Without a Trace Page 11

  Jumping the ditch, she moved to the edge of the trees. “I know you’re out there!” she yelled. “I know you can hear me! We have the money! All we want is Sophie! Please, please don’t hurt her!”

  No sound came to Rae, nothing so much as the snapping of a twig, but she could sense a presence. Who are you?

  “Just tell me where to leave the money. We can end this today. No one has to get hurt.”

  Her voice echoed back to her as she stood there searching the trees. She thought about Tom’s theory that the game had been used to lure Sophie to the Ruins alone, which meant at least one of the kidnappers knew her. A friend or an acquaintance. Someone familiar with Riley’s abduction and Sophie’s fascination with the past.

  For one terrible moment, rage clouded Rae’s vision, a white-hot fury that someone could be so cruel as to terrorize a child in order to extort money from an already devastated family. Rae’s impulse now was to tear through the woods until she found the offenders. She wanted nothing so much at that moment as to feel her hands around a throat. To hear that voice on the phone plead with her.

  Tamping down such a reckless inclination, she called out again. “Tell me where to leave the money! Please. We just want her home.”

  The blackbirds circled as a chill invaded. She could stand there all day begging and bargaining, but the kidnappers wouldn’t make contact again until they were ready. They knew what they were doing, how to instill fear and cooperation. Sophie’s abduction had taken long-term planning and skill. A trap had been patiently laid. Nothing had been left to chance. And no loose end would be left untied when it was over.

  “Please,” Rae whispered. “Just take the money.”

  She jumped when the phone vibrated in her hand. Accepting the call, she scanned the woods. Off to her right, a shadow moved, or was that her imagination?

  The robotic voice said into the quiet, “Be smart. We’re watching you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Later that morning, Dylan Moody and Hannah Tucker appeared at the station at the agreed-upon time. One of Tom’s detectives had already conducted an informal interview with both kids, but Tom wanted to get them on the record. Plus, it was easier to evade and outright lie in the safety of their homes than it was in an institutional environment. They had no idea what the police already knew or who might be observing—and contradicting—their statements through a two-way glass.

  Unlike Hannah, who waited in another area of the station with her mother, Dylan had come in alone. He said his old man had been too busy to accompany him. Too hungover, more than likely. Jackson Cavanaugh wasn’t the only one who’d had unpleasant dealings with Dwight Moody. Back when Tom was still on patrol, he’d been sent out to the Moody place on any number of 10-16s—domestic disturbances—before Dwight’s girlfriend had finally left him for good. Dylan hadn’t been so lucky.

  He sat with his shoulders hunched and his eyes downcast, his posture and demeanor a far cry from the punk whom Jackson Cavanaugh had described the day before. Craig Jarvis conducted the interview while Tom observed from a dimmed area on the other side of the glass. Dylan’s answers had been mostly monosyllabic at first, but once Craig mentioned the group text messages, the kid’s head came up and the floodgates opened. To Tom’s surprise, Dylan readily copped to his participation in the game.

  “I don’t understand,” Craig said. “You saw Sheriff Brannon at Rae Cavanaugh’s house yesterday morning. Why didn’t you tell him about the game then? You made it sound as if you never went out to the Ruins.”

  Dylan pushed back a lock of dark hair from his forehead. He seemed willing to talk, but he was nervous as hell about something. “Sophie made us promise not to tell anyone. She said her stepmother already wanted to get rid of her. If she found out that Sophie was sneaking out of the house at night, she’d make sure her dad sent her away to boarding school.”

  “You didn’t think her safety trumped that promise?”

  Dylan winced. “I didn’t think she was in any danger. Not at first.” His legs were jittery beneath the table. He wiped his hands along the tops of his thighs. “I thought she was just hiding out. Or maybe she ran away. She’s done it before. I kept thinking she’d call or text, but she hasn’t. Now I don’t know what to think.”

  “When was the last time you saw Sophie?”

  “Around ten on Thursday night when I dropped her off at her aunt’s house.”

  “You didn’t talk to her after that? No calls or texts?”

  “No, sir.”

  “How were things when you left her? You two have a fight?”

  Tom’s gaze narrowed as he studied the boy’s facial expressions through the glass. Dylan hesitated only infinitesimally before he answered the detective’s question. “Everything was fine. We didn’t have a fight.”

  “Let’s talk about that game. Do you know the identity of the fourth player? The one who uses a cross for a symbol?”

  Dylan shook his head. “We all got texts one day explaining the rules of the game and inviting us to play. I wasn’t interested at first. I thought the whole thing sounded pretty stupid. But Sophie wanted to play, so I went along. I didn’t see the harm. I figured she was the one who had sent those texts anyway. Seemed like something she’d dream up.”

  “Did you ever ask her if she was the fourth player?”

  “Yeah, but she would never admit it even if she was. She likes keeping secrets.”

  “What kind of secrets?”

  “I don’t know. All kinds, I guess.”

  “You said you thought she might have run away. Do you know of any place or anyone she’d go to? A friend or family member, maybe?”

