Greyson (The K9 Files) - Dale Mayer Page 0,39

now, he and his mom stayed behind with the cops, waiting for the ambulance to check out the boy.”

“Good,” Stone said. “Let’s go find that bastard. We’re running air surveillance. Give us a minute.”

Minute after minute ticked by as they did a lot of searching, and Greyson drove around a lot of blocks doing random searches.

“I’m sorry, man. No sign of that truck,” Stone said.

“I can’t believe it,” Greyson replied. “What about traffic cameras?”

“That industrial section is a little slim on those,” he said, “so we’re running through some of the companies that have private property cameras running right now. Nothing so far, but—oh, wait—about twenty minutes after you left the place,” he said, “one of the cameras picked him up about four miles away. Hang on while we figure out where he’s gone from there.”

Greyson took a left back onto the freeway and headed back the other direction.

“So he just came here, dumped the kid, and grabbed a new set of wheels?”

“That’s quite possible,” Stone said. “Think about it. If he’s caught with a stolen vehicle and a kidnapped child, it’s a whole different story than if he’s just driving his brother’s truck without permission.”

“And he would have known the kid would be okay there. Eventually somebody would have surely come and checked out a car parked in front of the loading bay.”

“It’s quite possible and at least makes this guy seem a little bit more human,” Stone said. “Don’t worry. I still hate him though.”

“You and me both,” Greyson said. “Please tell me that you found where this guy went.”

“Yeah. He went ahead to the McDonald’s, parked the vehicle, and went inside, but that was over forty minutes ago.”

Greyson pulled into the McDonald’s lot ten minutes later. He slowly cruised past the parking lot full of vehicles and pulled up beside the blue F-150 with all the chrome. “I’m pretty damn sure he’s ditched it here,” he said, as he hopped out and walked around the vehicle.

“I would think so,” Stone replied. “I would. It’s pretty damn easy to pick up any other vehicle.”

“Even if he didn’t get another one right here,” he said, “a mall’s across the road, and a great big used car lot is on the next block. No shortage of choices here. His brother said Frank was pretty damn quick at hot-wiring vehicles, so he could be anywhere by now. Looks like we lost him.”

Chapter 9

Jessica couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t rest, and no way she would move more than a foot away from her son. It was now midmorning. The sun was up high; she’d had one pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table, wondering how she would get through the day. She wouldn’t nap until her son did, and he was looking a little bit groggy and uncertain too.

The paramedics on the ambulance had checked Danny over and said that she could take him to the hospital if she was still worried, but they were confident that Danny would be just fine. She decided that she’d make an appointment with her doctor later if she was concerned.

The police had given her a lift home. Her son was a little cranky and maybe not feeling great, but he also wasn’t tired enough to sleep. He sat on the floor next to the couch, playing with some blocks. She sat at the kitchen table, just feet away from him, watching his every move.

In the back of her mind she still couldn’t believe all that had happened. It was just too unbelievable, too scary to think about. Not only had that asshole made it into her house, but he’d stolen her son right out from under her. And if he could do that—

When the doorbell rang, she froze. Danny looked up at her, and his little face screwed up as if he would cry. She quickly picked him up in her arms and said, “It’s okay, sweetie.” When she heard a voice calling out from the door, she recognized it as Greyson’s.

She walked to the front door, unlocked it, but left the chain on and peered through. It was definitely him, and he was alone.

Smiling, he said, “I’m glad you kept the chain on.”

She quickly undid the chain and let him in. “I don’t think I’ll ever not keep the chain on again,” she said. “I’ll be lucky if I ever sleep again.”

He leaned over, kissed her gently on the temple, and said, “Understood.” He looked down at Danny in her arms and smiled.