The Christmas Bell Tolls (7 page)

“Eva.” Darren
stared at her standing in the doorway, looking more than a little
uncomfortable.

A push of arctic
air shoved against him. He moved out of the doorway. “Come in out of the cold.”

She stepped inside
and he shut the door behind her. He turned to take her coat, and realized he
didn’t know what to say to her.

“Guess you heard
I’ve been removed from the case.” She made the announcement without accusation,
to which he was grateful.

“I’m sorry, Eva.
You have to know that I know you aren’t involved.”

She smiled and
reached out, squeezing his hand. “I know.”

SAC Wilson stormed
into the living room. “Ms. Langston, I presume?”

The softness of
her face disappeared. “Mr. Wilson.”

“You really
shouldn’t be here.” He threw Darren a hard look.

“Why
not?”
Eva pushed back.

“Excuse me?”
Wilson looked as if he couldn’t believe she’d addressed him.

“Why shouldn’t I
be here? I’m not on the case anymore, thanks to you, so why wouldn’t I come to
be with my friend?” She popped her balled hands onto her hips.

Darren didn’t know
whether to kiss her or kick her out. Instead, he pressed his lips together as
Wilson’s face became stone.

“I’m sure you
understand why you’re suspect.” Wilson leaned against the back of the high back
chair.

Eva nodded. “I can
understand why you would need to clear me as a suspect, of course. It’s very
obvious that I was working all day, therefore unable to take Savannah and I’m
certainly not the woman on the video.” She leaned against the back of the
couch. “One would assume that once my whereabouts had been established, I would
no longer be suspect.”

“Surely you don’t
think it could be beyond the scope that one might be working with a partner?”
Wilson straightened.

Eva mirrored his
posture. “Is there any evidence to support such a theory? That there is more
than one person involved?”

Before Wilson
could respond, Agent Lacey rushed into the room. “Hello. I’m Agent Lacey.” She
nodded at Eva.

“Eva Langston.”

“Sir?”
An agent interrupted, staring at Wilson. “Memphis PD has picked up Barbor and
his sister.”

Darren’s heart
hesitated.

“There’s no sign
of the girl,” the agent concluded.

Wilson nodded,
then
led the agent from the room.

“I’m sorry.” Eva’s
throaty whisper was nearly Darren’s undoing.

He nodded. “I’m
sorry you got pulled from the case. I know you had nothing to do with this. I
told Wilson that.”

She smiled and
shrugged.
“Meh.
He doesn’t bother me.” She sobered and
laid a hand on his forearm. “How are you doing, Darren?
Really?”

He motioned for
her to sit. He dropped beside her on the couch. “I’m okay.” He motioned for
Agent Lacey to sit as well. “I’m going on the assumption that whoever took Savy
isn’t intending on hurting her.”

“And she’s got her
medicine now.” Eva nodded.

“That supports my
theory,” Agent Lacey said.

“Because they knew
what she needed.” Darren explained to Eva.

“It’s more than
that, though,” Eva said.

“What do you
mean?” Agent Lacey inched to the edge of the chair.

“Well, not only
the medication, but knew the drug store’s procedure. Knew what day the inhalers
were delivered and where they were left.” Eva shook her head and sucked on her
bottom lip like she did when she mulled over something. “The woman got the exact
medication very quickly, without drawing any attention. The store wasn’t even
aware anything had been taken until they watched the video.”

“She’d been
observing even the littlest of details for quite some time. It takes several
weeks to figure out the established pattern of store deliveries and such,”
Agent Lacey said. “How long had Savannah been scheduled to attend the party?”

“A
couple of weeks?”
Darren couldn’t remember. He looked at Eva.

“It’s been planned
for almost a month. Of course, the plans grew from the original idea.”

Agent Lacey
nodded. “She could have been paying attention for weeks…months even.
Gathering details.
Waiting for her
chance.”

“Did you notice
anything unusual in the full-length picture of Savy from the drug store?”

He stared at Eva.
“What full-length picture?”

She groaned out
loud. “The agent at the drug store worked with the clerk to try and recall
anything odd. She remembered something about Savy’s shoes being too dressy for
the sweats.” She shook her head. “He asked the other agent to send you a full
length picture of Savy to see if you noticed anything odd. Didn’t you get it?”

“No.” But he would
correct that right now. He stormed into the kitchen where Wilson hunkered in a
corner with another agent.
“Wilson, why wasn’t I shown the
photograph of my daughter that an agent sent over after interviewing the clerk
at the drug store?”

SAC Wilson turned.
“I’m not aware of any such photograph.”

“Eva said one of
the agents who interviewed the clerk ordered it be sent to me.”

