Vanished (6 page)

The reaction on her face was a miniscule flicker. If he hadn’t been watching closely for her answer to his barb, he wouldn’t have seen it.

Frustration.

She was on the outside of the case. Just like him.

“I understand you’re filling in for the victim specialist. I’m gonna guess that means you don’t have any active role in the investigation.”

The flicker again. “Not really. My primary role is to be what the family needs. Shoulder to cry on, chauffeur, hand holder, media interference.”

Her hands were about as tied as his.

“Dishwasher?”

“Maybe.”

“So you shouldn’t be in here, either.”

She gave a half smile, and he was charmed. She had a subtle, dry humor that he suspected he could banter with for hours.

“I can’t stay away completely, either,” Mason acknowledged. “I’ll push the envelope as far as they’ll let me, but I understand my role.”

“Sanford? You need to take a look at this,” stated one of the agents who’d recently entered the command center. Ava and Mason exchanged a glance and moved toward the gathering group of agents.

Mason looked over the shoulders of a few agents and saw the black-and-white view from a camera on a school bus. Children moved away from the camera as they filed onto the bus, bulky coats and backpacks hiding their identities. As they turned to sit in the rows of bus seats, glimpses of faces revealed their sex.

“What do you have?” Special Agent Sanford pushed through the group to the men directly in front of the screen.

“We just finished interviewing the last child from Henley’s bus stop,” said the older agent. “There’s a consensus that she wasn’t on the bus.”

Sanford nodded. “I’ve been making a lot of my decisions with the assumption that your interviews would back up what we heard from the two kids first thing this morning.”

“There were five altogether,” the agent continued. “Each kid stated that Henley wasn’t at the stop and didn’t get on the bus, but we also wanted to see for ourselves. The school district emailed this video a few minutes ago.”

The other agent pointed at each kid on the screen as they sat down, reciting their names. “These are the kids getting on at Henley’s stop. You have to wait until they turn around, but I recognize each child we talked to this morning. They’re all correct. Henley didn’t get on.”

The group of agents was silent as the video froze, highlighting an image of a dozen children seated on the bus. Mason squinted at the screen, studying each face. No blonde girls with delicate features looked back at him.

“No chance she got on at a different stop?” Ava asked.

“We asked the kids that, too. All of them say she didn’t get on.” The first agent put a finger on the face of a dark-haired girl. “This girl said that she usually sits with Henley when she rides that bus and swears her friend wasn’t on this morning. I’ve watched the whole video. When the kids get off at the school, I had a clear shot of each face. There wasn’t even a question.” The agent next to him nodded emphatically.

“I agree,” the second agent said. “She’s not there.”

Sanford blew out a breath. “Okay. Pull all but two agents from the school. I want everyone back at the area between the Fairbanks house and the bus stop. Our current target area just narrowed for now.”

Ava tipped her head at Mason, and they quietly moved away from the group a few feet.

“I don’t know whether to be pleased about this turn of events or not,” Ava whispered.

“I think it helps. It essentially eliminates investigating the entire school area. It really narrows down the time frame and location,” Mason stated. He made a mental plan to do some of his own footwork in the neighborhood. There could never be too many eyes on a scene.

Ava nodded, her forehead creased in concentration, and he suspected she was making the same plan.

Sanford answered a phone call, listened for fifteen seconds, and said, “We’ll be right there.” He touched his screen to end the call and addressed Ava and Mason. “One of the BAU agents is ready to give me a preliminary profile. You two want to stick around for that?”

Mason nodded in unison with Ava.

BAU. The Behavioral Analysis Unit. The “mind hunters.” They knew how to analyze information and come up with a profile of the kind of bastard who’d kidnap a kid. Mason admired the practice but didn’t quite understand how it worked. There seemed to be a lot of hocus-pocus and generalizations involved. But if one of them had insight into Henley’s kidnapper, he wanted to hear it. He’d take any help they could get.

They followed Sanford out of the command center and a short way down the hall to a small room with a circle of chairs and huge windows. An agent flipping through a file folder on a table in the corner turned as they entered. Sanford made introductions. Special Agent Bryan Euzent wore glasses, had a firm handshake, and looked young enough to be Mason’s son. Mason reserved judgment. This was one of the bigger brains in the BAU unit, Ava had whispered to him. No one knew more about the workings of a kidnapper’s mind.

Their group filled the circle of chairs and looked expectantly at Special Agent Euzent.

