Searching (PAVAD- FBI Romantic Suspense Book 18) Read online

  Max hesitated. “I spoke with the director last night. Paul Sturvin has been selling PAVAD information. The director has Sin Lorcan looking into the source of the deposits into the Sturvin account. He’s probably copied information on all of us and sold it to the highest bidder.”

  “That’s reassuring.” They’d known they were under a threat, and that threat could come against any of them at any time. Jac hadn’t forgotten that. She doubted anyone in PAVAD had, not after what had happened to Ezra and Shannon. “This is part of your secret investigation?”

  “Sturvin is. I’m not sure if what happened to Rachel has anything to do with it. I was waiting for a secure time to dial you in. Ed…he still wants it kept to as few people as possible. Not even Whit or Miranda know.”

  Jac just nodded. “He’s anomic. He’s financially failing? Maybe something with the deposits went wrong, so he snapped and killed Rachel? Took the girls? Or maybe he’s not the one who killed her at all? Although that doesn’t really work. Since he is the only evidentiary tie to Debbie’s crime scene. Kelly is comparing DNA samples from Debbie’s nails now. She should have those results within the next few hours.”

  “There are some questions we won’t get the answers to until we get Paul in custody.”

  91

  It took them a few moments to find where Ava was in the pediatric wing. Max could feel the anxiety running through Jac.

  Nat met them in the hallway outside the room that Ava had been assigned. Max studied her quickly. He had left it unsaid in the SUV, but Jac would want to see her own sister for herself, too.

  Nat looked fine, though her hair was down around her shoulders instead of in the customary ponytail she normally pulled it back in. She looked even younger than her twenty-six years now. And there was a suspicious stain over her left shoulder. From a child.

  “Nat? How is she? What did he do to her?” Jac asked.

  “Nothing, as far as the doctors can tell. But she does have an upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, and is asthmatic. They are working to get her fever down now.”

  Jac visibly exhaled. “That’s it? He didn’t hurt her?”

  “Not physically. There’s not a mark on her.”

  “Do you think she can talk with us?” Max asked. “Give us anything to go on?”

  “She might. She’s…well, she’s a bit confused, of course. And she’s traumatized. She said her father told them their mother fell down the stairs and went to heaven. Ava seems to think her father is driving Olivia there to see her, but left Ava because she wasn’t feeling well. Like the time Olivia got to go to the zoo but Ava had to stay with their great-aunt because she had burning ears. I’m assuming she means an ear infection. And…she’s been asking for Jac. Repeatedly. I didn’t get a chance to ask any more questions. That’s really not my job description. I was more concerned with keeping her safe until you got here.”

  “Thanks, Nat. Stick around. You’ll need to be interviewed and debriefed. I’ve already notified Hanan.”

  She nodded. “I’m volunteering to stay with her. She was afraid of me—until I told her I was the little sister, and Jac was the big sister. Just like Olivia.”

  “I told her about my little sister and her two puppies at Emery’s party.”

  “And that Kudos is big enough for her to ride on. She was fascinated by him. I made her a promise. She gets to see him again as soon as possible. I’m going to keep my word.”

  Max pushed open the hospital room door, nodding at the local LEO he recognized from previous cases and from Smokey’s occasionally. Jac darted around him.

  “Dr. Jones, I’m off the clock. Happy to do a security detail if you need it,” the officer said, shooting a look at Nat, who was now speaking with a nurse. A look that told Max why the man had offered—it wasn’t to snag some overtime.

  “Thanks. We’ll have a PAVAD guard here shortly, but we appreciate you staying until they arrive.”

  He followed Jac into the room.

  Ava watched every move he made.

  92

  Jac took in the freshly brushed hair and the hospital gown printed with dogs and cats. There was a stuffed animal tucked against Ava’s side. It matched the one on the receipt from the pharmacy. It was a dog.

  Paul had given his daughter a stuffed puppy because she loved dogs.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Jac started, softly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Aunt Jac!” Ava almost screeched it, reaching.

