Snatched, page 18
“Yes, they did,” Agent Shannon replied.
“Sugar Land,” Rebecca asked.
“Bang on.”
“Was there an album for this year?” Blayze asked.
“There is a partial one,” Agent Davis responded, “but not all of the pictures are in yet. We are missing the ninth group, and not all of the forest pictures have been added. I have tried to run an image search for the pictures we do have, but it looks like he may have taken them himself, as I cannot find them online anywhere.”
“We have him for the kidnapping of twenty-six children and the attempted kidnapping of another two. He’s not going anywhere,” Rebecca said, walking over to Blayze.
“If we don’t find these kids soon, they will die of starvation, potentially locked up all alone. I’m not having that.” Blayze headed for the door.
“Hold up a minute,” Agent Wright interjected. “You’re not gonna believe this.”
“What is it?” Blayze asked, turning back around.
“Come and see for yourself.”
Chapter 23
After showing Assistant Director Stone what Agent Wright had discovered, Blayze had wanted to confirm it. He had moved Daniel into a different room for questioning; one that had a window looking into the main office. Anyone could see in, but more importantly, Daniel could see out. Blayze was sitting outside the room with a coffee, watching Rebecca question him again and again about the missing children, when Stone shouted from her office.
“He’s on his way up now.”
“Show time,” Blayze replied. He stayed exactly where he was. The elevator doors opened and his guest arrived. In the distance, he heard Stone say, “Right this way, sir,” then they made small talk until they reached him. But Blayze didn’t move to greet his guest. He just stayed focused on Daniel.
“What the hell have I been brought here for?” their guest demanded. There was a slight pause as realization hit. “Why is he in that room?”
“So, Senator Baily,” Blayze asked, “you can confirm that it is your son sitting in that room right now, is that correct?”
Silence came from the senator.
“Well?” Blayze asked again.
“Fine. Yes, it is. Why is he in there being questioned? What is this all about? I demand answers right away!”
Blayze placed his coffee on the table and stood up. He walked towards the window to get Daniel’s attention and, in doing so, stepped to one side, revealing the senator. Daniel shot out of his seat and backed himself against the wall, like he had seen a ghost. Rebecca quickly got out of her chair to close the blinds from the inside. Blayze turned back around. “It seems he recognizes you, too.”
“And so he should. I’m his father,” the senator muttered angrily.
“Secret father, though, yes. Can you confirm his name for us?”
“Darrel. Darrel Heist. Can we talk somewhere more private?”
“Why not use my office?” Stone suggested.
The senator stormed ahead, and Blayze followed, passing Assistant Director Stone. “Fingerprints don’t lie,” Blayze stated.
“No, they do not.”
The three of them made their way into her office, and Blayze closed the door behind him.
“So tell me. What’s this all about?” the senator demanded.
“Darrel, or Daniel, as he’s known to us, was caught kidnapping a child at a theme park earlier this evening.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? And who is Daniel?”
“Well, he seems to go by Daniel Hollow, here in Orlando. That is what his fake driver’s license says. And his bills and banking statements. Yet Daniel Hollow doesn’t seem to exist before 2017. Why would he change his name?” Blayze perched himself on the edge of Stone’s desk, facing the senator, who was leaning forward in his chair, wondering what was going on.
“I don’t know. He was in Texas with his mom, I thought. I know he’s had his difficulties, but we agreed that he had to be kept out of the public eye and that no one was to know about him.”
“Well, your cousin didn’t see it that way. She has been giving Darrel various jobs over the years to keep him close by. Did you know about that?”
“I didn’t until a few years ago when they asked me to come and look at their newest park, here in Orlando. I spotted Darrel in the distance, helping with the renovations. Then we had a fight over why they had hired him.” The senator shook his head. “Hang on a minute. You said he’s been arrested for kidnapping a child.”
“Yes, that is correct. And we believe that there have been more in the past. Darrel’s fingerprints were in our system and came up with a match when we took what we thought were Daniel’s.”
“How many are we talking about?”
“Over the past four holiday periods, including this year, he has kidnapped, and tried to kidnap, ten children.”
The senator sat back in the chair with a look of disbelief on his face. “This can’t be real.”
“There would have only been nine, but one got away.”
“What do you mean, only nine? I don’t understand.”
“Senator, this is not the first time this has happened. Do you remember when the police questioned Darrel in the past?”
“That was all a misunderstanding. He should never have been taken in for questioning.”
“Actually, Senator, what you did by intervening was aid him to continue,” Stone added.
“Continue with what? You are not putting the blame on me here, I hope.” Senator Baily stood up, anger on his face.
“Do the names Noah, Carmen, Colton, Boyd, Brook, Jocelyn, Sophia, Kris and Brandi mean anything to you?” Blayze asked.
“No,” he replied quickly. “Why would they?” He began to pace the room.
“We don’t know yet. We found these names in a book in Daniel’s —— sorry —— Darrel’s apartment. They were written repeatedly.”
“No. I can’t help you there.”
“If you wouldn’t mind hanging around a little longer, I need to speak to Darrel,” Blayze said, walking towards the office door.
