Deception with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Two) (25 page)

Rilynne glanced over at Ben and smiled. “No, Ben didn’t stand me up.” She paused just long enough to enjoy the shocked look on his face. “Something came up and interrupted our evening, though. I wanted to call and let you know that I’ll be out of town taking care of something for a few days.”

“Is there anything I can do?” His tone became noticeably more serious.

“No.” She paused for several seconds to decide just how far she wanted to get into things at the moment. “My old chief called to tell me that a body was found outside of Madison. They’re pretty sure it’s my husband.”

“Your husband?” Now he just sounded confused.

“It’s a really long story, and I don’t want to get into it right now. Ben can fill you in tomorrow at work. I’m flying back to Bodker now. I shouldn’t be more than a couple days. I just need to get it all taken care of; I need the closure.”

She could almost hear him nodding over the line. “I’ll be here if you need anything. See you when you get back.”

Rilynne hung up and put her phone back in her purse before letting out a long, low sigh. “You haven’t told him?” Ben asked. She shook her head and returned her gaze to the road ahead.

“It isn’t something I really like to talk to people about,” she said. “I’m sure I would have eventually told him; I just hadn’t yet.”

“You told me,” he stated curiously.

Rilynne pulled her feet up in her seat and turned toward him. “You’re you,” she said. “Besides, you found my pictures. I didn’t really have much of a choice after that.” She thought back to the look on his face when he found the wedding picture in her photo album. He had looked so confused that it made her sick. After he risked his life to keep her safe from a serial killer, she decided to tell him about Christopher and the events leading up to his death.

“How much do you want me to tell Matthews?” he asked.

She thought about it several minutes before answering. “You can tell him everything,” she finally said. “Honestly, it would probably be easier for me if it was you. I know he wouldn’t push, but I’m still not up to answering any questions, not quite yet.”

“What about Wilcome? Do you want me to tell him anything?”

“If he asks,” she replied. “Although, I don’t think that’s very likely. I imagine he already knows a good deal about it, though. He would have checked into me pretty thoroughly before agreeing to hire me. He may not know the details, but I’m sure he knows the gist.”

Despite wanting to continue the conversation just to distract her from the thoughts floating through her mind, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She stared out her window at the blackened blurs passing by. Before she knew it, buildings started to take the place of trees.

“How long will it take you to get to Bodker after you land?” he asked. Other than coming up in conversation from time to time, he had never really asked her about her hometown. Part of her thought that he felt if he talked about it, it might make her want to return.

“It’s only a forty-five minute drive to the station with no traffic,” she replied. “If I flew into Madison, it would have been a little over an hour.”

Aside from going to college in Madison, Rilynne spent most of her life in Bodker, Wisconsin. Having moved so many times as a child, she had lived in nearly every part of the city before settling down in a small housing development on the north side. Like in Addison Valley, she had chosen a house close enough to the station for her to run to work whenever the weather permitted.

She had never imagined living anywhere else until Christopher was offered a new position on the west coast. After he was killed, she was left with mixed feelings about the city she loved. It wasn’t until the Pirate Killer case became so publicized that she finally made the decision to leave.

“You’re going to have to hurry when we get there, but you shouldn’t have any problem catching your flight,” he said as he took the next exit. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, although everything inside of her was wishing he would. He pulled up to the doors and stepped out to help her with her bag.

“Call me when you know when your return flight is and I’ll be here to pick you up,” he said as he sat the bag down at her feet and pulled her in for a hug. “Text me when you land.”

She took a deep breath-quivering slightly when the sweet scent of peaches reached her nose-before pulling away and reaching for her bag. “Thank you,” she said warmly. “Thank you for helping me through this and being so understanding. I know it isn’t the easiest thing to have to deal with.”

“If anyone’s going to understand what you’re going through, it’s me.” Ben had suffered his own loss several years before. His fiancé had been murdered and he was named the prime suspect before the forensic evidence cleared him. Because of this, he was in the unique position to actually know just how she was feeling. “Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

Rilynne rose up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before turning and walking through the sliding doors. She turned back before rounding the corner and found him leaning against the car watching her, knuckles dragging along his chin.

*

Rilynne stepped off the plane and was met by tall, middle-aged man who looked like he had just been to hell and back. His normally warm and handsome face had been distorted with grief, and his short black hair, which had always been neatly combed, looked as if he had just rolled out of bed.

“How was your flight?” he asked.

“Uneventful, although the ticket that had been booked for me was in first class, which was interesting. Thanks for picking me up, Chief,” she said as she walked with him to baggage claim. “Have you learned anything else?”

“I sent our forensic team out to take over the search of the area, but they probably won’t make it very far until the sun comes back up. The body-” He hesitated on the word, looking to Rilynne in almost an apologetic way. “-is being taken to our morgue. As of right now, all signs point to it being Christopher. Where are you staying?”

“I…” With all of the events of the evening, she had completely forgotten to book a hotel room. “I have no idea. I’ll figure something out. I really wanted to go by the morgue and see everything myself.”

