The Investigation

Ben, Bud, Zack, Dan, Frank, Charlie

Inside the Wade house, Ben was pacing the floor impatiently. He wasn't used to this waiting around. When he had something to be done, he went out and did it himself. That was just the kind of man he was. And Liana being missing was right at the top of the list of things he wanted to be taking care of himself.

Frank Parker was watching him from the corner of the Wades' den, with Dan Evans standing beside him. Both of them were wondering how much longer they could keep Ben contained before he was simply ready to explode. And both were hoping it didn't happen while the cops were here.

Frank had convinced Ben that he needed to call the sheriff's office in on the matter of Liana. Frank had no doubts about his ability to find Ben's wife but, with Ben, the end result of finding out who had taken her would end with at least one dead body. Frank had no doubts about that either. Dead bodies led to questions and investigations and they didn't need that. Bring the cops in, he'd told Ben. Let them handle it.

Finally, they heard a car pull up outside. Without waiting for a knock at the door, Ben opened it to find Bud White and Zack Grant standing on his porch.

"What the hell took you so long?" he ground out.

"Got here as quick as we fuckin' could," Zack snapped back. He was still agitated by the news that his friend, Yuji, had been murdered and he was in no mood for any lip from the likes of Ben Wade.

Bud put his hand on Zack's shoulder. He knew his partner was still upset over his friend's murder. Ben Wade was a shitbird. Bud would bet his life savings on it. Zack knew it too. But there was a woman missing. And she was pregnant. He thought of Marie or even Ashley and he'd fucking kill anyone who'd touch or hurt either of them much less while they were pregnant. He'd tear the world apart.

"Mr. Wade." Bud nodded at him and ignored the greeting. "Give us all the facts you know." The more time that went by the less likely they'd recover Liana Wade alive.

Ben didn't like Bud White or Zack Grant, or the way they looked at him. Liana was missing, though, and he'd do whatever it took to find her. He went over leaving her in the house while he was at the stables, the fact that he was supposed to go for a walk with her, but when he got back to the house, she had already been gone. Her walking route was always from the house to the church and back. He told White and Grant about having checked with Alistair at the church and every inch of road between here and there. Related how he'd already had his men go over every inch of their property on horseback and not finding her.

When Ben had finished and was about to impatiently demand what the two intended to do about Liana, Frank Parker broke in and introduced himself. "Name's Frank Parker." He held out his hand to Bud and Zack. "Private security. My men and I keep an eye on Mrs. Wade when she's away from home, but we weren't on duty for this, since she was here."

So she never got to the church. It sounded liked she'd disappeared from her own land. Bud shook Frank Parker's hand and eyed him up. Private security. He'd heard his name in town. Bud had an idea.

"How easy would it be for an outsider to infiltrate this farm and take Mrs. Wade?"

Both Frank and Ben instantly picked up on what White was saying.

"You're thinking it might be an insider, somebody who works here." Frank's words were a statement, not a question. "I thought of that too. But Mrs. Wade was actually walking on the road--the side of it at least--when she walked up to the church. That's how she always went. Besides, Ben tells me-"

Ben interrupted him before he could finish. "None of my men would touch her." He dismissed the idea. "They all like her. An' besides, they know I'd kill any man who DID touch her." His eyes held a cold, murderous look, as he swung his gaze between White and Zack Grant.

Bud nodded, but knew that didn't mean shit. If one of them wanted her or to get him through his most vulnerable link, the woman was the way to do it. And his men should have a healthy fear of this man, but that also didn't mean one of them didn't think they could outdo him. Bud had also noticed that shitbirds had delusions of grandeur more than others. It also didn't discount his enemies. And a man like Ben Wade had enemies. Bud looked at Grant. There were only three possibilities.

One was stranger abduction which was the least likely. A majority of crime was perpetrated by someone you knew. Second was someone who knew Liana or Ben Wade from outside this spread. Still less likely than the third which was someone from inside who had a beef with Wade or a thing for his wife. All three were still open at this point.

Grant looked like he had something pressing to say or at least like he wanted to squash Wade like a bug under his shoe. Bud pointed his pen with a subtle flick in Grant's direction before he wrote down a note so Zack would know to take the next question.

"Heard you were out of town recently on a business trip,"Zack began, "Your wife ever mention her concern about anyone working here while you were away? Or perhaps someone in town, maybe?" Zack asked, thinking it strange that a man like Wade wouldn't have made quite a few enemies in his time, any of which might just be lying in wait to get payback.

Ben was well aware that neither of these men liked him. That was fine with him. He didn't care for them either and he wasn't looking to make new friends. He had two things on his mind right now. First, finding Liana and, second, killing whoever had taken her. Preferably slowly.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "I don' need to be here, carryin' on some damned pointless conversation with you two. I need to be out lookin' for her."

