by Dinah McCall
He replaced the receiver and headed for the door. She was on the doorstep by the time he opened it, wearing pink warm-up pants and a matching pink T-shirt.
“I really appreciate this,” Trey said, trying not to stare at the large silver hoops dangling from her earlobes.
“Hey, I’m happy to do my part to get you married off,” Ella said, and fluffed at her white, spiky hair.
“How do you like my new do?” she asked.
Trey grinned. “Pretty sharp. You look like you’re dressed for the kill. Who’s the lucky man?”
Ella smirked. “Hershel Mynor. He owns a chain of funeral parlors. Pretty convenient, huh? Maybe I’ll get myself buried for free.”
“Lord, Ella. What a thing to plan for,” Trey muttered.
“Well, it’s what people my age do, you know. We can’t leave everything for our kids to deal with. Besides, my daughter-in-law’s taste leaves a lot to be desired. It would be just like her to pick out some god-awful casket with so many ruffles and ribbons that I’ll look like a first-place show horse at the state fair.”
Trey laughed out loud, then gave her a hug.
“Woman, if I was just a little bit older, I’d give you a run for the money.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, cowboy, but you’re not my type. Now show me your girl.”
“She’s asleep,” Trey said.
“That’s okay. I don’t want to talk to her yet. I’m just curious about what kind of woman it takes to get under your skin.”
Trey walked her down the hall, where they peeked into the room where Olivia was sleeping.
Ella glanced at Olivia, then turned her attention to Trey. She could tell by the look on his face that he was hooked. They moved back into the living room before she gave him her opinion.
“Well, all I can say is, she’d better be good to you, because I’d hate to have to whip someone who’s been that hurt.”
“Go easy on her, Ella. She’s had a hell of a week.”
Ella nodded as her expression softened.
“Yes, I heard all about it on the news.” Then she frowned. “Being rich and famous isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be, is it, boy?”
“No, ma’am, it’s sure not.”
“So, go do your thing. We’ll be here when you get back.”
He kissed her on the cheek.
“I owe you big-time.”
“You can clean my gutters this fall.”
He groaned.
Ella chuckled.
And then he was gone.
16
Trey got back to headquarters just as Chia and Sheets were coming out of Lieutenant Warren’s office.
“What do we know about the fire?” Trey asked.
“Why…you needin’ another arrest on your record?” David Sheets snapped, then swiped at a lock of his hair that had fallen into his eyes, messing up his comb-over.
“You need to cut that damn thing off,” Chia said, and swiped it back in place on her way to her desk.
David’s expression never wavered as he fired back at her, “Yeah, well, I’ll cut mine when you cut yours, Chia Pet.”
The reference to her thick, unruly curls went by the wayside as Chia poured herself some fresh coffee, then toasted her partner with a grin.
“The fondness between you two is touching,” Trey drawled, “but can anyone answer the question?”
“Yeah, we know who started it, for all the good it does.”
“What?” Trey asked.
David grimaced. “Some drugged-out mother left her three kids, ages seven, four and two, all alone in the apartment. The four-year-old found a cigarette lighter. The rest is history.”
“Damn, that’s rough,” Trey said. “How did you find out?”
“Where’s my coffee cup?” David muttered, and moved toward his desk.
Chia sighed. It had been a rough morning for both of them.
“The seven-year-old was one of the survivors. She told, just before she died.”
Trey sucked in a breath, then turned away. Sometimes saying nothing was the kindest comment of all. He sat down at his own desk, pulled a file out of the top drawer and turned on the computer. He saw Chia move closer.
“How’s your girl?” she asked.
“Good. She was released from the hospital this morning.”
Chia frowned. “I thought the Sealy house caught fire yesterday.”
“It did.”
“So the house is still livable, then?”
Trey sighed. He knew Chia. She wouldn’t quit until she was satisfied she’d sucked all the info from him that she wanted.
“Actually, she’s staying at my house for a few days. My neighbor, Ella, is staying with her during the day.”
“So…Olivia Sealy is at your house.”
“Yeah.”
“Verrry interesting.”
“Chia?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
He heard a snort but kept his focus on the computer screen.
A couple of minutes passed before Chia came at him from another angle.
“So, what are you looking for?”
“I’m looking to see if Foster Lawrence’s twin sisters were ever in the system.”
“Any luck?”
“Not yet.”
“Want some help? I’m better at that stuff than you are.”
Trey grinned. “That’s not saying much. Anybody’s better at working computers than I am.”
Chia rolled her eyes. “Give me the files. Tell me what you want.”
“I want to find Lawrence’s twin sisters. Their names were Laree and Sheree Lawrence. Identical twins. But there’s no record of them in the files after the age of eighteen.”
Chia nodded.
“What are we hoping to learn?” she asked as she logged on to her computer.
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing, and then again, maybe finding someone important enough to Lawrence that he would get mixed up in kidnapping and murder.”
Chia nodded and typed in a search engine. When Trey didn’t immediately move away, she stopped and looked up.
“Don’t you have something else to do…like charming heiresses or capturing bad guys?”
