Peter came outside and joined them and Shana caught him up on what Jason told them. His scowl of concern deepened as she spoke, recognizing the same thing she had about their near miss. The timing was remarkable and that didn’t sit well, but she put that aside while she paid attention to Peter’s questioning.

  “What about the woman—can you describe her?” Peter asked in an angry clipped voice. Shana knew the anger was at himself, but she hoped Jason wouldn’t get intimidated and clam up.

  He didn’t. In a nervous and hurried voice like he needed to relieve his guilt and unburden himself as fast as he could, Jason told them the lady wore heavy make-up, long dark hair and a black dress which described one third of the women there. The other two thirds were split into redheads and blonds with black dresses.

  “What kind of car were they driving?” Peter persisted, taking over her interview. Shana would have resented this in the past, but right now she only wanted the intel so she could find her babies and get them back. “Did you get the license plate?”

  “I don’t remember the plate number,” Jason said. “But the car was a 2020 champagne colored Mercedes E350.”

  “That’s Anatoly’s car,” Peter said. Shana snapped her eyes to his and it only took her a beat to decide.

  “They stole Toly’s car. They came to the island either by boat or copter. Either way, they wouldn’t have a car of their own.”

  “Are you sure?” Peter asked. She nodded. She knew he was asking whether she trusted Toly, whether she was sure that the old man was not a part of the kidnapping.

  She firmed her mouth and nodded. Then she took back control of the questioning.

  “Do you remember if they arrived in the same car?”

  The valet shook his head. “No, but I wasn’t paying attention. I only noticed the couple coming in because they spoke in that foreign accent.”

  “Shit,” Shana said. “I need to let Dane know that the person helping Toly’s ex son-in-law is a woman.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Acer took a separate car along a separate route to state police headquarters. Dane took Ronnie with him to follow Cap—at a distance—to the old HQ which was/ an innocent looking Cape Cod style house except for the double glass front doors. He was almost surprised to find the place exactly as it was before Cap left. Somehow he expected it to turn into something different on the outside to reflect the serious changes that had taken place within.

  The squad had been in turmoil after Cap had testified against Dane at his murder trial, dividing the men and women in to two camps. No one stayed neutral.

  That had to be at least partly why Cap resigned and left the island. The whole island had divided, but it wasn’t an even division. According to Sassy, most of the people she talked to were on Dane and Shana’s side.

  Dane didn’t bother to point out that was likely because the people she knew wouldn’t dare say they were against him and Shana knowing she was a close friend.

  He parked on the side-street at the rear of the building and called Acer.

  “We’re here. I haven’t heard from Cap yet, but I’m going in the back and heading down the basement.”

  “You need me to follow?” Acer said. “I’m one minute behind you.”

  “No. Can’t have you stuck here in jail when you need to get back to Isabella. But you can watch out for the feds and give me a heads up if they arrive.”

  “Will do.”

  Another call blinked on Dane’s phone. “Gotta go.” He stabbed his thumb on the green circle to take Shana’s call, his heartbeat leaping as it always did in response to her, even her calls, but especially this one tonight.

  “What do you have?” he said, feeling his pulse throbbing in his throat in anticipation.

  “Sergey Agapov’s partner in crime is his girlfriend, Olga Minsky. They stole Toly’s car and took our babies out the front door.”

  “What the—where did you get this intel?”

  “The valet.”

  “You trust him?”

  “Toly’s car is missing.” There was silence on the other end while she let Dane process the information. She didn’t tell him about what the valet said about seeing the police shortly after the kidnappers left. Something about that didn’t make sense. The timing and the Agapov knowing the layout of the house felt off. But she would look into that because Dane had his own mission to worry about right now. “Did you get the phone?”

  “Almost. I’m heading in the back door now. Wish me luck.”

  “I wish you everything in the world, Dane. Luck, star dust, moon dust and pixie dust and all my love will keep you safe and our babies too.”

  “That’s all I need,” he whispered, then the line went dead and she squeezed the phone until the plastic case might crack if she had more muscle. Taking a deep breath, she let the anguish go because she had something she needed to do. Leaving the study where she’d gone to make her call, she went back to the entry hall where she found Peter talking with Gable. She tugged on his arm, interrupting them and not worrying about politeness or good manners.

  “Peter, let’s have another chat with that valet.”

  He studied her for a beat and came to the conclusion that she had good reason. “I’m with you.”

  They went out front and found two valets present, but not Jason, the one they’d questioned earlier.

  “Where’s Jason?” Shana asked the young lady dressed in a valet uniform.

  “He said he’d been dismissed.” She shrugged, looking skeptical.

  “Dismissed?”

  “Yeah. After the police left, he went inside to change.”

  “So he’s still here?”

  The girl shrugged again.

  “Where do you go to change?”

  She told them about the half bath in the breezeway between the garage and the house. The same exit where the perpetrators supposedly left according to their star witness Jason.

  “Thanks.” In spite of her heels, Shana took off at a run across the lawn toward the garage and the one exit they may not have accounted for. Peter was on her heels, but caught up and passed her as they reached the breezeway.

