“We’re all praying, brother. Hard.”
Gil disconnected, then jogged back to Rex Jones. “Rex, I need you to go with the officers. They’ll take your statement, get you home, and wait with you. I would stay with you, but I can do more for Tez if I work the case.”
Rex nodded, but Gil had no idea if anything he’d said penetrated. Gil ran to his car, flashed his badge several times to get out of the parking lot and onto the main road, then floored it. His government-issued sedan wasn’t known for speed, but that didn’t stop him from pushing the car to the limit.
Fifteen minutes later, he was running into the Secret Service building, his bag at his side. He didn’t pause to speak to anyone, but went straight to their locker room, stripped off his soaked clothes, and left them in a pile sure to make Leslie’s head spin if she found it before he could do something with it. Dry and still in bare feet, he left the locker room at a jog and went straight to the conference room.
Tessa was there. So was Ivy. Her eyes were red and puffy, but they were dry. She must have been crying earlier, but now she looked ready to annihilate anything and anyone that stood between her and rescuing Tez.
Gil went straight to the chair beside her but didn’t have time to do anything more than squeeze her knee, because the second he landed in the seat, Zane spoke.
“Here’s what we know. Tez Jones was taken during the confusion after the ball game tonight. A photo of Tez was sent to Ivy indicating that Tez would be returned when Ivy does what she’s told. They indicated that further instructions would be forthcoming.”
Zane glanced at the computer and then back at the group around the conference table. A group, Gil noted, that included a man and a woman who he recognized were FBI agents, but hecouldn’t remember their names. They must be the friends that came with Faith. Faith’s boss, Dale, had also joined the party, and they were all seated at the end of the table with Jacob.
Faith had her omnipresent iPad and Apple pencil. Luke stood by the whiteboard, an array of dry-erase markers at the ready. Zane nodded toward Gil. “We also know Tez Jones is nine years old, throws a wicked curveball for a fourth grader, and pitched a great game tonight. He’s the son of Rex and Stacey Jones.”
He tossed a glance at Jacob and Dale. “What happened tonight could have happened to anyone. They have four kids, they split up in the rain, they each assumed the other had Tez. As soon as they discovered Tez wasn’t with them, they called Gil and a host of others. They’re at their home. Morris has Raleigh PD officers with them. Raleigh PD will follow all their standard protocols for a kidnapping, but in this room, we know what’s going on. Rex and Stacey are not suspects.”
Gil squeezed Ivy’s knee again. He hated that she would hear it this way, but saving Tez was more important than sparing her feelings. “That photo was sent to Ivy. Based on our investigation into her situation, we have a few suspects and, as of today, some insight into motive.”
36
IVY COULDN’T LOOK AWAY FROM GIL. He knew what was going on? He had a suspect and a motive? Had he been keeping this from her? What was happening?
“I found something questionable this morning and made a phone call to an agent I know in Iowa,” Gil said. “We trained together a few years ago, and he’s solid. He was happy to do some digging.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Zane shift from one foot to the other. “And?”
Gil dropped his head and addressed her, not the group. “I’m sorry, Buttercup. But Preston worked for Sylvester Industries until they . . .”
He continued speaking. His mouth was moving, but she wasn’t hearing it. Sylvester Industries? That couldn’t be.
“He said he’d worked in textiles someplace on the East Coast that closed when they moved production to their plant in Mexico.”
Gil’s sympathetic expression told her he understood, but he was confident in his findings.
“Would one of you please explain the significance of Sylvester Industries?” Zane wasn’t harsh, but he wasn’t messing around either. His question hit like someone had doused her in cold water,and it yanked Ivy from the edge of the abyss she was teetering over. There would be time later to analyze what had happened and how. Right now, they needed to stop Preston and make sure Tez spent tonight in his bed.
“Sylvester Industries was a family owned company out of Iowa. They designed safety systems for industrial-sized equipment used in manufacturing facilities. Specifically, they wrote and designed the system that was supposed to prevent the accident that took my dad’s arm.”
Ivy glanced around the table and saw understanding dawn on the faces of everyone except the three people who’d come in with Faith. She looked at them. “My dad lost his arm in an industrial accident. Sylvester Industries was found to be negligent. They knew there was a design flaw, and they didn’t do anything to fix it. My dad didn’t want the money, but he did want the faulty equipment fixed so no one else would be in danger of experiencing what he went through.”
Gil’s arm slid around her shoulders, but she kept her attention on the strangers. “The judge wanted to make a point. He awarded my dad millions. Sylvester Industries not only couldn’t take the financial hit from the lawsuit, but they also couldn’t afford the repairs that were needed to their equipment, which was installed in manufacturing facilities all over the country. They went out of business. Several hundred people lost their jobs. Dad always felt bad about that.” She twisted toward Gil. “Do you think Preston’s behind this? And if he is, is my mom in on it?”
“I have no way to know if your mom is in on it or not.”
It still hurt, that her mom loved her in an “I’m glad you exist, but you cramp my style” way, but if she found out that her mom was part of this? She had no idea what she would do with that. She certainly couldn’t deal with it right now. “You didn’t answer my first question.”
“He’s at the top of my list.”
Ivy’s phone chimed, and everyone in the room turned to her. Gil pulled her close. “Do you want me to look first?”
She couldn’t bear it if anything was wrong with Tez. She handed the phone to Gil. He opened the message, and she felt his weird combination of relief and tension.
“They want Ivy to go to Hedera tonight. They want her in her office and on her computer within the hour. They’ll send further instructions to her private email account.”
“I can access that email from anywhere. Why do I need to be in my office?”
