It grew chilly as the sun set behind the western mountains, so she went back into the house, calling Robo to come along with her. He held the rawhide high like a trophy as he came.
Someone knocked on the door. She opened it to find Stella on the front porch.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Mattie opened the door wide.
“I told the others I’d update you on the interviews.” Stella came inside, stripping off her jacket and throwing it on a chair. She kicked off her loafers and collapsed onto the far end of the sofa. “You got a beer for me?”
“Sure. You want a sandwich?”
“Nah, I’ll get something at home.”
Mattie went to the kitchen and retrieved a beer from the six-pack in the refrigerator, a supply she kept mainly for Stella. “Here you go,” she said, handing it to her before settling, one leg tucked under the other, on the opposite end of the couch.
Stella took a long drink, sighing her approval. “I’ll start with Jed Franklin, because I’m sure he’s the one you’re most interested in. He seemed eager to sing. We got a full confession, written and signed.”
Mattie released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
“It was like he told Sophie. Candace reminded him of his sister, so he used a burlap bag from the feed store to put over her head to capture her. He’d been watching her for a while and knew she went up the hill to meet others after school. He worked the early shift and got off work by then, so he’d go up there to stalk her. He took a chance, but when he spotted her alone with no one else up there waiting, he grabbed her. Didn’t know she was allergic. She died within minutes. He said that when he realized what was happening, there was nothing he could do. Sobbed his little ole heart out.” Stella’s disgust was evident as she took another sip of her beer.
Sadness over the girl’s death overrode Mattie’s other emotions. “What a waste.”
“I’ll say. He confessed to Sophie’s abduction too. Said he never would have hurt her. I pointed out that he already did. Said he wanted to take care of her, and he was afraid he would accidentally kill her too when she got sick. He says he planned to bring her back to her house and let her go, although as you know, she says he told her he planned to take her away, so I hesitate to believe him.” Stella shook her head. “He saw how much she resembled his sister when she came to the store to buy chicks.”
Mattie realized she was sitting all hunched up. She forced herself to straighten and tried to relax. “How did his sister die anyway?”
“Car accident with him driving. Got hit by a drunk driver, if what he says is true. She was in the passenger seat, and he didn’t make her wear her seat belt. He was sixteen and she was twelve. He’d picked her up from her friend’s house at his mother’s request. Parents blamed him for her death. It’s been eating at him all this time.”
“Geez.”
“Yeah. Sad deal, but it doesn’t give him a license to abduct and kill other people.”
No, it doesn’t, Mattie thought.
But she couldn’t help but relate to the fact that Franklin’s motive and goal were similar to one she had for herself—to regain a semblance of family.
“Do you have him on suicide watch at the jail?”
“Yep.” Stella leaned her head on the sofa’s cushion at her back. “He’ll be assigned a public defender, and I hope he goes ahead and pleads guilty. Get him into the system and maybe get him some help.”
Mattie drew a breath and released it slowly. Getting him the help he needed through the system would be unlikely.
“Burt Banks showed up at home this morning. When I talked to him, I leaned on him as hard as I thought I could, but didn’t get any confession about him mistreating Candace. Although I respect your opinion, Mattie, I think your instinct on that one might be off.”
She shrugged. “You could be right about that.”
“Anyway, in light of the fact that we have no suspicion or accusation from Juanita Banks or the neighbor, we have to let it go. He seems to be grieving his daughter’s loss like any normal dysfunctional parent.” Stella tossed her a sarcastic grin before sobering.
Mattie caught her drift. “Agreed.”
“Merton Heath and company stopped by to check in with us on their way out of town. Heath told me he’ll never come anywhere near Timber Creek again when he goes on vacation.” Stella snickered as she enjoyed a moment of cop humor. “Hey, if you want to avoid being rounded up as a suspect, you’d better keep your nose clean. A criminal record can be a bitch.”
