Gone Before Goodbye (Love &Mystery in the--6-oh-3 Book 1)

by Nora LeDuc

  “We came up with zilch when we questioned the AA members after we went to the hospital. They acted like they’d be branded and lynched as traitors for revealing a name from their group. But I talked on the phone to the kid from Jake Clark’s summer class. He confirmed the fight between Travis and Lisa at the food court. Hines and I spoke to the manager where they bought lunch. He reported Travis kicked a chair on his way out, but otherwise, it was a loud verbal, not physical, disagreement.”

  Noah handed the chief a copy of Travis’ note and explained how Clark found it. “Our expert verified the handwriting belonged to the boy.”

  The chief added the info under Travis’ name before turning to Noah and Hines. “Travis is our main suspect. Today, we’re adding three search dogs from out of state. I’ve alerted Miss Raynes. They’ll start at her house in an hour.”

  Teagan’s face surfaced in Noah’s thoughts. Lines of worry had collected at the corner of her full lips. She’d tugged her hair back in a ponytail which accented the pain in her large dark eyes.

  “Noah.”

  He refocused on his boss, who was staring at him, judging his attention. “Yes, sir.”

  “You’ll report to me on the day’s search. On the Lucy Watson investigation, no paint chips found at the scene of the hit and run. The car must have clipped her instead of running over her. A team is recreating the accident today. Right now, the acceleration marks left behind suggest Miss Watson was the driver’s target.”

  Noah put a mental checkmark next to Jake.

  “What do you have, Hines?” the chief asked.

  “Sir, Jake Clark, Lucy Watson’s former boyfriend, drives the same color vehicle seen fleeing after the hit.”

  The chief’s marker squeaked on the board as he wrote white car/hit and run under Jake’s name.

  “We can work on connecting the crime to Jake Clark, which shouldn’t be too hard,” Noah added.

  The chief glanced at his watch. “I’d say yes, except Jake Clark reported his vehicle stolen at eight forty-seven a.m. yesterday. He said it was missing from its designated spot when he went to drive to a vigil meeting.”

  Hines scratched his head. “Someone swiped his car. That’s his alibi?”

  “The guy’s lying.” Noah blew out a breath of frustration. “We tried three times to find him, and he was never home. I bet he spent the day ditching the vehicle.” Did the Latin teacher believe they’d fall for his story?

  The chief fisted his hands. “Unless we can prove different, he was looking for his car. Keep searching for a link between Lucy Watson and Lisa Grant’s disappearance. Too many of the same players are crossing over in the two cases.”

  “She hasn’t regained consciousness, sir,” Hines said.

  “Stay on it. What else do you have?”

  “Teagan Raynes let on that Seth Bodell threatened her the day we found Lisa’s phone at

  Muffy Mart,” Noah said. “Bodell said she’d be sorry for setting the police on Travis. She didn’t report him because she thought he was just blowing off steam, which she described as his normal behavior.”

  “Maintain the pressure on him, but keep Raynes away from Bodell.” The chief added the new fact under Seth’s name.

  “What about Lisa’s boyfriend, Travis?” Hines asked. “She didn’t call him the night she disappeared. Is that because she was with him?”

  “No contact with Travis could support the theory Lisa was mad at him,” Noah noted.

  “Maybe she was so angry she ran away,” Hines said.

  The chief’s voice boomed across the room. “I’ve put out a BOLO for Travis Bodell. He’s already hiding, which means he’s ahead of us. I don’t like it.”

  “If the kid’s in Hawick Falls, we’ll get him, sir,” Hines said.

  Noah rose and walked to the window. The more they talked about the cases, the more he wanted to get out and question everyone involved. He’d start with Jake Clark and the fake theft of his car. The man continued to irritate him even when he wasn’t near him.

  “Go back to the school and the Latin teacher’s neighborhood,” the chief ordered. “Find him. Make the teacher and boyfriend account for every second since Lisa Grant disappeared.”

  Noah recognized his boss was reaching the end of the meeting as he pinpointed their last steps. Adrenaline rushed through him.

