Roadkill

by Cheryl Bradshaw

  Suicidal? He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “Whoa. Wait a minute. There’s no way. I may not understand why she left, but Juliette would never take her own life.”

  Jonas stood. “I’m sure you’re right. You know her best. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “I should be the one apologizing to you. I’ve been on edge today.”

  “It’s understandable. I would be too. Anyway, I better get going. You should join us for dinner later tonight. Ann would love to have you, and it would probably be a good idea for you to have some company right now.”

  “I appreciate the offer. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

  “Well, if there’s anything you need, let me know. I mean it.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Jonas didn’t enjoy lying to Seth. He didn’t enjoy causing him pain, either. He’d never meant for any of it to happen. In the time they’d lived next to each other, they were more than neighbors—they were good friends. Now that friendship would come to an end. Nothing would be the same anymore. And he had himself to blame for it.

  Any moment now, Seth would find out Juliette’s car had been discovered. His wife was dead. His child missing.

  What choice did he have but to soften the blow by planting a seed of discord? Even if Seth didn’t buy into the theory about Juliette’s depression now, eventually he would—once Jonas convinced him she’d committed suicide.

  Seth loved Juliette more than Jonas thought it was possible for a man to love a woman, and even though he believed she’d returned his love to a degree, it was by no means on the same level. Jonas had always blamed Juliette’s need for a more spirited life on the fact that Seth was away too much for work. She was alone, neglected, looking for more out of life than what Seth was able to give. What did he think would happen?

  Poor, naïve Seth.

  He really had no idea who Juliette was at all.

  CHAPTER 13

  Tired and stretched thin, Seth decided he needed a pick me-up if he wanted to get through the rest of the day. He made himself a cup of coffee. Once he was finished, he would head out again, this time to the police department. He had thought about calling and then shot down the idea, deciding if he was to convince them to help, he had a better chance if he was in person. It had been a couple of hours since he had heard from Raine, and a few minutes earlier when he’d called, she didn’t answer.

  He took one last swig of coffee, set the mug in the sink, and headed for the front door. Before he got there, his cell phone buzzed.

  Praying it was Juliette, he looked at the screen. It wasn’t her. It was her sister. He put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Raine? Have you heard anything?”

  “Seth, I—”

  She was choking on her words, barely able to get them out. It sounded like she was crying, but he couldn’t tell for sure.

  “What’s going on? Talk to me.”

  Before she had the chance to speak again, someone knocked at the door.

  Thinking it was Jonas, Seth shook his head, mumbling to himself, “I’m fine. I don’t need a friggin’ babysitter. Geez.”

  But when Seth opened the door, he was met by two officers from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the LVMPD.

  “Hey, Raine,” Seth said. “Can I call you back in a few minutes?”

  “No, Seth. I need to—”

  “It’s just, I don’t mean to cut you off, but there are a police officers at my door. Give me five minutes. I’ll get back to you.”

  He ended the call.

  Standing before him was a man and a woman, or more accurately, a boy and a woman. The boy looked like he’d just stepped off the high school football field and into a uniform. A polished pretty-boy. Innocent looking, like he’d come from a small town in the middle of nowhere where the biggest crime was when Farmer Dell’s chicken went missing. The woman was about twice the boy’s age, taller than Seth, and far too beautiful to be in uniform. She had long, red hair, which was pulled back into a tidy ponytail. She batted her emerald eyes at him, and said, “Seth Granger?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m Officer MacKenna.” She thumbed at the kid, “This is Officer Parker. We wanted to ask you a few questions about your wife. Can we come in?”

  “I ... uhh ... yeah. I was just about to call you.”

  He swung the door all the way open and led them to the living room.

  Officer MacKenna glanced around the room like she was scrutinizing it. Then she sat down. “When was the last time you saw your wife?”

  “Last night. We went to bed together after we put our daughter down.”

  “What time?”

  He shrugged. “It was around ten, I think.”

  “And what was the last thing you talked about?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t understand why you’re asking these questions. Why are you here? Do you know something? Have you found her?”

  “We think so,” Officer Parker said. “We were told—”

  Officer MacKenna glared at Officer Parker, and he stopped talking.

  “If you could answer my questions first,” Officer MacKenna said, “I’ll get to everything else in a minute. Mmmkay?”

  She was holding back, treating him like an imbecile, which Seth found irritating. He would answer her questions, and then he’d make sure she answered his. “The last thing we talked about ... I don’t know. She usually reads before falling asleep, and she said something about a book on her eReader. Some new Diane Capri thriller. She said I should read it.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Not really. We were both tired. When I fell asleep, she was still reading.”

  “Okay, so the two of you went to sleep, and then what happened?”

  His head started to perspire. He wiped the moisture with his hand. Officer MacKenna flipped a small notebook open and wrote something down. He couldn’t see what it was, and he wondered if his behavior had caused it or if he was being paranoid.

  “I don’t know what’s happening here,” he said, “or why you feel like you need to know about every second of last night, but I love my wife.”

  Officer MacKenna squinted and cocked her head to one side. “Why would you say something like that?”

