Running on Envy Page 3

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, if you do think of anyone, please let us know immediately. Is there anyone who is particularly envious of you?”

  “Envious?” Taken aback by the question, Carter crossed his arms in front of his chest as if that would protect him from all animosity and envy.

  Charlie explained. “Envy or jealousy is often a reason for such a personal crime. Someone who looks at you as the perfect family, who has everything—happy marriage, children, a nice home, well off. Give it some thought. Why don’t you brain storm and if you come up with any names, you can give them to me when we return.”

  “Okay, we will. Is there anything else?”

  “This is a wee bit personal, but how wealthy are you?”

  “Not wealthy enough that someone would kidnap our child and expect us to pay a high ransom.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That perhaps there is another reason for the kidnapping.”

  “The police seem to think it was random—that is, when they’re not busy suspecting us. Upscale area, nice neighborhood park. A kidnapper might assume everyone here has a lot of money.”

  “Possibly. Jenny, Malcolm, do you have any questions?”

  I asked the question that had been on my mind since Carter Elliot had arrived home. “How long have you been married?”

  “Just over two years.” Shelby responded to my off-the-wall question.

  “Why does that matter?” Carter eyed me curiously.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  Charlie explained. “Jenny doesn’t always know why she asks questions. She just knows enough to listen to her intuition.”

  “Could you give us a picture of Ally?” I asked.

  Jillian obliged, pulling a recent photograph, similar to the one she had given the police, from a baby picture album. I stared into the blue eyes for a long time. “She’s a beautiful baby.”

  “She is,” Jillian said through renewed tears. “She’s such a good baby. The best little sister—”

  “Eight months old, you said?”

  “Yes.”

  She was small for her age. She must have taken after her mother.

  “Was she born here? In Seattle?”

  The answer came from Shelby. “Actually, she came three weeks early. I was visiting my parents in Portland when she was born.”

  Carter escorted us to the door. “You ask interesting questions.”

  Interesting as in peculiar?

  “We ask whatever comes to mind.” Charlie was the first to shake his hand. “Even if the questions seem strange at times, we ask them.”

  “I must say I prefer your questions to those of the police. It’s bad enough that our child is missing, but—” He looked over his shoulder toward his wife before lowering his voice. “But to accuse us of being involved is unconscionable.”

  “I know it does feel that way, but they’re looking out for the victim’s wellbeing. Unfortunately there are many cases where the parents are involved, and because they pursued that possibility, they have managed to save the lives of many children.”

  Carter’s sigh was weary. “I suppose it makes sense then. It’s just so offensive.”

  “That’s because you know you’re not involved. But they will do their best,” Charlie assured them. “They just do things a wee bit differently from us.”

  “Apparently.” Carter opened the door after we assured him that we would return before the day was over. “You can see why I want you on the case.”

  “It wasn’t random.” We were standing in the middle of Charlie’s living room. He and MacGregor were staring at me.

  “I don’t believe it is either, but you know this for a fact?” MacGregor asked.

  Charlie studied me carefully. “What are you picking up, lass?”

  I shook my head. “Only that it was planned.”

  “It could be planned but random,” Charlie said. “Someone planned to kidnap a baby, and waited for the first one to show up at the park.”

  My stomach clenched and I breathed into my third chakra, then focused on my sixth. “They wanted Ally.”

  “Wanted?” There was hope in MacGregor’s eyes as he joined me on the couch. “Then it’s likely that she’s still alive?”

  I nodded. “Definitely. Tea, Charlie?”

  “Aye, lassie.” He started for the kitchen when Josh and Rocky appeared. “Already on it,” Josh said.

  I smiled. Our sixteen-year-old charge had come a long way in the couple months that he had been with us. One of the first things he had learned was to anticipate when there was a need for tea. While he and Charlie finished preparing our Scottish tradition, my oversized white and black and caramel dog came to rest his muckle head in my lap. Rocky had come a long way in the same amount of time. As Josh anticipated the need for tea, Rocky anticipated my need for a soft furry head to nuzzle.

  “So, why do you disagree with the police’s assumption that it was a random kidnapping?” I asked.

  MacGregor considered the question as he always did before answering. “For one, he knew the park well. He could not have gained that much distance on me if he hadn’t. He knew exactly where he was going which leads me to believe it was well planned.”

  “Of course, as Charlie said, it could have been planned but random.”

  “True, but neither of us believes that.” His smile was warm and went all the way to those beautiful brown eyes of his. He liked us being an us.

  “That makes three of us.” Charlie had joined us with a tray laden with a pot of tea and four cups. Josh followed with a platter of chocolate biscuits and short bread cookies.

  “Four,” Josh said.

  “And your reason?” Charlie asked, ever respectful of the young boy’s opinion, particularly since Investigative Science was one of his home schooling courses.

  Josh shrugged, one gesture that had changed little since I had met him. “When I was out at the park, and the cops kept saying it was probably a random kidnapping, I kept thinking it wasn’t. I mean, if it was random, how would they know how big the baby was? It’s not like they could see the kid with all that weather protective stuff—the top awning and side flaps on the baby carriage. I mean, they could have gone to all that trouble and pushed Mrs. Elliot down and then discovered it was a huge kid, like a five-year-old or something. It would have been a lot harder to run away with a big kid like that especially if it was kicking and screaming.”