  “This door is locked from the outside, right?” he said.

  “It’s supposed to be.”

  “So he’d be leaving from the garage,” Peter said.

  “That’s my guess. And my guess is that he’s the insider helping Agapov and that he was paid to set up Toly with his story. Subtle enough to be convincing.”

  “Except for the timing of the Beauregard’s arrival.”

  She nodded, her mind still working through the possible implications of that. The last conclusion she wanted to jump to was that Beauregard was somehow involved. Partly because it was outrageous, and partly because they could be in such big trouble if it were true.

  One thing she knew about the Russians crew that the bastard Agapov associated with was that they were likely to sell her children rather than kill them. Not much of a consolation.

  God almighty. Thinking this did not help her ability to function, so she banished everything from her head except the here and now and the certainty that they would find Colt and Katy. And they would do it before the night was over.

  CHAPTER 8

  Dane and Ronnie slipped inside the back door of police headquarters and down the steps to the basement. The key was still where Cap had always kept it and apparently Beauregard never bothered to change the locks. His phone buzzed again and he slipped it from his pocket. He thanked the heavens and Shana’s good Karma when he saw that it was Cap finally calling in the nick of time. He stopped in the stairwell outside the hallway in the station’s basement where all the real police work happened like questioning and inspection of the evidence.

  “What do you have?” he spoke into his phone while he nodded at Ronnie’s questioning look.

  “The phone is in the evidence locker in the basement waiting for the tech guy to come in and download everything off it.” Cap’s voice was a whisper. He was going out on a limb for him and Shana, but right now the gesture barely registered on his fried emotional scale.

  “Perfect.”

  “Where are you?” Cap’s voice held an edge.

  Dane wasn’t going to bother lying to his former best friend and brother-in-arms. “In the basement heading for the evidence locker.” He ended the call before the barrage of editorial comments he knew would come. He owed Cap the truth, but he didn’t owe him the pleasure of a self-righteous lecture about the evils of taking crazy chances and breaking rules. Because that was business as usual for Dane.

  Except he was no longer supposed to be in this business. He exchanged a quick glance with Ronnie and pushed the door open into the hallway.

  Ronnie whispered, “The night shift guy is the same guy as before, George Pitney.”

  Dane smiled as they moved quietly toward the evidence locker. Dane remembered George and liked him. He’d been too close to retirement to bother quitting even though he wasn’t happy with Cap and the way things had ended. Now he was counting on his old friend to be no fan of Beauregard.

  And unafraid to risk his impending retirement to save Katy and Colt.

  They stopped at the bend in the hallway between the corridor of holding rooms and the opening where the cells and evidence locker were located.

  “You ready?”

  Ronnie nodded.

  “I’ll go first. You hold back. Run like hell the other way if things go wrong and I’ll swear you were never here.” The last thing Dane wanted to do was ruin Ronnie’s promising career as an army officer. But the young man’s face went fiercely rebellious at the suggestion that he should flee.

  “I’m not—”

  “Save it.” Dane didn’t waste another word of discussion or time and stepped around the corner into full view of Sargent George Pitney. The man looked up in surprise, grabbing his gun off the desk where he sat.

  “Hello George. Long time—”

  “Holy shit—if it isn’t Dane the bane.” George dropped his gun and came around the desk to shake Dane’s hand. Dane pulled him into a hug because this occasion was bigger than a handshake.

  “I need a favor, George. I’m here for Anatoly Ivanov’s phone. I understand you have it in the evidence locker.” He stared at George who looked as somber as an undertaker at the Pope’s funeral.

  “I heard about your babies. There was quite a commotion when Beauregard took the Russian guy in.” He glanced surreptitiously toward the bend in the corridor and licked his lips. “Cap came back. Told me the score.”

  We stared each other down for a long moment like we were in a shoot-off at the OK Corral, but when my eyes went from hard to pleading, he blinked. Then he pulled open his desk drawer and pulled a phone from it. He held it out to me.

  “Godspeed,” he whispered.

  I took the phone from him and shook his hand. “Want me to make it look like I forced it from you?”

  The old cop gave him a slow smile. “Sure. Why not? For old time’s sake.”

  Dane nodded and punched him in the eye. He fell back into his chair, stifling a laugh while Ronnie took his cuffs and attached him to said chair.

  “You might want to leave through the front door,” he said, jutting his chin in the opposite direction from where we came.

  Dane nodded back and they ran up the front stairs.

  Before we got outside the phone vibrated in Dane’s hand and he muttered a curse. He couldn’t answer it until they were well clear of the parking lot. he picked up his speed as if he were impersonating Usain Bolt and headed for the car. Punching the phone to answer it as he jumped inside the trusty Jeep, he let out a breath and said what do you have.

  “Who is this?” It was a woman’s voice, Toly’s daughter Lara.

  “Dane Blaise. They have your father.”

  “Dane? Who has him?” The terror in her voice was hesitant, yet unmistakable. Dane tried calming his frantic heart. He was an idiot for being so careless with his words. Sloppy. And he couldn’t afford to be sloppy.