  He breathed a long, heavy sigh. “I don’t know what you’re getting at, since you seem determined to keep me in the dark, but I’ll save you some time and show you two something.”

  “Show us what?” Officer MacKenna asked.

  Seth dug into his pocket, pulled out the note, and handed it over.

  Officer MacKenna slid it open, reading what Juliette had written. “When did you find this?”

  “When I woke up this morning. It was left on her pillow.”

  “Did you have any idea your wife was planning to leave you before today?”

  He shook his head. “None. I thought things were fine with us. Not ideal all the time maybe, but nothing like we were heading for divorce.”

  “When you say things were ‘not ideal,’ what problems did you have in the marriage?”

  She sounded like a shrink.

  He threw his hands up. “Okay, okay. You know what? If you’re not going to answer any of my questions, I’m done talking. I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s been a long morning. I had no idea I would start it out by waking up and finding my wife and daughter gone.”

  Officer MacKenna exchanged silent glances with Officer Parker.

  “What is that?” Seth asked. “The look between you two. What does it mean? What did I say now?”

  Officer MacKenna turned her attention back to Seth. “You said your wife and daughter are missing.”

  “Yeah, why?”

  She stared at him for a moment and then said, “I need to make a call, and then I think you better come with us.”

  CHAPTER 14

  I’d rehearsed what I planned to say to Seth over and over in my mind. Not that it mattered. There was no getting around the truth. I had to tell him what litt
le I knew. There was no sugarcoating it, either. I waited inside the police department for Seth to arrive so we could talk, the lump in my throat hard and dense, refusing to go away, no matter how many times I swallowed.

  From the window, I could see him get out of the back of a squad car in the parking lot. As he walked through the door with the two officers, I threw my arms around him, biting down on my lip so hard I tasted blood. The gesture caught him off-guard. We’d never hugged much in the past—once at his wedding and once after Nora was born—so the embrace was stiff, like two pieces of cardboard coming together. He patted my back a couple times and then pulled away like he didn’t know what to make of it. He placed both hands square on my shoulders and looked at me, but he didn’t say a word.

  “Let’s talk for a few minutes,” I said, “before we head into the detective’s office.”

  He crossed his arms in front of him. “I’m tired of not getting answers to my questions, Raine. I just played nice with the cops who came to my house, and once they got me in the squad car, they said they’d tell me what was going on, but then they didn’t say much of anything. They said I’d find out once I got here. You gonna fill me in on what we’re doing here?”

  I nodded. “Have a seat and hear me out, okay?”

  “Don’t string me along. Today has been hard enough.”

  “It’s been hard on me too.”

  “Did you hear from Juliette? Is she here? There’s been some kind of accident. That’s all they’ve told me so far.”

  I turned toward him. “I’ll tell you everything I know. Before I do, though, I need to start at the beginning.”

  “Okay, fine. Go on.”

  “A few days ago, Juliette called me. She said she was unhappy in the marriage and had decided to leave you and get a divorce. She was supposed to talk to you about it last night, but this morning, she told me she just couldn’t do it, so she left you a note instead.”

  He waved a hand in the air. “Hang on. You talked to her this morning, before I called you?”

  I nodded. “Right after she left, I called to check on her. She said she had Nora, and they were on their way to my house.”

  “Unbelievable. Why did you lie to me when I called you today? You said you didn’t know anything.”

  I winced at the harshness of his words. He was right, of course. It made me wonder whether I had contributed to her death by not doing something more. And then there was Nora. “What I said or didn’t say this morning doesn’t matter now.”

  “Of course it does. It matters to me.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Listen, Juliette never showed up at my house. After hearing from you, I called and texted her several times. She didn’t answer, which worried me because she was late. I got in my car and drove in your direction, thinking I’d see her on the road.”

  “And?”

  I paused, taking a moment to breathe before diving into what happened next. “When I drove through the gorge, I noticed a bunch of cop cars and fire trucks lined up on the opposite side of the highway. There was a helicopter in the air, flying low to the ground. Too low. I pulled over, ran into Detective Ford, and told him I was looking for Juliette. The more I said, the more I realized he knew something.”

  “Raine, get to the point. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

  “There was an accident in the gorge, Seth. A car went off the road. They were using the helicopter to lift the car out of the bottom of the canyon.”

  He grabbed hold of my arms and squeezed so hard his fingernails dug into my skin. “Are you trying to tell me ... is Juliette ... is Nora ... are they both ...”

  I steadied my voice. “It was Juliette’s car that crashed. The weird part is, when they reached her vehicle and looked inside, Nora wasn’t there.”

  “What? That doesn’t make any sense. She had to be in the car with her. Juliette took her when she left.”

  “I know she did. It doesn’t make sense to me, either. When I spoke to her, she told me Nora was in the back seat. I didn’t actually hear Nora, but I have no reason to believe she wasn’t there with Juliette. Police have searched the area around the crash site. They can’t find Nora anywhere.”

  “And Juliette? Where is she?”