" I understand what you're going through, believe me, but the best thing you can do for your wife is to answer whatever questions we throw at you and let us do our job," Zack told the man. He wasn't just throwing him a line, he new exactly what Wade was going though. Hell, he'd been in similar situations himself. Nearly lost his job and his life and the lives of those around him because of it. Even now he couldn't help but think about Destiny and if she was safe. But he had a job to do here no matter what else was going on in his life right now he was gonna see to it that he and his partner take down whoever it was that had Wade's wife.

"No," Ben answered Grant shortly. "Liana had no reason to be concerned about anyone around here. Like I said, anyone here knew I'd kill 'em if they touched her."

Ben didn't mention any enemies from his past because, as far as he knew, there were none. None alive, anyway. There were business enemies undoubtedly, but none from his criminal past, because he'd always made sure there were none left. Dan and Frank Parker were pretty much the only two men who'd had anything to do with his robberies who were still around. Frank, because Ben had developed a great deal of respect for him on the jobs they'd pulled together. Dan because they'd been friends since they were boys.

Dan, who'd been silent up until now, broke in. "I was here in the house with Mrs. Wade while Ben was away. There weren't any problems." Dan was almost as worried about Liana as Ben. He'd grown very fond of her in the time he'd been living here with them. He'd already beaten himself up over not checking on Liana downstairs, since he'd been up in the study at the time she'd left."

"The only person in town Mrs. Wade didn't care about was Sid Harbor," Frank told Zack Grant quietly. "She didn't like the things he'd had to say in the newspaper about Ben here. She went over to visit with Mrs. Harbor one day while Ben was out of town. She and Sid had words then, but I really don't think he'd have any reason to harm her."

Frank had done his job well, too. "Besides, I already checked that angle out. Sid Harbor was with his wife at the hospital when Liana went missing."

Bud was frustrated. They had to have something to go on to find this woman and nobody was giving them nothing to follow as a lead to find her.

"We've already put out an APB on her so the surrounding police will be on the lookout for her. If we could have a picture for me to send that would be helpful. We need to look where she was last seen and check the area. Mr. Wade as much as you might want to tear the world apart looking for your wife right now we need to go at this methodically and by following leads or we're wasting time. You know how big the country is around here."

"Something most likely has happened that led up to this. Has anything unusual happened? This most likely isn't random. All of you think." Bud looked pointedly at Wade, Parker and Evans. "Has Mrs. Wade mentioned something? A fear of someone watching her. Have you had any unexpected occurrences around the house? Anything missing? Any intruders? It may have seemed minor at the moment, but could provide a clue. We have to narrow down the area and the people to check who may have taken her."

Bud would have loved to follow up on that freak Sid Harbor, but if he truly was in the clear it was better. That tricky bastard could be trouble they didn't need at the moment.

"There was someone in the house." Ben spoke slowly, having just remembered it. "Several weeks ago. That last time you were in Sydney overnight on business." Ben said those last words directly to Dan, then turned back to the others. "I woke up in the middle of the night. Just had one of those feelin's you get. I got up and searched the whole place, but didn't find nothin'. But I know somebody had been in here."

"Notice anything missing or moved around?" Zack asked, going back to his first gut feeling that this was sounding more and more like an inside job.

"No. Nothin'." Ben was remembering that night with more suspicion himself now.

"Anyone you think of offhand that could have had access to the house besides you and your wife?"

"Just Dan here," Ben answered. "And even if he hadn't been in Sydney, I know he'd never have anythin' to do with Liana bein' gone. Trust him with my life."

Bud was listening carefully to what they said. Somebody had gotten access to the house and chances were it was someone who already had access to the rest of the place.

"We need to talk to all your employees. I want to hear air tight alibis for their time when Mrs. Wade disappeared. Somebody knows something even if it's accidental that they saw or heard something. Can you get them together for us to question?"

"No problem." Dan answered for Ben. "Everyone who works here's down at the stables now. Frank said you'd probably want to talk to them, so we asked everyone to stay here until you got here."

Zack turned to Bud, "wanna head down there, see what they know?"

"Okay, partner. Let's go."

Bud wanted to get some kind of break in this case. He could feel the time ticking away and knew that was time Liana Wade might not have. If anyone harmed the woman Bud would take them apart for Ben Wade if he got there first.

Ben might not like Bud White, but he could tell the man was genuinely concerned about Liana. He could appreciate that. He just hoped that White and Grant, having a clearer head about all this than he did, could think of something that he hadn't. Something that would find Liana and get her back home quickly. He had that hope in his mind all the way down to the stables.

Bud scrutinized the staff gathered in the stables. Some looked nervous and some looked concerned. None of them looked guilty. Of course that would require a conscience. Their perp might not have one. Questioning them still might break the case open. He looked at Dan Evans.

