When the Heart Lies (25 page)

Xavier leaned back in his chair, peering at Nick over the coffee cup he held.

Nick hunched over, propping up on his knees and clasping his hands together. “The house, it was so dark. I just couldn’t bring myself to go into the emptiness tonight.” He looked over at Xavier.

Xavier’s lips spread flat, which was his usual way of saying he understood. “Would you like some coffee?” He closed his laptop.

Nick shook his head.

“Is something stronger in order?”

Nick nodded.

“I think I’ll join you.” Xavier stood, placed his hands on the small of his back, and bowed into a rigorous stretch. Once relieved, he went to the bar and fixed a couple drinks. He handed one to Nick and sat at the other end of the sofa.

“Where is everyone?” Nick asked.

“I told the staff to take a few days off, and Jonathan is flying down to Le Grand tonight. Max will be returning tomorrow, late afternoon. I called the office to let them know you won’t be in until further notice.”

“Yeah, that’s good. Kinsley wouldn’t want him with anyone else until he’s been home a while. God, it’s going to be strange without her here with us.” He shook his head slowly, his eyes sullen.

Xavier’s lips drew tight again, but he bit down on his lower lip this time, which meant he had something important to say. “Nick, there’s no easy way to tell you this. You were irrational and pissed off when Kinsley left and not listening to reason. I was worried about her and Max. And you, too. I took it upon myself to have someone watch over them. Olivia’s friend, Jackson —I hired him. You understand. I needed to be sure they were okay.”

With a raised brow, Nick leaned forward, and propped his elbow on one knee. He stared intently at Xavier. “You took it upon yourself?”

“You can get pissed off later. Right now, I need you to listen. Please.”

Nick leaned back, annoyed, and flung his open hand into the air toward Xavier, signaling for him to continue.

“Until Wayde left Max at her friend Veda’s house this morning, we couldn’t do much other than watch. Jackson checked things out and found some evidence pointing to abduction. We had no indication anything like this was going to happen.”

Nick shot up from the sofa. “What the …!” His jaw clamped tight, and every inch of bone and muscle protruded. He didn’t speak. Instead, he went to the bar and poured himself a double. He swirled his drink, stared into the whirlpool he’d created, and then drank half of it down. Extending a stiff arm, he propped himself against the fireplace mantle. With his eyes fixed on the fire, he stood silent. His white-knuckled hand circled the highball glass. After pounding down the remainder of his drink, he hurled the glass into the fireplace. Instinctively, he jumped back from the flash of flames that resulted. Not yet expending all of his frustration, he swiveled and punched the wall beside him with every ounce of strength he had. The heavy walnut panel was unforgiving. He reeled his hand back, contorting in pain, and shook it out. “How did I let this happen? I begged her, but she wouldn’t even read my letters. I should have insisted she return.” He turned to Xavier. “What’s going to happen? What do we need to do?”

“Nick, this isn’t your fault. Everything that can be done is being done. Right now, the situation appears to be a kidnapping. The police have put taps on the phones, and I’m waiting for a call. I gave them the spare key to your house. They tapped yours, too. There’s no reason for them to kill her because they know they can get plenty of money from us.”

Nick crossed the room with intense determination. “Do you really believe that?”

“Ninety percent.”

Nick’s face dropped with Xavier’s sober statement. He fell, slumping down into the sofa, and focused on Xavier. “So we wait?”

Xavier slipped both hands into his side pockets and lowered his head. After a moment, he glanced back up at Nick.

“Yes.”

Chapter 16

The roar of Jackson’s bike busted through the quiet night air. He recklessly rounded the corner and entered his driveway much too fast, leaving Olivia, who had been waiting outside, with just enough time to jump back onto the lawn to safety. Dismounting the bike, he grabbed his helmet and went inside with no hello and no apology. She followed behind him. They were in the kitchen before he acknowledged her.

“Want something to drink?” he asked without turning to look at her and feeling slightly guilty, considering tonight was her first time there.

