Page 10 of Stand By You
CHAPTER 3
Nick caughtJillian before she fell to the pavement, scooped her up, and carried her inside the house. Her honey blonde hair was close to his face, and he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo with every step that he took. He tried to ignore the fact that he had an attractive woman in his arms, but his body had other ideas.
“Put her on the sofa,” Mrs. Hudson said, as he followed her into the living room. “I’ll go get a wet compress.” She returned in minutes to gently lay the cloth over Jillian’s forehead.
Nick turned to Detective Simons and introduced himself. “Tell me what you know?”
“Only that the boy was taken at the zoo when he went to the restroom,” Simons said. “The Playland Day Camp had a buddy system put in place for today, but the two boys split up because Carlos wanted to look at the reptiles while Travis went to the restroom. It was close in proximity so they thought they were okay to do that, that they would be safe.”
“But Travis didn’t come out,” Nick guessed.
“And if he did, Carlos was too preoccupied being fascinated by the snakes to notice,” Simons said.
“What did surveillance show?”
“Nothing.” The muscle in Simons’ jaw twitched and he clenched his fists. “And his abductors were smart. If they changed his clothing, which we believe they did, they took it with them instead of throwing the clothes in the trash.”
“Damn. These guys sound like pros,” Nick said.
“Either that or well organized. The question that keeps coming to my mind is how did they know that Travis would be at the zoo today?” Simons said. He turned to look at the housekeeper who was sitting on the side of the sofa where Jillian lay, wiping the woman’s face with a damp cloth. The two seemed to be speaking softly to one another.
Simons walked toward the sofa and Nick followed.
“Mrs. Hudson, how well known was this field trip that Travis went on?” the detective asked.
“Not very. I learned yesterday after I picked him up that he needed special items for his lunch today,” she said.
“No one had talked about it in the recent weeks?”
“No,” she said, standing up. “Would either of you like something to drink? Eat? I’m going to begin dinner. Will you be staying, detective?”
“No thank you,” Simons said.
“I’m good for now,” Nick said and went to sit beside Jillian on the sofa as the housekeeper left the room.
“I owe you an apology,” Simons said. “Your gut feeling was on the money.”
“And yours was pure ego,” Jillian said. “But I won’t hold it against you.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Just so you now, I’ve already spoke with Mr. McGinty about Travis. He’s asked us to hold off on making a public announcement about the abduction for now.”
“Why?” Jillian demanded. “Aren’t Amber Alerts normally made immediately once a child has been taken and are in danger?”
“They are and we will do so in twenty-four hours,” Simons said. “That is how long I have given McGinty to reach out to his ex-wife and break the news to her himself. He didn’t want her to hear it on the television. He said the last time he spoke to her she had finally been making a breakthrough in her recovery, and he didn’t want this to set her back.”
Jillian nodded. “He’s a good man. Geneva should count her blessings every day that he is raising Travis.”
“I’m interested in knowing the story behind their divorce,” Simons said. “Why isn’t she in her son’s life?”
Jillian smiled. “It isn’t my place to say, Detective. I would be disloyal to Mr. McGinty if I were to discuss his personal life with you.”
“She lost custodial rights, didn’t she?” Simons said.
“You said it, not me,” Jillian replied. “This is a confidential matter between my employer and his ex-wife.”
“Fair enough,” Simons said, glancing at his watch. “I better be going. I’ll be in touch.”
Silence filled the room after the detective left, and Jillian stared into space trying to decide what to do. She finally looked at Nick. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Mrs. Hudson will show you to your room upstairs. I’m going to go to my quarters out back.”
