Burn Out (16 page)

“Huh?” Mike looked confused.
“Pregnant?”

Rachel rolled her eyes. Typical male response,
she thought. “Stacy met with her source who told her Sam had taken
a pregnancy test the day she disappeared.”

“
Who was her source?”

“
She didn’t tell me. But, if I had
to take an educated guess, I would say Mack or someone at the
police station. Who else would have that intimate type of
information? I already interviewed her best friend, Tammie, and she
wasn’t even sure what kind of relationship Sam and Mack
had.”

“
So, I’m assuming it would be
Mack’s baby? If the rumors are true, that is.”

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “Your guess is
as good as mine. This calls for another visit to Ken.” She picked
up her cell and starting dialing.

“
Who are you calling?”

“
Suzette Breland, Ken’s attorney to
arrange another visit. And then I’m calling Red. I should have
thought of this earlier. I want to run a background check on
Paul.”

***

While Rachel waited in the parking lot outside
the county jail for Ken’s attorney to show up, she thought about
what Mike said. Maybe he was right; they needed to follow the money
trail.

Rachel saw Suzette’s black Mercedes
roll into the parking lot. She stepped out with a short, black
skirt, lemony yellow silk blouse which complemented her deep, dark
tan, and stylish Jimmy Choo slingbacks. When she pushed her
sunglasses on top of her head, Rachel noticed Suzette’s trademark…a
thin bright pink highlight intertwined through her honey blonde
hair.

“
Thanks for coming,” Rachel said as
she walked up to her.

“
Not a problem.” Suzette pulled her
leather briefcase out of the back of her car. “How are you? I heard
about the fire.” She pointed to Rachel’s bandaged hand.

“
I’m fine, thanks. Just a minor
burn and some cuts and bruises.”

“
What’s going on with the
case?”

“
That’s what I need to talk to Ken
about.” Rachel paused. “Samantha Collins was pregnant.”

Suzette showed no emotion. “And
it’s not Ken’s,” she said as a matter of fact.

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t
know.”

“
May I ask you where you got this
information?”

“
A confidential source.”

Suzette raised her eyebrows at
her.

“
Apparently, the night of the fire
Sam was discovered missing, the fire chief and crew along with a
police officer went through Sam’s things at the fire station. Her
bunk room was clean, but one of the officers found a pregnancy test
in the trash.”

Suzette looked at her suspiciously.
“I don’t see Sam throwing something like that in the trash for all
to see.”

“
No. It was wrapped in a paper
towel and then put inside a CVS pharmacy bag.”

“
The deputies were rather thorough,
then.”

“
Yes, they were.”

“
Anyone could have put it
there.”

Ah, here we go, Rachel
thought.

“
The fire station is not locked
when the guys go out on a call,” Suzette continued. “One of the
wives or girlfriends of the crew could have come by to surprise
their guy and left it there.”

“
According to my source, the crew
was questioned. No visitors came by that day. The trash is emptied
after each shift,” Rachel said. “Plus Suzette, do you really
believe some random girl just came by the station to use the
bathroom and leave a pregnancy test in the trash?”

Suzette threw her hands up. “I
don’t discount anything.”

“
Come on. Sam was pregnant and
that, my friend, adds another element to this crazy case.” They
started walking towards the jail.

“
Ken is not going to take this very
well.”

“
Yes, I figured that. He already
thinks Mack and Sam were having an affair.

“
So why tell him about this? He is
already worried about her missing and the trial.” Suzette said.
“Why go there?”

“
Because, despite everything that
is going on, I believe Ken still loves and cares about Samantha.
And because I need to find Samantha. They have two little girls who
need their mother.”

“
We both can agree on that,”
Suzette said.

They walked the rest of the way in
silence. After going through all the proper procedures, they were
led to the visitor’s room.

“
Do you mind if I talk to Ken alone
first?” Rachel said quickly, before Suzette rejected her idea. “I
think he would take the news better from me.”

Suzette was about to protest when
Rachel interrupted her.

“
Please. Just give me five
minutes.”

“
Ok. But if Ken refuses to answer
any questions…” Suzette started to say.

“
I’ll come and get you.”

Suzette walked to the couch. “I’ll
be right here.”

Rachel was walking to the visitor’s
table when they brought Ken in. Even though it had only been a
couple of days since her first visit to see him, he looked like he
had aged another ten years. She didn’t have much time, so she cut
through all the pleasantries and jumped right in.

“
Was Sam pregnant?” The question
hit Ken like a ton of bricks.

“
No. Why are you asking
that?”

“
Because we found a pregnancy test
Sam took.”

“
No way. Where did you find this
test?” Ken asked.

“
It was discarded in the trash can
at the fire station.” Rachel watched the color drain from Ken’s
face. “It was found when they searched her bunk room at the fire
station.”

Ken thought for a moment, scrubbing
his face with his hands. “If Sam is pregnant, it’s not mine. I had
a vasectomy when Gracie, our youngest daughter, was
born.”

Rachel sat in silence.

“
Plus…” he waved around the room,
“I have been at these luxury accommodations for the last couple of
months. No conjugal visits here.”

That is what Rachel expected to
hear, but was still a little surprised.

“
It can’t be confirmed the test was
hers, but since she was the only female at the department that day,
and the trash is taken out each shift…” Rachel let the words
fall.

“
So you think Sam got knocked up by
someone else.” Ken finished the sentence for her. “I guess it
confirms my fear about her affair with Mack.”