Mattie nodded, wanting to share Stella’s laughter, but she felt too tightly wound up inside to let go.
Stella took another pull on her beer. “And of course, Wolford’s still facing drug charges, but he had nothing to do with Candace and Sophie.”
“I guess Brooks Waverly doesn’t either.”
“Yeah. I found out it took him an extra hour to arrive to the store on that errand. Probably hanging out with some kid here in town. He’s playing games with his parents, but that’s their problem, not ours. Or I should say, not ours yet.” Stella shot a knowing glance at her.
“When we arrested Wolford, I hoped we could get Banks to testify against him on the gaming charges,” Mattie said.
“Oh, I think we still can. Juanita might help us with that.”
“And what’s the status on Gus Tilley?”
“Social Services got him hooked back into his support system. They got him medicine from the pharmacy in Hightower for this month, and he should start receiving it through the mail again next month. They’ll follow up and make sure everything is working the way it should.” Stella paused. “I need to finish talking to you about him.”
“Brody already did. I agree that I should stay more objective in the future.”
“That’s good, but there’s more I need to say. I received crisis intervention training when I was working in Byers County. It teaches law enforcement officers how to identify people with mental illness as well as ways to handle crisis situations that involve them. That’s why I knew what to look for. I’ve asked Sheriff McCoy to set up a training session for us. It’s more important than ever these days.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Stella gave her a sharp look. “Which brings me to you. Are you still working with your therapist?”
Mattie nodded.
“Do Brody and Sheriff McCoy know about it?”
“Just you.”
Stella watched Robo chew his rawhide for a moment. “You have the right to take care of yourself privately, as long as it doesn’t affect your behavior on the job. I told you I’m concerned about your anger, but I’ve got to say, you handled yourself like a professional during this case. With a little bit of coaching.”
Mattie held Stella’s gaze. “I intend to do what I can to get well. I’m focused on following my therapist’s recommendations and taking care of Robo. I can work through this.”
Stella reached out and squeezed Mattie’s hand before withdrawing hers and looking away. “I believe you can too. Just remember you’re not alone.” She finished the last of her beer. “By the way, Robo was pretty spectacular in that scent lineup.”
Robo pricked his ears at Stella but didn’t stop chewing. His teeth scraped against the hard edge of the pressed rawhide.
Mattie smiled at him and leaned back into the sofa cushions. She finally felt herself unwind while she watched him. “He was, wasn’t he? He’s a pretty spectacular dog.”
“That he is.”
A knock came at the door, and Mattie and Stella looked at each other. “You expecting someone?” Stella asked.
Mattie shook her head, rose from the couch, and headed for the door; Robo left his rawhide and went with her. She flipped on the porch light and looked through the peephole. Cole was standing there holding a cardboard box.
She turned to Stella in surprise. “It’s Cole.”
Stella jumped off the sofa, carrying her empty bottle to the kitch
en as she hopped on one foot and then the other, tugging on her shoes. “I’ll be on my way,” she was saying.
Mattie opened the door. “Cole, this is a surprise. I didn’t know you knew where I live.”
“It’s not hard to find out these things in Timber Creek.” He raised the box slightly. “Mrs. Gibbs sent you a care package.”
Mattie held the door wide while pushing Robo out of the way. “Robo, get back. He’s happy to see you,” she said to Cole. “Come in. I don’t mean to make you stand out there in the cold.”
Stella was pulling on her jacket. “I’ve got to go home, Mattie. It’s nice to see you, Dr. Walker,” she said as she tried to pass by.
Cole juggled the box, holding it with one hand. “Don’t go before I have a chance to thank you for helping us find our Sophie.”
Mattie took the box from him while he shook hands with Stella. Cole expressed his heartfelt gratitude, which the detective accepted with grace.
