Kirra clenched her hands. If they were going to get anything useful out of Sam, they were going to have to be upfront. “Some men held my uncle, Meg’s dad, at gunpoint and showed him a video of Meg being held hostage. They told him if he didn’t do what they wanted, they’d kill her.”
“Seriously?”
Kirra nodded.
“It’s the truth,” Reef said when Sam looked to him.
“What’d they want your uncle to do?”
“We don’t know. Frank wouldn’t say.”
Sam cocked his head. “Are you two cops or something?”
“No.”
“If Meg’s actually been kidnapped, why aren’t the cops here?”
“Because the men responsible said no cops.”
“So you two just took it on yourselves to find her?”
“Yes. Now, can you help us?”
“I’ll try, but I don’t know what I can tell you.”
“Tell me what you know about Rain.”
He shrugged. “Not much.”
“Anything is more than we know,” Kirra said, fighting the desperation clawing at her, whispering this would be another dead end.
Sam raked a hand through his wavy brown hair. “I can’t believe this. I just assumed she and Rain had jetted together.”
Kirra supposed the possibility still existed. Meg could have been taken after they left the rally, but why would she have left the rally with Rain in the first place? Where were they headed? Had she gone with him willingly and then the situation changed? Or had he abducted her outright? Either way, Rain was the key. She could feel it. “What can you tell us about him?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with the basics. Is Rain his real name?”
“That’s what he goes by.”
A woman about Meg’s age joined them, her gaze shifting from Sam to Kirra, and back again. “Everything okay?”
“Belinda, this is Meg’s cousin Kirra,” Sam said, making the introductions.
“Hi.”
“And, this is my friend Reef.” Who would have thought she and Reef McKenna would ever become friends? And one she trusted so dearly.
Belinda smiled, but it was tight. “You two here to join the rally?”
“No.” Sam swiped his face. “If you can believe it, they think Meg’s been kidnapped.”
Belinda laughed. “What?”
“Seriously,” Sam said, his countenance far less jovial than when they’d arrived.
Snowflakes flitted in the sky, clinging to Belinda’s long auburn hair. “How is that possible?”
Kirra studied the woman. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“The night we arrived.”
“Did you see her leave with anybody?”
“No, but last I saw she was talking with Rain.” She looked at Sam, clearly looking for a reaction, but he gave none.
“What can you tell us about Rain?”
Belinda slid her gloved hands into her red pea coat pockets. “I don’t know. He kind of kept to himself.”
“Except with Meg, it sounds like.”
She shrugged. “The two seemed to hit it off.”
Heated voices coming from the parking lot drew Sam’s attention. “Sorry. If you’ll excuse me a moment.”
Belinda waited until he was gone and then looked at Kirra with a smile. “Rain had this mysterious air, an energy a lot of the girls found attractive.”
“Including you?”
“Me?” She laughed. “No. He’s not my type.” Her gaze momentarily slipped to Sam, but she quickly shifted it back to them.
“Were you surprised to learn Meg and Rain were gone?”
“No. I figured something grabbed Rain’s attention elsewhere. He had this habit of just disappearing and then reappearing.”
“Where did he go when he disappeared?”
“No idea.”
“How often did he do that?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t exactly keep tabs on the guy.”
“So it wasn’t surprising for him to just take off before the rally started?”
“I didn’t think much of it.”
“And Meg?”
“Figured she went along for the ride.”
“Ride where?”
“No clue. But they were both that sort.” She rocked back on her boot heels with a smug smile. “Unreliable.”
Kirra ignored the insult to her cousin—couldn’t really argue against it. “Any chance Rain took Meg against her will?”
Belinda’s brown eyes widened, her thin brows arching. “You think Rain abducted her?”
“We don’t know, but it seems he was the last person to be seen with Meg before she disappeared.”
“Man.” Belinda shook her head. “Never would have called him that.”
“How come?”
“I don’t know. Just didn’t seem the type.”
Neither had William. It was what made men like him so very dangerous.
“What about the name?”
“What about it?”
“Do you think Rain is his real name?”
“Nah.”
She said it so confidently it piqued Kirra’s attention. “Why not?”
“Because we went clubbing once in a while, and I caught a glimpse of his ID one time.”
Thank you, Jesus.
Now they were getting somewhere. “And?”
“His first name started with a J.” Belinda’s nose crinkled. “Jacob. No . . . Joseph.” She smiled. “Yeah, pretty sure it was Joseph.”
Not exactly the definitive clue Kirra had been hoping for, but it was something, she supposed. “Any idea on his last name?”
“Nah. Sorry.”
Kirra glanced at the crowd. “Anyone else here who might know?”
“You can ask around, but I doubt you’ll learn much.”
“Because Rain was uber private?”
Belinda nodded. “Yep.”
