“I don’t know. After work, I guess.”
“You were here when we arrived?”
“I must have fallen asleep. I woke up and noticed a light in here. So I found Derek’s gun in his closet. I thought someone knew he was gone. I thought you were going to steal his computer or something. Not that it would matter now, I guess.”
Ty stepped to the side and gestured to the computer screen. “Corrine, do you know this woman?”
She took a few more swipes at her eyes, then squinted at the computer. “Oh, her.”
“You know her?” Megan asked. She looked from Corrine to Ty. It seemed she was the only one here who had never met the nude bombshell.
“Know her?” Corrine said, bringing Megan’s focus back to her. “Not really.”
“But you know her name,” Ty said. “Don’t you? And you know why she’s on Derek’s computer.”
“Samantha. Samantha Vickery.”
“He was dating her, wasn’t he?” Ty prodded.
Corrine glanced to the side. “She just showed up in the mall one day all flirty, and that was it. The next thing I knew, Derek was saying he wanted to date other people. Other people, can you imagine? Like it could be anyone. Like I didn’t know exactly who he wanted to date. All I’ve done for him, all we shared, none of it meant anything.”
Furrows dug into Ty’s forehead. “You said she showed up in the mall? Are you saying he met her by chance?”
“Yeah. I guess. I don’t know. Come to think of it, she probably planned it. Yeah, I’m sure she did.”
“When did this happen?”
“About a week ago.”
“At the mall.”
“Yes. We were having lunch in the food court and she just walked right up to our table and sat down. She was wearing this low cut blouse and kept leaning forward and touching Derek’s leg. That was the last time he looked at me.” She glanced at the computer screen. “Now I guess I know why.”
Megan shook her head. Corrine’s story sounded bizarre. Who just walked up to a couple and stole away the boyfriend? And how in the world did Ty know her? She caught his blue gaze. “Who is this woman?”
“Apparently, she’s Samantha Vickery.”
“But you said you know her. How do you know her?” She probably sounded like a jealous girlfriend herself, but she didn’t care. Although she did feel some pangs, she had to admit, logically she knew there was a big difference between Ty and Derek Ernst. For Ty, she had a feeling there was more to his interest in this woman than sex. And that it had nothing to do with feelings and everything to do with Connor’s abduction. “Who is she?”
“I only saw her once. In the mall. The day Connor disappeared.”
Megan sucked in a breath. “She’s involved, too?”
“She called herself the Giftinator. Walked up to me out of the blue and started talking about buying Christmas gifts. She distracted me. Just for a few seconds, but those were the same seconds when Connor was taken.”
TY COULDN’T BELIEVE HE’D BEEN so damn stupid. Here he’d thought the Giftinator—Samantha Vickery—had been a random, somewhat annoying woman with nothing better to do than babble on about helping people buy gifts. He was a cop, for God’s sake. He should have suspected something was up, shouldn’t he? He should have tied her together with Connor’s kidnapping from the first. Instead, in all the panic following Connor’s disappearance, he’d simply wiped her from his mind.
He focused on Corrine Blaska. If anyone could tell him more about the new girlfriend, it was the old girlfriend. “Where does Samantha Vickery live?”
Corrine stepped back, as if she wanted to fade into the hallway.
Maybe he was coming on a little strong. The woman was clearly on the edge of a complete breakdown. But they’d finally gotten a lead on Connor’s kidnappers, and he didn’t want to waste a single second.
He took a deep breath. Better to give Corrine a little motivation to help. “She stole your boyfriend. And she might have done a lot worse. I need to know everything you do.”
“She lives on the lake. Right on the water. She took Derek there.” She studied her boots. “I followed them.”
“Where on the lake?”
“On the Eastern Shore. A fancy house with pillars in the front. It has a pool. It’s right on the lake, and yet it still has a pool.” She shook her head at the absurdity of it.
Ty knew the neighborhood. That whole area was built up by mob money in the bootlegging days. He couldn’t wait to find out who was paying the mortgage. Just a guess, but he’d bet it wasn’t Samantha Vickery. “Have you talked to the police about all this, Corrine?”