  The chief stabbed his finger in the air. “Go. You’re wasting manpower sitting here.”

  Hines and Cassidy sped out of the office.

  As they exited into the hall, Hines turned to Noah. “Do you think Jake did something to Lisa Grant and Lucy Mills?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  “At the hospital, you came on strong with Bodell.” Hines was rubbing his chin and looking at Noah as though he were a suspect.

  “He’s lying to us. I’m sure he knows where Travis is.” Admitting that he was irritated with the man’s treatment of Teagan didn’t seem to justify his reaction to Bodell. Noah took off down the hall before his partner questioned him more.

  Hines kept up with him, not willing to let him off the hook. “You seemed more upset about what was happening between him and Miss Raynes than Seth lying about our primary suspect.”

  “Did I?” He shrugged while he replayed the scene in his mind.

  Hines’s phone rang. “It’s Chelsea,” he said, checking his cell. He walked a few feet away from Noah.

  Paul waved Noah to his desk in the squad room. “Did you see the paper?” He didn’t wait for Noah to reply before holding up the front page.

  A picture of the chief wearing a crown frowned back at Noah. “The boss must love this new one. Listen.” Paul read the print. “The Merry Men have been passing out pictures labeling the Hawick Falls Chief of Police as Prince John.”

  “I bet he’d hit delete on this image if he could.”

  “You know what’s worse?” Paul lowered his voice. “The chief’s first name is John. I doubt he’s seen it since he hasn’t yelled at me today.” Paul’s phone buzzed and the young man’s face whitened. “It must be him.”

  “Watch out for the dungeon, Paul.” Noah left him holding the phone two inches from his ear.

  Outside, he hopped into his car. The clock in his head ticked reminding him to hurry and find Lisa Grant before it was too late.

  Chapter 17

  Teagan re-counted the candles she found in the church’s last pew. Muffy’s had donated two hundred. She had no idea how many people would show up, but that seemed to be enough. She’d posted a reminder on the Bring Lisa Home page, where readers responded with prayers and words of encouragement. At least the page was a success, reminding everyone not to forget Lisa.

  In about twenty minutes, she’d be in front of the crowd. Once she stepped onto the podium, she’d scan every face for Lisa, Travis, and as always, her mother. Maybe a listener would step forward to tell them where Lisa had gone. One person was all they needed.

  Okay, she’d lost count of the candles, again. Don’t think about faces or the news Noah Cassidy would bring about today’s search. Noah.

  She fumbled and dropped a candle on the aisle’s wine-colored carpet. Scooping it up, her thoughts returned to today’s hunt. It had taken a lot of restraint not to tail after the dogs, but Noah had promised to let her know the outcome as soon as they finished. Why hadn’t he called yet? She’d been waiting hours for the results. He’d sent a cruiser over to follow her to the church with word that he was tied up and couldn’t take her himself. The new outside lightings installations had served as a distraction this morning. She needed something to keep her calm now.

  Concentrate on the vigil.

  The building held the scent of wax and the flowers that the community was dropping off near the shrine for Lisa on the church’s front steps. The odors and Matt’s voice testing the mic drifted through the open stained glass windows. Inside, the fading light matched the soft glow from the hanging pendants.

  A loud screech of feedback from the microphone sent a quiver through
her. She covered her ears for a second then relaxed and pulled her speech from the pocket of her black skirt. She’d memorized the words, but she wasn’t about to rely on her recall when she faced the crowd and the emotion of the evening.

  A damp breeze carrying the promise of rain blew into the building. The meteorologist had predicted a shower. Was Lisa somewhere dry? Was it possible Jake or Seth had abducted her or that she’d gone off with Travis? Maybe a stranger had taken her, but Travis had been stalking around her house at night. He’d have been with Lisa if they took off together, wouldn’t he?

  The tight band around her chest warned her to slow her thoughts, and the need for sleep burned her eyes. She directed her attention to the head of the aisle, where the shadows had fallen over the altar’s cross.

  Please, God, bring Lisa home safe.