Again, she sat in silence. This was
difficult for her. She didn’t want to get involved in an obvious
marital discord between Samantha and Ken Collins. Her first
priority was to find Sam. And that meant figuring out what was
going on prior to her disappearance. Sometimes uncomfortable
situations like this one would come into play when trying to locate
a missing person. But she had to get down to the nitty gritty. Find
out what was going on with Samantha before she disappeared. What
made her tick? Who was in her life and what were their roles? What
was she doing before she disappeared? Who was with her the day of
her disappearance? What was on her mind? These were difficult
questions that had to be asked. She just hated to be the one who
had to ask them.

“
I don’t know if it was Mack Dixon.
I know you said last time we met to ask Mack since he was having an
affair with Sam. Well, I did ask and he has denied any affair.
Tammie even said she knew nothing going on between
them.”

“
That doesn’t mean it didn’t
happen.”

“
Why did you think there was an
affair?”

Ken just gave her a hard
look.

Rachel put her hands on the table
and leaned over. “I’m sorry, Ken. I’m doing my best here, trying
hard to find your wife. Unfortunately, it means having to ask the
tough questions.”

“
I found a birthday card Mack gave
Sam. Let’s just say it was romantic in nature. I never mentioned it
to Sam.”

“
When did you find the
card?”

“
Sam’s birthday was in January. I
found the card hidden in her closet. That’s all I have to say about
it.”

“
Ken, anything at all you can
remember about Sam’s activities before she disappeared may be a big
help in finding her. Please know whatever you tell me will be held
in confidence.” Rachel patted him on arm. “I’m just trying to
help.”

Ken looked at her with despair. “I
know. It’s hard being in here. I’m used to being in control of
these types of situations. To sit here and know there is nothing I
can do is tearing me apart.”

Rachel looked around the room. The
one guard in the room was busy picking at his fingernails. Suzette
sat at the couch flipping through a magazine.

“
There is something you can do.”
Rachel leaned forward again and whispered, “Something that might
help us find her.”

Ken looked at her hopefully. “What
is it?”

“
Tell me what you did with the
money.”

Ken leaned back in his chair and
stared back at Rachel. He seemed to contemplate her
question.

“
Let me rephrase that. If you did
hide the money, which is what the rumors are, did Sam know where it
was?” Rachel asked.

“
I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”

Rachel switched her tactics. She
knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“
We are working on theory here.
Someone who knew about the money grabbed Sam. With the hopes of
getting the money, we think.” Rachel said. “If you tell me where
the money is hidden, then I can get the dogs out there and see if
they can pick up Sam’s scent. It’s worth a shot.”

“
Who all would be involved in this
search?” Ken asked.

“
It would just be me and a couple
of my volunteers.”

He looked at her skeptically. “No
police?”

“
No police.”

“
I’m putting a lot of trust in
you,” Ken said. “If you find any money, what will you do with
it?”

“
I won’t touch the money. I just
want to know where it is. We will search the area and see if we can
pick up any clues on Sam’s whereabouts.”

Ken thought about this for a
minute.

“
Assuming I would hide any money, I
wouldn’t do it on my property. And Sam wouldn’t have any knowledge
of it.”

“
Right. Your property has
already been searched. I wouldn’t think you would have hidden
anything there. ” Rachel paused. “And Sam might not know about the
money, but it doesn’t mean someone
thinks
she knows where it
is.”

Ken thought about it for a minute.
Then he said,“When I was little my dad used to take me fishing
every Sunday after church. We would go to my dad’s favorite fishing
hole. A beautiful place called Millers Lake.”

“
Where is Millers Lake?”

“
Just north of here. You can find
it on any local area map. Anyway, after a hot day of fishing, we
would eat a lunch my mom packed. Then, while my dad would take a
nap, I would climb this tree. It was a big tree – lots of branches
– with a nice size hole in the trunk, about half way up. I would
hide little trinkets in there – match box cars, colored rocks, four
leaf clovers...”

Rachel got his meaning.

“
I took the girls there once
fishing. I let the oldest one climb the tree and showed her the
secret hole. It’s still there. I told Bella – my oldest – the tree
was worth a half of million dollars.”

Rachel looked back at Suzette, who
had apparently gotten bored and was now staring out the window. The
guard was still interested in his fingernails.

“
Thanks.” Rachel got up to
leave.

Ken stopped her. “Hey, by the way,
what happened to you?” He motioned to her hand.

“
I was in an accident. I’m okay.”
She didn’t want to go through the whole story of the
fire.

“
Ok.” He looked unsure. “Take
care.”

“
Suzette – your turn,” she said
when she walked over to her.

“
That was quick.”

“
Told you it wouldn’t take
long.”

“
Did you get whatever information
you needed from him?”

“
Yes, I think so.”

“
Ok. Give me a few minutes and
we’ll get out of this dump.”

After fifteen minutes, Suzette was
done, and they were on their way out.

As Suzette walked her to the car,
she said, “Every time I leave here I have to go home and take a
shower. The smell of sweat and despair just soaks into your clothes
and skin.”

“
Job hazard. We all have them.”
Rachel shook her hand. “Thanks, Suzette. I’ll be in
touch.”

Maybe going back to the hotel and
taking a quick shower wouldn’t be such a bad idea, she thought.
Then she could gather the troops and head out to Millers Lake.
Today was going to be her lucky day. She just knew it.