See Me (52 page)

After Maria had regained a semblance of composure, Wright reviewed her and the neighbor’s statements with the officers; he then spoke with Maria and Colin. Maria had trouble keeping her thoughts straight. Colin rehashed most of what he’d told Wright earlier in Shallotte, all the while fighting the urge to hit something.

Colin wanted to find Atkinson, even more than he’d wanted to find Lester.

And he wanted to kill him.

 

 

It was almost two a.m. when Wright said they could go, and he walked with them to Colin’s car. Maria, Colin knew, wasn’t in any shape to drive, and she didn’t argue. When they reached the car, Wright held up his hand. He stared at Colin in much the same way Margolis did.

“Hold on,” he said. “I don’t know why I didn’t realize it earlier, but I finally figured out who you are,” he said.

“Who am I?”

“You’re the guy Pete thinks should be in prison. The guy who gets in all those fights. Beats the crap out of people.”

“Not anymore.”

“Lester Manning might have a different opinion about that. Not that I give a crap what Lester Manning thinks.”

“Do you know when the police will be done in there?” Maria asked. “And when I can get back in?”

“Aside from vandalism, it’s not otherwise a crime scene,” Wright answered. “But the forensics guys take their time. I’d guess that you won’t be able to get back in until midmorning tomorrow at the earliest. I’ll let you know for sure when you can, okay?”

Maria nodded. Colin wished there were something more he could do for her, but still…

“Do you know if they impounded the car that was at the bungalow?” he asked. “The one where Margolis was shot?”

Wright frowned. “I have no idea. Why?”

Colin told him.

Wright shrugged. “Seems likely that they would impound it. I’ll see what I can find out, though.” He turned toward Maria, then back to Colin. “I know you’re both exhausted and I know you want to get out of here, but do you happen to know the name of the detective in Charlotte that Pete was working with?”

“No,” Colin said. “He didn’t mention his name.”

“That’s okay. I’ll do some digging. It won’t be hard to find the answer. One last question: Where do you intend to go tonight?”

“To my parents’,” Maria answered. “Why?”

“I figured,” Wright said. “That’s why I wanted to ask. After something like this happens, people usually go to a friend’s place, or to their family. If you want my opinion, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because right now, I don’t know what this guy Atkinson is capable of doing, and it makes me nervous. He’s clearly got it out for you, and from what I saw inside, he’s not only dangerous but angry and on the rampage. You might consider going someplace else tonight.”

“Like where?”

“How about somewhere like the Hilton? I know some people there and I’m sure I can get you a room, along with police protection. Even if it’s only for tonight. It’s been quite a day and both of you need to try to get some rest. I’m not saying anything will happen, but best to be cautious, you know?”

Maria’s voice was quiet. “Margolis said that they weren’t able to offer police protection.”

“I was talking about me. I’ll watch your room tonight. I’m off the clock, so no big deal.”

“Why would you do that?” Colin asked.

Wright turned toward Colin and said simply, “Because you saved my friend’s life.”

I
n the car, Maria called her parents with the news, then absently watched the detective’s sedan out front as it led the way to the hotel, which was only a few blocks from her condo.

Wright must have made the arrangements in the short time they were driving, because the key was waiting at the front desk. He rode with them in the elevator and walked with them to the end of the corridor, where a folding chair was already positioned just outside the door. He handed them the room key.

“I’ll be here as long as you are, so no worries.”

It wasn’t until she slipped into bed beside Colin that Maria realized how exhausted she was. A couple of hours earlier, she’d imagined making love, but she was too depleted for that and Colin seemed to be feeling exactly the same way. Instead, she rested her arm on his shoulder, curling close and feeling his warmth until all at once, everything went black.

When her eyes finally opened, sunlight was already streaming through the crack in the blinds. Rolling over, she noticed Colin wasn’t beside her, and she saw him brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Glancing at the clock, she was surprised to see that it was almost eleven. She sat up with a start, thinking her parents were probably going crazy.

She reached for her phone and saw a text from Serena.

Colin called and said you were sleeping, and he told me what happened. Come to the house after you wake up. Dad’s taken care of everything!
 

