The Ex Who Glowed in the Dark (Charley's Ghost) (17 page)

“Possible. Nick’s new to the apartment building. He could have moved in to
keep an eye on Dawson and Grant. But Hannah lived there before Dawson and Grant moved in. That would have to be quite a coincidence for her to be involved.”

“Sounds like Ross isn’t the only one who’s got the
hots for the blonde,” Charley said.

Amanda folded her fingers into a fist and scowled at him. “Coincidences do happen. That’s why we have a word for them. Maybe that’s how these people found Dawson. He and Grant moved into her building and Hannah told her buddies.”

“Anything’s possible, but that sounds unlikely.”

“You think they’re trying to frame Hannah to divert suspicion from Nick?”

Jake dragged a hand through his already-rumpled hair and shook his head. “Remember what Ross said about the intricate maneuvering they did with the license plate being overkill?”

She nodded. “You think this is all a big tangle to keep us from finding the truth in the middle?”

“I don’t know what to think. I even ran a check on Brendan.”

“Really?
You think he’s capable of something so—” She spread her hands. “Something so down to earth as kidnapping?”

He grinned at her lame joke. “It’s possible. He’s computer literate and he’s managed to insinuate himself into Dawson’s life. But he’s lived in his apartment for nine years. He does web design work from home and has a reputation for being eccentric. He’s linked to a couple of those organizations that believe we’ve been invaded by aliens. His whole life is on the Internet, including posts about thinking Dawson and Grant are aliens.”

“Really? He’s gone from thinking Dawson’s an alien to wanting to protect him from aliens?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. He did say Dawson was a prince from Alpha Centauri. It makes about as much sense as anything else in this case. Brendan made himself right at home in Dawson’s apartment, but he’s agoraphobic, never leaves his own place.”

Amanda frowned. “Never?”

“I can’t swear to the
never
part, but he even has groceries delivered.”

“Groceries and tinfoil.”

Jake gave a short laugh.
“Definitely tinfoil.”

“So he doesn’t leave his apartment, but he went to Dawson’s place. He must be really determined to save him. Maybe he took a Xanax first.” Amanda glanced at the clock on the dashboard and sighed. “We’re no closer to finding Grant than we were before, are we?”

“Yes, we are. Cases don’t get solved in real life like they do on TV. Nobody jumps up and confesses. We gather the evidence, one microscopic bit at a time, and those bits pile up until we finally get an answer.”

“
Finally
,” Amanda repeated, glancing at the clock again. “I just hope
finally
comes before they start cutting off Grant’s fingers.”

Jake flinched. “I wish I could promise you it will.”

“Not all kidnappings end happily, do they?”

“No.” His answer was soft, barely audible, but it rang loudly through the car and Amanda’s heart. “Not all kidnappings have happy endings.”

“What do you do when that happens?”

He leaned back against the window and faced her, his dark gaze intense. “You steel yourself to tell the family, distance yourself from it, act detached. Then you go home and have nightmares about the victims and their families.”

Amanda let out a long breath. She hadn’t considered that Jake and Ross might be emotionally vested in this kidnapping, too. “I really appreciate you and Ross helping like this.”

Jake shrugged. “It’s what we do.”

“No, you don’t get to minimize what you’re doing. You came as soon as I called, you didn’t make Dawson fill out stupid forms, you and Ross have both put in extra hours. You’ve gone above and beyond, and I appreciate it.”

“I like Dawson. He seems like a good kid.”

“He is. I wish this wasn’t happening to him.”

A silence fell between them, a silence that seemed somehow comfortable and tense at the same time.

“Well, I guess we’d better get back to work.” Amanda leaned toward Jake as she reached in the back seat for her helmet and jacket.

He leaned toward her, his face inches from hers, his dark eyes half-closed.

Time stopped. The sounds of the car’s engine and air conditioner became muffled and far away. The temperature seemed to go up several degrees, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable heat.

He lifted a hand and laid it gently on the side of her face.

With no conscious effort on her part, Amanda felt herself leaning closer, her lips only inches away from his.

“Stop that!” Charley burst from the back seat, shooting through the space between them.

Amanda gasped, jumped and sat back, her heart racing.

Charley was going to die. The fact that he was already dead was not going to stop her from killing him.

Chapter Fifteen

As Amanda rode back to Dawson’s apartment, two very different thoughts kept spinning through her mind.

Would Jake have kissed her if Charley hadn’t interrupted? She was pretty sure the answer to that was
yes
. If he had, then what?

But she’d think about that later when Grant was safe. The other thought was what Jake had said…
not all kidnappings have happy endings
.

For the second time that day she rode as fast as possible, trusting Charley to let her know of any speed traps.

Trusting
. That was a word she never thought she’d use in relation to Charley.

She leaned around a corner, turning down the alley that led to Dawson’s parking lot. A dark mid-size sedan pulled out of the lot and headed her way.
Somebody going to the grocery store or out to visit a friend.

The alley was narrow, and Amanda moved as far over as she could. When the vehicle passed her, she glanced at the driver. The small part of her brain that wasn’t distracted with thoughts of Jake’s kiss and the danger to Grant’s life registered that he seemed vaguely familiar, but she was in the parking lot before she realized who he looked like. She brought the bike to a stop and lifted the faceplate of her helmet.

“Charley!”

“I’m right here. You don’t have to shout. I wonder if I’ll lose my hearing when I get old. I don’t think I can wear a hearing aid.”

“Who was in that car? Am I losing my mind, or did that man look like Brendan with his hair combed and no glasses?”