  Jac stepped closer to her immediately. She sent a look to her sister, as she stepped further inside the small room behind Max. “Has she been…processed?”

  “Yes. The staff in the ER here is quick,” Nat said. “Nothing that shouldn’t have been there, Jackie. Initial exam showed no signs of trauma. There are no unexpected bruises, just a small contusion from the seatbelt. Most likely from when she was in the aunt’s car. Mostly, she has a respiratory infection, with asthma. That’s it.”

  Jac reached out and put one hand on Ava’s head. “Hi, baby. How are you feeling?”

  “My throat hurts, Aunt Jac,” Ava sent a sad look at Jac that went right through her. She gave a pitiful little cough. Ava had an oxygen tube around her head. Jac settled into the chair next to her.

  To her surprise, Ava whimpered and tried to climb out of the bed. “Hold me.”

  “Hang on. We need to adjust the cord.” Jac made short work of that, then pulled Ava into her arms, much like she had Emery when she’d had her appendix out. “Nat, hand me that blanket.”

  Her sister helped her get Ava settled. The chair was a rocker, put there for parents to rock an ill child. Soon she had a steady rhythm going, and Ava slumping against her. “Can you tell me what your daddy said before he took you to my house today? Emery’s daddy is trying to find him. He has some questions for your daddy about important work things.”

  Ava’s little hand went to her mouth, and she chewed on her fingers. Like she had before, at the party, when she had started to fall asleep in Jac’s arms. “He said you’d be my new mommy. Like Aunt Debbie was my old mommy’s new mommy, too. Until he could come back for us. He said you’d make me feel better.”

  “Daddy was right. I will take good care of you. How is Livy? Is she not feeling good either?”

  Ava whimpered. Jac brushed her hair off her forehead. Ava was still hot to the touch. An ill four-year-old as a witness would never hold up in court. But Ava was now all they had.

  “Ava? Where was Daddy taking Livy?” As much as Ava needed the rest, they needed the information from her. Olivia’s very life could depend on it.

  “Daddy and Livy were going to move away. Until they came back to get me and you when I feel better. Daddy said you’d be my mommy, and I wouldn’t have to be alone. That he would come back for both of us.”

  “Where were Daddy and Livy going to move to? I should probably call Daddy and let him know that you’re ok. That Nat and Kudos found you.”

  The little girl smiled, a dead ringer for her own mother’s smile. That jabbed straight into Jac’s gut. Except for the darker hair, Ava would grow up to look very much like Rachel someday. “Kudos is big. And he licked my face lots. Aunt Nat says I can see him again. When I feel better.”

  She was wheezing as she spoke. Jac knew enough to read the oxygen stats on the monitor. Emery had asthma, too, but it was reasonably well controlled.

  “Kudos is one of the two best dogs in the world,” Jac said, rocking her in the chair as Nat waited by the door.

  Max just stood next to the window and listened.

  “So where was Daddy going? Was he in his car? Or did he get a car somewhere else?” Max finally asked.

  “Somewhere else, Emery’s Daddy.” Ava peeked at him. “There was a old barn. Daddy had to open the doors. He said the bad words. Livy said ssssh and made me be quiet.”

  “When was this?”

  “Yesterday.”

  That confirmed that Olivia was alive as of yesterday. As much as Ava could count as confirming any
thing. “Where was Livy when Daddy put you on my porch? Did Livy get to see Kudos?”

  Ava nodded. “Kinda. She wanted to get out of the car, too, but Daddy yelled at her. He said she had to stay with him. But I had to stay with Aunt Jac.”

  “Did he call me Aunt Jac?” She had been Miss Jac before. Because Rachel had introduced her that way.

  Ava nodded. “He said. Just like Aunt Debbie took care of my mommy when she was little. He said, he promised, you would take care of me. That he knew you would. He promised. Where’s Emery? Can she come play with me here?”

  “Emery is at school right now.”

