He stayed on the periphery of the scene. He’d told them all he knew about Dana’s supposed meeting with Jay Englin. The man on the ground was approximately the right age as Englin would be now and faintly resembled the photo Dana had cut out from the newspaper clippings of the man who’d been described as finding little Alicia Renfield in the rubble of the fire. This man had lighter hair and a full beard, but he’d been so hard to find that it wasn’t unlikely to believe he’d changed his appearance to remain underground.
Quinn’s father was standing a few feet away on the phone. He hung up and turned to Quinn. “One of the techs did in-field fingerprinting on the body and sent it back to the station. Our victim has been confirmed as Jay Englin. His prints were on file in our system because of his former employment. I also had a computer tech dig through Dana’s phone records. She did receive a phone call from an unknown number. The call lasted several minutes.”
“Long enough to arrange a meeting with Englin,” Quinn stated and his father agreed.
Quinn hated to think about Dana struggling with a killer, but she was nowhere to be found. Something must have happened to her. Given her cell phone’s placement, it had probably fallen out during a struggle. He stood and faced his father. “I’m going back to the station to see what I can do to track down Reed Jessup.”
His father shook his head. “We’ve flagged his known phone and bank accounts and have a BOLO out on his vehicle. It’s registered to the Jessups, but so far it hasn’t been found. He has no known address but we’ve got deputies searching known drug havens.”
Quinn ran a hand over his face. His father and brother were doing everything they could to help him, but it seemed they were no closer to tracking down Reed Jessup, and finding Dana, than they’d been before. “I can’t stand here,” he said. “I have to do something.”
“Like what?”
“I’m going to talk to the Jessups again. Maybe they’ve heard from Reed.”
His father nodded. “I’ll come with you. Rich, you’re in charge of finishing up here.”
Quinn walked off and slid into the passenger side of his father’s car. He was anxious and feeling dread, fearing that something terrible had happened to Dana. Whoever had shot and killed Englin was trying to shut up everyone who knew anything about the Renfield case, and Dana was the smoking gun that could finally bring their crime to light.
His father tapped his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “We’ll find her.”
Quinn wanted to believe him, hoped he was right, but his greatest fear was that the longer it took them to track her down, the more likely they’d already be too late.
His phone beeped as they were getting into the car. Quinn glanced at an email he’d received in response to an alert about money transferred into Bruce Davis’s account. Finally, he had an answer to his questions.
“What is it?” his dad asked him.
Quinn sighed. “I think you need to call Mayor Jessup and have him meet us at the sheriff’s office immediately.”
* * *
The hardness of the surface she was lying on was the first thing Dana noticed as she awoke. The second was the chill in the air and the dampness of the concrete floor. Pain shot through her head, causing her to groan. She tried to pull her hand to her head but discovered it was bound behind her.
She jerked awake at this realization and found herself sitting on the floor of an old building with one open wall. She glanced around and saw old farm equipment covered in dust that looked as if it hadn’t been moved in years and what looked to be an old well pump several inches from her. She had no idea where she was, but slowly the memory of being attacked returned to her. Fear gripped her as a figure stepped into view. Reed Jessup had shot and killed Jay Englin and kidnapped her.
Only it wasn’t Reed that entered the room.
She gasped as a female figure appeared before her. The woman had her hair and makeup done as if she had arrived for a party instead of a kidnapping.
She kneeled beside Dana. “Do you know who I am?”
Dana nodded. She recognized this woman right down to the pantsuit that had had blood all over it the last time they’d been together. “Meredith Jessup.”
“That’s right.”
“Why do you have me tied up? Why did you bring me here?”
“I thought we should have a chat before the unpleasantries.”
Unpleasantries. Is that what she called cold-blooded murder? “What do you want with me?” She couldn’t imagine a scenario where Meredith Jessup had anything against her.
“That Bill Mackey pulled one over on us, didn’t he? I heard the news that Alicia’s grave was empty. Little Alicia didn’t die in the fire that night at all, did she? I should have known. Rene said the child was sleeping upstairs, but I never heard a peep out of her.”
Dana’s blood ran cold and dread filled her. “You were there the night Rene died? You were inside the house?”
Dana pulled at the binding on her hands as another person entered the room. Reed Jessup. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. She was going to die here tonight. And it turned out it was all because of Calvin Jessup’s obsession with Rene. But she wouldn’t grovel or beg for her life. She wouldn’t give Meredith the pleasure of seeing that. “That’s why my mother had to die? Because your fiancé got cold feet?”
“No. She had to die for the same reason you should have thirty years ago. I won’t have a child of Calvin’s and Rene’s walking this earth. He’s mine. Do you understand me? He’s always been mine.”
She saw the bitterness in Meredith’s hard, cold eyes. She believed Dana was her husband’s child, and she’d thought she took care of the problem thirty years ago only to discover she hadn’t. Dana pulled at the tape on her wrists. Quinn’s grandfather was right to hide her. It turned out she was in fact in great danger. “The police already know Reed was involved. This will eventually trace back to you.”
“I’ve made arrangements for Reed. I’ve turned to him time and again this past week and each time he’s failed me. This time, I intend to make certain it’s done.”
