Chapter Twelve

Abe

T error did funny things to a man. It could render him useless or hone his senses to dangerous weapons. I fell firmly in the second camp. Who the fuck thought they could come into our home and take our boy? Our boy. Lio hadn't needed to say it for me to know it was true. I'd loved Alexander Mendoza since I'd first laid eyes on him, and I meant what I'd told Lio. I would get Alex back if it was the last thing I did.

Crunching gravel and a gunning engine caught my attention. I turned my head and was nearly blinded by the vehicle's headlights. I shielded my eyes with my hand and recognized Russ's SUV racing up the driveway. He barely came to a complete stop before he and Alyssa were out of the truck and running toward us.

"I should've been here," Lio said, his voice cracking as more tears threatened.

Alyssa nudged me out of the way and wrapped her arms tightly around Lio. "This isn't your fault, and we're going to get Alex back."

"Hell yes, we are," Russ said, slapping me on the back. "What happened?"

Lio started at the beginning with the phone call he received from Alex, but he didn't get very far before three more vehicles arrived on the scene. Commissioner Rigby was in one, and the others belonged to a K-9 handler and a detective with CCSD's major crimes unit. The K-9 handler briefly nodded as she passed, and the detective stopped to introduce himself as Micah Hale. Seeing the show of force should've been comforting, but it brought home just how serious their situation was. Lio restarted from the beginning again to fill in the newcomers.

"I talked to Coach Steve on the drive over," Alyssa said once Lio finished. "He dropped Alex off at ten after five. Steve said there were no vehicles around, and nothing looked out of place. He didn't pull away until Alex went inside the house."

"I'm going to need his number," Hale said as he wrote down notes. "Was Alex having any problems at school?"

"Some kids were talking trash to him about the Dylan Eads investigation, which I'm sure you're aware of," Lio said.

"Yes, sir," Hale said calmly. "Do you think the investigation is responsible for your son's disappearance?"

"Possibly," Lio replied. "Someone took a shot at me over the weekend after I'd had a run-in with Eads." Hale softly whistled as he wrote. "He had alibi witnesses," Lio said, "but they were all personal friends or relatives."

Hale listened as Lio outlined the events of the past few weeks. "Chief, you know protocol dictates I interview you like any other parent of a missing child. Mind if we step aside and have a private conversation?"

"Of course, Detective."

"I can't believe this is happening," Alyssa said after they walked off. "I want to be out there looking for Alex."

Russ slid an arm around her back. "I know, honey, but we have to proceed carefully."

"It's hard to believe Eads is behind this," Alyssa said. "He doesn't seem smart enough to pull it off."

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and sometimes luck is better than smarts," I said. "Alex wasn't supposed to be here tonight. His abductor was here for Lio, not him. I think he's taken our boy until he figures out what to do."

"I agree with Abe," Russ said. "If he'd wanted to harm Alex, he had time and opportunity to do so."

"So our guy panicked," Alyssa said. "That does sound like something Eads might do."

"I'm already a step ahead of you," Rigby said. "I have SPD officers out looking for him."

Lio rejoined us, and I hugged him as Alyssa took her turn speaking to Hale. "Christ, I need my son back," he said.

Voices came from the backyard, and I heard the dog handler issuing commands. Lio and I stepped over and watched as the officers with flashlights followed the dog and its handler toward the barn. I gripped Lio's elbow and led him back to the group.

"I can't just stand here and wait for someone else to find Alex," he said. "I need to do something."

"You need to trust CCSD to do their jobs," Rigby said. "SPD will assist however we can."

"Would you trust the sheriff's department if it was your kid?" Russ asked.

"I think Hale is a promising young detective, but no, I wouldn't," Rigby said softly.

That's when I knew I would run for sheriff in Chatham County. Citizens needed to have faith in their law enforcement departments when they called for help.

Alyssa rejoined us for a few minutes. "I've given him a list of Alex's friends and their contact information. I will get him Alex's cell phone activity, but I doubt it sheds light on anything. Nothing Alex said or did resulted in his abduction."

Shouting came from the rear of the property, and the blood in my veins turned to ice.

"Stay here," Hale insisted.

"He's fine," Alyssa said. "I feel it in my heart. Whatever is back there, it's not Alex."

Hale returned a few minutes later. "The K-9 handler used one of your son's shirts from his gym bag to get his scent, and the dog got a hit. He tracked Alex's scent to behind the barn before it disappeared. There's a set of fresh tire marks back there. It looks like they belong to a truck or SUV. Could they be yours?"

"No," Lio said adamantly. "I've never parked there."

Hale nodded and made a note. "We'll get casts made." He tucked his notebook away, then added, "We're going to process the house, which will take a while. I know how hard it must be for you to step back and let us take control of the situation, but it's best for everyone. I promise to keep you updated."

We reluctantly agreed, and Hale went inside the house.

"We can go back to our place," Alyssa said.

"Let's go back to SPD," Rigby said. "It will keep us closer to the action."

"I think I should go check out the campground Eads and his buddies were staying at this weekend," I told Lio.

"Already made the call to Sheriff Gunderson," Rigby said.

Lio slid his hand into mine. "I need you here with me."

"Then that's where I'll be."

SPD was bustling. It seemed like every officer was on hand and ready to assist. Alyssa and Lio thanked those who spoke directly to them as we made our way to Rigby's office. We discussed our options, but there weren't many.

"I'd like to make a plea directly to the public," Lio said. Holding press conferences was something he did weekly, but rarely were they his suggestion.

"I'll set it up," Rigby said, then exited her office.

It surprised no one that the commissioner got everything ready in under thirty minutes. I'd never been prouder of Lio as he and Alyssa stood at the podium.

