‘We’re home, Miss Wilder,’ the patrolman said. ‘You OK?’
‘Oh, uh, yes. Just upset over Doctor Ellis.’
‘Maybe you should call someone to be with you for a while. Don’t mean to insult you, but you’re pale.’
‘Cassie will be home soon. I’ll have a glass of wine and be fine.’ She looked at him and tried to smile. ‘Want me to bring you some wine?’
He grinned. ‘I’m more of a beer man when I drink, but I’m on duty.’
‘A soft drink? Coffee?’
‘Coffee’d be nice, if you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all. I’ll be back quick as a bunny, as my mother used to say.’
Another smile, this one even wider. ‘I say the same thing to my little girl.’
Brynn didn’t realize how tired she was until she climbed Cassie’s porch steps and used her two keys, one for the door lock, one for the deadbolt. She went in and carefully relocked the doors. On her way to the kitchen, her cell phone rang again. Maybe Garrett with more news about Ray, she thought.
Instead, she heard the quavering voice of an older woman. ‘Miss Hutton?’
‘No, she’s still at her store. I’m Brynn Wilder.’
‘Oh, I’m Mrs Persinger. Savannah talks about you all the time. I’m at her house today. That’s what her father wanted because she was so upset about not being in the play she wouldn’t come out of her room. So I said I’d stay here and watch her. I’d take good care of her …’ The woman suddenly sobbed.
‘Mrs Persinger? What’s wrong?’ Brynn anxiously asked the woman who’d been taking care of Savannah during the day for months since Grams died.
‘She’s gone! I dozed off – oh, I’ll never forgive myself – but I did and when I woke up, I went to check on her. She wasn’t in her room. I’ve searched this whole house. The dog’s here, but she’s not.’ Mrs Persinger’s voice raised to a wail. ‘Savannah’s gone!’
TWENTY
Brynn felt a dark flutter of fear in her stomach, but her voice emerged even and strong. ‘Calm down, Mrs Persinger. If Savannah has run away from home, she’ll have taken Henry. She was determined to be in the play tonight. She was supposed to be there by five-thirty for last-minute directions, a costume check, several things. I’m sure she’s on her way to the amphitheater. I’ll have the patrolman outside take me there right now. If she’s not there already, we’ll look all around for her.’
‘Should I call her father?’
‘He’s at a crime scene and his cell phone is running low.’ Garrett doesn’t need to hear this right now, Brynn thought. ‘The policeman outside and I will find her, I promise.’
‘Are you sure?’ Mrs Persinger was crying. ‘I mean, if that dear child is lost because I fell asleep, I just won’t be able to stand it. Sheriff Dane trusted me and I let him down!’
‘You didn’t let him down,’ Brynn said. ‘Savannah took advantage of you. She knew she wasn’t supposed to go to the play, so you stop worrying. Everything will be fine. As soon as we find her, I’ll call you. I know the Danes’s phone number. You just stay there. Don’t go out looking for Savannah. We don’t want to search for you, too!’
‘No, I guess you don’t.’ Brynn heard the attempt at lightness in Mrs Persinger’s voice, followed by a note of hopelessness. ‘I’ll be here until Savannah comes home.’
No time for wine or coffee, Brynn thought. They had to find Savannah. She was certain her explanation to Mrs Persinger for Savannah’s absence was right. Well, almost certain. Still, the thirteen-year-old girl shouldn’t be on the streets alone, much less heading toward the amphitheater. It was at least two miles from her home. Would she accept a ride from someone?
‘Oh, God,’ she murmured, feeling a migraine start behind her eyes. No time to go search for her migraine pills now, she thought. Brynn was heading for the front door when she first felt she wasn’t alone. Instinct made her stop and look around the living room. It was bright with sun. Nothing was out of place. ‘You’re giving yourself the creeps over Edmund’s story and Savannah running off,’ she told herself aloud, rubbing a hand across her forehead.
Her hand, damp with sweat, trembled and she dropped her tote bag, spilling a few items. ‘Dammit,’ she muttered. She thought she heard a noise – a sigh, for God’s sake, close by. She kneeled, grabbed her tote and reached for her keys and cell phone. In less than a second, from the tail of her eye she caught a flash of movement. She jumped up and started to turn, lifting her tote bag like a shield, but before she could make a sound, something crashed down on her head. Brynn stood long enough to feel blood flowing from her scalp down to her right eye before the world went dark and she wilted onto the floor.
