Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

  Ramos straddled the bike and moved it forward for me to get on. In one smooth motion, I swung my leg over the seat and got comfortable. He started her up, and I held on tight as we shot forward. A thrill went down my spine, and my stomach clenched. We pulled onto the street and I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that escaped my lips. What a rush!

  We drove through town, then into a residential area close to the university campus. The homes here were old and stately with huge trees and sidewalks. Ramos found the house he wanted and pulled down the driveway and around to the back. Dismounting from the bike, I took off my helmet and left it on the seat.

  “This is where my computer expert lives,” Ramos explained. “He’s checking out the surveillance footage from yesterday.”

  “Oh.” I nodded and followed him to the back door. He rang the buzzer, and we heard sounds of someone running up the basement steps before the door opened. A young man barely out of his teens, with curly brown hair and glasses, invited us inside. He glanced at me with suspicion but, thought since I was with Ramos, I had to be okay.

  “Come on down.” He left the door open and led the way into the basement.

  At the foot of the stairs, a large room opened up to reveal a serious computer setup. A huge desk had about six computer monitors stacked in a semi-circle at various levels on top of it. The computer guy slid into his chair and rolled over to the keyboard. He quickly typed in a few commands. “Okay...I hacked into the system and found the guy you’re looking for.”

  A clip showing Blake Beauchaine leaving the building came up on a monitor. “It looks like he went along the street a few blocks before heading down to the metro. I couldn’t pick him up after that.” We watched his progress on the monitors and saw how he seemingly disappeared at the station. “I’ve looked at all the camera angles, but I couldn’t pick him up anywhere. It’s like he vanished.”

  We watched the replay several times, trying to catch sight of Blake, but had no luck. “Sorry,” the young man said. “I’ll keep looking. Maybe he doubled back or something. If I find him again, I’ll let you know.”

  “I’d appreciate it. The boss wants a complete background check on the guy. His name’s Blake Beauchaine. He’s here in the city somewhere, and we need to know where.”

  “Sure...I’ll find him.”

  Ramos handed him an envelope full of money. “Thanks kid. I’ll be expecting your call. We’ll show ourselves out.”

  I followed Ramos outside, trying to pick up his thoughts about what was going on, but they were closed up tight. “What do you think is going on?” I finally asked.

  “I don’t know...but once the kid finds him, Manetto will know what to do.”

  “All right, but this whole thing worries me.”

  He put his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “This is nothing for you to worry about. I mean it...forget about it. Now...are you going to make me sorry I brought you? Because it’s a beautiful day for a ride, and I’d hate to see that ruined.”

  I let out my breath and smiled. “You’re right. I’ll try not to worry.”

  “Good.” He was thinking that trying wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he let it go. My problem was that I was just too tender-hearted for my own good. Hell, even he had taken advantage of that in Orlando. Maybe it was time I quit being so helpful and thought about myself for a change.

  “I heard that,” I said.

  “I was counting on it.” He slid his helmet on and started the bike. “We’ll take the scenic route back.”

  The streets were covered in leaves and, as we zipped through them, they scattered across the pavement to mark our passage. Golden sunshine warmed my back. It was a timeless moment, and I let go of my worries to enjoy it.

  By the time we got back to the parking garage, my soul was light and happy. “Thanks for the ride. So far, it was the best part of my day.”

  “Good,” Ramos said, taking my helmet and his jacket. He caught my gaze, thinking that, for him, it was more of a tie between pinning me to the floor in the apartment and having my arms locked tightly around him on the bike.

  I smiled, but my mouth went dry remembering the feel of his weight on top of me. I cleared my throat and tried to swallow. “Well...I’d better get going.” His smoldering gaze sent a flash of heat from my head to my toes, and I started to back away before I lost my cool. “Uh...bye.”

  “Shelby, wait...”

