Page 15 of Chasing a Kidnapper

Sitting back in her seat, she tried to imagine Bryan as the masked man who’d roughly shoved her to the ground and then took off with Gabriel’s stroller. Was she wrong about the guy’s height?

No, West had agreed with her assessment. And that fact alone convinced her the kidnapper wasn’t Bryan.

One of Bryan’s friends? She tried to think of who her ex-husband used to hang out with. Their wedding had been small and without the usual best man or maid of honor. Her sister had been there, and she thought there was someone there for Bryan, too.

Seth Blakemore? Yes, that was it. She seemed to remember Seth was friendly with Bryan. Yet she only met him twice that she could remember. He wasn’t overly tall, and he had been huskier than Bryan and the perp who’d tried to take Gabriel.

“There’s one name we should look into,” she said, breaking the silence. “A friend of Bryan’s named Seth Blakemore.”

“That’s good to know. We’ll dig into his background, see what we come up with.” He glanced at her. “Keep thinking of anyone else your ex knows or maybe worked with. It doesn’t make sense that a total stranger would break into your house to search for a key.”

“I know. The problem is that we weren’t married for very long, and then got divorced barely five months after our wedding.” She flushed, embarrassed that she’d made such an enormous mistake in judgment. “I don’t know why I rushed into marrying him. I guess I was looking for the loving relationship my parents had, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” His blue eyes reflected a level of compassion that warmed her heart. “I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you being a single mom.”

“I don’t mind.” She would rather be single than married to a man who didn’t love her or want their child. Then she leaned forward in her seat. “There’s the gym.”

“I see it.” He turned right at the next intersection, then drove the three blocks to the gym. After pulling into a parking space, he killed the engine. “I’d like to take Peanut inside with me, see if she alerts on anything in the locker if we find one. You and Gabriel should come inside, too. I don’t want you to be out here alone.”

“Okay.” That plan suited her just fine. She wouldn’t have considered the possibility of Bryan keeping a gun in his locker. It would be good to have Peanut’s keen nose to give an idea of what they were dealing with. “By the way, Bryan’s last name is Little. Bryan Little.”

“Got it.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I bet he hated that last name.”

She couldn’t help but return his smile. “He did. He was shorter than a lot of guys and got teased about it.” She didn’t bother with the stroller this time. Hauling her son around was one way to build up her strength without going to the gym. Oh, she still did some running and went to the firing range, but being a single working mother didn’t allow for much spare time. Not that she minded keeping busy. Bryan’s leaving so abruptly had her guarding her heart. She wouldn’t risk being hurt like that again.

West put Peanut on leash. The sweet beagle lifted her nose to the air, eager to take in the various scents.

She followed West and Peanut inside, allowing him to take the lead. West held up his badge, then asked to speak to someone in charge.

“I’ll, uh, get Stewie for you.” The young kid made a beeline toward the back office. A few minutes later, an older man, maybe in his late forties, came over to meet with him. The guy had muscles upon muscles, and eyed West’s badge with suspicion.

“Whaddya want?” Stewie growled.

“We need to know if a member by the name of Bryan Little has a locker here. And if so, I want to see what’s inside.”

Stewie chomped hard on a piece of gum, seeming to weigh his options. She stepped forward, trying to ascertain if he smelled like cigarettes and was disappointed when he didn’t.

“Don’t you need a warrant?” Stewie asked.

“I can get one,” West said. He glanced around the gym. “But I would hate to shut the place down for the time it would take to do that.”

“Shut it down?” Stewie scowled. Then he heaved a sigh. “I don’t think Bryan has been here in months. He had his membership paid for a year, though, so I didn’t clean out his locker yet.”

So Bryandidhave a locker there. She felt a surge of anticipation at the news. “When does his membership expire?” she asked.

Stewie glanced at her, then turned back to West. “I gotta look it up.”

“Go ahead.” West didn’t move. “We’ll wait.”

Stewie stepped over to a computer and hit a few keys. “Looks like his membership ran out last month.”

“Perfect. Looks like I don’t need a warrant after all,” West said. “Lead the way to the locker.”

Stewie nodded at her. “She can’t come into the men’s locker room.”

“Yes, she can. She’s a cop. Just get everyone out of there,” West directed.

She was surprised at West’s determination to have her come along, but then again, she might recognize Bryan’s personal items.

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