Page 22 of Save Her Life (Sandra Vos #1)

TWENTY-ONE

Sandra stepped into her building, and Earl was behind the concierge desk. He dipped his head when he saw her.

“Still no sign of Olivia?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. Dare I ask, is everything all right? You look shaken.” Earl wasn’t one to miss a thing. He could have been law enforcement for his canny ability to see and recall detail.

“I’m afraid that something might have happened to her.” She downplayed it to prevent her emotions from flaring up and seizing control.

“Ma’am, I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do to help…?” Earl let his gaze pass over to Eric and gave him a sorrowful look.

“You’re doing it. Just call me if she does turn up,” Sandra told him.

“You got it.”

She turned and walked away with Eric, feeling hopeless.

“She went missing somewhere between DiversaBlend and Penelope’s,” Eric recapped. “Want to walk the area again?”

“We can.” That’s what she said, though it wasn’t necessary. Olivia likely would have taken the direct route down M Street NW to 30th Street NW. Was she entertaining wasting time because she was afraid and hurt? And for priding herself on being self-possessed, she took some offense at what Eric had said. “She’s not missing, Eric. We need to say it how it is. She was taken . That man took her.”

Eric met her gaze. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have made it sound like she ran off on her own.”

“Thank you.”

“I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.” He took her hand in his.

“I’m struggling. I think going into mission mode is the only thing that can help me.”

“We’ll get her back.”

“Or die trying. But you can’t know that we will. What we need is access to the CCTV footage along this stretch.” Her phone rang, and it was Nigel.

“You should have that warrant in your inbox.”

“One sec.” Sandra checked and was relieved to see it was there. “Yep, it’s here. Thanks for making this happen so quickly.”

“Don’t even mention it. This is Olivia we’re talking about. If you need anything, I’m just a phone call away.”

“Thank you.” She hung up and filled Eric in on who she was calling. Lakisha Hester answered on the second ring. When Sandra heard the tech’s voice, she hated that she’d have to run through everything again. Just as she was about to, Lakisha spoke.

“Sandra. My God, are you okay? I heard about your daughter.”

That was fast… “Assistant Director Rowe?” she asked, taking a stab at who had told the tech.

“That’s right. He told me that she was last seen at DiversaBlend on M Street Northwest and asked me to bring up the CCTV for that area.”

She let out a breath of relief at the news that it was already underway. “Have you?”

“I’m getting to it and will let you know the second everything comes through.”

“I’m not sure all that Rowe told you but extend the camera footage to cover this area as well.” She told Lakisha the route Olivia would have likely taken to Penelope’s address.

“Will do. I’m sorry, Sandra. I don’t know what else to say.”

“There isn’t much that can be said, but thank you. Just do whatever you can.”

“You know I will. I’ll call the second I have something to share.”

She ended the call and let out a long, deep breath. “So, Lakisha from the Science and Technology Branch is working on the CCTV for the area. My caller was Judge Morse, telling me a warrant for the surveillance footage should be in my inbox. Let’s go present it.”

Sandra and Eric stepped toward the counter, and the DiversaBlend manager came to them and waved them back to the office.

“That was fast,” Charlene told them as they set up in her office. “I’m assuming you have a warrant?”

Sandra held her phone’s screen up to her, and Charlene scrolled down, reading the entire document at a quick pass.

“That should appease corporate. Can you email it to me?” She gave Sandra her email address, and she fired it along.

“You should have it now.”

“And I’ll get that footage brought up. What time do you need it for?”

“Between four thirty and five this afternoon,” Sandra told her, providing a buffer on the time slot.

“All right.” Charlene moved the mouse around, clicking here and there. “Here we go. Actually, if you two wanted to just… well, one of you could take my chair.” Charlene got up, and Sandra sat after Eric insisted. “You just need to hit the play button there.” Charlene pointed it out on the screen.

Sandra did so, and the video came to life. The camera was mounted behind the counter and afforded a view of the entire coffee shop, including the front door and windows. Customers poured in and out in a constant stream. Sandra increased the speed of the playback and watched Avery and Olivia enter the frame.

Her heart pinched at the sight of her beautiful daughter. If only Sandra could reach inside the screen and pluck her to safety.