“About Derek? Why he would kill himself?”
“About Samantha Vickery.”
She shook her head. “They didn’t ask about her.”
Not surprising. If Baker or Leo saw Samantha’s nude photo on Derek’s computer wallpaper, they’d probably assume he’d downloaded it from some internet porn website. As for the connection to Connor’s abduction, Leo and Baker didn’t even know the boy was gone until…come to think of it, Baker hadn’t mentioned Connor at all. How was it possible they still didn’t know?
“We have to go.” Ty exchanged looks with Megan, then focused on Corrine. “Are you going to be okay? Do you want us to drop you off somewhere?”
“I’ll be fine.” She looked past him, focusing intense eyes on the computer monitor.
Great. The last thing he wanted was for her to erase the photo or something. “We’ll take you home.”
“That’s okay. I have my car here.”
“But you’re in no shape to drive. And on the way, you can point out the house where Samantha Vickery took Derek.”
“It’s not on the way to my apartment.”
“Oh, yes, it is. We’re taking the long way.”
MEGAN LOOKED UP AT THE BIG white house on the lake that could have swallowed her entire apartment building and had room left over for dessert. Her head had been buzzing since Corrine had first pointed out the house. The time it had taken to drop her off at home and return had seemed to stretch on forever. Could Samantha Vickery know where Connor was? Could she have him in that house right now? Could he be locked in a room? Scared? Needing his mommy?
She glanced at Ty. She knew he’d wanted to call in the police since the moment he saw the woman he’d known as the Giftinator on Derek Ernst’s computer screen. No, who was she kidding? He’d wanted to call the police since he’d first found out she had lied about Doug’s call. And she knew how much restraint it was taking on his part not to make that call.
They walked toward the house. Unlike the gaudy jumble of Christmas lights in Derek Ernst’s neighborhood, or the friendly cheer in Detective Baker’s, this house was decorated like something out of a magazine. Perfect wreaths adorned each door and several windows, and a gentle sprinkle of white lights lent a magical mood. Very lush, very tasteful, yet a little too slick to feel either warm or joyous.
Salt ground under their feet on the plowed concrete drive. The night had grown colder, and the air prickled the inside of her nose with each inhaled breath. “Do you think Connor might be in there?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I do think that if he’s not, there’s a very good chance Ms. Vickery knows where he is.”
That was what she was hoping for. That was what she was hanging on to.
They followed the sidewalk, mounting the curved steps that led to the bright red door. Ty rang the bell. Chimes echoed through the house.
Ten seconds passed, twenty, the time creeping slow as an ice floe. He pushed the button again. He leaned toward one of the door’s sidelights. Cupping his hand to shield the bright moon from reflecting on the glass, he peered inside. “Would you look at that?”
“What?” Megan brought her face close.
He pointed at something hanging on the wall of the foyer, close to the door.
Megan knew what the panel was immediately. “A security system.” And right there at the bottom of the sc
reen was the name Keating Security. “But I don’t remember the name Vickery from the client list.”
“She’s not the client.”
“Who is?”
“Now that’s a good damn question, isn’t it? One we’ll have to ask.” He rang the bell again.
“She’s not home.” Megan hadn’t realized how hopeful she was until she felt the sinking feeling inside.
“Or she doesn’t want us to think she is, at any rate. Who knows? But one thing’s for sure.”
“What’s that?” Megan could use something to count on. Something that was a sure thing.
“The woman who lives in this house is not walking the malls, trolling for a computer nerd boyfriend to steal. And even if she was, she wouldn’t be desperate enough to go for Derek Ernst.”
He was right about that. Megan couldn’t imagine two people who seemed more incompatible.
Ty stepped off the walk and into the snow. He reached out a hand for Megan. “Let’s have a look around.”
