Cade identified the supervisor in charge of the shift and headed toward him. The man looked as if he hadn’t showered in days. He wore an old charcoal gray T-shirt with big sweat rings under the armpits. Someone nudged him as Cade approached, and he met Cade halfway across the floor.
“Thought I might see the police here today. I’m J. B. Hutchins, Ben’s operations manager.”
Cade introduced himself. “Why did you expect the police?”
“What with Lisa missin’ and all. TV stations were here, snoopin’ around about Ben. Only fittin’ that the police would show up, askin’ questions.” He could see that the man was excited by the day’s events.
“What kind of questions did the press ask you today?”
“You know, stuff about their marriage and whatnot. Whether Lisa was depressed.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“I told them they were a solid couple. Happily married, far as I could see. I didn’t see Lisa all that much.”
“J.B., was there anybody else in their lives, somebody who might have threatened Lisa or…might have come between them at any point?”
“Come between them?” J.B.’s voice echoed over the warehouse. “You mean like an affair or somethin’? Heck, no. Lisa would never do that.”
His immediate assumption that Cade was talking about Lisa surprised him. “What about Ben?”
J.B. let a laugh echo over the room. “No way. Ben ain’t the type to do that. He has a one-track mind. Like with this mayor’s race, it’s all he thinks about. He’s like that with his marriage. He’d never go with no other woman.”
“Was there anybody who might have been angry at Ben or Lisa? Angry customers? Disgruntled crewmen?”
“Not that I know of.”
“No threats? Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Naw, none.” He stuck his hands into his back pockets. “What do you think? She got kidnapped or somethin’?”
Cade evaded. “We’re still investigating. Looking at every possibility.” He saw J.B. look toward the door, and Cade glanced behind him.
Blair stood at the doorway. He wondered how much she’d heard.
“Grand Central Station,” J.B. muttered. “People comin’ and goin’ all day today, askin’ all sorts of questions. I’ll be glad when she gets found.”
“Listen, if you think of anything, give me a call at the station, will you?”
“Sure, I will.” J.B. reached out to shake his hand and then headed back to the crew.
Cade limped over to Blair and grinned down at her. “What are you doing here?”
She grinned back. “Same thing you are. Snooping around. Digging up dirt.”
Cade grunted. “That’s what you think I’m doing?”
She didn’t answer that. “So what’s this about Ben having an affair?”
Cade’s grin crashed. “Where did you hear that?” He had explicitly instructed Morgan and Rani to keep that to themselves.
“You were asking like you thought maybe it was a possibility. You must know something.”
He wasn’t sure he believed that was how she knew, but he tried to rally. “You misunderstood, Blair. I only came here to see if anyone knew anything about Lisa.”
She turned her face up to him, that maddening determination sparkling in her eyes. “Come on, Cade. Ben’s your first suspect. That’s a no-brainer.”
“We don’t have any suspects yet, Blair. We don’t know that a crime has been committed.”
“Yeah, and that’s what they said when you were missing.”
She had a point. He dropped his voice to a near whisper. “That’s precisely why I’m not taking this lightly.”
Her eyes squinted, and he felt she could see right into him and read his every thought. “So who is she?”
“Who is who?”
“The other woman. You obviously think Ben was having an affair.”
He sighed. “Blair, your creative auditory skills amaze me. And that intuition of yours is sometimes wrong.”
“Sometimes. But not often.”
It was true. He knew it, but he wasn’t about to encourage her. “I’ve got work to do.” He started limping toward the crew.
“Have you found Lisa’s car yet?”
“No, it hasn’t turned up. Hopefully that’s because she’s driving it.” Sighing, he turned back around.
“Are people out looking for it?”
“Of course they are. In fact, Jonathan’s organizing a search party. We’re going to comb the island this afternoon. I have men from the Sheriff’s Department, the Highway Department, the State Police, and the Savannah and Tybee police departments on their way to help out.”
She pulled out her notebook. “One more question.”
He turned around and she stepped closer. She was a whole head shorter than he. He happened to know that her shoulder fit right under his. If he pulled her against him, she would hear his heart beating.
But her personality seemed to put her at eye level. “What question, Blair?”
Her eyes lost that eye-of-the-tiger glint, and her face softened. “You’re not overdoing it, are you? With the leg, I mean.”
He was glad she couldn’t hear his heart. “I’m chief of police. I’m doing what I have to do, injury notwithstanding.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
He looked toward the activity of Ben’s workers. A gentle smile pulled at his lips. “I’m fine, Blair. Thanks. How about your skedaddling on out of here so I can interview some people? A woman’s life could be at stake, and every delay could cost her.”
“Are you running me off?”
“Yes, I am.”
“All right, but I’m coming back when you leave. By the way, thanks for the lead.”
He might have known. “I didn’t give you a lead, Blair.”
“If I find out her name, do you want me to tell you?”
He groaned. “What if she’s just a figment of your imagination?”
