Snatched, page 10
Without a chance to even finish his coffee, Blayze followed Rebecca towards her car. As soon as they set off, he finally managed to ask what they had found.
“Garret said to us that in his statement, he had said that he had been off work that day, and so he had been ruled out. Yes, he was meant to be off work that day, but as the team found out, he had actually been brought in to work that afternoon because of someone calling in sick. The rota was never updated and therefore, when we had checked out his story, his statement at the time matched the work rota.”
“How did you find this out?”
“The team called every member of staff that was on the rota at the time of Maddix’s disappearance last night to get some more background information, and it just so happened that the staff member who had called in sick that day still had the text messages on his phone, asking Garret to cover for him.”
“So, not only was he there when Maddix was taken, but he has now given false statements twice. That’s grounds for an arrest, anyway.”
“Exactly.”
“Do we have any evidence around Maddix?”
“Not yet, but now we can search his place, his office lockers... everywhere he has been, I want searched.”
They raced down the street with lights flashing and sirens ablaze; the local police department had joined them, ready to help the search. Some officers had already been deployed to Garret’s workplace with a warrant, and they had sent others to search his family home, too. As Rebecca pulled up outside his home, so had other police cars. Soon, officers were pointing their weapons at every part of the house. There was nowhere to escape.
“Garret Sparrowhawk. This is the FBI. Come out with your hands up,” Rebecca shouted through her megaphone. “We have you surrounded. Come out now, or we will be forced to come in.”
Just as she finished speaking, the front door of the house opened and Garret, standing in his pajamas with his hands over his head, shouted back. “This is harassment! You have the wrong guy. I want my lawyer!”
Police rushed in and had him in handcuffs within seconds, leading him on his feet towards Blayze and Rebecca.
“Get him out of here,” Rebecca said as they passed by.
Blayze just watched the whole thing pan out in front of him, noticing how much Rebecca had put in to get her man. Garret didn’t seem to be a threat and didn’t resist so they could have gone to his house alone, but the street was full of cars with their flashing lights. She was making a scene. He still had his reservations over whether this really was her man, but only time would tell.
“I want this place searched from top to bottom. Tear it apart if you need to!” Rebecca ordered to the officers standing by.
They both got back into the car, for it was time to question Garret again. Not long after they had set off back towards the FBI headquarters, Blayze heard a news bulletin on the radio.
“Turn this up, will you?” he asked.
Rebecca turned the knob on the radio, and Blayze listened carefully.
“A local man, and regular staff member at various theme parks here in Orlando, named Garret Sparrowhawk, has just been arrested in connection with the kidnappings of seven children and the attempted kidnapping of another child over the past four years.”
Blayze couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How the hell did they get this information so quickly?” Rebecca just shrugged her shoulders and kept driving. “You didn’t, did you?” he asked, but Rebecca didn’t respond.
They were silent for the rest of the journey. Blayze knew there and then that Rebecca had leaked the arrest to the press, but he had no proof. They still had a job to do, and that was to find evidence that Garret was their man.
THE ELEVATOR DOORS opened, and as soon as Blayze walked out, all he heard was, “You two! Get in here, now.” Assistant Director Stone had been in her office awaiting their return. They both headed straight there.
“Shut the door behind you!” Stone ordered.
“What’s the matter?” Blayze asked.
“I’ve had Senator Baily on the phone all morning, demanding that all the theme parks that you have closed down be reopened immediately.”
“What’s it got to do with him? Doesn’t he know that we have missing children and that our first concern is to find them, as well as find whoever is responsible?”
“Well, now we have our man,” Rebecca added.
“You think?” Blayze gave Rebecca a doubtful look.
“You either have him or you don’t. Which is it?” Stone demanded.
Rebecca took a seat opposite Stone. “I’m certain it’s him. Everything we have points towards him. We just need to find where he has hold of the children.”
Blayze was still standing at the back of the room, leaning against the door, shaking his head.
“What is it, Blayze?” Stone asked, noticing his demeanor.
“I don’t know yet. I can’t put my finger on it, but something isn’t making sense. Why has Senator Baily called, anyway? What’s his interest in the parks?”
“He has family connections with the owners of some of the parks, I believe. They must have been in touch with him, hence the rant he gave me earlier. Since somehow the news is out already, the park owners are saying they are now safe to reopen their doors to the public. I couldn’t argue with him, so I agreed that they could reopen as soon as this afternoon. That gives you both just three hours to search them for any clues before the public are allowed back in.”
Blayze turned and opened the door. “No time to waste then, have we?”
“Let’s just hope you’ve got the right man,” Stone began as Blayze and Rebecca made their way out of her office. “If not, heads will roll.”
Rebecca closed the door behind her as she left. “Hey, listen!” she shouted at Blayze.
“No, you listen,” Blayze turned and whispered in her face so that only she could hear. “By leaking this to the press, not only have you shortened our time frame to find these children, but you’ve given hope to all the families, and God forbid, given the real kidnapper another chance to take someone else.” Blayze turned and walked away.