"If you could introduce them to us. One at a time." He nodded to Zack.

Zack scanned the motley group, trying to decide if any of them looked like they were hiding something. Not a one stood out so far as someone who might be their suspect. Hopefully, he thought, with more questioning that would change.

As Dan introduced the men one by one, ending with Charlie Prince, Ben paced agitatedly. He and Frank had done this already. He couldn't see why it would help any for these cops to do it over again. It was after dark and Liana was still missing. Dammit, he wanted to get out there and find her! He held onto his patience by the skin of his teeth.

Bud and Zack interviewed the staff one at a time so they couldn't hear the responses of one another and therefore any differences in stories would be apparent. Most of the men were working with others and their alibis were verified immediately. Bud had a hunch that the clue they needed was right here in this room. A good cop learned to never discount a hunch. He took notes regarding the time line. Finally they were to the last worker. A fellow by the name of Charlie Prince. Bud instantly didn't like the look of him.

He was shifty even though he was acting calm and nonchalant. And his alibi was hinky. No one else verified it yet.

Bud fixed him with a steely glare. "Again, Mr. Prince, what were you doing at 10 AM this morning?"

"I was here at the stables." Charlie had been asked this question once already, but he spoke calmly and quietly. "We got some buyers comin' in to look at horses tomorrow. I was makin' sure that the ones they're comin' to see were put through their paces and that they got groomed all pretty."

Bud was disgusted. He had no proof, but he felt Charlie Prince was lying through his teeth. They dismissed him. Nothing more to keep him here for the moment. Wade looked like he was ready to explode. If he had to Bud figured he could take him down and sit on him. They didn't need any vigilantism at the moment. Especially with Liana Wade still missing. Someone held the clue and Bud was convinced they were here.

"What do you think, Zack?" He wanted his opinion. Bud had gotten to know Zack well enough to know he had great instincts.

"Think this all stinks to high hell," Zack told him, "Someone here knows something, I'd bet on it. No way Mrs. Wade just disappeared into thin air and ain't nobody seen or heard anything."

"See that's what I'd be thinking too, partner. It smells like shit in here and it ain't from the horses." Bud made a face. He was pretty pissed off and wouldn't mind knocking a few heads together to get the truth. His voice dropped low. "Who'd you be thinking is top of that list?"

"Tops on my list?" Zack thought for a moment, looking back at the group. Turning back to Bud, he said, "Someone who Wade wouldn't think to suspect, someone he may even be close to, rely on. I just got this gut feeling that someone just walked right out of here." He looked at Bud, knew he'd been thinking the same thing. "Unfortunately," Zack continued, "he and all the others are all alibi'd up, so unless we get some proof or can track down someone who may have been an accomplice, were just grasping at straws here."

Bud nodded. They had been thinking along the exact same lines. "There's nothing more we can do with them here on a hunch. We gotta let them go. But, we need to watch that shitbird. He's going to trip up as smug as he's feeling at the moment. And we need to be there when he does." Bud spoke to the others, looking at Parker.

"Let them go back to work. We've asked all the questions for now."

Dan Evans dismissed everyone. When they were all gone, Ben Wade fixed Grant and White with a hard stare. "Now what?" he demanded. "What do you do from here?"

Zack looked at his partner, waiting to see how Bud would handle Wade.

"We retrace her possible steps and look for any clues. Get her picture out over the wire." Bud fixed Wade with eye to eye look. "This next part is up to you. We should check all the buildings on the property carefully including the quarters of the staff for any clues. Grant..." Bud nodded to his partner. "And I feel that her disappearance is linked to someone on this property whether you feel it or not. You own the place. Your permission will give us entrance anywhere and everywhere. You ready to help us find your wife?"

Ben sighed, frustrated. "You got my say-so to look anywhere you wanna look. But I'm tellin' you, we already did that."

The tone of his voice had been rising steadily. "Liana could be anywhere in the world by now! Or dead!"

Laying a hand on Ben's arm, Frank told him, "They're gonna work the case just the way they need to, Ben." Frank had been a cop a long time ago. He knew how these things worked, and Ben wasn't going to do himself any favors talking this way.

Dan Evans spoke up. "Why don't we go back up to this house? Unless you need us around while you search?" He directed the question at both men.

Bud looked at his partner. What they didn't need around was Wade with his ready to explode fuse. "We need one person with us who knows every inch of this property." Bud didn't want to promise what he couldn't deliver, but he did feel for Wade. He kept thinking about Marie and if she was missing. "We're gonna find her Wade. You need to be connected to the phone in case she was abducted for ransom. There could be a kidnapping demand. We need to find that clue that will lead us to her. It's here somewhere."

Bud looked at Zack. "Come on partner. Let's find her."

Zack nodded, took one last glance back at the stables and followed them up to the house.