ChasingShadows (10 page)

“Are you looking for Sharon or Matthew?” a gravelly voice
called out.

They turned simultaneously. An elderly woman hunkered down
in her walker across the courtyard waved at them.

“Yes, ma’am. Have you seen them?” Alex asked.

“Not since yesterday mornin’ when that little girl was taken.”
The woman shook her head. “Such a sweet thing. I can’t imagine why anyone would
want to hurt the darlin’.”

Her voice drifted off as she shuffled around the corner
faster than Juliana considered possible at her age.

“Not since yesterday? Not good.” She chewed her lower lip,
looking up at Alex expectantly. “Can you get a search warrant?”

“Only for probable cause.” Alex called the PD and ordered an
investigator to dig deeper and faster into the Douglases’ background and
whereabouts.

* * * * *

Alex parked his SUV in Juliana’s driveway and left the
engine running. She reached to unlatch the door, but his relentless words
halted her.

“When did you start to read minds? You never did before.”

“Selective memory?” Juliana chided, knowing he forgot next
to nothing.

“Hardly.” He scowled. “Answer the question.”

He really is still mad at me.
No less and no more
than she had anticipated.

“You don’t want to know.” She averted her gaze.

“Try me.”

Juliana screamed in frustration. Only the scream never left
her head. “At Johnny’s funeral.”

His expression altered, as if someone had unexpectedly
smacked him from behind.

He turned his face away from her, shifting the SUV into
reverse. “I’ll call if I need you.”

Juliana seethed.
Damn him! Two can play that game.
Wordlessly,
she left the edgy atmosphere in the vehicle and watched him drive away.

“Thanks for the help today, Juliana,” she mocked as she
strode toward the porch. Prevailing over the tricky deadbolt, she stepped
through the front door, almost tripping on Alex’s tool chest.

“Possession’s nine tenths of the law.” She tapped the box
with the side of her foot. “You’re mine now.” Satisfaction curved her lips. He’d
return for his toolbox, and she wasn’t sure she didn’t want him to.

The old Alex was emerging in bits and pieces. Part of her
wanted to push him away and keep him at a distance, solve the case and move on
with their separate lives. She had survived twelve long years believing she’d
always live alone, her psychic burden keeping her company. Telepathic ability
played a major deterrent to any normal relationship. That fact had been
ingrained in her all her life.

But another part of her longed to wrap her arms around Alex
and kiss away the bad memories. She yearned to bury her head on his shoulder
and weep for the pain and misery she’d caused him.

And she ached to have him kiss away the heartbreaks and
nightmares she’d suffered, along with the loneliness, the fear and the Westwood
family curse.

She knew without question she couldn’t do either. She was
stuck in an ocean so deep, it would take a deepwater drill to tug her out.

Chapter Six

Alex returned to the precinct, a black cloud hovering over
his mood. He slammed shut the door to his office, glowering at the clanging of
his window blinds.

His world had tilted off its axis, and he struggled against
unknown assailants to right it again. What more would this week pile on him? First
he’d had to deal with Juliana’s reappearance, then Lisette’s disappearance.

He threw his messages on the desk and they fluttered like
pink blossoms across the paper-strewn surface. He shut the blinds and turned
his air conditioner on high, closing off the warm, chaotic exterior world.

That morning, he’d started reconnecting with Juliana, the
way it had been in high school. His reserve had slipped, and he’d accepted her
as a necessity in his life—at least until he found Lisette, and maybe even
longer.

A fraction of him wanted to erase the past and pick up where
they’d left off the day before the prom. Yet the past hindered him. By not
allowing Juliana to fess up about her desertion, he protected himself from
getting too close to her.

He hadn’t healed from loving her all those years ago.

And he’d never stopped loving her.

Dragging his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time
since dawn, Alex hauled in a sobering breath. When confronted with Juliana on
Thursday, he’d vowed not to get close to her again. Yet he couldn’t forget the
hunger in the kiss they shared in his office. He loved the taste of her ripe
lips, the soft feel of them under his. The kiss had made him want more, until
sanity prevailed.

She was too damn intoxicating. He wished he could hate her
intrusion into his life. But he couldn’t.

Scowling, he shoved Juliana out of his mind and focused on
finding his niece and the bastard who’d abducted her. Lisette was his top
priority, not a resurrected fantasy.

Alex spent the next few hours working on leads and
researching the Internet for information on Grantham Chamber and his family.

The entire Chamber estate dripped platinum. It wouldn’t
surprise him if thousand dollar bills replaced leaves on their trees each
spring. How much of that wealth would belong to Lisette after the old man
nose-dived into a six-foot hole?

Chamber possessed enough money to bankroll any criminal
activity. However, no evidence pointed in his direction. The man and his family
looked like saints in the public eye. They made a great show to the press of
their concern and support. They’d offered a substantial reward for information
leading to the kidnapper’s arrest and the safe return of their granddaughter.

Alex grimaced. They appeared innocent and helpful, when they
were probably as guilty as Charles Manson. He doubted they cared much for
Lisette, except to use her for whatever ulterior motives the rich played in the
game of life. They’d never cared about her before Lisette’s father died last
year. Why should things have changed?