  “No, not really. Sophie’s popular at school, but she doesn’t have a lot of close friends. And I know she wouldn’t go to any of the Cavanaughs. She’d be afraid they’d tell her dad. Her mom’s family—her real mom? They’re pretty much all dead or live out of the state.” He paused as if something had just occurred to him. “I don’t know if this is important—”

  “Everything is important at this point,” Craig assured him.

  The boy looked uneasy. “Her grandparents on her mom’s side left her some money. She always said she was going to use the cash to leave town. Go someplace where no one could find her.”

  “She had access to the funds?”

  “No, that’s the thing. All that money from her grandparents is gone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s only a couple hundred dollars left in the account.”

  “What happened to the rest?”

  Dylan shrugged. “Her dad told her he invested it, but Sophie didn’t believe him. She thinks he used the money to pay off her stepmother’s gambling debts.”

  Craig cast a glance toward the window. “Lauren Cavanaugh gambles?”

  Dylan shifted in his chair, still fidgety. “She’s hard-core, from what Sophie says. There was an incident a while back that really spooked her. Two men showed up at their house while she and her stepmother were home alone. Big, tough dudes with hand cannons. Sophie stayed inside while Lauren went out to the driveway to talk to them. Things got dicey, she said. Lauren was white as a sheet when she came back inside. Wouldn’t say much about it. But a few days later, Sophie found out her money had gone missing and she put it all together. That’s when she decided to go live with her aunt. There was a big bust-up over it. Sophie threatened to tell her grandfather about the missing money if her dad tried to stop her from moving out.”

  “Did Sophie ever see those two guys again?”

  “Not that she told me.”

  “Can you think of anyone who may have it in for Sophie? Someone at school, maybe? A jilted boyfriend?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What about one of your old girlfriends?”

  Dylan had been fairly animated while talking about Sophie’s problem
s at home, but now he shifted nervously and averted his gaze.

  Craig leaned in. “Is there someone like that? Come on, kid. The best way you can help Sophie is to be honest with me.”

  “It’s not like she’d ever do anything to hurt Sophie,” Dylan mumbled as he studied the cracks in the tabletop.

  “Who are we talking about? Give me a name.”

  Dylan glanced up, wary and defensive. “Okay, but you have to understand we only went out for a little while before Sophie and I got together.”

  “A name, Dylan.”

  “Hannah.”

  Craig sat back in his chair. “Hannah Tucker?”

  “It wasn’t serious. At least...not for me,” he added reluctantly.

  “What about her?”

  The kid looked miserable. “I guess she was pretty upset when we broke up.”

  “Define upset.”

  “She wouldn’t speak to me for a long time afterward. Some of my buddies said she started rumors about Sophie.”

  “What kind of rumors?”

  “Just dumb stuff. She was mad, okay? But she got over it. We’re all friends again. Like I said, she would never do anything to hurt Sophie. They’re like sisters.”

  “Like sisters, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  Craig glanced down at his notes. “Anything else I should know about your relationship with Sophie?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like I said, any and everything is important at this point.”

  Dylan’s expression grew earnest, but Tom didn’t trust his sincerity. Teenagers these days were pretty sophisticated. They knew how to deceive and deflect when the pressure was on.

  “Sophie is a good person,” Dylan said. “People have the wrong idea about her. They think because her family has money, she’s all stuck-up and stuff, but she’s not. She wouldn’t go out with someone like me if that were true.” He placed his hands flat on the table as he leaned in. “You have to find her. I don’t know if she ran away or if someone took her, but she must be in trouble. She would have called me before now if she could.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  The kid jutted his chin. “She would have called.”

  “Okay, son. That’s all for now. You’re free to go.” When Dylan started to rise, Craig added, “Don’t leave town.”

  Tom watched as Dylan exited the room. He’d been polite and cooperative, but something about his manner still niggled. His concern for Sophie seemed genuine, and after his initial reticence, he’d answered every question. So why was Tom’s gut warning him to dig deeper? Had the kid been a little too obliging? A little too willing to throw Hannah Tucker under the bus?

  The door opened and Craig poked his head in. “What did you think?”

  “Deliberate or not, he sure painted Hannah as a person of interest.”

  Craig nodded. “Maybe I should call him back in and lean on him a little harder.”

  “Give him some time to simmer. Let’s hear what Hannah has to say.”

  Tom returned his attention to the window as Hannah and her mother were ushered into the interrogation room. Hannah sat down at the wooden table while her mother hovered in the background. Craig introduced himself and gave Hannah a word of encouragement before he took the seat across from her.

  Unlike Dylan, the girl appeared cool and collected. She sat ramrod straight in the chair with her hands folded on the table. She wore a simple sleeveless dress with a sweater tied around her shoulders. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face scrubbed clean of makeup. She looked younger than sixteen and much more subdued than she had at Rae’s house the day before. Restrained but not the least bit intimidated. Like Dylan, she readily admitted to her participation in the game.

  “It was just a way to pass the time,” she explained. “Something different. We never thought anyone would get hurt or...” She trailed off on a tremulous note.

