Abduction (29 page)

“Bully for
you.” She glared at him with a look sharp enough to cut gems. “Could you leave
now?”

“And let you
sit here to wait for the killer?”

Zoe slipped
off her jacket and hung it in the coat closet. “He isn’t ready to kill me yet,
Detective, but when he is, not even you will be able to stop him.”

JJ shoved his
hands in his pockets. “You don’t have much faith in me, do you?”

She brushed
past him and walked into the kitchen. He had no choice but to follow her. He
watched while she opened the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice.

“Are you going
to answer my question?”

Zoe poured
herself a glass of juice without bothering to offer him any. “I didn’t realize
something so obvious needed to be stated.”

“I
said
I’m sorry about your father, okay?”

“I heard you
the first time. You’re forgiven. Will there be anything else?”

“Why are you
doing this, Zoe?”

“Because someone needs to, and I ended up with the
job by default.” She finished her juice and set the glass in the sink. “Now, if
you’ll excuse me, it’s been a long night and I need to get some sleep.”

“Do you
honestly think you’ll get one minute of sleep tonight?”

Blast him for
seeing past her wall of indifference. “If you’re going to sleep on the sofa, be
my guest, but I’m going to bed. Don’t forget to turn out the lights.”

“I want a blanket this time!” he yelled as she
started down the hall.

“Then take the
guest room and leave me alone!”

#

Keyes stared out the window. The clouds, obscuring
the moonlight, left the lake a dark, eerie black. Only the most turbulent of
white
caps
could be seen. His boat,
The
House Keyes,
rocked gently against the dock.

“What are you
staring at?” Denise walked up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist
and leaning into him.

“I’m worried
about Zoe,” he said in a rough voice. He rubbed his temple with his fingertips.
His anxiety manifested as a dull throb. “I don’t like leaving her at the mercy
of a killer. I need to be there, Dee.”

“I know.”

He turned and
pulled her close again. “I don’t want you in danger. I won’t lose you again.”

“I’m not going
anywhere, Keyes. I’ll stay here. I’ll be fine. Go. Protect our daughter.”

He took a deep
breath and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you both so much. These
years have been hell. I don’t deny I deserved them, but I can’t tell you what
it means to me that you’ve forgiven me and are taking me back.”

“It just means
you have to pay for another big wedding.”

Keyes laughed
as he leaned down to kiss her. His heart was so full it almost hurt. “I’ll give
you the biggest, grandest wedding you ever saw. Anything you want, Dee.
Anything. And anywhere you want to go on a second honeymoon. Just name it.”

“I never
stopped loving you, Keyes. You know that, don’t you?”

“You just
couldn’t trust me. I know.”

“But I trust
you now. Go take care of Zoe. She needs you more than I do right now.”

Keyes held on
to her for another minute and then, with great difficulty, backed out of the
embrace. He’d waited twenty years to hold her again. Most of that time he had
been sure he would never have the chance again. It had been hard to believe
that somehow, some way. . .

“I’ll call and
charter a plane. It’ll be faster and that way you can keep the car.”

“Leave a credit card and I’ll go back to that
little market we passed today. The one with all those antiques that you
wouldn’t stop at.”

Keyes laughed.

In the
bedroom, Keyes repacked his clothes. While Denise was in the shower, he sat
down and wrote her a quick note. He tucked a credit card in the envelope. Along
with the simple words of love, he wrote, “And the Visa is a gold card. Go as
crazy as you want.”

chapter
24

Tuesday, April 25

K
aren gave up trying to sleep when she heard Ray in
the kitchen
and smelled the coffee. Sliding off the bed, she grabbed a
robe and joined him.

“Did you
sleep?” he asked, cracking eggs into a bowl.

Karen
shrugged. “I keep thinking about Ted.”

“What about
him?” Ray started whisking the eggs.

“I don’t think
he’s dead.”

Ray looked at
her, studied her, then turned his attention back to the eggs. “What do you
think is going on?”

