“They don’t remember. I figure someone inside had to help them, but who? And why? And is that same person still involved? I doubt Charles is behind this abduction, he’s got to be close to eighty now.”
“He’s seventy-nine to be exact—or was since he died last month. I hacked into the medical examiner’s office and found the coroner’s report. His COD is listed as heart failure. I also dug up his obit. Want to hear it?”
“Yeah. Read it to us.”
“Charles Lee Harrison of Woolridge, Mississippi died on Thursday, March 18th. He’s survived by his son, Rodney WalterHarrison. A funeral service will be held on Sunday, March 21at 9 am Willoughby Funeral Home, 460 Seventh Street, Woolridge, followed by a private burial at the Woodlawn Cemetery.
“So, Rodney is his son? Is there a marriage on record?” I ask Evan.
“Not that I can find. Either he got someone pregnant and she told him about the baby. Or my guess would be that he abducted the boy like he did Providence and Mellie, and who knows how many before them.”
“Right.” It’s more information, but still not enough. There are too many holes for me to feel comfortable sending my team or any team into the situation. Not that we’ll have a choice. “For all we know he did this countless times but moved around and was never caught.”
“Exactly. It was a piece of cake to hack into the police records, not that it was much help. The statements they took from Mellie and Providence don’t have a lot of information. Not that I expected to find much since the girls were only four. But they said that he dressed them up like dolls and hurt them when he played with them. Fucking pedophile. I’d bet he took the boy to groom him.”
“Could you find any charges against either of the Harrisons?”
“Nope, neither of the girls could identify him. In their statements, when the police asked them for his name, they said they called him Master. So far I haven’t been able to find anything on either of them. Somehow they managed to stay off the radar.”
“Fucking, motherfucker,” Pat growls from his seat.
“I agree. But it doesn’t help clarify any of this. Why stop afterward if he wasn’t caught? Mellie said there weren’t any more abductions in Woolridge. Did he move? Is that where he found Rodney? We need answers.” I drag my fingers through my hair. This is beyond frustrating and hits too close to home for allof us. With Providence involved, we’re all compromised. If this were any other mission, I’d bring in another team, but we don’t have the luxury this time.
“This fucking sucks. We need to make this guy suffer when we catch him,” Adam hisses through a clenched jaw. It surprises all of us since he’s been just heads down, mouth shut the whole time.
“Yeah, it does,” Pat confirms.
“Hey, it’s more than we had. We can make this work,” Mike adds. “It’s more than we had and we’ve worked with less.”
He’s right, of course, but this time hits differently. This time, the love of my life is involved and will soon be in danger. I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to Providence—nothing good, that’s for sure. It took me a lifetime to find her. There’s no way I’m losing her now.
After the pilot announces we’re ten minutes from landing, I send Providence a text.
Me: We’ll be on the ground in ten minutes and on our way. We already have cars waiting. Not much longer, baby.
I’m surprised when she responds right away.
Providence: Thank God. This waiting is torture. I can’t stop thinking about those little girls.
Me: I know. But we’ll get them back.
I stop short of promising to save them. I want to, but I know she’ll never forgive me, even if she understands, if I can’t keep that promise. Not that I’d forgive myself either.
Providence: See you in about an hour.
Me: One hour.
We hit the tarmac running. The two SUVs are waiting right where Evan said they’d be, and within minutes we’re on the road headed toward the Browns’ home.
Pat takes the wheel of one vehicle, with Evan up front and Adam in the back as usual. Mike slides behind the wheel of the other one and, after a nod toward Pat, I climb into the passenger seat.
The drive is silent, no chatter back and forth between our vehicles. We’ve planned everything we can. All that’s left is to execute. As I watch rural Mississippi slide past my window, it feels like time is standing still and every minute feels like hours. When the GPS announces our turn is up ahead, both of us exhale a sigh of relief.
CHAPTER 12
PROVIDENCE
After we finish eating, I head upstairs to take a shower and get dressed. I’m buzzing with energy from too much caffeine and low-level panic. Even the hot shower doesn’t help to lower my stress levels. Having three cups of coffee at breakfast was stupid on my part. I know better.
