“Tomorrow you can talk to Colin and explain what really happened. You’ll be in the clear and we can move on.”
Maggie arched an eyebrow. “Can we, Em?”
Chapter 8
Emily’s thoughts were a jumble as she drove to her little bungalow. She had never seen such pain in Maggie’s eyes, she had looked so betrayed. Emily hadn’t meant for that to happen. It wasn’t like she had wanted to question Maggie, but she and Colin had to follow the evidence wherever it took them, even if that was Maggie’s doorstep.
Once she was home, Emily stripped down and climbed into bed. It had been a horribly exhausting day, both mentally and emotionally—on one hand desperately working to find her new friend and on the other hand suspecting one of her long-time best friends of being somehow responsible for the disappearance.
Her eyes were tired, but her brain wouldn’t shut down. She thought of Colin and wondered how the search of Jake Mitchell’s apartment had gone. She hadn’t heard from Colin, which surprised her a little. Then again, he was used to her Thursday night dinners with the girls often going late.
Her phone trilled on the nightstand. She saw it was Colin and snatched it up. “Hello, darling,” she said in a low, seductive voice, wishing he was there with her, aching for his strong arms to hold her.
“Hey, Babe. You sound tired.”
“Thanks, but I was trying to sound sexy.”
“Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean…uh…”
Emily smiled to herself. “It’s okay, I am tired. Exhausted actually.”
He told her about the search of Jake’s apartment and that nothing of value had turned up. They took Jake’s laptop, which was on the search warrant, but until they could go through it, there wasn’t much to tell.
“You should know, it kind of came up about Maggie being at the Murphy house. But I pretended not to know, and I didn’t say anything about the blood. Of course, neither did Maggie. But I asked her a few questions and told her that you’d have some for her too.”
“I’ll give her a call tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep, Babe, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
~*~
By the time Emily made it in to Colin’s office, he had apparently already gotten Maggie to come in for questioning.
“Colin’s got a sizzling blonde in his office, Emily,” Stella the receptionist quipped with a grin. “Just a word of warning, my dear.”
Stella had worked for the Paradise Valley Police Department for more than twenty years. She was a petite woman with graying hair falling in gentle waves a few inches above her shoulders, and she had the clearest blue eyes Emily had ever seen. They seemed to look right through you. That woman had a big heart and a sharp tongue to match her rapier wit.
“I’ve got it covered,” Emily replied, moving to the security door. “I’m not exactly chopped liver, you know.”
Stella laughed as she buzzed Emily through. As Emily wandered down the hallway, she could hear Colin’s and Maggie’s voices wafting toward her.
“Good morning,” Emily said, standing in the doorway, doing her best to wear a friendly smile.
“Emily,” Maggie greeted flatly from her seat across the desk from Colin.
Emily realized that Maggie had every right to be annoyed with her, so she tried to ignore the irritation in her voice.
Colin stood. “I was just about to escort Maggie into the interrogation room.”
Emily had hoped to keep Maggie’s questioning low-key and casual, but knowing Colin, he would want to keep it professional and arms-length. The interrogation room had a video camera, so everything would be recorded and above board. He was right to do it that way, she knew, but it was hard seeing her friend treated as a suspected criminal before they had any real proof.
Colin ushered Maggie to the interrogation room and Emily stepped into the observation area.
“Have a seat,” Colin said, gesturing toward the chair across the table.
Maggie slowly sunk down onto it. She fixed her gaze on Colin. “Do I need a lawyer?”
“If you want one,” Colin replied, taking a seat too. “You’re not a suspect yet, I just have some questions. Hopefully you can clear a few things up for us so we can move forward to finding Elise.”
“Of course, I want that too.”
Emily watched as Maggie crossed her arms and sat back.
“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with why your blood was found at the crime scene?”
“My blood?” Maggie’s voice rose and her brows wrinkled into a frown. “How could that be?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.” Colin leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the table, his gaze riveted on her.
“How do you know it’s my blood?”
“We got a match—turns out your blood and prints were already in the national law enforcement system,” Colin said. “You’ve been arrested before? Care to elaborate?”
Emily noticed Maggie’s cheeks flush as her gaze fell to her hands, fidgeting in her lap. “Not really.”
Although Emily was anxious to know what she’d been arrested for, it was obvious Maggie was self-conscious about going into the details. Hopefully Colin would let it go for now. They could find out easily enough without pressing Maggie further, making her squirm, and forcing her to talk about it. Emily made a mental note to check on it later.
“Think back, Maggie,” Colin suggested. “When was the last time you were at Elise’s house?”
“Well, let’s see…I did a workout with her the day she disappeared. I told Emily that at dinner last night.”
“Did Elise normally work out at home? I thought she went to the health club.”
“Jake Mitchell went to her house twice a week to do workouts with her, and I was called to fill in for him last Wednesday.”
Emily wondered how long he had been giving Elise more than just exercise instruction.
“So what happened that day that caused you to spill blood there?” Colin asked. “Did you get in a fight with her?”
“A fight? Lord, no.” Maggie let out a nervous giggle.