Charley frowned. “Not likely. As thick as those lenses are, he’d be blind without them. He wouldn’t be able to drive.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyway, Jake said he’s agoraphobic and never leaves his apartment.” She put her kickstand down and prepared to get off the bike but halted midway. “However, he did leave his apartment to go to Dawson’s and insinuate himself into the investigation. That’s what criminals do on TV. Maybe if he takes off the glasses, he can’t see the big world and loses his fears.”

“I don’t think that’s the way agoraphobia works.”

“We have to find out if that was him.” She flipped her faceplate down and put the kickstand up.

“I’m getting a little tired of all this running around everywhere while I—”

Amanda revved her bike, drowning out Charley’s words of protest, and sped away in the direction the car had taken. She had neither the time nor the patience for a whiny ghost.

In spite of his whining, Charley cooperated, dashing back and forth, directing her down side streets until they reached I-35E heading north. Amanda had time to begin to feel a little silly. What were the odds that Brendan was in the car they were chasing? She’d only had that one glimpse, and without the thick glasses, it was hard to be certain.

She wished Charley would go in for a close look and let her know. Maybe he had already. Surely he wouldn’t be continuing to follow the car if it wasn’t Brendan. Or maybe he would just to annoy her. He had been upset over her almost-kiss with Jake, and he’d protested about this latest trek. His current condition prevented him from lying, but maybe he could still be a jerk and drag her all over town on a wild goose chase.

When they exited onto I-635 going west, she began to doubt her own doubts. This was the route she and Sunny had taken on their ride to Wagon Wheel Park.

Of course, there were thousands of other possible destinations in that direction.

Another coincidence?

When Charley guided her along the same exit she and Sunny had taken, a chill ran down Amanda’s spine and her heart beat accelerated. Things were moving way beyond coincidence. Was Brendan or whoever was in that car heading for the place where person or persons unknown were holding Grant captive?

What a time to have left her gun at home. For sure she’d have to call Jake and ask for his help this time. Damn! Asking for help just didn’t seem very romantic. Not that there was anything romantic about her relationship with Jake.

Though he had maybe almost kissed her.

With every mile Amanda became more certain they were heading for Grant’s kidnappers. He’d come this way to his baseball games, recognized the route and done his best to convey it by making the sign of holding a wheel. Dawson was right. He was a smart, brave kid. Thanks to his ingenious clue, they were going to find him.

As soon as she got to wherever they were going, she’d call Jake. She wasn’t going to do anything foolish this time. Almost getting killed by Roland Kimball a couple of months before had scared her into being cautious, especially when she was unarmed.

She glanced down at her console to check her speed and noticed a red light.
Low on gas. Double damn! If she stopped to buy gas, Brendan would get too far ahead of her. She’d lose him. Anyway she probably had twenty miles left in the tank—assuming the light had just then come on. She’d been intent on following Charley and couldn’t remember when she’d last checked.

She had no choice but to keep following and hope she had enough gas. Walking and pushing a motorcycle while following a speeding car would not work
out very well. She always carried her HOG card and knew they’d rescue her, but not fast enough.

A few miles before they reached the park, they turned down a dirt road. In the dry summer the car ahead left a cloud of dust as easy to follow as Charley.

They were getting pretty far out in the country. Open fields dotted with mesquite trees and scrub oak stretched as far as she could see. She hoped her cell phone could still get a signal. If it didn’t, she’d have to ride back to civilization and call Jake.

She looked down at the low gas light. Or maybe she’d walk back to civilization.

In a mile and a half they turned down another dirt side road. Amanda made mental note of the distance and direction so she could find her way back. No wonder she and Sunny hadn’t been able to find the place. Even if Jake had brought out the search parties, the dogs and the helicopters, this location would have been tough to find.

The cloud of dust turned onto another road, one so rutted the car slowed to a crawl. This was her chance to make a phone call. At that speed, Brendan wasn’t going to get too far away. She pulled over, yanked off her gloves and fumbled for her cell phone.

Too late.
No signal
.

She extended her arm, held the phone as high as she could above her head and got one bar. One was better than none. She punched in Jake’s number and looked up, praying the signal would hold and that he’d answer.

Charley appeared in front of her, scowling. “What are you doing? Why did you stop?”

No sound came from the phone.

“Hello? Jake? Are you there?”

“You stopped in the middle of a car chase to call that—that man? What is the matter with you? Don’t you care about finding Dawson’s brother?”

Amanda peered up at the phone. “Jake!” she shouted. The phone was an arm’s length away and the bright sun obscured her vision, but she knew what had happened even before she lowered it to peer more closely.

No bars. No signal.

She shook the phone as if that would somehow make it work.

“Amanda! Let’s go.” Charley waved one hand in her face, urging her forward.

“You do electrical stuff. Make this work.” She extended the phone toward him.

Charley backed up. “I don’t know what to do with a cell phone! It took me two hours to figure out how to turn on a television. We don’t have two hours. Put that up and let’s go. Brendan’s going to get away.”

“Just try. Touch the phone inside like you touched Dawson’s computer. If that doesn’t work, we’ll go.”

Charley heaved a long sigh then reached toward the phone. As soon as he touched it, the display came on and flashed through a couple of screens then went to her call history. The phone tried to connect to each one of her calls in order—Jake, her mother, Sunny, her mother, Jake, her mother, her mother—

It was no use. But Charley seemed to find it entertaining. He continued to move his hands up and down through the phone in some sort of crazy rhythm. “That’s enough, Charley! Stop!”