“I’ll find that out too.”
He tried to get serious. “Blair, a man’s reputation is at stake, and he has enough problems right now.”
“Not to worry. I’m not out to ruin anybody. But I’m still going to dig. I think I’ll go talk to some of Lisa’s friends, see what they know.”
He knew Rani would be among them. Blair would know about the letters within the hour. “Guess I can’t stop you.”
“Got that right.”
Sighing, he started back toward the crew.
“Take care of your leg, okay? Don’t go tromping through the woods looking for her. There are plenty others who can do that.”
“I’ll call you later.” He wouldn’t let himself look back at her as he walked away. She clearly enjoyed driving him crazy.
And as aggravated as he was at her, he had to admit he enjoyed it a little, too.
CHAPTER 14
Rani Nixon let the top down on her Roadster as she flew through town. Her bones felt weary from not having slept the night before. She’d spent too much time dialing and redialing Lisa’s cell phone, yelling messages for her to call and put them all out of their misery. She’d gone to every property that Lisa might have shown the day she disappeared, searching every room and praying that she wouldn’t come upon Lisa’s body. But so far she had no clues as to where her best friend was. So this morning, when the telephone call came from the psychic, she agreed to meet him without hesitation.
His name was Carson Graham, and though she didn’t know him, she had done a quick search on her computer and found a webpage that described the services he performed. He did palm readings, astrological charts, and tarot cards, and his bio claimed he had helped the police solve several cases through doing psychic readings on victims.
“I just wanted to offer my services,” he’d told her. “Perhaps you could bring me something of Mrs. Jackson’s—something she wore that I could use to do a reading.”
Rani had frowned and clutched the phone. “Why did you call
me and not the police or her husband?”
“I tried calling her husband,” he said. “I kept getting his voicemail, and I don’t know how to get in touch with him. As for the police, I used to help the department all the time until Chief Cade was hired. Let’s just say he hasn’t needed my services, and I didn’t think he would be open to my helping with the case, but I know I can at least generate some clues.”
Rani liked the sound of that. One good clue and they could find Lisa. She was sure of it. “What do you need? I’ll bring it to you.”
“Just something of hers, something personal. Something she wore or used a lot. Whatever you have in your possession.”
“I have a sweater,” she said. “She left it in my car the day before when we were previewing properties.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Where can I meet you?”
“How about if you meet me at Winston’s Restaurant? You can buy me lunch, and I won’t charge you for my services.”
She hadn’t thought about a charge, but she figured it was worth it. She’d pay anything to know where Lisa was. “All right. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Just ask the hostess for me,” he said. “She’ll lead you to the table.”
Rani got to the restaurant a little while later, holding Lisa’s sweater folded over her arm.
The hostess led her to Carson Graham. He looked like he belonged on an infomercial for Ronco products. His goatee needed trimming and his hair needed to grow. She suspected he shaved his head as an offensive against his baldness.
She greeted him and handed him the sweater.
“I took the liberty of ordering you coffee,” he said. “I didn’t know how you take it.”
“Black’s good.”
“What about lunch? Would you like to order before we get started?”
She really didn’t want to be bothered with food right now. “You go ahead. I’m not hungry.”
“From the looks of you, you could stand a good meal.” His laughter was inappropriate and a bit too loud.
At five ten, Rani had always been bone thin. When she’d worked in New York, she had learned to eat high-protein and low-carb to stay lean. She’d kept the diet ever since. She preferred lean meats and salads over the breads and pastas that everyone else considered staples. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Gonna make me eat alone?”
She saw that her lack of appetite was distracting him. She was going to have to order. “Okay, I’ll eat something.”
He called the waitress over and placed an order big enough to feed a baseball team. When it was her turn, she ordered a salad.
The waitress hurried off, and Rani turned back to the man. “Tell me, can you see anything yet just from holding the sweater?”
He smiled and brought it to his face, taking in a deep breath. “Actually, I think I need to be alone so I can concentrate.”
She wished he’d take a to-go box so he could get on with it. “When will you know something?”
“I think later today. I realize that time is of the essence.”
“You don’t have any impressions yet? Nothing?”
“I told you, I have to be alone.”
She sank back into her chair. What if she was barking up the wrong tree? But what could it hurt, giving a psychic a chance to find Lisa? It was as good as any other leads they had.
“Tell me about your friend.” He took a long sloppy drink, dribbling some on his chin. “Any information you give me might help me to get a better handle on her.”
She dug into her purse. “I brought a picture of her. You’ve probably already seen it on the news.”
“Yes. She’s very pretty.”
“You got that right.” Rani handed him the photo. “She’s my best friend. I’ve known her since college. We were roommates the whole four years. Then we each kind of went our separate ways, had our own careers for a while. She got into real estate, and I was in modeling. When I decided to leave New York, she asked me if I’d like to come here and go into business with her. I did, and we’ve been together ever since.”
