Page 79 of Honor ’N’ Duty

“Copy that.”

Jamie followed him and Smoke down the stairs to the beach and over to the taped-off blanket, beside which were the remains of Rosa’s sandcastle. Smack dab in the middle of the sandcastle was a footprint, at least a men’s size ten.

About a hundred yards offshore, a small Coast Guard vessel began cruising back and forth in a crisscrossing search pattern.

She’s not there. She can’t be. Kade couldn’t allow himself to believe that Rosa was lying at the bottom of the ocean.

“You really think he has her?” Jamie asked.

“Well, I don’t believe in coincidences, that a random kidnapper just happened to grab Rosa at the very same moment Colon is so hot to get his ledger and his money back. And where did that couple go?” He swept his arm to encompass the entire beach. “They didn’t just vanish into thin air. I think they hauled ass the second their job was done—creating a diversion. So yeah. I think he has her.”

And they had jack to prove it. Maybe that would change. Maybe not. If that was the case, he fully planned to take matters into his own hand.

Flashing blue-and-red strobes flickered just over the top of the dunes as more units arrived. Probably the PD’s forensics team. Eventually, the FBI.

As if on cue, Jamie said, “Dayne is on his way with Remy.” Dayne’s German shepherd K-9 was well-known for being an amazing tracker. “He reached out to the closest CARD team. They’re on their way, but they were down in DC, so they’ll be a few hours.”

Kade didn’t doubt the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams’ abilities. Deep down in his soul, he knew their efforts would be wasted. Fernando Colon would reach out to them when he was good and ready. Until then, they’d have no choice but to play the waiting game.

He snapped on Smoke’s leash so he wouldn’t disturb the taped-off area, then held Rosa’s sweatshirt out for his dog to sniff. Soft huffing came from Smoke’s snout as he drew in her scent. “Smoke, find Rosa.”

Smoke put his head to the sand, sniffing and circling. There were plenty of other footprints in the sand, including those from himself, Jamie, and Deck from when they were all body surfing the other day. Narcotics was Smoke’s specialty, but Kade was counting on the strong bond Rosa had forged with his dog.

After more circling and sniffing, Smoke picked up a track and led Kade and Jamie to a break in the dunes that opened to Stockton Beach Park. Smoke led them into the park where at least a dozen people were playing ball on the two baseball fields.

Smoke continued directly to the parking lot, which was mostly empty. He sniffed the ground then pulled Kade to an empty parking spot near the dunes. His dog circled again, always coming back to the same spot.

Kade’s grip on the leash tightened, as did the pain in his chest. “She was here.”

“No cameras facing inside the park but look.” Jamie pointed to a pole at the edge of the dune. “A surf cam.”

Pointed directly at the beach and in the general vicinity of where Laia and Rosa had been.

“I’ll get with Sergeant Malloy and download the footage.” Jamie started running back to the shack.

“C’mon, Smoke.” Kade headed to the baseball fields. “Let’s go meet some people.”

Twenty minutes later, he’d interviewed every single man, woman, and child in the park. One kid vaguely recalled seeing two men walking with a little girl to a silver or gray car.

When Kade showed the kid a photo of Rosa on his phone, the boy couldn’t say with any certainty if it was her he saw getting into the car.

His phone buzzed with an incoming call from Jamie. “What have you got?” Please, please let it be a neighbor saying they found Rosa wandering around or playing in their yard or—

“Haul ass back here,” Jamie said in a hushed voice. “Laia just got the call.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

“I want to talk to my daughter.” Laia’s belly quivered. Her panic had risen to hysteria. If it weren’t for Jamie, she would have completely forgotten to hit the record button. She held her cell phone tighter to keep her hand from shaking, but it didn’t work. “Put Rosa on the phone. I want to hear her voice.”

“What you want is irrelevant,” a computer-generated voice said. “Listen carefully. We want the book and we want the money. When we have them, you’ll get your daughter back. Don’t call the police. If you do, we’ll kill her. Don’t call the FBI. If you do, we’ll kill her.”

Laia’s head nearly exploded. “Don’t you dare hurt my baby. I’ll give you anything you want. Anything. Please don’t hurt her. She’s only a child. She hasn’t done anything to you.”

The front door opened, then closed. A moment later, Smoke trotted into the living room. Then Kade was there, a large, reassuring presence by her side.

Jamie rotated his finger in the air, a silent message to keep the guy on the phone talking. Kade grabbed the pad and pen in Sergeant Malloy’s hands and began scribbling something.

“Do exactly what I say, and you’ll get your daughter back,” the voice said.