A Silent Fury Read online

  The secretary looked up from the black notebook. “He didn’t sign out, but I called the security guard who said he drove off campus about ten minutes ago.”

  Joseph hit the glass door at a run and slammed himself into the car. Catelyn gave him a questioning look and Joseph answered it, “He left campus.”

  “This isn’t good.”

  Grimly, he told, “I’m aware of that. Let’s catch up to them before anyone else spots them.” Thinking fast, he told her, “Seems to me, every deaf kid I know has a phone simply for text messaging purposes, a Sidekick, a BlackBerry, whatever. Can we track his phone?”

  “Do you have his number?”

  “No.” Joseph shook his head, then smiled and said, “No, but I’ve got Alonso’s. If we’re right and they’re together, we can find them that way.”

  Pulling out her cell, she said, “Give me the number.”

  He did and she put the request in to the person on the other end. “Call me when you’ve got it. Thanks.” Hanging up she looked at him. “I also put out a Be on the Lookout, a BOLO, for Dylan’s car and Alonso’s. Both cars are missing from the student lot. If they’re in either one, they won’t get far. The security guard said both boys left at approximately the same time. I have a feeling Dylan’s going to ditch his car and hook up with Alonso.”

  Joseph said, “I would say that’s pretty good reasoning. I can head back to my parents’ house, but I’m thinking they probably wouldn’t go there.”

  “Does Alonso have a favorite hangout? Is there a place the deaf kids just go to hang out?”

  “The local pizza place over on Union Street or the arcade down on Church. Let’s check the pizza place first.”

  “We also need to get in touch with Dylan’s parents and let them know they need to contact us if he shows up at home.”

  Joseph wheeled the car toward the pizza place. Within minutes, they were driving through the parking lot. “I don’t see Alonso’s or Dylan’s car.”

  Catelyn sighed in disgust and shook her phone. “How long does it take to track a cell number?”

  “If they’re having to go through the cell carrier, it’ll take a little bit. They’re not at the arcade. I’m going to head toward the house.”

  “That seems like the last place they’d go.”

  “Do you have any better ideas?”

  She heaved a sigh. “He’s your brother.”

  “Right.”

  Catelyn leaned back and shut her eyes against the headache that was starting. Her phone buzzed, intruding on her brief moment of peace.

  “Hello?”

  “Catelyn, your target is somewhere on Sugarleaf Street. Um…704, to be specific.”

  “Thank, Bri.”

  She hung up. “They’re at your parents’ house. Or at least that’s where Alonso’s phone tracked to.”

  Joseph let a smug look briefly cross his face. She resisted the urge to punch him, decided to let him revel in his cleverness and sat back to finish the short ride while her adrenaline pumped at the thought of arresting Dylan.

  Five minutes later, Joseph pulled into the driveway of his childhood home. They hopped out and made their way up the front porch and into the house. His mother greeted them, signing her welcome. “Joseph, what brings you here in the middle of the day? And Catelyn…” Surprise lifted her brows. “Hello, darling.”

  “Hi, Mrs. Santino.”

  Concerned flickered across her smooth, chubby face as she looked at Joseph. “What is it, son?”

  “Is Alonso here, Mama?”

  She twisted her ever present apron between her hands, then dropped it to sign, “No, he didn’t come in the house. At least I didn’t feel his usual thumping vibrations. He could have snuck in, I suppose. Is something wrong?”

  Joseph told Catelyn, “I’ll check his room. You explain to Mom what’s going on.”

  “Okay.”

  He bounded up the stairs two at a time. Following the well-worn carpet to Alonso’s room, he found the door open—and the room empty.

  Just as he’d suspected.

  Treading back down the steps, he found Catelyn and his mother deep in conversation. Ever since practically being adopted into his family, Catelyn had learned to sign on an expert level. As a CODA, Child of a Deaf Adult, Joseph had learned American Sign Language before he could speak.

