Leann Sweeney - Shoot from the Lip

“And April never called me? What’s wrong with her?” I had to direct my anger somewhere, and Kate’s receptionist, whom I hardly knew, seemed as good a candidate as anyone.

White answered, “She says she’s new. Says she thought maybe Kate had an emergency. The young woman felt like the doc would want her to cancel the patients. That was her priority.”

“She was pretty upset when we showed up, Abby.” DeShay’s voice was calm.

But I was not calm. I was angry with myself for not even thinking about Kate’s office earlier. That was where Foster must have gone after he ran from Aunt Caroline’s. He’d certainly hung around there long enough to know Kate’s routine. I started pacing in front of the refrigerator. “I feel so helpless. Isn’t there something else we can do?”

“The bank’s cooperating, and we’ve tapped a line in case Kate calls in. We also have a tech investigator monitoring the computer there if she tries another online transaction.”

“She attempted the transfer online?” I said.

“Right,” DeShay said.

“Bank Web sites are very secure,” I said. “Your tech guy can get the e-mail address she used to access the account and-”

“He’s working on it, Abby. You need-”

Jeff came in the back door and interrupted the rest of what DeShay had to say-probably something on the order of, Stay out of this. But I wasn’t staying out of anything.

White and Jeff shook hands, and White said, “Good to see you back.”

Jeff and DeShay did this masculine half embrace, followed by what I assumed was their own special handshake, and DeShay said, “We need you on this one, man.”

Jeff was ready, too. He wore his holstered gun and had his walkie-talkie and badge on his belt. No words were necessary to convey what Jeff and I were both feeling. I saw a little fear in his eyes before he hugged me, but also the steely resolve I had come to know when it came to his work. He gripped my arms. “How you holding up?”

“Waiting around for something to happen is making me crazy. I feel like someone poured battery acid into my gut.” I gnawed on my thumbnail rather than cry again. No more tears. They wouldn’t get Kate back.

“Give me your cell phone,” Jeff said.

I pulled it from my jeans pocket. “Why?”

He held up what looked like a small battery. “I stopped at the bank, picked this up from our tech investigator. It will make it easier to triangulate any calls that come in, find the caller’s location quicker.” He attached the little button near the antenna.

“You think Foster will call?” I said.

“I’m counting on it. You all charged up?”

“Yes. But what if he doesn’t call? What if he gets impatient and-”

“This guy needs to get out of town in a bad way, Abby. He needs that money. When he calls, you know what to do. TV is right about a few things, and you should keep him on the line as long as possible.”

Just then DeShay’s cell rang and the noise made my heart skip. I must have jumped, because Jeff put an arm around me. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re on this.”

I watched DeShay’s face while he listened to the caller, hoping I’d see relief in his eyes, but he gave away nothing. When he finished the call, he said, “No luck with the wife. Her house was clear, and she said she hasn’t seen Foster since last Saturday. She was pretty freaked out, asking all kinds of questions. The officer told her Foster had missed paying a few speeding tickets, but he didn’t think she was buying it.”

“Where the hell do you take someone you’ve kidnapped?” I asked. I started pacing again, thinking out loud. “With cell phones, there’s no need for a landline, but if Kate accessed the Internet, there has to be Internet availability where she is. Foster would need a computer to make sure he got his money transferred to the right place.”

“Keep talking. This is good stuff,” Jeff said. “Would he need a phone line? Or what?”

“A laptop with integrated wireless would do the trick-and that means he’d have to be somewhere he could pick up a signal.” For the first time in an hour, I felt like I could string a few logical thoughts together.

“What? Like an Internet café or a Starbucks?” White asked. “Hard to work with a hostage to get your money in one of those places.”

“These days you can pick up a signal in plenty of locations,” I said, “and if Foster knows anything about computers he could-”

“He’s a software designer,” DeShay said.

“That’s right. Then he knows plenty,” I said. “He could steal the signal and log on. Best place to do that is in residential areas. Coffee shops and other businesses require a security key to tap into their wireless networks, and though you could hack through, that would take longer.”

“Okay, where do people have wireless networks like this?” White asked.

Jeff said, “Upper-middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods are more likely to be equipped with that kind of technology in their homes, right, Abby?”

“Yes,” I said. “When people set up wireless networks at home, they often aren’t adequately secured. A computer with wireless capability could pick up and use their signal.”

White nodded. “I get it. You’re saying people set up home networks themselves and don’t realize someone in the house a few doors down could steal their signal and surf the Net all day and night-and this turd would know that.”

“That’s right,” I said. “Can that information narrow down your-Wait a minute.” An image flashed through my mind-Kate, Emma, Foster and me, standing in Kate’s new house.

“What is it?” Jeff asked.

“Kate just bought a house not far from here. I’ll bet there are home networks up and down that street.” Being able to contribute to the search was helping to quell the fear that had threatened to shut me down. But I still felt like I had a dancing bobber in my stomach.

“Let’s get a unit to check out the house,” DeShay said. “Where is this place?”

I started to speak and then stopped. “Damn. I don’t know the street or the house number. I’ll call Emma. She sold Kate the house.”

“Do it,” Jeff said.

But I couldn’t reach her. Her voice mail message said she was showing properties and would get back to the caller as soon as possible. I left a message telling her I had an urgent situation and needed her help. Then I called the real estate office, but no one answered there. “Now what?” I said to Jeff.

“We invite the West U police to help us,” he answered. “You told me the other day the house is in West U, right?”

I nodded. “I can get their number.”

White said, “Don’t bother. Dispatch can patch me through.” He unclipped his phone. “But this is a long shot, you know. Tell me who Emma works for.”

“Green Tree Realtors. The ‘For Sale’ sign may still be up.” I gave him the approximate location and a description of the house. Knowing the West U police, they could find the place even with that small amount of information.

While White was talking to the our local police, my landline rang.

Nothing had been done to trace calls on this phone yet, but it didn’t matter. The caller ID displayed Aunt Caroline’s number. I’d promised her I’d be back and hadn’t even phoned.

I picked up before the answering machine could take over, knowing I couldn’t tell her over the phone that Kate was missing. She’d freak out. “Hi. Sorry I got tied up and didn’t get back.”

“Abigail, can you please return?” She sounded like she was crying-which never happened.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m in so much pain, and if you could help me get settled in bed, then… then you can go about your business again.”