Garrett walked up and down a hall at the hospital. He’d tried some of the foul coffee from the machine, eaten what tasted like a slightly stale candy bar but was actually considering another one. Eating was better than smoking, he thought. He’d started smoking when he was sixteen because he thought it made him look badass. He’d given up the cigarettes three months before Savannah was born. Patty had smoked even more after having the baby, in spite of his lectures about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
But now he wanted a cigarette. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d craved one. He also couldn’t remember the last time Genessa Point had seemed in such danger, even when the GPK was murdering two or three times a year.
Ray’s doctor came out of his room and slowly walked toward Garrett. He’s dead, Garrett thought. Ray didn’t make it, the jerk.
‘Sheriff Dane?’ the doctor asked, knowing very well who Garrett was. Garrett nodded. ‘Mr O’Hara has a broken left femur, broken left radius and ulna, broken clavicle, and a grade-three concussion. Grade three is the most serious form of concussion. All of the broken bones will require surgery. Oh, he also has cocaine in his system.’
‘Just cocaine?’
The doctor frowned.
‘I mean, it isn’t cocaine cut with anything fatal?’
‘You’re thinking of that young woman who died on the Ferris wheel from snorting cocaine laced with strychnine.’
‘That wasn’t supposed to be public knowledge yet.’
‘Well, it’s knowledge in this hospital where she was brought DOA.’
Garrett nodded. ‘Sure it is. What about Ray O’Hara?’
‘If he had cocaine laced with strychnine in him, he’d probably be dead. The cocaine he’d had might have been laced with something like baking soda, but nothing dangerous. What worries me the most about his condition is the concussion, but I don’t think it’ll kill him.’ The doctor looked at him and finally gave him a small, tight smile. ‘I know you want to talk to him and he’s conscious right now. He might lose consciousness any time, so you should probably question him as soon as possible. Just don’t be surprised if he’s muddled. If he is, I have to insist you let him rest. No more questions.’
‘OK, Doctor. I’ll be gentle.’
‘I don’t think this guy’s used to gentle,’ the doctor said. ‘The X-rays show a lot of old breaks, and he has a lot of body scars. Maybe he was abused.’
‘Bar fights,’ Garrett said. ‘Cops have broken up quite a few of them. Ray wants to be a tough guy.’
‘The moron,’ the doctor muttered, then motioned toward Ray’s room.
Garrett walked in to see Ray lying lifelessly on the bed. His body was hidden beneath a sheet and blanket, but as Garrett drew nearer he could clearly see the scrapes and bruises all over Ray’s face. His left eyelid was swollen. The right was shut, but Garrett saw the lid flutter. ‘Hey there, Ray,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Don’t pretend to be asleep – the doc told me you’re awake and looking forward to answering all my questions.’
Ray’s right eye opened but he said nothing.
‘You were at the carnival last night,’ Garrett said, standing over Ray. ‘You ran off when you saw Rhonda die.’
‘Rhonda’s dead? How?’
‘Don’t give me that crap, Ray. I know you too well. She wa
s connected to you – literally – at the Bay Motel. A witness saw her leaving your room the morning of the day she died. Do you know how she died? Overdose of cocaine laced with strychnine.’
Ray’s one good eye widened. ‘Strychnine?’
‘You were supplying her, weren’t you?’
‘No.’
‘Ray!’
‘All right. I gave her some coke. It wasn’t like she’d never had it before. She’s been on and off it since she was a teenager.’
‘I don’t care how long she’d been using. I care about where she got the coke cut with strychnine!’
Ray’s eye widened even father. ‘Yeah, yeah, sure you are. But I didn’t give it to her. God! Why would I do that?’
‘You wanted to be rid of her?’
‘No. Not yet.’
‘Not yet? Tell me the truth, Ray. Why did you and Rhonda hook up? And what’s going on with you and Tessa Cavanaugh? Is she buying coke from you, too?’
‘Tessa! She doesn’t even drink!’
