Page 6 of Chasing a Kidnapper

“Great.” He slowed and turned into her driveway. “I’ll walk you up to the door.”

“No thanks. I can handle it. Take care, West.” She pushed open her door and jumped down as if eager to get away. Then she froze, frowning.

His instincts went on red alert. “What’s wrong?”

“Gabriel is crying.” Without further explanation, she slammed the door and bolted toward the front door. He wasn’t sure what she was worried about—kids cried all the time.

Yet Trisha was a cop. Was he missing something? He killed the engine and slid out of the front seat to see what had alarmed her.

He had only taken a few steps when Trisha let out a strangled cry.

“Laurel!” Trisha stared in horror when she saw her neighbor and babysitter tied to a chair, her left eye puffy from being struck. Gabriel’s crying had her racing down the hall to the nursery, her heart hammering with fear. Upon seeing him sitting in his crib, tears of relief pricked her eyes.

“I’m here. Mommy’s here.” She scooped him into her arms, crushing him close. He stopped crying, burrowing against her. She took a moment to thank God for keeping her son safe, before turning back toward the living room. She caught the same hint of cigarette smoke lingering in the air.

Not her imagination, she thought grimly.

As she retraced her steps, her cop eyes took in the mess. Her home had been tossed. Not wrecked, but thoroughly searched.

Why? A druggie looking for something valuable to sell? Entering the living room, she was surprised to find West kneeling in front of Laurel, carefully removing the gag from her mouth. Then he used his knife to slice through the bindings around her neighbor’s wrists and ankles.

“Hurry, he’s getting away,” Laurel said, her eyes wide with urgency. “He went out the back door.”

“I’ll go.” West rose and immediately headed outside.

She was grateful West was there, since she couldn’t chase a bad guy while holding her son.

“What happened?” She shifted Gabriel to one hip as she knelt beside the older woman. Laurel had recently turned sixty-five, and while she had been a cop, the older woman had clearly been caught off guard by the attacker.

“I didn’t realize he was inside until it was too late,” Laurel said. Up close, Trisha could see her puffy left eye was already turning black and blue. “He must have had a key, because I keep the doors locked while you’re gone.”

That seemed impossible, but it also explained how she’d felt someone had been inside her house the previous night. “Then what happened?”

“He seemed surprised to see me. He struck me in the face, sending me reeling backward. Before I could react, he grabbed my wrists and yanked them behind my back.” Laurel’s gaze hardened. “I kicked and fought, but he jammed his knee into my kidney, which made me black out. When I came to, I was tied to the chair and gagged, while he was going through the house, searching for the key.”

“What key?” She wondered if Laurel was confused, suffering from a minor head injury caused by being hit in the face.

“I don’t know, he just kept asking me where the key was. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. He went into Gabriel’s room to search, and the baby started crying...” Laurel’s voice trailed off. She seemed to gather herself together to finish the story. “He must have heard your car pull into the driveway because he abruptly rushed past me and out the back door. I was so scared for Gabriel, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t call out for help...” Again, her voice trailed off.

“He’s okay. See? Gabriel is fine.” She gently set Gabriel in Laurel’s lap to reassure her. The part of the story that hit her the hardest was that she and West had arrived in time to scare the guy off.

Which meant, he hadn’t finished his search. For the key. What key? It was all so confusing.

But for now, she needed to take care of Laurel. “Stay here for a minute. I’ll get you an ice pack for your eye.”

“I wish I’d have brought my gun,” Laurel groused, holding Gabriel close. “I feel like an idiot for allowing him to get the drop on me.”

“Please don’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t know this would happen. Especially since he was able to sneak in without raising the alarm.” She pressed a bag of frozen peas against Laurel’s swollen left eye. “Hold this. I’ll take Gabriel.”

She turned as West came in through the back door. “There’s no sign of him.” West didn’t look happy about not finding the guy. “But I called for officers to come and canvass the scene. Maybe someone can identify him.”

“That’s doubtful as he was wearing a ski mask and gloves, so you won’t find any prints, either.” Laurel grimaced. “I know all victims say this, but everything happened so fast. I can’t even say for sure what color his eyes were.”

Trisha swallowed her disappointment. No facial features or prints to go by would make it nearly impossible to track down the mystery intruder. “It’s okay. How is your back? Are you still in pain?”

West arched a brow. “Her back?”

“He jammed his knee in my kidney,” Laurel said shifting with a grimace. “That pain was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m ashamed to say I blacked out.”

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