The Texas Ranger's Nanny. Rebecca Winters

      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?”

      Before Vic said anything else, the other man rushed over to him with a concerned look on his face. “I heard about your son. What can I do to help?”

      His compassion was touching. “We’ve got more fingerprint samples coming from the staff at the school, but I’d like to find out if Jeremy’s fingerprints are on this.” He handed him the bag with the magnet. “We found it in the janitor’s closet outside Jeremy’s classroom. I’ll go upstairs and send my son’s set of fingerprints to you right now.”

      “I’ll get on it immediately.”

      Vic raced up the stairs two at a time. Little did he dream that one day those fingerprints he’d taken to satisfy his son’s curiosity would be needed.

      It didn’t take him long to get on his computer and send the vital information to the lab from his personal file. When Vic went back down, he found Kit had arrived with the other bags. “I’ve got Leroy Bennett’s address. When you’re ready, I’ll drive over to his place with you and we’ll find out if he was really sick today.”

      Vic’s teeth ground together. “Yup. Someone had a key to that closet who shouldn’t have.”

      They moved over to the table where Stan was working. He had images of Jeremy’s fingerprints up on the screen in front of him. He studied the print that had been taken off the magnet with his magnifying loop. Finally he turned to Vic. “They’re a match.”

      Until Stan gave him the verdict, Vic didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath. Kit clamped his hand on Vic’s shoulder. “Okay. Now we know where we’re going with this.”

      He nodded. “Let’s head upstairs and run Leroy Bennett’s name through the IAFIS database. If he has a criminal record, we’ll find out. Thanks, Stan.”

      “We’ll do whatever we can down here to help.”

      Vic hurried back upstairs to his office and typed in Bennett’s name on the computer in case he had a police record. Kit stood next to him while they waited to see if anything came up.

      “Here we go,” Vic muttered.

      William Leroy Bennett, 39, Austin, Texas

      Six feet

      180 pounds

      Green eye tattoo above inner wrist of left arm

      Two snake tattoos on his chest

      A half-moon shaped scar on side of his chin

      Dark blond hair short cropped

      Arrested in a park in Austin, Texas. He and several other individuals had a confrontation with another group of males. Both sides made derogatory comments. The altercation resulted in a fistfight. Bennett delivered the punch that knocked the victim unconscious. He eventually died. Bennett was determined to suffer from PTSD after a tour of duty in Iraq. After serving two months in prison on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the charge was dropped and he was released.

      Kit frowned. “Look at the date.”

      “It’s close to the date when I made that arrest. He’s only been out of prison three months. No arrests since then, but it’s too light a sentence,” Vic muttered. “The district isn’t allowed to hire anyone who’s had a prison record, but since the charge was dropped, I guess the rule didn’t apply.”

      “The information on Leroy’s school file says he started working for the district a week after his release from prison. Someone higher up had the power to pull strings like that,” Kit theorized. “I’ll get the full police report on the other men involved in the assault. Maybe the ones causing the confrontation with Leroy work for someone who gives them orders when they want a hit made.”

      “That’s what I’m thinking.” Vic got to his feet. “Before the night is over I want to talk to the person at the district who hired him, and find out who put the pressure on him or her. It’s time to pay Leroy a visit to find out just how sick he is. Let’s go in my car.”

      “I’ll call headquarters right now to get that process started.”

      It was ten to six when they left the building and drove to the Walnut Creek area known as a hot spot for a large number of auto thefts and larceny. Bennett lived in an older three-story apartment building, in unit 22. Vic parked the car and they entered the main foyer. Several tenants had to have been just getting back from work. They were checking their mailboxes, which were located inside the building.

      Vic followed the arrow to Bennett’s apartment on the main floor. He knocked on the door. No answer. He tried it again.

      Kit grimaced. “We need a warrant.”

      “Barring that, let’s check with that woman across the hall.” Vic walked over to the woman who held a sack of groceries in one arm and was in the middle of opening her door. She looked to be in her twenties.

      “Ma’am? Can we speak to you for a minute?” He pulled out his ID. “I’m Ranger Malone. This is Ranger Saunders.”

      She eyed them suspiciously. “What do you want?”

      “Can you tell us about the man living in apartment 22? He doesn’t seem to be home at the moment.”

      “I try to avoid him. He’s been bugging me to go out with him since I moved in here two months ago. He bragged about being in Iraq.”

      “Does he ever have friends over?”

      “Not that I’ve noticed.” She hunched her shoulders. “He’s weird, wanting to show me all his tattoos, you know? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in some kind of trouble.”

      “When was the last time you saw him?”

      “This morning. His parking stall is in the rear near mine. I saw him loading up the back of his truck. I asked him if he was moving out. He just nodded and drove off. I’m glad he’s gone and good riddance.”

      Vic felt as if he’d been stabbed. His only lead already had a ten-hour advantage on him. “Can you describe the truck for us?”

      “I don’t know models. It was blue and looked old with a bunch of dents.”

      “Four doors? Two doors?”

      “Two doors I think.”

      “What time was that?”

      “Quarter after eight. I have to be to work at eight thirty.”

      “Thank you for your time.”

      “Sure.”

      With that news, the two of them rushed out of the building to Vic’s car. “I’ll call in for a license plate number. Once it’s found I’ll ask TJ to send out an Amber Alert. I wouldn’t doubt if Leroy was paid off to do his part in the kidnapping, and now he’s headed for the border.”

      Kit nodded. “He must have driven to the school right before the bell and put Jeremy in the garbage bin. All he had to do was put it in the truck parked outside the door and take off with no one being the wiser.”

      Bile started to rise in Vic’s throat. “We’ve got to find him.” He put in a call