Out Of Control (38 page)

Stacy
Corona wasn’t much better. When he stopped by the hospital, Jered was still
sitting in the chair, still holding her hand and murmuring softly to her. She
looked like a ghost lying in bed, and Jered blotted the tears on her cheeks
with a tissue.

“She
won’t talk,” he told the sheriff. “Won’t say a word. Just lays there and cries.”

Cole
bent down to her. “Stacy, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Grace. If
you want to blame anyone, blame me for not catching him before this. His course
was already set. Don’t let her death be a waste by dying yourself, please?”

He
squeezed her other hand, then clapped Jered on the shoulder.

“You’ll
let us know the minute you catch him?” the younger man asked, an anxious look
on his face.

“Count
on it.”

Beyond
that, he felt he accomplished little. He talked to the SAC in San Antonio and
reported on their abysmal progress. There were no further leads on the human
trafficking gang either.

Still,
he had a feeling that somehow he’d forgotten something important.

****

Dana
turned on the television to catch the news at five o’clock. Most of was just background
noise, as she worked at her laptop. But one fragment of a sentence caught her
ear.

“…putting
on their production of Three Little Girls. The senior class president said…”

And
like that, the light went on in her head.

Sweat
broke out on her brow and her hands began to shake. Good God, how had she ever
forgotten that horrible song? She’d heard the sing-song phrases over and over
in her head for so long she’d finally, consciously blocked it out. But it had
hung there, waiting for something to trigger it.

Her
hand shook as she picked up the phone and punched in Cole’s number, but it went
directly to voice mail. Next she tried the direct line to dispatch

“I’m
sorry, Miss Moretti,” the deputy handling the calls said. “He’s gone to see
Grace and then he’s stopping at the hospital. If he’s there now, he’ll have to
have his cell off. Can I help you with something?”

“You
can give him a message for me. It’s really important, so please don’t forget.”

“I’ll
write it down, ma’am. And get him on the radio as soon as I figure he’s back in
his vehicle.”

“Tell
him the song I told him about is ‘There was a little girl’. He’ll know what I
mean. Got that?”

“Yes.
‘There was a little girl.” I’ll see that he gets the message.”

“Thank
you.”

But
after pacing the dining room for twenty minutes, she decided to try his cell again.
Again it went to voice mail so he was probably still with Stacy.

“Call
me. I left a message at your office, too.”

Then
she sat back down at her laptop and tried to focus on the outline. Anything to
keep her mind occupied.

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

He
had driven by Cole’s place twice, trying to figure out how he was going to get
inside. And how would he get her outside without being seen? Driving past the
hospital, he saw Cole just leaving the building, no doubt checking on Stacy. An
idea popped into his head and he turned into the parking lot.

“You
look like you’ve been run over twice,” he told the younger man when he pulled
up next to him.

Cole
rubbed his face. “I feel it.”

“How’s
Stacy?”

Cole
shook his head. “I don’t know how she’s ever going to handle this.”

“I
know you’ve got the feds in to help, but is there anything I can do? At the
moment, I’m feeling sort of useless.”

“Me,
too, if you want to know the truth.” There was anger in every line of his body.

“Damn
shame,” he said. “Just a damn shame. Well, if you think of something…”

Cole
started to shake his head, then snapped his fingers. “Actually, there is
something you can do, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Name
it.”

“I’m
very worried about Dana. We’re sure this madman will be after her next, and I
can’t get away for hours yet. She’s at my place. I don’t suppose you’d like to
invite yourself over there and baby-sit for a while, would you?”

The
smile that came to him was genuine, and he gave it without pause. A gift. The
boy had given him a damned gift.

“I’m
glad you trust me enough to ask this of me.”

Cole
snorted. “I’d like to think I can take
someone
off the list. Certainly you.”

“She
doesn’t know me,” he pointed out. “Will she let me in?”

“I’ll
call her and tell her you’re coming. Pick up a pizza on the way. That’ll be
your excuse if she gives you a hard time.”

“Well,
if you think I can help, I’ll be happy to do it.”

“You’ll
give me peace of mind, old man. And I’ll be more than grateful.”

“All
right.” He could barely contain his glee. “You go on and give her a call and I’ll
stop for the pizza. Tell her about half an hour.”

As
he walked out, Cole was picking up the phone. No doubt calling Dana to tell her
what to expect. Only what she got would be something totally different.

Back
in his truck, he almost rubbed his hands he was so delighted. He couldn’t have
planned it better himself. Stopping to see Cole had been a brilliant move on
his part. Otherwise, he’d still be racking his brain how to pull this off. And
if he did it right, he could call and tell Cole that she was already gone when
he got there. He’d tell him that her car was still in the drive, so he was
going out to look for her.

And
off they’d go. Just him and his little blossom.

Oh,
yes. He could see it now, and his body grew excited.

Chapter
Thirty-Nine

Just
as Cole pulled his cell out of his pocket someone rapped on the window. Gaby’s
boss, probably visiting Stacy. Cole patiently answered questions, but the man
seemed to go on forever. Checking his watch, he realized twenty minutes had
ticked off while they were talking.

When
he finally powered up his cell, it beeped to let him know he had messages but
he wanted to call Dana before he checked them. He frowned when he got her voice
mail. Maybe she couldn’t get to the phone fast enough. He left her an explicit
message, told her that Tate was on his way over and she should be sure to let
him in. He described his uncle and his truck.

“Call
me,” he said. “I want to make sure you got this.”