“I spent the flight analyzing the information that’s been collected on the case,” Euzent began. “I’ve been reviewing the interviews and the cast of people who interact with Henley. There’s still a lot of information I need to examine, but there are some specific messages we need to get out to the public as soon as possible to bring in some more good tips. First of all, we want the public to look for behavior changes. This person might have missed work today. They might have been a no-show or offered a plausible excuse. Or they might have missed a scheduled appointment. Perhaps they suddenly left town.”

“We can’t ask the public to report on something so common. We’ll be swamped with useless calls,” Sanford stated.

Mason silently agreed.

“I know it seems very general,” Euzent answered. “But it’s just part of a list of behaviors. Of course we don’t want reports of every guy who didn’t show up for work today. I’ll get to the rest.” He glanced down at the papers in his hands. “They may have changed the vehicle they always drive, or have altered their vehicle in some way.

“Typically, abductors are white males between thirty and forty. They tend to have a history of problems with relationships in general, but especially with women.”

Mason glanced at the circle of white men, wondering who in the room didn’t have some sort of female relationship issue. Ava was the only woman in the room, and she was intently focused on Euzent.

“They tend to be somewhat socially isolated, but not always.”

Mason felt like a spotlight was suddenly shining on his head.

“It’s possible there is a history of sexual assault or being sexually inappropriate with women.”

I’m in the clear on that one.

“How often is sex the motive for an abduction?” an agent asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Mason saw Ava flinch at the question.

Euzent cleared his throat. “Often. With a child, the motive may be a little different. But usually it boils down to domination and control. It’s about the power. They are in charge, and they are doing exactly what they want to do.”

“Bastards,” Ava whispered.

“Usually, children are taken by strangers for one of three reasons. The first is for profit, and usually they contact the parents quickly because they want to keep the child for as short a period of time as possible. The second was the one I already mentioned . . . the person wants the child for sexual gratification or domination. Usually, they don’t want any contact with the parent. The third reason is someone is truly sick and simply wants a child for their own. They don’t make contact, either.”

“Or it’s the parents,” Mason stated.

Special Agent Euzent met his gaze. “Exactly. That’s why we clear them first. There’s been no ransom requested yet, so right now the motivation seems domination oriented. Whether it was random or premeditated will be determined. I read the mothers’ interviews. When they were asked if anyone had been hanging around Henley, or if she’d mentioned any odd encounters with adults, they both said no.”

“We could still get a ransom note,” Ava interjected.

Euzent paused and smiled. “I pray that is the case here.” His smile vanished as he shifted back to business. “If it was premeditated, our guy has to have a place to keep her. Someplace that won’t draw attention. A basement, a barn, an abandoned outbuilding. Even bathroom facilities have to be considered by the kidnapper. Trust me, he’s thought about this. Henley may have simply been in the right place at the right time for him, or he picked her specifically.”

“He’s a predator is what you’re saying,” said Ava.

“I believe so,” answered Euzent. “I know I haven’t given you much to work with, but I’ll add more to my profile as the facts come in.” He nudged his glasses, suddenly looking ten years older as he lowered his gaze. “I’ll be here nonstop until we find her,” he said quietly as he closed the file.

The agents took that as a signal to leave. Mason followed Ava out of the room.

“I’m headed back to the house,” she said as they moved down the hall. “Are you?”

“Yes.”

She stopped midstride and turned to face him, her blue eyes serious. “If you know of any family dynamics I need to be aware of, I’d like to hear about them. So far I’ve seen a united front from all three parents, but my past experience tells me that appearances can be deceiving.”

Mason fought back a smile. For someone not investigating, she definitely had some questions. “I think you’ll find Robin and Lucas are what they appear to be. I don’t know Lilian that well, but Robin has always said they have an understanding.”

“An understanding?” Her nose crinkled, and Mason noticed she had freckles. Not a lot, but a few across the nose and cheeks.

“They get along. They really do. They have a mutual respect for each other and care about Henley. I don’t know what else to tell you. There’s no psychotic bitch hiding anywhere. I don’t know Lilian’s past, but I’m sure it’s being pulled apart as we speak.”

Ava glanced at her watch. “Lucas Fairbanks is being interviewed right now. They must be using a side room here somewhere. I warned the family they’d be doing a lot of talking to the police, and that most of it would be repetitive.”

“I told them the same thing,” answered Mason. He glanced out the doors, a movement catching his eye. “Holy crap. The media has found the command center.” Two Clackamas County deputies were putting up crime scene tape to hold the camera crews back from the building and corral them into a tidy spot. Another deputy stood directly in front of the double doors, guarding it, his hands on his hips, shaking his head. Mason understood how he felt.

“Two satellite trucks already,” muttered Ava. “I wonder how many are at the house.”