“He is our man. I know it!” she called to the back of Blayze’s head. “Where are you off to?”
“Back to the parks. Time is running out.”
INTRIGUED BY WHY SENATOR Baily had been in touch, and knowing that one family owned quite a few of the parks in the area, Blayze headed back to Snow White’s Castle in Apopka. That was one park that was due to reopen their doors later that afternoon, and Blayze knew he didn’t have long to find some answers.
As he arrived and pressed the doorbell, the same doorman greeted him. This was a relief, as he was just the man Blayze wanted some answers from.
“Hello again,” said the old man. “Come on back in.”
Blayze walked in, noticing the silence.
“There’s just me here right now. The staff are not due back until we can reopen later, which I’m sure you’re aware of.”
“Yes, I know, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience. We had to close every park in certain areas to eliminate them from our investigation.”
“Well, I hope everything is cleared up now.”
“That’s why I’m here, really. Is there somewhere we could go for a chat?”
The old man looked confused as to what Blayze wanted with him, but agreed and led Blayze through a door which said ‘Staff Only’. As they entered, Blayze realized that this was the old man’s quarters he had mentioned on his last visit. He had taken him into his living room, which looked more like a library to Blayze as the walls were covered with shelves of books.
“Please take a seat. Would you like something to drink? I’ve just made a pot of tea.”
“I’m good, but thank you for asking. I just want to know a bit more about the park’s owners, the Sloan-Ironwoods, and what their connection with Senator Baily is.” Blayze sat forward in his chair as he watched the old man sip some of his tea, before sitting back in his.
“Well,” he started, “the families are related. Cousins, I think it is. The Ironwood family, who owned just two parks about twenty years ago, married into the Sloan family, which the Senator is from. It’s Mrs Sloan-Ironwood who is related to Senator Baily.”
“That makes sense now.”
“What do you mean?” the man asked inquisitively.
“Well. The only reason all the parks are reopening is that Senator Baily demanded them to be, after being asked by park owners who you have now told me are close family members.”
“Yes. The Ironwood family donated hugely to the Senator’s election many years ago, hence the marriage into the family.”
“So there are money ties too in all of this?”
“Aren’t there always? With quite a few of their parks closed right now, they are losing thousands of dollars every day, which they won’t be happy about.”
Blayze sat back in his chair, processing everything he had been told. After a few moments, he asked, “Is there anything else about the family you haven’t said?”
The old man took another sip of his tea. “I know little more, to be honest. We hardly see Mr and Mrs Sloan-Ironwood these days, and as for the Senator, I don’t think I’ve ever met him.”
Blayze stood, and briefly after, the old man did too. “Thank you so much for your time,” Blayze said, holding out his hand.
The old man reciprocated. “It’s my pleasure. Nice to have some company for a bit. I don’t get many visitors just wanting a chat. You are welcome here anytime.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Blayze walked out of the old man’s quarters and into the reception area. “I will let you get back to work, as you will be opening soon. Thank you once again.”
He opened the front door and let himself out. With a brief look over his shoulder, he noticed the old man standing at the door, waving. He threw a quick wave back and headed for the car, all the time thinking about how much the old man reminded him of his late grandpa, who had died six years ago. He would also just sit by the fire, sipping a glass of whiskey —— not tea —— and chat for hours on end. With that memory, a smile came to Blayze’s face as he sat in his car, figuring out what to do next.
AFTER DRIVING AROUND for almost an hour and a half, passing some parks that had been closed, and some that were still open, Blayze headed back to the FBI headquarters. He wanted to see how Rebecca was getting on with interrogating her suspect.
Nipping into the side room, next to the interview room, Blayze watched Rebecca hammering her questions at Garret. Blayze noticed instantly that her biggest problem, and frustration, was the fact Garret just replied with ‘No comment’ to everything she asked. The only evidence she was going on was the fact that he had been at The Ice Kingdom three years ago, and had lied about being there when Maddix was snatched.
Blayze could see that Rebecca was becoming ever more irritated with each ‘No comment’ reply, so he banged on the window to get her attention. Without seeing if she had responded to him, he exited the room to wait for her in the corridor.
As Rebecca closed the door to the interview room, she turned to Blayze. “He’s not saying shit. His lawyer has told him to say nothing until we can produce more evidence.”
“And have you got any yet?”
“The team is still trying to find me some.”
“If they don’t come up with anything soon, all you can charge him with is giving a false statement to the FBI. Maybe the thought of being locked up for a couple of years might just give him a nudge to talk to you.”
“Anything is worth a shot right now,” she replied. She turned to head back to her interrogation.
“Good luck,” Blayze added as the door closed.
After grabbing himself a cup of coffee and a few stale cookies, which seemed to have been opened and left on the counter for at least a day, he headed to the situation room. As he entered, the rest of the team just looked up at him and then went straight back to what they had been tasked with doing. Dunking his stale cookie into his coffee, just to make them taste slightly better, he headed to the map on the wall. He looked all over it, taking in every area where there were open parks.