He
was about to check his messages when his radio squawked.

“I’m
patching Agent Clayton through,” the deputy told him.

“Cole?”
Scott’s voice.”

“Anything
yet?”

“Nada.
We’re heading to another sector right now. You on your way back in?”

“Yes.
I’ll check with you again when I get there.”

As
he drove something niggled at him, an uneasy feeling that made his neck itch. Then
he realized she hadn’t called him back yet. And he hadn’t checked his messages.
He was only a block from his office so he’d do it when he got there. But the
moment he walked in the door Deke Ramirez, the young deputy filling in on
dispatch today, came running toward him.

“Someone
find something, Deke?” He could only hope.

“No,
but Miss Moretti called while you were at the hospital.” The young man handed
him a pink message slip. “She said to give this to you right away.”

Cole
looked at the slip. This call came in long before his call to her. “I just tried
reaching her, but there was no answer. Did she say she was going out?” He
ground his teeth. Surely she wouldn’t ignore his warnings. She knew the risks.
More than anyone. “I flat told her to stay put.”

“I
wrote down the message so I wouldn’t get it wrong. She said she remembered the
song. It’s ‘There was a little girl.’ She said you’d know what she meant by
that.”

Cole’s
blood chilled at the words. He’d heard that song so many times when he was a
kid. He actually used to laugh about it and said they should have a song for
boys, too. Closing his eyes against the wave of fear that threatened to overtake
him he flipped open his cell and punched in Dana’s number. It rang and rang. Fear
rolled over him as he punched in another even more familiar number.

“Cole.”
The voice he’d heard a thousand times answered. “I was just about to call you.
I got here, and Dana doesn’t seem to be in the house. Her car’s still here so I
thought I’d take a look around. Did she say anything about visiting anyone in
the neighborhood?”

The
casual tone made Cole want to reach through the phone and rip the man’s face
off. He was sick to his stomach at the realization of the demon masquerading as
friend.

“Where
is she, Tate? Just tell me she’s okay and we can forget this whole thing
happened.”

“She’s
fine. Just fine.” He paused. “At least for now. You’ve put a spoke in my wheel,
boy. I thought this game would play out successfully to the end, but now you’ve
spoiled everything.” He cackled. “Oh, not quite everything. I hope you’ll take
good care of your Aunt Adele after I disappear.”

“Damn
you, Tate.” He ground his teeth, digging for control. “Put Dana on the phone.
Right now. Please.” Cole’s heart was beating so fast he thought it would leap
out of his chest. He’d never known such fear or such rage.

“Sorry,
she’s a little…how shall I say it? Out of it right now.” And then he began to
sing. “There was a little girl, who had a little curl…”

And
the call disconnected.

Cole
raced to dispatch and grabbed the microphone from a startled Deke.

“Scott,
come in. Are you still out there? Where are you? Where’s the chopper?”

At
first, all he heard was static. Then Scott Clayton’s voice came crackling back
to him. “We’re here, headed back to the office. So is the chopper. What’s up?”

“I
know who our killer is, and he’s got Dana.”

“How
do you know he’s got her?” Scott asked.

“Because
I’m the one who sent the son of a bitch to her.” He explained in choppy
sentences.

“Jesus.”
Scott’s curse came through even with the static.

“I’m
going to give you the description of a truck and my address. Tell the chopper
pilot to hover over the area and see if he can spot it. Everyone else hear
that?”

Four
voices answered affirmatively.

“Here’s
where I want you.” He laid out instructions for everyone. “Gaylen?”

“Right
here, Cole,” the voice came back.

“I
want you there, too. I’m outta here now.”

“On
my way.”

Cole
handed the microphone back to Deke. “Did you get all that?”

“Yes,
sir.”

“Okay,
then. You don’t budge from here. You’re our point of contact.” He was already
racing for the door.

****

Dana’s
eyelids felt so heavy it was an effort to open them. And something was making
her dizzy and giving her a headache. She tried to rub her eyes, and when she
lifted her hands, they were manacled.

She
was in a truck, riding down an unfamiliar road, and wondering how she got here.
She rolled her head slowly toward the driver, and everything came slamming back
to her. The man who introduced himself as Cole’s uncle, Tate Bishop.

“My
nephew sent me to make sure you’re safe.” He had smiled when she cracked the
front door. “Did you get his message?”

“Yes.
I just played his message back a few minutes ago.” She drew the chain from the
lock and opened the door wider. “This was totally unnecessary but please. Come
on in.”

She
had greeted him warmly. After all, he was a member of Cole’s family. Then the
familiar scent from long ago had drifted across her nose, and she stared at
him, shocked. Turning away, she had tried to run, but he was on her in seconds
and clapping a rag over her face. Just like the man had done twenty-five years
ago.

He
glanced at her now as she stirred. “I see you’re awake. Good, good. Sorry if my
medicine offends you. I’ve had a skin condition all my life, and this is the
only thing that keeps it at bay. Just my damn luck that I had to put some on
today and you recognized it.”

“Cole,”
she croaked, swallowed and tried again. “Cole will look for me.”

“Oh.
I’ve already spoken to him. Somebody let the cat out of the bag to him. Too
bad. Was it you, my dear?”

She
moved her hands sideways, feeling for the door handle. Maybe she could throw
herself out of the truck.

Tate
Bishop backhanded her without taking his eyes off the road. “I know exactly
what you’re trying to do. Forget it. If I have to disappear, I’m going to have
my pleasure first. And finish off what I should have twenty-five years ago.”