Out Of Focus: An Adams Grove Novel Part 28

Von shook his keys toward Riley. "Here. Why don't you take Kasey back to the room?"

Kasey jumped to her feet. "I'm good. I'm fine. No. I want to be here."

Von started to say something, but stuffed his keys back in his pocket instead.

Two police cars drove out of the lot. Chief Phipps hurried over to Von. "Good news. She doesn't have a record, and we have the address. We're heading out there now. Y'all can ride with me."

Von rode shotgun. Kasey and Riley jumped into the back seat of the cruiser.

Kasey shivered. Even her teeth chattered. The neighborhood was well-lit. They'd been on this street earlier today.

So close.

Judging by the size of the yards and the large trees that lined the streets, it appeared to be an older, well-established neighborhood. The homes weren't cookie-cutter replicas of one another. They turned a corner and slowed to a stop behind the other police cars that lined the curb, one behind the other.

The house was small, but under the light of the moon and the streetlights, it looked very well-maintained. Garden lights lined the flowerbeds. A flag with a snowflake pictured on it hung from the front porch. A swing set took up most of the side yard.

Jake loves to swing.

"I didn't expect the house to look like this," Riley said.

"I know. Normal," Kasey said. "But thank goodness. I had visions of something terrifying."

Riley nodded. "I know. I'm surprised, too."

"Nothing surprises me anymore," Chief Phipps said as he watched his men approach the front door. One peeled away and went around back. Chief Phipps stayed in the car, but he had one hand on the door handle.

An officer rapped on the front door with the end of his flashlight.

No answer.

A neighbor wearing a bathrobe stepped out onto her and leaned over the railing to see what was going on.

The chief opened the car door. "Wait here." He grabbed his hat from the dashboard, then walked toward the woman.

"Excuse me. Ma'am?" Chief Phipps said.

The woman on the porch spun around, clutching her chest. "Lord, son. You could scare an old woman to death."

He smiled. Serves her right, being nosy like that. "Sorry about that. I'm Chief Phipps."

"My goodness." She tugged her robe tighter, then ran her hand through her hair, fluffing it. "I voted for you in the last election. Ex-military man and all. I knew you'd keep us safe. What's going on over at Libby's place?"

"You know the woman that lives in that house?"

"Yes. Libby Braddock. Dear woman. Nothing has happened to her, has it?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Thank goodness. Widowed and all. That would be terrible."

"Has she been here today?"

"Yes. She's not there now. She just left about an hour ago. Seemed in a hurry. Her and her nephew. She said it was some kind of family emergency."

"I didn't catch your name, ma'am," Phipps said.

"Doris Moon. Call me Doris, please."

"Thanks, Doris. Her nephew? How old is he?" Phipps pulled a notepad from his pocket.

The old woman shrugged. "Four, I think."

"Do you know his name?"

"Of course. I babysit when she has doctor appointments and such. That little Jake is the sweetest child."

Phipps scribbled JAKE across the page. "Know where they were going?"

"No. She asked me to pick up her mail and paper. Said she'd be back in a couple weeks." The old woman studied him. "She was in a hurry. I didn't want to pry," she explained.

Probably a first.

"I understand. Does she hold a job?" Phipps asked.

"No. I don't like to talk about people, but I think she's on some kind of disability. I've noticed her checks when I get the mail sometimes."

Phipps laughed to himself. This nosy neighbor was probably the queen of gossip. "The child. You said Jake, right?"

She nodded.

"Is he in good health?"

"He's fine. So many questions. Are you sure something hasn't happened to them?"

"Just following some leads, ma'am." She didn't look convinced, but he had a few more questions, and she seemed to have a lot of answers. "How long has the boy been staying with her? Do you remember when she first brought him here?"

"No." She shook her head, and then her eyes lit up. "Yes I do. It was right around Sally Mae's birthday. We met at Shoney's for lunch. That was...well, wait." She held up her finger and headed to the door. The screen door slammed behind her. "I have it on my calendar."

She stopped and opened the door. "Come on in."

He followed her inside. She waddled into the kitchen and took a calendar down from the tack on the wall. "Can I get you some lemonade? Coffee?"

"Nothing, thank you."

"Oh. Here it is." She folded the calendar back and laid it on the table. "Yes...that would have been September seventh." She ran a finger around the entry on the calendar. "See."

"Yes. Thank you." He jotted down the information. "Why is he staying with her? Did she say?"

"Awful custody battle. Her poor brother. Divorce is tough on a man with children, you know." She reshuffled the calendar and tacked it back on the wall. "He travels a lot, and the mother is just an awful person. She left him. No warning."

"Thank you." Phipps turned to the door. "I'll just let myself out."

When the chief walked out of the neighbor's house he gave Von a nod, and Von met him in the street. They walked, talking as they joined the other officers in front of the house.

