“Who is this?” she asked, instead of answering in the affirmative.
“Detective Kramer. Olson told me you called him about the shooting at your penthouse last night.” The detective sounded annoyed. “Where are you? I need you and Grady to give me a statement about what happened here.”
“We’re safe, thanks to Grady.” She glanced at Grady, knowing he was listening to her side of the conversation. As was her daughter. “Are you still at the penthouse now? Is Clara, my housekeeper, there? I’d like to know she’s unharmed.”
“She was here, but we sent her home.” Kramer’s tone had calmed down a bit. “She was the one who called us. Said the place was empty when she arrived early this morning and that the window was shattered.”
Lauren closed her eyes, grateful to know Clara was unharmed. Probably scared, but otherwise fine. She thought of how Grady prayed and sent up a silent prayer for God to keep Clara safe. “Thank you for letting me know. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can tell you. The window shattered, so Grady got us out of there.”
“Looks like somebody shot the window,” Kramer said. “We found a slug in the drywall across from the window.”
A slug. How close had Grady come to being hit? She shivered and tried to remain calm. “Yes, that’s what happened. We left via the parking garage, but there was a car waiting for us there. The driver drove straight toward us, trying to cause a crash, but Grady was able to avoid being hit.”
“Where was this?” Kramer asked. “Did either of you get a good look at the car?”
“No, it was too dark, and I think the driver had his high-beam lights on. They were very bright.” She thought back to those harrowing moments when they’d nearly been hit. “All we can say for sure is that the car was dark in color.”
She was about to go into detail about the black SUV with tinted windows that showed up outside the outlet mall when Kramer spoke again. “Well, the good news is that we have a new lead to follow up on.”
“What new lead?” She glanced at Grady who had turned into another neighborhood of homes. These were a little nicer and bigger than the others they’d passed. Clearly, he didn’t want to go back to the cabin until she’d finished the call.
“Does the name Joe O’Neil sound familiar?” Kramer asked.
She frowned, then nodded, even though she knew Kramer couldn’t see her. “Yes, Joe O’Neil was a security guard that worked for my father. He left our employment maybe nine months ago? I don’t understand. Why are you looking at him?”
“Do you know why he left your father’s employment?” Kramer pressed.
“No, I assumed he got another job.” Even as she said the words, she realized that wasn’t likely. Most of the staff at the Savion building enjoyed their work, and she knew they were paid a decent salary. Better than most of the other security guard positions.
“We were told by your building manager, Mark Jonas, that O’Neil was fired for theft.”
The news shocked her. “What did he steal?”
“He stole items from some of the residents’ apartments. Not yours, that would have been too obvious,” Kramer added. “From what I understand, they didn’t figure out it was him right away because he was able to tamper with the security video to mask his movements. And he chose apartments that were undergoing remodeling. When he was arrested, he had stolen jewelry from Mrs. Ashley Pauly’s apartment. He returned those items but still did a few months in jail.”
She couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t anyone mentioned the details about O’Neil’s arrest to her? “And you think Joe O’Neil has decided to try another way to get money?”
“Yep. We have issued a BOLO for him. Where are you?” Kramer sounded cranky again. “We still need to talk.”
“I’ll be in touch. Thanks for letting me know.” She quickly ended the call and shut down the phone.
Was Kramer right about the former security guard? Had Joe O’Neil really decided to try to kidnap Lucy to get a big payday? She wanted to think it would be that easy.
But she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
6
“What was that about a man named O’Neil?” Grady glanced at Lauren as he pulled away from the curb.
“My father’s manager fired him for theft nine months ago.” She shook her head, looking dazed. “Detective Kramer has issued a BOLO, whatever that means, for him.”
“The acronym stands for ‘be on the lookout,’” Grady explained. “But it’s a stretch to think this guy would go from stealing stuff to kidnapping.” Not to mention shooting at them, but he didn’t add that because Lucy was in the back listening. “Does he have any police or military background that you’re aware of?”
“No.” She glanced at him, then back at Lucy and nodded. “You’re wondering about the penthouse window.”
“Yep.” He wasn’t sure anyone who lived and worked in the city made time to shoot weapons at a firing range. Unless that person happened to be an avid hunter. Most of the men and women in Wyoming could hit what they were aiming at, but they lived in small towns nestled near forests and mountains. Not skyscrapers. “Seems a stretch to me.”
“I agree.” Lauren frowned. “He would also know what Lucy looks like. I can’t imagine he’d kidnap another child by mistake.”
