Killer Love (47 page)

Wil nodded. “Thanks.”

Micah turned to Abby and reached out to take her hands in his. “You must be Abigail.”

She nodded. “Abby Bishop. Nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor.”

“Please. Call me Micah.” He gave her a white-toothed smile and, still holding Abby’s hands, he looked at Wil. “I heard you talked to Matthew. You don’t really think he’s involved, do you?”

“We’re speaking with anyone who might have been in the bar that night,” Wil responded noncommittally.

“Of course. I don’t believe Matt would do something like this, but if I find out he knows anything about it...” Micah shook his head. “Well, let’s just say I’ll make sure he regrets it.” He nodded through the window toward Thompson. “I heard they had a suspect. Heard you were here at the station and I wanted to come down and offer my support. Anything you need, buddy, anything at all, you give a yell. We’ll get this bastard.”

“Thanks,” Wil said again.

Ray came out of the office and he and the mayor exchanged greetings.

“Listen,” Micah said. “I’ll get out of your way and let you get down to the business of finding your little girl. Remember, if there’s anything at all I can do...”

Wil nodded and Micah clasped him on the shoulder affectionately, then left, taking his mini-entourage with him.

“I think we all agree this ain’t our guy,” Ray said to Wil once the mayor was gone. “Want us to hold him for a bit or let him loose?”

“No need to hold him,” Wil admitted reluctantly. “As you said, not our guy. Of course, we’ll want to get DNA from the mask.”

Ray nodded. “Yeah, we’re on it. But if we can’t get anything to compare it to, won’t do much good.”

Wil blew out a breath and nodded slowly. “Won’t do a damned bit of good.” His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID. Another unfamiliar number. A cold wave of anticipation and anxiety washed over him.

“Yes?” he said into the mouthpiece.

“Time’s running out, Willie boy. Did you figure it out yet?”

Wil switched to speaker phone so the sheriff could listen in. Maybe something the guy said would provide some kind of clue.

They’d already tried to trace the cell phone signal, but a different phone had been used each time and the locations were scattered. There was nothing to indicate exactly where he was calling from.

“I want my daughter back,” Wil said tightly.

“People in hell want ice water. You give me what I want and I’ll think about giving you what you want. Eventually.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you want,” Wil said, barely holding onto his sanity as he bit out the words.

“Give Abby a message for me. Tell her she should thank me. At least her womb’s no longer empty.”

Wil looked at Abby and saw the color leach from her face. She held her fingertips to her lips and tears swam in her eyes.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Wil ground out.

“Ask her what it means. I bet there are all sorts of things you don’t know about your pretty girlfriend.” A gruff chuckle traveled from the speaker. “Gotta go. Think about what I said. Think hard, Teddy. You really need to come up with some answers...and soon.”

The call disconnected and Wil nearly shook with rage. He wanted to lash out at something, at someone, but the person his anger was directed at was unreachable.

“You want me to deputize you?” Ray asked. “That way, you can really get involved in the case.”

What Wil had to do to catch this bastard might not exactly follow the law. He took a deep breath and said, “No. I want you to accept my resignation.”

****

Abby kept playing the words over and over in her head.
At least her womb’s no longer empty.
He knew. The bastard knew about the baby.

“...not sure what to do next.”

“Huh?” She hadn’t realized Wil was speaking. They’d left the sheriff’s department and were sitting in a coffee shop on main street. She barely remembered getting there, or ordering the cup of warm latté her hands now gripped like a lifeline.

“I’m at a dead end. I don’t know what to do, where to look next. The son of a bitch is toying with me.”

Abby barely nodded. Her heart lay like a heavy stone in her chest. She hadn’t told anyone her secret except Diane. She wasn’t sure why she’d trusted the truth to her, maybe because Diane had been her only friend. Wil had a right to know. She didn’t know why she hadn’t trusted him with it before. Maybe because it was just too painful to share, too much of a door to her soul.

“I was pregnant,” she whispered.

Wil’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t comment. He reached out and took her wrist in his warm grip.

