Her Silent Cry

Seventeen

Josie woke to the sounds of Misty, Harris and Pepper downstairs. She checked her phone but there was no news. Lucy Ross had not been found. The kidnapper hadn’t called yet. Beside her, Noah stirred, his hand reaching for her. She turned toward him and pressed herself against his body, resting her cheek on his bare chest. He pulled her into him, his fingers brushing through her hair. “You have guests,” he said.

“I know,” Josie mumbled. “She’s kind of freaked out right now.”

“You think she made coffee?”

Josie laughed. “I’m sure she did. She’s got a two-year-old and a full-time job. She’s chronically sleep-deprived.”

“You haven’t had coffee in a few days,” Noah said.

“What?”

He pressed a kiss into her scalp. “You think I haven’t noticed?”

“That I haven’t had coffee?”

“That you haven’t been feeling well.”

“It’s stress,” Josie said dismissively. “With your mother passing, the case, and now this little girl.”

“It hits hard, doesn’t it?” Noah said. “Lucy Ross.”

A lump formed in Josie’s throat. “Yes.”

He hugged her close. She felt his breath on her forehead. “Let’s get to work, then.”

Josie texted Mettner and Gretchen to find out where they were—both had slept as long as she and Noah, which was most of the day—and promised to meet them at the mobile command center in a half hour. Josie and Noah showered and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Misty had made them an early dinner that was so delicious, Josie was tempted to ask her to move in permanently. On the way to the command center, Josie texted Oaks who said he’d meet them there to brief them.

Gretchen showed up armed with coffee and Danishes, but Josie could only stomach one cheese Danish before the nausea overcame her once more. She drank some water instead, willing her unruly stomach to settle as Oaks went over everything his team had accomplished while Josie and her team rested up.

“We got nothing from the note. No prints. The paper was just standard copy paper that could have been obtained at any office supply store, and the ink appears to be regular blue ink found in any common ballpoint pen,” Oaks began. The four of them sat at one of the card tables while Oaks stood at the head. “We talked with the park manager who looked inside the carousel column. One of the poles that controlled some of the horses had been disabled.”

“So when they started the ride, it would have been a problem,” Josie said.

“Right,” Oaks went on. “Several of the horses wouldn’t have moved up and down while the ride was in motion, so someone would have had to go into the column where they would have found Lucy’s backpack.”

“What about the other leads?” Josie asked.

Oaks continued, “Sex offenders checked out. They’re all accounted for and have alibis for when Lucy went missing. The parents who were at the park check out. No red flags. We did, however, find seventy-four credible threats to Mr. Ross related to the cancer drug he told us about last night.”

“Well,” Gretchen said. “That seems a lot more significant than he initially let on.”

“We think he was trying not to scare his wife,” Oaks said. “Quarmark’s legal department had already reported these threats to the local police. No one appeared to have any active plans to kill or harm Mr. Ross. My team has alibied half of those seventy-four people so far for Lucy’s kidnapping. We should have the rest checked out within the next twenty-four hours.”

Josie felt a wave of relief. It would have taken her small department weeks to do the work the FBI was able to accomplish in less than a day.

Oaks continued, “We took a closer look at the nanny and she checks out. She’s been in Colorado visiting her family for the weekend just like Mrs. Ross said. Her travel plans were made several months ago. We can’t link her to anyone who might have had the desire, wherewithal or capability of pulling off a kidnapping. She gave us permission to search her apartment, and her landlord let us in. Nothing unusual there. We interviewed a few of her friends and professors. Nothing suspect. She said she’d let us know as soon as she’s back in town which should be sometime today.”

“What about the first-grade teacher?” Josie asked.

“She checks out, too.”

“Did either of them report seeing Lucy talking to anyone unusual in the last several weeks or months?” Josie said.

“No, nothing. We also looked at phone records for both parents. Couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. We polygraphed both of them this morning. Dad passed no problem, but Amy failed her polygraph.”

“What?” Josie and Gretchen blurted in unison.

Oaks spread his hands, palms up. “Remember, these tests aren’t entirely accurate. A person’s emotional state has a lot to do with whether they pass or fail. As you know quite well, Mrs. Ross has been very volatile. It could be the emotional stress skewing her results or it could be the fact that she had been lying to her husband about taking online college courses.”

“Did she tell you that?” Noah asked.

Oaks shook his head. “No. She told us she was enrolled in online courses but our search of her computer and a check with the university confirmed she hasn’t ever been enrolled, despite being accepted into the program over a year ago.”

“The husband didn’t notice that her tuition wasn’t being paid?” Gretchen asked.

“She has a discretionary fund that the husband deposits into but doesn’t monitor.”

“You mean an allowance?” Noah said.

“Basically, yes. The husband manages their finances, pays all the bills, gives her cash for groceries and anything she needs for Lucy. This is just for her, it seems. He said originally it was for spa days and yoga classes, but then she decided she wanted to go back to school so he put more into it. He doesn’t even know how much is in there.”

Gretchen raised a brow. “Must be nice.”

Oaks continued, “The husband gave us access to all their finances. There have been no tuition payments to any college out of that or any of the accounts they own.”

“Did you confront her about it?” Josie asked.

“No. We would like you to talk to her. Like I said, she seems to have some kind of connection to you. We’d like you to be on hand at her home as much as possible, particularly if a call from the kidnapper comes in and she becomes hysterical. Maybe you can get her to open up. Nothing in our investigation so far has turned up anything suspicious, but the failed polygraph is a red flag we can’t entirely ignore. If you can get her to admit to you that she’s been lying to her husband about the college courses, then perhaps she’ll be willing to talk to you about any involvement she might have in Lucy’s disappearance.”

“You really think she did this?” Josie asked.

“I don’t know,” Oaks said honestly. “But I can’t ignore the possibility, no matter how remote.”

“Where’s the motivation?” Gretchen said. “She has the perfect life. Rich husband, gorgeous house, beautiful daughter. She even has a nanny to help her with childcare. She has no stress. She can fill her days with anything she wants. What does she get out of staging her own child’s kidnapping?”

No one answered for a long moment. Then Mettner said, “Maybe she’s sick in the head and just really good at hiding it.”

“I don’t think this was her,” Josie said. “But I agree we can’t ignore any avenue of investigation no matter how unlikely it seems. I’ll do what I can to draw her out.”

“Why not just bring her in and interrogate her?” Mettner asked.

“Because you only get one shot at that,” Gretchen explained. “As soon as we start treating her like a suspect, she’ll get an attorney. The parents will shut us out, and any information that Amy might have that would help us find Lucy alive will be out of reach.”

“There may come a time when we have to bring her in,” Josie said. “But right now, with Lucy at risk, I think the gentle approach works best.”

“I’m with Detective Quinn on that,” Oaks said. “We also need someone else at the house in case the kidnapper calls and we trace him locally. We need someone who could navigate this city in their sleep. Obviously Detective Quinn can do that, but I’d like to have some backup on that front.” He looked at Gretchen, but she pointed at Mettner.

“I’m a transplant,” she said. “Noah’s still not very quick with his broken leg, but Mett grew up here. He’s your best bet.”

Noah said, “I can’t get around well but anything you can give me to do, I’ll do it.”

Oaks smiled. “We’ve got plenty of work.”