Page 13 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

SEVEN

Kristine had let Tabitha sleep for a little while. She’d texted her supervisor about the suspension, and he said lawyers were handling the discussion with the family and she was to stay out of it.

Of course she would, but she still wanted any updates available.

Apparently, there were none.

So, she’d focus on doing what she could do without overstepping or being in the way.

Lainie had stopped by and visited for a few minutes, and Kristine couldn’t bring herself to tell her about the suspension.

It nagged at her that she should trust her friends, but why burden them with it? They couldn’t do anything about it.

But they could offer support , a little voice whispered.

She sighed and glanced at the time. The longer Kristine waited to wake the sleeping mother, the more trouble Jacob could get into.

She gave the woman’s hand a light squeeze. Nothing. Slightly firmer pressure did the trick.

Tabitha’s eyes fluttered opened and she yawned. “I fell asleep.”

“Your body’s been through a rough time, and emotionally ... well, we all know our emotions can drain us.”

“Jacob. What did you find out?”

Kristine hesitated a moment, then sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this, but Jacob ran away from the social worker. The police are looking for him, but right now, we don’t know where he is.”

“What!” Tabitha shoved the sheet aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Hang on a second and just think for me.”

Tabitha paused. “Think what?”

“Where would he go? He seemed desperate to be with you. So why take off? Why would he do that?”

She blinked, then shook her head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Unless...”

“Unless?”

“I mean, Marcus and I weren’t big fans of the system.

We talked openly about it and our dislike of it.

We did say there were good people that truly wanted to help kids like us, but they were few and far between and we never stayed with many of them.

” She picked at the blanket. “He might not have believed the social worker would bring him here. Or he thought they’d put him into the system afterward.

If he thought either of those things, then that’s probably why he hasn’t come here on his own. ”

Made sense. The kid was smart. “Do you know a safe place that he’d run to?”

“I...” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Home? The church maybe? Although I can’t really see that. He thinks everyone there is a hypocrite. I get it. Some are. But not all.”

“Where’s the church?”

“First Community. On Main Street.”

Just a few blocks away. “All right. I can check and see if he’s there somewhere.” She stood. “If he comes here, will you let us know? At least then we’ll know he’s safe.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you. I’m going to go get your stuff, okay?”

“Okay.” She sighed, leaned her head back, and shut her eyes.

Kristine made her way out of the hospital and found that darkness was coming quickly. “Great.” No wonder she was hungry. She hurried to her vehicle, opened the glove compartment, and found a protein bar. It would have to do for now.

Her phone pinged. Lainie.

Are you still at the hospital?

No, on the way to First Community Church. I’m still looking for Jacob.

And frankly, some answers from the deceased Marcus Brown. He hadn’t told them everything. She felt it in her bones. A quick search of the church didn’t turn up the teen, so she headed to the Brown home.

When Kristine pulled to the curb, the poor house looked abandoned and forlorn in the shadows of the setting sun.

She climbed out and found the key right where Tabitha said it would be.

She started to insert the key but found the door cracked.

“Huh.” They must have left it open in the chaos of everything.

“Weird.” Or maybe Jacob had come home? She stepped inside to flip on the light.

Nothing. She’d get that taken care of later like she’d promised, but for now...

She pulled out her phone and activated the flashlight.

Then hesitated. Searching the house in the dark might not be the most brilliant idea.

She might miss something. Then again, if she didn’t try, she may not get another opportunity.

She shut the door behind her, pulled a pair of gloves she’d grabbed on her way out of the hospital from her pocket, and slid her hands into them.

She stood for a moment, thinking. She really should stay in her lane and wait on Andrew.

Well, if she came across the money, she wouldn’t touch it.

She swung the light around. If she wanted to hide a bunch of cash, and make sure six kids and a wife couldn’t find it, where would she put it?

The ceiling? She found a broom in the small closet next to the washer and dryer, then panned the light over the surface while using the wooden handle to push gently on the overhead acoustic tiles.

It didn’t take long to finish in the small space, so she moved to the den area to do the same and stopped. The small desk in the corner had been overturned, the drawers’ contents scattered across the floor.