Mason shoved his hat on his head. “Good point. Let’s go see if they need any help.”

A cell phone sounded, and Agent McLane reached into a jacket pocket, a different pocket than the one that held the previous vibrating cell phone.

Work pocket, personal pocket.
Mason had given up the personal phone a few years ago. Jake was the only person outside of work that he communicated with, and that was limited to a few texts. He didn’t feel it was any abuse of his work phone.

“Special Agent McLane.”

Mason watched her face. Her eyebrow twitched once as she listened, and she kept her calm gaze on the growing media crowd.

“I’m on my way now. I’ll be there in less than five.” She ended the call and gave Mason a half smile. “Sounds like there’s a bit of a to-do going on back at the house. The mothers are yelling at each other, and the deputy assigned to sit in front of the house says that the media outside can hear it.”

Mason pressed his lips together. He’d just preached to Agent McLane about how in sync the two women were.

Sounded like their tempers were in sync, too.

7

9 HOURS MISSING

The deputy shooed the reporters away from the driveway entrance as Ava pulled up. The reporters stepped back, turned their eagle-eyed cameras her way, and bent over, peering to get a good look inside her vehicle. Ava wished for privacy glass. How long would it take for them to identify her as FBI? She watched the reporters pull the same routine on Callahan as his vehicle pulled in behind her.

The deputy had been correct. When Ava stepped out of her sedan at the top of the Fairbankses’ long driveway, she heard yelling inside the home. When she’d left the home a few hours ago, the only car visible had been a patrol unit parked in front of the house. The Fairbankses’ vehicles were parked inside their three-car garage, and Lilian had left her vehicle at her condo. Now there were the patrol unit, a television satellite truck, news vans, and other media vehicles all squeezed onto the formerly quiet street. The sun had set, and the streetlight in front of the home lit up the small crowd of reporters and cameras.

The more media coverage for Henley, the better. But when the media got bored or felt the need to outdo each other, Ava had seen them get pushy or overstep their boundaries. Focus on the missing child, she wanted to lecture them, don’t sensationalize every factor.

Luckily, the house sat far back from the street, placing a wide stretch of manicured grass, shrubs, and bark dust between the reporters and the home. Would some of them venture onto the property? She’d make certain the doors and windows of the home were locked at all hours. And they’d keep the blinds closed. What a pain in the ass. Thank goodness Clackamas County had seen the need for a patrol unit in front of the home.

She and Callahan strode to the front door. She hit the doorbell then tried the handle. Locked.
Good.
“Robin? It’s Agent McLane,” she hollered close to the door. The yelling inside had stopped at the sound of the doorbell. She looked directly at the peephole, waiting, feeling like she was on stage with the reporters staring at her back.

“Damn vultures,” muttered Callahan. “They’re going to freaking multiply like randy rabbits.”

The door opened, and Ava was surprised to see Jake’s face.

“Get back,” she and Callahan told him in unison. The kid didn’t need to be on the news. Those camera lenses could get a close-up of his face from the street. She and Callahan stepped in, and he closed the door behind them.

“Use the peephole,” he instructed Jake. “Open the door only for people with police or FBI ID. And stay behind the door when you do open it.”

“How long will they stay out there?” the teen asked. “Won’t they leave for the night?”

Ava exchanged a glance with Callahan. “No,” they replied together.

“What is with your mom and Lilian?” Callahan asked. “I could hear them outside.”

Jake dropped his gaze, his shoulders hunching slightly. “I don’t know. I’m trying not to listen. Something about a guy Lilian dated.”

Ava sucked in a breath.
Here we go.
The truth was leaking out.

Callahan’s boots were loud on the wood floors as he headed toward the family’s great room. Ava followed. He glanced back at her and pointed at himself. She nodded. She’d let Callahan ask the questions. The women knew him better. If she got the sense one of them was holding back, they’d separate the women and question them one-on-one.

In the great room, Lilian sat in an overstuffed chair, her shoulders slumped and her hands over her face. Robin stood in front of her, her arms folded across her chest, her face red and her eyes wet. Robin turned as the two entered the room, her chin lifting.

“What the hell is going on?” Callahan started, looking from one woman to the other. “We could hear the shouts outside. And all those damned reporters can hear you, too.”

Robin didn’t look at Lilian. “Tell them,” Robin snapped. “Tell them what you told the agent in your interview today and what they discovered about the men you date.”

Lilian lowered her hands and dug her fingers into her jeans, her jaw tightening. “One guy. This is about one guy, and I had no idea what his past was like.”