  “Livy is supposed to be at school, too. But Daddy said we have to do homeschool now. Livy is mad. She wants to go back to school with Ruthie and Lucy. And Daddy is going to make my hair yellow like Livy’s. And his. Daddy’s hair is yellow.”

  Paul Sturvin had died his hair. She’d send that information along as quickly as she could.

  Ava drifted off in Jac’s arms, giving them nothing more. Jac brushed a kiss over her forehead, then looked at her sister. Nat hadn’t left the room. She’d just been quiet the entire time.

  Jac kept holding Ava. Jac tightened her arms around the little girl, then turned to her own little sister. “Tell us exactly what happened.”

  “I got a partial plate and a description of the car. I’ve already called it in to your Agent Whitman, Jac. Kudos was barking. I ran out to find out why. He led me around the house. I heard the car, visually confirmed it was a white male of around forty years. Matched the description of Paul Sturvin. He was already at the vehicle, and then I noticed the blanket. It was moving. Kudos beat me to her. The car drove away. I could have chased him, but—”

  “First priority was Ava—and your safety. You couldn’t chase after a serial killer,” Jac said, probably more sharply than she should have. The idea of her sister anywhere near Paul Sturvin made her sick. “What did she come with? Every detail.”

  “The blanket. Obviously a child’s twin-sized comforter. Pink, with puppies and kittens. I had everything sealed and bagged for PAVAD. But the stuffed animal had to stay with her. She was inconsolable without it. She was wearing footed pajamas, but they were fresh. Clean. Still had the factory inspection tag stuck in the left leg. He most likely bought them for her recently.”

  “So he has some money. Which fits with the withdrawals found by Dani. She estimates he probably has more than thirty thousand dollars on him,” Max said. He moved to Jac’s side, then leaned down and scooped the now sleeping little girl into his arms. He settled her in the bed while Jac watched.

  Max was a natural father. It was so easy for him, even though she had seen the struggles he’d had through the years to make certain Emery had what she needed. Nothing mattered more to him than his daughter.

  Maybe some small part of Paul/Philip felt the same.

  If Olivia even was his daughter. No one would ever know for sure.

  93

  Paul wept as he drove. Olivia had cried herself to sleep in the rear seat. She hadn’t wanted to leave her sister; Olivia always mothered Ava when she wasn’t feeling well.

  He hadn’t wanted to leave her. Ava was the best of him. Olivia would forever always be a pale second.

  Like Philip had always been to Paul.

  She was not the child of his body. He had always felt like second best with Olivia. And like he had not deserved her. Not after what he had done to his three elder daughters. And Bentley.

  But he had always treasured her, from the moment he had first held her when she had been all of fourteen months old.

  Bentley had been almost as much a star as Ava. Now, he was being ruined. No matter what he had done to try to save him, he couldn’t save Bentley.

  Philip hadn’t been a good enough father for him.

  For any of them.

  He had seen the woman come out of Jaclyn’s home, and had recognized her as the sister. He had still had to leave his daughter.

  He hadn’t known what else to do. Not without getting caught and separated from Olivia, too.

  He’d made a vow to his brother as he’d stood over Paul’s—the old Paul, not the new one—broken body that day. A vow to always take care of the child his brother had loved so much.

  Every day had been devoted to finding ways to make that happen.

  Night after night he’d laid awake next to Rachel, worrying about how he would provide for her and the girls and still find a few dollars to give to his biological mother for Bentley’s care. Bentley had been her second chance to have a child to raise again. Bentley had meant the world to her. When she had died, it had been some of the darkest days of Paul’s life.

  Losing her had hurt far more than even losing Holly and the three girls.

  She was his mother. Everything that had ever mattered to him.

  After he and his brother had been taken from her, he had grieved her every single day. He’d just wanted to make one thing right after what he had done to his brother.

  He’d killed his brother, then gone home to his brother’s wife. To her bed. The first time he had ever touched Rachel, he had hidden in the bathroom after and wept from the beauty of her.