Megan grasped his hand and followed. She was almost getting used to this sneaking around, trespassing stuff. More snow had filled her boots by the time they reached the back patio. Well, on most houses it might be called a patio. This one looked grand enough to be considered a snow-covered Disney World.
Tiered gardens and paths led in swirls down the steep bank. Every few feet, the path jutted off to a bench or a covered hot tub or some sort of garden feature Megan couldn’t decipher under the blanket of snow. Trees dotted the gardens, spruce here and a naked clump of white-barked birch there and the occasional gnarled branches of oak. At the bottom of the steep slope, an inlet of Lake Hubbard stretched flat before them, smooth snow glowing blue in the moonlight. On the opposite bank stood an even larger mansion, rimmed with a wrought iron fence and twinkling with Christmas lights. “Harris House. This really is quite the neighborhood.”
Ty nodded. “Most of the houses in this area were built during prohibition. They have secret rooms and tunnels used by the Chicago mob to hide their hooch.”
Megan tried not to think of Connor trapped in one of those rooms. Scared. Hungry. She shook her head.
They circled the swimming pool drained for winter, only a few feet of water at the bottom. They stepped onto the cleared walkway and stomped the snow from their boots.
Ty cupped his hands as he had in the front of the house and peered inside. “These windows are wired. There’s no way we can get in without setting off the alarm.”
“Are all of these houses alarmed?”
“Most of them. As a patrol officer, I’ve never really kept up. I’ve just gone where the dispatcher sends me. We usually get at least half a dozen burglary calls from this neighborhood, during the off-season.”
“These are vacation homes?”
“Most of them. Funny how the other half lives, eh?”
Megan sidled up to one of the many other windows and took a look.
The house was as opulent on the inside as it was on the outside. Marble floors stretched under plush oriental rugs. A dining room table inlaid with the iridescent shine of mother-of-pearl stretched in front of the window. The walls were filled with what looked like an antique buffet and matching china cabinets, but there were no dishes inside. No flowers on the table. Nothing but a thin sheet of dust.
She strained to see farther into the darkness. She could make out a staircase beyond, stretching up to who-knew-where. A hallway fading into shadows. No Christmas decorations on the inside. It was as if the house was an expensive but vacant shell. “It doesn’t look like anyone actually lives here. Do you see anything?”
“No.” He skipped a few windows and peered through the glass again. “Even the kitchen. No appliances on the countertops, nothing. If Samantha Vickery brought Derek here recently, they didn’t seem to leave a lot of evidence behind.”
“We’ve reached a dead end?” Not again. Not when she’d thought they were getting close to something. Close to finding her little boy.
She stepped back from the window, dizzy. Connor. Where are you?
“You okay?”
Megan turned, facing the pool. She blinked back tears and forced a nod, although it was a lie. “I thought we were on to something. I was hoping, but…”
He stepped up behind her. He pulled her back against his chest, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her temple. His breath felt warm on the side of her cheek.
She closed her eyes. Leaning against him, she soaked in the solid feel of his chest, the strength of his arms holding her. Throughout all of this, one thing had been consistent. Whenever she lost hope, whenever she needed someone, Ty had been there. Holding her. Propping her up. Coming up with ideas of what they could do next.
She turned in his arms and tilted up her face to his. She wanted to feel him, know he was there. She wanted to soak in his strength, his passion, his love. And somehow, if she did, she hoped she might get through this.
He brought his mouth down on hers. His lips were hot, and they moved over hers with a hunger that stole her breath. There was no holding back this time, and she didn’t hold back, either. She tangled her tongue with his, caressing, demanding. She wanted more than kisses from Ty. She wanted everything. Not just sex but love. Not just for now but forever. And for the first time in a long time, she felt bold enough to reach out and take.
Almost.
She pulled back from his lips and leaned her head on his chest.
He did nothing, said nothing. He just held her, as if he knew exactly what she needed, as if he’d provide it for her always, without needing to be asked.
