With curious eyes, she watched me carefully as she held out her hands, palms up.
Sucking in a deep breath, I met her gaze, then placed my hands on top of hers. If what she said was true—about the car being in both her and his names, then I should be able to get a reading on it from Tova. Closing my eyes, I braced myself as images flew at me, taking me along highways, through a suburban area, and finally deep into the Blue Hills where I saw Kira’s missing SUV.
Or, rather, what was left of it.
Concealed by overhead foliage, the SUV rested at the bottom of a deep ravine, crushed nearly flat. I swallowed a lump in my throat.
No one could survive such a crash.
20
The beautiful Blue Hills Reservation, a state park, was located south of the city. Its area was so big it extended into several towns. With hills (appropriately), ponds, marshes, and swamps, it was a great place to hike, bike, or spend a day splashing in the ponds.
It had a bit of a dark side, too. Many dead bodies had been found in these woods over the years. I couldn’t help but wonder if Kira would become one of the statistics.
On my drive, I’d called Morgan Creighton only to get his voicemail. I’d left him a message, told him to call me, that it was urgent, and hung up, feeling a spark of hope.
The pieces were coming together.
By the time I made it to the Blue Hills—more than an hour later because my traffic luck had run out—the place was crawling with emergency personnel. State and local police milled about, and there was an abundant number of fire vehicles. I found a parking spot along the side of the road and made my way toward the scene.
Black clouds rolled overhead, dark wisps dipping low. A young trooper tried to stop me at a blockade, but he quickly let me by after I flashed my ID.
Police scoured the roadways, marking areas to be examined further. At the top of the hill, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Aiden in the thick of things. When he spotted me, he broke away from the madness.
“It’s down there,” he said, motioning me to the side of the roadway.
There was no guardrail and only a four-foot strip of land before it gave way to a steep drop. From up here, I couldn’t see the wreckage through the thick canopy of leaves.
Thunder cracked and everyone looked upward at the same time. There was a shout for tents.
“Is Kira…?” I asked, my heart thumping.
“Don’t know yet,” he said, fussing with the collar of his polo shirt. “Crews are down there now.”
It was strange to see him in jeans and not a suit. When I called him from the Fisher house he’d been about to check out of the hospital and didn’t have time to run home and change. Fortunately, he’d had his badge with him, which was now clipped at his waist. He’d sent Em home and caught a ride here with a hospital security guard.
“I’m not sure we would have ever found it, Lucy. Even when the leaves fell… It’s such a remote area.”
Aiden and I moved out of the way as a wrecker chugged up the hill, its orange rooftop light flashing. It was going to be quite an ordeal to get the SUV removed from its resting spot.
“Any sign of where it went over?” I asked. “Was it an accident?”
“We haven’t found any broken glass to indicate a collision,” he said, leading me farther up the hill, to an area that seemed to be the main focus of the investigators.
Thunder rumbled and a bolt of lightning flashed in the distance.
“Damn it,” Aiden said, glancing skyward. “We’re going to have to suspend the search if the storm gets much closer.”
As much as I hated that idea, it was dangerous out here, being this high up with all these trees around.
“The car went over here,” he said.
I noted the tree damage and flattened brush that was already bouncing back. I only noticed because I was looking for it. A normal observer could pass on by without knowing anything was amiss.
I studied the ground. “No skid marks.” Kira hadn’t braked before going over.
“No.” His jaw worked back and forth.
“It was dark,” I theorized. “If she wasn’t familiar with this road she could have easily missed the curve…”
“Why would she be out here?”
I didn’t know. There was nothing here. Trees. Trails. Wilderness.
I wanted to believe it was an accident. The most likely supposition was too hard to swallow.
That someone had orchestrated this outcome.
It was easy enough to do. Simply angle the car at the right position, put the car in drive, and get the hell out of the way as it rolled forward, letting physics take care of the rest.