  Her phone rang from her pocket, where she’d stuffed it along with her St. Jude’s medal. Lisa? “Hello?”

  Deep breaths carried from the receiver into her ear and turned into panting louder and louder.

  “Eew.” Another sick person. This was the third one today. Was there a website for sickos with her contact info written on it? She hit the end button and pocketed the phone with a shiver of repulsion. She’d have changed her number except then Lisa wouldn’t know the new one.

  A shadow moved in the corner by the altar. Someone was lurking, watching her. She cleared her throat and called out, “Hello? Lisa?”

  Stacey stepped out of the darkness. “No, it’s me. What are you doing?”

  “Why were you standing there?” The young woman was beyond strange.

  “I was wondering what you’re doing to the candles.” She glanced at the empty boxes on the table. “I told you I’ve assigned people to pass them out to the crowd. You don’t need to bother counting or whatever you’re doing. I can add.” Her high heels tapped across the wooden floor until she hit the aisle carpet. She stopped to frown at Teagan in a dying beam of light.

  Teagan felt like the kid caught sneaking the money from the poor box. “I needed to stay busy. Didn’t Muffy Mart donate two hundred? I only counted a hundred.”

  “Are you sure?” Stacey shrugged. “I must have left a few boxes in the basement. I’ll look in a minute after I see if the mic is working out front. Did you hear that noise? Father Matt needs my help.”

  As she spoke, another screech of the microphone sent goose bumps up Teagan’s arms. “The mic seems to be winning.”

  Stacey held up an index finger. “I’ll be right back. Don’t worry. You’ve enough problems thinking about Lisa and what horrible things are happening to her.”

  “Thanks, Stacey,” Teagan managed through gritted teeth. Hopefully, the woman didn’t aspire to become a counselor.

  Stacey headed out the double oak doors and silence returned to the church. Now what should she do? She glanced around until her gaze landed back on the candle boxes. I’ll check.

  She marched through the open fire doors, into the entryway and to the top of the basement stairs on her right. The muffled sounds of voices from outside confirmed people were assembling. She wound downward. A window at the top of the stairway threw light over the narrow passageway. Her footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

  At the base of the staircase, she veered to her left and into the open dark hall. Eager to banish the dimness, she flipped the switch on the wall. Overhead fluorescent lights flickered to life over the yellowed-linoleum.

  She peered at the vacant space. The muffled sounds of loud music poured through the first floor windows, reminding Teagan of long-ago events. When she was little, the basement hummed with the excitement of socials from suppers, high school dances, to religious classes. Long tables and fold up chairs had furnished the room where adults and children laughed and enjoyed the functions. Now the congregation had abandoned the below ground level room in favor of the newer Activity Center built a few feet from the church.

  Her thoughts drifted back to her current problem. No signs of the white boxes in here. Teagan snapped off the lights and headed into the hallway. To her right was a closet. The door was slightly ajar. Aha, the missing candles must be in the storage. Teagan flicked the switch and walked inside.

  Half-empty shelves were marked for the different liturgical seasons. Scattered boxes sat on the metal case. Stacey wasn’t tall. The candles would most likely be on the bottom. Teagan crouched.

  Her phone rang. She jumped up and hit her knee on a shelf. Pain shot through her. She closed her eyes and waited for the ache to fade. Finally, she dug her cell out of her pocket. The ring ended. It was probably her obscene caller, or it could be Noah, or possibly Lisa. Teagan pulled up the last call history. Unknown. Yeah, she’d missed a good one.

  No sooner had she set the cell phone on a shelf than the buzz signaled a text message. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. What if it was Lisa, hurt and unable to speak, only breathe and Teagan had hung up on her last time?

  She closed her eyes. Then she read the text. Cepi corpus.

  A quiver of fear shot through her. Okay, be strong. Don’t panic. Latin, but she’d figure out this one. Corpus Christi meant Body of Christ. So corpus meant body. Cepi meant— I’ve got the body.

  Oh, my God. Had her texter found Lisa’s…body? Her phone fell to the floor.