“We were attacked, my husband and I. They broke into our house. Threw me down the stairs.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I lost the baby.”

“God, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

Abby shrugged. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

Wil nodded. “Maybe not, but don’t you think it’s time?”

He was probably right, but she couldn’t say any more. She hadn’t even told Diane all of it. Not the details, not the entire horrific truth. It was something Abby couldn’t stand to think about, let alone say aloud. She’d been touched by violence. No, not touched, seared. Branded so deeply she was amazed the scars weren’t visible to the naked eye. She couldn’t share any more with Wil than she already had.

Abby shook her head and took a sip of the cooling latté. “Can we not talk about this any more, please? I just wanted you to know why he said what he did. But, how on earth could he know about the miscarriage? It happened six years ago in Michigan. How could he know?”

“You haven’t told anyone?”

She didn’t respond at first. Finally, she sighed and shrugged. “I told Diane.”

****

Wil pulled the pickup in front of Diane’s house and parked.

Abby had wanted to come, but he’d told her it was best he speak with Diane alone. He didn’t know how...persistent...he might need to be. He wouldn’t hurt Diane, but if he thought she was lying, he wasn’t beyond using a little intimidation.

Perry’s Firebird, top down, was in the driveway. When Wil knocked on the door, Diane opened it, wearing a robe.

“Wil, hello.” Her voice was friendly enough but held an underlying tone of unwelcome. “What are you doing here? Did you try to call?”

“No. I was in the neighborhood and I wanted to ask you something, so I stopped by. Is this a bad time?”

She hesitated, then stepped back to let him in. “No. I was just getting in the shower, but I have a few minutes.”

He stepped into the living room and looked around. “Isn’t Perry here?”

“Yes, but he’s still asleep.”

“I see. He spent the night?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, why?”

Wil shrugged. “No reason, just asking. Listen, I need to know if you told anyone else what Abby told you about her miscarriage.”

Diane’s eyes rounded slightly, then dropped away from Wil’s. “No, no one.”

“No one? Not even Perry?”

“No. Not even Perry. Girlfriends don’t tell one another’s secrets, not even to their boyfriends. I wouldn’t betray Abby like that.”

“Abby said you’re the only one she told. That no one else in Blue Harbor knows.”

“Yeah, so?”

“It seems there may be someone else who found out. I’m just trying to figure out how.”

Diane shrugged. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

Wil let out a frustrated breath. “Diane, if you’re hiding something that could help catch this guy...”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “I wouldn’t do that, Wil. I want you to find him as badly as anyone.”

There was something about her that didn’t quite feel right. It was a tone, maybe her body language, maybe the way she wouldn’t meet his eyes. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something.

“Okay. Thanks.” He stepped back out onto the porch. “If you think of anything, anything at all, give me a call.”

“I will. Trust me. I want to do whatever I can to help.”

Wil nodded and climbed back into his pickup. That intangible little something kept niggling at his mind as he pulled out of Diane’s neighborhood.

Diane had seemed just a little furtive. Like she’d been caught off guard or something. But that wasn’t it. It was... What?

He gave a frustrated shake of his head. Jesus. He was sleep-deprived and stressed to the max. He couldn’t think straight.

Ten minutes or so later, while sitting behind a white Camry at a red light, it hit him.

“Shit.” He looked behind him and slapped the steering wheel in frustration. A car in front and a car behind.

He hit the horn but nothing happened. Of course not. Did he think the Camry would run a red light because he honked?

Finally, the light changed and the car moved just enough for him to make a u-turn, earning the angry blast of several horns.

He sped back to Diane’s. The driveway was empty. He ran up onto the porch and banged his fist against the door.

Diane opened it, still wearing a robe. Her eyes widened. “What is it?”

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“You know who. Perry.”

“He left.”

“But he stayed here all night?”

“Yes.”

“And he was asleep when I was here a few minutes ago, but he’s already awake
and
gone?”

She shifted from one foot to the other and pulled her robe more tightly around her. “Yes. Why?”