All hope seeped from her with the appearance of a man walking behind her daughter. He was tall and wearing a flannel-lined jean jacket. He had a mop of brown hair.

“That must be him,” she said and stopped the video.

“Charlene, could you please excuse us for a moment?” Eric said kindly.

“Ah, sure.” The manager left, closing her office door behind her.

“He’s looking down. We can’t see his face.” Panic was threatening to suffocate her.

“Just resume playback at less than regular speed,” Eric told her.

Sandra did so, and even when he placed his order at the counter, creepy guy kept his head down. “He’s avoiding the camera on purpose. He followed Olivia here. He targeted her.”

Eric laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just keep watching the video.”

Olivia and Avery got their drinks and claimed a table. The man followed not long after and chose a spot within plain view of the girls, but he continued to keep his face from the camera. All they saw from this viewpoint was the back of his head.

They continued to watch as Olivia and Avery chatted, and then Olivia got up to leave. She grabbed her backpack and violin case and waved goodbye to Avery. As Avery had told her, she got a phone call and was lifting the device to her ear as Olivia made it to the doorway.

But then, sure enough, the man got up, stuffing his hands into his pockets, as he followed in Olivia’s steps.

The video afforded them the view that Olivia had turned left on the sidewalk, the right direction for Penelope’s. Sandra was holding her breath as she watched the man go out the door and turn left after her.

“He took my baby girl.” Anything else she might have said dried in her throat.

“Does he look familiar to you at all?” Eric asked, calm and steady, the voice of reason in the middle of her storm.

“How could I possibly answer that? He’s never facing the camera.”

“Going by build, mannerisms?”

“Not that stands out to me. No.” She had a good memory, but it was too much to expect she’d pick him out of the slew of people she put away. At least not without context.

“Why don’t you go back to when he enters the store? We can reference the height indicator tape to determine how tall he is.”

She did that, and the tape marked him as six foot one with his head hunched forward. “Say six two or three. Lakisha could probably establish his exact height from this video. She might even be able to gather something we’re not seeing.”

Eric nodded and left to retrieve the manager. They came back together.

Sandra got up, pulled her card from her pocket and scribbled Lakisha’s name and email on the back. “Please email the video to that address there.”

“I’ll do it right away.”

“Thank you.” She quickly tapped out a text to let Lakisha know she should be receiving a video and that she was interested in knowing the height of the man in the flannel-lined jean jacket and anything else that stood out to her. She had a response within a few seconds from Lakisha that she would look out for it.

Sandra and Eric had just made it to the sidewalk when her phone rang. Elwood Rowe’s name flashed on the screen. “It’s Elwood,” she told Eric before picking up.

“Sandra, does the name Duane Novak sound familiar to you?”

Fifteen years ago, Novak and his brother robbed a downtown convenience store, but things fell apart quickly. The clerk had managed to raise a silent alarm, and police showed up, sirens screeching, before the Novak brothers could make off. There was a standoff, and Sandra had been the lead negotiator. She’d given Duane, the shot caller of the two, every opportunity to surrender peacefully, but he’d wanted nothing to do with it. In the end, SWAT breached the store. The clerk and customers remained unharmed, but Duane’s brother was shot during the extraction. The bullet punctured his spinal cord, making him a paraplegic for the rest of his life. “Yes, I remember him.”

“Well, apparently, Duane Novak was just released this past Friday.”

She became cold. The Duane Novak of fifteen years ago would have fit the build of the man they’d just seen on the DiversaBlend video. Had he found out about Olivia and gone after her as payback? She reached for her pendant, pushing through the collar of her coat to get there.

“Sandra, did you hear me?”

“I did. Ah, Novak had a brother. Do you know if he’s still alive?”

“He’s alive, residing in an assisted living home. What’s this telling you?”

“I was just curious.” In truth, she wanted to know what bearing this might have on Olivia’s well-being. Was Novak inflicting the same damage on Olivia that had been done to his brother? But another thought occurred to her. Assisted living didn’t come cheap, let alone keeping up the payments for the last fifteen years. Could he have taken Olivia for ransom? Considering the alternatives, that prospect didn’t sound as bad. He’d treat her well to better ensure a payday.