  The door slammed shut. She lunged for the knob. Locked. The light went out.

  Chapter 18

  The vigil. Her speech! Cepi corpus. She had to get out. St. Jude, help me. Teagan banged on the door. “Open up! Hello. Hello.”

  She stopped and listened. Whoever locked her in might be on the other side, laughing or worse. With the music playing, would anyone hear her?

  Wait, she had her phone. She’d be fine. Slowing her breathing, she scooped up her cell. The backlight and the strong signal eased her anxiety. She’d call Noah. She brought up his number and pushed the button.

  The rings seemed to last forever. Her hand shook and the closed room grew hot and suffocating while she waited for him to answer. Sweat rolled off her face. It was like an oven in here. At a sound from the hallway, she froze then pressed her ear to the wood to listen. Was someone out there? “Hel-lo?”

  The door swung wide and light from the hall hit her eyes while she staggered back before recovering her balance.

  Stacey stood in the doorway, frowning at her. “Teagan? What are you doing in the closet? With the light off?” She swept a gaze over the small area as though she expected to find another person or stolen goods.

  Noah’s voicemail was speaking. Teagan disconnected. “I was searching for the rest of the candles. You said they were downstairs.”

  “Yeah, I meant in a kitchen cabinet, not this stuffy, old closet. You know the room off the basement activities’ room.”

  Teagan had to stop herself from running out. She needed a little dignity in front of Stacey. “Did you close the door and turn off the light?”

  “Of course I didn’t shut you in the dark. In fact, I was looking for you because the vigil is starting soon. The volunteers grabbed the candles from upstairs.” Stacey frowned at her. “You’re lucky I saw the open door to the downstairs and checked. You think I locked you inside on purpose?” She pouted her lips and lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

  “I didn’t imagine being stuck in the storage area, Stacey.” Teagan stepped out and peeked into the multipurpose room. No one could hide in the empty space. “Did you pass anyone on the steps?”

  “No. The door’s tricky. You have to lift and turn the knob at the same time.” She demoed for Teagan with a click of the handle. “Voila! I bet when I opened the main door to come into the church, it caused a draft and shut you in the closet.”

  Teagan fanned her face, trying to recover her cool, literally. She’d freaked out over nothing.

  “These antique buildings have lots of quirks.” Stacey hit the closet switch a couple of times without results. “The bulb must have burned out. The light’s about a hundred years old. We don’t have time to fix it,
Teagan. Let’s go. The volunteers are passing out the last box to the crowd. Father Matt didn’t want to welcome everyone until you were on standby.”

  Stacey crossed the hallway with Teagan at her side. “Father asked me to bring you to the platform. I thought you were by the pews where I told you to wait.”

  “We were short on the candles. I was trying to find them.”

  “I have it under control. I’m sure the missing boxes are in the kitchen. I’ll run and get them.” Stacey stopped in front of the open doorway to the multipurpose room and shook her finger at Teagan. “Don’t move a foot.” Stacey’s sandals echoed in the empty space until she disappeared in the rear.

  Teagan couldn’t resist. She flipped the closet switch again without results. The bulb must have burnt out. She’d been paranoid. Good thing she hadn’t reached Noah.

  “Is Travis outside?” she asked Stacey as she sped back with a large plastic bag.

  “I didn’t see him. Come on. I have the candles.” She hooked her arm through Teagan’s, and they climbed upward together. “That cute Detective Cassidy is here,” Stacey said in a stage whisper. “He asked about you, too. I found out the other detective is married.”

  “You mentioned Detective Cassidy’s family was in a boating accident.” Why had she brought it up again? Stacey would probably give her a smug answer.

  Instead, the secretary slowed her step and leaned closer. “I already told you most of what I know. The rumor was the detective threatened to kill the driver, a young man, who hit and killed his wife, child, and father and almost did. But the man had no proof of being terrorized, and no charges were brought against Detective Cassidy. The driver went to jail for involuntary manslaughter, but a lot of people said Cassidy’s a powder keg and should have known better since he works for the law.”