She was starting down the length of the alley.

  He’d need to be alone with her, somehow, and soon.

  “Gavin, I think we should head back in and take a look around the main hall,” Zach said. “Or the loading area, see if anything was left anywhere—”

  “No, the action is here. They disappeared from this alley,” Gavin said with a grin, turning to look at Zach. “Here, right here. Skye is seeing something—and we need to know what it is, when she’s ready to tell us.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “Pardon?” Zach asked, frowning, staring warily at Lieutenant Gavin Bruns.

  The officer just smiled at him and shrugged. “Well,” he said, “did you think that I called Jackson Crow just because I like federal involvement in cases? Skye is seeing something. You know it and I know it. And … well, do you know what it is that she’s seeing?”

  “No,” Zach said flatly. “We’re just going to have to ask her.” Still frowning, he stared at Gavin Bruns. “And what do you mean, she’s ‘seeing something’?”

  But Bruns smiled and shook his head.

  “You had to figure I knew all about Adam Harrison and Jackson Crow, and, of course, about Jackson’s special division of the Bureau,” Gavin said.

  “I figured you respected Jackson because he got a case closed,” Zach said, shaking his head. “Does Jackson know that you know?”

  “Honestly?” Gavin asked, shrugging. “Probably not. And I’m not even sure if what I believe is the truth. After he was here on a case, I went online and pulled up everything I could about the ‘special’ unit. Still, sometimes … but I’ve spent my life wondering about myself, always afraid to be honest, and—”

  “You see and speak with the dead, souls who remain in their spirit form?” Zach asked.

  “No.”

  “No. But you know about Jackson and the Krewe. And you know Skye is seeing something. Okay, I’m sorry, I’m completely confused.”

  Gavin took a deep breath. “Okay, at first, I thought Jackson Crow was certifiably crazy. I thought he was talking to a tree. I had been behind him, and he hadn’t known I was there; but when he turned around, he had an answer to a mystery that only a member of the Duarte family might have known, and … the last of the family had left here thirty years ago. So I guessed that he had a power—”

  “You just believed that, without thinking he was crazy?” Zach pressed.

  “You don’t understand.”

  “You said that you don’t see the dead,” Zach reminded him.

  “I don’t. Neither do you. I think I have Skye figured out, but you …”

  “Touch,” Zach said. “A personal object. Sometimes I can see what the last person who held it is doing or where they are.”

  “But you don’t know where the victims are yet?” Gavin asked anxiously.

  “In the darkness. But they’re alive. And wait a second, I was asking—”

  “Minds,” Gavin told him.

  “What?”

  “That’s why I make a good detective,” Gavin told him dryly. “Not always, but often enough, I can read the mind of someone I’m talking to. The problem is, of course, when I’m with several people, it’s sometimes like a lot of shouting in a concert hall. And it’s not a guarantee. But then, often in an interrogation room, I’m alone with a suspect. And I can read guilt or innocence, regret and resentment.”

  Zach nodded slowly, looking at him. “It’s good to know. Does anyone you work with have any idea about this talent of yours?”

  “Hell no. I make a point of keeping my distance from detectives like Berkley and Cason, because … they’re both hardcore. There’s very little gray area in anything that has to do with the two of them. I was promoted before the two of them; and they already resent that, so, well, I keep clear. And I watch it with the patrol team—and frankly, everyone else.”

  Zach smiled suddenly. “I know how you feel. But if you don’t mind, I want to tell the truth to Skye, Jackson, Angela, and anyone in our unit who becomes involved in this. It is so much easier to work when you can be honest, and we’re just learning that ourselves. Jackson … watches agents. He and Angela study them and their methods, and Skye and I are different from the Krewe he’s already put together, but … the thing is, he knows that some of us do have something that helps.”

  “Too bad I’m not an agent!” Gavin said.

  “Well, you could be. I can’t imagine a detective with your record wouldn’t do well in the academy,” Zach told him.

  As he spoke, Skye turned around and looked at him. She frowned.

  Because, of course, when she’d been seeing what had happened here in the past, she hadn’t heard a word he and Gavin had exchanged.

  But she knew something had gone on.

  She looked from Zach to Gavin and back to Zach.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “He knows,” Zach told her.

  “Knows … what?”

  “That you were looking into the past,” Zach said flatly.

  Of course, she stared at him then, as if he’d lost his mind.

  “Skye, please, it’s not Zach’s fault. I was explaining to him that … I knew about Jackson. That he talked to the dead—”

  “And you just accepted that?” Skye said.

  “I had my reasons,” Gavin said.

  “He’s a mind reader who, like the rest of us, spent most of his life thinking he was crazy, so when he sees others … he’s not so quick to judge,” Zach explained.

  “But if you can just read someone’s mind, can’t—whoops, sorry. I guess you can’t just walk around town and ask people to stand still so you can stare at them and find out what they’re thinking,” she said quickly. But she half-smiled, and halffrowned, as she asked, “Does it work all the time? Of course not. No one can ever guarantee that a departed soul will be around to help someone. I have no guarantee that I will see the past at the time I need to see it. We can only hope our talents work. How do you keep it from your co-workers?” she asked.