I shuddered as the wind kicked up, whipping my hair against my cheek. A drop of rain fell. Another.
Lightning flashed brightly and thunder rocked the ground, shaking it like an earthquake.
“Get them up here,” someone shouted as people scurried.
I stood next to an unmoving Aiden. Two statues in the midst of chaos.
It seemed like an endless wait before the first bucket of firefighters was winched to safety. Aiden burst forward as others unbuckled the group.
I stood back, watching and waiting, as Aiden conversed with the crew. Lightning cracked, raising the hair on my arms. It took everything in me not to turn and run as fast as I could with this stupid crutch to the safety of my car.
I hated lightning. It brought back painful memories of the day I’d lost the ability to see the colorful world I’d grown up with.
For Aiden, I stayed put. Rain spit from the sky, quickly darkening the color of the road beneath my feet, turning it from slate gray to charcoal to black.
After a moment, Aiden came back to me, despair etched in his eyes.
“Kira?” I asked, my mouth dry—the only part of me that was.
“Nothing,” he said so low I had to strain to hear him.
Raindrops splattered my face. “What’s that mean?”
“The SUV is empty. No sign of an occupant. No blood or anything that would indicate there was ever anyone in the vehicle.” As he looked over the vast expanse of woods, the sky fully opened and a pouring rain soaked everything in sight.
I was glad the city was finally getting the cleansing it needed, but I couldn’t help but feel as though the heavens were crying.
Water streamed down Aiden’s face as he looked over the expansive forest. “She could be anywhere, Lucy. Absolutely anywhere.”
“We’ll find her,” I said to Aiden as I turned up the driveway of Aerie. Finally home. I was missing it after the day I’d had. Missing Sean. Missing my critters. Right now I’d be happy to take a hot shower, slip into my pjs and just spend some quality time with all of them for the rest of the night. But that was a pipe dream.
There was still too much to do with this case. And being alone with Sean wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Right now Em was out doing more shopping, planning to add an air mattress to my dining room décor. Aiden wanted to be near Ava and wasn’t comfortable moving her from my place—where she’d become accustomed—to Dovie’s. So, Em and Aiden were moving in with Sean and me until this case was solved.
“Yeah,” he said, staring out the window. The rain had gone as fast as it had come, leaving behind cloudy skies and an unsettled feeling.
We’d waited in the Blue Hills long enough for Kira’s SUV to be hauled out of the ravine, to verify that there wasn’t a body trapped underneath the wreckage.
There hadn’t been.
I’d been sure finding Kira’s car would answer some questions, but it had proven only to elicit more of them.
Why had her car crashed? Who’d crashed it? Where was Kira?
The tires of my car splashed through rivulets of rain water that snaked down Dovie’s driveway. As I crested the hill at the top of the drive, I glanced at Dovie’s house, so stately yet welcoming, and wondered how I was going to explain everything to her.
There was going to be
hell to pay. Guilt tugged at my conscience, but I knew Dovie, and I knew Preston. It was best they didn’t know, I reminded myself, and tried to believe it.
At the top of the drive, I turned to the right, my gaze focused on my cottage. I tried to picture it after a renovation and couldn’t even conjure an image in my head. Taking a breath, I told myself I’d get used to it. I’d adjust. I’d—
“Lucy, look out!” Aiden shouted.
I jammed on my brakes and jerked backward as my seatbelt tightened. A man dressed in black slid across the hood of my car. Three security ninjas, hot on his heels, gave pursuit.
“What the hell?” Aiden asked, his mouth agape.
I watched as the man in black zig-zagged across the property. At one point, his hood slipped off, and I recognized the buzz cut.
“It’s Corey McDaniel.”
Aiden threw open the door, pulled his gun from his holster, and ran into the fray.
I noticed the front door of my cottage open, a brown and white blur came racing out. Scout. Thoreau, I noticed, followed the bigger dog, yapping his head off the whole way. The front door slammed closed again, and I could easily picture Sean going for his gun to protect Ava.