Kirra and Reef spent the next several frustrating hours interviewing the entire ROW group and, sadly, came away with very little. Meg’s belongings had been left—which certainly pointed to foul play—but there was nothing among her things to point to her attacker. Was Rain her abductor? Or had he been kidnapped too? Little was known about the man other than that he’d started showing up at ROW meetings several months back. No one had classes with him, but a number of the protestors had seen him on campus pretty regularly, at least over the last semester. He was tall, of sturdy build, had golden-streaked brown hair that fringed his shoulders—as one girl put it—in Brad Pitt, World War Z style. Beyond that no one seemed to know anything about the mysterious man—not his age, not if he was actually a student, where he lived—nothing beyond the tiny pieces they’d been able to gather. All they had was a description and possible first name.
Meg and Rain had ridden from campus with Sam, which left them sans vehicle, so Kirra and Reef were betting a third party had to be involved, or Rain had stashed a vehicle ahead of time.
One person in Meg’s assigned bunkhouse said she heard a scuffling noise the night Meg disappeared, but the gal had just assumed Meg and Rain were fooling around.
Another guy in the adjacent bunkhouse thought he’d heard a vehicle pull away a little after midnight but hadn’t paid it much attention.
It definitely wasn’t the concrete information Kirra had been praying for, but she supposed it was a start.
Midafternoon, Reef drove away from the noise of the parking lot, but only so far as the end of the marina driveway before pulling to the shoulder. It was time to try and reach Jake again, hoping he could direct their next steps.
After the third ring, Jake answered. “Reef?”
“Yeah. I’m here.” Reception was sketchy—the phone crackling—but at least he’d gotten through. “What happened?”
“Storm blew in. Lost reception. Where are you two at?”
“Seward.”
“Learn anything?”
Reef relayed what they?
??d discovered—what little there was.
“At least you got a decent description of Joseph aka Rain?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a police station in Seward that has a great sketch artist. Landon’s worked with him on a number of cases. Grab the protestor who gave you the best description and take him or her into the station. It shouldn’t take long, but it could provide us with a vital lead—Rain’s identity.”
“Okay. Will do.”
“I’ll have Landon call the station to let them know you’re coming, and have them scan and then e-mail the sketch to Landon and me. We can run it through our databases and hopefully get a match. After that I need you guys to head for Kodiak.”
“Kodiak? Why Kodiak?”
“Is Kirra right there?”
“Yeah . . .”
“Go ahead and put me on speakerphone. She’s going to want to hear this.”
Reef did so with apprehension.
“All set?” Jake asked.
“Yep,” Kirra said, kicking her boots up on the dash. “We’re both here.”
“I’m putting our end on speakerphone too,” he said.
“How ya hanging in there?” Darcy asked on the other end.
Kirra smiled at Reef. “Doing okay. Reef’s been a great help.”
He was so thankful he could be there for her, that he could be of support. It felt good being needed, and even better being there for someone else. If only he hadn’t gone with Meg to British Columbia that weekend, she could have been there for Kirra. There were so many decisions he regretted—they’d swallow him whole if it wasn’t for God’s grace and renewal.
“So what’s this about Kodiak?” she asked.
“How much do you know about your uncle Frank’s past? Back when he was a teenager and young adult?” Jake asked.
Kirra shifted, not liking where Jake’s questioning seemed to be headed. “Not much.” Hers was a quiet, private family. It was how her dad liked to keep things. She knew her dad went straight into the military after high school and Frank went to college, and the two hadn’t been close since. She’d always chalked it up to their vastly different personalities. But no definitive reason had been given, and she knew better than to ask.
“You mentioned Frank had changed his name because he was adopted,” Darcy chimed in.
“Yeah,” she said slowly.
“Well, I think there might be more behind the name change than that.”
“Why?”
“I did some digging and it turns out Frank had a pretty bad run-in with the law when he was eighteen.”
“Frank?” She laughed. “You’re kidding me.”
“Afraid not,” Darcy said. “He was arrested for a breaking and entering back in Kodiak.”
Kirra sat upright, pulling her legs down and planting her boots firmly on the floorboard—she needed the feel of something stable beneath her. “There’s got to be some mistake.”
“I’ve tripled-checked. Frank and two other men broke into a home and robbed it. Unfortunately things went very bad.”
Kirra’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean very bad?” Wasn’t a breaking and entering bad enough?
“The details are sketchy, which is why we need you to go to Kodiak and do some research, but it looks like Frank got in with two guys—both in their midtwenties at the time, both with previous records. They broke into the home of a man named Phillip Webster. The owner returned home before they’d cleared out. Shots were fired and one of the burglars—Tommy Madero—was killed. Apparently they caught the ringleader, Henry Watts, quickly—as he and Madero had been busted together before—but Frank wasn’t on their radar.”
“Did Watts turn Frank in?”
“Apparently not. It took the police nearly a week to discover Frank was the third burglar and nearly another week to bring him into custody.”
“I can’t believe this.” She’d thought she’d known Frank so well, but she’d thought the same about William and Tracey. When it came to people’s character, she seemed doomed to blindness. Anxiety nipped at her, threatening to take over. “What does any of this have to do with Meg?”
“I don’t know that it does—except Henry Watts just got released from prison last month.”