  The three adults in the room stopped chewing and looked at the budding detective. Charlie was the one to respond. “Excellent reasoning, laddie.” I knew his next thought. Why hadn’t the supposed-expert detectives in the room thought of that?

  I set down my tea cup. “Well, that’s settled then. It definitely wasn’t random. What else do we know? He was young, fast, and wearing a local college sweatshirt.”

  “From the school where you and Charlie teach?” Josh asked MacGregor.

  “No, it appeared to be from one of the other local colleges.”

  “Which still could be anyone,” I said. “They all sell their sweatshirts in stores on campus which are available to the public, or online for that matter. So we’re back to square one.”

  “Not quite.” MacGregor set his cup beside mine. “It was not just anyone, not at that speed and carrying a baby. Whoever it was, he has to be an athlete.”

  “That doesn’t mean they attend the college, assuming the sweatshirt is from a local college and not one out of the area. Maybe they borrowed it. Or stole it. And they just happen to be athletic.” Charlie, the devil’s advocate.

  “Well, more likely than not, it was a student. And a top class runner.”

  There was a gleam in Charlie’s eyes. “You’re not just saying that because he gained so much distance on you, are you now, laddie?”

  MacGregor rolled his eyes. “Whoever it was, they’re not the smartest branch on the tree. Otherwise they would have worn something nondescript, n
ot a school sweatshirt.”

  My turn to play devil’s advocate. “Maybe that was to throw people off.”

  “I would have thought that if not for his running prowess. And his build. I could tell he was young, as in student young. Build was slight, enabling him to be fast. I’d say he was a good five inches shorter than I am. A little taller than you, Josh.” He studied the teenager with his light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Josh was strong for his age, due to the hours of lifting weights when he was house and cottage-bound and there was little more he could do. “Similar build, but not as muscular. Five-foot nine perhaps?”

  “Not a basketball player,” Josh said.

  MacGregor shook his head. “More likely baseball, soccer, or track. My guess is one of the latter two. I know one of the athletic directors at the school. I’ll check to see if they have any upcoming activities and practices we can attend.”

  “That could be a lot of events.” Not my favorite thing to do, but I had to admit, Charlie and I’d had good results mingling throughout the years.

  “It’s a start.”

  He was right. And we had to take advantage of all avenues. I only wished they didn’t have to interfere with my daughter’s first visit since she’d left home.

  MacGregor reached over and squeezed my hand. “Holly might enjoy a college athletic event.” He was becoming as good at reading my mind as I was at reading his.

  “Unless there is dance involved, I doubt it.”

  “Even if there are several athletic young men?”

  He had a point.

  Charlie filled us in on his other case. Someone had cut the brakes on a Lincoln Navigator when it was parked at the airport. The first time, they had gotten the wrong car. The second time, they hadn’t. The first time, it had caused a minor accident. The second time, it had taken the car on a spiraling ride down the airport parking lot ramp, ending in a crash that landed a couple in the hospital.

  “How do you know the second Navigator was the real target?”

  “Because the owners of the second Navigator received a lovely brick through the windshield of their BMW, and one of their other cars had its tires slashed.”

  “Definitely convincing. How many cars do they own?”

  “Don’t ask. But I do think I’ve narrowed down the suspects.”

  “To whom?”

  Charlie’s smile was mischievous. It was the smile that told me he was exaggerating his progress. “To someone who knows the couple?”

  “Oh, wonderful, Charlie.” I cringed at my sarcasm, but the situation called for it. “I could have told you that.”

  “Cheeky lass.” He flashed me one of his debonair smiles. “Someone who knows their schedule. Someone who knows their parking patterns. In other words someone who knows them well.”

  “Anyone can find those things out. You know that perfectly well.”

  “Aye, but I have a feeling this one is for personal revenge. Just a hunch, mind you.”

  “Tell us about them.”

  “George and Judy Green. They’re recently married.”

  “Any enemies?”

  “While I can’t say that Judy Green has people sticking around her in order to form actual friendships, neither is she in relationships long enough to establish any enemies.”

  “Past affairs?”

  “Only one. She targeted her ex-boss, current husband, George. He’s handsome, successful, wealthy, everything a woman could possibly want in a man.”He laughed. “At least a woman like Judy. Anyway, George tends to be very popular with both men and women.”

  “Surely he must have picked up some enemies along the way, at least someone who he dumped or someone who envies him his good looks and wealth? And Judy must be envied as well for having snared him.”

  “You’ll meet them soon and be able to judge for yourself.”

  I narrowed my eyes and peered into his matching brown one. He was up to something. “And when are we going to a gathering of potential suspects?”

  Charlie chuckled and MacGregor turned me to face him. “How do you know there’s a gathering?”

  “The smug look on Charlie’s face. When, Charlie?”

  “Tonight, smart arse.”

  “Tonight!”