“I need to tell both of you that Sophie sort of fessed up this evening. She said she climbed up onto Gus Tilley’s truck to pet Dodger through the window. She knows she’s not supposed to do that kind of thing, so she didn’t want to tell me about it.” Cole shook his head, looking sheepish. “She says she didn’t climb inside the truck, so she didn’t fib when she said she’d never been inside. I’m sorry. If she’d told us the whole truth during your interview, we could have factored it in much sooner.”
“Kids,” Stella said. “It’s always hard to take what they say at face value. But to tell you the truth, Dr. Walker, I sort of suspected as much. She gave you a little look before she answered, and I thought she might be bending the truth.”
Cole frowned. “I would hope my kids know it’s safe to talk to me.”
Stella gave his arm a quick touch. “Just hearing you say that tells me you’ll do a good job with those daughters of yours.”
“I’ll keep trying.”
Mattie had been thinking about when Robo alerted at Tilley’s truck. “Robo indicated Sophie’s scent at the open door of the truck. He didn’t jump inside. I assumed he’d caught her scent on the seat, but I guessed wrong. He’d found her scent on the inside door, where she’d gripped to hang on.”
She’d taken him away from the truck to preserve the scene. She’d screwed up, another pitfall of jumping to conclusions.
Sergeant Madsen’s words came back to her. Always listen to your dog! If you don’t, you’ll only be as good a team as a human cop can be. If you do, the possibilities are endless. This was her mission, her life’s work. She couldn’t make these kinds of mistakes in the future.
Cole was studying her, his dark eyes soft with concern. “Don’t blame yourself, Mattie. I’ve got so much guilt about this whole deal that I’ve decided I need to let it go. Mrs. Gibbs and I will never let the girls come home unsupervised again. All we can do is learn from our mistakes, make corrections, and keep going.”
“That sounds like a road map for life,” Stella said. “I’ve got to get home now, so I’ll say good-night.” Before she closed the door behind her, she glanced back at Mattie and gave her a wink.
“Let me take this to the kitchen,” Mattie said, turning to carry the savory-scented box through the living room. Robo trotted behind her, tail waving. Cole followed, and after she placed the box on the counter, he reached in to unpack.
“Here’s a casserole, some cheesy broccoli, and rice. I hope you like that.” He raised an eyebrow in question.
“I like just about anything I don’t have to cook.”
“My girl. I hear ya.” He grinned as he continued to unpack. “Meatloaf, a couple of salads, and some famous Molly Gibbs chocolate cake. She said to tell you that she thinks you’re getting too thin, so she wants you to eat everything.”
Her eyes prickled with hot tears, and she couldn’t speak for a moment.
Cole glanced at her, and his face fell. “I hope that didn’t hurt your feelings. It wasn’t meant to.”
“No, no. It’s just so nice of her.”
He drew the last item from the box, a package wrapped in white butcher paper. “Here’s a fresh knuckle bone for Robo from Crane’s Market. I’ll put it in the refrigerator.”
“Let’s put the food in there too. I already ate dinner.”
“All right. It’ll be even better tomorrow. No problem finding room for it. I see you don’t like to invest in a lot of food.” He threw her a look over his shoulder as he moved the beer aside and placed the dishes in her almost empty refrigerator. He closed the door. “Sophie wants to invite you to her birthday party next Friday. She was going to invite her friends and have her first sleepover, but now she wants only you and Robo to come. I hope you can make it.”
It made her sad that Sophie had changed her plans with her friends, and she wouldn’t disappoint her for the world. “We’re happy to come. If she changes her mind and returns to her original party plans, just let me know.”
“She won’t change her mind about having you. If she wants to add her friends, I hope you can stand being with a bunch of giggling girls.” He shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day when I hoped for that. It would be nice for her to get back to normal.”
“It will happen.”
“Do you have a minute so we could talk?”
“Sure,” she said, turning to go to the living room. “Robo has his rawhide in here.”
Robo trotted ahead, pounced on his chew, and took it to his bed. He plopped down and got back to business, comfortable with having Cole in the room. Mattie and Cole took seats on opposite ends of the sofa.