She pulled out a gun, then stood and turned to Reed, shooting him several times in the chest. He looked stunned as he fell to the floor, his eyes full of wonder and shock.
“You’re pathetic,” she told him as he stared up at her with a stunned expression. “You’re pathetic and weak and no longer of any use to me.” She fired again, this time shooting him in the head and leaving no doubt he was dead.
Meredith coldly slipped the gun back into her pocket. “Don’t go anywhere,” she said sarcastically to Dana as she disappeared.
Dana knew she had to get loose before Meredith returned. She’d proven herself capable of murder and if she would murder the man she’d raised like a son, she would have no qualms about killing her.
Panic gripped her when Meredith came back in with a shovel and a roll of plastic.
Dana jerked away. “What are you going to do with that?” She didn’t really want to know but the question came flowing from her.
Her heart cried out for Quinn. Was he even looking for her? He probably didn’t even know she was missing yet. Why hadn’t she phoned him and apologized? She hadn’t betrayed him. She should have tried harder to convince him of that. More importantly, she should have told him that she’d fallen in love with him and wanted to spend her life with him. But no, she’d let him walk away. She’d allowed him to blame her and push her away.
Now she realized with horror that she would never see him again. He would always blame her for outing him as an operative and worst of all, he would always doubt her love for him.
Oh, God, don’t let this be the end. Don’t let him suffer that way.
No matter what happened to her tonight, all she wanted for Quinn was happiness and a good life. If it couldn’t be with her, then she prayed he would find someone
else to love and not continue to remain alone.
Tears rolled down her eyes. She was surely about to die and all her thoughts were of Quinn. She longed for one last moment in his arms that made her feel safe and loved, one last kiss, one last second of pure belonging that she’d finally found in him.
She’d gone searching for family and found more than she’d ever expected. She’d found not only her true family, the Renfields, but also a family she wanted to belong to. Now she would pay the price for her curiosity. She would die as she should have thirty years ago.
Why, God? Why did You allow this to happen to me? Why did You let me find Quinn only to lose him now? Why did You dangle a family and happiness in front of me only to have it yanked away? It isn’t fair! It isn’t fair! She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. What kind of God allowed such evil to win?
Meredith picked up the shovel and turned to her. “Now to take care of you once and for all.”
She used the shovel to pry off the lid of what looked like an old well. Dana assumed it was an old water well, given the pump. It must have been closed off years ago. Meredith managed to push the lid off and create a large opening—large enough for Dana to disappear into.
The woman meant to bury her alive!
Dana shrieked in terror, but Meredith only laughed in response.
“Go ahead and scream all you want, Miss Lang. No one will hear you out here. This is all private land and no one has lived here in years.” She picked up the shovel and held it out, ready to use it as a weapon.
Dana stared into Meredith’s eyes and saw nothing but coldness. This woman had no qualms about what she was about to do. She had no hesitation about taking a life and then returning to her own life as if nothing had happened.
Dana faced the truth as Meredith swung the shovel at her head. She was going to die tonight.
TEN
“Are you kidding me?” Mayor Jessup asked as he looked over the paper Quinn had shown him about the money transfer. “How certain is this?”
Quinn leaned against the interview table. “It’s very certain. The money that was transferred into Bruce Davis’s account to pay for him shooting into the courthouse, shooting you, Mayor, came from your wife’s private account. She’s been paying Reed to do her dirty work. She must have gotten desperate and sloppy with Bruce. She left a paper trail.”
“I don’t understand.” He fell into the chair. “Why would Meredith pay someone to shoot me?”
“I’m not so sure she did. I still believe Bruce was trying to hit Dana.”
He shook his head. “No, Meredith would never harm Dana. She’s family. She’s my family.”
“How did your wife feel about discovering you had a daughter come back from the dead?” Quinn asked him.
“We’ll, she wasn’t crazy about it, but she would have gotten used to the situation.” He seemed like he was grasping for hope, but didn’t truly believe it himself. He looked up at Quinn. “She was always so jealous of anyone. She didn’t even like Reed coming to live with us in the beginning because she felt it demeaned her for not being able to have kids of her own. But she grew to care for Reed like a son. I thought maybe something similar would happen with Dana eventually.”
“Where is she now, Mayor?” Quinn felt it in his gut that Meredith Jessup was behind everything. She’d never struck him as a particularly easy person to get along with, but he knew jealousy was a powerful motivator. Plus, it made sense that Reed would trust his own aunt enough to do her bidding. Had she also been the one to shoot Rene and start the fire that Jessup had spent his lifetime being accused of?
Jessup shook his head. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen her since this morning.”
Quinn felt like they were going in circles. Jessup knew surprisingly little about his wife’s activities. He didn’t know if that was normal in a marriage, but it didn’t make any sense to him.
The door opened and his father entered. “We found her,” he stated. “Montgomery is bringing her in.”
“What’s going to happen to her?” Jessup asked.
“She’ll be arrested for hiring a man to shoot you and then we’ll demand some answers about Dana.”
Jessup shook his head and stood. “She won’t answer them. She’s too clever for that. Her first response will be to ask for a lawyer.”
