Crossing his arms, Mason shifted and shot Daniel a pointed look. Daniel caught the unspoken message. To Janice, he said, “Look, hon, we’re kind of in the middle of something. Call me in a couple of hours and I’ll see what I can do about finding someone to fix the air conditioner. Or call Jack Durant.”
Janice waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ll handle it, but turn on your phone, would you? I wouldn’t have to track you down if you’d answer.”
With a flush, Daniel did as requested then escorted his wife from the office. When he returned, he glanced around and cleared his throat. “She could’ve called my office line,” he muttered. “Sorry about that. The shop is sort of like her child since we can’t…” He broke off and shook his head. “Never mind. Okay, so where were we?”
Lacey pulled in a deep breath. Seeing Janice and Daniel together sent pangs of unexpected—and unwanted—jealousy through her. Why did the man who’d cost her a lifetime of love and happiness get to have it? It wasn’t fair.
But God never promised fair, she reminded herself, He just promised to be there with her through whatever life threw at her.
Like finding her missing daughter.
“I wish we still had that car,” Mason muttered.
Catelyn lifted her head with a snap. “We do.”
“What?” Mason and Lacey asked simultaneously.
“While there was only one beer bottle found at the scene, it’s been ruled an alcohol-related wreck. The car’s at the high school.”
“Was Kayla drinking?” Mason asked, jaw tight.
Daniel shook his head. “There was no alcohol in her blood. She wasn’t drinking and driving.”
Lacey felt some relief flood her. But if Kayla wasn’t drinking, who was? Surely not Bethany. She realized the irony of her thinking. Her own parents never would have believed she’d come home with the news she was pregnant before it had happened. So…had Bethany been drinking that night? Where did the beer bottle come from?
She may never know, she realized.
Catelyn was saying, “In spite of their grief, Kayla’s parents wanted to make sure Kayla’s death wasn’t for nothing and donated the car for the MADD cause.”
“Mothers Against Drunk Driving,” Mason stated the obvious. “They do a semiannual program. One in August at the beginning of school and one in May just before school lets out.”
Daniel nodded. “Right, I saw that in the paper. They used Kayla’s car this past May. They’re planning on using it again this fall when school starts back.”
With a forefinger, Mason tapped his lips and Lacey shivered, remembering when he used to smile at her so sweetly. On their first date, he’d kissed her knuckles, then her forehead.
He’d been such a gentleman, not like most of the guys he’d hung around with. Jerks like Daniel Ackerman.
She pushed those thoughts aside and focused on what Mason was saying. “I don’t know if it would do us any good to get that car back to the lab so a forensics team could go over it.”
Lacey stood and placed her hands on her hips. “It might. Surely no one’s really touched the car. I mean, did they clean it up before putting it on display?”
Catelyn shook her head and grimaced. “No, the parents wanted the kids to have the full shock value if they looked at the air bag close enough. Although with the roof caved in the way it is, you can’t really see much unless you’re right up on it.” She explained, “When the car hit the tree, the top part of the tree broke off and fell on top of the vehicle.”
Lacey winced. And Bethany was possibly inside? The thought made her feel a little sick.
“And,” Mason offered, “they usually display it in front of the school with crime tape sectioning it off to keep people away from it. So, it’s not unreasonable to think that the car hasn’t been touched since the wreck.”
“But what about the weather?” Daniel asked. “I mean it’s been rained on.” He shook his head. “I don’t think you’d get much from forensics.”
Without meaning to, Lacey let her gaze meet Daniel’s. His hard brown eyes bored into hers and she shivered. What was he thinking? He’d been on edge since they’d all entered his office.
Was he afraid she’d bring up his past lies about her right there in front of everyone? She certainly wanted to. She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes refusing to look away. He shifted first then dropped his gaze to the photos still on the table.
Mason placed a hand on her arm, and she jumped. He said to Catelyn and Daniel, “I think it’s worth a try. Even being out in the elements, there still might be something on the inside. Or even in the trunk.” He firmed his jaw and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Catelyn shrugged. “Fine with me. I’ll get the forensics people to get the car themselves and tell them what we need.”
She exited the room leaving Lacey alone with the two men. Daniel notched his chin at Mason. “Why are you so interested in this case?”
Mason just looked at his friend while Lacey held her breath. “A lot of reasons.” He cut his gaze toward her. “How’s your head?”
Absently, she touched her cheek then winced. “Fine. Or it will be in couple of days. So, what’s the next step in finding Bethany?”
“I think we need to talk to Georgia again while we wait for the forensics team to get finished with the car.”
Lacey crossed her arms and hugged herself. “Then we go back to the high school?”
Mason shook his head. “No, I think it would be best to catch her at home this time.” He grabbed the pictures of Kayla’s wreck and shoved them back into the folder. Placing it back on the desk, he said to Lacey, “Come on, we need to see Bethany’s room. Then we can see about talking to Georgia.”
When Catelyn returned, they filled her in on the plan and the foursome left the station to climb into two separate cars. Lacey and Mason into his and Catelyn and Daniel into the police vehicle.
