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“He will not give me the private number or any other information. Unless you can convince him to start talking, we will have to wait for the call.” Franks looked as if he were ready to strangle Oliver. “We can get the number off Cash’s phone and hope Mitchell decides to take our call, but he already warned he was not going to take another call on that line. He knows we are closing in.”
“Pappy, please,” Reese begged.
“Sorry, my favorite granddaughter. If they hurt Mav, I would never forgive myself. When the phone rings, I am the only one who can answer it. I am going to do whatever he says. I have no idea what kind of money trouble he is in, but it has to be something big. He is desperate, girlie. There is no way I am letting someone interfere when Mav could get hurt. I waited for them to find him, bring him home safe to you. I couldn’t sit by and wait any longer.”
“Let them handle it,” Cash told him. “If Franks says they are closing in on him, they are. He has no reason to lie. They need you here with them.”
“No, son. There is no talking me out of this. Take care of my girlie, and Mav needs a man like you.”
“Can’t you arrest him for something?” Cash asked Franks.
“You even try it, and I will be in the morning paper telling the world all about how you arrested me without cause while we are anxiously awaiting the safe return of my great-grandson,” Pappy warned.
“I doubt anyone would be interested in the ramblings of an old man with dementia,” Franks fired back. “Maybe if the papers were taking a closer look, they would find the marijuana you had at the bus station.”
“You aren’t going to be any good to them locked up,” Cash added.
“Stop it,” Reese demanded. “There has to be another way. No one is dying for the life insurance policies to satisfy my father’s greed. I don’t care who does what to him. They are welcome to him. My father better hope whoever he pissed off gets to him before I do.”
Looking at each of the men in her kitchen, she knew tempers were running short. Reese swore she could feel every molecule in her body vibrating. All she knew was Pappy’s plan was not a viable option.
“Reese, I have everyone I can call out looking. The school’s camera was turned off, and the Amber Alert hasn’t given us anything we can use. I doubt there is an electric pole, flagpole, or hitching post within a hundred miles that doesn’t have a picture of Mav on it. His picture is on every social media site known to man, and even a few underground sites, along with Reed and Mitchell’s photos. Everyone with a cell phone got the notice too. North Carolina is looking for all three of them, and so are we. The FBI and highway patrol of every state between here and there, I promise you, everyone is looking. They cannot get on a plane without drastically changing Mav’s appearance and their own. It is only a matter of time until someone sees them and calls it in.”
“You don’t know that,” Pappy voiced his opinion. “There are lots of parents out there who are still waiting to get their kids back. Months or even years of waiting for someone to turn in a tip or for the kid to be able to get away to find help. My way is just easier.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Reese pleaded for Pappy to understand. “It wouldn’t matter if I offered to go or if you offered to go. It will never be enough. They are going to blow through whatever they could get for you and whatever you have left in no time. Then what? They are going to be looking for more. It won’t take long for them to be back here threatening something else. The only way out of this is to arrest them for kidnapping Mav. At least now we are one hundred percent sure my father and Reed took him. As much as it kills me to wait, I agree with Franks.”
“It is already done, Reese.”
“Then undo it, Pappy.”
“Can’t do that, girlie.”
“If you don’t, I will,” Reese stared him down. “I bet I can go over to Cash’s house, get the number that line called last, and make my own deal with the devil.”
“Don’t do it, my favorite granddaughter. There is no need for them to sink their claws into all of us.”
“I am a big girl, Pappy. I don’t need your permission or anyone else to tell me what I can and can’t do,” Reese replied hotly.
Franks covered his snicker with a cough. “Zip it,” she wagged a finger in his direction. “I am going to your house,” she whirled around to inform Cash. Not waiting for anyone to follow, Reese stormed out of the kitchen on her way to set things right.
Chapter 20
Reese felt her breath leave her, her vision swam as the room spun, and a fresh wave of tears sprang to life. She hadn’t made it through the living room when the front door opened. A man was wearing a polo identifying him as an FBI agent, and behind him stood Mav.
“My baby,” she cried, running toward him.
“Mom,” Mav’s tears matched her own.
“Oh, Mav, you’re home,” she blubbered into his neck as she hugged him. Mav’s arms banded around her. Reese felt him crushing her but didn’t have the heart to say anything. She could feel her son’s body shake as he cried in her arms.
Strong arms helped hold them up from behind. Cash crushed them both to him, with Pappy joining in on the other side.
Officer Franks spoke with the agent, but no one paid attention to their conversation.
“Oh, baby,” Reese choked. “I am so happy you are home.”
“You have an extraordinary kid,” the agent said. “We will be in touch.” Officer Franks ushered him out the door. He waited until the other man was gone to give them a little more time.
