while Jaxon stayed in and talked to the parents. Ellie looked a little better already.
Ellie’s mother came to the door looking distraught and Jaxon led her to her daughter. Ellie sagged into her mother’s arms and cried even harder. At least her mother was here.
Back inside, Jaxon determined the Harrisons knew very little about the package and he knew his best bet would be to talk to the brother. They would stop by on the way out of the neighborhood after everything calmed down.
The Crime Scene guys finished up quickly at the urging of Jaxon and left with the dog’s head and box within an hour. Ellie looked instantly relieved, but still would not go up to the room. They talked with her about staying at the Harrison’s and the importance of remaining hidden and she said she wanted to stay.
“Would it be ok if I slept in another room?” She asked.
“You can sleep in my room with me,” Deana said, and smiled. “I can move some stuff around and put the blow-up mattress on the floor.”
Ellie smiled and said, “That would be great.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come home, Eliana?” her mother asked.
“I think she will be safer here,” Victoria said. “He sent the package to your house in the belief she would get it there, so he must not know she’s here. Plus, Jaxon and I will be here again tonight, all night, along with the officers out front and back, and the officer in front of your house for appearances.”
Madison Pemberton nodded, but did not look happy. Jaxon was sure she missed her daughter and probably worried herself sick over her being here. Mrs. Harrison must have known it too.
“Madison? You can stay here with her if you like. We have room.”
She hesitated, but then shook her head. “I really appreciate it, Natalie, and I really want to, but that would mean leaving Patrick alone and I couldn’t do that. He won’t stay here even if you begged him.”
“You’re both welcome to stay if you change your mind,” Natalie said, and smiled.
“Thank you,” Madison said, then to her daughter. “Are you alright? If you need me, just call. I’ll answer quick and come over right away.”
Ellie nodded, a few tears showing, but she held it together. She gave her mom a hug and Madison left.
“We’re going to follow your mom to your house so we can talk to Patrick about the package,” Jaxon told Ellie. “The two officers are still here, so don’t worry. If another package shows up, don’t open it. Don’t even bring it into the house. Call us right away and we’ll be over immediately. That goes for everyone. Nobody opens any strange packages.”
“Where are you going after my house?” Ellie asked.
“We have some leads to follow, sweetheart,” Victoria said. “We still have to catch this guy and we’re getting closer.”
“What did you find?” Luke asked.
“Not right now,” Jaxon said. “We’ve got a lot to do so we can get back here tonight. We’ll fill you all in when we get back.”
Luke looked discouraged, but nodded anyway.
“Keep the doors locked and call the officer out front on the radio immediately if something happens. Got it?”
Jeffrey Harrison said, “We’ll be alright.”
Jaxon opened the door and said, “I know you will.” Victoria touched Ellie’s arm and smiled, then she walked out the door and Jaxon followed behind.
“We’re getting too close to this,” he said.
“I know. I don’t care.”
“I’m starting to care too much about those kids.”
“So am I.”
“We’re gonna get burned on this.”
“No way around it,” she said. “I’m not giving this case to anyone else. I can’t let anything happen to those kids. If Holt tries to pull me off, I’ll physically hurt him.” She wasn’t smiling.
“We need to be careful,” he said.
She suddenly stopped and turned on him. “Bullshit! I’m doing no such thing! I’m going to go after this guy like the crazed lunatic that he is! If you want to back off, be my guest, but I’m all in.” He stood there stunned. She turned, walked away, and said, “I thought you would be too.”
He caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Hey! I’m on your side. I want this guy just as bad as you”
She wouldn’t look at him.
“Look at me,” he said. She moved her eyes to his. “I’m in. How could you think that I wouldn’t be? I’m just worried about you.”
“Well, don’t be. I can take care of myself.”
He smiled at her and said, “I know you can. I should know better than to be all protective around you. But we look out for each other, right? I’ve got your back. You can’t keep me from looking out for you.”
She finally smiled a little. “You’d better.”
They stood like that for a minute, the tension bleeding off.
“We done freakin’ out now?” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go get the asshole then.”
“I love it when you curse,” she said, stepping to the car. “It gets me all worked up.”
“In a good way?”
“You’ll find out later.”
“You said that last night.”
She just smiled at him.
Patrick Pemberton didn’t know squat. Jaxon thought the kid was an asshole too, but that was just his opinion. Teenagers these days were all assholes most of the time.
Victoria had asked him nicely, “Did you happen to see who delivered the package?”
“No. Why?”
“It might help us solve the case, Patrick,” Jaxon said.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“We know that,” Victoria said. “We’re not here to hassle you, we’re just trying to find out some information. Do you know when the package was delivered?”
“No.”
“When did you realize it was here?” Jaxon asked.
“When I left to take Ellie her stupid suitcase.”
“Did you happen to see anyone around or a delivery truck? Anything like that?”
“No.”
“Alright, if you think of anything or remember anything else, call.” Jaxon handed him a business card. He took it and stuffed it in his pocket and shut the door.
“That was a lot of help,” Victoria said.
“No wonder Ellie called him a jerk.”
“Because he is one,” they both said at the same time and then laughed.
Next stop, June Littleton’s. Not only was she pissed because she expected them two hours ago, but apparently her husband was out drinking and hadn’t shown up home yet. She kept looking at her watch and saying, “Son-of-a-bitch.”
Victoria, ever the FBI agent, started the questioning. “Mrs. Littleton, we were going over the interviews from the time of Stewart’s abduction and we wanted to ask you a few questions about Stewart’s friends.”
“That was a long time ago,” she said. “I hope I can remember things.”
“By the way, Mrs. Littleton,” Jaxon said, “When you re-married, why did you keep the name Littleton?”
“I wanted Stewart to be able to find me. If I had changed my name, he wouldn’t know that, would he? He wouldn’t be able to find his way home. Not that it mattered.” She looked at her hands in her lap and fiddled with the tie on her apron.
