Page 61 of Twice the Rivalry

He glared at her. “I’m not following you,” he told her. “I’m heading to the office, and you’re in the way.”

She didn’t believe him, and made sure he could tell by the expression on her face. She opened her mouth to call him out, but her phone rang, and she quickly pulled it out. When she saw it was Simba, she forgot all about Code, set her beer down, and hurried toward the office. Looked like she was going to be getting some work done herself. “Go ahead,” she said tersely into the phone as she raced through the door, sitting in her chair and putting on her headset, transferring the call to her computer so she could work and talk at the same time.

“Need you to pull up the blueprints for a building we’re close to,” Simba stated. He gave her the coordinates and address, and she quickly got to work.

She pulled them up and saw it was an older mansion, surrounded by thick stone walls in a square shape. “Alright, got them,” she said, curiosity narrowing her eyes as she looked at the satellite image of the property. She vaguely sensed Code coming into the room and sitting in his chair behind her, but she tuned him out. Her team needed her.

“Good. Anything that shows an old tunnel, bunker, or cellar?” Simba asked.

“There is a basement,” she finally said after searching through the schematics. “No sign of a bunker or tunnel in any blueprints.” She pulled up the satellite image again and searched it quickly. “But there is a well about twenty feet from the back door,” she added. “Could be a concealed exit.”

“Not sure they’re smart enough for that,” Simba mused. “Can you tell me who owns it? Or at least, who’s on the current deed?”

A brief silence as she worked. “It’s registered to an Abraham Murphy,” she finally answered. “Sixty-four years old, married to a Jane Murphy, fifty-three, and according to medical records, they have six children. Four boys, two girls. None of them attended public school, though, she homeschooled them.”

“Any records of him running a business out of his home?” Jag asked.

“Nothing with the IRS or online,” she replied after a moment. “It actually looks like he’s off work for a disability, and she’s never had a job, so they’re only living off that small amount.”

“They’re getting money from somewhere,” Simba said grimly. “They’re driving around in a new BMW. No way they can afford that kind of vehicle on the meager amount they get from the government.”

“You still haven’t told me what the hell this whole mission is about,” Glitch reminded him. “If I had some of the background, maybe I could help.”

“An old acquaintance of mine said his daughter was being held in an old mansion in this town by a man named Abraham. Said she was hired to work as a nanny and housekeeper, and she was allowed to bring her son if she wanted. Since she was a single mom, according to the grandfather, she took it without telling him much about it and hasn’t been seen since. The little boy has been spotted at the market, selling vegetables with one of Abraham’s sons, but by the time he gets to the market they’re gone,” Simba said grimly.

“You think she’s being held against her will,” Glitch summarized.

“Would seem so. She’s twenty-four, and her son is about three or four, so I doubt he’s really understanding what’s happening.”

“Did anyone report any signs of abuse or neglect?” she asked.

“No, he was well dressed, but quiet and wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye.”

She frowned. “So it’s possible he is being abused, or at least under their control enough to know not to say anything in case he gets in trouble.”

“Or his mother does,” Taz added soberly.

“Alright, let me see what we can find on the mother,” Glitch suggested briskly. “Name?”

“Amanda Pender,” Simba responded.

“Alright, got her. She has no record of employment past the age of twenty-two, so if this family did hire her legitimately, there’s no paper trail. And no activity on her bank account since then either,” she added. “She’s completely off the grid.”

“No record of an apartment or anything?” Jag asked.

“No, it looks like when she took the nanny position, she moved out. Says here she paid her last month a year ago,,” Glitch said absently. “So she’s been there for at least that long.”

“This whole thing reeks of her being held against her will. Have any other women been hired by Abraham and never returned?” Copper asked.

“Not on record,” Glitch answered.

Suddenly Code’s voice filled her ear and she stiffened. “I just ran a search for missing women in the area and the surrounding towns. Two women around her age have gone missing from town, and two more from the next town over. All four of them have similar height and features to Amanda.” Her screen filled with images of the four women, who did indeed look like their girl. Still, she turned around and gave Code a steely glare.

“Code,” Simba said after a second of silence, no doubt digesting the fact he had once again inserted himself into their business.

“Get off this call,” she snarled at him. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t see why I can’t help, since I’m right here,” he returned evenly. “The faster you get through this, the faster you can grab her. I might not have your experience in this kind of thing, but I did work for the FBI and CIA for a time, so I know the drill.”

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