LITMIR.BIZ

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lifted his head, his eyes full of anger. While he battled for control, he marched to the outside door and left the porch.

      “Bag the blanket and phone and take them to headquarters. Did we get good latent prints?” Rachel asked her deputy while watching Dallas scope out the yard.

      “Yes. There were tons. I’m in the process of getting fingerprints from family members or friends who’ve been here recently to rule them out.”

      “Thanks. We’ll be back.”

      Rachel joined Dallas, still seeing a struggle between anger and determination. She again felt a connection with him that surprised her. They were both single parents and had daughters, but the two girls were years apart in age. Where was Michelle’s mother? It wasn’t easy raising a child alone, as Rachel was finding out.

      With his hands fisted at his sides, Dallas closed his eyes. He spread his fingers wide and shook them. The tense set of his face relaxed, and when he twisted toward her and looked at her, a calm, professional demeanor fell into place. “I have to work this case. I can’t let my emotions take over.”

      “I know. If my daughter were kidnapped, no matter what, I would be out there looking for her.”

      “It won’t be easy to remain objective, but with the Lord’s help, I’ll find out who kidnapped Brady.”

      “Good. We need all the help we can get.” Rachel began walking across the yard.

      “The castings were taken for the tire tracks and boot prints on the other side of the back fence?”

      “Yes.”

      “Did you notice what kind of shoes the guy who hit you was wearing?”

      Rachel stopped and closed her eyes, trying to picture the man running away from her. She remembered watching his hoodie, hoping it would slip from his head. When he turned the corner of the neighbor’s house, had she caught sight of his shoes? “I think he was wearing black hiking boots. One of my deputies made a casting of the prints by the dining room window. I haven’t had a chance yet to compare them.”

      Dallas climbed the fence, straddled the top and stretched out his arm to help her. She clasped his palm, his large hand swallowing her smaller one. His warm touch engulfed her in a wave of awareness that startled her. He hoisted her up. Their gazes met and held for a long moment. Finally she looked away, afraid that her cheeks were red.

      When they both descended to the ground near the dirt road, she put a few feet between them, not sure what had just happened. She strolled to the boot prints. “The smaller set with the larger one fits the scenario that a man and woman took Brady. Her shoe size is about a six.”

      Dallas put his cowboy boot alongside the other set. “And he wears a twelve.”

      “Now all we have to do is find a couple who wear a shoe sizes of six and twelve.”

      “Just one of many clues I hope we’ll find.” Dallas made his way to the tire imprints. “They drove a small compact car.” He took several steps between the tracks and knelt, using a pencil to move the grass. “This vehicle was leaking oil.” He took out his cell phone and took a picture. “A lot. That might help us. Make sure your deputy got a sample of this oil in case we find a car leaking oil.”

      Dusk settled over the landscape as Dallas walked up the road toward the Fowlers’ property, then came back and went in the other direction. When he returned, he said, “They turned around about a hundred yards that way.” He pointed toward the ranch. “Let’s go talk to Lenora and Paul. There isn’t much else we can do here, and I need to return to the hospital and relieve Mom.”

      As they headed back to the house, Dallas received a call. He stopped and listened, the lines in his forehead getting deeper the longer the other person talked.

      “How many babies were stolen?” Dallas turned his back on Rachel and lowered his voice.

      More babies taken? When he ended the conversation, Rachel stiffened, preparing herself for the worst.

       THREE

      As Dallas neared Lenora’s porch, he clutched his cell phone. “That was the Texas Ranger office in San Antonio on the phone. There’s been a series of baby snatchings north of Dallas.”

      “How many have there been?” Rachel asked as she moved into the house.

      “Three babies were kidnapped by strangers, but that’s not all. They checked throughout Texas, and one other area has reported the same crime pattern in the past year. There was a cluster of kidnappings in El Paso. I don’t think this is just a couple looking for a baby.”

      “Which means we’ll have two more before they move on, if they hold to the pattern.”

      He grasped her arm and stopped her before she entered the kitchen. “Sounds like a systematic organization kidnapping babies to sell. They only stay a few weeks in one area, then they move on. I’ll be checking to see if this is happening in other states.”

      Rachel frowned. “We have to stop them.”

      “I’ve already asked headquarters to expand to the surrounding states. To see if there are cases like this there. In the meantime, I’ll get what information I can about the other abductions. Maybe there’s a pattern forming where others were taken from their homes. If not, we need to establish if there’s one—or if the kidnappings are random with nothing in common between them.”

      “This is going to send this area into a panic, but it might help. People will be more vigilant. That might be a good thing.”

      “So long as they don’t overreact.” He paused in the kitchen. “When will you hold a press conference?”

      “I’m releasing information tomorrow morning at eight. I want to see if your sister and brother-in-law would like to address the reporters. Right now, there are only a few outside, but by tomorrow that number will grow.”

      “Do you want me to be there?”

      “Yes. I want whoever took Brady to know who’s coming after them.”

      “They picked the wrong family to mess with.” His words were quiet but lethal sounding.

      Rachel was glad to have his assistance. The county sheriff election had been contentious and even ugly, especially toward the end when it appeared she would win. She became sheriff because of her father’s good reputation and the many years he’d been in office, but the only way she would remain in the position was to do a good job, like he’d done. She couldn’t let her dad down.

      Rachel continued toward the living room with Dallas right behind her. Lenora sat on the couch, her head down, her hands clutching a blue knitted blanket that had been on a chair in the living room when she’d first walked through the house. All Rachel wanted to do was hug Lenora. The pain she was going through wove its way through Rachel. Katie was the most important person in her life.

      Paul entered from the foyer, a scowl etching deep lines in his face. “I took the phone off the hook. It’s been ringing for the past few hours, and I can’t deal with it anymore.” His voice rough with emotion, he took a place next to his wife and slipped his arm along her shoulders.

      Rachel sank into the wingback chair across from Lenora while Dallas eased down next to his sister on her other side. “I’m so sorry for what happened. I promise I won’t rest until we track down these kidnappers and find Brady. Have you noticed anything unusual lately—like a person you didn’t know following or watching you more than once?”

      Never looking up, Lenora shook her head.

      “Has someone called and hung up when you picked up the phone?”

      “No.”

      “Did the woman who was supposed to pick something up ever come?” Rachel pulled the evidence bag from her

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