“Tell me, what kind of person was Lisa?”
Rani didn’t appreciate the use of the past tense. She hoped he hadn’t come up with that from some kind of psychic vibration. “Lisa is a wonderful person. She’s devoted to her husband. She’s ambitious, efficient, diligent, vibrant, effusive…all the things that spell success. That’s what Lisa is.”
He leaned in, his eyes squinting. “Did she have any dark secrets she was hiding?”
That aggravated her. “Look, I don’t have to tell you this stuff. Either you know it or you don’t. You said you could find her based on something she owned. I’m hoping you can do that. If you can’t, I want that sweater back.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to step on any toes. I was just trying to get a feel for her.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not my job to fill in the blanks for you. Either you’re for real or you’re not.”
“I assure you, I’m for real. You’ll see.”
The waitress delivered their food, and Rani watched him dive in. He wasn’t even insulted by her doubt in him. Maybe that was a good sign.
With a mouthful of baked potato, he said, “Perhaps I should tell you a little bit about my background.”
“Yes, that would be helpful.”
He swallowed and took a long swig of iced tea. “I’ve known since I was a boy that I had some powers. ESP, some people call it. I seemed to always be able to find lost things, and I knew things about people that no one had told me. When I got into college, I joined a parapsychology club and started to meet other people like myself. We sort of encouraged each other and helped each other develop our gifts.”
Rani’s anger started to fade. This was the kind of thing she wanted to hear. It sounded authentic.
“You claimed that you had helped the police solve crimes before. Which crimes?”
“Oh, there’ve been quite a few.” He buttered his roll. “I gave the Atlanta police clues one time that helped them find a sniper who was terrorizing the citizens, and two or three times I’ve given Savannah police information that has led to convictions of bank robbers, kidnappers, drug dealers. Before Chief Cade was here, I used to help Chief Baxter from time to time. He wasn’t one to give me a lot of credit, but I think I was helpful in a number of cases.”
Rani smiled. Perfect.
“When Elizabeth Smart was missing, I had a vision that she was with a man and a woman. Saw her wearing a burka-type thing on her head, and I knew she was alive.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes, I called them, but that wasn’t much to go on. Turns out I was right, though.”
Rani was impressed. “Is that documented?”
“What? Who Elizabeth Smart was with? Of course it is.”
“No, I mean your phone call to the police.”
He breathed a laugh. “I doubt it. Like I said, it wasn’t a lot to go on. I didn’t have a location or a name. Since it wasn’t a real physical siting, they didn’t put much stock in it.”
He went on about other cases he’d solved, and by the time he’d finished eating, she was a believer. She was glad she’d come.
As he took Lisa’s sweater and went toward his van, which had “Palm Readings” in big letters on the side, Rani shook his hand. “You’ll call me the moment you have something?”
“Of course I will.”
“And don’t worry about the police. If you have a lead, I’ll make sure they follow it.”
“Good deal.”
She hurried back home to wait for his call.
CHAPTER 15
The phone call Rani had been waiting for came an hour later. She saw Carson’s name on her caller ID, and she snatched up the receiver. “Hello?”
“It’s Carson,” he said.
She’d gone back home and paced her living room a thousand times since lunch. “Have you got anything?”
“Yes, I’m
afraid I do. But I’d rather not discuss it over the phone. Do you think we could talk in person?”
Rani hesitated. What could be so bad? She cleared her throat and swallowed hard. “Okay. Do you want me to come to your place?”
“Yes. Do you know where it is?”
“The palm reader’s shop on Ocean Boulevard?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll be right over.”
She drove too fast, her heart pounding. If the news was good, wouldn’t he have told her over the phone? Did guys like Carson ever deliver good news? Then she thought of Elizabeth Smart. He’d had good news then, if anyone had listened.
She pulled into the parking lot in front of his small eggplant-colored house. There was a painted sign out front that had been faded by the sun. It read, “Palm Reading and Tarot Cards—$20.” She went up the steps and knocked on the door. He answered quickly.
His face was sober as he invited her in.
The front room looked as if it had been decorated by an elderly spinster. The walls were paneled in dark laminate, and the furnishings were old enough to need replacing, but not old enough to qualify as antiques.
She stepped into the front room. It smelled of strawberry candles and incense, and the lights were too dim. She turned to face him. “Tell me.”
“Sit down.” He pointed her to a plush easy chair. Her heart raced as she sat down, terror taking her breath away. He took the seat across from her. They were almost knee to knee.
She couldn’t wait any longer. “So what did you find out?”
He picked up the sweater he had lying on an end table and moved it around in his hands. “Rani, I’m really sorry. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.”
Rani wilted back. She knew it. “Just spit it out. Come on.”
“I’m afraid your friend is dead.”
Rani had expected it—had even rehearsed it—but now she found that it hit her in the gut.
“That’s what you saw? That she’s dead?”