Tracking Justice (Texas K-9 Unit) Read online

  Check the window again, Momma. Did you check it?

  The words seemed to echo in Brady’s empty room.

  She should have asked him why he was worried about the window lock. Should have pressed him about his day, asked just one more time if everything was okay.

  If she had—

  “Did you find something?” Detective Black walked into the room, a bloodhound padding along beside him. Orange vest and droopy ears, a wet nose and big, dark eyes. Brady would have loved to see him.

  The thought burned behind Eva’s eyes, and she ran to the closet, yanked out the T-shirt Brady had worn to school.

  Blue today. Orange tomorrow!

  “This is the shirt he wore today.” She handed the detective Brady’s T-shirt before she gave into temptation and pressed it to her face, inhaled her son’s little-boy scent.

  Please, God. Please.

  “He asked me to check the window lock twice. He seemed quiet at dinner. I thought he might be getting sick, but maybe...” Her guilt spilled out, and she had to stop the words so that the tears didn’t spill out, too.

  “Your son’s disappearance might not have anything to do with what happened at Slade’s house.”

  “But you think that it does?”

  “Do you have a recent photo?” He didn’t respond to her comment, and she knew that he did.

  She hadn’t realized she could be any more petrified than she’d been when she’d walked into Brady’s room and seen his open window.

  She could be.

  She was.

  Cold air blew in, carrying a hint of rain or snow.

  And, somewhere out in the darkness, Brady was scared and probably calling for her.

  A tear dripped down her cheek.

  “Eva, I need that photo,” Detective Black said gently, and she ran from the room, ran into hers.

  So close to Brady’s.

  She’d planned it that way when she’d decided which of the three bedrooms she’d take and which Brady would have.

  So close, but she hadn’t heard a sound until he’d cried for her.

  She grabbed the framed school photo from her nightstand, pressed it to her chest.

  “Got it?” Detective Black walked into the room with his bloodhound, and Eva didn’t care that she’d left her waitressing uniform in a stack on a chair. She didn’t care that a pile of college books and papers lay beside her bed. She didn’t care about anything but handing him the photo and watching him walk out the door to find her son.

  “This was taken a few months ago.” She handed him the photo, and he studied it for a moment.

  “Cute kid,” he said with a small smile, and she nodded because she couldn’t speak past the tears that clogged her throat.

  The doorbell rang again. This time she didn’t run to answer it. Didn’t believe that somehow Brady would magically appear on the porch, tired and scared but with some explanation that would make sense. Maybe some story about sleepwalking or thinking that Mrs. Daphne’s dog was outside whining for his attention.

  She walked into the living room, her heart heavy and aching, her chest tight.

  Captain Slade McNeal stood near the front door, his dark hair mussed, his face drawn and weary. “Eva, I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. I had to wait for my son’s babysitter to arrive.”

  “It’s okay.” Her voice sounded hollow and old.

  “Have you found any evidence, Cunningham?” Slade turned to the patrol officer.

  “I checked the back window. It looks like someone popped the lock on it. I’ve already called for an evidence team.”

  “Good. Are you going to take Justice out to track Brady, Austin?”

  “Yes. We’ll start around back and work our way from there.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Eva pulled her old wool coat from the closet near the door. There was no way she could put Brady’s life in someone else’s hands. No way she could trust that anyone else would look as hard or as long as she would. He was her son, after all. Her responsibility.

  “The best thing you can do for your son is stay here and answer the captain’s questions. The more information you provide, the faster we can narrow down our search.” Austin walked onto the porch, and she followed.

  He might not want her to help with the search, but she had no intention of staying behind. Brady needed her, and she needed to be there for him. That was the way it had been from the moment he was born, the bond between them so strong that she’d thought that nothing would ever tear them apart.

  Something had.

  Someone had.

  She clenched her fist.

  Brady was okay. He had to be.

  “I’ve called in Lee Calloway. I’ll have him question the neighbors while I work with Cunningham and the evidence team.” Slade stepped outside, and Eva walked down the porch stairs, letting him approach Detective Black. They could talk all they wanted. She was going to look for her son.

  Please, God, just let him be okay. Please, help me find him.

  Please.

  She could not lose her son.

  Wouldn’t lose him.

  If that meant searching alone while the police collected evidence and speculated on the who and why and how of Brady’s kidnapping, so be it.

  TWO

  Justice whined impatiently as Austin followed Eva around the side of the house. She stood near the window, staring aimlessly into the backyard, her arms wrapped around her waist.

  “You need to go back inside,” he said.

  “I need to find my son, Detective. He’s my life.”

  “I know.” Austin didn’t have children yet, but he’d heard the same story dozens of times over his years in search and rescue. He knew the depth of fear and longing, the hope and despair that lived in a parent’s heart when a child disappeared. “I’m going to help you do that, but you need to help me.”

  “By going inside and answering a thousand questions?” she asked, her eyes shimmering with tears. None fell. She looked young, but tough. Like someone who’d lived through trouble, and who expected to live through more.

  “If that’s what it takes to find Brady, then, yes.”

  “I can’t go back inside.”

