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  Rilynne considered it for a brief moment, but decided it was best saved for another time. “We need to figure this out,” she said as they turned toward her house. He looked perplexed. “With Kim. We need to figure out who could have taken her. When you got that call, I thought… I can't. I can't go through that again. We have to find her.”

  “Well then let's lay it all out,” he said. “We'll play the game.”

  She nodded before giving a shutter. It was much colder than it had been during their walk hours before. Ben pulled his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her.

  “So where do we start?” he asked.

  “Well…” She thought a moment before continuing. “Lori gave us a long list of people to look into. No one has a record, and we haven't turned anything of significance up. Although when this is all over, remind me to talk to Lori about Mrs. Allen in their play date group. She’s running a swingers group out of their basement.”

  Ben fought off a smile as he slowly shook his head. “Have you seen anything else in regards to the people on the list?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing that would lead me to believe they could be involved. I also didn't feel anything close to what I felt from the one I had that night. There were so many things flowing through him. It wasn't until later that I really realized it. At first all I could feel was that overwhelming joy he had.” She still felt ill thinking about it. “When I thought back, I was able to focus on the other things. He was sad. Not your typical, everyday sadness, though. It was deep within him. True sorrow.”

  “Like from losing someone?” he asked.

  “It's possible,” she said. “I didn't see where it came from.”

  They turned again and walked up the walkway toward her house. “Well, what about the stalker? Have you seen anything about him?”

  It was nice being able to talk to Ben about the things she saw. Though it had been five months since he told her he knew, it still sent a warm feeling through her whenever he asked about her flashes. “Just the one,” she replied. “The night Lori moved here I had a dream that he was in. I think it was more like a vision within a dream, though. I was actually him, which only happens during my flashes,” she explained. “That's how I recognized the pile of cigarettes.”

  “Well, what did you see?” he asked.

  She thought back to the dream, trying to remember the details. “He was standing in front of her house when the moving truck pulled up. He had a present he was more than likely planning on leaving at her door. When the guys showed up with the truck, he dropped the package and walked away.”

  “How did he feel?” asked Ben. “I imagine he wasn't happy when he saw her leave. Was he hurting, or anything close to what you felt?”

  They stopped just outside the front door. She twisted her face in contemplation as she considered the question. “At that point, no. He was upset but nothing to that level.”

  Ben pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and stepped back so she could walk in. “But that was months ago. Since then, Lori moved across the country, got engaged, and her fiancé moved in. If he truly felt that they were together, like many stalkers do, he would have definitely been hurt. I imagine he sees it as her cheating on him.”

  “Well, hopefully we'll be able to locate him tomorrow,” she said. “Matthews will have sent his face out everywhere by now. He doesn't strike me as a master criminal. Hopefully someone will get back to us with the location of where he's staying. I’ve also requested that the car rental companies near the airport in San Antonio be contacted so we know what car to be looking for.”

  Rilynne kicked her shoes off, sending them flying toward the wall. After dropping her purse on the table by the door, she walked straight for the kitchen. “Beer or wine?” she asked. He reached down to open the dog kennel but stopped to think about it. After a few seconds he turned around to face her. “It's definitely a beer kind of night,” he said.

  She thought about it for a moment before agreeing. She grabbed two of the amber bottles and followed him out through the backdoor.

  Rilynne sat on the porch swing and watched Ben try to coax the puppy off the porch. He looked almost like a child as he hopped around. The puppy seemed more interested in mimicking him than doing what he wanted. After several attempts, he finally walked over to pick her up and carried her to the middle of the yard.

  It took another several minutes before he got the puppy to cooperate and he could join Rilynne on the swing.

  “Well, what else do we know?” he asked.

  “The person who took her doesn't care about the money,” she said, handing him a beer. “That actually says a lot, though. I don't know what exactly it means, but it’s definitely important. Even if he was planning on keeping her, I would have expected him to try and take the money.”