  “The police. Chief Beauregard of the state police on Martha’s Vineyard. Ring a bell?”

  “No, but I’m not surprised there’s trouble on the Vineyard. I’m sorry, Dane. What—”

  “They have my babies.”

  She gave a shriek of horror. “Oh my god. I want to kill that man Sergey so badly—”

  “I’ll do it for you. If I can get away with it. Where is your ex staying?” He asked the question as his heart nearly exploded with anticipation, counting on her to have the answer.”

  “He’s staying at the Admiral’s Inn.” Neither of them mentioned that he wasn’t alone. No need to bring jealousy into her already volatile emotional state. “My cousin confessed that he met up with someone from out of the country at Logan.”

  “What’s this about? What’s his motive?”

  “Aside from revenge against my father and me, I have no idea why he’s involved you.”

  “Baby trafficking,” Dane uttered the words and heard her whimper.

  “That son of a bitch is definitely greedy enough and sick enough for that filthiest of trades. Only the worst of people deal in that.” Her voice strangled up. Then she cleared her throat. “He was a greedy S.O.B. after all. I found that out the hard way.”

  “Explain.” Dane ha d a feeling he knew the answer to this. Debt.

  “He owed a lot of money. Gambling and who knows what else.”

  “Thank you.” Dane didn’t waste time on any more conversation.

  He start the engine as Ronnie closed the passenger door. The car peeled out before Ronnie said a word.

  “Call Peter and Acer and have them meet us at the Admiral’s Inn.” Dane barked the order at him as he held onto the wheel and slammed his foot on the gas as far as it would go. He knew the roads and knew when to slow down for the curves and how much. One good thing about the new Jeep, besides the fact that the heat worked and there were no holes in the floor boards, was that it had kickass tires that held the road like glue.

  He turned his lights off before he reached the Inn and pulled into the lot and around the back to park. Dane called Acer to let him know where they were and to meet them.

  “See if you can find out anything more about Agapov or his girlfriend that would shed light on their kidnapping plan. I somehow doubt they’re keeping the twins at the Admiral’s Inn.

  “Ronnie, you’re going into the lobby to check it out and identify Agapov if he’s around, or his girlfriend.”

  “I don’t know what they look like.”

  Dane tapped his phone and found photos of the wedding and showed it to Ronnie. He nodded.

  “Got it. Anything else?”

  “If they’re not in sight let me know and watch the front door.”

  “What about the hallways inside? Shouldn’t we wait for Acer and Senator Douglas?”

  “No time.”

  Dane knew he was taking a chance, but he felt the ticking clock like it was a bomb about to explode in his chest.

  Dane watched Ronnie walk inside and then he waited for the call. This was the worst part. At least it wasn’t Shana going in because he hated watching her walk into potential danger and waiting for her to call most of all. In fact, he’d always hated it so much, he rarely allowed it, rarely waited around for her to give him the all’s clear.

  When his phone buzzed in his pocket he slipped it out and checked to see it was Ronnie. The letdown that it wasn’t Shana was immediate, but he brushed the disappointment aside and answered.

  “There’s no one in the lobby. I checked at the front desk and was told there is no Agapov registered here. He’s probably using an alias.”

  “Shit. Of course. I’ll meet you around back.”

  “What for?” Ronnie asked.

  “You don’t have a problem with a little peeping Tom action, do you?”

  “Shit—”

  “It’s for a good cause.” Dane ended the call.

  Ronnie jogged toward Dane where he was crouched behind a champagne colored Mercedes E350.

  “What now?” Ronnie said.

  “This is it,” Dane said.

  “How do you know?”

  “This is Toly’s car. They stole it earlier from the party.” The car was parked behind a darkened room. “Let’s go in the back door and get into the room from the inside. We’d be too conspicuous breaking in out here.” Ronnie nodded and Dane stayed low as he moved to the back door. There was a card reader, but he happened to have a card for this hotel in his wallet. There’d been a reason he’d never thrown it out though he’d always joked it was a souvenir.

  “You have a key card?” Ronnie’s voice went up an octave as he crouched behind Dane conspicuously.

  “Stand up, will you? Before someone sees you and calls the cops.” He pulled open the door and held up the card. “As far as anyone knows, we belong here.”

  They looked through the room in a matter of seconds because there wasn’t much there. They found nothing but the couple’s party clothes and a baby bag. The bag didn’t belong to Katy and Colt, but its presence confirmed Dane’s suspicion about baby stealing and human trafficking being part of the motivation. It also ran a spike of painful trepidation through his shoulder blades once again, quickly followed by a bracing shot of adrenaline.

  His phone buzzed again, saving him from his tortured speculation. It was Shana and he could weep with relief, but he got hold of his professional self and regained his nerves as he stabbing the call button with a steady finger.

  “What do you have?”

  “A twist,” she said, raw nerves evident in the tight steely tone of her voice. He waited for her to tell him, holding his breath while he listened to her heave in some air.

  “I received a ransom text.”

  CHAPTER 9