  “You have to, because the longer I have to stand here talking to you, the longer it’s going to take me to get started on the search.”

  “I—”

  “Go inside, Eva.” He cut her off, crouched near Justice and held out Brady’s shirt. “Ready, boy?”

  Justice snuffled the fabric, then bent his long snout to the ground. He circled the area, bypassing Eva, who didn’t seem at all interested in following orders.

  “Do you think he can find Brady’s scent?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Will it lead us to Brady?”

  “Hopefully.”

  “What—”

  “Justice is ready to track. I can’t let him start until you’re inside.”

  His words were like a splash of ice water in Eva’s face.

  Of course, he couldn’t start the search while she stood there asking questions.

  She blinked back hot tears, hating the weakness that made her want to beg and plead and cry. She was strong. She had to be, but she didn’t feel strong. She felt weak and scared, and she wanted to hover around Austin until he promised that he’d bring Brady home to her.

  She pivoted, willing to do anything to have Brady back.

  “Eva,” Detective Black called as she reached the corner of the house.

  “Yes?” She stopped, but she didn’t turn to face him. She didn’t want him to see her despair.

  “I’ll do everything I can to bring Brady home to you.”

  She did turn then, wanting to thank him for the reassurance. The words died as she watched him hold Brady’s little shirt out to the dog.

  Justice huffed out a breath and barked.

  “Seek,” Detective Black commanded, and the bloodhound took off, his handler running along behind him. Across the backyard,
into the neighbor’s. Out onto the street beyond.

  She lost sight of them there.

  If she could have, she would have followed them, but she knew she had to go back. Do what she’d been told. Answer dozens of questions that might, if God were willing, bring her son home.

  He certainly hadn’t been willing to bring her parents’ murderer to justice, but she had to believe that this time He’d answer her prayers.

  Please, God. Please.

  She walked around to the front of the house, skirting by several police officers who were standing on the front porch. Three police cars were parked on the curb, another one across the street. One in the driveway. Lots of people, and that had to be a good thing.

  Didn’t it?

  She hoped so, because every minute that passed was a minute that Brady was alone with...

  She cut the thought off. Didn’t want to acknowledge what had been floating around in her head since Detective Black had mentioned the crime at Slade’s house.

  Had Brady seen something?

  He shouldn’t have. He wasn’t allowed to play outside by himself, and Mrs. Daphne didn’t like being outside in the cold. Arthritis, she always said, and who was Eva to say differently? At seventy, Mrs. Daphne deserved to stay inside if it was what she wanted. The rule was, Brady stayed inside with her. A tough one for him to want to follow. He was high energy and active, and he loved being outdoors.

  Had he skirted the rule?

  Snuck outside or convinced Mrs. Daphne to let him go?

  Her house was close enough to Slade’s for Brady to have had a clear view of it from the yard. But could he have seen enough to make him the target of a criminal?

  She didn’t know. Didn’t even want to speculate. All she wanted was her son.

  She walked back inside, tried to return the smile that Slade offered. “Do you have some questions for me? Because if you don’t—”

  “I do. Officer Cunningham is working with the evidence team, and I’ll be conducting the interview. This should only take a few minutes.”

  “All right.” She sat on the edge of the couch, her body trembling and cold.

  “Was Brady with Mrs. Daphne today?”

  “Yes.”

  “What time did you pick him up?”

  “Six.”

  “Did he mention anything unusual about his day? Anything that concerned you or him?”

  “Nothing. He did seem...quiet.” She knew where the conversation was heading, and she took a deep breath, tried to relax.

  He narrowed his eyes. “You heard what happened at my house yesterday afternoon?”

  “Yes. Detective Black told me.”

  “Then you know that my father was attacked and Rio was stolen. Do you think it’s possible that Brady saw what happened?”

  “He didn’t mention it, but I guess anything is possible.”

  Slade jotted something in a notebook, asked another question and another.

  Eva answered all of them as best she could. She couldn’t collapse, couldn’t let herself give in to the emotions that beat like bat wings in her stomach. She wanted to, though. Almost wished she had someone to lean on. Someone who could put an arm around her shoulder and tell her everything would be all right. There was no one. She wasn’t sure there ever had been.

  The clock on the fireplace mantel ticked the time away. Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen.

  Nearly an hour since Eva had realized Brady was gone.

  An hour that he’d been missing. An hour that he’d been terrified, cold. Hungry, because he always was.

  She wiped clammy hands on her pajama pants, swallowed down bile. “Are we almost done, Slade?”

  “I just have a few more questions to ask.”

  “I’ve already answered dozens, and I’ve answered some of them more than once.”

  “We have to be thorough, Eva. It’s the only way to get your son back.”

  “The only way to get my son back is to go out and look for him. That’s what I’m going to do.” She stood, her legs shaky. “Where’s Detective Black?”

  “Tracking Brady. If things go well, your son will be home before dawn.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “I can’t answer that, Eva. Sometimes kids are returned home in an hour or two. Sometimes it takes longer.”

  She sucked in a breath. “And sometimes it doesn’t happen at all?”