  “I keep my distance,” Gavin said.

  “I guess that’s what we always did,” Skye said to Zach.

  “Right. We’ve established we’re all weird. Skye, what did you see?” Zach asked.

  “They left from here,” she said, pointing at the exit to the alley. “I saw them at the dance, and they were whispering to one another. I couldn’t hear them because the music was loud and there were so many people. It was growing late and people were beginning to spill out the front—only a few of the kids were slipping through the kitchen areas to get out to the alley. When the kids came out here, they were alone. And they stood here for a minute, saw a dark sedan out on the road, and ran over to it.”

  “So they did elope?” Gavin asked.

  “I don’t know if they eloped or not; I do know they hurried to the car that was picking them up. I tried so hard to see something about the car, but … nothing. I don’t even know if it was black, dark blue, or dark green. And it was definitely a sedan of some kind, but what make or model I don’t know. Maybe they were lured by someone, or maybe they had made arrangements with someone to help them … I don’t know. All I know for sure is they saw the car, and ran out to it, hopped into it—and were gone. I wish, I wish, that I had seen something that was really helpful!” Skye said.

  “But that is incredibly helpful!” Gavin said. “We know that they went willingly—at least at first—with whoever came for them. And it will be important.”

  “Thanks!” Skye said. She smiled and shook her head. “Sorry. This is so weird!”

  “I see it as amazing and good,” Gavin told them.

  Zach grinned. “Amazing and good. You’re right. But we still have kids to find!”

  “Right! Time to move on to the parents!” Gavin said.

  He turned to lead the way back through the convention center, keying in the proper codes to ensure the place was duly relocked.

  Skye looked at Zach as they moved along, as if questioning him regarding Lieutenant Gavin Bruns.

  Could it all be real? she wondered.

  Zach believed the man. And he wondered how difficult it might be for him, having risen so far so quickly because of his ability to solve cases.

  And having to work with detectives like Cason and Berkley, who certainly resented his quick ascension in the department.

  “Well,” he whispered to Skye as they walked ahead to the car, while Gavin assured himself that he’d indeed secured the place, “that explains a lot. He’s the man in charge; he was the one who could call on us.”

  “Do you think he really reads minds?” she asked worriedly. “We aren’t being played, right?”

  “I sincerely believe that everything about the man is real,” Zach assured her.

  “Okay, then. That makes us a bit of a trio.”

  “Not a bad thing.”

  “No, not at all. Especially since he is local law enforcement and on our side.”

  Gavin turned around, arching a brow. “Rather rude to discuss me when I’m right here,” he told them.

  They looked at one another and groaned and looked at Gavin.

  “Let’s talk about him right in front of him, only makes sense!” Zach said.

  But Gavin chuckled. “I’m not even reading minds. I’m reading your faces. You guys are both pretty cool. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Okay, so, which set of nasty parents do you want to start with?”

  “They’re nasty?” Skye asked.

  Gavin made a face. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re usually all right. It’s just that they’re both convinced their little darling was swayed by the other little darling to cause trouble. Apparently, they’ve both been convinced that they are one another’s true love—and that nothing matters except for the two of them being together.”

  As they got into the car, Skye mused, “But it doesn’t really make sense. They’re going to graduate this year. Beau Carter is eighteen and Allie Mason is about to be eighteen. They could just wait, graduate from high school, and if they were so eager to be together, they could just screw the concept of college, get jobs, and get married. Once they’re both eighteen, they can be together all the time, whether their parents like it or not.”

  “True. Which is why, I’m sure, the parents are so upset. I mean, what parent doesn’t dream of their kid going to college, getting a great job, and living happily ever after?” Zach said.

  “I spoke with the local police, and they informed them we’d be by to speak with them,” Gavin said. “Apparently, the two have been in trouble a few times already. Beau crawled through a window in Allie’s house. They have an old place, an old Victorian house, nice big oak tree right outside, and it’s no trick for a kid that age to shinny up a tree, find the right branch, and slide through a window. Then Allie was on a school camping trip and snuck him into the girls’ section and …” he broke off, shrugging. “Teenage love and mischief or something else? Hard to tell.”

  “Will you know if the parents are telling the truth when we speak with them?” Skye asked Gavin.

  “I can’t guarantee it. But if I know, I know.”

  From the rear seat, Zach could see that he lowered his head. He wished he were a mind reader himself.

  Gavin was disturbed by something, perhaps something caused by his ability or maybe just something he knew about because of his ability.

  “Well, I believe your talent will come in handy,” Zach said. “The problem with this case so far isn’t too many suspects—it’s that everyone we talk to seems to be innocent, determined that the kids and women be found, passionate that they be found, and decent, maybe even kind. But someone must know something.”

  “Heading to the home of Allie’s parents, Theodore and Emilia Mason,” Gavin said. “It’s the farthest, so we’ll start there and be on our way back when we drop by to speak with Art and Sybil Carter.”

  “It’s a plan,” Skye said.

  Everyone was quiet for a minute; then Gavin asked, “Skye, did you see a witch—I mean, in a vision of the recent past, did you see a green witch? There was no disappearing comment on social media, right?”

