Page 23 of Chasing a Kidnapper

This was a temporary arrangement. Nothing more.

Which was for the best, as she’d made the mistake of marrying Bryan who hadn’t been a believer, either. Certainly her ex had not taken the whole,until death do us partportion of his vows seriously.

Enough. Thinking along those lines wasn’t helpful. Despite the difficulties of being a single mom, she was in a much better place.

At least, she would be once the kidnapper was caught.

She turned to play with Gabriel, hoping to tire him out for his afternoon nap. West worked on the computer, then suddenly said, “Trish? Check this out.”

“What did you find?” She rose from the floor, wincing a bit. Crossing to the alcove where West sat, she leaned forward to look at the screen over his shoulder. The enticing scent of his aftershave teased her senses.

“Does this guy sound familiar?” He tapped the screen. “David Albright?”

She turned the name over in her mind. “No, afraid not.”

“He was arrested for B and E last year.” He turned to glance at her. “Could be that he was the intended recipient of the Glock.”

“Breaking and entering isn’t nearly as serious as armed robbery,” she felt compelled to point out.

“He may have wanted the weapon for something else.” He shrugged. “It just makes me wonder if Albright met someone in jail and made a point of catching up with him once they were both out.”

“That’s something to consider.” She straightened. “But I would think that anyone buying or selling a Glock on the black market would be planning a bigger crime.”

“Yeah, there is that.” He sighed then stood. “I need to get over to the pizzeria. Are you sure you don’t mind being left here alone?”

“We’ll be fine.” She spoke with confidence. The danger was real, but she felt safe in West’s home. “Hopefully Gabriel will go down for a nap soon. He didn’t sleep that long in the car.”

He nodded. “Let me give you my phone number and password for the computer.” He pulled out his phone. “You better give me your number, too.”

Feeling awkward, she complied. Then entered his name, number and the password into her contact list. Back when she was a rookie, she would have been thrilled to have West’s number.

Before she’d married Bryan. And then divorced him. And had Gabriel.

This number was only to be used for police business.

“I hope you and Peanut find something,” she said, as he shrugged into his jacket then reached for Peanut’s leash.

“Me, too.” He flashed a quick smile, then turned toward the door leading to the attached garage. “Keep the doors locked.”

“Of course.” Gabriel began to cry, holding his arms out toward Peanut. With a sigh, she scooped the boy into her arms, and held him as West and Peanut left.

“You can play with Peanut later,” she assured him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough, so she bounced him in her arms, walking around the house.

The house seemed empty without West there, which was ridiculous since she was used to living alone. Determined not to be ruled by fear, she pushed the feeling aside.

Out of habit, she went from one window to the next, checking their surroundings. She wasn’t familiar with West’s neighborhood the way she was her own, so she took her time, looking at license plates and vehicles parked in the various driveways. She took note of the elderly woman walking her small poodle and an older man riding his bike, bundled from head to toe because of the chill.

That’s dedication, she thought, turning away from the window. Since Gabriel was still fussing, she went to the kitchen to make a bottle.

Usually, giving him a bottle did the trick. She crossed to the sofa and nestled him in her arms. Within minutes, his eyelids began to droop. Still, she didn’t move until he’d stopped drinking his formula.

Setting the bottle aside, she slowly stood and eased down the hall to the guest room where she’d set up his portable crib. Practically holding her breath, she carefully set him down, praying he wouldn’t wake up.

He didn’t.

Sometimes on her days off she napped when he did, but that wasn’t an option today. Tiptoeing out of the room, she hurried back to the computer. Keying in West’s password, she began to search for information on Seth Blakemore.

He had no criminal background, but she did eventually find him on social media. The only problem there was that he hadn’t posted anything in over six months.

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