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Eric angled his face to Ina.
“It’s a dump over in Newton, about six miles away,” she said. “Take 55 North and get off at the next exit. Make your first left. It’s way up the hill. Go!”
Nick and Eric rushed to the limousine. Eric, bruised, tired, and weak, threw himself into the car and called Jenna’s house. He gave them the license number of Powers’ rental and his flight information.
An authority-filled command sang through the line. “Mr. Laine, how did you find all this out?”
“Does it matter? Just find the car and stop Powers before he gets on that flight back to Los Angeles.”
“Mr. Laine, you have to let us do our job. You can’t—”
Eric pressed “end call” and let his eyelids fall.
“Why didn’t you tell them about Belka and the motel?” Nick asked.
“They can handle the roadblocks and find Powers.” Eric’s voice trailed off. He’d just taken the biggest gamble of his life, the biggest gamble of his daughter’s. Gut instinct told him if Mark held Janie captive in or near the secluded woodland inn, a convoy of police cars could mean the end for her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
US Naval helicopter pilot Kyle Welles gathered his sister in the consoling embrace she so desperately needed. “Randi called and told me about Janie. I got my CO to give me the time off. I flew up from Norfolk, compliments of Uncle Sam. I told Mom and Dad to stay put. I hope you don’t mind.”
Jenna shook her head. “No, they could never handle this.” She melted deeper into her brother’s hold. “I can’t live without her. I can’t. I’m so afraid…and Janie, she must be so…so terrified. My baby is all alone with that monster.”
“What do the police say?”
“Every twenty minutes they tell me the same thing. They’re doing all they can and haven’t found her.”
“Let me talk to them.” Kyle jogged down the stairs and through a mass of busy law enforcement to approach the trooper in charge. “Officer, I’m Lieutenant Welles, Mrs. Black’s brother. Any news?”
The trooper brought Kyle to a bulletin board where a large map was pinned. “I’ve got units combing the woods and we have roadblocks set up here.” The trooper struck at the map. “And here. We’ve confirmed Chambers flew to New York, but he hasn’t checked into any local hotels. No one fitting his description checked in anywhere using an alias either. We received a tip to look for a man named Stephen Powers.”
“Who?” Kyle asked.
“He’s a private detective from Los Angeles. Our theory is Chambers hired him to find the child since he believes he’s her father.”
“But he isn’t.”
“We know that.” The trooper leaned over a table where a minutia of electronics blinked and pinged like carnival rides. Two officers in headsets weeded through crank tips and the unrelenting press. The trooper stretched his arms while laying his palms flat against the wood. “As long as Chambers believes he is, the safer your niece will be. Eric Laine ran out of here, vowing to find her. I hope he doesn’t try any stupid heroics.”
“Does Eric know he’s Janie’s father?”
The trooper pushed away from the table and furrowed his brow. “Lieutenant, your sister is understandably a basket case. Her friend isn’t doing much better. What we thought was custodial interference got bumped up to a kidnapping. So before agents from Child Abduction Rapid Deployment get here, I need to know the whole story.”
****
A broken neon sign that intermittently flashed a handful of its original letters buzzed atop the roof of The Trails End. The limousine slowly crunched over dirt, rocks, and twigs. Stephen Powers’ rental car was nowhere in the lot.
“What now?” Nick asked.
“We go to the front desk and see if Chambers or Belka are here.”
Nick’s head was angled away from the hut that served as the main office, to the white and black trimmed clapboard boxes. “I say we just bust into every room until we find him?”
“No.” Eric pushed his hair out of his eyes. “If he’s here I don’t want to make any noise and spook him. Besides, I’m not in any shape to knock down doors.”
Nick put a hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.”
Taking little comfort in his friend’s statement, Eric slowly shook his head. “It won’t matter whose fault this is if I never get the chance to make it up to her, will it?” He turned, his eyes burning from the glare of neon. “Mine or not, I’d be right here trying to save her. You know that don’t you?”
