Page 24 of Secret
"Well, she's thirteen, so hardly a baby, but her parents are going on a quick trip, so she is going to stay with me. How about you come out with us. I'll pick you up at six and we'll go do something before dinner."
"Sure, if you don't think she'd mind me coming along with you." Noam wasn't sure how to feel about hanging with a thirteen-year-old girl, but if it meant time with Kasey, he'd take it.
"I'll make sure, but I don't think she'll care. She might be a little stand-offish at first. She's pretty shy, but she'll warm up to you," Kasey told him.
It was Kasey he wanted to warm up to. "Then it's a date." He clamped his mouth shut as soon as he realized what he'd said.
"No, it's an outing. We'll save the date for a night when it's just the two of us." Kasey's voice suddenly sounded deeper, heavier.
Noam swallowed hard. "I'd like that."
"Me too," Kasey said softly before clearing his throat. "Well, I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted to check in. Give me a call if you get some downtime. I'm off work through Friday now."
"I'll call you when I get home." Noam didn't have a clue why or what they'd talk about, but he wanted to hear Kasey's voice before heading to bed.
"Good, I'll talk to you then." Kasey disconnected the call.
Noam shoved his phone back into his pocket and blew out a long breath. What the fuck was he doing? He needed to take a step back. Phone calls during work, looking forward to calls at night. He was stepping into dangerous territory.
As he walked to his office, he considered canceling the plans to go out Wednesday. It would make things easier if he kept his distance. The more time they spent together, the more time he wanted together.
He sat down at his desk just as his phone rang again. He groaned as he saw the number. Answering, he prepared for anything. "This is Levinsky."
"Noam, we have another missing child. This one was taken from the park on Conner Street," Captain Jensen told him. "You able to handle the family?"
Noam shook his head no. "Yeah, what's the address?" He quickly wrote down the location and hung up the phone.
He stared at the address for a minute before forcing himself up and gathering his things. This was not good. It wouldn't be long before the public was screaming at them for not protecting their kids, and they would be justified doing it. Thank God they'd been able to keep the 'Castrator' and all he was doing from the press. That would be a nightmare. If the public really knew how many pedophiles lived in the area, they'd go nuts. He didn't want to think about what a mess they were in for if people found out what really went on.
Once in his car, he rushed to the address, mentally talking through the conversation he was about to have with the parents of the missing child. It was like a memorized speech that he said time and time again. Deep inside, he knew the parents would probably never see their child again, yet he had to put on a mask and tell them that everything would be okay, and they would do all they could to bring their child home safe.
Some days he hated his job.
He parked behind the marked squad car, taking a second to look around the neighborhood. Several people gathered on the front lawn, talking as they glanced his way. Probably family friends who wanted to help but were honestly just in the way right now as they tried to investigate what was going on.
As he got out of the car, he hoped this was nothing more than a divorce dispute and the child had been taken by one parent to keep them away from the other, but it wasn't. He wouldn't have gotten the call if it were that simple.
Truth was, they had someone snatching children off the streets in broad daylight. That was scary shit. It would put the whole area on full alert, and once again, stop kids from being kids as they were forced to play indoors and not go out on their own.
Noam made his way to the door, not bothering to knock as it was wide open. He stuck his head in and saw a uniformed officer just inside. He gave a weak smile as he stepped in. "What do we have?"
"Anthony Libbons, age six, was just finishing up soccer practice. His mother let him play on the playground after. She left to take his sister to the bathroom about twenty feet away. When she came back, Anthony was gone, and another woman was on the phone with 911 reporting someone had just aggressively snatched a child off the playground."
"Shit." Noam blew out a breath. "Cameras in the area?"
"Getting that now. Witness saw a blue van, no plates. She was pretty shaken up. The mother had taken photos of the boy at soccer practice, so we have those up and have issued an Amber Alert."
"Family?"
"Mother, father, grandmother, and an aunt in the kitchen. Two younger kids are next door at the neighbors."
Noam nodded. "Thanks." He took another deep breath before heading into the kitchen. His late night was just about to get longer.
