Page 27 of Deadly Past

Only they both knew that wasn’t the case. “He’s on Hope Island somewhere.” Declan believed the man hadn’t left the island at all.

“I’m inclined to agree. Which means he will have to surface at some point. Will is watching the road off the island. If he tries to leave, we’ll nab him. On another note, Janine reached out to her contacts at the Bureau, and they’ve put together a photo of Lacey as she would look today. We’re going to send it out to the public and see if anyone has seen her.”

Declan glanced over to where Wynona stood with her hands wrapped around her arms. He wanted to gather her close and bear some of the pain, but that wasn’t his place anymore.

“Anyway, I’ve asked everyone to come in in a few hours. We’re going to go over all the files the police gave us and see if we can put together some answers.”

“I appreciate that. It’s almost Christmas, and you and Rachel are getting close to welcoming your baby. Wynona and I want to be part of the discussion.”

“You got it. I’ll give you a call once everyone is here.”

Once the call ended, Declan added more wood to the fire before facing Wynona. “How are you holding up?” He wanted to say so much more to her. Like, I still care about you. I still wish we hadn’t given up so easily.

“I’m okay.” She bit her bottom lip. “Do you think it’s possible Lacey is still alive?”

Declan wasn’t sure. “I guess so. But there are a lot of things that don’t add up.”

“Like what?” Her brow furrowed.

He indicated the sofa, and they both sat.

“I’m going to be honest, okay?” She nodded. “Most of the time when a young girl is taken, it’s by a pedophile, and they don’t survive.”

Wynona flinched. “That’s what the police believed happened to Lacey.”

He shifted so that he could face her. “Rarely do they let their victims go. Sometimes, they’ll keep them alive until they get older, and sometimes they even have their victims help recruit new ones.”

Wynona’s mouth thinned. “That’s horrible.”

He touched her shoulder. “It is. But most of the time, the predator will kill their victim to silence them.”

Wynona swallowed several times and repeated, “Which is what the police said must have happened to Lacey.”

“But with the man who took Lacey coming after you, this isn’t normal behavior for a pedophile. Why come after you—a grownup—when his attraction would be to a child? There are cases where children are taken by someone who lost a child or wants a child and can’t have one themselves. But normally, they target babies.” He shrugged. “So, everything about this case is out of the ordinary.” He scanned her face. “I know I’ve asked you this, but before the incident at your old house there was no contact with the man?”

Wynona’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re thinking he’s been watching me all along? Why wait till now to come after me?”

Declan shrugged. “Good question.”

She let go of a breath. “To answer your question, there’s been nothing out of the ordinary until recently, other than the one time when my parents thought someone had been in the house while we were gone.”

That event troubled him. Why would Lacey’s abductor go back to the scene unless he believed he’d left evidence behind? “But nothing was reported missing, correct?”

“That’s right. Just some things moved around.”

“Maybe whatever he was looking for wasn’t there.” He watched her process this information.

“Like Lacey’s insulin?”

“Possibly.” He stood and stretched. “We’ve been cooped up here for a while. And we still have some time before the meeting happens. Want to take a walk?”

Wynona readily agreed. “That sounds heavenly.” She grabbed her jacket and her phone.

Declan placed his handgun in his jacket pocket. “We’ll be back soon, Simone.” The cat stretched from her place in front of the fire and flipped over.

Wynona laughed. “She really is spoiled.”

“Agreed.” Declan stepped outside and scanned the area while waiting for Wynona. He locked the door and slipped the key in his pocket.

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