New Year Heroes: The Sheriff's Secretary / Veiled Intentions / Juror No. 7

“You know where he might be? Is he bunking with a girlfriend?” Lucas asked.

Georgia shook her head. “Who knows. What’s he done now? Last time I saw him he told me he was trying to get his life together. Told me he was tired of gangbanging and such.” The old woman seemed to shrink in size as misery darkened her eyes. “I should have known not to believe him.”

“Please, Mrs. Troulous, can you think of anyplace we might find him? It’s important. I have a little boy who is missing.”

One of Georgia’s gray eyebrows lifted. “You looking for the wrong person. Remy might be guilty of many things, but he’d never harm a child.”

“I still need to talk to him,” Lucas said. “If you see him before I do, tell him I’m looking for him.”

Georgia nodded, and together Mariah and Lucas returned to his car. “What now?” she asked. “Surely you have an idea where this Remy might be. We’ve got to find him. He’s the only lead we have.”

Lucas started the car engine and puffed out a deep sigh. “I know dozens of places he might be.”

“Then we start at the first place and don’t stop until we find him.” She couldn’t stand the idea of another night passing without Billy being home with her.

The afternoon passed with failure after failure as Lucas checked all the known friends and places where Remy might be. Nobody had seen him—or, at least, nobody would admit to it.

Lucas checked with all his deputies throughout the day, but nobody had anything to report.

At two, Wally called Lucas to tell him that an FBI agent had arrived. Lucas and Mariah drove to the office and met with Michael Kessler, a young, earnest agent who listened to the facts of the case dispassionately, then indicated that he’d be doing his own investigation and would appreciate the support of Lucas and his deputies.

“Only one agent?” Mariah said as they drove away from the sheriff’s office. “They only sent one man?”

“He’ll have more resources than we have,” Lucas replied. “Besides, even if they sent a hundred agents, we won’t get any answers without a viable lead.”

At seven they grabbed hamburgers at a local drive-through. Even though food was the last thing on her mind, Mariah ate, knowing that if she didn’t, she’d make herself sick.

Was somebody feeding Billy? Or was he hungry and scared and crying for her? The last of her burger remained uneaten as haunting thoughts filled her head.

They were still parked in the drive-through when Lucas’s cell phone rang. Mariah’s hope instantly soared. Maybe Billy and Jenny had been found. He answered and she watched the play of emotion on his face as he listened to the caller.

“We’ll be right there,” he said, then hung up and turned to look at her.

The hope that had momentarily buoyed her up inside crashed back down to earth as she saw the shadows that darkened his eyes. “We need to get back to your place,” he said. “There’s been another phone call.”

Chapter Four

“I don’t know if it’s a crank or not,” Wally said as Lucas and Mariah walked through her front door. “I’ve got it taped and I checked the number the call came from with the phone company. It was the pay phone behind Jimbo’s gas station. I already called Jimbo to see if he saw anyone using the phone, but no one did. I also sent Maylor over there to check out the phone and try to lift some prints.”

Lucas had little hope that the caller had been dumb enough to leave prints, and he wasn’t surprised that nobody had seen anyone using the phone. The area behind Jimbo’s was filled with old wrecked cars and used tires. It was more a junkyard than anything else, and Lucas figured few people even knew there was a phone back there.

“Let’s hear it,” he said, and gestured to the recording equipment.

Mariah leaned against one of the kitchen chairs, her face as pale as paper as she stared at the phone. He couldn’t believe the strength she’d exhibited so far. Most women would be in the care of a physician, swallowing tranquilizers to get through the ordeal. She’d definitely earned his respect.

Wally punched the Play button and his voice filled the air. “Harrington’s residence,” his taped greeting said.

“I know the sheriff isn’t there, and I have no desire to talk to you, so just give him this message.” The voice was low, a guttural whisper. It was the same person who had called Lucas on his cell phone.