“
Eva
did,
did she?”

“Yes, she did.
Could you follow up on that, please?” Darren had about lost his patience. His
baby was missing and he was sitting on his hands here. He’d played by the rules
long enough with no result.

Wilson nodded to
another agent. “Follow up with the team at the drug store.” He turned back to
Darren. “Barbor was picked up by Memphis police and brought in for questioning.
I’m heading over there now.”

“I’ll get my
coat.” Finally! Something he could do.

Wilson shook his
head. “You know better, Timmons. You have to stay put.” He clamped a hand on
Darren’s shoulder.

“I say this with
the utmost respect, sir, but you and I both know this isn’t a kidnapping. Not
in the sense that I need to wait around for a ransom.”

“I know it’s hard,
Agent Timmons, but you know policy. I’ll let you know something as soon as I
can.” He headed out toward the living room before Darren could offer any more
objections to being left behind.

Darren was sick of
policy and procedures. This was Savannah.
His girl.
All that he had left.
He would risk everything to get her
back.

“Everything
okay?”
Eva stood in the kitchen doorway. “Mr. Friendly glared as passed
through on his way out.”

He sank into one
of the barstools. “I don’t know, Eva. I just don’t know.”

Her touch on the
back of his neck was like a spark down his spine. “I don’t know what to say,
Darren. My heart is breaking for you.
For Savy.”
Her
voice hitched and thickened. “I-I-I…I just want you to know I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, Eva. It
means a lot.” He grabbed her hand and held it in his own. The shared comfort
felt…right.

“Agent
Timmons?”
One of the agents handed him a tablet. “Here’s the photograph
that they sent from the drug store footage.”

Darren studied the
photo.
Side profile of Savannah, the woman on the other side
of her.
Same cap and coat Savannah had been wearing in the other
photograph, but he could see the sweatpants she wore.
“Those
shoes.
She wasn’t wearing them. She wore her boots today.”

“Are you sure?”
Agent Lacey asked. Darren hadn’t even realized she’d joined them in the
kitchen.

“I’m positive. I
actually thought she’d wear these shoes because we just got them this week, but
she wore her boots. I helped her put them on.”

“What do you mean
by
these shoes
?” Agent Lacey asked.

Exactly! “She has
this exact pair of shoes.” Darren shot to his feet and rushed down the hall to
Savannah’s bedroom. Agent Lacey and Eva were right on his heels. He opened her
closet door and lifted the sparkly shoes he’d just bought. He held them up
alongside the photograph. “See?”

Agent Lacey took
the shoes and let out a low whistle. “These are rather pricey shoes for a five
year old.”

Heat shot up the
back of his neck. “I know, but she wanted them so badly. With the Christmas
season here and she wanted to be festive….”

Eva waved off the
female agent. “Every girl likes sparkly shoes during party season. Of course
you had to get them for her. You owe no one an explanation for being a good
father.”

Darren didn’t miss
the disapproving frown Eva shot Agent Lacey. If it were a different time,
different place, different circumstance, he just might think Eva was staking
her territory. He didn’t know how he felt about that, but it didn’t matter. He
couldn’t concentrate.

“The point I’m
making is that these are specialty shoes. Not something you can just run out
and grab at the local store.” Agent Lacey obviously wasn’t bothered by Eva’s
chastising.

And she made
sense. Darren nodded.
“Right.
We got them at the
mall.” He remembered the shopping trip vividly. “Even the saleslady commented
that they must be for a special occasion.”

Eva nodded, too.
“You said you just bought them?”

“This
weekend.”

Agent Lacey
gripped his wrist. “Chances are
,
Savannah’s abductor
was in that store at the time you were. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know which
exact pair of shoes your daughter wanted so badly.”

Eva took the
photograph and stared at it. “These fit her feet, too, so I’d guess that she
was close enough to you and Savy to know what size you bought.”

Chills followed
bursts of tingling up and down his back. The hairs on the back of his neck
stood at attention. That the woman who took his baby had been so close to
them…to him, and his warning sense hadn’t gone off…just how good of an agent
was he? An abductor stood no more than feet from his baby girl, already
plotting taking her from him, and he never felt even the slightest bit uneasy.

“I need to go to
the store.” He didn’t realize he’d said it aloud until Eva nodded.

Agent Lacey shook
her head. “Call SAC Wilson and he’ll send someone to check it out.”

Darren carefully
placed Savannah’s shoes back in her closet. “You and I both know he won’t be
able to get any information without a warrant.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s
almost ten now. He won’t get a judge out of bed and a warrant signed before the
store closes.”

“The mall has
extended holiday hours. They’re open until eleven tonight.” Eva’s expression
reflected the hope filling his chest.