“I think he
ran.”

Ray set the
whisk down and turned around. He leaned back against the counter. “I’m
listening.”

“
You know how last night at the prayer meeting Rene
said something
about trusting what God put inside me? You know, when she
was praying.”

“I remember.”

“All night,
thoughts kept going through my head, and instead of tossing them out the way I
usually do, you know, discounting them as foolishness, I paid attention.”

Ray nodded.

“You were
right. Ted
did
try to make me feel stupid. So does Dad. And I’m
not
really stupid. I just felt like they were smarter and I should listen to them
because they probably knew what was best for me. But it wasn’t right for them
to make me feel stupid.”

“Hallelujah!”
Ray threw both hands in the air and laughed out loud. “She got it, Lord! By
Jove, she got it.”

Karen stared at her hands, her lips quivering.
“I’m a little slow—
what can I tell you.”

Ray grabbed a
chair and flopped down on it. “No, listen to me. Between you and me, who always
got the better grades in school?”

Karen thought
a moment before answering. “I did.”

He just stared
at her, his eyes begging her to think it out and
take it one step further. Finally, she smiled. “That makes me smarter
than you.”

Grinning, he jumped out of his chair and threw his
arms around
her. “You always were, Sis. You just let Dad and Ted
convince you otherwise.”

While it felt
good to smile and laugh with Ray, she could feel her smile drifting away. “Ted
ran because. . .I think he did something to Jessica.”

That wiped the
smile off Ray’s face. He pulled away from her and dropped back down into his chair.
“I have a bad feeling you’re right. Maybe he was jealous of the attention you
gave her.”

“That’s
stupid.”

“Yes, it is.”

Tears trickled
down her face. She didn’t bother to wipe them away. “The police began to
suspect him, so he had to run.”

“I think so,
Karen. I’m sorry.”

Karen shook
her head. “I’ve done enough grieving over the past couple of weeks. There’s
nothing left for Ted. But Jess. . .”

“Don’t give up
hope, Sis.”

Karen
continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “I never thought him capable of. . .murder,
you know? He could be mean and nasty, and he’d put me down and make me feel
stupid and ugly, but I never thought in a million years he’d kill someone. And
especially not. . .” She couldn’t say it.
No God, please don’t let it be
true.
She closed her eyes to the image, her hands twisting in her lap.

“Jess could be
alive. The police said someone was outside that window. He passed Jessica to
someone.”

Hope grew once
again. “You think that person has Jess?”

Ray nodded.
“Yeah, I do.”

“I can hope
for that.”

He squeezed
her hand. “You do that, Sis. You hold on to Jess. The police will find Ted, and
they’ll find out who he gave Jess to and they’ll bring her home.”

Karen felt
more tears welling up and swallowed them. This wasn’t the time to fall apart.
She’d done enough of that, too. Now she had to be strong. She had to find Jess.
She had to find out what her husband had done with their baby. And then she
would make sure Ted went to jail for it.

Lord, help me to be strong. Help me to see that
You’re right here with me.

#

Matt spent most of the day trying to track down
Maryanne Bubeck
. He talked to her boss again. He talked to coworkers. No
one could tell him anything. They went through her desk but found nothing
personal. He called the family references on her employment form. The numbers
were bogus.

After four,
her landlady returned. She wasn’t even aware that Maryanne Bubeck was missing
and probably wouldn’t have noticed until her rent was due. But the woman let
Matt into the apartment.
Just in case something bad had happened.

The apartment
had been cleaned out. There wasn’t even any dust in the corners. The landlady
was livid that Maryanne Bubeck had moved without notice and huffed and puffed
about how she’d better not be expecting any of her security deposit. Matt
didn’t think Miss Bubeck would bother to ask for it.

The landlady
allowed him to see photocopies of Miss Bubeck’s rent checks. He then went to
the bank. Miss Bubeck had closed her account.

Another dead
end.

Matt dragged
himself back to the station to talk to JJ.