“Did she struggle with you when you kidnapped her?” he asked.
Emily gasped at Colin’s direct blow, while she watched Maggie’s brilliant blue eyes grow large at the accusation.
“What?” Maggie almost shouted. “You think I forced her to leave with me? That I’m part of this whole kidnappin’?”
“So, that’s a no?”
“That’s a hell no!” Maggie’s beautiful face turned to an angry scowl. “I can’t believe you would even ask me such a thing, Colin—or should I call you Detective Andrews now?”
“I have to treat you like anyone else. I thought I made that plain. This is serious, Maggie. Elise Murphy has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. I’m sure you know that sometimes these things go bad and the victim winds up dead.”
“Dead?” Maggie pulled back like someone had slapped her across the face.
“We have to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” he continued. “If it leads to you, then we’re obligated to question you and get at the truth. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Maggie’s expression relaxed and she crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I got it.”
“So, about the blood?”
“Now, let me think.” She shut her eyes and paused for a moment, then her eyes flew open. “Oh, I remember. I was helping Elise with a new yoga pose, a rather complicated one, and she fell over and clobbered me in the face. That’s when it happened, she gave me a bloody nose. Elise jumped up and ran to the kitchen for some napkins.”
A bloody nose?
“Yes, that must be it.” Maggie appeared relieved. “I’d forgotten about it because it was really no big deal. I swear that’s all it was.”
“Hmmm…” Colin steepled his fingers and touched them to his lips. “How well do you know Jake Mitchell?”
Maggie’s eyes widened.
Emily recalled their
talking about Jake after dinner the night before. What would she tell Colin now?
Maggie pressed her lips together as she considered her answer. “Well, I told Emily last night that I didn’t know him very well.” She turned and looked at the two-way mirror.
“And was that the truth?” Colin asked.
“Well, I couldn’t say anything with Camille sittin’ right there,” Maggie glared at the mirror before turning her attention back to Colin. “I did go out with Jake, but it was only twice. I tried to resist, but you know I’m a sucker for a handsome, charmin’ man.”
Yes, Emily and Colin knew all too well. So did their group of friends. Maggie was too kind and trusting for her own good and she’d been taken advantage of by more than one handsome, charming man in her life.
“Peter and I have never said we would be exclusive, you know, although…” Maggie’s eyes lowered to her hands folded in her lap, “it might have been implied.” She looked into the mirror again. “You won’t say anything, will you, Em? To Camille, I mean.”
Emily wouldn’t, but she would say something to Maggie when this was over. Peter was such a great catch. She hated to see Maggie screw that up.
“Back to the case,” Colin directed. “Maggie, did Jake ever mention anything about Elise to you?”
“Like what?”
“Well, Emily told me there were rumors at Serenity that Jake might be having an affair with Elise. Did he ever say anything to you about her, or about their relationship? Maybe about her husband?”
“Exactly what are you gettin’ at?”
“Emily told me that last night you mentioned that Serenity was seriously cutting into your bottom line. Perhaps Jake suggested a way for each of you to make some money and no one would be the wiser.”
Emily studied Maggie through the glass, hoping to read the truth in her response.
Maggie’s eyes narrowed and her full lips pinched into a straight line. “I grew up dirt poor, y’all know that, but at least our family was honest and moral. I’d rather go back to livin’ in a shack with a sod floor than do somethin’ so despicable.” Her words were deliberate and measured, her stare deadly serious. “I swear, I would never participate in kidnappin’ someone for ransom, no matter how desperate I was for money.”
Colin narrowed his own gaze and leaned forward. “Even if Elise was in on it?”
Maggie’s eyes rounded with surprise. “You think Elise was in on her own kidnappin’?”
“We have to consider all the possibilities.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about that.” Maggie shook her head, her thick golden ponytail swishing from side to side. “Are we done here? Or are you plannin’ to arrest me?”
“No, we’re not arresting you.” Colin rose from his chair. “But I hope for your sake that you’re telling us the truth.”
“Do I need to get myself a lawyer, Colin? Seriously.”
“That depends.” He splayed his fingers on the desk as he leaned toward Maggie. “Do you have something to hide?”
Maggie spun toward the mirror. “Is he kiddin’ me?”
Although Emily knew that Maggie couldn’t see her, she shook her head.
Colin sat on the corner of Maggie’s side of the table and faced her. “I know you and Emily have been good friends for a long time, but I’d better not find out you were involved in this.”
Maggie pressed her lips together for a second, obviously seething with indignation. “I’ll say it again.” Her words were slow and calculated as she rose to her feet. “I would never do anything to harm Elise.”
Colin moved to the door and opened it for her. “I certainly hope not, Maggie.” His voice was solemn. “As uncomfortable as this interview has been, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t thoroughly investigate every possibility, every option, every piece of evidence. I hope you understand that.”
“Oh, I understand.” Maggie huffed. “But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.” She abruptly twisted toward the door and marched out.
Emily waited a moment for Maggie to leave, then she left the observation room and met Colin in the hall.