Maria furrowed her brow. “Colin?” she called out.

“Hold on,” he mumbled, poking his head through the doorway, and she saw a mouth full of toothpaste, along with some on his finger. He rinsed his mouth and stepped into the main part of the room, moving toward the bed.

“Did you use your finger to brush your teeth?”

He sat beside her. “I didn’t bring a toothbrush.”

“You could have used mine.”

“Germs,” he said with a wink. “You slept late. I already called your parents.”

“I know. Serena texted. What’s going on?”

“I’ll let you be surprised.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for any more surprises.”

“You’ll like this one.”

“How long have you been up?”

“A couple of hours. But I didn’t get out of bed until twenty minutes ago.”

“What were you doing?”

“Thinking.”

There was no reason to ask
About what?
She already knew the answer, and after they showered together, they dressed and packed. Stepping out the door, they saw Wright sitting in the folding chair.

“Would you two mind if we get a cup of coffee?” he asked.

 

 

“For starters,” Wright began, “your apartment has been cleared for reentry. Forensics left earlier this morning and they’re done. I figured you’d want to know in case you needed to grab anything. Clothes or toiletries or whatever.”

If there’s anything left that I even want
, Maria thought. “Did they find anything?”

“No clear evidence was left behind, except for the paint cans, and there were no fingerprints on those. Atkinson must have worn gloves. As for hair samples, that’ll take a little longer, but no guarantees. Hair sample analysis is always tricky, unless there’s DNA from the root.”

Maria nodded, trying to force away the images she’d seen the night before.

“I also made some other calls this morning,” Wright said, stirring sugar and cream into his coffee. Maria noted the bags under his bloodshot eyes. “As of yet, no one has been able to talk to Lester. He hadn’t been at the station for ten minutes before his attorney showed up, and a short while after that, his father appeared, too, and made the same demands that the attorney was making. Not that they were able to talk to him, either. By then, Lester Manning was strapped to a gurney in the infirmary, on psychiatric hold. And he’s still sedated. The general consensus is that he’s nuttier than an almond tree. According to the officers, as soon as he saw the cell, he went bonkers.”

“How so?”

“Screaming. Fighting with the officers. Trying to bite the officers. And once they got him in there, he started kicking at the doors, banging his head on the wall. Crazy stuff. Even scared the other prisoners, so he had to be moved out. A doctor was called in, who gave him something to calm him down. It took five officers to restrain him, and that was when the attorney showed up. He’s claiming all sorts of civil rights violations, but it’s all on camera, so no one’s worried about Lester having some sort of case that might spring him. I wanted you to know that right up front. That’s not going to happen, no matter what his attorney might say. He shot a cop. Anyway, the point is, no one’s been able to talk to him yet.”

Maria nodded, feeling numb. “How’s…?”

“Pete?” Wright asked. “He made it through the night. He’s still in critical condition, but he’s stable for now and his vitals are improving. His wife is hopeful that he’ll regain consciousness sometime today – the surgeon said it was possible – but we’re still in a wait-and-see mode on that front. Rachel was able to spend some time with him this morning. Their boys, too. Of course, it was scary for them. They’re only nine and eleven, and he’s their hero, you know? After coffee, I’ll head over there, see if I can sit with him a bit, or at the very least, sit with Rachel.” When Maria didn’t respond, Wright rotated his coffee cup in place. “I also looked into the car that was at the bungalow. I remember seeing it, too, and to answer the question from last night, the Shallotte police did
not
impound the vehicle. Nor did the sheriff’s department. Which means that Atkinson showed up after the police had left to retrieve it.”

“Maybe,” Colin said.

“Maybe?” Wright asked.

“He may have been there all along. Maybe he ducked out the back when Evan and I were trying to save Margolis. He hid out for a while, then came back. That also might explain how Margolis got shot in the first place. He went in expecting one person, and then was surprised by two.”

Wright studied Colin. “When Pete talked about you,” he said, “I didn’t get the sense he liked you very much.”

“I don’t like him, either.”

Wright raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you save him?”

“He didn’t deserve to die.”

