The Betrayal of Lies

by Debra Burroughs

  Patrick complied. “Hello, this is Patrick Murphy.”

  “I said no cops,” the altered voice snarled. “Say good-bye to your wife.”

  The sound of a loud gunshot emanated from the phone and Patrick’s head jerked toward Captain Decker, terror pooling in his eyes.

  “He shot her.” Patrick’s voice cracked and tears welled up. “I brought the money, just like he asked, and he shot her anyway.”

  Emily joined the group. “We don’t know that,” she said, patting his shoulder. “We heard a gunshot, but it doesn’t mean he shot Elise, not if he really wants the money.” She looked at Colin, then Captain Decker, as if hoping for some encouraging words from them.

  “He must have been watching from somewhere.” Captain Decker’s gaze darted around at the buildings surrounding the area.

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions until we know something definitive,” Colin said. “We won’t know anything for sure until we find Elise.”

  “Or her body,” Patrick said, his shoulders slumping sadly.

  ~*~

  As Colin and Emily were climbing back in the Jeep, he received a call from Nelly.

  “Let me put you on speaker,” he said, holding it between them.

  “I’m processing the fingerprints from Jake Mitchell’s apartment,” she said. “Besides his prints, I also found Elise Murphy’s and Maggie Sullivan’s.”

  “That means both women were at his apartment, which confirms what we already know.” Colin looked over at Emily. “Anything else?”

  “His computer showed a few emails back and forth between him and Elise Murphy.”

  “Should I take a look at them?” he asked.

  “There’s nothing in them that has to do with her disappearance. I’ll send them over to you, just in case.”

  “Thanks, Nell.” Colin clicked the phone off.

  “We know Jake Mitchell is involved in some way,” Emily began.

  “But we don’t know exactly how.”

  “Either he took Elise and is holding her for ransom,” she continued, “or he’s helping her get away from her husband.”

  “If she’s in on it, why the ransom calls?” Colin asked. “Maybe whoever is helping her got greedy and decided he wanted some of her husband’s millions.”

  “Unless we find the two of them, we’ll never know which it is. Either way, I sure hope Maggie isn’t involved.” Emily thought of her friend and the hardships she’d endured, sometimes because of poor choices on her part, other times because bad things were thrust on her.

  “Me too.” Colin started the car. “I’ll call Ernie and have him issue an ATL on Jake’s car and alert the airports, bus stations, and borders. We’ve got to find this guy if we have any hope of finding Elise.”

  “Don’t forget to have him flag the guy’s credit cards too.” Emily pulled her seatbelt on.

  Colin shot her a little frown. “Boy, you and Isabel must think I’d be lost without the two of you telling me what to do.”

  “Sorry.” Emily gave him a rueful smile. “Speaking of Isabel, I’ll call her and have her meet us at the station. Maybe between the four of us we can figure this thing out.”

  “Let’s grab a couple of burgers on the way, Babe. I’m starving.”

  Chapter 10

  Within the hour, Isabel joined Emily, Colin, and Ernie at the Paradise Valley Police station.

  “What do you have so far?” Isabel asked, looking at the huge whiteboard in Colin’s office. The board had photos of the people involved, as well as a sketchy timeline.

  “We know the husband was out of town for three days,” Colin said, pointing to the photo of Patrick Murphy on the board. “He found Elise gone and part of the house in shambles when he returned. That was Wednesday.”

  “Yes, late Wednesday,” Ernie added.

  “I met with Elise and the girls that morning.” Emily pointed to the timeline. “And Maggie did a workout with her around noon. Her husband reported her missing late that night, so that means she had to have gone missing sometime between one pm and ten pm.”

  “Emily and I went to see Jake Mitchell at the Serenity Health Club.” Colin shoved a finger toward his photo. “That was around two pm the next day. Ernie, what time did the first ransom call come in?”

  Ernie looked at the file. “At two forty-five.”

  “So…” Emily paused to think, “Jake could have made the call after we left him.”

  “However,” Isabel jumped in, “with a synthesizer, the voice could have belonged to a woman. We can’t rule that out.”

  “That’s right,” Emily agreed.

  Colin turned from the board to face Emily. “That means it could have been Elise’s voice—or Maggie’s.”

  “Maggie’s?” Isabel’s voice rose in surprise.

  “Maggie Sullivan?” Ernie questioned. He looked at the whiteboard again. “Is that why Maggie’s picture is up there?”

  Isabel’s head snapped in the direction of the photo. “Why on earth would you think she was involved?”

  Colin looked at Isabel as if it was obvious why. “She was at Elise’s house around the time she disappeared and her blood was found at the scene.”

  “That’s all?” Isabel asked.

  “No, there’s more,” Colin replied.

  “We found out Maggie is on more friendly terms with Jake Mitchell than she told us at dinner last night, not to mention the fact that she’s been having money problems since the Serenity Health Club opened.”

  “Oh, Emily,” Isabel moaned. “You’d better not let Camille catch wind of her involvement with Jake Mitchell. She’ll tell Peter and then it’ll all be over between him and Maggie.”

  “I know,” Emily said. “We don’t want to suspect her—I’m sure you know that—but we can’t close our eyes to the evidence because we’re friends.”