“He’ll never get a
warrant in time.” Darren rested his hands on Agent Lacey’s shoulders. “As a
profiler, you know how critical timing can be.”

“I’ll go.” Eva
interrupted and he wanted to hug her. “Leo Wilson can’t tell me I can’t go to
the mall.”

“You’re not
authorized to question anyone,” Agent Lacey said, but her tone held no malice.
She stepped out of Darren’s reach.

Eva smiled and
held up the badge she still wore. “Actually, I am.”

“I appreciate you,
I do, but you’ve been removed from the case, Eva,” he said softly, dejection
nearly suffocating him. “If you do anything that Wilson even thinks borders on
interfering, he’ll report you. You’ll get in big trouble.”

“So? I don’t care.
Finding Savannah and bringing her home is what’s more important, Darren.”

Now he wanted to
kiss her. Had she always been so attentive to his daughter and he just missed
it? Was he doing what Rafe had accused him of: sabotaging any chance at love
and happily ever after?

“Okay. If you two
are going, you’d better sneak out while SAC Wilson is gone.” Agent Lacey
smiled. “Just try to be back before he returns.”

Despite the below
freezing temperature outside, the heat in the cabin of Eva’s car sizzled.

“Thank you again
for doing this.” Darren stared out the front windshield into the darkness. “I
can’t tell you how much.”

“Don’t be
ridiculous.
Of course.
This is Savannah. I love her,
too.”

Darren didn’t
respond. Eva couldn’t tell if he was lost in thought, or just uncomfortable
with her. She risked a quick glance at him.

“I didn’t know,”
he finally whispered.

“What?”

“I didn’t know you
love her.”

She snorted as she
turned into the mall’s parking lot. “Don’t be stupid, Darren. Of course I love
her. What did you think I was doing when we’d go places together?” She caught
his expression as she whipped into an empty parking space.

Her heart
tightened as she realized what he didn’t say meant. “Oh, you thought I was just
humoring her to stay in your good graces?” She slammed the car into park and
turned off the engine. “I thought you knew me better, Darren Timmons.”

“I’m sorry, Eva. I
just…I don’t…I thought…”

She shook her head
against his words, against the hurt resurfacing. “It doesn’t matter now. Let’s
just go see what we can find out.” Eva opened the car door and stepped into the
dark night, welcoming the cold air swirling around her as she moved toward the
mall’s entrance.

Darren fell into
step alongside her. He took gentle hold of her forearm, stopping her. “I’m
sorry, Eva. I guess I’d just been burned by women who played nice with Savannah
to get to me, but didn’t really care about her.”

“I’m not like
that, and if you knew me at all, you would have realized that.” The hurt was
raw all over again. Understanding now that she’d been falling in love with him
made the depth of her angst much more profound somehow.

“I’m sorry. You’re
right. I should have. I knew you better.” He took a step closer to her,
invading her personal space. “I
know
you better.”

The back of Eva’s
eyes burned. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him. Not here.
Not now. She forced a smile. “It’s okay. We can talk about this later. Let’s
just go find out what we can to bring Savy home.” She didn’t wait for a reply,
but shrugged out of his burning touch, broke free of his intense stare, and
headed to the entrance.

He opened the door
for her,
then
led her to the shoe store. As soon as
they entered, he made a beeline for a specific salesclerk standing behind the
counter. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-two or three with subdued
auburn hair. Her makeup had been applied flawlessly and she wore a neat Ann
Taylor suit. Her eyes widened just a bit as they approached.

“Do you remember
me?” Darren asked.

She nodded. “You
were here on Saturday.
With your daughter.”
She
blinked rapidly, her eyelashes fluttering. “I saw her picture on the news.
She’s the missing little girl, isn’t she?”

He nodded. “We
need your help. We think her abductor was in the store at the same time my
daughter and I were here.”

Her eyes widened.

Eva flashed her
badge. “We believe she followed Darren and Savannah here, saw what they bought,
and then bought the same thing.
Probably later that
afternoon.”

“Oh
my goodness.”

Darren nodded. “So
if you could check your records and see if anyone bought the exact same shoes I
did…”

“In the same or
close size to what Darren bought,” Eva finished.

The salesclerk
hesitated. “We’re not supposed to give out information like that. Not without
authorization. I’ll need to call the manager.” She reached for the phone on the
counter.

Eva gently pushed
the girl’s hand holding the receiver back down. “Look we’re not asking for
financial information or anything like that.”

The clerk’s eyes
darted from Darren to Eva, then to the phone. “I don’t know.”

