“I was hoping he was with you.”
“I thought you said you had people watching him?”
“I did. But he got angry. Said he didn’t want any cops on his property. Joey was camped out as close to the house as he could get, but Steven must have left from the back. By the time my guys found his truck, he was gone. The tow driver remembered him getting into a van.”
My throat tightened. “What kind of van?”
“We don’t know. The tow driver said he was too busy trying to get the truck out of the ditch to notice. That’s all he remembered. I thought maybe Steven had called you for a ride.”
“No,” I said, pacing, “I haven’t heard from him.”
Nick swore under his breath. “Maybe it was a ride service. Lots of taxis and Ubers use vans. Did the kids make it to Georgia’s?”
“She picked them up this morning.”
“Good.” Some of the tension left his voice. “I’ve got eyes on your place, just in case Steven’s headed that way. Roddy’s to contact me or Joey the second anyone spots him. If you hear from Steven, I want you to call me. Until I know what we’re dealing with, I want you to stay home and keep your doors locked. Joey’s heading back to Steven’s house in case he turns up there. I’m heading to the station to put out a BOLO. I’ll come by your place as soon as I know more. And Finn?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to find him. I promise.” Nick disconnected.
More than anything, I wanted to believe that.
My hands shook as I dialed Steven’s number. It rolled straight to voicemail. “Steven, it’s Finn. Call me as soon as you get this.”
I thumbed off my phone, pacing the alley behind the motel. IfEasyCleanhad abducted Steven, then I had a better shot at finding him myself. As soon as Vero was done paying for the room, I’d make Cam tell me everything he knew.
Vero’s engine rumbled to life. I ran around the building to meet her. The Charger screeched to a halt inches from my knees. Cam’s eyes widened behind the steering wheel. They leapt to his rearview mirror as Vero bolted out of the lobby. Cam cut the wheel hard and hit the gas, tires squealing as he peeled out of the parking lot.
“He stole my car!” Vero shrieked. “You left him alone with the key?!”
“I didn’t!” I snapped, waving the fob in front of her. “I took it with me. The only thing he had was his Slurpee and his cell.”
“And YouTube,” she said, snatching the keys from my hand. “He had YouTube on his phone. That little shit must have taught himself to hot-wire my car! That’s it.” She dragged her phone from her pocket. “I’m calling the police.”
I ripped the phone from her hand. “You can’t do that! What will you tell them? That we just bought a room for a kid who’s hiding from the cops? Cam knows too much about us. You can’t report him. We have more important things to worry about.”
“What could be more important than my car!”
“Nick just called. Steven’s gone missing. And I’m pretty sureEasyClean’s got him.”
CHAPTER 35
Vero and I took an Uber home from the motel. We needed a car to search for Cam, and the van was all we had left. The driver dropped us off at the park at the end of our street, and Vero and I cut through the neighbors’ backyards, sneaking behind the house to the side door of the garage to avoid being noticed by Officer Roddy and Mrs. Haggerty.
Vero put her key in the lock. “That’s strange,” she whispered.
“What’s strange?”
“It’s unlocked.” Vero inched the door open. From behind the hulking shadow of my minivan came a series of metallicclanks. “Someone’s in there,” she whispered. “What do we do?”
“I’ll go in this way,” I said. “You circle around from the kitchen.” Vero nodded and tiptoed toward the sliding door at the back of the house.
I slipped into the garage and crouched behind my van, peering around it. A figure stood with his back to me in front of my workbench, examining my new tools under the dim halo of light from the naked bulb above his head. I crept closer until I could see him in profile. Steven studied my plumber’s wrench and tossed it down with an infuriated sigh. He reached for my brand-new utility knife,bending over it to inspect the blade. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or pissed that he was alive.
I stood up and shouted, “What are you doing here?”
Steven swore. The knife fell onto the bench with a loud thump and he whirled around, clutching his chest. He pointed a finger at the tools as he stalked toward me. “You and I are going to talk about this. I know what you’re trying to do, but this has gone way too far, Finlay. You have the entire police force thinking someone is out to kill me!”