  I smiled, but no way was I going to keep standing so close to him when he looked at me like that. I mean...a girl can only take so much. I kept going backwards, only to lose my balance when I stepped off a small step I didn’t know was there. Ramos tensed, ready to catch me, but I managed to right myself without falling on my butt, and the moment passed. Still, I couldn’t stop my cheeks from turning red with embarrassment. “Oops.”

  “Are you okay?” Ramos asked, his eyes glowing with mirth and satisfaction that he’d rattled me.

  “Yeah...I’m fine.” My phone began to ring. “Uh...gotta go...see ya.” A little breathless, I hurried to my car while digging through my purse, grateful for the timely interruption. I smiled to see it was Holly, my best friend. Maybe she wanted to go to lunch? This was perfect. I could tell her all about my motorcycle ride and, when she told me she would have done the same thing, I wouldn’t feel so guilty.

  “Hi Holly,” I said.

  “Shelby!” Holly shouted. “Something terrible has happened. I need your help. My brother just called and told me his daughter’s missing. No one’s seen her since yesterday!”

  “Oh no. That’s terrible. How old is she?”

  “She’s fourteen.”

  “How come he didn’t know sooner?” I asked.

  “Apparently there was a mix-up with his ex-wife. She thought Chloe was spending the night with him, but he had no idea. Listen, I’m headed to his ex’s house to meet with him and the police. Is there any way you can come? Scott and I both want you there.”

  “Of course. I’m downtown, but I’ll come right over.”

  Holly told me the ex’s address, which just happened to be close to my own neighborhood, and we disconnected. As I drove to the house, the name, Chloe Peterson, seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure how I knew her. I didn’t think I’d ever met her before, but maybe she went to the same school as my kids.

  I turned down the street and found the place packed with several parked cars lining both sides. Next to a police car, I recognized an unmarked detective’s car and hoped Dimples was the lead detective assigned to the case. He wouldn’t have a problem with my involvement, where someone else might.

  I found a place to park and let out a relieved breath to find Holly’s car already parked up the street. At the house, the front door stood open, and a police officer blocked my way. “Ma’am, are you with the family?”

  “No, but the family requested me. I’m Shelby Nichols.”

  “Shelby!” Holly interrupted, pushing past the officer. “Please...come in.” She’d been watching for me and pulled me into the house. “I’m so glad you’re here. Let me get Scott.” She caught her brother’s attention, and he hurried over to meet me. “This is my best friend, Shelby. She can help. She’s really good at finding people. She has her own agency and everything.”

  His eyes held the torment of a tortured father’s soul, and he caught my hand in his. “Thank you for coming. I don’t know what’s going on. I didn’t know she was missing until the school called a few hours ago.” He was thinking that if someone had abducted her, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure between all of us we’ll find her,” I said.

  His eyes filled with tears, and he swallowed, glancing into the living room at his ex-wife, Kira. She was holding it together lots better than him, but fear was beginning to take its toll.

  A detective I knew too well talked to her and my heart sank. He was the only detective on the entire police force who didn’t like me much. His gaze caught mine, and his brows rose wit
h incredulity. What the hell was I doing here? Excusing himself, he hurried over to find out.

  Holly caught his intent and quickly introduced us. “Detective, this is my friend, Shelby Nichols. She’s a P.I., and we asked her to help.”

  “I know who she is,” Bates ground out, clearly unable to keep his disgust from showing.

  “Detective Bates,” I said.

  All at once, Holly understood the tension between us, and her eyes widened. I’d told her all about Detective Bates and his dislike of me at one of our lunches. She straightened to her full five-foot-ten height and glared at him. “I don’t care how you feel about Shelby. She is staying to help us.”

  Caught off guard, Bates sputtered. “That’s fine. I hope she can help.”

  “I can,” I answered. “Now fill me in on what’s going on. A girl’s life is at stake here.” That was enough to get past the awkward moment, and we all sat down in the living room to go over the details.

