Every Precious Thing (29 page)

Behind him, a dull thud was accompanied by the shattering of wood. He knew at that moment he would never make it outside in time. His head whipped around, looking for anything he could use as a weapon. But each item his gaze landed on seemed pitifully inadequate. The man had a
gun
. For all he knew, the woman had one, too. What good would a palm-sized brass Buddha do?

He cut around the sofa, and headed for the kitchen. The door to the garage was there. If he could get through that, maybe he could jump in his car and get away.

“Mr. Lindley,” the woman called out. “Our problem isn’t with you. If you’ll just cooperate, everything will be fine.”

Alan yanked open the garage door, and rushed through. He took a few seconds to look around for anything he could use to jam the door closed but quickly gave up, knowing he was wasting time. On the wall was the switch that opened the garage door. He slapped it, ran over to his car, and got in.

As the engine roared to life, the door to the kitchen opened. He flinched, thinking he was about to get shot, but neither the man nor the woman raised a gun. They merely stood just inside the doorway, smiling at him.

Not stopping to figure out what the hell they were doing, he turned so he could look out the back window to see if the door was high enough for him to leave.

It was, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

There was a car sitting right in the middle of the driveway with two more men inside.

A tap on the glass made him jump. He turned and saw the woman standing just on the other side of the door.

“You have two choices, Mr. Lindley. Come out on your own, or my friend here shoots you somewhere that won’t kill you, and we pull you out. I guarantee you the glass won’t offer any protection.”

The man behind her held up his gun and grinned. The barrel was longer than a normal pistol, like something had been added on the end.

A silencer. That’s what they called it in the movies, right?

If they did shoot him, no one would hear.

He opened the door.

“Good choice,” the woman said, helping him climb out.

“Who are you?”

“Your wife never told you about me? I’m an old friend. In fact, I was hoping to meet her daughter. Where is she?”

Feeling his anger well again, Alan said, “Fuck you!”

The woman smiled. With a speed Alan would have never expected, she slapped him hard on the side of his head.

He fell against the car, his ear ringing.

“Search the house,” she said to her companion.

The guy nodded and went inside. He was gone less than a minute before reappearing. “Not here.”

“I’ll ask again, Mr. Lindley. Where’s the child?”

“My daughter is no concern of yours!”

“
Your
daughter?” The woman nodded at Alan’s car. “Check it,” she said to the gunman.

In the distance, they could hear sirens, but as much as Alan wished they were heading his way, the near constant sound of emergency vehicles was part of living in the big city.

“No girl,” the man said. “But there is a portable GPS.”

“Bring it.”

Alan could feel the blood drain from his face. The little box kept records of his travel.

At the top of the list would be his trip to Rachel’s.

C
HAPTER
S
IXTY
-S
IX

T
HE SIRENS COULDN”T
have been more than a half-mile away, but Pep knew they weren’t close enough.

The other car—now with the addition of Alan Lindley—was pulling out of the driveway. They’d be blocks away before the police arrived.

“Hurry, hurry,” Pep urged Barney.

They had stayed where they could see what was going on as long as they could. Now they needed to get back to their car. If they weren’t moving in the next thirty seconds, they’d lose the others for sure. Logan might be able to track them down again using his friend, but Pep didn’t want to count on that. He
had
to keep the others in sight.

The Jeep was parked right around the corner. Pep jumped in, fired up the engine, then leaned across the seat and opened the passenger door. As soon as Barney’s butt hit the seat cover, Pep jammed down the accelerator.

“Whoa!” Barney said, reaching out and pulling closed the door. “I’m not even fastened in yet.”

Keeping his tone calm, Pep said, “We’re kind of in a hurry, Barney.”

“You’re right, you’re right. Sorry.”

They turned onto Alan’s street just in time to see the taillights of the other car at the far end of the block. Pep had to restrain himself from pressing the gas all the way to the floor. They were in a neighborhood, and it was still early enough that someone might step out in front of them.