“Does anyone know where Senator Baily is from?” he asked.
Agent Shannon looked up. “Texas, I think.”
Blayze went over to the nearest computer and typed in ‘Senator Baily, Texas’ to see what results would come up. All it showed was that he was from Texas. The rest of the search results were about his later life as a Senator; nothing about his past. That was what Blayze was searching for.
Agent Wright walked across the room to talk to him quietly. “Blayze, you got a sec?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“We’re not finding anything to link Garret to the other parks, let alone to the children.”
“Have you told Agent Scott yet?”
“Not yet. She’s hardly been out of the interview since she came back. What should we do? Keep searching? Or tell her now?”
Agents Shannon and Davis had stopped what they were doing now too, looking at Blayze for answers. He glanced at them, each in turn. He could tell that they had done everything they could, yet the thought of Rebecca’s wrath made them not want to stop.
“Listen, guys, I’ll break the news to her and while I do, do me a favor. Pull up everything you can on the Sloan-Ironwood family and Senator Baily.”
“Will do, and thanks,” Agent Wright responded, heading back to her seat.
Blayze made his way from the situation room down the hall towards the interview rooms. He heard his name being shouted from behind. It was Assistant Director Stone’s voice. He stopped and paused for a moment and took a deep breath as he had wanted to let Rebecca know she was wasting her time.
“Blayze!” she shouted again.
He spun around as he noticed the urgency in her tone.
“There’s been another one.”
Chapter 12
After grabbing Rebecca from the interview room, and getting the location of the missing child, Blayze was now sitting in her car speeding north to Apopka, leading a convoy of FBI agents following in vehicles behind. Blayze was kicking himself. Not only were they heading back to an area he had been driving through only a few hours earlier, but they were on their way to the same park where he had just been. Snow White’s Castle.
Blayze was on the phone to a member of staff from the park who had answered. “Yes, that’s correct. No one is allowed in or out of the building until we have questioned them. Is that clear?” After a brief pause, awaiting an answer, Blayze continued. “We will be with you shortly.”
After hanging up, he placed his phone on his lap. “I can’t believe it. I was just there. If I’d stayed that bit longer, asked more questions, this poor girl would still be with her family.” He rubbed his hands over his head.
“It’s not your fault. You can’t think like that. This could have happened anywhere.”
With more anger in his voice, Blayze responded, “If Stone had just had a fucking backbone and kept the parks closed, this would never have happened.”
Tensions were high, and the speed at which they were traveling just added to them.
“Yes, I should have stayed there longer,” Blayze began, turning his attention from looking out of the window, to looking right at Rebecca, “but you have as much to blame for this girl’s disappearance as the rest of them.”
“What the hell!” she replied, not looking at him as she was too busy weaving in and out of traffic.
“You caught the wrong man, told the press, and aided in the park’s reopenings. It’s your fault too.”
“Now listen here, Blayze. Don’t start pointing the finger just yet. I know you’re upset, and you have a lot on your plate, but we have to focus and be a team. We can’t do that if you are blaming everyone else.”
Blayze didn’t reply. He knew she was right. He sat back in his seat and watched on as cars and people seem to whiz by, Rebecca’s foot pushed flat on the gas.
As soon as they arrived, Blayze leaped out of the car and headed straight to the front door, while Rebecca went to speak to the many officers who had also shown up. Not bothering to ring the doorbell this time, Blayze entered the building. This time, though, he was not met by the old man. A man and a woman were standing in the reception area.
“Special Agent Carlson,” Blayze said, flashing his badge. “And you are?”
“The owners of Snow White’s Castle,” the man replied. “Mr and Mrs Sloan-Ironwood.”
Blayze could feel his blood boil. The two people he blamed the most for getting the parks reopened were now standing right in front of him.
Mr Sloan-Ironwood broke the silence. “We have done as you asked and no one has come or gone since we discovered that the little girl was missing.”
“And why are you both here, may I ask?”
Mrs Sloan-Ironwood took her husband’s arm. “My husband and I just wanted to check everything was okay after you closed us down. With this being our newest addition to the empire, we want to make sure there are no problems.”
“Money first, safety second.” Blayze rolled his eyes.
“Excuse me, Agent Carlson, but safety has always been top of our list,” Mr Sloan-Ironwood stated. “How were we to know that something like this would happen here today? We thought you had arrested somebody.”
“Questioning a suspect is not closure on a case. But by rushing to get your parks reopened, you gave the perpetrator another chance to take another child.”
“I will not stand here and listen to you blame us for running a business,” Mrs Sloan-Ironwood said. “Just do your job and find the missing girl.” Releasing her arm from her husband’s, she reached into her bag for her phone. “That’s if you’ve got a job to go to after I’ve had words.”
“Please call your cousin, and let him know that I want to question him later regarding his involvement, too,” Blayze said, watching the couple walk away in haste.