“That’s why you dig into their background before you bring them into your home!” Robin’s lips were a white slash where her mouth had been.

Lilian looked at Callahan and then Ava. “It’s a guy I went out with a few times this summer. The FBI just told me that he’s a registered sex offender. I had no idea!”

“Why did you stop going out with him?” Callahan asked.

Lilian shrugged. “It didn’t work out. We just didn’t connect.”

“Did he feel the same way?” Ava asked. “Would his version of the breakup be the same?”

Lilian flinched and looked away. “I don’t know.”

“What do you really think he’d say, Lilian?” Callahan prodded. “Was he angry? Was the breakup one-sided?”

Lilian rubbed her nose and shifted in her chair.

“He was pissed. We only went out a half-dozen times, but I wasn’t feeling it. I guess he was hoping for more. He called me a few choice names on the phone when I said we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

“Did he meet Henley?” Ava asked softly.

Lilian’s face crumpled. “Yes, twice when he picked me up. Just for a minute or two.”

“Stupid,” stated Robin, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. “Why introduce him to your daughter? You shouldn’t do that unless you think it’s going to last.”

“I go into every relationship hoping it’s going to last!” Lilian shouted at Robin. “What type of person goes in with the mindset that it’s doomed to fail?”

Ava mentally raised a hand.

“Calm down!” Mason stepped between the two women, showing a palm to each one in a “stop” gesture. “Lilian,” he continued in a quieter voice, “what did they say his offense was?”

“Statutory rape. She was seventeen.”

“Pervert,” spat Robin.

Mason shot Robin a warning look but continued with his softer tone. “Did the agent say anything else about the case?”

Lilian sniffed. “He’d claimed she’d told him she was twenty.”

“Of course that’s what he’d say,” Robin said. “Did he ask your age before you slept with him?”

“I didn’t sleep with him,” Lilian yelled, straightening in her chair.

“Knock it off!” Mason pointed at Robin. “You! Go in the kitchen and get something to drink.” He shot a glance at Ava.

Robin glared at him but obeyed. Ava nodded at Callahan and followed Robin into the huge kitchen, leaning against the counter as she watched the woman open the fridge and stare inside. She didn’t pick out anything. She simply stood and looked, blinking rapidly. “He’s just trying to put some space between the two of you,” Ava offered.

“I know. And I shouldn’t have yelled at her.” She turned red eyes toward Ava. “But why wasn’t this the first thing she told the police this morning? Why did she let someone like that into Henley’s life?”

“She obviously thought there was nothing to it,” Ava stated. “Have you told the police about every single encounter you’ve had over the last few years?”

Robin slammed the fridge door, turning toward Ava. “I’ve never cheated on my husband. Ever!”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean did you tell them about anyone in your life you’ve parted with on a sour note? Even the little things.” She watched two lines appear between Robin’s brows as she thought. “See? It’s not so easy. An encounter that might seem trivial to you might have been devastating to another person, angering them—whether the slight was real or imagined. You never know how people think.”

Ava saw a flash of movement behind Robin, in the hallway. Jake was listening. She hadn’t said anything that should alarm the kid. In fact, he also needed to hear this.

“It’s impossible to know everything, let alone pass it on to the FBI,” Robin said. “You could mean someone I accidentally cut off with my car. But this was someone she
dated.
Why didn’t she tell them before now?” Robin’s eyes pleaded with Ava.

Ava infused her gaze with as much sympathy as possible. “It’s still the first day. Be glad the information came out as early as it did.”

“But what if there’s more? What if she’s not telling everything?”

“Her daughter is missing. Don’t you think she’s doing everything she can to help?”

Robin stared back for a long second. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I’m starting to wonder if I know Lilian as well as I believed I did.” She teared up. “Poor Henley. She must be terrified. I can’t stop thinking about what she could be going through. I’m never going to sleep tonight.” Her voice trailed off.

Jake stepped silently into the kitchen. He hesitated. With the instinct of a mother, Robin spun around, his name on her lips.

The teen looked miserable. His face was puffy and his hair was a disaster. Ava hadn’t seen much of him all day. He seemed to prefer to stay in his room. She admired his bravery for stepping out into the center of the drama. She studied him carefully, knowing teens needed special attention in this sort of case. His sister was missing; his parents were distracted. He was lost in the background while everything was focused on his sister. But he ached, too. He needed to express his feelings out loud before he cracked.

Ava kicked herself for overlooking him.