  “I think you know the answer to that. I also think that you know we’ll do everything we can to bring Brady home to you.”

  She’d wanted reassurance.

  She’d gotten truth, instead.

  She should be thankful for it but she just felt sick, her stomach heaving, stars dancing in front of her eyes. “I need some air.”

  She ran outside, letting cold air bathe her hot face.

  “Is everything okay, Ms. Billows?” Officer Cunningham asked, stepping away from a group of officers he’d been talking to.

  “Do you know where Detective Black is?” If Slade couldn’t give her an exact location, maybe he could.

  “He’s organizing the search team.”

  “Where?”

  “Headquarters are at the east entrance of the Lost Woods. We have a team setting up there. I’m sure Captain McNeal explained everything to you.”

  Eva nodded as if he had, but she’d been told nothing. Maybe Slade hadn’t known. Maybe he just hadn’t told her. The second seemed more likely than the first. He’d taken several phone calls during the interview. At some point, he must have been told that Detective Black was setting up at the Lost Woods.

  He had chosen not to share the information.

  It didn’t surprise her. She’d learned all about police silence after her parents’ deaths.

  She walked back inside, grabbed her purse, slipped her feet into old sneakers.

  “Where are you heading?” Slade asked.

  “I told you that I was going to go look for my son.”

  “I can’t recommend that.”

  “Can you stop me?” Because unless he had a legal reason to keep her at the house, she didn’t plan on being there. Not for a minute longer.

  He hesitated, then sighed. “You’re not a suspect, and you’ve answered all my questions. As long as I can get in touch with you if I need to, I guess I can’t keep you here.”

  “I have my cell phone.” She jotted the number on a scrap of paper and handed it to him, trying hard not to look into his eyes. She respected Slade. He was a good man who’d always been a good neighbor, but if his son, Caleb, were the one missing, he wouldn’t be sitting in his house answering questions while other people searched.

  “Just be sure you don’t get in the way of the search, Eva. If you do, it won’t help Brady.”

  “I know. I just need to...be doing something.” She grabbed Brady’s coat from the closet, telling herself that she was bringing it to him. That she’d go to the Lost Woods and see him standing with the search team, cold but fine.

  She jogged down the porch stairs and across the yard, unlocking the station wagon and sliding in behind the wheel. She slammed the door closed as several people called out to her. A few were neighbors. One was a stranger, a reporter maybe.

  She didn’t care.

  All she cared about was Brady.

  “Please, for once, just start!” she muttered as she shoved the key into the ignition. The starter clicked once, then again. Finally, the engine sputtered to life and she pulled away from the curb, glad for once for her father’s advice. Never park in the driveway or the garage, kid. If you do, it’ll be too easy for the police to block in your vehicle and keep you from running.

  Yeah, Ernie had been overflowing with little tidbits of information. Especially when he’d been drinking.

  A police cruiser pulled in behind her, lights on. No sirens, though. No doubt Slade had called in a tail. He’d probably call it an escort. Either way, Eva knew her rights, and she didn’t stop or slow down. That was another thing Ernie had taught her.

&nb
sp; He’d also taught her that people couldn’t be trusted. Not strangers, not friends and certainly not family. A good lesson that she’d forgotten once and would never forget again.

  The road leading out of the neighborhood was nearly empty, the moon hanging low above distant trees. A quarter mile, and she was outside Sagebrush city limits, sparse trees and thick scrub lining the two-lane highway. She knew the way to the Lost Woods. There weren’t many people in Sagebrush who didn’t. The place was legend, the deep wilderness a siren’s song that had called more than one explorer to his doom.

  She shivered, flicking on the heater and grimacing as cold air blew out of the vent. The car was a junker, but it ran. Until she finished school and got a better-paying job, there was no way she could afford better. It didn’t matter. She and Brady had what they needed and they had each other. She’d told herself that often over the years. She’d believed it, too. As much as she cringed when she thought about the mistake she’d made, the lies she’d bought into, the things she’d given away, she couldn’t regret Brady.

  A tear slipped down her cheek. The second of the night, and if she wasn’t careful there would be more. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her fingernails digging into hard plastic as she turned onto the narrow road that led to the east entrance of the woods.

  If Justice had tracked Brady to the woods, it meant he’d found the trail and been on it for nearly half a mile. Good news, but Eva didn’t want to think about Brady wandering through the wilderness. Anything could happen in the thick shelter of the Lost Woods. Anything could be lost there and never found again.

  She pulled in behind a line of police cars, search-and-rescue vehicles and TV-news vans. A crowd of people stood in the glow of several oversize spotlights, huddled around a long table, staring at something spread across its top. A tall broad-shouldered man gestured to the table and then to the entrance of the woods, his sweeping motion including stately pine trees crowded close and giant oaks that seemed to bar entrance to the forest’s dark interior.

  Detective Austin Black.

  Exactly the man Eva wanted to see.

  She grabbed Brady’s coat and jumped out of the station wagon, ignoring the officer who was getting out of the patrol car behind her.

  “Detective Black!” she called, pushing past a couple of news photographers.