Guardian Angel. Debra Webb
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her chest wouldn’t abate. She could not let the tension and panic gain so much ground so quickly. She hadn’t allowed that to happen in years; she wasn’t about to start now. Where was her objectivity? Focus, she ordered. Focus and stay that way.
“You had no reason to believe your daughter wasn’t perfectly safe in your backyard.” Ann tried again to reach past the blame Katherine Fowler had heaped onto her own shoulders. “The people who took your daughter are professionals. You have to understand that before we can move forward. This is an essential step, Katherine.” She used her first name for emphasis. “I need you to stop fixating on what you should have done and focus on what we can do.”
The neighborhood where the Fowler family resided was premiere. There was no reason at all to suspect trouble. The family’s feelings of security had been bought and paid for with top dollar. But no amount of money could erase the idea that if she had watched more closely, been more careful, her daughter would not be missing. Still, Ann had to try.
The confusion cleared from Katherine’s eyes and she looked directly into Ann’s. “I want you to do a press conference for me. Plead with him to help my daughter.” She shuddered visibly. “My husband won’t let me do it. And, quite honestly, I’m in no shape to get in front of a camera.” Hope glittered in her eyes for the first time. “But you can do it.”
Ann definitely hadn’t seen that one coming. “Do you realize how that will expose you and your family to every freak in the state? Maybe even the country?” This was not a sound idea.
“Couldn’t we have one of those hotlines?” Katherine straightened her back and lifted her chin ever so slightly in defiance of the paralyzing emotions glittering in her eyes. “There has to be a way to make this happen, and going to the media is the most efficient method I can think of.”
Ann wouldn’t argue that. She’d already considered that issuing a personal invitation would be the quickest route to getting this guy’s attention. The debate revolved around whether or not this so-called Guardian Angel would respond to the invitation. An attempt to summon him in this manner didn’t feel right. There were other means—the classifieds, online chat rooms.
“This is what I want,” Katherine urged. “Please say you’ll help me. There is no one else.”
Ann glanced at the French doors and the man pacing restlessly on the other side. Tragedy was already tearing this family apart. As much as Ann wanted to help, this was so not a good idea. But if summoning this man the world called the Guardian Angel was the point, she damn sure couldn’t immediately call to mind a more time-efficient way of reaching out to him. “Let me take some time to think about it,” Ann offered. “I’ll discuss the option with Agent Lewis.”
“And he’ll shoot it down,” Katherine rebutted. “I want this done. Today. Before it’s too late.” Tears welled in her eyes all over again. “Don’t let me down, Ms. Martin. Please.”
“I’ll do everything possible to get your daughter back,” Ann assured her as she stood. “I’ll be at the Hilton. You have my cell number.”
“You could make the six-o’clock news,” Katherine pressed as she pushed unsteadily to her feet. “We could have a response by morning.”
“I’ll call you at five,” Ann promised. “We’ll either be doing a press conference at six or I’ll have another option on the table for your consideration.”
That was the best she could do. She offered her hand, but Katherine ignored it. Instead she grabbed her and hugged her hard. “Please,” Katherine whispered. “You’re my only hope.”
The return drive to the city left Ann feeling damned helpless. As if she’d left something back at the Fowler home. Maybe a little piece of herself. She’d thought she had put these extreme anxiety reactions behind her a long time ago. But today had proven that she still had a good deal of work to do before the past was really behind her. Hell, maybe it never would be.
Agent Lewis wasn’t sure his SAC—special agent in charge—was going to be happy about the press-conference proposal. Except for the part about where they might lure the Guardian Angel into a trap. Apparently the Bureau wanted him almost as much as they wanted the people responsible for the Fear Factor abductions. Ann supposed that wasn’t so surprising considering a number of people were dead by his hand.
“What’s your take on the father?” She and Lewis hadn’t really talked about the father yet. The mother was the primary person of interest in the case at this point. But right now Ann needed to know just how much trouble this guy was going to give her. The man was really put out by the involvement of the Colby Agency—Ann in particular. In his opinion, her presence undermined the Bureau’s ability to get the job done.
Lewis considered her question a moment as he took the exit to Aris T. Allen Boulevard. “The man is definitely in a position to generate some unpleasant moments for you. He claims he knows of no one who would want to hurt his family like this. But, hey, you don’t get that high up the food chain without making some powerful enemies. We’re following that avenue as enthusiastically as any other.”
She doubted the latter, but that wasn’t her problem. Leaning her head back, she tried to relax. Speaking frankly with Lewis wasn’t a hardship. She had trusted him when she consulted for the Bureau. She trusted him now. “I’m not sure how I feel about this press conference.” It was not going to go over well with local law enforcement and certainly not with the Bureau.
Lewis shrugged. She took his brief pause as an excuse to study his chiseled profile. They had attempted the dating thing a few times, but work always got in the way. The story of her life.
“I think it could be an excellent strategy.”
That surprised her. “Really? I doubt your superiors will feel the same way.” That was an understatement if she’d ever made one.
Another of those careless shrugs lifted his navy-clad shoulder. He wore the nicer suits, the ones that couldn’t be bought right off the rack.
“A press conference might very well draw the Guardian Angel out of seclusion,” he submitted. “He might just decide to help. And there’s always the chance an announcement like this could scare the unknown subjects who took the girl. If they feel threatened, they might decide Caroline Fowler is too much of a liability to proceed. Anything’s possible, Ann.” He shot her a sidelong glance. “If you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it. We’re pretty damned desperate at this point.”
Ann’s tension eased fractionally at his forthrightness and because he didn’t take an immediate stand against the notion of a press conference. Maybe the press conference wasn’t such a bad idea. She could handle it. All she had to do was take this one step at a time and keep that damned looming panic at bay.
Lewis’s cell buzzed.
Ann didn’t have to hear the other side of the conversation to know it wasn’t an enjoyable one. The term dressing-down came instantly to mind. With a firm “yes, sir,” Lewis ended the call.
“Let me guess,” Ann offered. “They’ve heard I’m in town and someone isn’t happy.”
He flashed her a smile that was far more patient than it was amused. “Bingo.”
As Victoria had said, this wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. The Bureau wouldn’t want her involved in any aspect of their investigation. Certainly not in the public eye amidst all the negativity related to law enforcement’s failure to solve a single one of the Fear Factor cases. Not to mention that the Bureau would remember well the last case with which she’d been involved—not one of the associated memories would be pleasant.
“We have a command performance,” Lewis informed her, “with the director.”
Well, well, it sure hadn’t taken Katherine Fowler’s husband long to get the ball rolling. When he’d said he didn’t like this, he’d really meant it.
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