"Of course, he didn't. I mean, my God, how could anyone think he would kidnap a child—and Grace's best friend at that?" Angry tears spilled out of her eyes. "He's a good man. He works too much, but that's his only fault."
He didn't think that was Kyle's only fault by a long shot, but he kept that thought to himself. "It's going to be okay, Josie. Don't cry. I'll talk to Kyle. I'll let him know that Bree might be heading his way."
"I didn't say where he worked."
"She's FBI. She can probably find him in less than two seconds."
"And she probably still has a grudge against me for what I did to her. Maybe I was wrong to tell you to stay away from her. Maybe she needs to see us as friends again."
"No. You were right. We should both stay away from her. Hopefully, Hayley will be found soon, and Bree will be gone from our lives."
"And we'll get back to normal," Josie said, meeting his gaze.
"Normal," he agreed, not even sure what that was.
*
Bree felt even more tightly wound after seeing Nathan and Josie again. She'd thought she wouldn’t run into anyone from her past if she stayed away from the old neighborhoods, but that had been a foolish idea. No one stayed in one place. She'd moved on, and so had they.
Josie was married to a successful man. She had a beautiful home, a sweet daughter, and a brother who still watched out for her. Nathan had also made himself into the man he'd always wanted to be. And she'd turned her life around, too.
It was all good, so why did it feel like everything was about to crash?
Shaking her head, she called for a car and while she was waiting for her ride, she punched in Dan's number.
"Fagan," he said crisply.
"It's me."
"How's it going in Chicago?"
"The usual full-court press—all-hands-on deck. I may have discovered a small clue. The young witness thought she saw a replica of the Cubs World Series ring on the kidnapper's hand."
"That might be more than a little clue."
"Apparently over a thousand rings were handed out, but it's something. I'll get the team looking for those rings as soon as I get into the office."
"The girl in Philly said the man didn't wear any rings. That's different."
"I know. And I'm also thinking that anyone wearing a Cubs ring would probably be from Chicago. The other three kidnappings were states away. I feel like something is off, Dan."
"He's on the move. He's changing up the game."
"Yes. I got another threatening call, too."
"What was said this time?"
"He told me he and I were going to get close, that he wanted a worthy competitor. He added that he likes it better when I wear my hair down, implying that he had eyes on me. Did Oscar ever turn up anything on the first call to my phone?"
"Unfortunately, no. Whoever is calling you knows what he's doing."
"It's weird that he hasn't mentioned Hayley specifically. Why wait? If he's ready to play the game, why not let me know the stakes—remind me that a little girl's life is in jeopardy?"
"Good questions. I wish I had some answers."
"So do I."
"Have you read the Chicago team in on the calls?"
"I mentioned the first one when I got in this morning. I haven't been back to the office since the second call came in."
"They definitely need the information, Bree."
"And I intend to share it, but I have to say, Dan, that while I know ASAIC Hobbs asked for my help, the rest of the team has been polite, but they don't seem excited to have me around. And there's one woman on the team that I went to Quantico with, who is definitely not a fan of mine."
"Who's that?"
"Agent Tracy Cox."
"I don't know her. Why doesn't she like you?"
"She was an outsider at the academy. She didn't like that I got closer to people than she could. I don't think working with her now is going to be a picnic. She barely said hello to me when I arrived, and I could feel her sharp, irritated glance on me throughout my report."
"Well, do your best. The team may be territorial, but they still want to find that kid."
"I know. I just don't have patience for politics and territories in situations like this. Anyway, I'm going to keep doing what I do, and hopefully we'll get a break."
"Keep me posted, and I'll have Oscar check your phone again, see if we get lucky tracing the second call."
"It's going to take more than luck."
*
On her way downtown, Bree looked up information on Kyle Roberts. His employer, Skye Developments, took up the entire thirty-ninth floor of a downtown skyscraper that the company had built ten years earlier and was one of Chicago's most impressive buildings.
Kyle was vice president of sales, only a few rungs down on the corporate ladder from Donovan Skye, who had founded the company forty years earlier and his sons, Lawrence and James Skye. The Skyes were one of Chicago's most prominent and wealthiest families.
At age thirty-eight, Kyle Roberts had a bright future ahead of him, and kidnapping his nine-year-old daughter's friend seemed about as farfetched an idea as any she could possibly have. But she still needed to talk to him. She'd been at her job long enough to know not to discount anyone as a suspect.
She wondered where Josie had met Kyle, how the street junkie kid had ended up with a graduate of Yale and a now very successful businessman. Kyle was also ten years older than Josie, and Grace was nine. She frowned, doing the math in her head. Josie was a year younger than her, making her twenty-eight now, so she must have been nineteen when she had Grace. Kyle would have been twenty-nine at the time. She couldn't imagine that he and Josie had run in the same circles then, unless Kyle had a past, too.
Did that change anything? Probably not. She needed to rein in her speculation and focus on the facts. With that thought in mind, she got out of her cab, and headed upstairs.
Kyle had an administrative assistant guarding his door, a red-haired woman dressed in a black sheath dress. She promptly told Bree that Mr. Roberts was on a call and couldn't be disturbed.
At the flash of Bree's badge, and the mention that a missing child's life was at stake, the admin reluctantly interrupted her boss and then waved her inside.
When she entered the room, she was impressed with the opulent furnishings, the luxuriously thick carpet under her feet, and the jaw-dropping view from Kyle's floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over Lake Michigan.
Kyle Roberts was just as impressive as his office. He was a handsome man, with dark-blond hair and blue eyes dressed in an expensive gray suit and navy-blue patterned silk tie. He didn't look like a man who ever got his hands dirty, which also made him less likely to be the man who had kidnapped Hayley Jansen the night before. The only ring he wore was a narrow gold wedding band.
Kyle gave her a wary, polite smile. "My assistant said you're here about Hayley Jansen's disappearance. I'm not sure what I can tell you." He motioned for her to take the chair in front of his massive desk. "But, of course, I'm happy to help."
"I just spoke with Grace and your wife. Josie mentioned that you weren't able to attend the concert last night."
"No, I had a lot of work to do. I couldn't get away."
"You were working here in your office?"
"Yes."
"Was anyone else here?"
"There were other people in the company working late. Is this about my ring? Josie said that Grace remembered the kidnapper wearing a ring like the replica World Series Cubs ring that I received."
"I did want to talk to you about that. Do you have the ring?"
"It's at home, in my dresser. I can assure you that I did not kidnap Hayley Jansen."
Kyle had barely finished speaking when the door to his office flew open, and Nathan strode in, followed by the admin, who gave Kyle an apologetic look.
"I told him you were tied up," the admin said.
"It's fine. Shut the door on your way out," Kyle replied, frowning at his brother-in-law. "What are you doing here, Nathan?"
"Don't tell her anything, Kyle." Nathan shot her a dark look.
She was surprised that Nathan was treating her with such hostility, but she wasn't going to back down from doing her job just because he was worried she might shake up his sister's perfect life.