Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

T he moment Nate heard the name Rachel Carmichael, he snatched up his phone. "Rachel works here with Bailey." He spun around and strode to the door of the office. "Seth? Jordan?" His boots echoed through the room as he crossed the floor to the small table and toy box. Dominoes had been taken out and a line started, but the young boys were nowhere to be seen.

Bailey reached out and gripped his arm. "Maybe she took them outside to play cornhole." Her voice wavered with doubt and fear.

Nate grasped her hand in his, and they jogged to the front door to look outside. There was no sign of them, and Rachel's car was gone.

Bailey pulled her phone out. "I'm going to try and call her." She stepped away as she put the phone to her ear.

Paris's voice came over the speaker. "Walker. Update."

"It looks like Rachel took Seth and Jordan. Her car isn't out front. There's a good chance she was listening in on the conversation." Nate's stomach clenched. Seth and Jordan trusted Rachel, they'd have no reason to doubt her if she told them to go with her somewhere. He prayed that the time Rachel spent with the boys meant she cared too much to harm them. "We need to send someone to her place right now."

Bailey turned and shook her head. "She's not answering her phone." She relayed Rachel's address and a description of her car.

They could hear typing on a keyboard before Logan spoke. "I've verified her address, and I have the license plate number now."

Paris spoke into the phone. "We're putting a BOLO out on her car. I'm sending officers to her address. Logan, find out where Jeremy lives."

"Yes, sir. I'm on it."

Jenny was writing everything down as well.

Meanwhile, Bailey stood staring at the little table and chairs where the boys should have been playing. "How could Rachel get to know the boys and spend time with them for nearly two years and then just take them away from me? How did I not know?"

Nate sidestepped into her line of sight. "Don't do that. Don't start questioning yourself. You need to stay focused. We're going to find Seth and Jordan." He placed a finger beneath her chin and raised it until her eyes were on him. "I've seen her interact with them, and she cares about them. I refuse to believe she'd do anything to hurt them."

Bailey sniffed and gave a small nod. "Yeah. I can't imagine that, either."

All Nate could figure at this point was that Rachel was acting to protect her son. Whether she knew about his actions or not, that instinct to be there for him remained.

"Okay," Logan began. "Jeremy lives on the other side of town. He's married to a woman named Rose. Looks like they got married about two years after Sophia went missing. They have three young children. As Jeremy Carmichael, his record is spotless. Not so much as a parking ticket." He spouted off the home address as well as the car Jeremy drove so they could be on the lookout for it, too.

"Officers are on the way to Jeremy's house," Paris announced.

"What about us?" Bailey asked, her eyes wide. "Nate, we have to look for them. We need to search the house."

"Use your phone to check the camera for the house and see if anyone's been by. I'll check the front gate. At least we'll know whether she's driven off the property."

Bailey gave a frantic nod and started to do as he'd suggested.

According to the app, no one had come in or gone out through the front gate since the last volunteer left over a half hour ago. "She's still here unless she's got another way out."

"No activity at the house either."

Paris's voice came over the speaker. "I'm heading your way now with Baker. Durant, stay at the store until we arrive. Walker and Bailey, I want you two to get back to the house and wait there until we have a game plan in place." With that, the call ended.

Jenny jogged out to her car and returned with a handheld radio that she tossed to Nate then held up five fingers to let him know what channel she'd be on. She gave Bailey a hug. "She's not going to get far. I'll keep you guys updated."

"Thank you." Bailey's voice shook as she returned the hug, reached for Nate's hand, and practically ran for the door. She didn't say another word as they drove to her house; she just leaned forward and scanned the area .

Back at the house, Minnie greeted them but then seemed to be searching for the boys.

Bailey walked from the front of the house to the back where she stared out the windows for several minutes before returning to the front. "I hate this. What if they're scared? What if she dropped them off somewhere, and they're out there wandering alone?" Her voice caught. "This is a nightmare."

Nate gently wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "We're going to find them." He said the words firmly, but inside, his confidence wavered.

For a moment, his mind went back to Lana's case. How many times had he reassured the little girl's mom that they were doing all they could to get her daughter back? He'd been in the room later when they had to deliver the worst news a parent can hear, and he'd never forgotten the mother's wails as she collapsed to the floor.

He prayed history wouldn't repeat itself.

"We're going to find them," he said again, this time with more conviction. "You hear me?"

She nodded against his chest. "I hear you."

"That means we need to be strong for them. We need clear heads so we can react quickly when news comes in or the situation shifts." He waited for her to raise her chin and look at him.

The remnants of tears were still there, but her jaw was set, and determination flashed in her eyes. Nate's respect for her soared.

He prayed aloud, asking God for wisdom and strength and for protection for the boys. "You might think waiting here is a waste of time because you want to go search for them. If they're out there on their own, this is where they'll come back to. They need you here when they do. "

She nodded and took a step back as she used a sleeve to wipe away the tears. "I keep trying to figure out why she would've taken them. It makes no sense. If she was trying to make a fast getaway, they would only slow her down. There has to be a reason we don't know about yet."

The radio clipped to Nate's belt crackled. "It's Jenny. You guys there?"

"We're here."

"Logan ran phone records for both Rachel and Jeremy. They talk daily, sometimes several times a day. Officers arrived at Rachel's house. She isn't there, but they're going to stick around in case she comes back. Logan tried to ping her phone, but she must have powered it down. The same goes for Jeremy's."

"Have the police gone by Jeremy's house yet?"

The radio crackled again. "Yes, they just arrived on the scene. Jeremy isn't at home, but they are speaking to his wife. She had no idea that he'd gone by a different name before she met him. I get the impression there's a lot about him that she doesn't know."

Nate was beginning to believe Jeremy might have been responsible for Sophia's disappearance, but they still needed facts just like they needed to know why he was so intent on scaring Bailey into selling her place. He felt bad for Jeremy's wife and kids.

As though Bailey read his mind, she shook her head sadly. "I can't imagine being married to someone for years only to discover they weren't who you thought they were."

"Me, either. Even if Jeremy had nothing to do with Sophia's disappearance, there are obviously a lot of secrets that he's been keeping." He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back. "I'd rather be told the truth, even if it's painful."

"Me, too. "

Jenny's voice came over the radio. "Jeremy's car was seen parked on the shoulder of a country road that borders your land, Bailey. The car was empty. There's a good chance he's somewhere on your property or that he was meeting with Rachel. Stay alert."

Bailey walked over to a window and stared outside. Nate could barely make out some whispered words as she prayed, her hands braced against the doorframe.

Nate sent out his own silent plea.

"Nate!" Bailey's surprised cry had him crossing the room to her location. "It's Jordan!"