Page 108 of Seven Deadly Sins

“Ma’am, I’m Detective Scranton and this is Special Agent McConnell. We’d like to ask you a few questions, starting with your name.”

“Rebecca Long.” She glanced up at them and blinked. “You’re the ones on TV. The ones after that…guy. Does he have my baby?”

She must be one of the few who wasn’t watching the live feed of Reynold. “We believe so.”

Her wails increased.

With a sigh, Harper sat on the bench next to the woman. “We believe that a young man under orders from the suspect has taken your child. Do you have any idea why?”

“No. Becky is autistic. Why would this man want her?”

“If you know who this man is, then you know that he is targeting the seven deadly sins. He’s on envy right now. Do you know why you’ve been targeted for that sin?” She hated the shadow that crossed the woman’s eyes. Whatever she’d done, purposely or not, had gotten her child taken. “What were you doing when Becky was taken?”

“Updating my social media. I only looked away for a minute. I have no idea.”

The man had targeted her for a reason. He’d found her someway. “May I look through your recent posts.” Harper motioned to the woman’s phone.

“Of course.” She handed the phone over. “I’m not sure what you’ll find. My posts are pretty boring. Even the messaging I do with my friends isn’t very interesting. We mostly vent to each other over life.”

Harper nodded and started scrolling. Posts of meals, an achievement her child had done, nothing that could be construed as envy. She opened the private messages. Ah. A simple statement made on a stressful day. “This.” She pointed to the message that read, “Somedays, I wish I had your child instead of Becky.”

Mrs. Long shrieked. “I didn’t mean that! I’d had a bad day. How…Oh.” She grabbed the phone. “I originally put it on my friend’s page when she bragged about her child’s grades in kindergarten, but I thought I’d deleted it before doing a private message instead.”

A man sprinted toward them. Harper and Liam stood in front of Mrs. Long.

“It’s okay. That’s my husband.” She launched herself into his arms.

He glanced at Harper and Liam over his wife’s shoulders. “Well?”

“All we know is who took her, sir.” She hated filling him in on why his child was taken.

He listened stoically as she did, then narrowed his eyes at his wife. “I told you that social media was a bad thing.”

“If not for your wife’s social media, we wouldn’t know why your child was targeted.” Not that they could drop in and save the child. Harper pulled up the live feed that had gone black after Reynold took the girl.

She sat in the same basement room as Reynold did. While Lucy rechained him, she left the girl untied. Becky sat in the corner and rocked, her arms wrapped around a stuffed rabbit.

“Everyone can see this?” Mr. Long stared at her phone. “What’s the link?”

“Are you sure you want to see Becky like this?” Liam shook his head. “I doubt they’ll hurt her, it’s the boy they order around, but it’s got to be tough.”

“I’m positive.” He lifted his chin. “We can at least see her until you find her.”

Harper told him the link. Mrs. Long immediately pulled up the live feed on her phone. “She’s upset.” Her words broke off on a sob. “Soon, she’d going to explode.”

“No, she’s got Bugsy. She’ll be fine.” Her husband patted her shoulder as he watched the screen. “Heaven help them if they take that dirty thing away from her. No one throws a fit like my baby girl.”

More like heaven help the child if they do. Harper doubted Lucy would have much patience with a special needs child.

~

Lucy frowned down at the little girl. “What’s wrong with you?”

The child started a low hum much like the sound a bee made.

“I asked you a question, child.” She couldn’t tolerate rude children. In fact, she didn’t like children at all.

“Leave her alone.” Reynold glared her way. “I think she’s on the spectrum. You guys made me kidnap a child with special needs.” He crossed his arms.

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