“What’s up here?” Tank was already walking carefully up a set of exterior stairs.
“It’s Tess’ old apartment. No one’s living there at the moment.”
Tank tried the door handle. It didn’t budge. He glanced down at the snow and shook his head. “It doesn’t look as though anyone’s been here.” He looked at the emergency fire escapes attached to the walls of the other buildings beside Tess’ café. “She wouldn’t have been able to reach any of those ladders. We’ll take another look around the café and then I’m calling it in. We need more help.”
The back door opened and Tess walked outside. “Have you found her?”
Tank walked down the stairs. “She’s not here.”
“I’ll ask my customers,” Tess said. “Someone might have seen her come into the café.”
Tank re-checked his phone. “She should still be here.”
“What do you mean?” Tess held the door open for them as they walked inside.
“Bella’s got a GPS tracking chip in her jacket…” Rachel stopped in the middle of the kitchen and turned to Tank. “What if she took her jacket off? What if her jacket’s here, but she isn’t?”
“Then she’s really in trouble.” Tank ran into the dining area with Rachel and Tess behind him.
Tess pulled an empty chair out from one of the tables and stood on it. “Excuse me, everyone,” she yelled over the loud conversations. “Can I have your attention, please.”
The chatter came to a standstill. “Has anyone seen an eight-year-old girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes in the last fifteen minutes? Her name is Bella Fletcher. She’s wearing a red jacket and jeans. Can you also look around your tables for a red jacket that doesn’t belong to you?”
A lady at a table at the front of the café held a red padded jacket in the air. “Is this what you’re looking for?”
Tank took the jacket out of the lady’s hand. “It’s Bella’s,” he sighed.
“Thanks, everyone,” Tess said.
“Do you need help finding her?” A man beside Tess picked up his jacket. “I was about to leave, but I could search some of the other stores on Main Street for you.”
Tess looked across at Tank.
He shook his head. “She won’t go to someone she doesn’t know. But thanks for the offer.”
He tapped his phone and walked into the kitchen. The last words Rachel heard before the kitchen door closed behind him were, Bella’s missing.
CHAPTER NINE
Rachel walked into Kelly Harris’ craft store with a heavy heart. The last hour had been devastating. Police and security staff were on the streets and on the roads, looking for Bella. An AMBER alert had been issued and all of the airport, train, and bus stations had posted messages and signs, looking for her.
Tess followed her into the craft store. “I just heard from Billy-Rae at the radio station. They’re broadcasting messages between every second song, asking people to look for Bella. He said all of the digital signs across the Interstate have been changed and the AMBER Alert website has been updated with her photo.” She gave Rachel a quick hug. “Everyone’s doing their best to find her.”
Kelly walked out from the back room. “Bella’s photo is on all of the television stations. Someone has to know where she is.” She pulled a stool out from behind the front counter. “Sit down. You look as though you’re about to fall to pieces.”
Rachel sat on the stool and wiped her eyes. “She has to be here somewhere. She isn’t wearing a jacket and it’s freezing outside.”
Tess put her hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “The only thing we can do is pray hard that someone sees her. How is her dad?”
“I haven’t seen very much of him. He’s really worried.” While the police were interviewing Rachel and Tank, John had given Dan Carter, the Chief of Police, a recent photo and description of Bella. They were using that information for their website and communication with the media.
John had barely spoken to her as they’d passed each other in the corridor at the police station. She couldn’t blame him for being upset. He’d warned her to be careful, to stay at home rather than go into town. But she hadn’t listened, and her mistake could be deadly.
Rachel pulled her cell phone out of her pocket when it let out a shrill blast. “That’s the third AMBER text alert I’ve had about Bella.” Her eyes filled with tears. “What if she dies?”
Tess pulled a handful of tissues out of the box that Kelly had left on the counter. “There’s no point dwelling on things like that. Let’s go and look for her.” She passed Rachel the tissues. “I can’t sit here and not do anything.”
“But John said to stay here,” Rachel said with reluctance. “I’ve already made too many wrong decisions. If Bella suddenly finds her way here, she won’t know what to do.”
Kelly waved her hand in front of Rachel’s face. “Hello? Earth to Rachel? I’m not exactly invisible. If Bella comes in the store, I’ll keep her warm and call the police. I’ve got plenty of things she can do until they get here.”
“Are you sure?” Rachel asked.
Tess pulled Rachel off the stool. “Of course she’s sure. Kelly has six brothers and sisters. If anyone can look after an eight-year-old, it’s her.”
Rachel zipped her jacket to her chin. “Okay, but we have to get back here within an hour. If John finds out that I left the store, my name is going to be mud.”
“I hate to break the news to you,” Tess said. “But John probably won’t care where you are. His main focus is on Bella. Kelly will look after her if she comes into the store. We’ve covered all bases.”
“Why don’t I feel as confident as you are?” Rachel asked.
“Maybe because you’re closer to Bella than I am?”
Rachel blinked back her tears. “Tank is meeting John at the police station. Where should we start looking?”
Tess buried her hands in her jacket pockets. “I vote for starting at the café. We can work our way back to where she left the SUV.”
Rachel turned to Kelly. “We won’t be more than an hour.”
“I’ll see you when you get back. Good luck.”
Rachel knew that they’d need more than luck to find Bella. She just hoped she’d found somewhere safe and warm to stay if she was lost.
The alternative wasn’t worth considering.
***
John sat in a black plastic chair in the Chief of Police’s office. If Bella had been kidnapped, there was a high probability that someone would contact him and demand a ransom.
And John knew exactly what they’d want.
Dan Carter, the Chief of Police, walked into the room. “We’ve checked the security cameras on Main Street. There was no sign of Bella going past the craft store. Between your security guards and my detectives, we’ve gone into every store within half a mile of where she was last seen. No one’s seen her.”
“If she was snatched off the street and bundled into a vehicle, she could be miles from here by now.”
Dan looked up from the file he was holding. “We’re doing everything we can to find her.”
John looked down at his hands. “I know. I feel so useless just sitting here.”
“With the death threats you’ve already received, you need to stay here. If we haven’t found Bella in the next couple of hours, you can go home. But if I hear that you’re on the streets looking for her, I won’t be happy.” Dan sat behind his desk. “I know that a detective has already asked you these questions, but I’m going to ask them again. Does Bella have any places that she regularly visits in town?”
John crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’ve taken Bella to Angel Wings Café a few times. Mrs. Daniels, my housekeeper, takes her to Safeway when she does the grocery shopping, and Rachel has taken her to Walmart. She goes to the library for drama club and to Denise Walker’s dance studio for ballet class.”
“Friends?”
“Poppy O’Sullivan is her best friend. Bella likes talking with Frankie Smith at drama club.”
“You didn’t mention Frankie’s name before.”
John’s gaze shot to Dan. “Do you know something that I don’t?”
Dan stood up and walked around his desk. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. If your cell phone rings, let Detective Adams know and we’ll try and trace the call.”
John watched Dan walk into the squad room and talk to one of his detectives. He glanced at the phone on Dan’s desk, then at his cell phone.
He needed to speak to Tank, and he needed to do it now. John looked back at the squad room and leaned across the desk, lifting the Police Chief’s phone off its cradle. He punched Tank’s cell phone number into the handset and waited.
Dan was still talking to the detective.
“Tank speaking.”
“It’s John. I need you to look through the background check you did on Frankie Smith’s family. Pull everything you can on his father.”