“A game isn’t fun unless two can play. I’ll give you a little clue for the day. They’re safe in a place where no one can hear, where the cries of the dead ring loud and clear.” The caller paused. “Tell Sheriff Jamison to send his men home, to send everyone home. I don’t like extra players in my game. Tell him I’m watching his every move and trust me, he doesn’t want to break my rules.” There was an ominous tone to the already creepy voice.

“Listen, why don’t you—” Wally’s reply was cut off by an audible click as the caller hung up.

For a moment the three of them said nothing, but simply continued to stare at the machine, as if answers to their questions were forthcoming.

It was Mariah who broke the silence. She drew in a deep breath and met Lucas’s gaze. “He said they were safe and sound.” Her voice trembled slightly but also held the hope of a woman grasping at anything.

“That’s what he said,” Lucas replied. There was no way he was going to tell her that the word of a kidnapper wasn’t the most reliable in the world.

Mariah turned her gaze to Wally. “You have to go. You heard what he said, he wants everyone to leave and he’s watching us. I don’t want anyone here except me and Lucas.”

Wally looked at Lucas, his forehead wrinkled into a hundred frown lines. Lucas felt the weight of his next decision in the very pit of his gut where tension burned with hot flames. Although he didn’t want to play games with a criminal, he was also aware that he wasn’t willing to gamble with Billy’s and Jenny’s lives.

“Wally, head back to the office and keep all the men away from here. Let Agent Kessler know what’s going on. I’ll be in touch with each of you on my cell phone.”

“Are you sure?” Wally asked.

Lucas nodded. “I can’t risk not playing by his rules, at least for the moment.”

Dusk was deepening into night as Lucas walked Wally to his patrol car. “I’ve got Louis checking out Phil Ribideaux. The rest of you try to locate Remy Troulous. If you find him, bring him in and call me. Keep questioning whoever you think might have any information that might help us find Billy and Jenny. It would help if we could find somebody that saw them yesterday. Keep me posted on progress. I’m putting you in charge of coordinating things from the office. Make nice with Agent Kessler. If he needs anything, see that he gets it, but just make sure all the men stay away from here.”

Wally nodded. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, see what you can dig up on a Frank Landers, last known address in Shreveport. The authorities there haven’t been able to locate him, but I’m not sure how hard they’re looking. And check around, see if anyone has noticed any strangers hanging around lately.”

“Got it,” Wally said.

Lucas watched Wally drive away. He stood for several minutes in the driveway and stared around the area. Tell him I’m watching his every move and he doesn’t want to break my rules.

The people who lived on this street were good hardworking people who valued family and friends. He knew these people … or did he?

Suddenly every drapery drawn at a window might hide a kidnapper, every closed door implied secrets. Was somebody watching from next door? Across the street?

With a sigh he returned to the kitchen where Mariah was seated at the table, playing the message again. She pushed the Stop button when he came in. “The clue. I’ve been thinking about it.” Even though the timing was completely inappropriate, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked with her hair coming loose and springing around her shoulders and her cheeks filled with color that had been lacking for most of the day.

“What about it?”

“He said they’re where the cries of the dead ring loud and clear. It’s got to be the cemetery, Lucas. Maybe they’re in a crypt. We’ve got to go there and check it out.”

“Whoa. We aren’t going anywhere. I’ll go and take a look around.”

“If you think I’m going to stay here, you’re crazy,” she replied. “I can either ride with you or I can take my own car, but one way or another, I’m going to the cemetery. That’s where the clue leads and that’s where I need to be.”

“It could be dangerous,” Lucas protested. “You know that even under the best of circumstances the cemetery isn’t a good place to hang out, especially at night.”

She stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his arm. This close he could see that her blue eyes had silver flecks. Those eyes pleaded with him. “Lucas, please. I have to go with you. It’s my son. I don’t care about any danger. This is the first real clue we’ve had. Don’t make me fight you on this.”

He tried to imagine somebody trying to keep him from going to find Jenny. There was nobody on the face of the earth who could stop him—and he wouldn’t be the one to stop her.