The Abducted Book 0 (13 page)

O
’Leary came in, closed
the screen door. The two men at the counter turned around, their
wrinkled faces indifferent. They looked Miriam up and down and then
turned around as the woman at the counter handed them a
receipt.

“
Y’all have a good day, now,” she
said. She was short and frumpy, with gray curly hair, and thick
glasses dangling from a cord around her neck. The two men tipped
their hats and excused themselves as they passed.

The woman at the counter looked up and eyed
O’Leary and Miriam with suspicion.

“
Can I help you?” she asked, mouth
hanging open, waiting for a response.

Miriam was about to step forward when
O
’Leary cut in front of her. “Yes, Mrs. Anderson. I’m
Detective O’Leary.” He stopped and turned to Miriam, introducing
her. “And this is my partner, Sergeant Castillo.”

The woman narrowed her eyes and walked
out of the room without saying a word. O
’Leary looked
at Miriam and shrugged. They could hear the floorboards of the
trailer creaking as Mrs. Anderson approached someone on the other
side of the wall, a few feet away, and spoke loudly, as if to
someone hard of hearing.

“
You got visitors, hun.”

“
What’s that?” a gruff voice
said.

“
Visitors. The
poh-lease
.
”

They heard the man groan as he stood. His
knees seemed to crack with the strain. His heavy footsteps clomped
into the front office from the adjacent room. He was big, at least
six feet, dressed in overalls that seemed to cradle his
bowling-ball gut. He had a thin gray beard along his chin and jaw
line. His bushy eyebrows arched downward as he made eye contact
with the two visitors.

“
Can I… help ya?” he asked,
approaching the counter. He adjusted his camouflaged hat and folded
his arms, displaying neither contempt nor courtesy.

“
Yes, Mr. Anderson. I’m Detective
O’Leary. We’ve met a few times. I’m sure you remember.”

Mr. Anderson nodded.
“Yeah, I remember ya, O’Leary. What do you want this
time?”
His
eyes shifted, studying
Miriam.

“
I was hoping to have a word or two
with Mr. Gowdy.”

Anderson took his hat off and
scratched his head, looking around.
“He’s not here
yet.”

Miriam and O
’Leary
exchanged glances.

“
He’s not?” O’Leary said.

“
Nope. He don’t come around as much.
Busy with land deals and all. I’ll tell ya, if you guys would get
off his back for a bit, you’d see what a go-getter he’s
become.”

“
I’m sure of it,” O’Leary said with a
hint of sarcasm.

Anderson examined Miriam, raising his
finger. “Hey, I know you. I remember seein’ you on the news all
that time ago.”

She didn
’t like where the
conversation was going and
felt a tight constriction
in her stomach.
O’Leary stepped in to take the reins.
“We’re not here on official business. We just came to
talk.”

Anderson
’s eyes narrowed
in the same way his wife’s had moments ago. “’Bout
what?”

O
’Leary drew closer and
placed his hands on the counter. “Just some loose ends to tie up.
You know when to expect him?”

“
Nope.” Anderson adjusted his tinted
glasses, looking as if he considered the matter closed.

“
We can wait,” O’Leary said. “You
don’t mind, do you?”

Anderson shook his head.
“Why don’t you leave the man alone? He ain’t perfect, I know
that, but you police done him wrong. Accusing him of kidnapping and
murder like that.” Anderson huffed as his face turned red with
anger. “Just shameful.” He pointed an accusatory finger at them
both. “You ruined his reputation. Practically destroyed his
life.”

O’Leary said nothing as Anderson started
breathing heavily through his nose, almost like a horse snorting.
“You know his wife left, right? After you and the damn news accused
him of being a child-diddling cop killer. You have any idea what
that does to a man? To destroy him like that! I told him to sue the
shit out of you bastards again, but he said no. He was just gonna
let it go. Y’all should be kissing his feet!”

