“This is Carl Abbott.”
“Good morning, Mr. Abbott. Everything, all right?” Sharkey asked.
“Yes, I have Susan’s mother with me, and we’re just leaving Miami for Key West.”
“Take your time and drive safely. Getting here fast won’t change what you need to do. Let me know when you get to town.”
“I will,” Carl said. “We’ll stop for lunch and should be in Key West around three this afternoon.”
“Call me.” He turned to Harris. “ETA for Abbott and his mother-in-law will be around three.” Sharkey said.
“Man, this is going to be rough for them. That’s got to be the worst news ever and it comes like a stab through the heart. And seeing the body just makes it real. That stab through the heart makes it bleed.” Harris said.
“We don’t know what to expect. Something tells me this could get dicey. There’s that little voice whispering, we need to proceed with caution. We don’t know who to trust. Just my gut talking.”
“A good cop always listens to that. Forensics turned up anything?” Harris asked.
In the office Sharkey pulled up his reports page. “From the crime scene they found nothing. The rain took care of that. They checked the surrounding area and didn’t find any signs of anything that could pertain to the victim.”
“Did they use the dogs?”
“Yeah, but the K-9 report didn’t pick up anything either. They took the diaper and the toy, and the articles from the bed where the older kid slept. Also went over the clearing and surrounding areas outside and came up with nothing. Whoever took them was careful. They have some hairs that don’t match the mother, but it was at a motel. Don’t get too excited yet.”
“I’ve got a call into the Miami police to get a search warrant for Susan Abbott’s house. That may give us better information on who she knew. Maybe more information on Carl Abbott, too, and I’m asking for anything that might lead us to Javier Trujillo. I intend to push Abbott and Mrs. Williams. They may be able to tell us enough about him to find him.”
“Something’s got to give.”
On a hunch Sharkey called Rex Jamison.
“Hey, Rex, I’m in need of your brain.”
Rex chuckled. “You going to use a shovel or pickax?”
“At this point, just scratching the surface might help.”
“Shoot.”
“What do you know about child kidnapping?”
“Usually, it’s abduction by a relative. FBI has made it too dangerous for off-the-shelf monetary work to sell them back to the owner. The other thing could be child trafficking. It’s a lot harder to catch because you don’t know who’s buying. If you got the time, I’ll come on over.”
“Yeah, we don’t have much yet.”
“I’ll be there in ten,” Rex said.
“I’ll be waiting in the lobby.”
* * *
The sky was clear over the overseas highway heading south with only a few distant clouds on the horizon as Carl Abbott drove toward Key West. Stephanie Williams sat in the passenger seat staring out the window. Her short salt and pepper colored hair was blowing in the wind. Her face was heavy with make-up to cover up her grief. She periodically pulled down the mirror to dab and smear.
“I don’t understand. Susan is dead, and the children are missing. My Lord, what is this world coming to?” Stephanie said, disgusted.
“We should know more when we talk to the detective. He didn’t give me any details.”
“They never do…I read about things like this. You can’t trust the police to know anything and they’ll tell you less.” Stephanie spat out the words.
“Detective Sharkey seemed pretty nice,” Carl said.
“Yeah, they always do at the start. He’s playing the good cop. Soon enough you’ll meet the bad cop. You’ll know it because that’s the one that accuses you of killing her. ‘It’s always the spouse.’ They have a script. They don’t really think, they just follow the script. Just watch. Don’t let them fluster you. They have tricks. They do this all the time. Innocents like us are just supposed to smile and think that they’re just doing their job to catch bad guys, and that they don’t really enjoy the pain they cause.”
“You’re thinking about Susan’s father?” Carl asked.
Stephanie snorted. “That jerk? Hell no. He might have been a good cop, but he was a worthless husband and father. If he had been a decent father, she might not be dead. I have no idea where he is. Nor do I care.”
“So, you haven’t called him?”
“Hell no. Couldn’t if I wanted to. Don’t know where he’s at. For all I know, he’s in some big city, who knows where. That’s what he wanted. The bigger the better because they have more creeps and degenerates to chase. I don’t want to talk about him. It upsets my stomach. Haven’t heard from him or thought about him since he left. That was a long time ago. A long time.”
“Okay. We should be in Key West about three. I booked us into a hotel and was able to get two rooms next each other. You need anything, I’m just next door.”
She smiled. “Thanks, I’ll hold you to that…”
She reached in her purse and pulled out a candy bar. “Want some? I get low blood sugars.”
He shook his head no.
“Susan was just like me. At first, she just adored her father. Then something changed. He was never there when she needed him…I’m glad that I have you to lean on. This is just awful. And that new baby…” She stopped to lick the chocolate off her fingers. “She never even let on she was pregnant. She had to get knocked up by a foreigner. I don’t want anything to do with that baby.”
“Might not be a problem. They can’t find them. I’m sick about Tyler. But you’re right. I was