The other car turned right onto the street that led to a main road. Pep reached the intersection and saw the other car turn onto another road. This time he had no choice but to increase their speed and hope to God no one was around. When they arrived at the stop sign, he barely paused before making the turn. The first thing he saw was a police car speeding down the street in their direction. Pep jerked the Jeep to the curb, and stopped. As soon as the police cruiser passed, he pulled out again. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed what he thought. The cops were turning onto the road he’d just been on.

“A little late, guys,” he said under his breath.

“Maybe we should go get them,” Barney suggested.

Pep could see the other car a block down, its progress also slowed by the police. “We can’t,” he said. He tossed his phone to Barney. “Get Logan. We need to let him know what happened.”

Barney put the call on speaker.

“They got away before the police could get there,” he said.

“What about Alan?” Logan asked.

“They have him.”

Logan said nothing for a moment, then, “Do you know which way they went?”

“We’re following them right now,” Pep said.

They could hear Logan take a breath. “Okay. Stay on them.”

“Where could they be going?” Barney asked.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps—”

“Ah, Logan,” Pep said.

“Yes?”

“Looks like they’re getting on the freeway.”

C
HAPTER
S
IXTY
-S
EVEN

“L
OOKS LIKE THEY’RE
getting on the freeway,” Pep said.

Logan shot a look at Sara. “How well do you know Riverside?”

She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I was only there for about a year and a half.”

“Dr. Paskota has Alan.”

Her face tensed, but she didn’t look surprised, obviously having worked that out from hearing his side of the phone conversation.

“They’re getting onto the freeway,” he said.

“Which one?”

“Which freeway?” Logan asked Pep.

“Two fifteen,” Pep replied. “North.”

“The 215 North.”

She frowned. “The 215 takes a sharp right in the middle of town where it intersects with the 60 and the…uh…91.”

“So which way are they going?”

She shrugged. “They could be going anywhere. If they stay on the 215, they’ll be headed right at us.”

Logan turned back to the phone. “Stay with them,” he said. “I’ll call you back in a minute.”

Though he knew who they were headed toward, he didn’t know where. He called Callie.

“I’ve been dying here,” she said. “What happened?”

“It’s not over yet. Alan went back to the house this evening before we could get there.”

“What?” She sounded even more surprised than Logan did when he first heard. “He promised me he was going to get Emily out of there.”

“Emily wasn’t with him.”

“She wasn’t? Where is she?”

“I was hoping you could tell me that.”

“I told him to take her to Big Bear,” she said. “I have a cabin up there.”

“If you were going to Big Bear from Alan’s house, would you take the 215 North?”

“Sure. Up to the I-10, then east to Highway 38.”

“Is there anyone in Big Bear he could have left Emily with?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if he knows anyone up there.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

As he hung up, he asked Sara, “Did you guys have friends in Big Bear?”

“No. Well, I didn’t. Alan never mentioned anyone, either. Is that where Emily is?”

“That’s where Callie told him to go.”

“Alan would never leave Emily with just anyone. It would have to be someone he trusted.”

Having more questions than answers, Logan called Pep back to get an update.

“I was just about to call you,” Pep said.

“Why?”

“We’re not on the 215 anymore.”

“Where are you?”

“On the 60 Freeway, heading west.”

Logan put a hand over the phone. “They’re on the 60 West.”

“Sixty? That’s not the way to Big Bear,” Sara said.

“Maybe Alan’s misdirecting them,” Diana suggested.

“Yeah. That must be it,” Sara agreed, nodding.

Logan wasn’t ready to buy that yet. “You said your husband would only leave Emily with someone he trusts. Who would those people be?”

Sara thought for a moment. “Um…we have some friends. The Carters. They’d watch Emily for us in a pinch.”

“Anyone else?”

She shook her head. “We didn’t leave Emily alone much.”

Logan knew of one time they had. “What about when you and Alan went on your trip to San Diego and Tijuana?”