I sat there, behind the wheel of my car, unsure what to do. I couldn’t very well give chase. Not with this clunky boot.
Corey veered off, heading for the bluff, and I suddenly wondered if this wasn’t his first time on the property. The security team had thwarted an intruder the other night—one who’d jumped into the ocean to escape. Had that been Corey?
Scout dashed ahead of Corey, blocking him from making a leap. Teeth bared, he snarled, and Thoreau nipped at Corey’s ankles. He spun right, circling around the cottage and reappearing on the wooded side.
I eased off the brake and zoomed forward. If he reached those woods he might get away. My tires spun on the crushed gravel drive, and mud spit as I drove off-road, onto the immaculately-manicured lawns. I winced at the ruts I left behind.
Corey looked up as he heard the engine, his eyes widening. He didn’t slow down, however, as he bolted for cover. I swerved right, straightened, and stomped on the gas pedal, pushing it to the floorboard.
He was forced to slow down to avoid running into me, and in a blink, Scout was on him, his teeth sunk into black running pants. Yelping, Corey spun around, trying to loosen the dog, and before I could even open the car door, one of the security guys had tackled him.
“Scout,” I called. “Come.”
The dog gave me an are-you-serious glare, and continued to pull at Corey’s pants. It took some serious convincing from Aiden to get Scout to release.
I left the car on the grass and hobbled over. Thoreau barked and bounced his way toward me, obviously proud to be involved in the takedown. I scooped him up, and gave him some loving for his good work.
Corey was quickly cuffed, pulled into a sitting position on the wet ground. His mouth was set in a flat line and resignation filled his eyes.
Aiden had stepped off to the side to make a phone call, and his voice carried as he called for backup.
The security team stood side by side, menacing with their weapons and angry expressions. Scout sat at my feet, panting hard. I patted his head, too. “Good boy.”
After ending his call, Aiden said, “Your parole officer’s not going to be happy with you, Corey.”
Corey’s eyes flared. “How’d you know my name?”
Aiden crouched down. “I’ll tell you if you tell me why you’re here.”
I bit my lip as Corey contemplated an answer in silence. He looked so young sitting there that I suddenly felt sorry for him.
Then I reminded myself that I couldn’t fix everyone or everything.
Finally, he said, “I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Aiden said, “We know your name because we’re investigating the disappearance of a TV reporter. You put a doll in her SUV last week. There’s video surveillance and your prints were on the doll.”
He mentioned nothing of looking into Dustin’s disappearance, and I wondered why. I wanted to know if Corey knew anything about it.
“A TV reporter? I didn’t know whose car it was,” Corey said. “It was just a job.”
“Who hired you?” Aiden asked.
Corey said, “You’ll help me get a deal?”
A plea deal.
I could only imagine the time he was going to have to serve now.
Jaw clenched, Aiden nodded.
I wasn’t surprised he agreed—he needed information and right now Corey was the only one who could give it to us.
“A lady,” Corey said. “Never gave me a name, and I never met her.”
A lady. Who? Kira? Cat? I was consumed with wanting to know.
“How’d she get in touch with you?”
“Called my phone.”
Aiden pressed. “How’d she know your number?”
Confusion crossed Corey’s eyes as though he never wondered. “No idea.”
“How’d the transactions work?”
Gulls flew overhead. “She’d call, tell me the job, and leave the money at a specific site.”
“You never questioned any of this?” Aiden asked.
“Money’s money. I’ve been having trouble finding employment.” Corey deadpanned.
Seemed to me he’d been working yesterday, selling drugs.
“How much money?” Aiden kept his voice low, in control.
“A thousand dollars for each job.” Aiden whistled. Corey said, “I know. It was too good to pass up. And I didn’t see no harm. Dropping off a doll. Easy stuff.”
“What about today?” Aiden questioned. “Why are you here?”