Still pacing the office, the senator looked over to Blayze and huffed. “If I must.”
“SO, DANIEL, OR CAN I call you Darrel?” Blayze asked as he entered the interview room. “That is, in fact, your real name, is it not?”
Darrel glanced at his attorney, then back at Blayze. “Whatever.”
“Did you recognize that man you just saw me talking to a few minutes ago?”
“Yeah. That’s Senator Baily.”
“Don’t you mean, Dad?”
“Don’t call him that. He’s no father to me.”
“Why did you back away when you saw him? Daddy issues, is it?” Blayze was pushing for Darrel to break. “Did Daddy do something?”
“He made me this way. I don’t want him near me.”
“What did he do?”
Darrel lowered his head and started shaking it. His legs were twitching. Blayze knew he was onto something and kept pushing.
“Does it involve Noah, Carmen, Colton, Boyd, Brook, Jocelyn, Sophia, Kris and Brandi, by any chance?”
“Don’t say their names. How dare you say their names!” He smashed his hands on the table. “You have no right.”
“Whoa, calm down, Darrel,” Blayze said, holding his hands up. “We just want the truth. By the way, we have found the nine bodies you left in the woods in Sugar Land. And we’re searching for the other nine in Garland as we speak, thanks to your picture collection.”
“They just weren’t them.”
“Who?”
“My friends.” Darrel rubbed his hands all over his face and body. He then began tapping on the table with his fingers, while his chair squeaked with the shuffling of his feet.
“What did you do, Darrel?”
“It’s not what I did, it’s what he did. He did this, not me!”
“I think you will find, Darrel, that you are the one who kidnapped those poor innocent children and then killed them, burying them in the forest years later.”
“He started it, not me. It’s always been him.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Him, out there.” Darrel pointed to the window. “That sick, evil man.”
“What did he do, Darrel?”
“I was his little secret, and so were they.”
“Are you talking about Noah, Carmen——” Blayze was interrupted by a slamming on the table.
“I told you not to say their names!” Darrel screamed.
“Where are your friends, Darrel?”
Darrel started rapidly tapping on the side of his head. “They are in here. Always in here.”
“Are they still alive?”
“What do you think?”
“Did you kill them?”
“No. He did.”
A knock came on the door and Agent Wright popped her head in. “Blayze, have you got a second? It’s important.”
Blayze stood up and headed to the door. He looked back at Darrel, who was now rocking in his chair. “I’ll be back in a moment.” He closed the door behind him and turned to Agent Wright. “What is it?”
“We searched for those names in the book you found and we think we have got something. We had no luck in missing persons, but we found death certificates for children with those names from 1994 to 1997 in Texas.”
“Does it say the cause of death?”
“It has them all down as suicide.”
“Thanks.” Blayze headed straight back into the interview room. He sat down opposite Darrel and placed his hands calmly on the table. “I’m sorry for your loss, Darrel. It must have been hard watching your friends kill themselves over the years, not being able to stop them.”
“It was his fault. I need to protect them from him.”
“They are gone, Darrel. They died years ago.”
“No, no, no. They are safe with me.”
“Where are they, Darrel?” Blayze knew that he was now talking about the recent kidnappings. “Where are you keeping them safe?”
“If I tell you that, then they wouldn’t be safe anymore and he could get his hands on them again. I’m not letting that happen. Never again.”
“What do you mean, again?”
“Sick, twisted, pedo!”
Blayze could see that Darrel was becoming extremely agitated as he was shaking all over. He needed to change the topic.
“Tell me about the Sloan-Ironwoods.”
“They have been kind to me over the years. Gave me places to stay, places to keep my friends safe.”
“Do they know where your friends are right now?”
“They’ve never known we’ve been hiding, but they’ve helped me a lot.”
Blayze couldn’t make any sense of what Darrel was trying to say. “What do you mean?”
“Kept them safe, kept them safe. I’ve always kept them safe,” Darrel started muttering repeatedly.
Blayze turned to Rebecca. “I think we are done here for today. We won’t get much more out of him now. He needs a doctor.” They both left the room, ending the interview.
“So, what now?” Rebecca asked.
“Tell Stone what Darrel said about the senator. I need to find out what he meant by the Sloan-Ironwood family helping him out a lot. Are they in on this, too?”
Chapter 24
Blayze stood at the top of the stone stairs and rang the doorbell for a second time, but there was still no answer. He had a look around the back in case the family was outside. The grounds were well kept, the lawn neatly mowed, and the hedges trimmed to perfection. ’Very much a show home,’ Blayze thought. He continued round, peering in through the windows at the side of the house. He still couldn’t see anyone or hear anything.
After doing almost a full circle of the house, Blayze heard a car pull up on the front driveway. He went around to see who it was.
“What the hell are you doing, walking around our house?” shouted Mr Sloan-Ironwood as the pair began getting out of their car.
“I wanted to let you know that we caught a man last night attempting to kidnap a young boy over at the Winter Gardens. We believe this is the same man who has taken eight other children in the area, including Lynsey Sheilds, from your park.”
“That’s great news,” Mrs Sloan-Ironwood replied, closing her car door.