  He broke into the conversation. “He’s not up there.”

  Confusion stamped plainly on her face, Catelyn turned to go back to the car. Joseph followed. She got in and got on the radio. Within seconds, she had Bri on the line. “Check the signal again, will you?”

  A short wait. The radio squawked and Bri said, “Still the same location, Catelyn.”

  She turned to Joseph and said, “The phone’s still here somewhere. The boys at least stopped by here. Do you think they could have left again with Alonso forgetting his phone—or leaving it behind on purpose?”

  “Alonso wouldn’t leave his phone. It’s like an extension of his body.”

  “Unless he thought we might track him with it.”

  “I don’t think he’d think about that, to be honest. He’d just be doing his best to get away to a place where he and Dylan could talk—or hide out.”

  “Then they’re here. Somewhere.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’d call the phone and see if it would ring, but no doubt it’s on vibrate. I’m trying to think of some good hiding places from when we played hide-and-seek all those years ago.”

  “He’s not in the house, I…” Joseph broke off and looked her in the eye. “Granny’s suite.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The basement. I almost forgot all about it. Come on.”

  She scrambled from the car as he led the way to the side of the house. “It has a separate entrance and everything. We never use it, haven’t used it in forever. It’s been closed off since our grandmother died. With Alonso being the only kid left at home, Mom didn’t need the space and didn’t want to have to worry about cleaning it, so she just closed it down.”

  They reached the door. Catelyn looked down. “Footprints.”

  “Recent ones. Just the right size for a couple of teenage boys, too. See those prints there? They’re different from the ones on this side.”

  “No use knocking, they’re both deaf.”

  He twisted the knob and the door swung inward. “They didn’t bother to lock the door.” He stepped inside taking in the large area jam packed with antiques, family mementos and other unused, probably forgotten items.

  A light snuffed out and darkness shrouded them. Joseph stated, “Yep, they’re here.”

  “But they don’t want us to know that they are.”

  “Back up.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it, will you?”

  Huffing a sigh, she did it. Joseph pulled the door shut as he exited.

  “What are you doing now?” she demanded.

  “Waiting. Now, you head around to the side and cover the window.” Thunder rumbled and he looked at the sky. Gray clouds billowed overhead.

  “Fine, what are we waiting on though?”

  “One of them to check and see if the coast is clear. It’ll save us hunting through that dusty mess and trying to chase down a scared kid. Let’s just let them come to us.”

  Realization crossed her face.

  “You’re still a rat, Joseph.”

  “But a clever one, you must admit.” Oh, how he loved it when the red flush took over and she looked at him in annoyance. But she couldn’t help the small smile that tried to curve her lush lips.

  “All right,” she admitted, “a clever one.” She left him and he watched her round the corner.

  “Joseph?” she called. “They’ve already managed to get out. I can see them running. I’m going after them!”

  “What? How?” He made his way around to find Catelyn racing off in the direction of the road.

  Five minutes later, Catelyn leaned her palms against her knees and puffed, “Nice work, Colombo. V
ery clever.”

  “Hey, how was I supposed to know they’d move so fast? They ran up the stairs and out the back door. Mom’s still shaking her fist at them.”

  “If we’d just gone in and…never mind. How far away could they be?”

  “Far enough. There’s tons of places to hide around here, and it’s not a far hike into town to some of the stores.”

  “Then let’s get officers here to set up a perimeter and a K-9 unit.”

  “We need a chopper, too.”

  Joseph was already talking into his radio. When he finished, he looked at her grim-faced and furious as he pulled out his BlackBerry.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, annoyance still evident.

  “Telling Alonso to haul himself back here and that he’d better hurry up and talk his friend into turning himself in.”

  “You think he’ll listen?”

  “There’s always hope. He’s been making some good decisions lately. Let’s hope he adds this one to the list.”