“Supposed to break in and look for a flash drive.” He shrugged. “Like I said, easy stuff, except for the Rambos.”
Kira’s flash drive. Someone was going to great lengths to make sure it never surfaced.
“Did you try to break in the other night, too? And jumped in the ocean?” Aiden asked.
I noticed that Sean watched from the doorway of the cottage. It was probably killing him to stay away, but I knew he was in protector mode. He wouldn’t leave Ava alone, despite the threat being neutralized.
“Yeah,” Corey said. “Almost drowned. The lady didn’t care—she just wanted the job done. Threw in hazard pay for the guards.”
I nearly laughed at the fact that he had received hazard pay. If I ever brought it up with my father, I was using Corey McDaniel as an example.
“What other jobs did she have you do? Planting the doll. Breaking in here. Anything else?”
“Calling the lady with a death threat,” Corey said.
Had he broken into the Bennetts’ house and called Kira from their phone? Was his call what set this all in motion?
“What lady?” Aiden stiffened.
Corey closed his eyes and screwed up his face. “I’m trying to remember her name.”
“Kira?” Aiden supplied.
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Nina. No. Nala?”
Wait a sec… “Nya?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s it.” His gaze snapped from me back to Aiden. “Nya.”
Well, that explained Nya’s sudden departure for the wilds of New Hampshire—and why she wasn’t returning my calls.
“Anything else?” Aiden asked.
“Don’t think so. You’ll be able to get me a plea deal?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Aiden said, standing up as a siren grew closer.
A few minutes later, Corey was tucked into the back of a cruiser and on his way to the state police barracks to be questioned at length later on.
I thanked the security guys, and Aiden and I made our way to the cottage, the dogs racing ahead of us. “Why didn’t you ask about Dustin?”
“He’d have clammed up. Too personal. I needed the information on Kira first.” He rubbed a hand over his head. “I’ll ask him about Dustin later.”
I understood but was still disappointed. In my mind, finding Dust
in had become almost as important as locating Kira.
I hobbled onto the porch and Sean, who still stood in the doorway said, “Nice parking job.”
Laughing, I gave him a quick kiss as I walked past. Aiden looked around and said, “Where’s Ava?”
Sean said, “Sleeping in the bedroom. I don’t know how she slept through all that noise, but she did.”
Aiden headed that way.
“What’s that?” I asked, motioning to the TV screen. A black and white image was paused.
“ATM footage. Jeremy sent it over earlier.”
“Is it Kira?” I asked.
“No. I don’t recognize her. She only uses walk-up ATMs, not drive-through.” Sean hit the play button on the TV remote. For a surveillance video, the images were of good quality.
I squinted at the screen, at the woman wearing a large-brimmed straw hat that covered most of her face. I couldn’t see any features other than plump lips and a well-defined jawline. She knew how to dodge the camera to avoid face time. “Is it the same woman making every withdrawal?”
“Yep. Same woman. Same hat.”
How’d she get Kira’s debit card? Had she found her purse? Stolen it?
Aiden came out of the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. “ATM surveillance?” he asked, glancing at the screen.
“The woman using Kira’s debit card,” Sean explained.
Approaching the TV, he said, “It’s not Kira.”
Sean sat on the arm of the couch. “We don’t know who she is.”
The woman punched in a PIN, and I did a double-take. “Rewind that part,” I said, rushing up to the TV set for a closer look.
Sean rewound, and again I watched the woman poke buttons. Adrenaline shot through my veins as I pointed at the screen. “I know who she is.” I spun around. “And how to find her.”
21
The man answered the phone on the third ring. “Do you read minds in addition to finding objects, Ms. Valentine?”
I paced the living room, my steps uneven and clunky because of the boot. Thoreau trotted beside me. Sean and Aiden watched my every move. “No, why?”
“I was just about to call you,” Elliman Bay said, his deep voice resonating through the room—I had him on speakerphone. “Any updates finding Kira? News sources aren’t saying much.”