"Tonight, I not only stand before you as your police chief, but as a father." Lio's voice cracked, and he paused to regain his composure. "Someone came into my home this evening and abducted our fourteen-year-old son." Alyssa held up an eight by ten of Alex's latest school picture. God, he would be so pissed when he found out. No one took a good school picture. Lio relayed what little they knew while staring directly into the cameras. "If anyone has seen our son or has any information about who might have him, we're begging you to call." He rattled off the phone number and stepped aside so Alyssa could speak. She ran through Alex's height, weight, and what he was wearing when he was taken.

"Please help us," she said.

They ended the press conference without taking questions from reporters, and we returned to Rigby's office to do the worst thing in the world: wait. We weren't there long before someone knocked sharply on Rigby's door. She bade them to enter, and a dark-haired officer informed her Dylan Eads was at the precinct and wanted to speak to Rigby, Lio, and Alyssa.

"Did he show up voluntarily, or was he brought in?" Rigby asked.

"Voluntarily," he replied.

"Keep your cool, Lio," Alyssa urged as we headed to the interview room where Eads waited.

"I'll be on my best behavior," he replied, which might have been more believable if he wasn't cracking his knuckles.

Eads had come alone and looked like a complete wreck. His hands went up in surrender the moment we entered the room. "I did accept money from Savant to alter the outcomes of investigations and prosecutions, but I didn't do this," Eads said, shaking his head vigorously. "I didn't take your son," he said to Alyssa before looking at Lio. "And I didn't shoot at you."

As much as I hated it, I believed him, and that was scary as hell. If not Eads, then who was behind the attacks?

"I'll do anything to help," Eads said, his eyes pleading for them to believe him.

I saw the moment Lio recognized the truth too. His shoulders slumped, and I placed my hand on his lower back. "We will find Alex." Lio turned, met my gaze, and nodded.

"Do you think Savant could have hired someone to shoot at Lio and take his son?" Rigby asked.

"It's possible, but he never mentioned anything like that to me." Eads's eyes widened. "I could record our phone calls and find out."

Rigby nodded jerkily. "It's worth a shot. Come with me."

She led Eads out of the room, and it felt like the air got sucked out with her. Alyssa groaned and buried her face in her hands. Russ leaned in and spoke quietly to her. I rubbed my hand up and down Lio's back, trying to find the right words to say. My phone rang, scaring the shit out of me and everyone else, judging by their alarmed expressions. I checked the caller ID and was surprised to see Amber Abbott's name. I hadn't spoken to Jeremy's ex-wife in four or five years and had forgotten I had her number. My first instinct was to send the call to voicemail, but it had to be an emergency if she was calling. I'd vowed to be a better friend to Jeremy, so I pointed to my phone and then the hallway.

"Hello, Amber," I said when I closed the door behind me. "Is everything okay?"

"Hell no, it's not," she snarled. "You tell Jeremy he has twenty-four hours to get in touch with my attorney, or I'm going to make sure his revoked visitation rights become permanent."

"Whoa," I said. "What are you talking about?"

"He missed his court appearance today, and I've had enough of his crap, Abe. Twenty-four hours."

"I'm sorry, but why are you calling me?" I asked.

She snorted. "Because you're helping Jeremy hide from his responsibilities."

I reminded myself to keep my cool. I didn't know this woman well, but she'd never struck me as the kind of person who just made shit up for the hell of it. "I'm going to need you to talk to me like I'm five years old. What are you talking about? I've done no such thing."

"I don't know why I bothered calling you," Amber said. "I should've known you'd take his side." There was a slight hitch in her breath before she burst into tears.

"Amber, please calm down and tell me what's going on. I'm truly clueless."

She sniffled a few times and said, "Oh, really? Jeremy never stopped sharing his iPhone location with me. I checked just now, and he's in the Trophy Lake area. I knew he was back in survivalist mode and was most likely off his meds. I couldn't figure out why he'd gone to that lake until I remembered you have a cabin there."

"Survivalist mode?" I asked. Then I remembered what Barbra told me about the break-ins at the cabins and suspected vagrancy in the surrounding wooded areas. Could it be Jeremy? "Start at the beginning and tell me what's going on."

Amber took a deep breath before laying out a timeline of regressive behavior. She described bouts of violence and incidents of drug and alcohol abuse to mask his mental illness. "He can't hold down a job. He completely withdraws from his kids and chooses to live off the grid. I can't keep doing this, Abe. I have no choice but to keep him away from our girls."

I struggled to wrap my mind around everything she told me. I'd never known Jeremy to live off the land, but I hadn't really talked to him in two years. Fuck, this was a mess.

Lio poked his head out the door. "Everything okay?" he asked softly.

"I'll be right there, baby." I blamed stress for the reason I slipped and called him the endearment at work, but his dark gaze softened ever so slightly. After Lio ducked back inside Rigby's office, I returned my attention to Amber. "I'll drive out to the lake and see if I can find Jeremy, but it will have to wait until after I help Lio through an emergency."

"Lio?" she asked. "Is he the one you just called baby?"

"Yes."

"Does Jere know you're together?"

I nodded, then realized she couldn't see me. "He does, but this really isn't the right time to discuss it. Someone abducted Lio's son this evening, and I need to make finding Alex my top priority."

Amber sucked in a sharp breath. "Holy fuck, Abe. Jeremy hates Lio and resents the bond the two of you have. He told me Lio was the reason things didn't work out between you and Jeremy. If he's as bad off as I fear, he could be capable of anything."

My blood turned to ice in my veins, and I disconnected without saying goodbye. Oh fuck. This was all my fault. The chilly awareness permeated my body, numbing my limbs and rendering them useless. All eyes turned to me when I entered the room. Inside my head, I was screaming that I knew Alex's location, but I couldn't get my frozen lips to move. Myriad expressions washed over their faces—curiosity, confusion, and downright terror.