Ten minutes later, they pulled up at the curb of Lacey’s parents’ house. After a brief explanation to her parents as to the reason she was home with the police in tow, Lacey led the way down the hall to Bethany’s room. Her parents hovered in the background, but stayed out of the way and didn’t pepper Lacey or the others with questions.
Lacey silently pushed the door open and sucked in a deep breath. How she wanted to open the door and have Bethany fuss at her for not knocking.
Stepping inside, the detectives swept the area first with their eyes, then snapped on gloves and began going through Bethany’s personal things. Mason handed her a pair of the gloves. “I guess I know better than to ask you to wait in the hall. Besides, we might have questions for you.”
Lacey raised her fingers and wiggled them. “I’ve already been through this room a dozen times,” she protested. “My fingerprints are everywhere.”
Mason shrugged. “Then if we find something, we’ll rule your prints out and don’t have to worry about ours. And maybe we’ll find something new that you haven’t touched yet.”
As she pulled the gloves on, her stomach clenched at the invasion of Bethany’s privacy. Her daughter would have a stroke if she knew, but if it would help find her…
Mason’s expression caught her attention. He looked like a kid at Christmastime who’d been told all the toys under the tree were his. She knew he was taking in every detail of Bethany’s room. Only, in spite of the gloves, he was looking at it from a father’s perspective instead of as a cop.
It made Lacey take another closer look at the room. After a short Goth stage, Bethany got into elegant. Gold trimmed curtains and matching bed spread, a canopy and throw rug all said classy. Lacey had gotten the material at a thrift store and together she and Bethany had made every piece. She sighed and stroked the comforter. She and Bethany had been so close during that time. Now…
He walked to the end table and picked up a picture. “She likes to ski?”
Lacey laughed and stood beside him, breathing in his nearness, her heart rejoicing at his presence. Then breaking at the cau
se of it. “Oh, Bethany…” she whispered, tracing a finger over the girl’s big grin. She looked right at home on the pair of skis, the blue in the jacket making her eyes brighter than the blue of a clear summer sky. “She loves it. The lady who we rented an apartment from used to take Bethany to church where she got involved in the youth group. One year they went skiing when she was about twelve. She’s been hooked ever since.”
Pulling in a deep breath, he replaced the picture and moved on to the shelves over her desk. “Karate trophies.”
“Yes.” She grinned. “It seems like every Saturday, we were road-tripping it somewhere. She hasn’t done as many competitions lately.” Lacey frowned and muttered, “She hasn’t wanted to.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you pay for it—the lessons, the competitions, everything?”
Lacey felt a flush cover her cheeks and narrowed her eyes. “I worked for it.”
This time he turned red. “That’s not what I meant. I just…well this is an expensive sport, I just…” He trailed off. “Sorry.”
She gave him a break and decided to answer. “I worked two jobs, one from home where I could be with Bethany and then the graphics design one. With both of those, I could make ends meet and have a little left over for Bethany and I to do some fun things. Like road trips for karate competitions.”
A look she thought she recognized as admiration shone briefly in his eyes. “You’re an amazing mom.”
Embarrassed at the unexpected praise, mostly because no one had ever told her that before, she simply gaped at him them mumbled, “Well, I don’t know about that.”
Mason simply smiled and moved on.
Pulling open the long thin drawer on the desk, he looked inside. Lacey looked over his shoulder. She’d already been through it and could tell him what it contained. A stack of papers, a few pens, a math book. Lacey reached around him and picked up the papers. Catelyn had finished in the closet and Daniel stood looking at the edge of the window. Absently, she wondered what he was looking at.
With a sigh, she flipped through the first few sheets. School-related announcements, one for a summer camp held in Colorado. Lacey almost chuckled. The girl had big dreams. “She wants to go to camp in Colorado,” she murmured. “Why would she willingly disappear when she’s dreaming about the future?”
She wouldn’t.
And then the next one made her gasp.
Mason glanced at her and asked, “What is it?”
His words barely registered in the rushing roar of her fear. Hands trembling, she held out the picture.
She heard his swiftly indrawn breath as he saw it. “It’s another picture from the yearbook.”
A younger version of Mason and Lacey grinned back at them. A bull’s-eye had been drawn over each of their faces.
At the bottom of the picture someone had taped a picture of Bethany. A full-body shot taken while Bethany lay sprawled on a bench outside the school. Her lunch tray lay on the ground beside her and it looked like she had fallen asleep. The picture itself would have been cute had it not been for the red slash someone had drawn across Bethany’s throat.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mason felt his skin crawl. His stomach tied itself in knots and he thought if he didn’t find out who was behind all this, he might just snap.
Staring down at the picture, he felt slightly nauseous. Who would do this? What kind of enemy had Lacey made? And how? What could she have done during the short time she’d been home?
Or had someone followed her home?
He looked at Lacey as he passed the picture over to Catelyn and Daniel. “Is there anyone from the home or where you worked before you moved here that would be mad at you about something? Could someone have followed you here?”
Her mouth worked and she gulped. “Um. No. Not that I know of. I mean I generally just kept to myself.” She flushed. “It’s hard to make friends with a big old chip on your shoulder.” Her words came slow as though she was embarrassed to admit it. “Unless…” She bit her lip and looked away.