“Last month? Why did he serve so long?” Clearly Frank hadn’t. Had her uncle served any time in prison? The thought seemed so incongruent with the man she thought she knew.
“It was Watts’s third violation in less than a year. And it was determined he injured the homeowner in the shootout and killed Madero.”
“Madero was shot by Watts?” Reef’s confusion echoed her own.
“He claimed it was during the chaos of the shootout, but Frank had a different story,” Darcy said. “He believed it was intentional.”
Jake picked up the telling. “Because of Frank’s cooperation, and since he had no previous record—along with the fact he’d just turned eighteen—the judge was lenient and only gave him eighteen months for breaking and entering. Near as I can tell he changed his name when he got out, moved to Anchorage, enrolled in college, and cleaned up his act.”
Kirra’s mind raced through the possible scenarios, still trying to grasp what she was being told.
“Why would Watts kill his own man?”
“I don’t know. The entire thing has a weird feel to it. Another house in the neighborhood was hit that same night. The alarm was triggered, but the owner claims nothing was stolen.”
“Okay. So maybe the alarm scared them off before they could steal anything.”
“I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“Because they seemed to know what they were doing. They shut down a similar alarm at the next residence.”
“Okay, so maybe they decided there was nothing worth stealing.”
“That’s just it. The man who insisted nothing was stolen was reputed to own a significant number of valuable antiques.”
“Reputed to?”
“I found an article by a Simon Baker, a reporter with the Kodiak Eagle. According to the article, the other homeowner, a Mr. Bartholomew, was renowned in town for collecting the uncollectable.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning illegally obtained artifacts and antiques.”
“Which would make him none too eager to report such an item stolen.”
“Exactly.”
“Then why hit another house if they got something of such worth?”
“Who knows? Like I said, it has a weird feel to it.”
“And you’re sure Frank was involved?”
“According to his conviction, yes.”
“And you think this Henry Watts could have taken Meg? But why? Because Frank got away without serving much time?”
“Perhaps.”
“What are you thinking, Jake?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure where this will lead, but as long as you don’t have any strong leads in your search for Meg, you may as well head to Kodiak and see what you can find out about the robbery. Landon’s calling the local police and giving you an intro, so they’ll be expecting you.”
“Looks like we’re going to Kodiak after we visit the Seward police station,” Reef said, and Kirra nodded, still trying to wrap her head around all they had learned.
“And now that the storm’s past, Kayden and I are flying back to Anchorage to talk with the head of NorthStar Oil.”
“Why fly to see him? Why not just question him over the phone?” Reef asked.
“Because he won’t return our calls,” Kayden said.
“Besides, in person is always better. You can’t read expressions over the phone,” Jake said.
“Gage and I will stay with the race,” Darcy said. “We’ll keep an eye and ear out for sightings of Frank.”
“And Darcy will keep working her research magic,” Gage said.
“Jake, won’t people be curious about you two leaving?” Kirra asked. “First Reef and me, and now you two. What if those men are still watching?
What if they figure it out and punish Meg?”
“Don’t worry. We’ve got a cover story in place. We’re flying two dropped dogs back to Anchorage.”
15
Reef held the door of the Seward police station open as Kirra and then Belinda entered the one-story brick building.
“Kirra.” An officer approached with a smile that made Reef uneasy—there was a familiarity there, and definite interest hovering in the man’s brown eyes.
“Hey, Kevin. Good to see you.” She gave him a hug, and the hairs on the nape of Reef’s neck stood at jealous attention as she introduced them.
“So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Kirra?”
She pointed back at Belinda, who was sipping a soda and twirling her auburn hair. “We need to see your sketch artist.”
“Oh, right. Grainger called and said he was sending somebody in. Didn’t realize it was going to be you.”
“Well, here I am.”
“And my day just got a whole lot better.” He smiled.
And Reef’s just got a whole lot worse. He paced the Seward police station while Belinda described Rain aka Joseph to the sketch artist.
Kirra stood and paced in stride with him. “I know you’re anxious to keep moving forward, but identifying Rain could be the first concrete piece of evidence we have.”
Reef raked a hand through his hair. Getting back to their investigation wasn’t the only reason he wanted to get moving. Officer Charming hadn’t taken his eyes off Kirra since she’d walked through the station door. “So how do you know Officer Hoffman?”
“Kevin? Oh, we’ve worked a couple of SAR cases together.”
“So you’ve worked with Seward SAR too?” Was that a regular thing? Was she in Kevin’s company a lot? And why was he getting so jealous?
“Occasionally we team up to help each other out. I did some training here when they expanded their canine unit. Helped transition Kevin into the leader position.”
“That’s cool. So you work with him a lot?”
“Not anymore. . . .” She eyed him curiously. “Why the interest?”
He shrugged. “Just curious.”
“Aren’t you always?” She smiled.
He smiled back. “Can’t argue there.”
“So that would make me . . . ?”
Of course she’d make him say it. “I suppose that would make you . . . right.”