Jimmy Wooldridge reached down and grabbed her bag from the belt. “The coroner won’t be in until the morning. Let’s get you settled in and I’ll take you down there first thing tomorrow. The place next to the station should have some rooms available.”

“Okay,” she said as she nodded in resignation. “I need to text my… friend and let him know I made it safe.”

“I hope I didn’t ruin your Valentine’s Day,” he said as he glanced down to the red dress she was still wearing. “Although, I’m guessing that I did, as I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”

They walked out the doors to the awaiting car, the cold air brushing against her exposed skin. “It’s okay. Ben knows how important this is. I’m actually glad that I was out with him when I got your call. I think I might have completely fallen apart, otherwise.”

“Ben as in Ben Davis?” he asked as he slammed the trunk closed, looking both curious and impressed.

Rilynne gave him a quizzical look as she slid into the passenger seat. “I take it you’ve heard of him?”

“I’ve been to several of the forensic lectures he’s spoken at,” he explained. He climbed into the car and turned it on. “I make it a point to keep up with the forensic breakthroughs. I even sent him some evidence from a case we were working on a few months back. Many consider him the top in the field, and I tend to agree.”

Rilynne couldn’t think of anything to do but smile. “He’s quite impressive. He’s also been a really great friend to me since I moved to Addison Valley,” she explained. “We’ve been through quite a lot together.”

“How would you feel about sending all of the evidence collected from the scene and off of the body to him for analysis?” he asked as he pulled onto the highway. With almost no traffic on the road, Rilynne knew it shouldn’t take them more than forty-five minutes to reach the station. “I have no doubt that our team here can handle it, but they’re working several other cases right now, and I’m sure you’ll want this to have top priority. He’s also been working on several new procedures, and I want to make sure we have every resource we can on this.”

“I’ll let him know that everything’s coming,” she said. Though she would never have suggested it, she had been wishing he could have been the one to process everything. She was elated that Wooldridge had proposed the idea himself. “He just finished training an entire shift of new people, so I’m sure he’ll be able to give it his undivided attention.”

They spent the rest of the drive talking about the different happenings in their lives. It was just after three when they pulled in front of the large hotel that sat adjacent to the police station.

“Meet me at the station at eight and we’ll head to the coroner’s office,” he said. “I’ll make sure all of the evidence is collected so we can have it escorted to Addison Valley. We should be able to get it out by noon tomorrow if you’ll let Mr. Davis know to be expecting it.”

Rilynne checked in and took the elevator up to her third floor room. She walked in and went straight to the bed, collapsing out of both physical and emotional exhaustion. It was another half an hour before she mustered up the strength to roll over and reach for her phone.

“First class?” she asked when he answered. By the sound of Ben’s voice, she had a feeling he hadn’t gone to sleep. “I would have been just fine in coach.”

“Are you saying you didn’t enjoy first class?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she joked. “I’ve never been in first class before. It was amazing. It still must have been expensive, though.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied coolly. “I have a lot of frequent flier miles. Are you just getting in?”

“I landed about an hour and a half ago,” she replied. “Wooldridge picked me up and dropped me off at the hotel next to the station. I’m going to meet him there in the morning to go to the coroner’s office.”

“Good,” he said. “Have you learned anything else?”

“No,” she stated as she let out a small yawn. “The coroner won’t be in until the morning, and though the forensic team is working through the night, they probably won’t be able to do much until daybreak. However, I did learn that you’re quite famous.”

“What?” he asked with an obvious tone of shock. “How am I famous?” He paused for a moment before adding, “Does that mean you were talking about me?” She could almost hear his grin as he shifted quickly to amusement.

“I may have mentioned you,” she said. “But apparently Wooldridge has made a habit of attending your lectures. He’s quite impressed with you. Enough so that he’s suggested that we send you all of the evidence on the case. Are you all right with that?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “I’ll hand off my cases to our other investigators. When will everything arrive?”

Rilynne was slightly taken aback by his statement. In the entire time they had worked together, she had never seen him pass off a case to anyone.

“He said it should be ready to be shipped by noon tomorrow,” she said. “He’s going to have an officer escort it to Addison Valley for you.”

“Just give me the flight information when you have it and I’ll meet them at the airport. It’ll be easier than making them drive all the way out to deliver it. Do you have any idea what I should be expecting?”

She paused and thought back to her conversation with Wooldridge. “No,” she said finally. “The only thing he told me is that Christopher’s wallet was found next to the remains. I know that it was out in the woods, though, so I’m sure you’ll have soil samples, his clothes, and any of the belongings that he had on him.” She felt almost as if she were talking about a completely random victim. The moment she realized it, a wave of guilt and sorrow punched her in the stomach.

“I’ll make sure to get everything processed as quickly as possible,” he said in a reassuring manner. “Is there anything, other than the obvious, that you want me to be looking for?”

The harder she thought about it, the more numb she felt. Before she knew it, her mind was almost a complete haze. “I can’t think of anything.”

They sat in silence for several moments before Ben broke it.

“So Wooldridge is the chief of homicide?”

“That’s right,” she said, grateful for the change in topic. “I worked under him for close to three years before transferring. He’s a good man.”