Suddenly, Mrs. Anderson stepped into
the room.
“Boone! Stop all that yellin’. You know you
got a heart condition.” She ran to his side, placing an arm around
him. “Now come take a seat in the other room.” She led him out of
the front office as O’Leary and Miriam waited.

“
I don’t see how this helps our case,”
Miriam said.

“
Trust me on this,” he
answered.

“
We’re getting nowhere fast,” Miriam
replied.

O
’Leary shot her a blank
look, lost in his own thoughts. Miriam felt irritated, trying to
see where his head was. If there was some kind of conspiracy
involving Anderson Auto Salvage and the kidnappings, it was far too
fragmented for her to put anything together.

O’Leary leaned closer over the counter,
examining the security monitors, and Miriam decided to look too.
Nothing out of the ordinary appeared on the display. A forklift
operator was picking up a stack of flattened cars to be
transported. The line of scrap turn-ins was moving without a hitch.
There was no activity on the third screen—just a line of junk
cars—and no sign of Gowdy. O’Leary looked up just as Mrs. Anderson
stomped into the room, her face creased with wrinkles upon
wrinkles.

“
Haven’t you done enough damage ’round
here, Detective?” she snapped. “My husband and I are fixin’ to
retire, and we don’t need no more of your harassment. Got
it?”

“
Mrs. Anderson…” O’Leary
began.

“
No. Ray ain’t here, so get on now.
Leave!”

O
’Leary looked at Miriam
and then nodded to Mrs. Anderson. “Very well,” he said, placing his
card on the table. “Here’s my card. We’ll be in touch.”

She crossed her arms, nothing but
disdain on her face. O
’Leary motioned Miriam toward
the door. She nodded at Mrs. Anderson and wished her a good day.
They exited the trailer, not waiting for a response. Once outside,
Miriam looked around, seeing employees and customers alike glancing
at them and then looking away.

Miriam bit her tongue until they both
got into the car. Once O
’Leary cranked the ignition,
her ponytail whipped around as she turned to him.

“
What was that about?”

O
’Leary’s eyes widened
with confusion. “What?”

“
You sure have an interesting approach
to your investigations. Why don’t you just let the whole town
know?”

O
’Leary paused, trying to
choose his words wisely. “Everything is going exactly to plan,” he
said calmly. The police radio buzzed with chatter. Nothing
significant.

“
Oh really?” she said in disbelief.
“Nice plan. They know we’re watching them.”

“
Exactly,” O’Leary said. “And that’s
what I want. Why do you think I left my card? Gowdy is on edge.
He’s going to make a mistake, I know it.” He put the car in reverse
and backed out.

All eyes watched them as the car coasted out
of the yard, leaving a cloud of thin dust in its wake. Mrs.
Anderson watched them from the window, offering a cold, unfriendly
stare. The Crown Victoria jetted off past the gate and down the
dirt road leading back onto the deserted double-lane state road.
Miriam felt her nervous chills fade away the farther they got from
Anderson’s Salvage.

“
We need to wrap this thing up and
find Emily,” Miriam said.

O
’Leary nodded, gripping
the wheel. “Trust me. We’re going in the right direction. I can
feel it.”

He grabbed her hand unexpectedly. She tried
to pull away, but his grip was too tight.

“
Detective!” she said. His hand was
oddly cold.

“
You feel that?” he asked,
accelerating faster. “We’re on the right path.”

He loosened his grip, and she jerked her
hand away, dumbfounded.

“
I think you’re losing it,” she said,
stroking her hand.

O
’Leary took a deep
breath and pointed ahead. “Look.”

She turned to see a vintage
’65
Dodge
Charger up the road in
the opposite lane, heading toward them. O’Leary knew the car all
too well.

Both vehicles slowed, and Miriam could see a
silver-haired, stocky man. Their eyes locked as though they were
moving in slow motion. As they passed each other, Gowdy’s
expression was at first one of curiosity, changing quickly to one
of deep suspicion as Miriam eyed him closely. For a split second
she saw something in his face that indicated O’Leary might be on to
something.

