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  CHAPTER 38

  “What’s going on?” Susan asked from below.

  I rushed to the squirming figures wrapped in tarpaulins, dropping to my knees beside them. I put my pistol on the ground and whipped out my knife. “Susan, radio for Jack and William to get out here right away!”

  “I don’t have my radio,” Susan hollered, stomping up the stairs. “You told me we were going dark ops or some shit!”

  “Hold still,” I told the first figure, as I felt around to find what was holding the tarp in place. The flashlight had rolled to the other side of the attic and it was hard to see what I was doing. Whoever was inside was mumbling and struggling. “It’s the police…calm down.”

  “Holy shit,” Susan said when she stepped into the room. “Is that—”

  “Grab the light!” I indicated with my head. “It’s over in the corner.”

  Susan rattled off our location to someone on her phone while doing what I’d asked. She then hurried to my side and shone the light on the bodies before me. A rope was wrapped around the legs and the shoulders of both of them. I quickly cut the ropes off the first body and then moved to the second, while Susan peeled away the tarpaulin on the first. I was just starting to tear open my tarpaulin when Susan said, “Easy now, little fellow. It’s okay. We’ve got you now.”

  I turned and saw the youngest of the McKenzie boys protruding from a slit in the tarp. Susan had pulled a blindfold down off his eyes so it dangled loosely around his neck. His eyes were wide. A piece of tape had been shoved over his mouth. His hands were tied behind his back and his feet were bound together—as though the rope on the outside of the tarpaulin hadn’t been enough.

  “This is going to hurt a little,” Susan said, as she began to gently pull the tape off the younger boy.

  I turned back to my tarp and stripped it away from the oldest McKenzie boy, then sighed. He was also moving and seemed to be in decent health, given the circumstances. He, too, had a blindfold and gag, and his feet and hands were bound. I removed the blindfold, and he blinked away the light from the flashlight, squinting. “It’s okay, little man,” I said. “You’re about to be free.”

  Sirens sounded in the distance and drew nearer. By the time we had freed the boys and stood them to their feet, the sirens went dead right outside the house and boots pounded on the hardwood floors.

  “Where the hell are y’all?” called Jack.

  “Up here,” Susan answered.

  Jack and William clambered up the stairs and bumped into each other as they hurried through the door. “Holy crap-shit,” William said. “The McKenzie boys!”

  The youngest was crying, and Susan guided him down the stairs, while I followed with the oldest. “Seal off this place,” I called over my shoulder. “We need to find out who the owner is and get a search warrant.”

  “Yes, Chief,” both men said in unison.

  When we were outside with the boys, we sat them in the back of Jack’s cruiser. Susan was trying to soothe the youngest, and I knelt by the open door to talk to the oldest. “What’s your name, son?”

  “Zeke.”

  “Okay, Zeke, I’m going to ask you some questions. Is that okay?”

  Zeke nodded, as he rubbed his wrists where the rope had dug a deep furrow.

  “Good…good. Now, do you remember how you got here?”

  Zeke nodded again.

  I waited, but he didn’t say anything, so I asked, “How’d you get here?”

  “We were fishing… me and my brother. We found a little canal that went off the bayou and took it. It went for a long ways. And then we saw this big house that we never saw before, so we docked the boat in the marsh grass and walked to the house. We sneaked around the house to explore because it looked spooky, like a haunted house. That was when…when…”

  Zeke’s eyes began to tear up. He wiped them with a dirty palm and hung his head.

  “What happened next?” I asked softly.

  “Some man came after us. We ran, but he got Paulie. I couldn’t leave my little brother behind, so I went back.” Zeke sniffled and rubbed his nose on his sleeve. “The man told us he was going to kill us and feed us to the alligators for snooping around.”

  My mind raced. The way the boys were wrapped up, it appeared they were left to die. Killing a grownup was one thing, but killing a kid—two of them—was something different. It might’ve been just the incentive Randall needed to end his own life.

  “Look, Zeke, I need you to think really hard,” I said. “If you saw this man again, would you recognize him?”

  Zeke shrugged, his face scrunched into a pout. “Mister, will my dad be mad at us?”

  I smiled, rubbing his disheveled hair. “No, buddy. Your dad’s going to be proud of you for going back with your brother, and he’s going to be happy to see y’all again.”

  This seemed to cheer him up a little. I turned to Susan, who said, “Photo line-up, right?”

  I nodded. “This was either Randall Rupe or Mark McNeal.”

  “Just what I was thinking.”

  I stood and walked back toward the house. William and Jack had secured the doors shut and wrapped the area in crime scene tape. They turned to me, and Jack said, “That does it. It’s wrapped tight like a Christmas tree.”

  “Good. Take turns guarding it, and we’ll be back in the morning with a warrant. And stay out of sight. I don’t want whoever kidnapped them knowing we were here.”

  Jack looked around at all the commotion. “You don’t think they know already?”

  I followed his gaze, shrugged. “They could, but if there’s even a slim chance we can catch them flatfooted, I want to take advantage of it. So, stay out of sight and call me if anyone comes down that road—even if it’s a grandma driving a moped.”

