“I’ll tell you what we don’t do.” He turned and smiled at the serious-faced guard. “You may tell Mr. Hearne that we can’t return his items to you. If he wants them, he knows where to find us.”

With that said, Tony put the car in reverse and drove back toward the street, leaving River to wonder what could have possibly caused Nathan to suddenly do a 180 and abandon his search for the woman he claimed to love.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

River and Tony went back to the office and waited.

“I hope you did the right thing,” River said. “You told him to stay inside for his own safety. I also hope he doesn’t really call the police. I mean, this is his stuff.”

“I’m guessing that whoever forced him to write that note is the same person who left us the photo. If I’m right, he needs our help.”

“What if the person who threatened him is watching the apartment?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Tony said. “One of the things we learned during our time at the FBI is that dangerous people rarely warn their victims. They just take action. If whoever this is wants to stop Nathan, why didn’t they just take him out instead of taking his picture? And why send the original threat to us and not to him?” That tells us that they aren’t committed to hurting him.”

“I see your point,” River said, “but it doesn’t always work out the way we think it should. Are you sure you didn’t act too hastily?”

Up until that moment, Tony had been convinced he was right, but had he made a mistake that could put Nathan in danger?

“Look, that note was ridiculous. The threat about calling the police is absurd. First of all, he can’t file charges against us since he gave us this stuff. That, combined with the photo, makes me feel something else is going on here. I want him to come here so we can talk. It was obvious we weren’t getting inside. It was the only thing I could come up with.” He sighed loudly. “If he doesn’t show up soon, I’ll call the police and ask them to check on him.” He looked at her. “You know I act too quickly sometimes. Why didn’t you stop me?”

“So now it’s my fault?”

“Maybe if I’d had breakfast . . .”

River shook her head, but he saw her lips twitch. “You really are a pill. So, what do we do if he really is in trouble?”

“If he’s truly being threatened, I’ll call Arnie. They can move him somewhere safe.”

“He’ll need clothes and personal items. Of course, we can’t call him because we have his phone . . .” Even though River’s tone was sarcastic, Tony was convinced she understood his decision to keep Nathan’s phone and laptop even if she didn’t agree with his method.

“I don’t think clothes are his problem right now, do you?”

“Maybe not, I just . . .”

The door to their office swung open, and Nathan stepped inside. He didn’t look angry. He looked scared.

“I need my stuff,” he said. “And April’s. I left a message for you.”

Tony took a deep breath and let it out quickly, relieved to see Nathan and thankful he hadn’t put him in danger.

River got up and went over to Nathan. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. Tony was amazed at the way she was able to immediately establish a connection with him. His taut expression and his stiff shoulders began to relax. At the same time his eyes filled with tears.

River gently led him over to a chair. He slumped down into it and put his hands over his face.

“You need to tell us what happened, Nathan,” River said. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us the truth.”

Tony stayed in his chair and kept quiet. River had the young man where she wanted him. He didn’t want to break the spell.

“I . . . I can’t,” Nathan said, blinking away his tears. He was clearly embarrassed by his emotional reaction. River and Tony both knew that people didn’t always cry because they were sad. Almost any strong emotional reaction could cause a human being to weep. Fear, remorse, even anger.

River pulled another chair up close to him. “It’s just us here, Nathan. No one else will ever know what you tell us.”

Nathan looked down at the floor for a moment, cleared his throat, and then raised his face to meet River’s gaze. It was at that moment Tony knew Nathan was going to tell them what had happened to cause his abrupt turnaround. River was amazing. Tony was convinced that he wouldn’t have been able to get Nathan to trust him the way River did. She had a special way with people. Of course, in many situations, men tended to trust women more than men. It had something to do with the strong connections boys usually had with their mothers. It wasn’t always true, of course. Boys abused by their mothers had the ability to react violently toward women. As behavioral analysts, they’d seen this trait displayed through serial killers trying to murder their mothers because of the emotional pain they’d caused them, but Nathan wasn’t a serial killer, and River was definitely getting through to him.

Nathan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. Tony almost sighed audibly. What was the deal with all these envelopes? In this day and age, corresponding through snail mail was almost unheard of. This was definitely unusual. Of course, sending an email usually made it easier to track the sender. A typed or handwritten letter handled correctly could make it impossible to locate its origin.

“This was dropped off at the guard gate last night after you left.” He handed the envelope to River. She looked over at Tony, who got up and grabbed two sets of gloves. He was beginning to wonder how many gloves they had left.

“If you receive any other notes, Nathan,” he said, “please handle them with caution. We may be able to find fingerprints that could help us. But if you get yours on the paper, it could actually keep us from getting a clean print.”

“I noticed how careful you were with the other note I received. I didn’t think about it at first, but after I opened this envelope, I used a paper towel to hold the note inside.”

“Good. Thanks.”

Tony handed one pair of gloves to River, who put them on. Tony did the same with the other pair. When River was ready, she slid the folded piece of paper out of the envelope. Then she handed the envelope to Tony. Someone had written Nathan’s name and apartment number on the front in block letters with black ink. Obviously, they were trying to disguise their handwriting. The letters were written just like the printing on the picture of Nathan. Although he could be wrong, Tony suspected that the same person had sent both messages.

After reading the note inside, River passed it to Tony. In the same block lettering, someone had written Stop talking to the PIs or she will die. Then you will be next. No police or you both die.

“You said the envelope was given to the guard at the front gate last night?”

Nathan nodded. “He came by my apartment to tell me someone had dropped off a delivery.” He frowned at them. “He tried to call me first, but I didn’t have my phone.”

“You should have called us,” River said.

Nathan shot her a look.

“You could have asked the guard to use his phone.”

“To be honest, I was afraid to. Especially after this note. I only ventured out this morning because the laptop you took has work on it that I need. I had no choice.” He shook his head. “I made one stop on the way here and bought another phone. I guess it pays to have two.”

“I keep a spare,” River said.

For a moment, her comment confused Tony. Then he remembered the extra phone she’d bought as a backup in case she was in trouble and couldn’t get to her regular phone. River believed that if she’d had an extra phone when she was attacked by the Strangler, who’d taken the phone in her pocket, she could have gotten help sooner. She liked to call the second phone her boot phone. Anytime she felt she might be facing a dangerous situation, she planned to put it in her boot. He’d forgotten all about it. She hadn’t mentioned it in a long time.

“You realize that this confirms that April is alive, right?” Nathan said.

River shook her head. “Not really. They may be saying this because they’re trying to control you. The one thing it does tell us though, is that whoever wrote this knows about April. They might very well have something to do with her disappearance.”

“Why can’t you believe she’s alive?”

Tony could tell he was frustrated.

“Look, for now, let’s talk about you,” Tony said. “I know you’re afraid. I think we need to err on the side of caution. I believe we should move you to a more secure location.” Even though he found the continued warnings problematic, Tony had no intention of taking another chance with Nathan’s welfare.

“I live in a gated community,” Nathan said. “I should be okay at home.”