“Do you think Novak could have taken Olivia?”

“He hates me enough, that’s for sure, and I think I just might have seen him on video.” She brought him up to speed.

“So he left right behind her. And you’re sure this man could be Novak?”

Hit with the direct question, doubts moved in. Was it the context that helped her to see the similarity or a desire to rush things along? “If he looks like he used to, yeah. There were no clear shots of the man’s face though.”

Elwood mumbled something that resembled, “That would make it too easy.”

“Do you have an address on him?”

“His parents were contacted. They want nothing to do with him, but apparently he reached out and told them he was staying at the Sands Motel if they changed their minds.”

The flea-infested dive fit Duane Novak. It was also a good match for someone up to no good, such as a kidnapping for ransom. “We need to get units over there right away.”

“Agents are heading there as we speak, same too for a house owned by his parents. They moved to a condo a few weeks ago, but the place hasn’t gone on the market yet. The parents said Novak would likely still have a key. Agents Radcliffe and Shaffer will have a cursory look around, see if there is any probable cause to take things further.”

This might not be about money then. Not if the parents could afford to leave their house before it was sold. Though it might long be paid for. She really had too little information to form any solid theory. “He might be holding her there,” she said, not wanting to think about another possibility. Such as, he disposed of Olivia’s body on the property. “Where is this place? I want to go.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Sandra. You’re rather close to the situation.”

“Well, I’m not just going to stand back and wait, or I’ll go crazy. I need to feel useful. This is my daughter we’re talking about. If that man took her and has her somewhere…” She didn’t dare finish verbalizing her intent. It was best that her boss had deniability if it came down to it.

“I get it, but you must understand that I can’t let you run lead on this.”

She’d propose a compromise. “Fine. Let Brice take it, and I’ll take the backseat. I just need to be there for the questioning.”

Silence stretched across the line.

“Assistant Director?” she prompted, pulling out his formal title. “I know you want Olivia found.”

“Of course I do.”

“You can trust me to keep my cool, boss. Just let me be there to talk to this guy. He knows me.”

“He also hates you.”

“Let me use that.”

Seconds passed, but eventually Elwood said, “Okay, but Brice takes lead. Even though it goes against my better judgment.”

That was a decision she could live with. “Thank you.”

“I do want to make this very clear. This is a federal case, not one for the Metro PD, so don’t let this Detective Birch get in on the interview. Am I understood?”

“Understood.”

“I’ll call if anything flags at the property.” Elwood hung up.

Sandra turned toward Eric. “That was Rowe, and we have a suspect. Some guy I had a role in putting away fifteen years ago.”

“That’s great. Let’s go.”

“Here’s the thing…” She hated to squeeze him out, but she also foresaw Elwood benching her immediately if he found out Eric was involved after he’d just given her an order. She wasn’t willing to take that chance. “This is a full-blown FBI investigation now.” She paused there, just a fraction too long.

“So I’m getting the boot?”

“Please, don’t put it like that, Eric. I don’t have a choice. If you came along with me to chat with Novak, you’d be seen as interfering with an FBI case. If Rowe wanted to be a prick, he could have you arrested, and I’d be benched from looking for my own daughter. I can’t have that happen.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll step back. Is there anything else I can do? I can’t just stand around and twiddle my thumbs.” His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes hardened.

He was pissed about being pushed out yet showing her empathy. It was endearing. And loyal. Two things she admired about him, along with his ambition and drive. “Could you sit at the penthouse in case Olivia comes back?”

He didn’t say a word for a few beats but what wasn’t being said was plenty. He didn’t expect Olivia to magically turn up any more than she did. “If you think that would help.”

“It would help me to know that if she does by chance turn up, you’d be there for her.”

“All right then. For you .”

“Thank you, Eric. This means a lot to me.” She kissed his cheek, but he pulled her to him and took her mouth.

When they parted, she licked her lips. “You might not be standing next to me when I question our suspect, but I’ll feel you there.”

He dipped his head. He might never realize how much she appreciated his support and unwavering strength. She’d take that with her as she confronted Novak. What she didn’t let Elwood know was she had no intention of taking the backseat.