“We’ll get phones at the outlet mall.” He frowned, then added, “But I think you should call the police, not Clara directly. I don’t know if these guys have the ability to track phone calls or not.”
She grimaced. “Okay, that’s fine.”
“I’ve been thinking about following up with the FBI. Do you know if they’re letting law enforcement take the lead on the case?”
“Yes.” She hadn’t liked the decision. “Like I said, after Ariel was released, they didn’t seem to be acting with a strong sense of urgency.”
“Well, they’d better get cracking now,” Grady drawled. She found his western accent cute. “Because the danger sure hasn’t gone away.”
“I know. I think the agent I spoke to was David Braun.”
“I know an FBI agent back in Wyoming too. I’ll go through him first. See if he has any insight to add.”
She frowned. “I can’t imagine Wyoming has much experience in this sort of thing.”
“You’d be surprised. There’s crime everywhere, unfortunately.”
“Mommy, is the masked man going to find us?” Lucy asked.
She swiveled in her seat to smile reassuringly at her daughter. “The masked man has no idea where we are. We’re in Wisconsin, a completely different state from Illinois.”
“Good.” Lucy’s gaze was solemn. “Because I don’t want to be scared anymore.”
Her stomach knotted at the revelation. She would have given anything to spare her daughter from this horror. “I know, sweetie.”
“We’re going to stop to do some shopping,” Grady chimed in. “Do you like to shop, Lucy?”
Lucy shook her head. “I don’t go shopping. Clara brings me what I need.”
Grady arched a brow at that but dropped the subject. Lauren forced a smile. “It will be fun. You can pick out whatever you like.”
“Can I dress like Ariel?” Lucy asked.
“Ah, sure. If you can find something similar.” Lauren hoped she wasn’t setting the little girl up for failure. She had no idea where Ariel’s mother purchased her daughter’s clothes. Ariel’s private school tuition was being subsidized by Lauren and other wealthy families who paid extra to include those who couldn’t afford to attend without assistance.
“Okay.” Lucy looked excited at the thought of finding something similar to what her best friend wore.
A best friend whose mother had cut off all communication after the kidnapping.
Swallowing a sigh, she turned and watched the passing scenery. With the sun brightening the horizon, her heart filled with hope about the day ahead. The awful events from the previous evening and early morning hours faded away. It was as if nothing bad could reach them here in the middle of nowhere. The beautiful surroundings reminded her of their vacations in Big Cedar Lake. Lots of trees and rolling hills. Miles between cities, with nothing but wilderness in between.
Was she doing a disservice keeping Lucy in the city? No, Lauren had grown up in the city and turned out fine. This was their life; they couldn’t just go somewhere small and pretend they weren’t wealthy. Besides, she traveled with Lucy to new and exciting places over holiday breaks from school.
Yet as she looked at the woods around them, she wondered if their next trip should be to someplace remote and peaceful like this.
They went through a couple of bigger cities along the way, hitting some congested traffic thanks to road construction. Still, the hours passed faster than she’d anticipated. When Grady indicated the outlet malls advertised at the next exit, she craned her neck to see what sorts of stores were featured. None of the brands were familiar, but that was okay. It wasn’t like she was planning to buy anything fancy. Especially since she had no idea how much money Grady had left to spend.
She decided they’d focus on the basics for Lucy, nothing more. She could keep wearing her yoga pants and sweatshirt.
Grady pulled into an empty parking space but didn’t kill the engine. He glanced at his watch and shrugged. “We still have a few minutes until they open.”
She hesitated. “I think Lucy just needs jeans, a sweatshirt, shoes, and socks. Hopefully, they won’t be too expensive.”
“Sounds good.” If he was worried about the prices of the items they needed, he didn’t let on.
“And don’t forget the replacement phones.” She had noticed there was a department store across the street. “I need to follow up with the police.”
“I won’t.” He nodded toward the store closest to them. “Looks like they’re unlocking the doors now.”