  Craig projected a hint of frustration at her response. “Why didn’t you mention any of this to Sheriff Brannon when you saw him at Rae Cavanaugh’s house yesterday? Why did you lie and tell him that none of your friends went out to the Ruins anymore?”

  She gazed across the table with wide, guileless eyes. “Because we all made a pact that we wouldn’t tell anyone. Sophie was afraid of what her dad would do if he found out and I didn’t want to worry my mom.” She glanced back at her mother. “I’m sorry, Mommy. We didn’t mean any harm. It just gets so boring around here.”

  “We’ll talk about it when we get home,” her mother said. “Just answer the detective’s questions.”

  Hannah turned back to Craig. “There really isn’t much to do in this town, you know. That’s why we kept playing.”

  “Do you know who the fourth player is?” Craig asked. “The one who uses a cross for his or her symbol?”

  She shrugged. “Dylan and I both thought it was Sophie. She likes mysteries and games, and the Ruins have always fascinated her. She used to go out there after school sometimes and take pictures. I think it’s because of what happened. Sophie kind of romanticized Riley’s disappearance. She became a little obsessed. She used to say it was strange that she could be so invisible to her family while a girl who vanished fifteen years ago was still all any of them ever thought about.”

  “Did Sophie talk to you about any other problems she had at home?”

  Hannah considered the question with a pensive frown. “She and her stepmother don’t get along. Sophie hates Lauren. She calls her a gold-digging slut.”

  “Hannah,” her mother reproached.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m just repeating what Sophie said. She called her a lot of other things, too. If you want, I can make you a list.”

  “Maybe later,” Craig said. “Did she ever talk about running away from home?”

  “All the time. I used to think she just wanted to get her family’s attention, but maybe it was something more. I don’t know. Dylan wasn’t much help. He egged her on.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Sophie inherited some money from her mom’s side of the family, but she couldn’t touch it until she turned eighteen. She didn’t want to wait that long to leave home, so she and Dylan used to sit around dreaming up ways to get their hands on that money.”

  “What did they come up with?”

  “Just crazy stuff. I really didn’t pay much attention.”

  Craig’s tone dropped imperceptibly. “It must have been awkward for you, listening to Sophie and Dylan make all those plans together.”

  Hannah’s expression remained passive, but her gaze turned shrewd. “Why would you think that?”

  “You and Dylan used to go out, didn’t you? Wasn’t there a part of you that resented Sophie? He broke up with you to be with her.”

  Hannah’s mother moved in closer as if to warn him to tread carefully.

  Hannah didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes widened in surprise as she shot a glance at the two-way window. “Did he tell you that?”

  “He said you were pretty upset when he called things off.”

  Her voice rose for the first time. “Who wouldn’t be? Do you know how embarrassing it was, the way they sneaked around behind my back? Everyone in school knew but me.”

  Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think that’s enough for now. Hannah wants to help, but it’s been a traumatic two days. I’d like to take her home now so she can get some rest.”

  Hannah swatted her mother’s hand away in annoyance. “Stop it, Mommy. I’m not tired. And anyway, I’ve got plenty more to say about Sophie and Dylan.”

  Craig nodded. “I’m listening.”

  She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “It’s true I was angry when Dylan first broke up with me, but it wasn’t long before I realized that he was much better suited to Sophie than to me.”
>
  “How so?”

  She gave him a cool smile. “I plan to go to college in a couple of years and someday I’ll have a fabulous career. Dylan doesn’t want any of those things. He’s only interested in the moment. So is Sophie, but it’s totally okay for her. She doesn’t have to worry about her future because she comes from money.”

  Was that a trace of resentment in her voice? Tom wondered.

  “You told Sheriff Brannon that you talked to Sophie after Dylan dropped her off on Thursday night.”

  She visibly relaxed. “She texted me about our chemistry assignment and I called her back to explain something.”

  “How did she seem? Was she upset about anything? What was her mood like?”

  Hannah paused. “She seemed distracted.”

  “Do you know why?”

  She cast another glance toward the window, as if wondering who might be listening behind the two-way glass. “I’d rather not say. You’ll think I’m just trying to get back at Dylan for what he said.”

  “Stick to the truth and you’ll be fine,” Craig assured her.

  She nodded as she tightened her sweater sleeves around her shoulders. Readjusting her armor, Tom thought.

  “Sophie was worried about Dylan. She said he was getting too clingy. He kept pressuring her to run away with him. Sophie’s a big talker, but she’s still really immature. She won’t even turn sixteen until next month. Leaving town with Dylan scared her. Where would they go? How would they live without any money? She told me she wanted to break up with him, but she was afraid of how he would take it.”

  “Why was she afraid? Did he ever get physical with her? Threaten her?”

  “No... I don’t think so. But he...” She trailed away worriedly.

  “What?”

  “Don’t get me wrong—he’s a good guy,” she hedged. “But he has a dark side. He used to scare me sometimes when he’d get in one of his moods.”

  “Did he ever threaten you?”

  “No, of course not. He’d just get all mopey and quiet. I think his dad used to knock him around until he got old enough to defend himself. It’s no wonder he wants to leave town so badly. I would, too, if I had a father like that.”