“You’re starting to sound like your partner,” Trey said.
Chia groaned. “Sorry. Just chalk it up to a really bad morning.”
Trey thought about the seven-year-old child who’d died this morning.
“I can only imagine. So, anyway, thanks for the help,” Trey said. “I’ve got an interview with another branch of the Sealy family. They just flew in from Italy. There’s a chance that Mrs. Sealy might have some information we can use.”
“If I come up with anything on the Lawrence twins, I’ll call,” Chia said.
“Thanks again,” Trey said, and hurried out the door.
The Mansion on Turtle Creek was one of Dallas’s finest restaurants. The adjoining hotel matched it in both service and style. Trey couldn’t help noticing the quiet elegance and the studied manner of the employees as he strode through the lobby to the front desk.
“I’m here to see Mr. Terrence Sealy,” he said, and flashed his badge. “Would you ring his room and tell him that Detective Bonney is here?”
The desk clerk’s expression never wavered as he calmly picked up a house phone.
“Mr. Sealy, this is Carlos at the front desk. Detective Bonney is here to see you.”
When the call came, Terrence glanced at Carolyn and nodded. They’d been expecting the call.
“Send him up,” Terrence said.
“Yes, sir, thank you, sir,” the desk clerk said, then gave Trey the suite number and pointed in the direction of the elevators.
Trey nodded a thanks as he walked away. A couple of minutes later he exited, pausing long enough on the floor to ascertain which direction he needed to go, then turned to the right. His thoughts were on Baby Jane Doe, and the promise he’d made to her in the house at Lake Texoma. He needed a break in the case.
Moments later, he knocked on the door.
It swung inward almost instantly, which told him that they’d been waiting right inside for his arrival.
“Detective Trey Bonney, Dallas homicide,” he said, and flashed his badge.
Terrence Sealy nodded cordially and shook Trey’s hand.
“Do come in, Detective Bonney. This is my wife, Carolyn. Can we offer you something to drink? A coffee? Maybe some juice?”
“I’m good,” Trey said, then turned to the woman. She was tall and thin to the point of skinny, but very well kept. Her shoulder-length hair was a faded ash-blond and turned under at the ends. Her makeup was skillfully applied, hiding the years life had put on her face. “Mrs. Sealy, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Carolyn smiled, and Trey was struck by the sadness in her smile.
“Please, have a seat,” she said, then led the way to the sofa in the sitting room. As soon as they’d all been seated, Carolyn took the initiative. “Marcus tells us that you and Olivia are old friends.”
Trey was a little taken aback, then realized he should have been prepared for this. He busied himself by taking out his notebook as he answered.
“Yes, ma’am. We went to high school together.”
“We were so sorry to learn of her injuries, weren’t we, Terry?”
Terrence Sealy’s expression of dismay was obviously real. Trey could see the horror of what had happened to Livvie mirrored on their faces.
“I still can’t believe all this is happening,” Terrence said.
“Marcus also tells us that you’re kindly providing a place for Olivia to recuperate until the repairs on their house are finished.”
“Yes, ma’am. My next-door neighbor is looking after her while I’m at work.”
“I can’t wait to see her,” Carolyn said.
Trey was beginning to realize that by taking Olivia home, he’d involved himself with the very family he was investigating. He would have to talk to his lieutenant about it, but for now, what was done was done.
“I’ll give you my phone number and address before I leave,” Trey said. “I know Livvie would love to see you.”
Carolyn smiled. “She was only two when we left, but we correspond regularly.”
Trey nodded, but it was time to get down to the business of why he was there.
“I hate to change the subject so abruptly, but I’m hoping you might have some information about Michael Sealy’s personal life.”
Carolyn’s face paled, but her gaze never wavered.
“Neither Terry nor I knew he’d been having an affair until we arrived and learned that he’d fathered both Olivia and the other child.”
“Brief as her life was,” Trey muttered.
Carolyn tilted her chin a bit upward. It was her only concession to the anger she heard in the detective’s voice.
“So, how can I help you?” she asked.
“Did you truly have no suspicions that Michael Sealy was having an affair?”
She never hesitated. “No, although learning of it now, there were a few signs back then that might have given it away had I pursued the issue.”
“How so?” Trey asked.
“Once or twice I caught Kay crying,” Carolyn said. “She was my best friend, and we were almost the same age.”
“My wife is nearly twenty years younger than I,” Terrence added, then wondered why he’d felt the need to say that.
Trey only nodded.
Carolyn reached for Terrence’s hand and clutched it tightly, as if she needed the comfort of his touch to keep her focus.
“About those incidents,” Trey said. “Did you ask her why she was crying?”
“Yes, both times, but she was vague. I just assumed they’d had a tiff and considered it none of my business.”
“Did you ever see Michael with another woman…someone you didn’t know?”
“No. I’ve thought about nothing else since I learned about the other child. I wish I did know something, but I don’t.”
Again Trey’s hopes were dimmed. The weight of the unsolved murder was growing heavier and heavier to bear.
