Abduction (21 page)

Tripp, a
twenty-five-year veteran with heavy jowls and deep-set brown eyes, was well
respected and had earned every accolade he’d received. With a scowl, he held up
an evidence bag with a large butcher knife tucked inside. “Found this in the
dishwasher. Still has blood on it. Whattya bet it matches the missing husband.”

Karen’s anger
melted into panic. “This is all a mistake!”

Suddenly Rene came sweeping into the room. “Don’t
say another
word, Karen. I’ve called an attorney. He’s on his way. Until
he gets here, say nothing.”

“But Ted isn’t
dead, Rene!”

“Until this
misunderstanding is cleared up, I was told you need to stay quiet. Wait for the
lawyer. Let him handle this.”

JJ didn’t know
whether to applaud or roll his eyes. He looked over at Tripp, who was now
scowling at the woman in the doorway. JJ could relate. It wasn’t the first time
this woman had stalled an investigation.

JJ’s cell
phone rang. He stepped back out of the kitchen to answer it. “Johnson.”

“Hey, boss.”
Gerry’s voice rolled with inappropriate laughter. “Heard you’re having fun at
the Matthews’ again.”

“Just tell me
what you have,” JJ replied dryly.

“A possible lead on our housekeeper. We got a hit
from law enforcement in Orlando. Physical description of a car parked at an
out-of-the-way motel matches our suspect. They talked to the motel manager. At
first he wasn’t too cooperative. When he was asked if he wanted to be an
accessory to kidnapping and a few other felons, he buckled. Says the lady
checked in last night with an infant.”

“Gerry?” JJ
turned and stared out the front window.

“Yes, sir?”

“I thought I
sent you to the Shefford house.”

“Wayne went. I was in the middle of a call from
the Orlando
police.”

JJ snapped his
phone closed and then marched back into the kitchen. “Mrs. Matthews?”

She looked up
at him with tears streaking down her cheeks.

“What errand
did your husband go on last night? And just in case you don’t realize it, this
is no time to hide anything.”

She wrung her
hands nervously before she finally spoke in a soft voice. “He said he was going
to meet the kidnappers.”

JJ raised one
eyebrow skeptically. Tripp looked from the woman to JJ. “What’s going on here?”

“They found
the housekeeper and the baby.”

Karen sprang
to her feet. “Where?”

“Is that why
you killed him, Mrs. Matthews? Because he was having an affair with Nancy
Darrington?”

Confusion
crossed Karen’s face, but JJ had his theory all lined up and her act wasn’t
cutting it any more now than it had when all this started. “Nancy Darrington.
Aka Alice Denton.”

“Our
housekeeper? That’s ridiculous! He wasn’t having an affair with her, and I
didn’t kill him! He’s fine. He went after Jess. He’ll be back soon.”

“I doubt it.
Nancy Darrington is being picked up as we speak. In Orlando, Florida.”

#

JJ pulled into
Zoe’s driveway just after eleven. Wayne was standing on the porch with a
uniformed officer. He handed JJ the evidence bag with the doll inside.

JJ held up the
bag. “My guess is that it belongs to Lisa Brandt.”

“You’d be
guessing right,” Zoe replied softly.

JJ looked up
to find her standing in the doorway. She was pale, trembling, and as far as JJ
was concerned, barely holding it together.

“He wants to
shake you up, Zoe.”

“He already did that,” she replied. “This is
nothing but over
kill.” Turning on her heel, she disappeared inside the
house, leaving JJ to follow or leave.

“Wait here,”
JJ instructed Wayne. He stepped inside the house and closed the door. He found
Zoe in the living room, pacing.

“You can’t
stay here until we catch this guy. Do you have a place to go?”

Zoe nodded.
“Daria asked me to stay with her.”

“Good.”
Thinking the subject dealt with, JJ turned and headed for the door. “I’m going
to take this down to the station. I doubt we’ll find anything, but it’s worth
trying.”

“Okay.” She
followed him, her sandals barely whispering across the carpet.

At the door,
JJ looked back at her, taking in the dark shadows in those pretty eyes. It was
fear. For the first time since this had all begun, he realized just how afraid
she truly was. In that moment, he didn’t think about his motives, his
intentions, or even his actions. He reached over and pulled her into his arms.