“Something I said?”

“I’m not in the mood Olivia.” He had gotten nowhere today, and with every passing minute his testiness worsened. He snapped his beer cap into the wastebasket and took a long drink. “Do you want something or not?” He slid the kitchen chair back from the table, slouched down into the seat, and threw his feet, boots and all, onto the table from the side as he told himself to relax and focus. “Let’s get started. Who will be in on the call?”

“Xavier, Nick, and the lead detective for missing persons. You’ll be working with him.”

He glared at her as he swung his feet back to the floor. Turning back to the table, he let his fist drop with a thump as he turned from her view.

“This is an official case now! You’re taking your anger out on the wrong person. I need to bring him in,” Olivia said.

“When we find her, I’m the first to make contact.”

“Sure Jackson, I’ll arrange everything, so you can be the hero. It won’t be hard, considering the entire brass bends over backwards for you. Look how fast they reinstated you. Did you consider the fact she only knows you from Lakeside? Your presence may confused her, and she might hesitate when she should be moving her ass toward you. You should step back, and let Detective Mills handle the first contact.”

“Like hell! She trusts me. Get the call started. I’ve got things to do tonight if I’m going to find her.”

“Take a few minutes to pull yourself together before the call.”

“Get on with it, Olivia. You’re wasting time.”

Her eyes flashed, conveying her annoyance. “This is what we’ve done so far,” she said. “All the technical is in place to intercept calls at Xavier’s and at Nick’s. Wayde’s house is being watched along with Remy Davis’s. Also, we’re monitoring all calls at both houses and on Savannah’s cell. We’ll get hits on any credit or debit card purchases. But we have no leads as to where or why they took her. Until we get a call, we’ll assume its money or murder.”

Perking up, he put aside the beer bottle. The label was almost completely peeled off. “I just remembered, you said Angela had some family in South Carolina. You said she was there when you vacationed with Xavier? Wayde’s discharge papers show a South Carolina address as his enlistment address. Let’s see if Angela could’ve been there around the same time. If they know each other …maybe, he has a beef with Angela and is using Kinsley. ”

Her brows raised, and she nodded in agreement. “Or she has a beef with Kinsley and is using him?”

He relaxed, sinking back into his chair. Relieve they may have found some connection that would explain why she was taken. “Make the call.”

~ ~ ~

Both Xavier and Nick leapt from the sofa when the phone rang. Xavier took a breath before picking up. “Xavier Wentworth.”

Olivia spoke through the phone. “I have you on speaker with Jackson and Detective Mills. Is Nick with you?”

“Yes, he’s here. I asked Jonathan in, too. He may need to be aware of what’s going on in case he intercepts a call.” Xavier put the phone on speaker and sat on the side of his desk.

Olivia’s voice filled the room. “Okay, unfortunately we’re not going to have a lot of information that’s new. We pulled Remy Davis’s record. There’s a long list of petty crimes but, more importantly, an assault. He spent at least ten years of his life behind bars. Wayde’s record is clean. We got the plates on the black 1979 Cadillac. We put an APB out for both men, and all units are looking for the car. We’ll set up roadblocks, but not until we have some indication of where they’re headed. With their head start, we may never get that far. I’ll let Jackson update you on what he found out today.”

Jackson leaned in toward the receiver; he spoke with a weighty, stern tone. “I met with
Remy Davis’s wife today. She hasn’t seen him and said she wouldn’t be surprised by anything he did. She gave me a list of taverns he frequents. I’ve been able to get to three of them tonight. Davis doesn’t have many friends, and those who know him haven’t seen him around in a few days. I gave my card to the people who were willing to take it and asked them to call if they have any information or have seen him anywhere.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Xavier said. “Anything else?”