  Catelyn sighed. “Running from the cops doesn’t seem like a very good decision to me.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I really think Alonso will come through. He’s got a baseball game tonight. That is if it’s not cancelled.” He looked at the clouds that were threatening to release a downpour. “There’s no way he’d jeopardize the team’s status by not showing up. When he shows, I’ll grab him and grill him, okay? And if it’s cancelled, I’ll figure something else out.”

  Indecision marred her features and he wanted to reach out and smooth her wrinkled forehead. Instead, he clenched his fingers into a fist. “Let’s get in the car and see if we can track them down.”

  “Fine.”

  They hurried to his vehicle and he pulled the door open. A raindrop smacked his nose before he had a chance to duck inside.

  Catelyn’s door slammed and she pointed. “That way.

  “Do you see them anywhere?” she asked as he circled the block.

  Her question distracted him for a moment. “No, I’ll try this other side street.”

  Catelyn watched him drive, competent, strong…intense. Swallowing hard, she refocused her attention on the search. She picked up the radio and called for backup in the neighborhood. Joseph sighed, but didn’t protest. He wanted to find these kids as soon as possible, too.

  The drizzle turned into a steady downpour.

  “We’re never going to be able to spot them in this mess. They’ve most likely holed up somewhere.” He slapped the steering wheel, frustration stamped on his forehead.

  “Let’s get the dogs out. They can track anything, even in the rain.”

  “I’ll call it in.”

  While he did that, she answered her ringing phone. Slapping it to her ear, she stared out her window at the rain. “Hello? What? When?” She whirled back around to look at him.

  His gaze sharpened, and she knew he could see the worry on her face. “What is it?”

  “I’ll be right there.” She hung up and bit her lip.

  “What?” he insisted.

  “My mother.” Her voice shook. She cleared her throat. “She’s taken a turn for the worse. They can’t wake her up. She’s…”

  He stopped the car, then did a three-point turn. “I’ll take you back to the station to get your car. You go see about your mother and I’ll take care of the case—and Alonso. Call me as soon as you know something.”

  She hesitated, stared up at him like she wanted to say something.

  “What is it?”

  “Thank you, Joseph.”

  “For what?”

  “Just…” She shrugged. “Thanks.”

  Five minutes later, he pulled up beside her car and placed a hand on her arm. “I know you need to go, but…be thinking about what you want, Catelyn, okay? When all this is over, could we please sit down and have a major talk?” Intense brown eyes held her captive.

  What she wanted? Have a major talk?

  “What do you mean, Joseph? I want to solve this case. I want to find Kelly Franklin, I want…”

  His finger covered her lips and she froze. “I mean—” his throat bobbed, betraying his cool, seemingly unaffected attitude “—is there a possibility for there to be an ‘us’ again? Could you possibly want to explore these feelings that are still there between us?”

  Catelyn shut her mind against the instant rush of wonderful memories with this man, and instead, focused on the reason they’d split up.

  “You’re a cop.”

  His brown eyes glinted. She hadn’t denied she still had feelings for him and he’d picked up on that. “I’ll agree with that.”

  “Well, so am I. And I’m not giving that up.”

  “Did I ask you to?” Confusion flickered as he sat back to stare at her.

  “Yes, Joseph, you did.”

  The stunned look on his face floored her. Did he not realize? “I told you about my father and you started acting just like him.”

  Stunned, he countered, “How did you come up with that? You said he wanted your mother to stay home and be mom and a wife. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Everything!”

  How could anyone so smart be so dense?

  She hopped out of his car and into hers, cranked the engine and sped off.

  Women.

  Joseph drove back to his parents’ home with the vain hope that Alonso had come to his senses and returned there. The dogs would be here shortly to pick up the scent. Joseph would let them do their job while he did his.

  Parking in the drive, he shook his head, opened the door and dashed through the rain into the house. Having grown up in a household full of women, you’d think I would understand them by now, but I don’t, God, especially not Catelyn. What did I say that was so wrong? So I would prefer that she think about staying home instead of working. Is that so wrong?