  “Maybe he knew there was no way he could get away with it,” he suggested. His eyes were on the puppy. She was chasing something that was flying around the yard, though Rilynne couldn't make it out through the darkness. “When you take a cop's kid, the assumption that it can be handled without police involvement goes out the window.”

  “It was more than just that, though,” she said. “He felt guilty that the ransom was even paid. It honestly didn't feel like he wanted it at all.”

  “Hence saying a lot but not understanding it,” he said. He took a swig from his bottle and kicked the swing into motion. “How did he know the ransom was even going to be paid? You said he put the amount as high as he did because he knew Lori didn’t have that kind of money.”

  Rilynne thought back to the flash she’d had. “He has a police radio.”

  “And Wilcome called it in as soon as we got back into town,” Ben added. “He considered the possibility that the kidnapper might be listening in, and thought it might get him anxious enough to make a mistake.”

  “It’s smart,” Rilynne said. “No one considered the possibility that he never wanted the money, though.”

  “Okay, so he felt incredibly hurt, wanted Kim enough to take her from such a risky place, and cared more about keeping her than collecting the ransom. Have you looked into the biological families? The only time I could see myself being that single mindedly desperate was if I was trying to get my child back.”

  Rilynne pulled her beer up to her lips but stopped. He was right. There wasn't anything Lori wouldn't do to get Kim back. “The biological father has a solid alibi. Kimberly, the mother, didn't have any family and Fore insists no one in his family even knows Kim exists.”

  “Hmmm…” he mumbled. “Maybe someone from one of her past cases did it. Perhaps a parent whose child was arrested and they wanted to both get revenge and fill the empty roll in their lives. It would do more damage to Lori to keep her child than the money.”

  Rilynne glanced over to him with an amused smile. “You've been reading my mystery books, haven't you?” Ben grinned but didn't respond. “I knew it. That story was even a little farfetched for me.”

  “Yeah, but it got you to smile,” he said.

  “That it did,” she said. “I need to be working, though. Smiles won't get me answers.”

  Ben wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “Sometimes the only way to crack a case is to take a break. Even if you didn't have your visions, the best chance of getting answers is to take a step back and clear your head.”

  She groaned. Though she wanted to, just for the satisfaction, she knew there was no point in arguing. He was right. She wasn't going to be any help to Kim unless she could relax and focus.

  “Let's go in,” he said. “You haven't eaten anything all day. I'll make you a snack before we head to bed.”

  She nodded tiredly and let him pull her to her feet. After grabbing the puppy and carrying her in the house, Rilynne sat down at the island and watched Ben make her a sandwich.

  “Aren't you going to eat?” she asked when he was done.

  He smirked and handed Rilynne the plate. She gave him a
suspicious glare, which only made his smile grow. “I ate at the manor,” he said finally. “Well, Jared had food put together and we ate it in the helicopter on the way to San Antonio.”

  “Of course you did,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “So what did you eat? Caviar… or maybe some steak tartar?”

  “Nothing special,” he said. His tone said otherwise. When Rilynne gave him another disbelieving look, he continued. “They were these little steak sandwiches which were actually pretty incredible. He said he would have his cook send over the recipe.”

  “Lisa does make a pretty good steak,” she said. “That’s the cook, Lisa Finley. Or are you opposed to calling staff by their first name?”

  He grinned at her tone before reaching down and picking up the puppy who was trying to climb up his legs. “Well, as I don’t have a staff in my employ, at least not a household one, I don’t really have an opinion on the matter. Although, if I ever get around to hiring a bodyguard to keep you out of trouble, I’ll be sure to ask which he prefers.”

  Rilynne laughed. He had often joked about her needing a bodyguard, but it wasn’t until that moment that she actually considered he might get one. She couldn’t seem to settle on how exactly she should feel about it.

  “Is your mom already in bed?” he asked as they walked into the living room when she was finished.