  “Aye, lassie. Remember the sooner we wrap this one up, the sooner we can give the wee bairn our full attention.”

  “Have you forgotten that Holly arrives tonight?”

  “Could Matt pick her up?”

  “As crazy as she is about her brother, I don’t think she’d take kindly to his picking her up. Not when I haven’t yet told her about—” I glanced at MacGregor as my hand waved back and forth between us.

  “Och, aye. Well, this event begins at five so if we go there promptly, we can get to the airport by seven.”

  “I think it’s best I pick her up alone.”

  “We’ll take two cars then.”

  “Fine. Now are you going to tell me what kind of event this is?”

  Charlie cringed in anticipation of my reaction. “A party.”

  “Expecting a little too much of us here, aren’t you?” I scowled at my adorable father. But the truth was, although I loathed most parties, it was where we did our best work.

  “Sorry, lassie. I know you’d planned to take this time off, but under the circumstances— I know you want to help with wee Ally. All I ask is that you attend this one event. Josh and I will work on both cases, and you two focus on finding the wee bairn. You can help us out as time allows and as needed.”

  My scowl had been replaced with a smirk. “Fine. As long as you deal with Detective Ben Blaine.”

  “I knew you loved me, Jenny darlin’. Shall we get back over to the park?”

  MacGregor, Josh, and I followed his gaze to the small group of police who were gathered near their vehicles. The others were undoubtedly still going door to door.

  “Let’s go.” Josh was the fastest to get up. Youth. Charlie was now in his sixties, MacGregor was hurting from the chase, and I—I had no excuse.

  By the time the three of us reached the door, Josh had Rocky on his leash and was halfway across the street.

  Again MacGregor was proven correct in his determination that, as opposed to escaping via boat, the runner had made his way to the street and most likely to a vehicle, through one of the nearby backyards. What we had not expected, was that it would be the backyard that belonged to the Elliots. That gave us more reason to believe that this was not a random kidnapping. It gave the police more reason to suspect the victim’s family.

  “I’m not surprised. More often than not it leads back to the parents.” Ben Blaine was quick to point out anything that might substantiate his theory that the parents were involved. At least he was willing to divulge his findings to us. Of course he knew we would find out soon enough anyway.

  Charlie trotted over to the front of the property that was adjacent to the concrete path while MacGregor bypassed their friend Sharkey’s property, and checked the one between it and the Elliotts’. I watched as they each examined both sides of the houses, returning to the police huddle a moment later.

  “The gates are locked on both those homes. Most likely the kidnapper kept going until he found the first property which would allow him access to the street.” Charlie managed to keep the gloating out of his voice, I was happy to see.

  “And the property in between?” Ben asked. “You didn’t check that one.”

  “It’s locked as well,” MacGregor stated with confidence. But then he and Charlie should know. It was their friend Sharkey’s property, a property they knew intimately.

  “How do you know that?” Ben asked.

  “See for yourself if you don’t believe us.” This time I detected a hint of smugness in Charlie’s voice.

  Ben nodded at Charlie’s old student, Jack Sawyer, who ran over to check, returning with confirmation that the gates were indeed locked. “But why would a kidnapper risk running through the property of the baby’s family?” Ben spoke his thou
ghts out loud. “Unless of course it was a random kidnapping and they didn’t know it was their yard. Otherwise, they would have continued on to another property.”

  He did have a point. Still, I knew it was not random. What I didn’t know was whether or not the kidnapper had known the property well enough to plan his escape through it or if he had only used it as his exit out of necessity.

  Ben continued thinking out loud. “The obvious answer is that the parents are behind it. The mother to be precise. You know how it is. A woman thinks she wants another child. Turns out child cries all the time.”

  Obviously he had neglected to interview Jillian who would have confirmed that her baby sister was a good baby, and the best little sister there was. I decided not to point that out, instead letting him continue spewing his thoughts.

  “So the annoyed mother wants to get rid of it. Hires someone to do the dirty work. Happens all too often. The tracks went to the side gate and then out to the street, then they disappear. He must have had a car parked near the house. Tell me that’s a coincidence.”

  I would have told him that there was a strong possibility the car was parked there because the kidnapper had planned to take the baby from her house, but I was interrupted. Shelby Elliot, with the support of her husband on one side and her daughter on the other, was making her way toward us. Her look of horror confirmed that she had heard the detective’s words. His look of fury confirmed that her husband had as well.

  “How dare you accuse my wife of harming our baby! You know perfectly well she was lying on the ground after being attacked!”

  Ben cleared his throat and turned to respond to Carter’s words. “That could easily have been staged. As I’ve said before, many parents have been involved in their children’s kidnapping and have hired someone to do their dirty work. Now, for this child’s sake, we need to get on with our investigation. We will look at every angle possible, including searching your home and your property. Are you willing to let us in to search or do we have to obtain a search warrant?”

  Carter pulled Shelby against him as she released a horrified cry. I took advantage of the moment to comfort her as well, stepping between the couple and the police detective. “It’s probably best to get it over with,” I said quietly. “You’d only be postponing the inevitable. But you should call your attorney.”