  They both nodded, and William called, “I’ve got first watch!”

  “No,” Jack said. “I’ll take first watch. Meet me back here in two hours.”

  William grunted, but nodded.

  “William, can you drop the boys off at the hospital for me? Just to make sure they weren’t harmed?”

  This seemed to cheer him up. “Absolutely!”

  I pulled Jack aside. “Look, don’t you let your guard down, you hear?”

  “I know what we’re dealing with.”

  I squinted, my blood pressure rising slightly. “Don’t go taking this for granted. Anyone willing to kidnap kids won’t think twice about pumping a cop full of holes.”

  “I’ve got it.”

  I walked to William’s cruiser and saw that Zeke had scooted closer to his brother and they were talking softly. When Susan stepped up beside me, I said, “I need you to go to the clerk of courts office first thing in the morning and find out who owns this place.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to put together a couple of photo lineups and start drafting the search warrant. Once you get me the owner’s information, I’ll get the warrant signed, and we’ll tear that place to the ground.” I nodded in Jack’s direction. “I’ll get Melvin to relieve them in the morning. We need to keep a close eye on this place until we can toss it properly.”

  Susan leaned against William’s cruiser and stared at the large plantation home. “There’s definitely something worthwhile inside this house—they were willing to kill a couple of kids to keep it a secret.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I can’t imagine what it is, but it must be huge.”

  Just then, an old rusty pickup truck roared down the street and skidded to a stop several feet from my Tahoe. The driver’s door squeaked open and Red McKenzie jumped out. Even in the faint glow from the headlights I could see his face matched his name. “Where the hell is the man who took my boys?”

  I quickly caught up to him as he barreled toward the police line and grabbed his arm. “Red, calm down. Please. We’ve got your boys and they’re fine. A little shaken up, but unharmed.”

  “But where’s the bastard who took them? I want his ass all to
myself!”

  “We don’t have him yet. We don’t know who it is, but we’re working on it.”

  Red pushed his face close to mine. “You’d better find him before I do!”

  “I will.” I pulled him by the arm and guided him toward his boys. “I need you to go with William. He’s going to take your boys to the hospital.”

  “I thought you said they were unharmed?”

  “I did, but I want them checked out anyway.”

  Red nodded. “Okay, but I want them riding with me.”

  “That’s fine. And look, I need you to get them to the police station in the morning. I need a formal interview from them, and I want them to look at some photos. As for tonight, make sure they get plenty of rest.”

  “We’ll do whatever you need us to do to catch this bastard.”

  I heard William tell Zeke and Paulie that their dad was there and stood back as they rushed to Red and nearly tackled him in a group bear hug. Red dropped to his knees and cried.

  CHAPTER 39

  Wednesday, July 2

  It had taken most of the morning to put together two photographic line-ups—one that included Randall Rupe and another that included Mark McNeal. When I’d finally finished, I called Red McKenzie and asked him to bring his boys down to the police department.

  “I’ll be there a soon as I can,” Red said. “Oh, and Chief…”

  “What’s that, Red?”

  Red’s voice cracked. “No matter what happens from here on out, you saved my boys’ life, and that’s something I’ll never forget. I owe you my life.”

  “You don’t owe me anything, Red. I was just doing my job. Now, hurry and get here so I can go after these assholes.” I placed the receiver in its cradle on my desk and looked out the window. I groaned inwardly when I saw Mayor Landry park in front of the office. He hurried out of his car and jogged up the sidewalk. I figured he must’ve just heard about the kidnappings. I turned in my chair just as he entered my office.

  “What in God’s name were you thinking, Clint?”

  “About?”

  “Knocking the piss out of Beaver in front of half the town?” He pushed the door closed and dropped to a chair. “I don’t need to be firing my second consecutive police chief over some stupid shit.”

  I shrugged. “He had it coming. He doesn’t know how to talk to a lady.”

  “Well, lucky for you he’s not pursuing charges.”

  “Lucky for him there was a crowd of witnesses. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be talking at all.”

  Mayor Landry stifled a chuckle. “It sure was nice to see him busted up. There’re a lot of folks in this town who would’ve paid to have seen it—myself included.”

  Just then, Lindsey stuck her head in my office. “Chief, Red McKenzie’s here with his boys.”

  “Have them wait in the interview room.” I turned back to Mayor Landry to explain what had taken place.

  “Kidnappings? Here in Mechant Loup?” He rubbed his face with his hands. “What in the world is going on?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’m about to find out.”

  “Just try to get this wrapped up before Friday. We don’t need any distractions.”

  “Friday?” I scanned the deepest recesses of my brain, trying to remember what was happening that day. “What’s so special about Friday?”

  “Don’t you remember?”

  “Remember what?”

  “I even reminded you. Didn’t you get my message?”

  I shook my head.

  “I called you and left a message on your phone,” Mayor Landry said. “I even texted you.”

  “What the hell is a text?” I asked.

  “Stop messing with me, Clint.”

  I pointed to the mess on my desk. “We’ve got a lot going on here. Seriously, I don’t remember what’s happening on Friday.”

