“So you believe it then?”
“Have to. The information you gave Max—and me—was too specific. There’s no other way you could have known as much as you did.” His voice lowered. “Did you get both of my messages?”
“Yes.”
“I liked that, being able to talk to you through Phaedra. You probably feel bad for giving away our little escapee here. She wouldn’t have gotten out of here. Neither will you. As much as Max knows, he won’t find you here. Another irony, that the police have been looking all over for her, and she’s been within sight of the police station the whole time. Sure made it easy to come and go.”
“And misjudge who to trust,” she added in a low voice. She’d trusted the lieutenant because Sam said he was at the station. She never thought he’d been within walking distance of the police station. That he was Max’s superior, that he’d stood up for Max during that press interview, that helped, too. Since he couldn’t lure her out, he’d resorted to going to her apartment after all. “What is this place?”
“An old bomb shelter. I discovered it by accident, going through some old clippings in the bottom drawer of my desk. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the mayor was terrified of nuclear war. With all those nuclear weapons pointing right at us from Cuba, he managed to convince government officials to construct a bomb shelter. The public didn’t know about it. It was constructed right in front of them and billed as a water treatment facility. There was speculation, of course, as to what the strange facility was. That’s what the newspaper article was about.
“Years later, it was sealed on the police station side. When the new courthouse was completed and most of the employees had moved over, I started snooping and found the door hidden in a closet. It was perfect. Again, a golden opportunity. Close, with the built-in excuse that the records department still hasn’t moved. I’ve had a lot of business with them lately.”
She heard him stand. “I’ll be back. I’ve got to ditch the car. Tonight I’ll have to head on, just in case crazy Max does convince them to check into those fingerprints.”
“He’s not crazy.”
“No, but everybody thinks he is, thanks to you.” He sounded disappointed when he said, “And I was hoping to help him pick up the pieces once he failed to save you and Phaedra. But I’ll be back in his life again. I like to keep tabs on the boy.”
That gave her the creeps. “Why?”
“He’s my son. It’s my right as his father. Besides, I’ve got to keep him in line.”
As soon as he opened the door, his cell phone rang. The shelter’s walls had probably blocked the signal. “That’ll be Max. He’s going to try so hard to save you. And he’s going to fall apart when he can’t.”
“That’s not fair. Aren’t you the one who assigned him this case?”
He closed the door again, and the ring died. “Max had lost his zest for life, so I gave him the case. I knew it would push him to the edge. But I didn’t count on you. You were an unforeseen complication…and an added bonus.”
“Gee, isn’t that special?”
“It is, isn’t it? Max wouldn’t have gotten this far it weren’t for you and your spooky psychic thing. But that made it more interesting. You brought him back to life, too.”
She tried to hold back the shiver. “Max will find you.”
“He’s smart. He’ll figure out who I am.” He sounded weary. “And once again, I’ll have to start over.”
“Don’t punish Max for that. He was only doing his job, a job you gave him.”
His voice went soft, and he sounded more like a boy when he said, “You didn’t hear the things he said about me when he told me about his father. He feels shame. He hates me. He wants me dead.”
“Leave Max alone. He’s suffered enough.”
“Those who sin must be punished. That’s the law.” He opened the door again and a moment later, his phone rang. “Think I’ll have a chat with my son, see how he’s holding up. I’ll send him your love.” The door closed.
It was all she could do not to give into the urge to rail and cry and pound the bars. She had to keep her cool, if not for her own sake, for Phaedra’s.
She pressed her watch instead. “Six-forty.”
CHAPTER 26
Max had pulled into the back of a grocery store and continued dialing Huntington’s cell phone. When he finally answered, his tone was normal, businesslike. “Lt. Huntington here.”
Max wanted to kill him, but he held in his rage and managed a similarly calm voice. “Where are they, Bobby?”
“Max, they all think you’re crazy down at the station. I think they’re right.”
It was that same voice that had haunted him for years. Coward! It stole his breath away and reminded him of being helpless. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He still was. “You know I’m not.”
“Do you think I’m crazy?”
No, he was worse than crazy. “We can work this out. You don’t have to keep killing Rose.”
“Odette shouldn’t have told you about her.”
“I tricked her into it.” He didn’t want Bobby punishing her, too. “Look, Rose paid for her sins, and now it’s over.”
“But it’s never over, don’t you see? That’s why I have to keep taking them. It never goes away. I keep reliving it every leap year. This is the only way I can make it go away.”
Max could hear the anguish in his words. Bobby really believed that. “We can make it go away…together. Tell me where they are. We’ll meet there and talk.”
The strength returned to his voice. “I can’t do that, Max. I have to follow through. All bad girls must be punished.”
The note had meant Olivia, too. He reached over and ran his hand through Stasia’s soft hair. “You can’t punish Olivia for getting away from you. That was my doing. Punish me instead.”
“I already did, but it backfired. Your daughter—my granddaughter—wasn’t supposed to be in the car that day.”
Those words struck him in the chest. “You set the pipe bomb.”
“I didn’t mean for Ashley to be killed. You said she was spending the weekend with Diana’s parents.”