She was stiff
and unyielding as he held her. “It’s going to be okay, Zoe. We’re not going to
let this guy get to you.”

She placed her hands lightly on his shoulders.
“You won’t be able to stop him, Josiah. I’ve invaded his garden. He wants me
dead.”

“I don’t care
what he wants. He’s not going to touch you.”

Later, he
would say it was the scent of jasmine and roses. Or the look in her eyes—the
incredible need that could turn any man into a mindless idiot with visions of
white horses and slaying dragons.

But at that
moment, all he could think of was how well she seemed to fit in his arms.

His lips came down on hers as soft as a whispered
promise. There was a moment of hesitation before he felt her yield. Her arms
slid around his neck and her fingers curled in his hair. And he was lost.

He tasted her
mouth, his lips moving over hers in a ritual as old as breathing and just as
instinctive. And if he felt those fingers wrapping around his heart, he didn’t
notice. He was far too consumed with the way she felt, tasted, breathed.

When he broke
the contact, he was breathing hard. She opened her eyes slowly, and while the
look of fear had abated, the look that had replaced the fear was far more
potent.

He dropped his
arms and stepped back reluctantly, trying to break those tiny threads that
seemed to bind him to her.

“That was a
mistake. I’m sorry.”

Zoe turned her
face away. “Don’t sweat it, cowboy. A moment of insanity, right?”

“Right.” He
held up the doll. “I’d better go.”

Zoe merely
nodded. “You have a good day.”

“Yeah. Uh,
you, too.”

#

It wasn’t
until she heard the front door close that she sat down and let the tears well
up in her eyes.
A mistake!

For the first
time in her life, she felt a connection with a man that didn’t involve seeing
his every dark secret or the motive of his heart or the lust in his soul. For
once, all she felt was wonderful. And he called it a mistake.

Arrogant,
self-centered, judgmental, self-righteous. . .

And this was
the man she was depending on to protect her from a killer? She’d lost her mind.
The sight of her sister’s bracelet glittering on her pillow still shimmered in
her mind. The killer had left two messages for her with that bracelet.
I
killed your sister and I can kill you. And I can get to you anytime, anywhere.
You are not safe from me.

Suddenly Zoe
snapped to attention. What was it? Something her mother had told her about a
man coming into the store. She jumped to her feet and ran down the hall. “Mom?”
She tapped on the guest room door.

“Come on in,
honey.”

Zoe pushed open the door. Her mother was sitting
on the freshly made bed, brushing her hair. She smiled up at Zoe. “You
know
what I was just thinking about? Belgian waffles. The kind with strawberries and
whipped cream all over the top. You always loved those. How about we go down to
that waffle. . .”

Zoe cut her off. “Mom. The other day. You called
me and you told me a man had come into the shop. A weird man. Do you remember?”

Denise shoved
her brush into her purse. “Well, of course I remember. He was way beyond weird.
He said something about what a shame it would be if I lost both daughters.
That’s what sent those creepy crawlers up my spine.”

Zoe spun on
her heel and ran back into the living room. She grabbed the phone and stared at
it a moment before she realized that she didn’t know the phone number.

“Who are you
calling? What’s wrong, Zoe? Did that man come back again?”

“Mom, what’s
Dad’s number?”

Denise lifted
a finely arched brow as she rattled off the number to Zoe. Zoe dialed it
without answering the questions in her mother’s eyes.

“Dad? I’m
sorry if I woke you.”

“Zoe? Uh. .
.no, you didn’t wake me. I was just about to make some coffee.”

“Mom is here.
I need you to come here now. Now, Dad. Do you understand?”

“Well, yes, of course I understand. I can be there
in ten minutes.”

“Make it
eight.” Zoe slammed down the phone and started pacing again.

“Zoe, what is
going on?”

“I’ll tell you
as soon as Dad gets here.”