  “The unveiling of the new town hall building. The dedication ceremony.” Mayor Landry slapped his forehead. “I can’t believe you forgot!”

  “Oh, that?” I scoffed. “I knew about that.”

  “Well, you do remember that I need you to pick up the governor at the airport, right? Nine sharp. You can’t be late.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve got too much going on, Mayor. There’s no way I can do it.”

  “Clint, this is a priority! It has to be done. You need to go get him for me.”

  “Look, I can get Susan to take my Tahoe and—”

  “Absolutely not! I need you to do this one thing for me.” Mayor Landry stood. “Clint, this is important to everyone in this town, but especially to me and the other parents who lost kids. You know how that feels. You know how we feel. Please, do this one thing for me…to help me honor them.”

  I frowned, then nodded. “Okay. I will.”

  “Thanks!”

  I snatched the photographic line-ups from my desk. “Well then, let me get back to work so I can put this case to bed before the governor comes to town.”

  I followed the mayor out of my office. When he’d left the building, I met with Red, Paulie, and Zeke in the interview room. “Red, I’ll need to speak with them one at a time. Can you step out with Paulie, so I can show the line-up to Zeke first?”

  Red looked at Zeke. “You tell this man everything you know, you hear, son?”

  Zeke nodded.

  Red patted his head, then took Paulie by the hand and led him out into the hallway.

  I smiled at Zeke. “How’re you feeling, little man?”

  “I’m okay.” He looked on the verge of tears. A hospital band still clung to his wrist.

  “Want a soda pop or some candy?”

  Zeke shook his head and stared wide-eyed at the folders in my hand. “What’s in there?”

  “I have some pictures I want you to look at.” I placed the folders on the desk and took my seat across from him. “There’re six pictures in each folder. They’re numbered one through six. I want you to look at them carefully. Take your time. There’s no rush. If you see someone you recognize, I want you to point to the picture and say the number. I’m going to then ask you where you know that person from and I want you to tell me. Okay?”

  Zeke nodded. “Is the bad man who took us in there?”

  “I’m not sure. Look, I need you to understand something…if you don’t recognize anyone in the pictures, that’s okay, and all you have to do is tell me you don’t see anyone you recognize. I don’t want you picking someone just to pick them. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I opened the first folder—it contained the picture of Randall Rupe—and turned it so Zeke could see the pictures. He leaned away from the folder as though he thought it would bite him and looked away. Finally, he turned back to look at the photographs. His eyes narrowed and he studied it for a long moment.

  “Do you recognize anyone in the pictures?” I asked. “If you don’t see anyone you recognize right away, then you’ve probably never seen anyone of these men.”

  As though I hadn’t said a word, Zeke continued examining the pictures for a full minute. He pushed the file away and shook his head. “No, sir. It wasn’t none of them men.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive.”

  I closed the first folder and opened the one with Mark McNeal’s picture and turned it so Zeke could see. By that point, he felt more comfortable and took the folder in his hands and pulled it close. I watched his eyes move from one picture to the other. He touched each picture and shook his head, then handed the folder back to me. “It was none of these men that took us.”

  I frowned. “Are you sure? Maybe you’ll want to look again.”

  Zeke shook his head. “I’m sure.”

  Shit! I thought. Now what?

  I stood and led Zeke out into the hallway. Red was standing just outside the door with Paulie—listening, no doubt. I ruffled Paulie’s hair, and he frowned, pulling closer to his dad. “You ready, little man?”

  Paulie turned away from me. Red nodded. “H
e’s ready.”

  “Okay.” I waved for Zeke to follow me. “Come sit in my office while I talk to Paulie and your dad. You can play on my computer. Just don’t go meeting a girlfriend on some dating website.”

  Zeke’s somber expression cracked into a smile, as he followed me down the hall. “I already got a girlfriend.”

  “No way! What’s her name?”

  “Bethany. She’s in my class.”

  “Do you get to see her during the summer?” I opened the door to my office and stepped back so Zeke could enter.

  “Not that much. I saw her at the baseball field the other night.”

  When Zeke was seated at my desk, I returned to the interview room, where Red and Paulie had already made themselves at home. I went through the same process with Paulie and met with the same results.

  “Are you sure?” I asked when he couldn’t identify anyone in the pictures.

  His head bobbed up and down. “I’m sure.”

  I closed the folders slowly and stood to see them out. When we were by the front door, I shook Red’s hand. “I’ll do everything I can to find who did this.”

  “I know you will. And when you find them,” Red said in a low, but deadly voice, “I want you to kill them.”

  CHAPTER 40

  I worked at a furious pace on the search warrants and was almost done when my cell phone rang. Without looking, I pushed it to my ear. “This is Clint.”

  “Hey, handsome, how’s your morning going?” It was Chloe.

  “Not good. I’ve got a lot going on at the moment.”

  “Do you have a break in the case?”

  “We found the McKenzie boys.”

  Chloe was quiet for a long moment. “Are they okay?”

  “They’re fine. Back home with their dad. Now I need to find out who took them.”