“Sheriff McCoy called and told me Jed Franklin confessed,” he said, his eyes earnest. “But I need to know what it was like for Sophie. The cave she talks about. Everything you can tell me.”
Mattie forced herself to go back into the root cellar—the dark, closed-in space, the dank smell, and the chill. Bending both legs up so she could hug them against her body while she sat, she described it to Cole as objectively as possible. By the end, she had to clamp her jaw against a shiver.
Cole was sitting on the edge of his seat, leaning forward and bracing himself, elbows to knees. “And the abrasion on her wrist? It was from a chain?”
She’d reported this to Dr. McGinnis during his exam. “Yes.”
“How did you get her free?”
Mattie told him how she’d hacked through the shelf to free the end and how Brody cut the chain off Sophie’s wrist later.
Cole drew a breath and released it in a quivery exhalation. “I’m not sure how I can deal with this. I want to throttle the guy.”
“He’ll be convicted.” She knew it wouldn’t be enough even as she said it.
He gave her a look and shook his head before turning away to stare at the coffee table. “She still carries around that damn toy dog he gave her. Last night, before she went to sleep, I heard her whisper to it. She said, ‘My name is Sophie.’”
The tears that were always so close to the surface sprang to her eyes. She bowed her head, leaning against her bent knees, hiding her tears from Cole. In the silence that followed while she presumed he wrestled with his own emotions, she thought of her therapist’s words about emotional self-reliance.
She cleared her throat so she could speak. “I’ve been working through some things from my past with a therapist during the last few months. She talks about learning to take care of yourself emotionally. I think that’s what Sophie’s doing. If the toy gave her comfort in that cellar, Cole, let her have it. She’ll work through it. She won’t carry it around forever.”
“I suppose you’re right.” He studied her as if trying to really see her. She realized she’d wound herself up into a tight little ball.
“I’ve missed you the past few months, Mattie. All of us have. Is that why you haven’t been around lately?”
She couldn’t tell him how much it hurt to know he still loved Olivia . . . and now to actually see him with her. “For the most part. I’ve been a mess lately,
not good company for anyone, but I’m working on it.”
He winced as if her pain were his and reached his hand across the space in the middle of the couch, holding it palm up. She released her arm from around her knees, freeing her hand to meet his. He clasped her hand, his feeling large and warm, and held it while they sat listening to the sound of Robo’s teeth scraping against his rawhide. When the silence between them lengthened, Robo quit chewing and raised his head to stare at Cole, ears pricked and alert.
Cole chuckled, easing the tension as he squeezed her hand and released it. “Lord help the man who tries to make a move on you,” he said, tipping his head toward Robo, “threatening or otherwise.”
Mattie smiled, swallowing her pain. “He’s my buddy.”
“That he is.” Cole sobered, looking thoughtful. “I can’t believe how much power you have harnessed in that dog. He would do anything for you. It’s amazing to watch.”
Robo returned to his chewing.
“Not always. He was being a bad boy just the other day. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep that much power and will focused in the right direction.”
“I guess that could be said about all of us.” Cole looked down at the floor. “I feel bad about pointing a finger at Gus Tilley. And here he’s the one that led us to Sophie.”
“You’re not the only one who feels bad about suspecting him. I do too.” She sorted through what she could say. “He’s going through a tough time, but he’s getting back on track. He’ll probably start acting more like himself again soon, though he might still require your attention over the next few days.”
“He’s got that, as much as he wants. I’m forever grateful that he made the call that got you headed in the right direction.”
Mattie nodded, feeling like she’d said all that she could.
Cole faced her. “Mattie, life is going to be messy for us at our house too, but please don’t pull away. We—the kids, me, even Mrs. Gibbs—we enjoy having you around. Even if all we do is sit and watch a movie together.”
Hunting Hour Page 28