Page 31 of Ethan's Command

“What do you want?” the woman demanded.

“I want to see the footage from your cameras.”

The woman shook her head. “We don’t have any cameras.”

Ethan smiled slightly. “You have one right up there.” He pointed. “My guess is you use it to watch the cash register. You must be worried your employees are skimming. Or maybe you’re skimming yourself from some other type of business. Wouldn’t be the first time a dry cleaner has been used to front a drug operation.” The woman opened her mouth ostensibly to protest but Ethan continued. “Lady, I don’t care why you have the camera, and I have no interest in your business, but a little boy was almost kidnapped across the street earlier this week and I’ve been hired to find out who is behind it.” He handed her his card. “I need to see your footage.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she glanced first at the card and then back up at him. Finally, she nodded. “Come with me.”

Ethan pulled open the small door and followed the woman deeper into the shop. They entered the back office. “Ollie, go back up front.”

Ollie jolted to his feet and hurried out of the office, which was a good thing because the office was tiny and cramped with papers and clothing on every single surface except the desktop and the keyboard on the desk.

The woman sat down at the desktop and started typing on the keyboard. Ethan realized he didn’t know her name but was smart enough to know that he didn’t really need it, and if he did it would be easy enough to find out. He would send the cops over if anything good was on the video.

The woman turned around a moment later and handed him a USB stick. “Here. This has the last week on it. I like Ollie, but my nephew also works here and he’s not as respectful or trustworthy. I’d fire him, but I need proof first, or my sister won’t believe me that he’s stealing.”

Ethan nodded. “Good help is hard to find. Working with family is never easy.”

She kissed her fingertips and waved them at the ceiling in ayour lips to God’s ear’gesture.

“Thanks for this,” he said. “If there’s anything useful on it, I will have to send the cops over to get their own copy.”

The woman sighed, resigned to the inevitable. “I hope this helps.”

Ethan offered her his hand and they shook. He returned to his pickup. Time to go back to the comms center and see what he had. With luck, he might be able to see the faces of the men involved. That would get them somewhere because, at the moment, they were dead in the water, and that was the last place he wanted to be when it came to Brooklyn and Liam.

CHAPTER 11

“You’re all set, Mrs. Rosenthal,”Brooklyn said in a warm tone as she gently removed the protective bib from her elderly patient.

“Thank you, dear.” The older woman’s voice trembled with kindness, and Brooklyn couldn’t help but smile back.

Brooklyn offered her arm to steady Mrs. Rosenthal, helping her ease out of the chair. “Let me walk you up front,” she said, guiding the woman out to the reception desk.

“See you in six months,” Brooklyn called as Mrs. Rosenthal waved and began settling her payment.

As soon as she turned back toward her exam room, Brooklyn’s focus shifted. She had a routine—clean the chair, wipe down the surfaces, and set up for the next patient. It was automatic, a rhythm she’d perfected over the years.

The sharp tone of her cell phone sliced through the quiet hum of the office. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at the screen before answering.

“Hello?” she said, balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder while tossing the used disinfectant wipe into the trash.

“Ms. Alexander?”

“Yes.”

“This is Krista Kahana…” The woman on the other end paused as if weighing her words before continuing. “I’m the principal at Mauna Loa Preparatory School.”

Brooklyn’s stomach dropped. The casual grip she had on the phone tightened until her knuckles turned white. “Yes?” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Ms. Alexander, when you take a child out of school, it’s mandatory to sign them out with the school office. I understand you’re Liam’s aunt, so you may not be familiar with all of our policies, but we need to ensure everyone follows the procedures. It’s for the safety of all our students.”

Brooklyn’s throat constricted, the words catching before they could form. She gripped the counter with her free hand, trying to steady herself. “I… I didn’t take Liam out,” she said, her voice faltering.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I didn’t quite catch it.”

Her breathing grew shallow as dread tightened in her chest. She swallowed hard and tried again. “I didn’t take Liam out of school.”

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