  “I last saw Chloe yesterday morning before she went to school,” Kira began, handing me a photograph of her daughter. “Everything was fine. It was just a normal day. I reminded her that I had to work late, and she told me she’d already arranged to stay at her dad’s for the night, so I could stay as long as I wanted.”

  She was thinking that Chloe had been a little flippant when she’d said that and, deep-down, she knew Chloe resented all the times she had to work late. As guilt spiked through her, I caught that the main reason she told Chloe she worked late was because she was seeing someone, and my eyes widened with surprise. Did Chloe know this? That might be a good reason for her to run away.

  “I didn’t check with Scott, because I just assumed she was telling me the truth,” she continued.

  I picked up that Kira didn’t like Scott much, and talking to him was something she avoided at all costs. It was easier for her to have Chloe do all the arranging and leave her out of it. “I didn’t know anything was wrong until Scott told me the school had called, and he wanted to know if she was sick or something.”

  Scott shook his head in frustration. “Maybe if you’d called to let me know what was going on, this wouldn’t have happened. What if someone’s taken her? Who knows where she could be? You should have checked her story out with me in the first place. Why do you always do that?”

  “Let’s calm down and focus,” Bates interrupted. “We need to try and figure out what happened.” He was thinking that Chloe probably ran away just to see if her parents cared about her. He’d seen that a few times. “It looks like she may have run away. Has she ever done anything like this before?”

  “No,” Kira said. But she was thinking about the argument they’d had, and how Chloe had threatened to run away and go live with her father. She’d told Chloe she could stay with him more often if she wanted, but there was no way in hell she would ever allow her to live with him. That’s why she didn’t think Chloe had lied about going to Scott’s house in the first place.

  “What school does Chloe go to?” I asked.

  “She’s in the ninth grade at Hillside High,” Scott answered.

  “Okay.” Now I knew why her name was familiar. She went to the same school as Josh. “Has anyone talked to her friends? Maybe she’s at one of their houses.”

  “She’s not,” Scott said. “I called their parents right away. None of them has seen her. I even searched everywhere I thought she might go. Here, my place, the park, everywhere I could think of. I’ve called her cell phone a hundred times, but it goes straight to voicemail. I don’t know what else to do. If she ran away, where could she be?”

  “Did she have any money or take your credit cards?” Bates asked. “Have either of you noticed any of your cash missing?”

  Kira hurried to her purse on the kitchen counter and pulled out her wallet. After rifling through it, she shook her head. “My cards and cash are all there. I’ll check my office.”

  After she left, Scott lowered his voice. “I’ve given her some cash every now and then when she visits, but I haven’t told Kira. I don’t think it’s enough to pay for a plane ticket, or even a bus ticket, unless she’s been saving it up.”

  “If she bought a bus ticket, is there a grandparent or aunt and uncle she would go visit?” Bates asked.

  Scott shook his head. “I’ve already called all the relatives, even on Kira’s side. No one’s seen her.”

  “What?” Kira asked, only catching the tail end of the conversation.

  Scott explained that he’d called her parents and sisters, and a cold spike of resentment went through her. Then she realized it was something she should have done, and guilt flooded over her again. She glanced at each of us in the room, thinking that we probably all thought she was a terrible mother. Maybe she was.

  Lately, Chloe had been whining about everything, and it drove her crazy. She’d even thought about how much easier her life would be without her...and now she was gone. Was it all her fault? What if something bad had happened to Chloe? What if she never came home?

  “What about your boyfriend,” I asked. “Would Chloe have gone to visit him, or would he have taken her somewhere?”

  Kira’s eyes widened with alarm, and her heart-rate spiked. How the hell did I know about him? She’d kept him a secret from everyone. Not even Chloe knew she had a man in her life.

  Everyone turned their gazes to Kira and she immediately went on the defense. “How did you...this is insane...what makes you think I have a boyfriend?”

  I raised my brows. “That’s why you work so late, isn’t it? To be with him? In case he had anything to do with Chloe’s disappearance, you have to tell us who he is.”