At the mention of the trip, she looked embarrassed. Then she froze. “Oh…oh, no…Alan’s sister. Rachel.”

“She’s in Riverside, too?”

She shook her head. “Simi Valley.”

Simi Valley was way on the other side of the San Fernando Valley, just northwest of Los Angeles.

“When we go to Rachel’s, we’d always take the 60 West part of the way.”

C
HAPTER
S
IXTY
-E
IGHT

“I
DON’T REMEMBER
her number,” Sara said.

“You don’t?” Logan asked, surprised.

“I made sure I didn’t memorize anyone’s number. And I got rid of my old phone when I left.”

Of course.
Sara had done everything she could to create a protective wall between herself and her daughter.

“It’s okay. Callie will have it,” he said. He was right. Once he had the number, he punched it in and handed the phone to Sara. “Just hit
SEND
.”

He could tell the moment the call was answered. Sara pulled back, her eyes focusing downward.

“Hi, may I speak to Rachel?” She put a hand over the phone and whispered, “Kurt answered. Her husband.” Suddenly her attention was back on her call. “Rachel? It’s…it’s Sara…Rachel?...Yes, it’s me…I promise I’ll tell you later, but I need to—” She paused. “I know that. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It was the only thing I could do…Please, you have to believe me…Rachel, Rachel, hold on. Just let me—” Her head drooped and she nodded, listening. Finally, she said, “I understand, and I know you’re angry. I would be, too, but I need to ask you something…Is Emily with you?...No, I’m not going to try to take her. I just need to know if you have her…Rachel, please…Okay, okay, you don’t have to tell me. But if she
is
with you, you and Kurt have to get out of the house right now…Because there are some bad—” She cocked her head. “Rachel?....Rachel, are you there?” She looked at Logan. “She hung up.”

“Try again.”

She did, then shook her head. “She’s not picking up.”

“So what do you think? Is Emily there?”

“If she wasn’t, I think Rachel would have just said so.”

Logan agreed. He made a quick call to Dev, rerouting him to Simi Valley, and handed the phone back to Sara.

“Keep trying,” he said.

“Richard,” Diana said. She was looking at an old paper map she had fished out of the glove compartment. “The 210 West is coming up in a mile or two. That’ll be quickest. We might even gain a little time.”

“If we can do that, it’ll be the first thing that’s gone right today,” Logan said.

Ahead, the sign for the 210 Freeway loomed over the lanes. Barring a traffic jam, they’d reach Simi Valley in less than sixty minutes.

He checked his watch then looked back at the road, hoping that wouldn’t be too late.

C
HAPTER
S
IXTY
-N
INE

T
HERE WAS A
part of Erica that leaned heavily toward disposing of their two passengers before they retrieved the girl. They cut her manpower by half, forcing her to leave someone with them whenever she got out of the car.

If it had just been the old man, there would have been no question. They’d already extracted everything they needed from him, and any leverage they might have had over the man’s son by holding on to him no longer mattered. Logan Harper was undoubtedly still fooling around in Arizona, thinking he’d outsmarted her. Maybe he’d even found Sara. All the better if he did. When this part of the operation was over, she would have Clausen and Markle make the younger Harper tell them where Sara was before they silenced the bastard. The information would most likely net them not only Sara, but her bitch of a sister and oaf of a brother. Then they would be gone and everything would be perfect.

But since it wasn’t just the old man, it made more sense for them to take care of him when they took care of Sara’s husband, and they couldn’t do that until they had the girl. Once she was in Erica’s possession, Clausen and Markle would dispose of the two men while she flew with the girl back to the program’s offices and arrange a suitable family for her. It would be harder than usual, given the girl’s age, but not impossible.

She checked out the road ahead. Thankfully traffic was moving at a pretty good clip, unlike the irritating crawl they’d had to suffer downtown. According to Clausen, they were currently in the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley was just over the next pass.