Denise frowned
in that delicate way she had and folded her arms across her chest. Zoe could
see so much of herself in her mother. They were both as stubborn as
twenty-year-old mules. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Keyes Shefford
arrived a shade under ten minutes. Zoe opened the door and waved him in before
he even had a chance to knock. She was stunned to see how he’d aged. Gray
threaded through the thick, curly brown hair that had begun to recede from the
corners of his forehead. He’d always been slim, but now he was almost too thin.
The way his shoulders slumped, it was as if life had finally succeeded in
wearing him out.

Only those
gray eyes of his snapped with energy, and most of that was curiosity and
bewilderment. “What’s going on?”

Zoe took a
deep breath and waved him over to the sofa. “The man that killed Amy is now
after me.”

She watched
the color drain from his face and, for the first time in years, felt her heart
ache for her dad. And for the relationship she’d once had with him. She longed
for him to hold her tight and keep her safe. But she knew he couldn’t keep her
safe. He hadn’t been able to keep Amy safe.

“It gets
worse,” she continued as her mother sidled over and sat down next to her
father. “He’s been leaving me messages, letting me know that I have nowhere to
run and nowhere to hide. But that’s not what I’m worried about right now. It
dawned on me this morning that he left another message for me and I almost
overlooked it.”

“What message,
Zoe?” Denise reached for Keyes’ hand and held it tightly.

“He was in
your shop, Mom. Remember? He was right there in your shop telling you that it
would be a shame to lose me.”

Keyes’ head
jerked back as he stared first at Zoe and then at Denise. “He was letting you
know he could get to your mother.”

“Yes. Dad, I
need you to take Mom away. Someplace safe until this is over. Mom said you
bought a cabin somewhere in Ohio—on one of the Great Lakes, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I. . .”

Zoe cut him
off. This was no time for specifics. “Just take her there. Stay there. Fish,
swim, picnic, explore, buy her all the antiques she wants. I don’t care what
you have to do, but keep her away until I let you know it’s safe to come back.”

Denise shook
her head. “Not unless you come, too. It’s you he’s after, not me.”

“He’ll follow
me. He won’t follow you. The police and I can handle this. I just need to know
you’re safe.” She wasn’t so sure the police could handle this situation. Nor
was she certain she could. The lie was necessary, however, to get her mother to
cooperate.

“I don’t know,
honey.” Denise shook her head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. I’ll
be worrying the whole time.”

“I can handle
this, Mom. I’ve been handling this world for a long, long time. Trust me. Trust
the police. We’ll catch this guy.”

“You’re going
to set yourself up as bait, aren’t you?” Her father’s voice cut right to the
heart. She could only hope he believed she wasn’t alone in this.

“We have it
all worked out, Dad. I’ll be safe the entire time. We have to stop this guy
before he takes another little child. It’s the only way.”

Keyes wrapped
his arms around Denise. “I’ll keep her safe, Zoe, but I want your promise that
you’ll do exactly what the police say and nothing else. No rash heroic moves.
Don’t take any unnecessary chances. I’ve already lost too much in my life. I
won’t lose you, too.”

Zoe stood there
and stared at her father. Didn’t he realize that he’d already lost her? He’d
lost her twenty years ago.

chapter
18

Saturday, April 22

S
itting
at the kitchen table, Karen tried to ignore the incessant ringing of the
doorbell. “Go away,” she kept whispering as she buried her head in her arms.

The ringing
finally stopped and silence fell around her like a warm mist. Images kept
swimming through her head. The police searching her house, asking her
questions, insisting that Ted’s car had been found in the river, his body swept
away.

Impossible. He
couldn’t be dead. God couldn’t be so cruel as to take her baby and her husband.

A bloody knife
in the dishwasher? She couldn’t remember using it. Couldn’t remember the last
time she’d even seen that knife. It wasn’t one of her regular cooking knives.
It had been one of her mother’s and was usually left unused in a kitchen
drawer. Karen didn’t like the way it cut.

How did it get
there? Whose blood was it? It couldn’t be Ted’s. It was absurd for anyone to
think she had killed him. She loved him. Respected him. Needed him. She loved
Ted. Sure, he could be overbearing sometimes, but. . . She pressed her knuckles
against her mouth to keep from crying out in despair. Her head hurt and she
felt sick to her stomach.