“What?”
“There was this boy. Bethany’s age. He was crazy about her back in North Carolina.”
Mason narrowed his eyes. “Let me guess. You weren’t crazy about him.”
She gave a negative shake of her head. “I thought he was too sophisticated for her. Too mature. Too…everything. I came home early from one work one day and I caught them making out on the couch.” Anger glittered in her eyes. “I said a few things I shouldn’t have, really laid into both of them, but mostly him.” She shrugged. “But we moved here the next week and Bethany hasn’t heard from him since.”
“That you know of,” Mason muttered. Already he wanted to wrap his hands around the young man’s throat. His emotion shocked him. Was this what being a father of a teenage girl felt like?
Exchanging a glance with Daniel and Catelyn, Mason asked, “What’s his name?”
“Austin Howard.”
Catelyn wrote it down. “I’ll check this out and get back to you.”
Daniel had already bagged the picture. He nodded to the window. “Looks like the window’s been jimmied.”
Lacey let out another gasp. “Is that how someone got in? Bethany said someone was in her room one night….”
“I would say it’s possible.”
“All right, let’s get that window fixed,” Mason intervened as he looked at Catelyn. “While you guys take care of this, Lacey and I will head over to Georgia’s house and see if she will be a little more forthcoming now.”
Catelyn nodded. “I’m going to get Joseph to do some digging into this Austin Howard fellow and see what he’s been up to the last couple of days. I also want to see where he was the night of the car accident.”
Nodding his agreement, Daniel wrote something in his notebook and said, “I’ll check with the lab and see where they are on the car.”
In agreement, they finished up in Bethany’s room then split up to go their separate ways.
Mason was still in the processing stage.
He had a daughter. He really did.
He jerked as he realized he had to tell his family—his dad, sister and his stepmother.
Then winced at the thought of how that would go over.
They’d be furious.
Not at the fact that Bethany existed, but at the fact they hadn’t been able to spoil her rotten for the past fifteen years. His heart thudded. Not to mention that they’d be crushed if Bethany was gone for good, and they never got to meet her.
His father had remarried almost ten years ago, although Mason wondered how he found the courage to trust again after what his mother had done. Grudgingly, as the years passed and he watched the two of them together, he had to admit that his stepmother, Maggie, seemed to be perfect for his father.
Mason’s sister, Carol, had been married for three years and professed she had neither the time nor the desire to have a child that would interfere with her budding acting career.
Which was one reason why she rarely came home. Carol declared she couldn’t stand the subtle comments about her biological clock ticking away and the accompanying sad-eyed looks at her minuscule waist.
He shook his head and almost smiled. Mason would become Carol’s favorite person as soon as he produced Bethany to his parents.
Mason’s smile turned south.
If he produced her.
His fingers gripped the steering wheel. No, there was no if about it. He would find her. He had to.
He spun the wheel and pulled onto Georgia’s street. Three houses down he parked in front of a brick ranch with a nicely kept yard. A blue Mustang convertible sat in the drive.
Georgia’s car.
“She’s home.” Lacey’s soft words slammed into him. He’d driven the entire way to Georgia’s house so consumed by his own thoughts he hadn’t opened his mouth to utter a word.
He looked at Lacey. “I’m sorry.”
The soft look in her eyes shook him. She still had that unca
nny ability to read him when he dropped his guard enough. She knew what he meant by the apology.
Her fingers reached out to loosen his from the steering wheel. The warmth of her hand seared him as she reassured him. “You don’t have to explain. You’ve got a lot to think about.” Her gaze swung back to the house. “I want to talk to her this time.”
“Lacey…”
Her jaw firmed into a rock that he remembered from their teen years. He might as well keep his arguments to himself. Instead of trying to persuade her to let him do the talking, he simply nodded.
“Fine.”
Lacey raised a brow at him when he still made no move to get out of the car. “What is it?”
“What’s she like? What’s her favorite color? Gold? She had a lot of gold in that room.”
Lacey sighed. “Well, when she was thirteen and in the Goth phase, she was really into black.”
He winced. “Goth?”
“Uh-huh. But it didn’t last long. I just let her do her thing and didn’t say much about it. Even when she came home one afternoon from school with jet-black hair.” She shook her head and gave a small smile. “I was horrified, but I didn’t say anything except that change wasn’t always a bad thing and I’d get used to it.”
He gave a small laugh. “What did Bethany say?”
“She was miffed that I didn’t blast her and give her the argument she wanted.” She cut her eyes at him. “This whole Goth thing was an attempt to get me to tell her your name.”
His eyes lost their smile. “Did it work?”
“Almost,” she whispered. “But I just couldn’t. Not at that time. In spite of having a dad for a preacher, I was a new Christian and was just learning my way. I had to go at my own pace.” She sighed. “But I did sit her down and we had a long talk about you.”
“Minus the name, of course.”
“Yes, minus the name.” She looked out the window.
“But it seemed to help. After that, she let the dye grow out and stopped wearing black all the time. Now her favorite colors are gold and green.”
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