Dark World

“
Turn around,” Miriam said as he
passed.

O’Leary looked at her, surprised. “Huh?”

“
We need to follow him. He’s planning
to run.”

“
Miriam, we have to play this thing
out carefully. Stake out the salvage yard and see where he
goes.”

She slammed her fist on the dashboard,
startling him. “We’re not going to have that chance. You want to
talk about instinct? That’s what my gut’s telling me.”

O’Leary slowed down, struggling with the
decision. “This isn’t part of the plan.”

“
Just do it. Please,” she
said.

For Miriam, it was time to make a move. She
refused to let him slip through her fingers again. O’Leary braked
the car to a stop, pulling over, and asked her what she saw that
made her so sure.

“
I caught a glimpse of his face,” she
answered. “He looked guilty.”

“
That’s not exactly a bombshell,
Miriam.”

“
It’s something. You want to talk
about the eyes not lying? His eyes told me everything we need to
know.”

O’Leary wasn’t entirely convinced, but he
trusted her judgment. He had, after all, brought her along for a
reason.

He reversed, did a three-point turn, and
headed back in the opposite direction until he had Gowdy’s vintage
Dodge Charger in sight.

“
I hope you’re right about this,” he
said with noticeable frustration.

“
I’m sure of it.”

He gunned it forward and turned on the
flashing police lights directly above the windshield. They were
closing in on Gowdy’s car fast. Miriam imagined his surprise when
he looked in his rearview mirror and saw them rushing toward him
like a shark at its prey. She hoped he was nervous and scared to
death.

“
Don’t let him get away,” Miriam said,
clutching the armrest of her door. “He might try to make a run for
it.”

O’Leary sped up, and within seconds he was
inches from Gowdy’s bumper. The engine hummed and snarled. Gowdy’s
brake lights flashed as he pulled over to the side. A cloud of dust
trailed him as he slowed down onto the shoulder, coming to a halt.
O’Leary stayed on him and stopped, his lights still flashing. Now
that they had him, O’Leary seemed more open to Miriam’s idea.

“
Might as well talk to him now and see
how he reacts.” He began typing into his Toughbook laptop on the
center console, running the plates.

Miriam examined Gowdy as he remained quiet
in the driver’s seat, watching them through his rearview mirror.
For a moment, everything seemed oddly familiar to Miriam. She was
re-living it on the very same road with the man she felt
responsible within her grasp.

“
License plate checks out,” O’Leary
said. “Raymond Earl Gowdy. Five thirty-one Woodshire Lane.” He
paused while scrolling down the screen. Multiple priors but no
warrants currently out on him.” He looked up with a careful eye
still on the car. Gowdy was waiting. O’Leary then looked at Miriam.
“What next?”

She grabbed her purse off the floor and
pulled out a 9mm Beretta.

O’Leary’s eyes widened. He extended his arm,
blocking her from getting out. “Whoa! What are you doing?”

She held the pistol down with both hands.
“Nothing. I’m not taking any chances this time, that’s all. Call
him out of his car and let’s talk to him.”

“
Again, I think we’re going too fast
here.”

“
Too fast? A girl is missing! And
based off the evidence you’ve shown me, he’s the most viable
suspect we have. Like you said, I’ve taken the fall before. If I’m
wrong, I’ll do it again.”

O’Leary felt for his pistol in the side
holster at his waist. He looked in his mirror. No one was behind
them. No cars were coming in either direction. The air was still
and quiet. For all they knew, Gowdy was calling his crew at that
very moment. O’Leary opened his door and stepped out, leaning
behind the open window pane. He pulled his gun and aimed it at
Gowdy’s car. Miriam followed suit and took cover.

“
Raymond Gowdy, step out of your car!”
O’Leary shouted. There was no movement within the Dodge. Gowdy just
sat there. “Get out of your car with your hands up!”

His driver’s-side door slowly opened. Gowdy
stuck his head out and turned to them, confused and irritated. “The
hell’s this all about?”