Wil leaned forward until his nose was centimeters from hers. “Perry never leaves the top down on his car, not if he’s going to be away from it for more than sixty seconds.” His jaw clenched as anger built inside him. “Damned sure not overnight.”

She flinched and shook her head. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Perry didn’t spend the night. He wouldn’t leave his baby unprotected for that long. I’m saying you’re lying. What do you know about my daughter’s disappearance and what happened to Abby?”

“I don’t know anything about it,” she said, but her eyes slid away from him and he knew she was lying.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

“I don’t know,” she shouted and now there was a hint of tears and defiance in her voice.

“You’re lying to me, Diane. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I know you’re lying.”

“Get out,” she screamed. “Get the hell out of my house!”

“I’m going. But you’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

“To the police department. The sheriff’s going to want to talk to you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. You can’t make me,” she added petulantly.

Wil gripped her upper arm and squeezed. “You’re going with me. You can either get dressed while I wait, or you can go in your robe. But I promise, one way or another, you’re going.”

She lifted her chin and stared him in the eye for a few moments, her lips trembling and tears spilling down her cheeks. Finally, she said, “Let me go and I’ll get dressed.”

Chapter Eleven

Wil leaned with one hand on the two-way mirror of the interrogation room. Diane had been in there for two hours and hadn’t cracked. Wil hadn’t questioned her—he wasn’t part of the force—but he’d watched.

Cuddly, lovable Ray had played bad cop to Lesli’s sympathetic ‘us women have to stick together’ good cop routine. Nothing had worked. Ray was now leaning toward Diane, invading her space, scowling and speaking rapidly. Diane shrank away from him but didn’t respond.

The sheriff shoved back his chair and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. He stalked over to Wil, his demeanor doing a one-eighty when he spoke. “She’s not gonna budge.”

“Looks that way,” Wil agreed.

“I told her we could hold her for forty-eight without charging her and she didn’t even blink. What do you think we should do?”

Wil raised his eyebrows. “You’re asking me how to handle the case?”

“I’m asking you as a friend and a former cop whose record says you know your shit. And, as Lindsey’s father. So, what do you want me to do?”

“Let her go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She’ll most likely be in contact with Perry and she might lead us to him.”

“Want me to put a tail on her?”

Wil shook his head. “No tail. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

****

After Diane was released, Wil followed her home, parking a few houses down.

He called Abby.

“How’s it going with Diane?” she asked.

“I’m positive she knows more than she’s telling us and I have a strong feeling Perry’s involved.”

“Perry? Why do you think that?”

“How many other people would Diane have told about your miscarriage? And, she lied to me this morning about how long Perry had been at her house.”

“Why would Perry do something like this to you?”

“I can’t imagine. But I can’t imagine why anyone else would, either. The department’s running a background check on them both.”

“But, she’s my friend and Perry’s your friend. Surely they wouldn’t do something so awful.”

“Micah and Ray are my friends. Perry was more of a buddy. Guys are different about that stuff. We didn’t get as close as you and Diane.”

“I don’t know. I’ve known her less than a year. I guess you never
really
know people.”

“Actually, I was hoping you could tell me what you do know about her. It seems the two of you confided in one another. Maybe she told you something that will help us?”

“I don’t know,” Abby said softly, “If I really thought she was behind this... But she trusted me, took me in her confidence. It seems like a betrayal.”

“I understand. But it appears she told someone
your
secret. If she
is
involved in what’s happening, she’s done far worse than betray you. Yours and Lindsey’s lives are hanging in the balance. I’d say breaking a confidence is minor in light of that. Anything you can tell me might help. Something about her family, background, maybe even a crime she’s committed.”

There was silence on the other end, then Abby said, “She has a child.”

“What?”

“She and Perry had a daughter, but Diane gave her up for adoption. She didn’t want to, but Perry insisted. Diane said she’s regretted it ever since. She sees the girl a few times a year, but the child doesn’t know Diane is her mother. It’s an agreement she made with the adoptive parents. If Diane ever tells the girl who she is, the parents will cut off all contact forever. That would absolutely crush Diane.”