After tracking down violations from one of the Indian casinos near Luckenbach, Vic had arrested lobbyist Edgar “Lefty” Quarls for committing conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He and his slippery gang of thugs had grossly overbilled their clients and secretly split the multimillion-dollar profits. In one case they orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
At the last report, the tribes were being bilked out of $85 million, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. As one of the key people spearheading the scandal and then being appointed to the NIGC, Vic had no doubts Jeremy had been kidnapped as a personal warning to him to lay off.
This wasn’t the case of someone wanting a ransom. Vic didn’t have that kind of money. Like Kit, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced this had to do with his new assignment to the gaming group dedicated to making more arrests.
To take Vic’s child from the school in broad daylight smacked of revenge in its most evil form. Lefty had to be involved with someone very high up politically who knew the particulars about Vic’s life and hated him enough to hire someone to help pull this off. Why not bribe a janitor?
At the thought of anyone harming Jeremy, searing pain reached his gut, almost cutting off his breathing.
“Your son is tough. We’re going to find him, Vic.”
He nodded and brushed the tears from his eyes with his shirtsleeve. They checked every inch of the closet for clues that Jeremy had been held there. As far as Vic could tell, there was no sign of a struggle.
After they’d taken half a dozen fingerprints and put them in bags to send to forensics, Vic looked at the yellow bucket wringer in the corner. He walked over and lifted the mop. In the bottom of the bucket he saw a round two-inch button.
He leaned over and picked it up. The second he saw the picture, his heart leaped. “This looks like one of the action hero magnets Jeremy got for Christmas!”
“If that’s his, he’s left you a clue, Vic. He’s not your son for nothing.”
“Dear Lord, I hope that’s true. It means he was dragged in here and able to get it out of his pocket or backpack before he was taken away.” Vic slid the magnet into another baggie.
Kit said, “You drive to the lab quick while I round up the crew. We’ll meet you at headquarters. Do you have Jeremy’s prints on file?”
“Yes. Last year he wanted to know what it was like when we made an arrest, so I had him fingerprinted at the office to experience the process. I made a copy for him to take home, but his prints are on my computer.”
“Then before long you should know if you have a match.”
Vic made sure the closet was locked and then hurried outside to his car while Kit took off in the other direction. On the drive to headquarters, he phoned Claire.
“Any news?” she cried. Her question meant his precious son hadn’t come home. His heart almost failed him, but he had to focus. Every minute Jeremy was gone, the chances of getting him back alive diminished.
“Claire? Do me a favor? Check on those little two-inch magnets he has in his room with the action figures on them.” This was a long shot, but it was imperative he investigate every possible lead. “I think there were eight of them. Let me know if any are missing.”
“Just a second. He usually keeps them in the top drawer of his desk.”
Thank heaven she knew his son so well. Every second while he waited, visions of what could be happening to Jeremy passed through his mind, torturing him.
“Vic? I found six.”
“Do you know which two are missing?”
“Yes. His favorites—Wolverine and Sabretooth. Why do you ask?”
He looked at the face of the magnet through the baggie. “Because I’m holding Wolverine in my hand. I believe he left me a clue in the janitor’s closet outside his classroom. I found it in the bottom of the bucket.”
“Oh Vic—I know he did.”
The conviction in her voice sent chills through him. “How do you know?”
“Did I ever tell you about the password your son thought up while we were playing spy one day?”
Vic drew in a deep breath. “No. What password?”
In the next minute she explained about their secret code. “He knew exactly what he was doing when he left Wolverine there for you to find. That clever boy. I love him so much. I know you’re going to find him,” she said with tears in her voice. “I just know it!”
She was a marvel. More than anything on earth he wanted to believe her. He couldn’t lose Jeremy. The thought was unfathomable. “You’ve given me hope, Claire. Thank you. I’m at headquarters now. I’ll call you later.”
He hung up and, after haphazardly parking his vehicle, hurried through the building to the forensics lab. To Vic’s relief the head lab technician was still there. “Stan?”