Garrett gave Ray a long, hard stare, then stepped closer to the bed. Ray cringed slightly, then winced from the pain. ‘Tell me the last time you sold Rhonda cocaine.’
‘I didn’t sell it to her. I gave her some this morning.’
‘And did you use any of the cocaine you gave her?’
‘No. I used some before the carnival, but just a little from a different stash.’
‘Were you together just for sex and cocaine?’
‘No!’ Ray managed to look deeply offended. ‘She was helping me with research for my book!’
‘Your book?’
‘Yes, dammit, my book! I’ve been saying for years I’m gonna write a book but no one pays attention to me. They all bow and scrape to Brynn Wilder because of that silly junk she writes but no one recognized the serious material I intend to write.’
‘And what serious material would that be?’
‘The truth about the Genessa Point Killer!’ Ray sounded triumphant.
‘You know the truth?’
‘I know more than you do. I know more than anyone … except for Rhonda. That’s why she was … killed.’ Ray’s eyelid was beginning to droop. He looked like he was losing focus. ‘Her cousin … Frankie. She never got … never got over him. She blamed Mark but always had her … suspicions. Just like me.’
‘What suspicions?’
Ray swallowed, his eyelid closing.
‘What suspicions, dammit!’
‘We knew. We knew. They found out we knew because Rhonda wasn’t careful enough. She and I saw the pictures on Cassie’s computer. If I’d seen the pictures of Cassie and Mark sooner … I tried. Went in her house and it … was gone. Something wrong with it and she’d taken it to a computer shop. I tried to be careful but I got outsmarted. Too sneaky. Too evil … that’s it … too evil for Rhonda and me. Killed Rhonda. He would have killed me … would have killed me …’
‘Ray!’ Garrett said loudly as Ray drifted off. ‘Ray! What are you talking about? Who knew?’ His voice rose. ‘Who wanted to kill you and Rhonda?’
The doctor burst into the room. ‘Sheriff, you’re shouting at him.’
‘I wasn’t.’
‘You were. Maybe you didn’t realize it.’
Garrett stepped away from the bed, feeling his heart pounding, his breath rapid. He had been shouting, he thought. ‘I’m sorry. He just said something important. If I could just have a few more minutes …’
‘He’s unconscious, Sheriff,’ the doctor said evenly. ‘He can’t tell you anything right now. He might come to before he goes into surgery. I doubt it, though. We have the operating room scheduled for ten minutes from now.’ The doctor, so young yet with such a look of calm and knowledge about him, gave Garrett a look of regret. ‘I’m sorry, Sheriff.’
‘So am I.’ Garrett looked at Ray, then started for the door. ‘He just might have had the secret to the chaos that’s rocked this town for the last two weeks.’
Pain. Sharp pain in the right side of her head. Brynn put her hand to her head and felt a lump rising. She tried to open her eyes before realizing she wore a blindfold. She was on her abdomen lying on a cool concrete floor.
‘How do you feel?’
‘Like crap,’ Brynn returned to the distorted voice. ‘Where am I?’
‘Some place safe. Some place … private.’
Brynn rolled on her side, facing the voice. ‘Are we alone?’ she asked.
‘Thinking if there’s just one person watching you, you might be able to escape?’
Brynn said nothing. That’s exactly what she’d been thinking.
‘Dream on. We’re not alone.’
‘Will you untie my feet so I can sit up?’
‘And run?’
‘And sit. You can move my legs in front of me and tie them again at the ankles.’
‘Well, well, aren’t you a cooperative hostage?’
I’m a terrified hostage, Brynn thought. But she could still think clearly, which amazed her. Maybe she was having a delayed reaction to her plight. In that case, it was best to take advantage of it. If her captor untied her bare feet and touched her ankles, she might be able to tell if she was dealing with a man or a woman. The robotic voice created by the distorter told her nothing. ‘Please untie my ankles and let me sit up. I won’t run.’
‘Ummm … I don’t think so. I like looking at you the way you are now.’
‘Do you? Why?’
‘Because you look helpless.’
And so I am, Brynn thought. She couldn’t use her eyes, her hands, her feet. But she could still use her mind. ‘Is Savannah here with me?’
