Dead silence. Stalemate. Nora was losing the battle. Had she played Lorraine wrong? Had she missed something?
“Fifteen.”
Lorraine said in a low voice, “Do you remember when you were little, before Quin was born, when we had that wonderful summer with Tommy?”
Tommy Templeton. She’d been seven the summer Lorraine met Tommy. He wasn’t one of her regular friends, but a sweet, older man who took Nora on long walks and taught her about flowers and trees and birds. He knew everything, Nora had thought at the time. She’d wanted to stay in his little cabin in the woods forever. He had been a Vietnam vet; some of the scars she saw, some of the scars she didn’t. No one did.
“He used to visit me here. Told me he was disappointed that you’d turned on me.”
That part was a lie. Nora read it as clear as if Lorraine had first said,
The next part was the truth.
“He stopped visiting five years ago. I wrote to his sister, a bitch-you’d probably like her-and she sent back a cruel letter. Told me he’d died. Just like that, no niceties. No kindness.” Her voice took on a snooty tone.
“Tommy’s place in the mountains was owned by an army buddy who was MIA. Don’t know why Derek Jackson’s family never claimed it, maybe they didn’t know about it. But Tommy lived there for thirty years and no one bothered him.”
It was the truth. It had to be.
Nora walked to the door. “Thank you.”
“I don’t want Quin to die.”
“Neither do I,” Nora said. She took one final look at her mother.
The expression on Lorraine’s face clearly said,
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Duke arrived at Nora’s house at six that morning. There were several sheriff’s cars, and he spotted Dean Hooper talking to one of the deputies. Hooper saw Duke as he approached and met him halfway. In a low voice he said, “Nora has a silent alarm. It went off at one-fifteen a.m., but patrols didn’t respond for nearly thirty minutes.”
If Nora had been home … Duke couldn’t imagine what Maggie’s game was. Kidnap Quin, then head to Nora’s house to do what? Kill her? Why take Quin in the first place? All Duke knew for certain was that Nora was in grave danger from that young killer, and he hated being separated from her when she was in trouble. He needed her, and Sean, back and under his watch. Only then could he relax even a little.
“What took so-”
Hooper interrupted. “They came, determined no one was home, and left. Dispatch then contacted our office when they realized that the house was flagged as belonging to a federal agent. It was a series of unfortunate events-I didn’t hear about the alarm until thirty minutes ago. I called you from the road.”
“What did that woman do?” There was no doubt in either of them that Maggie was responsible for the break- in.
“There’s some damage.”
“And they didn’t notice anything when they did a drive-by?”
“There were no lights on, no broken windows or unlocked doors. You’ll see.”
Duke followed Hooper inside the house. “O’Dell’s message is clear,” Hooper said. “She didn’t spend a lot of time here-in and out-but she left a note.”
That Maggie had gotten into Nora’s house unnerved Duke. He wanted to be with her right now. How could he make sure she was safe if he wasn’t with her?
Maggie had gone straight to Nora’s bedroom. She’d taken the largest of Nora’s stuffed bears and gutted it. Cotton was strewn everywhere. Pinned to the bear was a note.
“Have you traced the number?”
“It’s a prepaid phone, cash transaction, no name or address.”
“Dammit.” Duke didn’t know why he was surprised. He’d often used prepaid phones on covert assignments. “What if a female agent calls the number?”
“I’m not going to risk it. O’Dell has a hostage, I don’t want to set her off. She wants an excuse to kill Quin. And we’re at a disadvantage because we don’t know where she is.”
“Why break in while Nora wasn’t home? Why not last night? The night before?” As Duke spoke, he realized maybe Maggie had known Nora had company all night.
“Maybe she didn’t know where she lived until she took Quin.”
“I don’t see Quin giving that woman Nora’s address.”
“Maybe not, but she had access to Quin’s house, address book, computer-it could have been written down.”
Obviously. Duke was weary and worried. He said, “Okay, so Nora calls and agrees to an exchange? We need a plan.”
“Agreed.”
“Location is everything, but in the meantime we need to put together a team. J.T. and I are in. Unfortunately, Jack’s out of town.”
“I’ve already given our SWAT team leader the heads-up. He’s assembling his very best as we speak. O’Dell’s not going to hurt Nora.”
Duke wasn’t so sure. “I don’t think she cares about whether she lives or dies. If she goes into this with a suicide plan, it doesn’t matter how strong a team we have.”
Duke’s cell phone rang. “It’s Nora,” he said, then answered. “Hey.”
“I have a location, but it needs some research,” she said.
“Give it to me.”
“I just sent a text message to you and Hooper. But the problem is the property is extensive. It’s in the mountains, probably inaccessible in the winter months. I remember helping stack wood …” Her voice trailed off.
“You’ve been there?”
“When I was little. I’d know the cabin if I saw it, but I have no idea how to get there. I sent you the name of the property owner and the squatter my mother lived with one summer. It’s where she is. I know it. If I could see a map of the property, I might be able to figure it out.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. We’re about to take off. Why?”
Duke glanced at Hooper, who nodded. “I’m in your house.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Maggie broke in and left you a message. She wants to arrange an exchange. You for Quin.”
“When and where? Can we stall her? Sean said it’ll take about ninety minutes to get back to Mather Field.”
“She wants you to call her to arrange the meeting.”
Nora was silent and he thought he’d lost her. “Nora?”
“I’ll call her. I don’t want her getting antsy. She won’t know I saw Lorraine. The warden agreed to deny her phone privileges for the next forty-eight hours.”