  Rilynne shook her head and dropped down heavily on the couch. The moment she landed, her head dropped back and her eyes closed. “She's still at the Matthews'. She's been staying with Katy so she won't be alone if her labor starts. If he gets off too late tonight, she might just end up staying there.”

  “Ah,” he said. He sat down next to her and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her in a way that made her feel almost as if the past few days hadn't happened. The moment she gave into that feeling, though, she was again overcome by guilt. It didn’t matter what the situation was, it didn’t seem right to feel anything but worry or grief.

  “Do they make GPS trackers for kids?” she asked. “You know, so if you lose them or if someone takes them, you can just log on and get a location for where they are.”

  “No,” he laughed. “At least, not as far as I know.”

  “Well they should,” she said. She snuggled up against him and took in a deep breath, enjoying the sweet smell of peaches for a moment before continuing. “Think of what it would do to the number of kidnappings each year.”

  “True, but would you really want someone to have to ability to track you everywhere you went?” he asked.

  Rilynne shrugged. “It would definitely ease the worry you had about me getting lost in the woods,” she said with a grin. “But I’m not talking about something you have forever. They can microchip babies when they’re born, then remove it when they become legal adults.”

  Ben groaned and shook his head. Before he could answer, though, Rilynne felt her mind drifting away.

  Chapter Ten

  “Will that be all, ma’am?” a tall, bald man in a tuxedo asked. His thick English accent made her smile.

  “Yes, Winston,” she said with a wave of her hand. He offered her a low bow before turning and leaving the room.

  Rilynne sat back in her armed chair and looked around the large, empty hall. To call it grand would have been an understatement. Three football fields could easily fit within its walls with room to spare. Each wall was covered in elegant portraits and thick, vibrant curtains. When she looked down at the chair she was seated in, she recognized what the room was. It was a throne room.

  After slipping her shoes on, which were just to the left of her feet, she rose from her throne and walked toward the other end of the room. When she pulled the large double doors open, she was greeted by a plethora of household staff members.

  Rilynne nodded nervously as each bowed and offered her a verbal welcome. She began to feel claustrophobic by the time she reached the other end of the foyer and pushed open the front doors.

  “Where are you going, ma’am?” Winston asked as he followed her out onto the large driveway.

  She glanced over her shoulder toward him, but didn’t stop walking. “I’m going to work,” she said. “I’m right in the middle of a kidnapping case, and I can’t waste time just sitting around here.”

  “Work, ma’am?” He sounded as though it were a preposterous idea. “Your work is here, ma’am, monitoring your household. You needn’t worry about the goings-on elsewhere. They are beneath you, ma’am.”

  She stopped and spun around to face him, her long dress swaying with her movement. “You think the life of an innocent child is beneath me?” she asked. Her tone was cold as she glared up at him. She would have thought it impossible to strike terror in the man with a simple tone, but the look on his face said otherwise. “I don’t care how much money I have or what responsibilities there are here, my sole concern right now is to find her and make sure she’s safe. Now I suggest you back off, because I’ve been looking for a reason to pop someone for a few days now.”

  He nodded but didn’t move. “Shall I call your whipping boy, ma’am?”

  “Whipping boy…” She let out an astonished gasp and spun back around. As she stormed down the driveway, she muttered under her breath, “Who has a whipping boy? This is outrageous. I don’t want any of this.”

  When Rilynne rounded the corner ahead, her dress snagged on something. She pulled to free herself, but was unsuccessful. After letting out a frustrated yell, she yanked at it as hard as she could. As she did, the dress ripped up her side and the whole thing fell to the ground around her ankles.

  She stood in shock as she looked down at her naked body. She didn’t move until she heard voices coming up the driveway just behind her. Leaving her dress on the ground, Rilynne ran for the tree line to hide herself. When she stepped through it, though, she found herself standing in the middle of town.

  Panic shot through her until she looked down and saw that her bare body had been covered by a small, yellow sundress. It wasn’t what she would prefer when it came to clothing, but it was better than walking around the streets of Addison Valley naked.