‘Why, yes. Good guess, Brynn.’
Brynn waited for Savannah to say something, but she didn’t. Her mouth might be bound. Or the silence might mean Savannah wasn’t really here. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding, and asked, ‘Is my brother here? Is Mark with me?’
Silence. She heard nothing except the sound of her own blood pounding in her body. She went cold all over, the warmth of hope draining away in the silence. Then, finally, in a ravaged voice, Mark said, ‘I’m here, Brynn. B-been here for days.’
‘Would you mind if we stopped and checked on Savannah before we go back to headquarters and start on Ray’s paperwork?’ Garrett asked Deputy Carder, who rode with him. ‘I’ve got a funny feeling about her.’
‘Sure,’ Carder said affably. ‘Kind of strange about both our phones running low this afternoon.’
‘Kind of a pain,’ Garrett answered irritably. ‘This is not a good day.’
‘Don’t tell me you’re all broken up about Ray O’Hara.’
‘I couldn’t care less about Ray, but what happened to him is part of a pattern. I mean, no one did anything to him – he caused that wreck. He was reacting to Rhonda Fleming’s death, and someone else caused her death. Why? Why did someone want Rhonda dead?’
Dwight Carder looked at him, his eyes narrowing. ‘Isn’t who more important?’
‘Who and why. That’s what we have to figure out and we’re getting nowhere,’ Garrett said seriously.
‘It all started with Mark Wilder coming back to Genessa Point. I’m not saying he’s done anything wrong,’ Carder said carefully, ‘but he’s at the center of it.’
‘I know.’
‘And his sister. What about her, Sheriff? Do you think she’s part of it all?’
Garrett thought a minute. ‘Yes. This isn’t just about Mark.’
‘Do you think she’s safe?’
‘You know she isn’t. She came here looking for her brother. I’m not sure she’ll find him without getting hurt or worse.’
‘Then shouldn’t you make her go home?’
‘Carder, I can’t make Brynn do anything. She’s strong-willed and determined. Those sound like good qualities, and sometimes they are, but this time they might be her undoing.’
‘She’s close to Savannah. Don’t you think she might try to influence your girl?’
‘Try to make
her do something dangerous? No. Absolutely not. Savannah idolizes her and if Brynn was a different kind of person, that would worry me. But Brynn’s a good influence, not bad. She’d never try to talk Savannah into doing anything that’s not safe or something that’s not in her best interest.’
‘Like refusing to go to Ohio for a while till all this trouble blows over? You know, maybe taking off on her own?’
‘Taking off on her own? No! Savannah’s always been an obedient child. She’s strong-willed, just like Brynn, and she’s made mistakes, but Savannah wouldn’t deliberately disobey me or do something she knows is wrong.’
‘Oh. It must be hard raising a thirteen-year-old girl. I wouldn’t know how to do it.’
‘With a lot of patience and a lot of love,’ Garrett said. ‘Besides, she always sees herself as the heroine who does the right thing. Savannah would never run away.’
‘Savannah’s run away!’ Mrs Persinger wailed when Garrett and Dwight reached Garrett’s door. ‘I fell asleep. I didn’t sleep well last night and today I just drifted off and when I woke up, she was gone! I’ve looked everywhere and called the friends you have listed on that white board beside your kitchen phone. Nearly half an hour ago, I called Brynn Wilder. She thinks Savannah decided to be in that play anyway. Brynn said that if Savannah had really run away from home, she would have taken her dog. Henry and I are nervous wrecks. I’ve had so much coffee I can’t stop talkin’, and he’s had half a box of dog treats.’
Garrett looked down at Henry, whose gaze slid away. No doubt he’d taken advantage of Mrs Persinger’s anxiety to get as many dog treats as possible.
‘Brynn said she and that patrolman you have taking care of her would go right out and start lookin’ for Savannah. They’d start by followin’ the route Savannah would have taken to the amphitheater. She said she’d call me as soon as she found any trace of Savannah, but I haven’t heard from her for fifty minutes. I tried to call her again five minutes ago. My call went to voicemail. Oh my God, sheriff, I love that little girl with all my heart. I’m so sorry. I just don’t know what to do—’
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