A knock sounded at the door, and Alex tossed the last of his
introspection out, along with a half-eaten bag of vending machine pretzels he’d
tried snacking on the last hour.

James poked his head in. “Safe to enter?”

“When did that ever stop you?”

James handed him a cup of coffee. Alex lifted the lid off
the large cup and sniffed the welcome elixir. “Thanks.”

Sinking into a seat across from Alex, James unfolded his
lean legs and propped them on the desk. “City’s got their drawers in a twist
over this case. Press is chomping our ass.”

Alex clenched his jaw. The media had skipped past thirsty
and raced straight to ravenous. “Any new leads?”

“Nothing that means a shit.” James slammed his half-full
coffee cup on Alex’s desk, hot liquid sloshing over the rim. Shaking his hand,
he said, “Team’s following up on the calls pouring in. Usual crap, people
claiming to have seen her. A couple of confessions. Nothing’s panned out.”

Callers always inundated the police after an aired public
appeal—people who claimed they saw the victim or the perp in every crevice of
the city. They also usually received a few confessions, which were sick jokes
ninety-nine percent of the time. They were required to investigate these leads
in hopes of one bearing fruit.

“Pedophile files? Megan’s Law?”

“No matches.”

“Any other unsolved cases?” Alex sipped at the steaming
black coffee. The rich aroma energized him as fully as did the caffeine.

“No similars in the area.”

Alex drummed his fingers on his computer keyboard. He pushed
aside case files and set down the coffee cup. “Ransom?” They were in a race
against the clock; every hour counted in a kidnapping case. The first day was
critical, and death often took victims during the initial hours. Already on day
two, they should have received a ransom—if ransom was the kidnapper’s goal.

Alex’s gut roiled and he grabbed a roll of antacids from his
desk drawer and popped one in his mouth.

“Grandparents might have received a ransom and been warned
not to reveal it or the kidnapper would…”

Alex sensed James’ discomfort. He couldn’t say the words any
more than Alex wanted to think them.

“Wouldn’t put it past them. I’ve done background intel on
them.” He stabbed at the keyboard and scanned through his computer notes. “A
few hostile takeovers that might have pissed off a couple of business people,
but we’re talking major corporate players. No disgruntled employees. He fired
the first architect who designed that freaky house five years ago. The
architect lives in Houston now.”

“What about the older son?”

“Hasn’t been in the States in years. He was last seen
jet-setting in Barcelona, Spain. The hotel where he leases a penthouse
confirmed his lease.” Alex shrugged. “I’ve left messages. And I’ve contacted
Barcelona law enforcement.”

James stretched his arms until his shoulder bones cracked. “How’d
it go with Juliana?”

Alex filled James in on his day.

James’ freckles flushed red, his eyes gleaming excitedly. “She’s
the real ticket!”

“Why were you so sure of her?” Alex asked, despite the fact
that Juliana was as honest as a nun.

“Gut instinct. I saw no reason not to.”

Alex grumbled in response, rubbing at the crick in his neck.
He was living on borrowed time, every nerve chewed raw.

James rolled his eyes and smirked. “What went down between
you two, anyway?” He crossed his ankles as if settling in for the long haul.

James knew Juliana had disappeared without a trace, but not
the events leading up to it. Alex couldn’t hold out any longer. He owed James
the story.

He leaned his head against the chair back and exhaled
heavily. “Andrea and I switched schools senior year, and we hooked up with
Juliana right off the bat. You already know that everyone treated us like white
trash. They ostracized Juliana because they thought she was a witch. So we hit
it off perfectly.” Alex’s scar throbbed miserably. “Fast-forward to senior prom.
By that time, we planned to spend our lives together.”

“She’s hot.” James gave him a mock leer. “I can see why
you’d want to bag her.”

“Wasn’t like that.” Alex frowned as he toyed with the
antacid roll. “We never even had sex.”

James’ jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me, man.”

A suffocating sensation tightened Alex’s throat. He and
Juliana possessed a connection deeper than mere sex.

James laughed. “Went through a lot of shorts, huh?”

“Asshole.” Alex scowled halfheartedly.

James’ face grew somber. “Shit, man. I’m sorry.”

“How do you think I felt? We were in love, then out of the
blue, she splits on me, no explanation, no nothing,” Alex continued in a gruff
voice. “A couple nights before prom, she had a premonition my car would be
involved in an accident on prom night. She convinced me to rent a limo.”

“The accident that left Andrea in a coma?” James’ back went
rigid.

Alex nodded. The memories rushed back and compounded the
pitching in his gut. “After we left the prom, we drove around in the limo. The
next thing I knew, Juliana was screaming at me that Johnny and Andrea just
passed us in his truck and we had to stop them. She was incoherent, saying the
dream was wrong.” Alex gave in to the incessant itching and massaged his scar. “We
caught up to them, yelled at them to stop. But Johnny blew through a red light.
A semi slammed them cross-traffic. It killed Johnny instantly and left Andrea
in a coma, with cracked ribs and a broken leg.” Alex swallowed hard. “They were
both drunk.”