  “In here, young lady,” a man’s voice called from the store just to her right. She glanced through the open doors but couldn’t see the man it belonged to. “Do as you’re told,” he said, harsher than before.

  A twinge of fear hit her as she nodded and stepped into the building. It wasn’t like any store she had ever seen. In fact, it wasn’t a business at all. She was standing in a dark, gloomy bedroom.

  Against the back wall was a twin-sized bed, donned in a faded pink comforter. To the right of it was a toilet and sink. Though they were impeccably clean, they both appeared old and had several chips knocked out of them.

  “Now which would you prefer, the rope or the leather?” the man asked. She turned around to look at him but saw only a dark shadow in front of her.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. Her voice was soft and younger than she had heard it in years.

  The shadow moved closer, but she was still unable to make out any of its features. “You know the rules,” he said sternly. “You chose to disobey them, so you must face the consequences. That is, unless you would prefer option three?”

  She shook her head violently. “No,” she said as an overwhelming fear struck her. It felt like her insides were being twisted as she waited for him to speak again.

  “All right,” he said. “Then you can choose between the rope and the leather.”

  She let out a sigh of relief as she considered the options. “Rope,” she said timidly after a few short seconds.

  Her eyes tightened as the shadow moved toward her. She didn’t open them again until she felt the coolness of the room disappear as a bright light shined through her eyelids.

  When she opened her eyes, it took a moment for them to adjust so she could see the scene around her. A sigh of relief left her lips as her whole body relaxed. She was back on her beach.

  All of the fear she had felt moments
earlier vanished when she looked out at the waves crashing ahead. She was safe; nothing could hurt her here.

  A small laugh came from just behind her. With it, it brought even more joy.

  “Kim!” she yelled. She turned around and saw the bubbly little girl laughing and jumping around. When she saw Rilynne, her sweet face lit up with a bright, happy smile. “What do you have there?” Rilynne asked, shifting her eyes to the object she was swinging around her.

  “It’s a rope, Auntie Rye,” Kim responded. “Do you want to play with me? You can have a turn with it.”

  The sound of an alarm ringing made Rilynne bolt upright in bed. She let out a sharp gasp as she looked quickly around the room. There was just enough light coming through the window for her to make out where she was. It was her bedroom.

  “Sorry,” Ben groaned from beside her. “I forgot to turn it off.” He reached over and silenced the alarm clock before rolling over to face her. The grogginess in his eyes quickly vanished when he took her troubled expression. “Are you all right?”

  Rilynne slowly shook her head before answering. “I’m not sure.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Hey, can you come up here?” Elise asked when Rilynne answered her phone. There was something in her voice that Rilynne couldn't make out. It wasn't the fear or panic she had grown uncomfortably accustomed to over the last several days. It was something else.

  Rilynne agreed and walked quietly to the elevator, riding it up to the fourth floor. When she walked into the lab, she found her sister sitting with her face buried in her hands.

  “What is it?” Rilynne asked. She sat down in the chair next to her and placed her hand gently on Elise’s back. “Did you find anything out about Kim?”

  Elise opened her mouth several times to respond, but always closed it again without saying a word. She looked perplexed as her eyes moved from Rilynne to the papers in front of her.

  “Okay,” she finally got out. “Growing up with our father, I learned to always look outside of the box when I got stuck. Sometimes it’s the only way to find an answer at all. Now, this might be way out in left field, but I thought I would run it by you.” She sounded almost nervous, more so than Rilynne had seen since she introduced her to Amber at their father's funeral. “The Jane Doe we found last night has… well… We didn't find a lot of the stuff I would have expected. Stuff like dental care or medical treatment for either of the broken bones she’d sustained within the last several years. I asked Dr. Andrews to run some tests for me, and he said she didn't even appear to have received a vaccine after her five year ones. Now I could be wrong, but I don’t think you’re even allowed to enroll a child in school without their vaccinations being up to date.”