Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(28)

“Done,” Colin said.

“Great. We’d like you to answer your cell phones as normal. Keep them charged up. We’ll get it set up so that we can hear whatever you’re hearing. Keep in mind, this isn’t like television or like the old days—we don’t need you to keep the kidnapper on the phone for any amount of time. With Wi-Fi and IP addresses and the software we’ve got, everything can be traced and tracked quickly. We get a call, we pinpoint a location, we send a team out. That’s how we’re going to do this.”

Colin and Amy nodded. Finally, Amy relinquished her grip on Josie’s hands.

“Now,” Oaks said. “If you’ll come into the other room where my team has set up, we’ll get started.”





Sixteen





Back at the command center, the first few rays of daylight were creeping up the horizon. They had been up all night. Josie felt a bone-deep exhaustion that seemed to be shared by everyone on her team, given the haggard look of Gretchen, Noah, and Mettner. Oaks gathered them in the tent. To Josie, he said, “You have a real rapport with Amy Ross. A connection. Do you have children?”

“No,” Josie said.

“You were at the playground when this happened.”

“Yes. I was babysitting my friend’s son.”

“Okay, well we’re going to need you to be present with Amy Ross as much as possible.”

“Not a problem,” Josie said.

“Also, your team knows this city far better than any one of my people. If we get a call from the kidnapper, we’re going to need you guys to get us to his location as quickly as possible.”

“You think he’s still in the area?” Gretchen asked.

Oaks said, “We can’t be certain, obviously, but we’d like to be prepared if he turns up locally.” He paused and looked at each of them. “Why don’t you and your team go home and get some rest. Come back in later today and we’ll catch you up. I’ll have my team going full tilt at this until then.”

No one argued. They were all too tired, and it was clear that Oaks had no intention of shutting them out of the investigation if they went and got some rest for a couple of hours.

Once Oaks had all their phone numbers saved, Josie walked with Noah to her car and drove them both to her house. Misty’s car was gone but inside were still signs that she and Harris were staying. Her little dog, Pepper, slept in the corner of Josie’s couch. Harris’s toys were scattered across the living room floor. “Watch where you walk,” Josie said.

“I’m going straight to bed,” Noah told her as he hopped along with his crutches in one hand, using the banister for balance as he climbed the steps.

“I’ll be right up,” Josie said, heading into the kitchen where she dialed Trinity.

“Are you just getting up?” Trinity asked.

“Going to bed,” Josie replied.

“Some things never change. What’ve you got?”

“You know I can’t talk to you about an active investigation,” Josie said.

“Oh,” Trinity said. “So there’s a lot more to this than anyone initially thought.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. If it was just a case of this girl wandering off, you’d just tell me there was no news. So what are we talking here? Sex offender?”

Josie said nothing.

“It’s not a sex offender?”

Josie remained silent.

“Then it’s something else. But still a kidnapping.”

Frustrated, Josie said, “How are you doing this?”

Trinity laughed. “Never mind that. I know you can’t tell me things, so let me tell you what I’ve found out. Colin Ross lived in New York City for decades before he met his wife. Apparently he was quite the ladies’ man. I talked to a few of his old girlfriends—if you can call them that. He wasn’t big into commitment. At least, not until Amy.”

It was the second time Josie had heard this. A voice in the back of her mind wondered if perhaps the weight of having and providing for a family had become too much for Colin. Had he arranged to have Lucy eliminated somehow? But no, that made no sense. If that were the case, they would have found her body by now, not a note suggesting the parents wait for a call from the kidnapper.

“What about financially?” Josie asked.

“His parents are both professors. Upper-middle class but certainly not rich. Colin worked several jobs to put himself through the MBA program at NYU. Got the job at Quarmark right out of school and worked his way up the ranks. He’s been the head of the pricing department for several years, bringing in six figures a year.”

So a kidnapping for ransom made sense, Josie thought.

“I talked with his mother. She said he’s been in touch with her but that he asked her not to come to Denton. She says that they don’t get along with Amy. She thinks that Amy has consistently tried to isolate Colin from everyone and everything he knows.”

“Has Amy ever denied them access to Lucy?” Josie asked.

“No. They don’t particularly like her, but she’s always been good about making sure they have a relationship with Lucy. At least, that’s what Colin’s mother told me.”