  “There was no comment on social media,” Skye admitted. “Yes. In both cases—or all three cases, really. Also, there are two criminals—at least two—involved in these kidnappings. And,” she added quietly, “the murder of Mike Bolton.”

  “Two or more,” Gavin said. “And Halloween will be up and running soon. We always have our witchcraft stores up and running, and many of the restaurants use decorations—like skeletons, ghosts, witches—all year round.” He paused, shaking his head as he drove. “Most of the time, it’s tremendous fun. After the movie Hocus Pocus came out, we’ve had dozens of trios on the streets dressed up as the Sanderson sisters. Of course, we’ve had our share of modern-day-movie witches forever, too. But this … We’ve never had characters kidnapping people before, not to my knowledge! Oh, and we’re here! That’s the house right there. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  The home was gorgeous. Victorian and lovingly maintained, so it appeared. Unblemished blue paint covered the house, enhanced by white trim around the windows and on the porch railings, as well as the two balconies that were visible from the street.

  “And there’s the offending tree!” Zach said lightly. “I take it one of those is Allie’s balcony?”

  “Easy for a kid in good shape to get up the tree and over to the balcony,” Gavin agreed.

  They exited the car, and Gavin led the way to the front door. He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before he could do so.

  The woman standing there appeared to be in her fifties, with her short hair dyed silver and coiffed beautifully into gentle curls that handsomely framed her face. She was about five-five and medium in build, but tiny next to the large bald man who came to stand behind her. “Thank God, you’re here! You are the Feds, right?” he bellowed before his wife could say a word.

  “Sir,” Gavin said, “I’m Lieutenant Bruns from Salem. These folks are the Feds, Special Agents Erickson and McMahon.”

  “Come in, come in! Now, mind you, I don’t know what to think! The first cop we spoke to was simply convinced that my daughter and that fellow waltzed off together because of a plan that they’d made! But she’s not eighteen yet, and I want that young monster arrested. You need to find them and arrest him. Allie was a good kid until she met that wretch of a boy!”

  “Theo, please, we need to invite them in!” Emilia Mason said.

  “Yes, please, of course, of course, come in!” her husband said.

  The door opened wide and the three of them entered.

  The parlor was exquisite, with period furniture, shining hardwood floors, and elegant throw rugs that matched what were certainly custom-made draperies. The mantel was large, created from marble, and covered with family photos flanked by two vases filled with red roses.

  A group of chairs surrounded a coffee table behind the couch, and an additional set of chairs offered a view of the mammoth-screen TV.

  The family was more than well-off—they were downright rich.

  Which made Zach wonder. Allie had to be accustomed to all the best that could be had in life. She’d surely never wanted anything that couldn’t be provided for her. She certainly had to fear the concept of her parents disowning her.

  And trying to make a decent living as a high school graduate.

  Then again, young love could be fierce. Maybe she was so in love with young Beau that she would give up everything.

  Until, of course, she would discover that even food had to be paid for.

  They all sat, and Zach quickly spoke. “Please believe that we will do everything in our power to find your daughter. But we believe there was someone in their lives with whom they went willingly from the dance. Perhaps an older friend, who was a student before them, and then again perhaps just a classmate. We have a witness who saw them leave the dance by the back alley—and hurry to hop into a dark sedan. Does that strike any chords with you? Is there someone in their lives who might have influenced them—or promised them a place to stay?”

  Emilia and Theo looked at one another, frowning.

  “Well, there’s that fellow I saw watching Beau at the game,” Emilia said.

  “At the game,” Skye said quietly. “What game, and watching how? Did the two speak at any time that you saw?”

  “I’m afraid it’s no secret that we don’t like Beau,” Emilia said. “But I will hand the young man this—he’s an amazing football player. Put their school on the map with his prowess on the field. Anyway, this man was in the front row one night and he just kept watching Beau. And I think they did talk, at least a minute, when Beau was on the field, before all the players ran together to congratulate one another. I had the strange feeling they knew one another. But when I asked Allie about him—if Beau had family in from another state or something, she just shook her head and told me that everyone admired Beau.”

  “We tried to forbid her from seeing him,” Theo added. “After we caught him in the house one night. But Allie threatened to run away then.”

  Huge tears struck Emilia’s eyes. “I don’t understand! Threatening was one thing. But even if she meant to spend her life with him once she turned eighteen, why would she disappear with him now? They were both about to graduate, they could have had …”

  “Everything,” Theo said. “If we couldn’t shake him, I would have helped him.”

  “How?” Skye asked.

  “His family hasn’t got two red cents to put together. I’d have helped him through college, and, of course, the kid had a dozen scholarships offered, I believe, as he persuaded Allie to go to college. The kid and I had already talked about it! That’s why … On the one hand, and to law enforcement who first showed up here, it seemed obvious they had run away. And I had to think about it. But the more I think about it, the more I just don’t believe they chose to disappear all on their own,” Theo said.

  “Please! Married, not married!” Emilia said. “We just want to know that our only child is alive!”

  “We promise to do everything in our power,” Zach said solemnly.