Read Online Born To Be Wild by Patricia Rosemoor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Patricia Rosemoor
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put out an arm to stop him.
“What other car? Do I look like I can afford two cars?”
Ochoa said, “The one with the plates with the numbers one-two-two-five.”
“It’s right there.” Whitley pointed at it, then frowned in obvious surprise. “What the—? Someone stole my plates!”
The car had license plates, Micah realized, but not the ones they’d expected to see.
Whitley went back to his car and opened the passenger door. He rummaged around in the glove compartment and pulled out a piece of paper. Then he stomped back to the detective and shoved it in his face. “My registration. Black Ford. Vanity plate number 1225TW.”
“How do we know you didn’t switch the plates yourself?” Micah asked.
“I haven’t done anything wrong!” the man insisted.
Micah looked past him to the detective, who shrugged, and said, “I believe him, Mr. Wild. Someone must have stolen his license plates to mislead authorities in case someone saw your daughter in the car.”
Isabel cried, “How will we ever find the kidnapper now? You know she’s been taken,” she said to the detective. “What about putting out an Amber Alert?”
Micah knew they normally only put out an alert if they had a description of who took the child, but they had the license plate number…assuming the plate was still on the black car.
The detective pulled out his cell phone. “I was just about to make that call.” He glanced at Whitley, who stood there glowering at them all, then Ochoa said, “Maybe the two of you ought to go home and leave the investigation to me.”
Hell, no. As if he would sit around and do nothing, Micah thought. He nodded to Whitley. “Sorry we bothered you, sir.”
The man’s belligerent expression softened. “Hey, listen. I hope you get your kid back soon.”
“Thank you,” Isabel ground out as she climbed into the truck.
Micah headed the vehicle back toward Isabel’s place where they could take a breather and come up with another way to track down their child.
He thought about Isabel’s saying she didn’t understand why Lucy would get in a car with a stranger. It did sound as though Lucy had been drugged, though she hadn’t been unconscious. Another option was that she hadn’t been feeling well, so she’d accepted a ride with someone she knew and trusted. A dozen possibilities of how Lucy had been taken and how to find her kept whirling through his head. But he refused to take that next step and speculate on why she’d been taken.
Isabel looked at him, the despair in her eyes mirroring the terrible questions swirling through his mind. But neither of them dared speak them aloud.
Why?
Why Lucy?
It was the one thing a parent really didn’t want to know.
Chapter Six
Arriving at Isabel’s casita, they left the pickup and went up the walkway in silence. Isabel unlocked the door, swung it open, and stopped dead in the entryway. Micah saw her entire body tense as if something had startled her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up directly behind her.
Then he saw what she did—an envelope on the tile floor.
Isabel’s hand shook as she covered her mouth. “What if it’s a ransom note? We’re not rich people…what if we can’t come up with enough money?”
“We won’t know what it is until we actually read the note.” A ransom note would be a relief. He could deal with greed.
Micah edged around her and swept it up from the floor by the very corner so as not to destroy possible fingerprints. He pulled the single sheet from the envelope in the same careful manner and let it drop open so they could both see it.
She shook her head and averted her eyes. “You read it.”
Fearing she might collapse on the spot, Micah pulled her into the living room and to a couch. “Sit. We’ll read it together.” Waiting until she was seated next to him, he held up the sheet.
“That’s Lucy’s handwriting!” she gasped.
Micah quickly scanned the note.
Dear Ms. Falcon —
I just wanted you
“What other car? Do I look like I can afford two cars?”
Ochoa said, “The one with the plates with the numbers one-two-two-five.”
“It’s right there.” Whitley pointed at it, then frowned in obvious surprise. “What the—? Someone stole my plates!”
The car had license plates, Micah realized, but not the ones they’d expected to see.
Whitley went back to his car and opened the passenger door. He rummaged around in the glove compartment and pulled out a piece of paper. Then he stomped back to the detective and shoved it in his face. “My registration. Black Ford. Vanity plate number 1225TW.”
“How do we know you didn’t switch the plates yourself?” Micah asked.
“I haven’t done anything wrong!” the man insisted.
Micah looked past him to the detective, who shrugged, and said, “I believe him, Mr. Wild. Someone must have stolen his license plates to mislead authorities in case someone saw your daughter in the car.”
Isabel cried, “How will we ever find the kidnapper now? You know she’s been taken,” she said to the detective. “What about putting out an Amber Alert?”
Micah knew they normally only put out an alert if they had a description of who took the child, but they had the license plate number…assuming the plate was still on the black car.
The detective pulled out his cell phone. “I was just about to make that call.” He glanced at Whitley, who stood there glowering at them all, then Ochoa said, “Maybe the two of you ought to go home and leave the investigation to me.”
Hell, no. As if he would sit around and do nothing, Micah thought. He nodded to Whitley. “Sorry we bothered you, sir.”
The man’s belligerent expression softened. “Hey, listen. I hope you get your kid back soon.”
“Thank you,” Isabel ground out as she climbed into the truck.
Micah headed the vehicle back toward Isabel’s place where they could take a breather and come up with another way to track down their child.
He thought about Isabel’s saying she didn’t understand why Lucy would get in a car with a stranger. It did sound as though Lucy had been drugged, though she hadn’t been unconscious. Another option was that she hadn’t been feeling well, so she’d accepted a ride with someone she knew and trusted. A dozen possibilities of how Lucy had been taken and how to find her kept whirling through his head. But he refused to take that next step and speculate on why she’d been taken.
Isabel looked at him, the despair in her eyes mirroring the terrible questions swirling through his mind. But neither of them dared speak them aloud.
Why?
Why Lucy?
It was the one thing a parent really didn’t want to know.
Chapter Six
Arriving at Isabel’s casita, they left the pickup and went up the walkway in silence. Isabel unlocked the door, swung it open, and stopped dead in the entryway. Micah saw her entire body tense as if something had startled her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up directly behind her.
Then he saw what she did—an envelope on the tile floor.
Isabel’s hand shook as she covered her mouth. “What if it’s a ransom note? We’re not rich people…what if we can’t come up with enough money?”
“We won’t know what it is until we actually read the note.” A ransom note would be a relief. He could deal with greed.
Micah edged around her and swept it up from the floor by the very corner so as not to destroy possible fingerprints. He pulled the single sheet from the envelope in the same careful manner and let it drop open so they could both see it.
She shook her head and averted her eyes. “You read it.”
Fearing she might collapse on the spot, Micah pulled her into the living room and to a couch. “Sit. We’ll read it together.” Waiting until she was seated next to him, he held up the sheet.
“That’s Lucy’s handwriting!” she gasped.
Micah quickly scanned the note.
Dear Ms. Falcon —
I just wanted you
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