Max felt that rush of blood to his head again. An earthquake had shaken his world when Olivia was taken, and the aftershocks kept coming. He couldn’t even speak for a moment, could only swallow back the bile rising in his throat. Stasia seemed to sense his pain; she laid her head on his thigh.
“Maybe once these two die,” Bobby said. “Maybe then it will be enough.”
“Fine, so punish me in their place. Take me and let the girls go. You can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Ah, Max, always the hero. Well, you know what? I hate heroes. When you saved the Stevens kid, everyone fawned all over you. Just like they did my father. There are no true heroes, only men who pretend. But you, Max, you’ve given it your best shot, haven’t you? You’ve been fighting your greatest villain a long time: me. I can see it in your eyes. Every child molester, every murderer you hunt down—it’s me, isn’t it?”
Max squeezed his eyes shut. He was right.
“But you can never defeat me. Just like I could never kill you, which does put a hitch in that noble gesture of yours.”
“I will defeat you this time,” Max said through gritted teeth.
Bobby only laughed. “You had your chance. Remember, in the truck. You couldn’t kill me. And that’s the only way you’ll ever take me in. I’m your father; you’re my son. We have a bond, whether you like it or not. See, you stopped your heroic little dash when you were leading Olivia to safety. You stopped at the sound of my voice. I’m telling you now, Max, let me go. Drop your crazy allegations and accept defeat. Save your career. It’s the one thing you can save. And rest assured, we’ll meet again.” He disconnected.
Let him go? Never.
Max wanted to throw the phone through the window, but he forced himself to set it on the seat. Wherever Olivia and Phaedra were, they had to be close to the station, close e
nough that Huntington could get back so fast.
Huntington’s house. Max doubted he’d be that obvious, but he had to check it out.
After Diana and Ashley’s deaths, Huntington had invited him over for dinner. The house was simple, small. Max hadn’t been much of a conversationalist, and finally the awkward silences had prompted him to leave. He’d been surprised when Huntington had invited him back, but he’d declined. His father had wanted to get closer to him; had wanted to, in his sick way, comfort him for the pain he’d caused.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the driveway. It took him only a few more minutes to get into the house. Cops sometimes had the laxest security in their own homes. The house didn’t fit the description of the utilitarian kitchen, but he had no place else to look.
There was no trace of them, or anything that tied Bobby and Huntington together. He headed out and pulled into a busy parking lot around the corner. He jerked the map out of the glove box and spread it out against the dashboard. He glanced at the clock. He had less than five hours to find it.
“It’s Lt. Huntington. I still haven’t been able to locate the Howe woman. Has she called in?”
“No, sir,” O’Reilly said. “But Callahan’s gone off the deep end. He went to her apartment.”
“The officers were supposed to keep him there.”
“He took us by surprise. We just tried to meet him at the apartment, but he’s gone. Howe and her dog are also gone. Lieutenant, Callahan made some pretty crazy allegations. He said you have the Howe woman and the Burns girl, and—”
“I know what he said. We just spoke on the phone. Are you familiar with his family history?”
“No, he never talks about his family.”
Because he was ashamed, just as he had been ashamed of his father. But this was different. He was different. “He confided in me after his wife and daughter died. His father kidnapped a girl and then took his own life after Callahan rescued her. I think this case has pushed him over the edge. For some reason, he’s starting to see his father in me. I’m worried about him, of course, but I think we can straighten him out before he does anything rash. I want you to bring him in. I’m afraid he’s going to do something to hurt himself. I’ll be in touch.” He hung up and turned off the phone. They’d never hear from him again.
He nearly walked right into a confrontation with Max. His son’s car was parked in his driveway. He drove by and circled back ten minutes later. Max was gone. He pulled into the driveway three doors down, weaved through backyards to his home, and took the stash of money and IDs he’d tucked away for just this occasion. A man had to be prepared, after all.
He put on a dark wig and filled in his eyebrows. He’d have to get the gap in his teeth fixed right away. He had a few more errands to run, a car to procure. Once he left the courthouse after midnight, he would disappear again.
“Phaedra, my name is Olivia. Don’t be afraid of me.”
“You…you called me Phaedra,” the girl accused in a rough voice.
“That’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
The gratitude came through beneath the surprise. Olivia knew exactly how she felt.
“Max and I have been trying to find you. Max is a detective, and he’s also this man’s son. He saved me once, when I was your age and the same man kidnapped me.”
“Will he save us, too?” she asked.
Olivia felt a hitch in her chest. “I don’t know.” Their only hope would be if Max could talk his father into giving up. That was unlikely. She reached out again and touched the girl’s arm. Her sleeve was still damp from her dunk in the tub. “But he’s going to try his darnedest.” That’s how Max was, how he’d always be. She could accept that. Just as he, she realized, accepted her psychic quirks. He had given her the acceptance and understanding she’d always wanted. As long as he didn’t see her as Livvy, she could accept and understand his tendency to protect her. If she got a chance, she amended.
“I’m blind,” she said. “But I know what this place looks like. You couldn’t find a way out when you got out of the cage, could you?”
“How did you know that?”