Wright turned to Maria. “Is he always like this?”

“Yes,” she answered with a wry smile, then switched gears. “I still don’t see how or why Lester and Atkinson are working together to target me —”

“There’s more,” he said, lifting his palm to stop her. “That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. I spoke to the detective in Charlotte that Pete was working with. His name’s Tony Roberts, by the way, and when I filled him in on what happened to Pete, he told me that Pete had called him yesterday, but that he hadn’t been able to check out Atkinson yet. Of course, this put the request on a whole new level, and he called Atkinson’s mother, picked her up, and went to Atkinson’s apartment. She was able to convince the manager to let him in. There’s still a missing persons report on file, even if up until now, no one had believed her, and she’s the next of kin. The point is, she was more than happy to let Roberts help find her son, and I guess that when Roberts got there, he hit the jackpot. It just wasn’t in the way the mom wanted. It turns out that Atkinson’s laptop was still there, and Roberts was able to access it.”

“And?”

He looked at Maria. “He had files about you. Tons of information. Background information, school records, information about your family, where you live and work, your daily schedule. He even had information about Colin in there. Photographs, too.”

“He had photographs?”

“Hundreds. Walking, at the store, on the paddleboard. Even while you were working. It seems he’s been watching and following you for quite a long time. Spying on you. Roberts removed the laptop as evidence, over Mrs. Atkinson’s sudden vehement protests. As soon as she saw what was on it, she tried to withdraw her consent to enter the place, but by then it was too late, and Roberts had it in hand. Defense lawyers would likely raise a stink, but there was a missing persons report, she gave her consent, and the evidence was in plain sight. Roberts, though, was better than that – he let me know he’d actually recorded her saying that she wanted him to access the computer. With that said, once we get Lester to talk, it’ll probably be a moot point anyway. Lawyer or not, he’ll end up talking. The crazy ones usually end up spilling everything, especially once they get lucid, because guilt sets in.”

Maria wasn’t sure that was true, but… “Why does Atkinson want to hurt me?”

“That part, I can’t answer with certainty. I can tell you there was information about Cassie Manning on the laptop, too, but you’re already aware of that link.”

“Do you have any idea where Atkinson is now?”

“No. We have an APB out on him, but since no one seems to know where he’s been, I’m not sure how much good that will do. Again, I’m hoping that Lester will be able to tell us more, but when that will be is still up in the air. It might take a day, it might take a few days, it might take a week, and then we’ll still have to deal with the attorney and his father, both of whom will tell him not to answer any questions at all. Which raises the question of where you want to be for the next few days. If I were you, I’m not sure I’d hang around Wilmington.”

“I’m supposed to go to my parents’ today,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Wright looked dubious. “It’s your call,” he said. “Just be careful. From what Roberts was telling me, Atkinson is not only dangerous, he’s probably just as crazy as Lester. So let me give you my phone number. I want you to call me if anything strikes you as out of the ordinary or something else comes to you, okay?”

 

 

If Wright’s intent had been to scare her, it had worked. But after last night, Maria was going to be afraid no matter what, until Atkinson was finally caught.

They got in the car, and as Colin set out toward her parents’ he reached for his phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“Evan,” he said. “I want to see if he’s busy today.”

“Why?”

“Because after I drop you off at your parents’, I’d like to go back to your place. Now that the police have cleared it, I want to get it cleaned up. Maybe do some painting.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said. “But I want to. You don’t need that kind of reminder when you go home. And I’d probably end up going stir-crazy just sitting around.”

“But it’ll take all day…”

“Not that long. A few hours, maybe. Your place isn’t that big.”

“Maybe I should go with you. It’s not your responsibility.”

“You don’t need that kind of stress. And besides, you should be with your family.”

He had a point and it was a kind thing to offer, but she was about to say no when he turned toward her.

“Please,” he said. “I want to do this.”

It was his tone that allowed her to reluctantly agree, and Colin made the call, putting it on speaker. She probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Lily answered Evan’s phone.

Colin told her what had happened the night before and asked if Evan might be able to help him carry out some of the heavier furniture. Before he even finished, Lily had cut him off.