“Jake,” she said, pulling out a stool at the kitchen breakfast bar. “Sit,” she ordered kindly.
Now was as good a time as any.
She wondered if his mother’s presence would help him open up or make him censor his feelings. The teen slunk over to the stool and sat, his head down, one finger tracing a pattern in the granite counter. Ava looked at Robin and held her gaze, jerking her chin at the teen.
He needs to talk.

“You heard me tell your mother that we need to know about any odd encounters, right?” Ava asked. The teen nodded, his gaze still on the countertop.

Ava licked her lips. Teens were foreign to her. She tried to remember how she’d handled her sister and her moodiness as a teen. Jayne had been all about the drama. Ava had been the peacekeeper and the one to draw her sister out of her black moods. Considering the constant ups and downs of her sister’s personality, Ava should have an honorary doctorate in Teen Therapy.

“Has something come to mind? You talked with one of the agents this afternoon, right? Have you thought of something since then?” Ava wasn’t certain who’d interviewed Jake.

“No.”

Ava waited. There was a reason Jake had ventured into the kitchen. Was he trying to protect his mom from Ava’s direct questions? She glanced at Robin and raised a brow.

The frown lines were still between Robin’s brows. “Jake, honey,” she started. “You’ve only been back in town a few days. Who’ve you talked to?”

He lifted his head, meeting his mom’s gaze. “Just the guys. You know, Eric, Jack, Lincoln. The usual. And McKenzie.”

“Are they all back from college for Christmas?” Robin asked. She glanced at Ava. “McKenzie and Jake dated a bit last summer, but it never was exclusive, right, Jake?”

Jake shrugged. “We’re friends. She’s really upset about Henley. They’re all worried.” His voice cracked.

“Have you seen any of them since you got into town?” Ava asked. She was certain an agent had already gone over this with Jake, but the investigator in her wouldn’t be quiet.

“No. Not yet. I was going to see Eric and Lincoln this weekend. Hang out somewhere. But that’s on hold.”

“You got in Wednesday, correct?” Ava asked. “Where have you gone since you’ve been home? Tell me every stop, no matter how unimportant it seems. 7-Eleven or Barnes & Noble. Nothing is too small.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “You think someone I know did this?” Terror crossed his face. Robin rushed to comfort him, hugging his shoulders. She laid her cheek on his head.

“No honey, they’re simply looking under every rock. Something one of them saw might be the key to bringing Henley home. Think hard. Don’t hold anything back.”

“Jeez.” The teen blinked hard.

“It’s only been two days.” Ava gave an encouraging smile. “There can’t be that much to remember, right? Don’t college kids sleep twenty hours a day anyway?”

“Yes,” Robin said under her breath. “I’ve hardly seen him since he’s been home.”

A heavy door behind Ava opened, and she turned to see Lucas Fairbanks step inside from the garage. Behind him like a silent shadow was the tall, slender form of Special Agent Zander Wells. Lucas looked like he’d been up for thirty-six hours. He had the same puffy eyes as Robin and the sad hunch to his shoulders that Ava was starting to associate with this traumatized family.

Robin stepped into his arms, and Lucas buried his face in her hair, closing his eyes.

“Anything?” Ava heard Robin whisper to him. Lucas shook his head. Robin’s back trembled as fresh sobs filled the kitchen.

Ava met Wells’s gaze. He gave a slight shake of his head.

Nothing earth shattering from the father’s interview.

She watched Jake out of the corner of her eye. He’d turned as his stepfather came into the kitchen and silently watched Lucas embrace his mother. Jake looked like a boy who’d lost his new puppy.

Ava looked from Lucas to the teenager. How was the relationship between the two? Callahan had spoken highly of Fairbanks but hadn’t expanded on his son’s perspective of his stepfather.

Lilian rushed in from the other room with Callahan right on her heels. She slid to a stop as she saw Lucas and Robin’s embrace.

“Henley?” Her voice slid up an octave.

“No news,” Wells answered.

Lilian closed her eyes, and Callahan put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ava stared at the mother and swallowed hard. Behind the panic on Lilian’s face, and for the briefest second, she’d exposed her heart.

Lilian was still in love with her ex-husband.

How many layers are there to this family?

“Just because he can’t tell you that Henley’s turned up doesn’t mean there’s no news,” said Callahan. “McLane and I got some good insight into some of the work that’s being done.”

The three parents gave him hopeful looks.

“That command center is turning into a hive of worker bees,” Callahan stated. “They’ve already pinpointed and talked to the sex offenders in the area. We reviewed video from the bus and verified with our own eyes that Henley wasn’t on there. McLane found out the video from Lilian’s apartment building shows no sign that Henley went to her place. They already had a preliminary profile drawn up by one of the experts at Quantico who flew in to brief us today.”