“Since we were both kidnapped by the same man, we have a…special connection. I’ve been seeing through your eyes.”
“You said you were blind.”
“I am. But not when I’m looking through your eyes.”
The girl seemed to ponder that for a moment.
Olivia said, “When he cut you, when he left the food right outside the cage and told you not to eat it, could you feel me?”
“No.”
So the connection didn’t go both ways. She’d wanted to comfort the girl so badly. Because she knew what Phaedra was thinking about now, she was finally able to give her that comfort. “Your parents are worried and they want you home. They love you very, very much.”
“They do?”
“Oh my, yes.”
Phaedra slid her arms around Olivia’s neck and started crying. “I want to go home!”
“I know, honey, I know.” She held her close. Tears pricked her eyes as the girl sobbed in her ear. She wanted to go home, too. She wanted to cuddle with Stasia and feel Max’s arms around her. When she opened her eyes, she was startled to see green walls and the steel door. The door had six latches to lock out the world, but the metal slides had been disabled, probably so Phaedra couldn’t lock him out if she escaped the cage. “I can see!” She took in their surroundings, the hallway with the bathroom at the end, the oven not far away.
The girl moved out of her embrace. “You’re not blind anymore?”
The world went black again. “It’s you. When I was holding you, I could see.” The connection was still there. She touched Phaedra, but her sight didn’t return.
She took Phaedra’s hands in her own. “We can’t give up yet. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
“We do?” she asked so hopefully it was painful. “You’ll get us out of here?”
“I’ll try.”
“You will? Promise?”
Olivia squeezed her hands. “I’ll try my best. You picked the lock with a piece of metal. Is there any other piece like that?”
“Wow, you did see me. He checked the cage after that to make sure I couldn’t get out again. I don’t see anything else we could use.”
“You’re a smart girl. I don’t remember being as calm as you are.”
“I gave up on hearing my name again, and you said it. So now I can’t give up on seeing my mommy and daddy again.”
“We’ll do our best.” Would her daddy even remember her to realize she’d gone? “We need a plan. Have you ever seen him lock the door when he comes in here?”
“No, but I hear him lock it when he leaves.”
“Yeah, I heard him unlock it from the outside when he brought me here. So that means the door isn’t locked while he’s here.”
“We could beat him up when he tries to get us out of here and make a run for the door.”
A blind woman and a child beat up a grown man? “I don’t think that’ll work. I didn’t see anything around here we could even use as a weapon.” Maybe it wasn’t a physical weapon they needed, but an intellectual weapon. An emotional weapon. “Phaedra, I know you hate being Rose, but you could do it if it meant escaping, couldn’t you?”
Olivia could hear the water dripping into the bathtub. In breathless loyalty, Phaedra said, “I can do anything you want.”
Time was running out, and Max was at a dead end. He threw the map into the back seat and banged his forehead against the steering wheel. The horn blared. Stasia put her paw on his leg. The dog actually looked worried.
He rubbed his eyes hard, feeling frustration and loss burning behind them. Had his comrades believed any of what he’d told them? Had they bothered to check into anything, like Huntington’s fingerprints? Still, that would take too long.
It’s too late.
No, it wasn’t too late, not yet.
At midnight, it would be too late. He had four hours left. He couldn’t lose Olivia now, not when he loved her.
The truth of that tightened his chest, making it feel as though it were imploding. His Livvy. No, not Livvy, not the scared girl she was afraid of being. Olivia, just Olivia.
He reached into the back seat and pulled her painting to the front. The paint was still damp. He traced his finger over the lines her fingers had created. She had seen where they were being held. It was here in her finger strokes. She’d painted an odd brick wall in the doorway, the one that had captured his attention before. Had he seen it somewhere?
When he was a boy, he used “x-ray vision” to see through buildings and find villains. He laid his fingers on the canvas and stared until his vision blurred. The Santa suit came back to mind.
Forget the suit. Where were the bricks? Bricks in a row. Columns of bricks. Someplace drab, a place he rarely went.
The Santa suit. The storage room at the police station. The room was as close to a basement as you could get in Florida, built a half-floor into the ground. His whole body felt electrified, and he had to hold himself back from starting the car and racing over. No, it didn’t make sense. It was the police station, and though it wasn’t used often, clerks did go in there from time to time. Besides, they might detain him. Then all hope would be lost.
He looked at her painting again. Trust your instincts. Check it out.
It was all he had to go on, just like Olivia had once been all he’d had. He’d trusted her, and she’d helped him. He would never have gotten this far without her, would have never known his father was still alive.
When he parked in the back of the lot at the police station a few minutes later, he had to blink in disbelief. God, he was thinking of getaways from the police.
“Stay here, girl. I’ll be back soon.” His reassuring pat didn’t seem to reassure her at all, but she was better off in the car than going inside with him.
He walked casually into the building, bypassing the detective’s area where he heard someone speculating as to where he might be. The storage room was dark and musty and full of stuff: a box of equipment for their annual softball games, old computer equipment, and files. He glanced up on the top shelf. The Santa suit was still there.
Blindsight [Now You See Me] (Romantic Suspense) Page 32