“What do you suggest?” Quinn asked him.
“Bring her in here. Let me talk to her.”
Quinn glanced at his father. Should they allow Jessup to talk to her? And if they did, would the pair work out a story that would explain everything away?
“Dana is in danger,” the mayor said, looking to Quinn. “She’s my daughter and I don’t want to see anything happen to her. I can get Meredith to tell me where she is.”
His dad motioned him outside and Quinn went. “What do you think?” the sheriff asked.
It was a big risk letting their two best suspects into a room together, but Quinn tended to believe Jessup. “I don’t think he has any clue what his wife and nephew have been up to.”
His dad agreed. “It’s worth a shot.”
They both turned as they heard a woman’s voice demanding to know what was happening as she was led through the department. Quinn recognized her as Meredith Jessup.
He watched as his dad went to intercept her and led her into the room where her husband remained. Quinn turned on the intercom and listened and watched as the couple confronted one another.
“Calvin, what’s happening? Why am I being arrested?”
He stood and approached her, but instead of comforting her, he broke into accusations. “Did you pay someone to shoot me, Meredith? Are you so unhappy here that you would pay a man to kill me?”
That accusation got a rise out of her. “Of course I didn’t. You were never in danger. I was doing damage control, Calvin. Don’t you see that? These people are trying to rope you back into that murder scandal. I only hired Davis to wound you so it would steer suspicion away from you.”
The mayor didn’t even flinch when she admitted to hiring Davis to shoot him.
“I didn’t have anything to do with Rene’s death. I don’t need you steering suspicion away from me for anything and I don’t need damage control.”
“Of course you do. Everything I’ve ever done has been about advancing your career, but you’re just as happy to stay here in West Bend and play mayor, aren’t you? You don’t even care that that woman’s arrival could mean the end of your bid for senator, do you?”
“That woman is my daughter.”
“Stop saying that,” Meredith shrieked. “She is not and will never be your daughter. You’re mine, Calvin. I made sure of that thirty years ago and I’ll make sure of it again.”
She stopped and gasped, seeming to realize what she’d said and, worse, who she’d said it in front of.
“What have you done, Meredith?”
She folded her arms and clammed up. “I’m not saying another word.”
But she didn’t need to. Quinn opened the door and stepped inside. “You just admitted to hiring a man to shoot into a courthouse and wound your husband. How do you think your husband’s political career will handle a jailbird for a wife?”
Jessup took another step toward her. “Meredith, where is Dana? Have you done something to harm her?”
She looked at him and smiled a cold, hard smile. “She’s someplace she’ll never hurt us again.”
Jessup turned to Quinn. “I know that look. She won’t talk.”
“I guess you do know me after all, Calvin. I won’t say another word without my lawyer present.”
Jessup’s face lit up. “GPS. Her car has GPS. I’ll call the company and find out where she’s been all day.” He reached for his phone and dialed the number as Quinn’s father stepped inside to read Meredith Jessup her rights under the law and handcuff her.
Quinn looked into her face and saw nothing but hardness underneath her perfectly coifed makeup and fancy clothes. This was a woman who’d fought hard for what she had and wouldn’t give up fighting.
He could imagine the scenario all those years ago. Her soon-to-be husband, the man she’d attached her future to, breaking off their engagement to marry another woman. Even back then, as a young woman, she hadn’t been able to stand not getting her way.
“You killed her, didn’t you? You killed Rene and tried to kill her daughter, too.”
She gazed at him then spoke her final words on the matter. “I fought for what was mine.”
Mayor Jessup hurried back over. “They gave me an address for the last place her car was today. I recognize it. It’s the old Renfield estate. Reed must have taken Dana there.”
It made perfect sense in a Meredith Jessup kind of world. It would all end in the same place it had begun. But Quinn couldn’t leave her without issuing one last warning.
“You’d better hope your nephew hasn’t done anything to harm Dana, Mrs. Jessup.”
Quinn hurried from the department and hopped into the car, this time sliding into the driver’s seat. His father didn’t follow him so he took off. His mind was racing at all the things Reed had already tried to do to Dana. He prayed he wasn’t too late to save her. He gripped the steering wheel as he barreled through town toward the Renfield place.
Lord, I don’t think I can handle another loss. Please don’t let me lose her, too.
He’d lost so much already. Tommy’s death had sent his life reeling out of control. How would he react to losing someone else he cared about? And he did care about her. He loved her, and he’d never even told her. Anger bit at him as he realized she might die without ever knowing that. The last thing she would know from him was him walking out the door, abandoning her as everyone else in her life had done, and as he’d promised never to do.
* * *
Dana’s head was pounding as she slowly awoke. She was covered in darkness, but she had had no idea where she was. The last thing she recalled was Meredith Jessup smacking her with the shovel. Hot tears flowed down her face. This was it. This was really it for her. She was going to die and Meredith was going to get away with murder. Again. It burned her to know the woman had been walking around all this time after shooting and killing Dana’s mother. And Paul? What had happened to him? Had Meredith murdered him, too? Then she’d pulled Reed into her dark deeds, making murder a family affair.
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