JJ took one
look at him and narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Dead ends on
Bubeck. She’s gone. Cleaned out her apartment and her checking account.”

“That’s not
the reason for those dark circles under your eyes. Are you and Paula still
fighting?”

Matt sank down
in a chair. “You could say that. She broke up with me.”

“You didn’t
tell me that part.”

“I didn’t
think she meant it at the time, you know?”

“And she broke
up with you because. . .”

“Because I
didn’t call her for a week and when she came here, I accused her of cheating on
me with that GQ from her work.”

“Let me guess:
She explained it was innocent, and you didn’t believe her.”

Matt shuffled
his feet. “Something like that.”

“Figures.”

Matt glared at
JJ. “Look who’s talking. You’re head over heels for Zoe Shefford, and I don’t
see you asking her to the prom.”

“I’m not head over heels. And this isn’t about me;
it’s about you and the woman you love. Don’t be an idiot. Call her. Beg her to
take you back. Send her roses. Take her to Hawaii. Something. Anything. But
don’t lose her. She’s the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Matt folded
his arms across his chest. “I am not begging anyone for anything.”

“Go ahead; be
an idiot. It’s your own life you’re messing up. Have you found out anything
more on Ted Matthews?”

Matt shook his
head, grateful to be off the subject of Paula. “Gerry is handling that. But we
did talk to Nancy Darrington last night after you left. Did Gerry tell you?”

“He left me a
note. She was with her son.”

“Yeah. So that’s
a dead end, too.”

“Where do we
stand with Maysonet?”

Matt rolled
his head, trying to work the stiffness out of his neck. “Wayne is talking to
him today.”

JJ drummed his
fingers on his desk. Matt stood up. “I’m going to go get some food. Wanna come
along?”

“Call Paula.”

Matt didn’t respond. Instead, he turned and walked
briskly out of the office. He didn’t need JJ managing his love life. JJ—the man
who couldn’t keep a woman for more than two dates if he tried; the man who
couldn’t see where his heart was with a microscope and a map.

If Paula wanted to dump him, that was her
prerogative. He didn’t need her.

“Hey, Suzie-Q.
How about dinner?”

Patrol officer
Susan Meredith looked up at him from her report. “Can’t, sugar. I’m on tonight.
Gotta get back out there.”

“Another
time.”

He punched the
button to the elevator, heard it whine and creak, and opted for the stairs. On
the way down, he saw Michele going off duty. “Michele, baby. How about some
dinner?”

“Sorry, Matt.
Got a hot date.”

He flopped an
open hand over his heart. “I’m crushed.”

“Right.” She
smiled and shook her head. “That’ll be the day. Go home to your wife.”

“Wife?
Wife?
I don’t have a wife!”

“Well, if
Paula isn’t, she should be. Or is she too smart to take you on for life?”
Michele flashed him another smile and disappeared into the women’s locker room.

“Another
comedian.” Matt shoved his hands in his pockets.
Too smart to take him on
for life. Hah! Paula would have married him in a heartbeat. She was crazy about
him. She. . .

Was gone.

Matt pushed
open the front door and stepped out. Zoe had warned him, but he hadn’t
listened. And now Paula was gone.

#

Zoe was
putting away her dust cloth when the doorbell rang. She looked through the
peephole, half expecting JJ to be standing there with a sneering expression on
his face and his hands in his pockets.

She flung the
door open. “Dad?”

Keyes strode
past her and dropped his suitcase on the floor. “Your mother is safe at the
house in Marblehead. And I’m not leaving here until this is over.”

“Dad, you don’t
have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” He folded his arms across his chest
and gave her a look she hadn’t seen since she was five. “You are my daughter,
and regardless of how you feel about me, I happen to love you with all my
heart. Now, maybe you can’t find it in yourself to forgive me for a mistake I
made twenty years ago, but your mother has and we’re getting married again. In
the meantime, someone is threatening my daughter, and no one,
no one
,
threatens my daughter and gets away with it.”