  From the guilt of him.

  He had assumed his brother’s very life. He had become Paul then. Left Philip Sullivan behind forever that day. He was Paul.

  There would be a cost for that.

  But Paul knew he had already paid it today.

  Ava. It had cost him Ava.

  He had known that, always known that. He hadn’t deserved her. Not truly.

  Olivia fussed in her sleep. Her fever had broken an hour after they’d left her sister on Jaclyn’s doorstep. But she still wasn’t up to full speed.

  She was bigger, stronger, healthier than Ava. He had always hated that fact. His brother’s only child was stronger than his.

  But now as he looked at her, he was glad of it. Olivia would have to be strong for what he would have to do.

  And he would do it, too.

  For Rachel. For Ava. And for all the ones he’d loved who had gone before.

  They’d wait out the storm at his mother’s place, he’d let her sleep in Bentley’s room, then they’d take off first thing in the morning. He’d love the opportunity to take a shower, too. Paul had never enjoyed being grubby like this.

  Olivia needed a bath and clean clothing as well. He would see to cutting off her hair and dressing her in the boy’s clothing he had purchased at the store at their next stop. How he was going to make her cooperate with being a boy for a few weeks still wasn’t clear to him.

  Unless he just ordered her to do it, and he kept her as isolated as possible. Until she was more comfortable with their new life.

  It would confuse her, but she would have him to help her adjust. She was a smart girl, after all. She would adjust.

  But first, he had to check on Ava.

  Paul had one number he could call. He did that quickly.

  And he listened.

  When he disconnected, he rushed to the nearby bathroom and lost what breakfast he had eaten that morning.

  Eugene Lytel was a cold-blooded killer.

  There was no way he was going to let that sonofabitch near his daughter.

  “Daddy, I don’t feel good.”

  Olivia came to him, where he sat at his mother’s dining room table. Paul snuggled her close. She was getting fever again. All of this driving around in the rain was keeping her from resting, from healing.

  He wasn’t being much of a father now. Wasn’t keeping his promise.

  Paul carried her to the couch and tucked her beneath a planet-covered blanket from Bentley’s room.

  He was going to have to do what he had to do.

  Paul found what he needed in the medicine cabinet. They hadn’t expired yet. That was good. He hadn’t gotten around to cleaning out her home. It would have been too difficult to explain her to Rachel, and he hadn’t been able to take time off from work.

  The business his
brother had started before Philip had become him had been hard for him to keep going. To learn. He had been a contractor before. Had built himself a reasonably successful business—with his hands. Not his head. He liked to think he had used those skills with his new consulting business.

  He had managed.

  Had gotten this far. He would get through this, too.

  But the last thing he wanted was Olivia getting in the way.

  He gave her fruit punch. She had always loved red drinks. Ava…Ava had preferred purple.

  Paul held his daughter until she was limp in his arms.

  He carried her to the back of the house—to the bed of the cousin she didn’t know she had.

  And he left her there.

  He had done what he needed to do.

  Now, he had to do what he had to do—it was time to end this, for all of them.

  94

  “Take care of the house,” Lytel ordered the men who had accompanied them out to this run-down ranch house near New London. Todd tried not to puke. They were a mile from the house where Paul Sturvin/Philip Sullivan had holed up in.

  The man had stupidly called Lytel, wanting to meet. Gave a damned address. Idiot.

  He should have taken his daughters and headed for Canada hours ago.

  Lytel had ordered Todd to accompany him here. Now, Todd stood back as the two men argued.

  Sturvin wanted money—and a guaranteed way out of the country.

  Or he was going to call Jaclyn Jones and spill everything.

  Todd flinched inwardly at what that meant. Jaclyn would have to be told, have to be warned.

  The last thing she needed was Lytel.

  With one shot, Lytel ended the search for Paul Sturvin forever. Todd dropped his hand to his own weapon. It would be stupid to think Lytel wasn’t thinking of doing the exact same thing right now.