She ran a hand over her hair and then her face. “Can you tell I’ve been crying? Or kissing you?”
“No.” A smile curved his lips. “You look beautiful.”
Their gazes caught and held. Her already accelerated heartbeat quickened. Avery opened her mouth, but Weston’s cell phone rang, cutting her off. He glanced at the caller ID before his gaze shot to her. “It’s your grandmother.”
Avery stiffened. Nana wouldn’t call Weston unless there was an emergency. He put the call on speaker. “Marla, what is it?”
“It’s Savannah. We can’t find her.”
Weston drove to the church in five minutes flat, lights flashing and sirens blaring. The warmth of those stolen moments in the office with Avery were replaced by hard reality. He hadn’t known Savannah very long but considered her a friend. Yet whatever worry he was feeling was a drop in the bucket compared to Avery.
“We’ll get her back.” Weston didn’t take his eyes off the road. He couldn’t at nearly sixty miles an hour in town.
“She’s the knight.” Avery’s voice was hollow. “Knights were soldiers in medieval times. Savannah did three tours in a war zone only to come home and be kidnapped from her own church by a lunatic.”
They didn’t have confirmation Savannah had been taken by the Chessmaster, but in his heart, Weston knew she had. Troopers had been assigned to watch over Marla and Savannah until Rachel’s disappearance. Finding the missing woman had taken priority, and every available law enforcement officer was pulled to pursue leads. It’d left Savannah vulnerable. Something Weston was mentally berating himself for.
He whipped into the church parking lot. Sheriff deputies held back reporters and townsfolk. Debra’s funeral service had been cancelled. The church was a crime scene.
Weston circled to the rear of the church and stopped at the service entrance. Luke and Emilia were in the vehicle behind him.
Calvin met them at the door. The retired FBI agent went straight into a report. “We were setting up the reception area. The pastor’s daughter asked Savannah to assist her in the kitchen with final food preparations. They left, but the pastor’s daughter got sidetracked by another issue. Savannah went into the kitchen by herself. We discovered she was missing thirty minutes later.”
“Did you conduct a search of the building?” Avery asked.
“There’s no need.” Calvin pointed to a camera overhead. “We have video. Come on.”
He led them to the church office. Marla rose from the couch, tears staining her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Avery. She was only gone—”
“No.” Avery hugged her grandmother. “This isn’t your fault.”
“It’s mine,” Calvin said. “I shouldn’t have let Savannah out of my sight.”
“No one is to blame except the man who took her,” Avery said. She passed a knowing glance at Weston. “No one.”
Her words didn’t relieve his guilt, but they put a dent in it. Weston pointed to the television on the wall. Four camera angles were frozen on screen. Two showed the church kitchen, two others were on the rear parking lot. “Time is of the essence. Let’s see the video.”
“I’ve got it cued up for you.” Calvin hit a button on the computer.
On screen, Savannah appeared in the kitchen. She removed some trays from a high shelf and set them on the stainless-steel countertop. Out of camera range, something caught her eye. Her mouth moved. Weston surmised she was talking to someone. Beside him, Avery squinted, as if trying to read her sister’s lips.
A man came into view wearing a blue hat, jeans, and a button-down. He was heavy-set and a beard covered the lower half of his face. Weston stepped closer to the screen. He’d seen the man before but couldn’t place where.
Avery gasped. “It’s Tom Belvin.”
Luke shot her a glance. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. He’s altered his appearance with a fat suit and beard, but it’s definitely him.” She pointed to the screen. “It’s the way he walks. Like a bodybuilder.”
“She’s right,” Weston said. “I couldn’t place it, but I recognized him too.”
On screen, Savannah nodded and turned her back. It was all the opportunity Tom needed. He grabbed her head and shoved it into the countertop. Savannah fought back and nearly escaped, but Tom jabbed her with a syringe. She went limp.
He carried Savannah out to the parking lot and loaded her into his SUV. The plates were spattered with mud. The entire incident, according to the clock on the security camera, lasted for two minutes.
Weston’s fingers twitched, and he had the urge to ball his hands into fists. Instead, he turned to Calvin. “We need a still shot of Tom to hand out to all law enforcement, along with one of his vehicle.”
“The pastor is already making copies in his office. I’ll get them.”
“I’ll join you, Calvin.” Luke turned to Marla. “Ma’am, can you come with us? I’d like to ask some follow-up questions.”
“Of course.” Marla swiped tears from her cheeks. “That man in the blue hat was here all morning helping to set up for the funeral. He seemed so nice.”
They left the room, and Avery sank into a chair. “Well, that explains why Savannah let him get close to her. She had no reason to be on guard.”
“It’s not uncommon for killers to attend the funerals of their victims.” Emilia stepped over to the computer. “Or in this case, assist in setting up one. It allows the killer to relive the murder.”
She replayed the video. “He’s deviated from his pattern, but it’s still there. A blitz-style attack, using a rear door, and kidnapping the victim. And yet…something is bothering me.” Emilia leaned against the table, her eyes glued to the screen. “I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Tom used his own SUV this time.” Weston watched again as the attacker loaded Savannah into his vehicle. “The other times he used a delivery van with stolen plates.”
“That’s because a delivery van would’ve stuck out.” Emilia pointed to the other vehicles in the lot. “Every other car is personal. He wanted to blend in.”
“Everything