  Guilt gnawed at him as he thought about the conversations that seemed to come in spurts. He’d never asked her to quit being cop.

  Not in so many words.

  But what did his actions say? Was he not saying something that he should put into words?

  But what? How could he reassure her that they could work everything out? What did she need to hear to put her fears to rest?

  Lost in thought, he intended to make his way to the back bedroom, the one across from his parents’ master bedroom, but his mother stepped out of the kitchen cutting off his path. “Is everything all right?” she signed.

  Not wanting to worry her, he signed back, “I think it will be. Nothing for you to be anxious about, okay?”

  She waved aside his words then planted her hands on ample hips before lifting them one more time to sign. “I may not be a big bad FBI agent, but I’m still a mother and I know when something’s wrong.” Narrowing her eyes, she signed, “If you don’t want to tell me, fine, but don’t try to tell me everything’s all right when your face, the tension in your shoulders and your heavy footsteps tell me another story.”

  “Mom, I’m sorry.” He tamped down his impatience to get moving. “No, everything’s not all right, but I don’t want to say anything right now. There, is that better?”

  “Much.” She stood on tiptoes while he bent at the waist. She pressed a kiss to his cheek then she reached up to pat it with a soft hand. “You need to shave. Your father and I are going out to eat with friends. Alonso’s game has been canceled due to the rain. You’re welcome to join us or eat the casserole in the fridge.”

  “I’ll take the casserole, thanks.” He backed toward his room, needing to get going.

  “I think we’re going to go see one of the late movies after we eat, so don’t worry about us if we’re not home until midnight or so, okay?”

  She headed back into the kitchen to grab her purse, and Joseph bolted for his room.

  Even as he kept an eye out for the K-9 unit, love for his mother filled him. He heard his dad’s footsteps heading in the direction of Joseph’s mom. All his life, his mo
ther had been a living example of the kind of woman Joseph wanted to marry.

  Without warning, Catelyn’s pretty features flashed into his mind. Ruthlessly, he shoved them away. Catelyn had made it clear she wasn’t interested in marrying a cop. And, too late, he’d discovered she wasn’t interested in being a stay-at-home wife and mother, which is the kind of woman he’d always pictured himself settling down with. The thought of marrying a career woman had never held any appeal for him. Call him old-fashioned, but that was just the way he was. And the thought of Catelyn being hurt or killed was just more than he could bear. His heart cramped at the thought. But he’d figured they’d work through it. Find a solution, a compromise that would make them both happy. However, before he could even present the idea to her, she’d refused to see him, have anything to do with him. So when he got the call from New York saying the FBI job was his if he wanted it, he’d taken it.

  Maybe he should have pushed harder to get her to talk to him, but…he’d been hurt, too. So, he’d left.

  Only now he had regrets. Lots of them. And he’d come to realize a future with Catelyn would be completely different than what he’d always pictured. She didn’t meet any of the expectations he’d mentally placed on his future spouse; add in Catelyn’s reserve about marrying another officer and he had hurdles in his path that he didn’t know if he could successfully leap over.

  And he wasn’t interested in a job change. Although, if it meant doing it for her…

  Was he willing to revamp everything he’d ever thought about when it came to marriage and family?

  He sighed and focused his attention back to the case. He simply had to put Catelyn and their relationship out of his mind until this case was over. So he turned his thoughts to his brother.

  He heard his parents leave. Two minutes later, the unit arrived. Grabbing Alonso’s pillow from his bed, he carried it downstairs to meet the handler, Christine Palmer and her K-9, Zorro.

  “Hey, Christine, how are you?”

  The petite redhead nodded at him. “Doing well, Joseph. Good to see you again.”

  “Yeah, you too. I just wish it wasn’t for this reason.” He held the pillow out to the German shepherd at her side. The dog took a good sniff and Christine put him to work.