Every Precious Thing

CHAPTER SIXTY

The long summer day was finally turning to night. Twice more since they’d arrived, Erica and her men had driven by Alan Lindley’s home, but each time the driveway was empty, and there was no other sign of anyone being home. It was after eight o’clock now. Surely a man with a young daughter couldn’t still be out.

“Check again,” she ordered.

Markle started up the car.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

The three-hour round trip to Alan’s sister’s house turned into over five.

First Emily had not wanted Alan to leave, so he stayed and played with her, wearing her down until she took a late afternoon nap. Then Rachel had become concerned, saying he was acting strange, and wanting to know what was going on. That wasted another twenty minutes, spent reassuring her that everything was fine and that he was just a little stressed from work. He knew she didn’t completely buy it, but he was able to finally get out of there without further questions.

Unfortunately, this meant he left smack in the middle of rush hour. At one point it got so unbearable, he’d exited the freeway and tried to find a surface-street way around the mess. That turned out to be a horrible idea. Not only was there almost as much traffic off the freeway as on, he didn’t know the area and soon found himself lost. It took him over fifteen minutes just to locate the freeway again, and when he did, he stayed on it this time, not exiting until he reached Riverside just after eight p.m.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Logan’s phone buzzed. It was Pep.

“Someone just pulled into Alan’s driveway.”

Logan sat up. “Who? Paskota?”

“No. It looks like just one guy. Hold on. He’s getting out.”

Logan glanced out the window. They had just passed Victorville and were about to hit the Cajon Pass, putting them no more than forty minutes away from Riverside.

There was movement on the other end of the line.

“Logan?” It was Barney. “It’s Alan. He’s come back.”

“What? Are you sure?”

Both Sara and Diana looked at Logan, concerned by his outburst.

“I’m positive. The light came on in the garage after he drove in, so I got a quick look at his face.”

“What’s he doing there?”

Though Logan meant the question for himself, Barney seemed to think he wanted an answer. “You want us to find out?”

“What’s who doing where?” Sara asked.

Logan looked at her. “Alan. He’s at your house.”

“I thought he was supposed to leave. Where’s Emily?”

He had been wondering the same thing. “Is Emily with him?” he asked Barney.

“I…I don’t think so,” Barney said. “He drove into the garage, then just went straight into the house. Didn’t even look back into the car.”

Why was Alan there? Callie had assured Logan he was taking Emily someplace safe.

“Okay,” he said. “You need to get him out of the house and-”

More movement from the other end, and Pep came back on the line. “The others are coming back up the street.”

Dammit! Logan closed his eyes. This was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid.

“What is it?” Sara asked.

Ignoring her, Logan said, “Can you get to the house?”

“Not without being seen.”

No way could he send a retired doctor and a recuperating sixty-year-old vet into harm’s way. They wouldn’t have a chance. Not that Alan had much of one, either. “Is the garage door still open?”

“No. He closed it.”

“What about lights? Can you see any from the garage or the house?”

“No.”

“Okay, hold your position. If it looks like before, they shouldn’t stop.”

“Here’s hoping.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Erica scowled. Even from down the street, she could tell the house looked dark and unoccupied.

Where was this guy? Maybe they didn’t have the right address.

She glanced back at Logan’s father. “Is this the street or not?”

“I told you. I’m not sure. I don’t do directions well. It could be. I don’t know.”

The poor-old-guy routine was wearing thin. She suspected that the elder Harper knew more than he was saying. Not the most trustworthy family, those Harpers. When she finally secured the girl, she’d have to clean up this mess. The two Harpers would be at the top of the list.

Markle kept their speed at a nice, slow neighborhood level. Most of the houses they passed had lights on, families settling in for the night. In one yard, two kids were playing catch under a particularly bright porch light. Another house had its garage door open, a man inside doing something at a workbench. And farther down the block, past the target house and on the opposite sidewalk, the old man from earlier was out walking again with the guy Erica guessed was his son.

The house Sara and the girl had lived in was three away, then two, then one.

She turned toward it as they drove past, its dark silhouette taunting her.

Then, just as the driveway began to recede behind them, the porch light flicked on.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

“Oh, crap.”

Logan’s grip on his phone tightened. “What is it?”

“The porch light. He turned on the damn porch light,” Pep said.

“Did they see it?”

“Hell yes, they saw it. They were just driving by. I think they were going to keep going, but the moment that light came on, they hit the brakes. They’re pulling into the driveway right now.”

The ramifications of involving the authorities no longer mattered. “Call the cops. Tell them anything, just get them there now!”