That combined with the cracked door worried her.

But maybe in all the chaos with the paramedics and other people in the house, it had been an accident.

She moved to the next room and looked inside.

The boys’ bedroom. Three twin beds and a small dresser against the wall.

A few toys on the floor-to-ceiling shelves that lined the walls.

She admired the creative storage ideas. She seriously doubted Marcus would hide the money in his kids’ room, but she checked the ceiling anyway, then the overhead light.

Sometimes people pulled the light down to hide stuff up behind it.

It was a lot of trouble and included removing screws and the whole light fixture to get to the open space behind it, but . ..

Nothing. She even tried the shelving to see if it moved. Nope.

Kristine blew out a breath and moved into the room across the hall.

The girls’ room. Pink and purple covered the walls that could use another coat of paint, but again, the shelves around the perimeter.

A few scattered toys and a lot of books.

Nothing. Okay then. She’d do what she was sent here to do and let the FBI handle the rest like she was supposed to. Sorry , Andrew , I tried.

A sound from the master bedroom caught her attention.

Jacob?

The most likely answer. Could he be grabbing some things and planning to leave again? Or had one of the friends keeping the kids come to get something?

But there was no car out front.

She dialed 911 and listened for the call to connect, then stayed quiet while on the line. She turned the volume down as far as it would go in order to keep the dispatcher’s voice from coming through.

Then she texted Andrew and Nathan.

At the Brown home. Someone is inside. Not sure if it’s Jacob. No car on the curb so could be him.

Andrew’s text came through immediately.

Or it could be an intruder. Get out and wait for backup.

She hesitated, then decided that might be wise. A loud crash from the bedroom had her backing toward the exit. Her foot snagged on the carpet runner and she stumbled, knocking against the wall.

“What the—” The voice came from the bedroom a split second before a figure appeared in the doorway. Hoodie, baseball cap pulled low over the ski mask that covered his face, dark clothes. She registered that just before he barreled out of the room and shoved past her.

“Hey!”

He kept going into the den, then the kitchen and out the side door. Kristine bolted after him.

The sirens sounded close, but not close enough. She raced after him. “Federal agent! Stop!” She figured it was a waste of breath, but at least she could say she identified herself as law enforcement.

He raced down the road, past the trailer park, and into another neighborhood. He zipped across someone’s front yard and disappeared into the back. Kristine followed him, heart and feet pounding the same rhythm.

The sirens grew louder and she searched for the intruder, but it was too dark. With too many places to hide. The neighborhood had middle-class houses with well-kept yards. Trees and bushes lined the edges. He could be anywhere.

She stopped, panting a little from the mad dash, and listened, gripping her weapon, ready to face any threat.

But all she heard was the commotion at the Brown home.

She finally gave up and jogged back to the scene, badge plainly displayed, weapon tucked out of sight, empty hands at her sides.

She didn’t need to alarm anyone already on edge about a reported intruder.

Just as she reached the curb, Andrew pulled to a stop next to a cruiser.

He climbed out and showed his badge. The tense officers relaxed a fraction.

Andrew spotted her and hurried over to her and the officers now approaching.

She told them about the intruder and pointed in the direction he disappeared.

“We’ll search,” the taller one said, “but he’s probably long gone by now.”

“I know.”

They took off and she turned to Andrew.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

He tilted his head toward the house. “I don’t suppose you looked for the money while you were getting Mrs. Brown’s things.”

“I plead the fifth. And you can’t search for it either because CSU is gone and the intruder is a whole new case.”

“Ah, but I had someone stop by the hospital to get written consent.” He looked at his phone. “Yep. I’m good.”

“Well, well. Mr. Prepared. That was fast.”

“We’re on a time crunch to figure this out.” He frowned. “Although it seems like the crime scene unit would have found it if it was here.”

“Seems like.” She shrugged. “But the fact that I walked in on someone trashing the place says they think there’s something worth looking for here too.”

“Good point.” Andrew nodded toward the house. “You wanna grab her stuff while I take another look?”