  This was the hardest part. The part I’d asked Ford if I could say. I wanted to tell him myself. But now, sitting in front of him, I no longer wanted to. “I’m sorry, Seth. It was a steep drop, and Juliette didn’t make it. She’s dead.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Jonas wasn’t the most faithful husband, but even he could admit life wasn’t worth living without Anna, his sweet wife. He was sitting at a barstool in the kitchen, sipping on bourbon, watching her hips sway back and forth to the rhythm of a Louis Armstrong song while she stirred a homemade pot of marinara sauce on the stove. Damn, she looked good in her fitted black dress. He could watch those hips of hers move all day and never tire of it. One sweet woman, one spicy vixen. Between the two ladies in his life, there was no reason for him to ever stray again. He had it made.

  Anna set a wooden spoon on a plate on the counter, combed her long, wavy, blond hair with her fingers, and turned, raising a brow when she caught him eyeing her.

  She wagged a finger at him and grinned. “I see what’s happening over there. Will you stop it?”

  “Stop, what?”

  “Staring the way you are. You’re making me nervous.”

  He leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on her neck. “After all of these years of marriage? You shouldn’t be nervous anymore.”

  “I know. I can’t help it. You look like you want to tear my clothes off.”

  “I do, and since you’re leaving me soon, we better make the most of our next few hours together, don’t you think?”

  Her cheeks reddened. “You’ll manage just fine without me. I’ll only be gone for two days.”

  “I know. It’s just ... your schedule has slowed down a lot now, and we’ve spent more time together lately. It’s been nice.”

  “It has been nice. I feel the same way. It’s just ... you know I promised I’d visit my dad after his surgery, and it’s already been two weeks.”

  “I understand. I just hope he won’t try to keep you longer like he always does.”

  She brushed off the comment, grabbed a bowl of salad, and placed it on the table. “Oh, I meant to ask if you saw the news today?”

  “I didn’t. Why?”

  “A car went off the road in the gorge this morning. It landed upside down at the bottom of the canyon. They needed a helicopter to lift it out. Traffic was backed up for hours. Can you believe it?”

  He raised a brow. “Huh. Wonder what happened. Did they say?”

  “They don’t know for sure yet. At least that’s what the reporter said. I only caught the second half of the story. I’m guessing they’ll know more later tonight.”

  “Did they show any footage of the wreck?”

  “There was a photo, but it was too far away. It seemed to me like cops were trying to keep the news crews at a distance. I’m sure they want to notify the family first.”

  “Have they identified anyone yet?”

  “They didn’t give the names, but the reporter made it sound like police have some information about what happen. They just aren’t making it public yet.” She stuck a wooden spoon into the pot on the stove, blew on it, and put it in her mouth. “Mmmhmm. Perfect. I think it’s ready.”

  She reached out, running her fingers along his arm. “Hey, you went quiet on me. You all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  She smiled. “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I’m great. I’ve just had a lot on my mind today. Sorry.”

  Jonas’s cell phone vibrated inside his pocket. He turned, pulled it out partway, and looked to see who was calling before clicking the sound of the ringer off and slipping it back into his pocket. “I need to take a call, honey.”

  “Can it wait? We’re just about ready to sit down to dinner.”

  “It’s wo
rk—just a small issue I didn’t get buttoned up today. It’s important. If I don’t take it, they’ll just keep calling back. Why don’t you dish everything up, and I’ll be right back?”

  She reached for a plate on the table and shrugged. “Okay.”

  He headed down the hall to his office, struggling to maintain his composure. She suspected something was off with him. He needed to keep calm.

  He closed the office door and dialed. When the call was answered, he said, “I’m sitting down to dinner with my wife, Adam. Make it fast.”

  “Max wants to know where the girl is. You have her, right?”

  “Tell Max if he wants to know, he can call me and ask me himself. I don’t answer to you. I did what he asked. Nothing else matters.”

  “Don’t get cocky, Jonas. You’re not the only one who liked Juliette. I liked her too. Have you seen Victor? I’ve tried his cell all day. He won’t answer.”

  “I haven’t seen him.”

  “He went with you this morning, though, right?”

  “He did. When we got back, I dropped him off at his house.”

  “Huh. I wonder why he’s not answering.”

  “I don’t care what he’s doing or not doing, or why he won’t answer his phone. It’s not my business. Victor’s tenacious. He does what he wants when he wants. You know that. He’ll call when he feels like it.”

  It was the exact reason Jonas had warned Max not to hire Victor. Sometimes Jonas thought Max hired him to teach Jonas a lesson—to show Jonas all lions had the ability to be tamed if they had the right tamer.

  “What should I tell Max about the kid? When can he expect her?”

  “Tell him she’s safe.”

  “And she’ll be here when?”

  “Soon.”

  “Soon, like an hour from now, or soon like tomorrow?”

  Jonas held the phone away from his ear and sighed. He’d prepared himself for the onslaught of questions, but hadn’t figured out the best way to go about stalling yet. “I’ll bring her tomorrow, all right? Why is Max so interested in her anyway?”