell them then. For now why don’t we just keep it between you and me?”

Jim just nodded. He wanted to run home and tell Lacey and Josh but at the same time he recognized the wisdom of the detective. Jim thanked Don for his help and got into his own car. He sat there for awhile, in no rush to start the car and head back to his office. He stared out at the winter sky, full of snow clouds that looked like they were ready to burst. There was no snow on the ground at the moment. By the looks of those clouds and also judging by the weather forecast, they should be getting some before the day was over. Jim grasped the steering wheel with both hands, leaned his head forward until his head was resting on his hands and he began to pray. He didn’t know how long he sat there, he didn’t really care. He prayed for Laura until he thought his heart would burst. He still refused to accept the thought that she could be dead. He knew that’s what the detective was probably thinking, but his mind refused to go there. The church held regular prayer meetings just to pray for Laura the first month she went missing. Jim knew that many in the church still prayed for her daily, even amongst the congregation hope for her return was fading. Some even referred to Laura in the past tense, like she was already gone. That angered Jim but he didn’t say anything. Lee and Janice were still supportive and put on a brave front for Jim and the kids but sometimes Jim thought even they were beginning to doubt that Laura was still alive. He really couldn’t blame them and he didn’t love them any less because of it. He wished he could prove to everyone she was still alive. He knew she was, he could feel it deep down inside.