Promise Not To Tell(73)

Panicked now, Xavier half turned. But something hard and metallic was pressed against the back of his head. He froze, so frightened he couldn’t catch his breath. Just like in a video game, except the gun is real. He’s going to kill me.

“Don’t move,” the subject said quietly. “The house on one side is empty. Neighbors on the other side are gone for the day. If I pull this trigger, no one will call nine-one-one.”

CHAPTER 52

Virginia knew from the hard look in Anson’s eyes that something was very wrong.

“Xavier is gone,” he announced.

“Back to California?” Cabot closed the office door. “I knew he would eventually get tired of hanging around, but I thought it might take a few more days before boredom set in.”

“Pretty sure he didn’t go home,” Anson said. “His pack is still at my house. Far as I can tell, the only thing he took with him is his phone.”

Virginia was still trying to get past the shock of the discovery that she and Cabot had made in Sandra Porter’s apartment. Reluctant to trust their phones, they had headed directly to the offices of Cutler, Sutter & Salinas with the intention of telling Anson the news about Tucker Fleming. It was Saturday, but no one was taking any time off. The situation was too fluid and dangerous.

When they had walked into the room a few seconds ago, Anson was not ensconced behind his desk. Instead, he had been pacing the room, which struck Virginia as very un-Anson-like behavior. The deep concern in his eyes was more than enough to make it clear that he was very worried.

She stood quietly near the desk and listened to the conversation with increasing alarm. Cabot’s entire attention was suddenly focused on Anson.

“What do you have?” Cabot asked.

Anson ceased his restless pacing.

“I don’t have much,” he said. “That’s the problem. He took off a couple hours ago. Said he was bored. He told me that he wanted to see the Space Needle and maybe Pike Place Market. They’re all within walking distance. I asked him if he needed directions. He held up his phone and said he could find his way around town.”

“Did you try calling his phone?” Virginia asked.

“Twice,” Anson said. “Got dumped into voice mail both times. Under other circumstances I wouldn’t be too concerned, but this just doesn’t feel right. He was having a blast digging into Virginia’s phone, trying to see if someone had planted a tracking app. At least I thought he was really involved with that project.”

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Cabot said. “This is Xavier we’re talking about. He’s got a history of taking off and not letting anyone know where he is until after he’s at his destination.”

Virginia stirred a little. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Xavier would just up and disappear. He has to know that would annoy both of you. He wouldn’t want to do that, not at this stage.”

Both men looked at her.

“What do you mean?” Anson asked.

“He’s been working hard, trying to prove himself to you and Cabot,” Virginia said. “He wants to be part of your pack.”

Cabot’s brows rose. “Pack?”

“Sorry, slip of the tongue,” Virginia said quickly. “I meant that Xavier wants to be a member of your crew, your team. I think it’s more likely that he’s trying to impress both of you. He wouldn’t go out of his way to piss you off now.”

Anson looked at Cabot. “She’s right.”

“Yeah,” Cabot said. “I know. Shit. We did not need this problem. All right, let’s assume that he thinks he’s working the case. Maybe he did find a tracking app on Virginia’s phone. Maybe the kid found a way to follow the trail back to the individual who enabled the app.”

Virginia went cold. “Oh, no, surely he wouldn’t take a risk like that.”

Anson looked startled. “Is that even possible?”

“Theoretically, yes,” Cabot said. “It wouldn’t be simple. I’m sure it would take some real skills, but, obviously, Xavier is good. I think we need to assume the worst-case scenario here.”

“What, exactly, is that?” Anson asked.

Virginia cleared her throat. “I think Cabot is afraid that maybe – just maybe – Xavier found Tucker Fleming.”

“Who the hell is Tucker Fleming and why is that a problem?” Anson demanded.

“Fleming works for Night Watch,” Cabot said. “He’s not on the org chart because he’s just a regular employee in the IT department. We found a picture of him in Porter’s apartment. He looks a hell of a lot like Quinton Zane. He’s the right age to be Zane’s son or nephew.”

Anson was thunderstruck. “What?”

“I’ll let Virginia explain,” Cabot said. “I need to get moving.”

Virginia looked at him. “Shouldn’t we call the police and tell them that Xavier has disappeared?”

“No good,” Anson said. “We don’t have any evidence of a kidnapping, and as a rule, the cops don’t take a missing person case seriously until the individual has been gone for a day or more. That’s especially true with teenagers who are known runaways.”

Virginia winced. “Xavier does fit that profile, doesn’t he?”