Once they found Connor, she’d like to think this could continue. Grow past what they’d had as kids. Grow into something she could count on. A relationship like she’d always dreamed of. Passionate and exciting, sure. But what she longed for more than that giddy kind of love, what she’d wanted all her life, was someone she could meld with, grow comfortable with, grow old with. Something she’d never had before. Something she didn’t believe existed. Until now.
She opened her eyes and blinked against the cold. The pool stretched before them, gaping like a hungry mouth. And from this angle, deep at the bottom, highlighted by moonlight, she could make out the form of a body under thick snow.
Chapter Fourteen
No matter how long Ty stared at the shape in the snow, it wasn’t going to change what it was. And it wasn’t going to melt away. “You know what this means?”
“We have to call the police?”
He gave a nod and reached for his cell phone. “We’re going to have to come clean. You understand that, right, Meg? We’re going to have to tell them everything.”
He could feel her tremble under his arm.
“What will that mean? For Connor?”
“It will be okay.” He angled Megan’s body so she had to look him in the eye. “It will. They’ll help. We should have let them help from the beginning.”
Her eyelids dropped, moonlight casting shadows, making her eyelashes look impossibly long against her cheeks. “I’m so scared.”
“I know. I’ll be here with you the whole way.” He pulled her close for just one more moment. He was afraid, too. More afraid than he wanted Megan to know. But it wasn’t the police involvement that scared him. It was the kidnapper’s call. He and Megan still knew so little, and if that was Samantha Vickery at the bottom of that pool, those who could have told them more were dead. The kidnapper seemed to be tying up loose ends. He just hoped and prayed Connor wasn’t one of those ends. Megan either.
He had to protect them at all costs.
He gave her one last squeeze, then he pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
It didn’t take long for the police to arrive. Of course, Ty’s fellow patrol cops got there first. They cordoned off the area and put Ty and Megan into a black-and-white to warm up and wait for detectives.
Ty shifted on the hard plastic seat. He eyed the metal grate that separated the front seats from the rear compa
rtment. He felt like a damn suspect. Worse, all he could think about was the many times he’d transported drunks in the back seat of his squad…and how many times they’d gotten sick.
He should have insisted they wait in his car.
Baker and a night shift sergeant named Jessica Taylor arrived next. Finally Leo showed up, his usually square haircut slightly askew, as if he’d been roused out of bed and hadn’t thought to look in a mirror.
He opened the passenger door of the squad car and slipped inside, peering at them through the metal grate. “Hello there, Ty. You’re a hard man to reach.”
“Been busy.”
“I see that.” He turned his assessing eyes on Megan. “Hello, Ms. Garvey.”
Ty didn’t mind Leo’s tone toward him. After the past day of ducking his calls, Ty certainly deserved what he got. But the skeptical way he was looking at Megan made Ty want to throw his body between them to protect her. “We need to talk to you, Leo.”
“I’ll say.” He settled fully into the seat, twisting around to give them both a good glare. “Why don’t we start with you explaining how the two of you came to be spending this frigid night walking around peering into rich people’s swimming pools?”
“The woman who lives in this house was at the mall the day Megan’s son was kidnapped. She talked to me right at the moment the boy was taken.”
“Hold on a second here.” He zeroed in on Megan.
Ty shifted forward on the slick plastic seat. “Her name is Samantha Vickery. She was also involved with Derek Ernst, the mall guard who was manning the security cams that day. You know, the guy who supposedly shot himself up on Quarry Road.”
Leo looked totally confused, but Ty pushed on without taking a breath, wanting to get all of it out there before the lieutenant had a chance to start grilling Megan. “It you want proof they knew each other, ask Ernst’s old girlfriend and take a look at the nude photo of Vickery on Ernst’s computer wallpaper. They were working together, Leo. They had to be. The two of them and the guy in the parka who grabbed Connor. They conspired to kidnap Megan’s son.”
Leo held up his hands, fingers splayed. “Hold on, Davis. What the hell are you talking about? There was no kidnapping.” He searched Ty’s face, then again focused on Megan. He didn’t say a word, but the pressure in the car increased.
A Cop in Her Stocking Page 12