“Christ!” James shook his head. “Why did Juliana split?”

“The million dollar question.” Alex drew a ragged breath. “Johnny’s
dead, Andrea’s in intensive care and Juliana’s father snags her from the
emergency room. The last time I saw her was at Johnny’s funeral. She didn’t say
a word to me.

“She never returned to the hospital to visit Andrea. Then
she was gone. I called and went to her home a hundred times, but her father
told me she didn’t want to see me anymore.” A vein pulsed in his forehead in
sync with his throbbing scar.

“Her father was an asshole, over-controlling and
overprotective, big bad CEO of a major high-tech corporation. He hated me for
no good reason.” Alex had been forbidden fruit to Juliana, but it hadn’t
stopped them from falling in love. “Her mom died when she was ten; Juliana was
all he had left.”

“You have no clue what happened?” James gulped his coffee.

Alex shook his head. “She never once tried to contact me
after she disappeared.”

The room quieted as their gazes met, flickered and dropped.

James slashed the silence with his words. “We’ll have to
keep on Grantham and Samantha like flies on a dead man. And Juliana’s gonna sit
in on every interview.”

Glad to bury the past, Alex replied, “Track down the
Douglases and Jasmine ASAP. Who else should Juliana meet?” He was relying on
James to keep the facts straight and the ball in play. He didn’t have the
mental capacity or the time for the mountainload of paperwork and details—not
for this case.

“Bremley.” James shrugged. “We’ve got pictures of people
who’ve connected with Lisette. I want Juliana to look at them.” James threw an
envelope on the desk and opened his notepad.

”The footprint was on the approach to the window. Forensics
estimates it was made between two and four a.m. The perp weighs one-eighty-five
to two hundred pounds.”

Alex tried to concentrate on James’ words, but concern for
Lisette scraped him raw, leaving little room for comprehension. “What else?” he
asked.

James flipped through his notes. “No discernable prints on
the keychain.”

“Wonderful.” Alex grimaced.

A quick rap on the door interrupted them. The door slid open
and Alex glared at the intruder, swearing under his breath.

Chad Shelby lounged against the doorframe, a brown envelope
clutched in his hand. The wiry man’s close-cropped blonde hair and a dirty look
accentuated his thin, bronze face.

“What the hell do you want?” Alex settled back in his chair,
his scar now twitching uncontrollably.

“Thought I’d see how a
homicide
detective solves a
missing person’s case.”

“Get out, Shelby.” Disgust charged James’ voice.

“Surely, you’re not afraid of IA breathing down your back?” Shelby
snickered, a sound not unlike a Chihuahua sneezing.

“Did I forget to cross a ‘t’ somewhere?” Alex didn’t turn a
hair.

“Something far better. Here’s my report on the Rodriguez
bust. Originals are filed with HQ.” Shelby tossed the sealed envelope on Alex’s
desk.

Alex pulled a crumpled dollar bill from his jeans, unfolding
it with slow deliberation. He extended it toward Shelby. “Thanks for the
delivery, pizza boy.”

Shelby’s cloudy gray eyes blazed angrily. “MacKenzie
,
you’ll get yours someday.” The ubiquitous threat rolled off Shelby’s tongue,
and Alex mentally filed it away with all the others—in file number thirteen.

“Just like you did?” James threw in, sly menace in his voice.
“Hit the road and let real cops get some work done.”

A smirk twisted Shelby’s compressed lips. He straightened
against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his lean chest. “How’s your
niece, MacKenzie?”

“Get the hell out before I kick your ass to China.” Alex’s
self-control teetered on a jagged edge.

Shelby’s smile widened as he pivoted in the doorway and disappeared
down the corridor.

Alex called out, “Hey Shelby, what’s your shoe size?”

James stretched behind him and shut the door, cutting off
Shelby’s response. “That idiot’s eleven bottles short of a twelver.”

“You think?” Alex’s fury simmered and he quickly put a lid
on it. He flexed his hands, as if readying himself for battle. “Do we still
have a tag on him?”

“Yeah, man.” James rose then dropped back into his seat
stiffly. “No unusual activity.”

Alex gave him a double-look. Something was up. “Problem?”

“We’re gonna get major flack if Hayes or IA finds out we’re
tailing him without authority.”

“That’s the least of my worries. I’ll take full
responsibility. Find out his shoe size.”

“You’re serious?”

“He has motive.”

“No opportunity. He didn’t befriend Lisette.”

“James, don’t go stupid on me.” Alex stood and paced to the
filing cabinet. One of Lisette’s drawings of his house fell from the wall, and
he bent to pick it up. He ran his finger lightly over her signature and tacked
the picture on the wall. He turned around and stared his friend down.

James’ face mottled irritably. “What are you talking about?”

“Andrea dated him a couple of months ago.”

“She what?” James’ eyes widened, his fists clenched.

“Guess you didn’t know.” Alex’s shoulders lifted, fell. “My
quirky little sister and Lisette met him at the department picnic in June. The
one you missed because you were dealing with your ex-wife.” Alex gave James a
pointed stare. “He didn’t reveal his true identity to her. I didn’t find out
about it until afterward.”