“What did you think of that?” he asked.
She turned and glanced down the hallway, watching the heavy security door close. “I can’t believe Maggie would be involved in a kidnapping, but if the whole thing was Elise’s idea and she offered Maggie some cash to help her out, she might have gone along with it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that anything is possible.”
Chapter 9
Finished with the interview, Colin and Emily headed over to the Murphy apartment, knowing the crew there would be preparing the husband for the money drop at noon. When they entered the home, Isabel was standing in the dining room, along with Ernie, another officer, and the tech from the Sheriff’s office manning the recording/tracking devices.
“Hey, Isabel,” Emily greeted, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. “Is Mr. Murphy ready to take the ransom money downtown?”
“Yeah, he’s in his study with his attorney.”
Emily wondered what was going on behind the closed door. “Giving the man some words of encouragement, no doubt.”
Isabel shrugged. “All I know is that he has a green duffle bag, like the kidnapper instructed, stuffed with unmarked bills.”
“Is everyone in place down at the drop site?” Colin asked.
“Yes.” Isabel nodded slightly. “Between Chief Nelson, Captain Decker, and the Sheriff, they have a number of people already situated around the immediate area—incognito, of course.”
“You mean like a couple of utility workers? A panhandler? Window washers?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, something like that.” Isabel grinned.
Emily remembered working with the able Captain Decker, of the Boise Police Department, on a previous operation where they broke up a sex-slave ring and rescued a number of young women. He was organized and disciplined, and he ran his team with precision.
Patrick Murphy and his lawyer emerged from the study. Patrick was dressed casually, khakis and a white polo shirt, toting the bulging canvas bag.
Colin leaned over to Isabel and whispered. “Is he driving himself?”
“Yes. The kidnapper said to come alone.”
“Good. I was afraid he was going to let his lawyer drive him. They seem to be joined at the hip.”
“We’d better get down there before he does,” Emily said, keeping her voice low too, “and get in position to watch for the pick-up.”
“I’ll make sure he leaves on time,” Isabel said.
“Remind him he has to leave as soon as he makes the drop,” Colin said. “We can’t have him hanging around waiting for the kidnapper.”
“I’ll tell him. Now, you guys need to get going.”
~*~
At ten minutes before noon, Colin and Emily found a parking spot in downtown Boise, on Fifth Street, not far from the city trash bin where the drop was to take place. The joint task force between the Paradise Valley Police, the Boise Police, and the County Sheriff’s office manned the incognito positions, with Captain Decker in charge of the operation.
Colin listened to the conversation between the officers on the police radio, as Emily studied the people around the area.
Right on time, at twelve noon exactly, Patrick Murphy shoved the duffle bag down into the trash can on the corner and walked away.
Now they would wait.
Time ticked by, but no one came. Still they waited.
At twelve twenty-two, a grungy-looking man with a scraggly beard and a dirty red ball cap, pulled the bag out of the trash can. He was descended upon, with guns drawn, by the cops who had been hiding in plain sight.
“You stay here,” Colin said to Emily. He sprang from the vehicle and raced to the man.
Colin seized the man by the shirt. “Where is she?” he yelled.
The filthy man’s dark eyes grew wide and he pulled back. “Where’s who?”
“Elise Murphy!”<
br />
“What’s going on?” the man said, peering nervously at the guns pointed at him.
“You got the ransom money. Where’s Elise?”
“Huh? Ransom money? This?” The man held the bag out and one of the policemen grabbed it. “I just saw this bag in the trash and I thought there might be something I could use in it.”
“Damn!” Colin spat.
The man appeared to be a simple vagrant, scrounging around in the garbage, looking for anything of value.
Patrick Murphy came running at them. “Where’s my wife?” he demanded, grabbing the grimy old man by his jacket.
“Hey, hey! This guy isn’t the kidnapper, Mr. Murphy,” Colin shouted, separating Patrick from the homeless man. “Just some homeless guy poking around in the trash. Besides, you shouldn’t be here.”
“How could I stay away?”
Colin turned to the officer that was holding the duffle bag of money and in a low voice instructed him to take the old man to the station for further questioning. Colin took the bag from him as Patrick grabbed his arm.
“What went wrong?”
“Listen, the kidnapper didn’t show up,” Colin said, yanking his arm away. “The bag was there for almost twenty-five minutes. If he was coming, he would have already taken it.”
“Now what?”
“Now you need to leave.” Colin handed the bulky bag of cash to him. “Sanchez!” He called to one of his officers, who moved quickly over to them. “Take Mr. Murphy to his car and make sure he gets home.”
Captain Decker joined them. “Looks like he’s toying with us, boys. We’ll need to regroup.”
“You guys screwed up.” Patrick’s expression twisted in panic. “How do we find her now?”
As soon as the words passed his lips, Patrick Murphy’s cell phone began to ring. “The screen says Blocked Call.” He held the phone up for Colin and Decker to read.
“Quiet everybody!” Colin shouted to those standing nearby.
“Put it on speaker, then answer it,” Decker instructed.
The Betrayal of Lies Page 7