Then Terrence spoke up. “You know, Carolyn…there was that time when we saw Michael and that woman coming out of that office building downtown. Remember? It was right after Christmas, and you commented on the fur coat she was wearing and said someone must certainly have had a nice Christmas. I remember, because we’d just sold your fur coat to pay some bills.” He added for Trey’s sake, without apology, “We needed the money. We were going to move.”
Trey’s gaze shifted to Carolyn Sealy’s face, watching as her eyebrows knitted in thought.
“No, I—oh! Yes, I do recall the incident, but didn’t he say she was his insurance agent? And that was only a day or so after Kay had wrecked their new car, remember? The roads were icy, and we were all so relieved she hadn’t been hurt.”
“I remember that Kay wrecked a car,” Terrence said. “But what if the woman wasn’t an insurance agent? As I recall, Marcus kept all the family cars under one policy—his. There would have been no reason for Michael to be meeting with the agent, since the policies weren’t in his name.”
Trey’s pulse kicked. “What did she look like?” he asked. “Do you remember if he mentioned her name?”
Carolyn frowned. “I think she was just above-average height. I remember because her head came to about Michael’s shoulder. She had long dark hair, and I only remember that because it was just a few shades lighter than the mink she was wearing, but I’m terrible with names. If he ever introduced us, I don’t remember.”
“I think I do,” Terrence said. “And don’t ask me why something like this stuck in my mind for so many years, but it has.”
“The name,” Trey urged as he continued to make notes. “Do you remember her name?”
“The reason I remember it is because at first I thought he said her name was Larry, and I was appalled that someone would name their daughter Larry. Then he repeated the name, and I realized he was saying, Laree, with the emphasis on the last syllable. You know… La-ree.”
Trey’s hand stilled. “You’re sure?”
Terrence shrugged. “As sure as I can be at the age of seventy-two.”
“Son of a—” Trey caught himself before he finished what he’d been going to say. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that aloud.”
“You know who she might be?” Terrence asked.
“Maybe,” Trey said. “Maybe. At any rate, I have to thank you for coming all this way. You just may have given me the link I’ve been looking for.”
Terrence looked pleased.
“You will let us know if anything pans out?” he asked.
“The Sealy family will be the first to know,” Trey said. “That I can promise you.”
Carolyn stood. “Is there anything else?”
Trey quickly wrote down his phone number and address on a sheet of notepaper from his book and tore it out, then handed it to her.
“Livvie was asleep when I left her this morning, but Ella will answer the phone. If Livvie’s awake, I know she’ll be happy to hear from you.”
“I notice you call her Livvie,” Carolyn said.
“Yes, ma’am. I used to tease her and tell her that Olivia sounded too stuffy and proper for a girl who could finish off a banana split in under five minutes.”
Terrence chuckled. “That’s our girl.”
“Detective, I’m thinking you like our Olivia very much, don’t you?” Carolyn said.
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
“Good. She’s given Marcus far too much of her life.”
Trey shook their hands. “Thank you for your time. You’ve been most helpful.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Terrence said as he followed Trey to the door. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again,” he added.
“Probably so,” Trey said. “If I have any other questions, I’ll call.”
“Yes, of course,” Terrence added.
Trey nodded to
Carolyn, then quickly left. He was anxious to contact Chia and see if she’d come up with anything on the Lawrence twins. For the first time since he’d been handed the case, it was starting to make sense. If you got yourself in hot water, who else would you call but someone you could trust? And who better than a member of your own family? If Laree Lawrence had been the woman with whom Michael Sealy was having the affair, then it might explain Foster Lawrence’s sudden dip into a life of crime. With this new information, he was determined to talk to Lawrence again.
Lawrence had, as promised, lawyered up. Trey’s trip to jail was a bust, because Lawrence refused to talk to Trey without his lawyer present, and the lawyer was in court.
Foster had glared at Trey, then refused to look at him again, despite anything Trey had to say. By the time Trey left, he was pissed off with the system that had more rules to protect lawbreakers than those who kept the law, while on the other hand, Foster was convinced he was going back to prison, no matter what he did.
Trey had called Chia, only to find out that she and David had been called out on a new crime scene. A hitchhiker had been walking along Highway 75 near the Highway 635 junction, and as he’d passed an abandoned car, he’d noticed a strong odor coming from the trunk. He’d called the police from the first phone he’d come to, which led to the discovery of a body in the trunk, which had ended Chia’s computer time.
With the day at an end, he gave up his frustration and headed home to Livvie. He hadn’t talked to her since noon and hoped she and Ella had, at least, made friends. When he got there, it soon became obvious that he need not have worried. Livvie and Ella were at the kitchen table playing cards.
“Hey, how are my two favorite girls?” Trey asked as he walked into the room.
Ella sniffed and pretended to frown. “I’ve been suckered,” she muttered.
Olivia grinned and pointed at the stack of kitchen matches to her right.
“I’m winning big-time,” she said.
“What are you playing?” he asked.
“Poker,” Ella said. “She said she didn’t know how.”
Trey grinned.
“Having a bit of beginner’s luck, honey?”
“A bit?” Ella snapped. “If this was real money, she would already own my house.”