Kasey and Riley clung to one another.

A moment later, Von jogged back to the car.

"Well?" Kasey asked.

Von leaned into the open pa.s.senger door.

Riley scooted to the edge of the bench seat. "What's going on?"

Von blew out a breath. "She's not here. They left about an hour ago. The neighbor says it was a family emergency."

"Where? Let's go get them," Kasey said, her voice filled with frustration. "Why are we still here?"

"She doesn't know where they went. But Kasey, the neighbor said the little boy's name is Jake. He's been here since September. It's him. It's got to be him."

"Oh, Kasey," Riley whispered.

Kasey tried to force her confused emotions to cooperate. A million questions floated through her head, but none of them made it to her lips. She covered her face with her hands.

"She said he's healthy," Von told them. "He's fine."

"It's him. It's really him?" Riley asked.

"He's safe. He's alive, and she said he's okay? I've prayed for this moment." Kasey wiped tears from her face. "I want my son back. Why did she take him?" Sobbing, she choked on the words.

Riley shook her head. "There are some nut-job people in this world."

"I don't want my son with a nut-job!" Kasey squeezed her eyes tight.

"I didn't mean that," Riley said. "I'm sorry."

While Von updated Kasey and Riley, Phipps went back to ask Doris Moon about a few more details.

"Sorry to bother you again, Mrs. Moon-I mean, Doris. Do you have a key to Ms. Braddock's house?"

"Why, yes, I do have a key. We have each other's. You know, just in case."

"Would you mind letting us in? I can get a warrant if you're uncomfortable giving me access without one."

She hesitated, but only for a moment. "I suppose it wouldn't be a problem-if I went with you."

"Thank you."

The woman slipped her feet into a pair of bright green gardening clogs that were on the floor next to the front door, then led the way next door. Her steps were short and swift, leaving a trail in the dewy gra.s.s. She slipped the key into the door and opened it, stepping aside to let them in.

Four police officers spread out into different rooms of the tidy house. Especially tidy for a house with a four-year-old boy living in it. Doris stayed by the door as the officers opened drawers and checked trashcans for any hint as to where the woman had gone. Phipps. .h.i.t the caller ID list on the telephone and wrote the last ten numbers on his notepad. The last call was from UNKNOWN CALLER. He hit *69 to see if the number would replay. No luck. No address left behind, and no notes next to the phone.

The policemen filed out of the house and it wasn't long before Phipps cruiser was the only one left. Phipps helped Doris secure the house, and walked her home before joining the others in his car.

"I'm sorry." Phipps put his arm on the back of the seat and turned to Kasey. "I know this has got to be hard for you. We're on your side. We'll follow every lead to find your son. I promise."

"I hope you won't mind keeping me in the loop every step of the way," Von said.

"Not at all. I can definitely do that." Phipps looked at his list. "I've already put an APB out on the car. I don't think she knows she was made at the Walmart, so if she was naive enough to use that credit card once, hopefully she'll use it again." He looked up from his notes and turned toward Kasey. "Von already updated you on what the neighbor said?"

Kasey nodded.

"We'll find them." Phipps radioed the dispatcher and asked her to schedule a drive-by check of the Braddock house for the next week. "Mrs. Moon said she'll call and let me know when they come back, but we'll keep an eye on things, too."

Phipps started the car and took his disappointed pa.s.sengers back to the Walmart.

Silence reigned during the drive from the Walmart back to the hotel. Von went to get ice and sodas from the vending machine. Kasey and Riley went back to their room.

"More waiting." Kasey got into bed and crawled under the covers, fully clothed.

Von came back in the room and flipped on the television and his laptop. Riley closed the door between the rooms and crawled into bed next to Kasey.

"I wish there was more I could do," Riley said. She lay there, wide-awake, wishing and praying that this nightmare would end.

After Kasey fell asleep, Riley got up and tiptoed into the other room. Von hunched over his computer, reading something on the screen. She stepped behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "What do we do now?" she asked.

He reached up and patted her hand. He lifted her palm to his lips, kissed it, then squeezed her hand closed. "Love you."

"I love you, too." She leaned forward, put her chin on his shoulder, and looked at the website he had displayed on the screen. "What are you doing?"

"Grasping at straws, mostly. Just trying to think a step ahead of her."

She took several steps toward the other room, then turned back to him. "Von? We are going to find him sooner or later, right?"

He nodded. "Oh, yeah. Sooner, I hope."

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

The next morning, Von met the chief at the precinct for an update, and then did his own drive-by of the Braddock house. Nothing had changed. With nothing else to do in the small town but wait, they decided it was best to head back to the house on Nickel Creek. The ride back was quiet except for the chatter of the all-news station Von had on the radio. Kasey stared out the window.

Riley nudged Kasey's arm. "Are you going to answer your phone?" Riley leaned forward in her seat.