Jackson paused choosing his words carefully. “One lead looks promising. Wayde’s military records reflect he enlisted in South Carolina, about thirty-two years ago. This is a sensitive area, Xavier, but I must ask. Is there any possibility that your wife might know Wayde? Olivia said Angela’s parents lived in South Carolina. South Carolina is the only common location he’s shared with anyone in your family. He was discharged about ten years ago, he was obviously lying when he told Kinsley he was her brother’s Sergeant.”

Nick cut in before Xavier could respond. “You can’t think my mother had anything to do with this. If this is your one lead, I think you’ve got a whole lot more work to do.”

Xavier addressed Nick with a harsh tone. “Nick, please. We need to look at every possibility. I’m sorry, Jackson. Until Angela’s father died ten years ago, she’d visit at least twice a year. I don’t know if she was there around the time he enlisted. If I was away on business, Angela’s visits to her parents could be quite long. She didn’t like being home alone and would take those times to visit.”

Jonathan leaned in and whispered to Xavier.

Xavier nodded thanks to Jonathan and spoke again to Jackson. “Just a minute, we might have a way to check this out. Jonathan has been keeping my yearly itineraries for business. Jonathan, do you think you can find records from thirty-two years ago?”

Jonathan tipped his head and proceeded to the basement where he kept the old files.

Nick began pacing in front of his father’s desk. “This is absurd. I can’t believe you’re even regarding this as a feasible direction.”

Xavier pointed at Nick. His eyes delivered a silent threat along with harsh words. “Zip it, Nick. Continue, Jackson. Are there any other leads you’re going to pursue?”

Nick threw up his hands and dropped himself heavily into the chair across from his father.

Jackson began speaking again. “Even if Angela knew Wayde, that doesn’t mean she was involved, Nick, but it’s something we need to check out. I’m going to head down to the café Kinsley frequents tomorrow morning. My niece told me she met the owner, Jim. Said he’s a nice guy. I’m hoping he can give me some information. I’m also going out tonight to the other two taverns.”

Jonathan shuffled in and leaned over Xavier’s desk with a leather bound planner, pointing to an entry.

“Let me take a minute and see what Jonathan’s got for us.” Xavier leaned in and mulled over the entry he’d been shown. He’d taken a two-month trip to Amsterdam. Angela and Carolyn spent that summer with her parents in South Carolina. “I remember that trip.” He seemed lost in thought, making for a long pause.

Olivia’s voice filled the room. “Xavier?”

Xavier gave his head a brisk shake and loosened his tie. “Yes, I’m here. Angela was in South Carolina thirty-two years ago, during the summer. She went with Carolyn Ericson, a friend of hers, the woman she was talking to on the phone when she had the stroke. I’m not sure how they would know Wayde. It’s worth questioning Carolyn, though. Is there a way we can get her
in on this call? I think we should all hear what she has to say first hand just in case there’s any new information.”

Nick jumped up, slamming his fist on his father’s desk. With a loud grunt, he grimaced in pain from his earlier run-in with the angry, walnut-paneled wall. “I can’t believe you’re pursuing this nonsense when Kinsley’s out there somewhere. Mother would never have anything to do with her disappearance, nor would she have anything to do with a man like Wayde.”

Xavier no longer casually sat against his desk, but stood and took a step toward Nick. He stopped himself, took a breath, and gave Nick a hard glare. “You have no idea what your mother is capable of. If you can’t handle what we’re talking about then you need to leave the room.” The line remained silent until Xavier spoke again. “Detective Mills, can you get Angela’s friend, Carolyn Erickson, on the line? I’m not sure of the number.”

Nick gave his father a look of reproach and went to pour himself another drink.

After a couple minutes, Detective Mill’s voice filled the room. “I have Mrs. Ericson on the line. Mrs. Ericson, this is detective Mills from the Le Grand Police Department. I need to ask you some questions regarding Angela Wentworth and a visit you took with her to her parents’ house thirty-two years ago. It was a long time ago, but we’re hoping you can give us some information. Xavier and Nick are on the line, along with a couple of others that are working on the case.”

“Well, I’ll do whatever I can to help. Thirty-two years
is
a long time.”