Judson and Addie exchanged a glance, and his was tinged with some skepticism. “There’s an APB out on Yvette Cates, and there are a lot of details about her on social media—”
“I’m Yvette,” she insisted. And she began to rattle off details like her birth date and those of her two kids. Then she added, “My kids’ names are Jennifer Alise and Shane David.”
That seemed to convince Judson that she was telling the truth. And it caused the tightness in Addie’s chest to increase. They were talking to the woman who had kidnapped the twins. Before Addie could blurt out a demand as to why Yvette had taken those precious babies, Judson voiced a demand of his own.
“Where the hell are you?” he snapped while he hit the record function on his phone. He also sent a text to dispatch to try to have the call traced.
“I’m not sure, but as soon as I can, I’ll get to a police station so I can give them my statement. Just promise me I won’t be arrested.”
Judson huffed. “I’m not promising that. You kidnapped two infants and endangered them—”
“No, I was trying to stop them from being hurt,” Yvette insisted.
The woman was sobbing now. And whispering. Was she doing that so she wouldn’t be overheard? If so, why?
Addie listened for any background noise. For any signs of a possible threat. But no one was shouting at Yvette or firing shots at her.
“The only person who put the twins in danger was you,” Judson argued. “Now, tell me where you are.”
Yvette did more sobbing before she spoke again. “Someone was going to take them,” she said as if choosing her words carefully. “So, I took them first. I tried to get them to safety.”
The skepticism skyrocketed big-time in Judson’s eyes. “Who was going to kidnap them?”
“I… I can’t say. Just believe me when I tell you that I was doing what I thought best. Are they all right?”
Judson seemed to debate his answer, or else he was stalling with the hopes of getting the call traced. “I can give you an update about them when I see you. Where are you?” he repeated.
Yvette didn’t answer. Not with words anyway. But seconds later, there was a sound.
A bloodcurdling scream.
And the line went dead.
CHAPTER NINE
Judson stood in the shower in Addie’s bathroom, hoping the hot water would perform some kind of magic. And fast.
He needed the cobwebs clear from his head. Cobwebs caused by the lack of sleep since he hadn’t managed more than a couple of hours throughout the night. Hard to sleep while worrying about Addie and the twins’ safety. Also, by being in the same room with her, mere feet away.
Yeah, that hadn’t been easy.
His body hadn’t let him forget how close she was or the lingering effects of that kiss they’d shared. Nope. No forgetting that. It was just as powerful as the other things going on in his mind and body.
Including the flashbacks.
Not just of the attack against Addie and him but also the call from Yvette. He could still hear the sound of her scream echoing through those cobwebs. It had seemed genuine. Like the woman had been terrified for her life.
But there was a problem with that.
They didn’t know where Yvette was because they hadn’t been able to trace the call. So, if she had indeed been screaming because of some horrible threat, her attacker could already have killed her and silenced her for good.
Being a cop all these years had made him enough of a cynic to believe this was all some ploy to make herself appear innocent.It wouldn’t work. If Yvette was alive and they could find her, she was going to pay for what she’d done.
Judson heard the dinging sound of a text, so he got out of the shower and glanced at his phone on the vanity. It was from Grace, updating him on the schedule. It wasn’t his boss’s first text of the day. She had sent one an hour earlier to let him know that Shane’s and Jennifer’s interviews were still on for the morning and that she’d be talking to the ME about Courtney’s autopsy.
Yeah, plenty going on, but so far, they still didn’t have the answers they needed to get a break in the investigation.
Judson texted back a thumbs-up emoji to Grace and gulped down the rest of the mug of coffee that he’d taken into the bathroom with him. Not his first cup, despite it being barely 8:00 a.m. He’d had that first one as he sat with the twins while Addie showered, and as soon as he made it back to the kitchen, he’d be tanking up on yet more caffeine.