“Mr and Mrs Sloan-Ironwood, I would like a word in private, if we could go inside.”
“Of course. And please, less of the formalities. Call us Donald and Betty,” Mrs Sloan-Ironwood said as she led Blayze into their home.
Blayze followed inside and was led into a small living room at the front of the house, not the large one they had taken him into on his last visit. This one just had a couple of armchairs and a desk over to one side.
“Betty, the last time we spoke, I asked you about your cousin’s son, Darrel.”
“That’s correct, yes. I never heard from him, so that’s why I’ve never contacted you.”
“Does the name Daniel Hollow mean anything to either of you?” They both shook their heads, so Blayze continued. “It’s just that Daniel Hollow is actually Darrel Heist. He has been using a fake ID and going about his day-to-day business as Daniel.”
“What?” Betty asked, disbelief on her face.
“He was still called Darrel when he stayed with us,” Donald added.
“What do you mean, stayed with you? You said last time that he had an apartment in the area.”
“Yes, he does now, but when he first came here, he had nothing, so we offered to put him up for a few weeks until he had some money behind him for a deposit. Betty wanted to look after him.”
“Or was it to protect the family secret?” Blayze said, staring into Betty’s eyes to see if she had any idea about it.
“What are you talking about?” she answered, a blank look on her face.
“Did your cousin, the senator, tell you he had no contact with his son and that he wouldn’t know who he was?”
Betty sat back, puzzled. After a brief pause, she looked at Blayze and nodded. “Yes, I think so. That was the whole secret, really, the unknown child.”
“The secret wasn’t the unknown child. He knew all about Darrel. It would appear he wanted to know more about Darrel’s friends, instead.” The pair looked at each other, not knowing what to make of what Blayze had just said. “Can you show me to Darrel’s room when he stayed here, just in case there is any evidence?”
“Evidence of what?” Betty asked. “What is your interest in Darrel?”
“The man in jail right now for the recent kidnappings is your Darrel.”
“No, you’ve got the wrong man,” she said, standing up and heading towards the window.
“He’s under arrest for the kidnapping of eight children over the past three years, and the kidnapping and murder of eighteen children over the past twenty years.”
Betty went to collapse by the window, the shock suddenly hitting her. Donald rushed over to assist her, and Blayze stood up.
“Now, can you let me know which room he stayed in, please? It’s very important.”
“We can’t,” Donald replied while consoling Betty, who was still on the floor.
“And why not?”
“Because he didn’t stay here. He stayed in our cabin.”
SPEEDING ALONG ORLANDO’S streets, Blayze was on a mission to find the Sloan-Ironwoods’ cabin. He called Rebecca and put her on speakerphone. “Hey, meet me at Wekiwa Springs State Park as soon as you can.”
“Whereabouts? That place is vast. And why?”
“Darrel stayed in a cabin there before moving to his apartment. It is owned by Mr and Mrs Sloan-Ironwood. It is near Prevatt Lake, they said. There is a dirt track which leads you so far, but the rest is on foot.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at the end of the dirt track.”
Blayze hung up the call and carried on driving. His siren blared as he weaved in and out of traffic, desperate to get there as quickly as possible. He knew that the children had to be there.
He wasn’t that far away when he noticed a sign for Snow White’s Castle. It was no wonder, Blayze thought, that Darrel had managed to snatch Lynsey and get away so quickly —— he must have known the area like the back of his hand.
Fast turns left, then right, then left again. Blayze was almost at his destination. He slowed down as he reached the end of the tarmac road and headed onto the dirt track that led him into the forest.
It suddenly became much darker, trees towering above him enclosing the track, forming their very own tunnel. He had to turn on his headlights to make sure he didn’t miss the end of the track. In his rear-view mirror, Blayze spotted flashing lights and knew that it had to be Rebecca.
Blayze soon came to a stop. The family wasn’t wrong about the track running out. A row of trees lay ahead like a wall at the end of a street. He got out and Rebecca pulled up behind him.
“So what did they say, exactly?” Rebecca asked, walking up to Blayze.
“Just that they helped him out when he arrived by letting him use this cabin. They haven’t used it in years, but they didn’t want to sell it as it’s been in the family for generations.”
“Did they know what had happened in the past?”
“Based on the state I left Mrs Sloan-Ironwood in, I’m almost certain that they didn’t know. Is Senator Baily still at HQ?”
“Yeah, Stone was just about to interview him as I left.”
Blayze surveyed the area. “They said it was down a track around here somewhere.” He nodded to his left. “You check out that side.”
They both walked away from the cars, each checking a side. After two minutes, Rebecca shouted, “Over here, I think!”
Blayze made his way around and saw a small path, half-covered with overgrown grass and broken branches. He led the way, going deeper into the forest.
“Do you think they are here?” Rebecca asked. Blayze had to duck and dive around tree branches, which slowed the pair down.
“I really hope so. It’s our only lead, and it matches the latest findings.” They walked a little further in the forest when Blayze spotted water ahead. “Look, that must be Prevatt Lake. They said the cabin was just inland from the lake. It must be around here somewhere.”