“Just look on the
computer and see if another pair of those exact shoes in a similar size was
sold.” Eva tapped the counter. “It’s his little girl that’s missing. She has
asthma and a heart condition.”

“Please,” Darren
sounded as pathetic as Eva had ever heard.

The clerk glanced
around the store,
then
accessed her computer terminal.
“I guess I can do a quick check.”

Eva let out a slow
breath. Darren winked at her and gripped the edge of the counter. His knuckles
were white as a minute passed.
Two.
Three.

“I’m sorry, but
there’s no sale of those shoes on Saturday after the pair you bought.”

Eva’s muscles
suddenly felt like they’d been injected with anesthesia. She’d been so sure
this was the lead. The break they’d been waiting on. What they needed. She
looked at Darren and wanted to cry. The disappointment on his face…

“Hang on.” The
clerk typed,
then
scrolled. “There.” She stared at
Darren over the counter. “There weren’t any sold on Saturday, but we did sell a
pair, exact same size, to a lady on Sunday.”

Eva’s heart
constricted as Darren grabbed her hand and squeezed. She didn’t even care that
he was nearly crushing all the bones in her hand. “What’s her name?”

The clerk chewed
her bottom lip. “I don’t know—”

Eva flashed her
badge again.
“Just a name.
That’s all I need. I’m not
asking for her address, her financial information, or surveillance video—we’ll
get a warrant for all that, but right now, since time is so critical, I really
need that name.” She held her breath and waited. Would the girl hand over the
information?

“Every minute that
my daughter is out there, she’s away from her medication.”

“Margaret
Brewster.”

“Are you sure the
name doesn’t ring a bell?” Eva asked for the third time in the fifteen minute
drive back to his house.

Darren gave her
the same answer as the previous two times.
“Nothing.”

“There has to be
something.”

“I know.” But for
the life of him, he couldn’t figure out a connection. He’d been mentally
scrolling through cases: names of perps, witnesses, even victims.
Nothing.
He’d gone through people he’d met through his
church’s outreach programs.
Nothing.
The name Margaret
Brewster had no recognition for him.

“We need to run a
check on her.”

“We will.” But
would Wilson? Darren had called Agent Lacey to let her know their hunch had
paid off. She’d given him the heads up that Special Agent in Charge Leo Wilson
had returned from questioning Barbor and was furious that he and Eva had snuck
off.

On one hand, there
was good news in that Barbor and his sister were cleared as suspects. On the
other, Wilson was so furious that, according to Agent Lacey, the man had been
tempted to have them both picked up and hauled in for interfering in an
investigation. Of course, he couldn’t do that to Darren, but Eva… This was the
main reason he hadn’t told Eva what Agent Lacey had said.

But Eva was smart.
Too smart.
“Will Leo Wilson do that? I mean, I’m sure
he’s noticed we’re gone by now and I can’t imagine he’d be too happy.
Especially with me involved.”

“He’s quite angry,
from what Agent Lacey said.”

“I figured.” Eva
turned off the main road. “So, do you think he’ll actually run the name
immediately?”

“I think he’s
doing everything by the book.”

“And that would be
what in this case?”

“He’ll run the
name and see if anything pops up.” Yet, he very well could shut Darren out of
the investigation because of his and Eva going out
on their
own
.

“You don’t sound
confident in that.” Eva shot him a quick look before focusing back on the road.

“I just don’t know
if he’ll keep me in the loop. We usually don’t tell parents every little detail
of the investigation.”

“But you’re an
agent.”

“And
the father.
Who the SAC is upset with.”
He
could respect Wilson’s going by the book, but so far, that hadn’t yielded them
results like his and Eva going off book. “But Agent Lacey will follow up and
make sure every resource is utilized.”

“I have an idea.”
She jerked the car to a quick turn.

“Eva, what are you
doing?” He held the door armrest a little tighter as she picked up speed.

“I’m going to go
to the lab. I can put her name in our database and see if we have any hits.
Then, if any of the evidence we collected matches, we’ll already have the
information.”

“I’m not sure
that’s a good idea.” All he could see was the trouble she’d get into.

“It’ll be fine.
And you can use Maddie’s system to run a check on her with your sources, too.”

Oh, she was going
to get them both into big trouble.

But she was
determined to find his daughter, and that, above all else, warmed him to the
tips of his toes.

“Okay. Let’s do
it. We’ll probably get in huge trouble for this, though. Are you sure?” He
stared at Eva’s profile illuminated by the car’s dashboard lights.

She smiled. “Go
big or go home, I always say.
To the lab.”

Lord, please
keep Savy safe just a little longer. Thank you for this lead.
Now, he just
needed to find out who Margaret Brewster was and why she wanted his daughter.