  She flushed before gaining her composure, knowing she couldn’t lie about him now without looking like a total failure. “I don’t know how you found out about him, but I can assure you he had nothing to do with Chloe’s disappearance.”

  Bates glanced at me, a fissure of unease rolling through him. I’d just done that “ju-ju” thing, and he didn’t like it, but if Kira had a boyfriend, that put a whole new spin on things. “I’d like to talk to him,” he said. “Just to make sure we’ve covered all our bases.”

  Kira swallowed, thinking this was terrible. No one was supposed to know about him. This whole affair was their little secret, and she’d promised not to tell anyone. If she did, he’d be furious. “Couldn’t we just wait and see if she turns up? Give her a little more time to come home?”

  “Kira!” Scott said. “How can you say that? This is our daughter, and she’s missing!”

  She dropped onto the couch, her head in her hands. “I know...I know. It’s just...I can’t believe this is happening. How could she do this to me...to us? She’s normally such a good girl.” She glanced up at us, tears rolling down her cheeks. “But maybe she did run away. We had an argument the other day. She threatened to go live with Scott. Since she’s not with him, then where could she be?”

  I caught a general feeling of disgust towards Kira from pretty much everyone in the room. In the back of her mind, she was even wondering if Scott had done this on purpose just to get back at her. Her reaction gave me a sick, queasy feeling, and I felt sorry for both Chloe and Scott. She was even trying to decide if she should give Bates her boyfriend’s real name or tell him it was someone else...

  “Shelby?” Holly asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

  “Huh?”

  “Is that okay with you?”

  I realized I’d missed something, but quickly picked up that Holly wanted me to go to the school with her and talk with some of Chloe’s teachers and classmates. “Oh, yeah...sure. That’s a good idea.”

  Bates prodded Kira for her boyfriend’s contact information. She hesitated before making her choice. “His name is Matt Swenson. I’ll give you his number, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to him at home.” She gave Bates the cell phone number and slumped into the couch in defeat.

  Scott stopped cold, shock sending a shiver all the way to his toes. This was insane. Matt had
been a friend to him when he’d first started his career. He was also ten years older than Kira and, even though he was married and had a respectable career, he was known for his philandering ways. How could Kira do this with Matt? What the hell? How long had this been going on? Was this the real reason she’d wanted the divorce?

  My eyes widened, and I slammed my shields tight, unable to handle the anguish pouring from both of their minds. This was a mess. I thought stuff like this only happened on TV shows, not in real life. I turned to Holly and motioned with my head to leave. She nodded, and we cleared out of there before Bates could stop us.

  “Let’s take my car,” I said, relaxing my shields now that we were out of the house.

  “Okay,” Holly agreed. A twinge of guilt passed through her for leaving Scott to fend for himself.

  “You can text Scott and tell him where we went in a minute. He’ll be grateful that we’re doing something since he’s stuck there with the police and Kira. It’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah.” Holly nodded, feeling better. “That’s true.” She sent me a grateful smile. “I don’t think I could’ve stayed with Kira one more minute or I might have strangled her. Can you believe the gall? Telling Bates to leave her boyfriend out of it?” She shook her head, then glanced at me with curiosity. “Hey...how did you know...was that...did you get a ‘premonition’ that she had a boyfriend?”

  “Yup,” I nodded. I’d told Holly right after I got shot in the head that I had premonitions. I didn’t want her to know the truth that I could actually read minds. She was my best friend, but if she knew I could hear her thoughts? I wasn’t sure I wanted to put that burden on her. Since then, I’d shared lots of stories about my psychic ability, but this was the first time she’d seen me in action.

  “Wow...that is so cool. I mean...I know you told me you could do that, but I didn’t know how it worked.” She’d always given me the benefit of the doubt, especially after all the things I’d told her, but it was still something else to see it in person. A surge of hope swelled inside her, and I braced myself. “Have you seen anything about Chloe? Is she all right?”