Free Daddy Devastating by Delores Fossen Page B

of the crowd as an agent, which was probably why he was one.
    Silas was around six feet tall and heavily muscled, as if he’d once played football. He was younger that Russ, probably by at least five years, and he wore khakis and a pale blue shirt. Unlike Russ, who still wore jeans and a black T-shirt. His rough haircut and attire was probably the reason he’d wanted her to pretend to be friends with the Richardsons.
    “I ordered all of us coffee,” Tracy said, her voice shaking.
    Everyone sat, but Russ’s gaze was firing everywhere. He was keeping watch.
    “You said you had information about who might have taken your son?” Russ prompted. He kept his voice low, and held the coffee mug in front of his mouth.
    “We think our nanny, Marita Gomez, might have been involved,” Tracy said.
    Russ exchanged glances with Silas. “But we checked on Ms. Gomez and cleared her as a suspect. Yes, she was with your son when he was taken, but she was also clubbed on the head and had defensive wounds. It seems to us that Marita Gomez did everything within her power to stop your son from being taken.”
    Aaron shook his head. “Tracy found a note.”
    Tracy reached into her purse and produced the folded piece of paper. “It’s not an actual note. I went through Marita’s room and saw this pad of paper on the desk, and I thumbed through it. I didn’t see any writing, but I saw these indentations on one of the last pages of paper, so I used a pencil to rub across it.”
    Russ unfolded the paper, and Julia glanced over and saw the numbers.
    “It’s a phone number,” Aaron explained. “But it’s probably for one of those prepaid cells that can’t be traced.”
    “How do you know that?” Russ asked.
    “Because I tried to call it, and when no one answered, I phoned directory assistance. They said the account didn’t have any minutes remaining, so it was no longer active. Now, why would Marita have been calling someone with a prepaid phone?”
    Julia could think of one reason—maybe the nanny was phoning a friend who just happened to have that type of cell service.
    “If you thought this was important,” Russ said, “you should have turned it in to the FBI office near your home in Houston.”
    “We couldn’t. I had to see you, to show you.” Tracy’s voice was still a whisper, but the low tone couldn’t conceal the emotion.
    “Tracy.” Julia reached across the table and placed her hand on the woman’s. “It’ll be okay. They’ll find your son.”
    Tracy stiffened, probably because she didn’t care for the intimate gesture offered to her by a stranger, but she finally nodded. “Silas said it could all be over soon. I pray he’s right.”
    From the corner of her eye, Julia saw Russ scowl. Like her, he was probably wondering what else Silas had told them that he shouldn’t have.
    “Here’s what I need you to do.” Russ set down his coffee cup and directed his comments to the Richardsons. “I need you to go home and wait.”
    “You’re not helping by being here,” Silas added. “In fact, you could jeopardize the plan for us to rescue your son.”
    Tracy gasped, and tears instantly sprang to her eyes. Beside her, her husband didn’t make a move to comfort, her as Julia had done.
    “We can put up more money,” Aaron told Russ. “When you meet with the buyer, offer him two million.”
    “Three,” Tracy insisted. “Or more. Offer him whatever he wants. I just want Matthew back safely with me.”
    Aaron didn’t immediately jump to agree to that, but he finally nodded. “Offer them whatever’s necessary.”
    “Money might not be an issue if the seller loses trust in me,” Russ pointed out. “So, finish your coffee, hug Julia goodbye, and then leave. If anyone asks, you were in town on business and dropped by the hotel to say a quick hello to an old friend. That’s it.”
    Aaron gulped down the coffee and shook his head. “I knew we shouldn’t have come. I told Tracy, but she wouldn’t