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The teenager in the brightly painted kiosk beside the gate gave us a suspicious look, which was understandable, seeing as we were the only visitors without a child in tow. At times like this, I missed my FBI credentials.
“Here are your maps. The Shetland pony show takes place at ten, twelve, and two o’clock. Museum tours are at eleven and three. Please don’t feed the geese if you want to keep your fingers.” She delivered the speech in a monotone. “Do you need any tokens?”
“Tokens?”
“To exchange for animal feed or pony rides.”
“No, thanks.”
“Enjoy your day at Ambling Acres.”
No visible cameras. I considered questioning the gate attendant but decided it could wait. Finding Chas’s phone, and hopefully Chas herself, took priority. And the cell hadn’t been tossed, I realised. Now that I could zoom in and focus properly on my screen, I saw it was moving slowly around. Since we arrived, it had travelled from—I consulted the map—the duck pond to the pot-bellied pig pen.
I gripped Hawk’s hand as we navigated across the farm. Chas was a sweet kid despite her parents, and I desperately wanted her to be okay.
“That’s her?” Hawk whispered, and I glanced up from the screen.
From the back, it sure looked like my niece. The height, build, and hair colour all matched, and she’d worn that pink-and-yellow sweater to dinner on Thursday.
“I’m almost certain it is.”
But who was the male with her? For a moment, he turned his head, and I saw him in profile, but that was no help. I didn’t recognise him from the wedding, or from any of the family events I’d reluctantly attended over the years. Yet she was holding his hand as they peered over the wall into the pig pen, and she didn’t appear to be in distress.
“Any ideas on the guy?” Hawk asked.
“Not a one.” But I did know that he’d taken my niece without the permission or knowledge of her parents, and that made him a criminal. “We need to get her away from him.”
“I’ll keep him occupied while you liberate her.”
“We can’t have any blood, okay? Not at a children’s farm.”
“Relax. I can do subtle.”
“Are you sure? Kellan’s jaw would disagree.”
Hawk just flashed me a smile and tucked an arm around my shoulders, steering me in the direction of our targets. Did the man have a weapon? I couldn’t see any bulges under his clothing, but I still needed to get Chas out of range. Hawk could handle himself; I knew that much.
We walked right up behind them, and in the blink of an eye, Hawk twisted the man’s free arm up behind his back and pushed him forward, trapping him against the wall. He grunted in pain, and I spun Chas toward me.
“It’s all right, sweetie. We’re here to take you back to your mom and dad.”
Her reaction wasn’t quite what I’d been expecting. Chas shoved me away and flung her arms around the man as best she could, then kicked Hawk with one sneaker-clad foot.
“Don’t hurt Uncle Eddie!”
Uncle Eddie? What the hell? Chas didn’t have an Uncle Eddie. She didn’t have an uncle at all. I didn’t have a brother, and Buckley was an only child, thank goodness for small mercies.
“Get off me!” The man tried to wriggle free, but Hawk didn’t give an inch.
“Who are you?” I demanded. “Why have you brought my niece here?”
“Your niece?” His face was still twisted in agony, but I saw a glimmer of something else in his eyes as well. Recognition? “You’re Aggie, right? The middle sister?”
How did he know that?
“It’s Agatha, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“Get this thug off me.”