  Isabel nodded her understanding. She was always the rational, most logical one of the bunch. “You’re in a tough position. I hope you’ll still be friends after this is all over.”

  “So do I,” Emily said. It would only be possible, though, if Maggie was as innocent as she claimed to be.

  “Following the phone call,” Colin pointed at the timeline again, “we raced to the rest area and found the burner phone. Nelly hasn’t been able to lift any prints or DNA from it, and the phone is untraceable. So that was a dead end.”

  “Then you got the search warrant,” Emily said to Colin, “and you went through Jake’s apartment, but you didn’t find anything of value.”

  “Nothing in his computer either,” Colin replied. “Ernie, why don’t we go through his financials again—credit card statements, bank accounts, and the like.”

  “We know he’s behind on his child support payments,” Emily said. “Do we know where his kids live?”

  “Arizona,” Ernie said, looking in the file.

  “So, really, guys,” Isabel began, “what do you think we’re looking at here?”

  “Either someone, probably Jake Mitchell, kidnapped Elise for ransom or she cooked up an escape plan with Jake’s help,” Colin said.

  “They already got fifty thousand dollars and now someone is asking for two million,” Emily said. “Could it be Elise wanted the fifty thousand to start over and Jake convinced her she should get more?”

  “Or he could get more,” Isabel suggested, “because all Elise would have to do to get more is file for divorce.”

  “But no one showed up to pick up the ransom money,” Ernie said.

  “Oh, I think they showed up,” Colin reasoned, “but they figured out the cops were staked out all around the place, so they backed off.”

  “Do you think someone tipped off the kidnapper?” Isabel asked.

  Colin crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall. “The homeless man.”

  Isabel frowned. “Who?”

  “The vagrant who picked up the bag, supposedly just rooting through the trash. When he was questioned further, he confessed that someone gave him twenty do
llars to grab the bag out of the trash bin. If no one stopped him, he was supposed to bring it to the guy at the bookstore across the street. The man warned the old fella he’d be watching.”

  “And you’re just telling me about this now?” Isabel asked.

  “You’re not officially part of this investigation,” Emily said.

  Isabel grimaced. “What did this man look like?”

  “The homeless guy didn’t give a very good description,” Colin said. “Apparently the man was wearing a hat and sunglasses, no facial hair, casually dressed.”

  “How old? How tall?” Isabel questioned.

  “He couldn’t tell us,” Colin replied.

  “What about cameras in the store?” Isabel pressed.

  “We checked, but they were just for show. No video in them.”

  “I just wish we knew for certain if it was a real kidnapping or not,” Emily said.

  Colin glanced at the case board again. “We’ve got to find Jake Mitchell. He’s the key.”

  Emily recalled the comment Maggie had made the night before—that it would be better for Patrick Murphy if his wife went missing than if she divorced him. “What about the elephant in the room?”

  Ernie’s bushy eyebrows quirked up. “What elephant?”

  Emily tapped the husband’s photo on the board. “Patrick Murphy.”

  “You think he’s involved?” Ernie asked.

  “Probably not, but we should look a little closer. See if he could be involved in any way.”

  “The man seemed genuinely distraught over his missing wife,” Colin added.

  “Not to mention he’s friends with the Governor, the Mayor, and the Chief of Police,” Isabel pointed out. “He’s probably the wealthiest, most powerful, most connected man in Paradise Valley and you want us to look into him?”

  “Well, without his knowing it, of course,” Emily said.

  “Boy, this case just keeps getting more and more complicated, doesn’t it?” Ernie commented.

  “Yes, it does, Ernie.” Emily patted his shoulder. “It certainly does.”

  ~*~

  Isabel went back to work at the FBI and Ernie headed to his desk to follow up with the out-of-state police about Elise’s daughter Kaitlyn, leaving Emily alone with Colin.

  They stood side by side, staring at the whiteboard. Colin draped an arm around her shoulders. “When this case is over, why don’t you and I head to the Oregon coast for a few days?” he suggested.

  “That sounds wonderful. Lincoln City?” Emily turned and laced her arms around his waist, sighing. “This case hits too close to home.”

  “I told you in the beginning you shouldn’t be involved, but you insisted.” Colin pulled her in closer. “Any time you want to step away from it, I’ll understand.”

  Step away? How could she step away? Her new friend needed her to help rescue her, and her old friend needed her to help clear her name.

  What Maggie had said about Elise’s disappearance being good for Patrick continued to rattle around in her thoughts. Chances are he had nothing to do with her disappearance, but if he was involved, she had to find out. She wouldn’t give up until she had.

  “You might be right,” Emily said. If she did something that skirted the law, it was probably best Colin didn’t know. “Maybe I should get off this case. Let me think about it.”

  If Isabel or Colin investigated Patrick Murphy, they could be committing professional suicide, but if she, as a private investigator, dug into his background, there might be a lot less fallout. She could terminate her police consultant status and return to being a plain old private eye.

  “I’m going to stick around the station and work with Ernie. We need to go over Jake Mitchell’s info again. Why don’t you go home and take a break, relax?” Colin kissed Emily’s temple. “I’ll phone you if we discover anything.”

  Emily looked up into his engaging hazel eyes, full of love and concern, appreciating how he watched out for her. But she couldn’t tell him where she was going, what she planned to do—he would try to stop her.

  She pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him warmly. “I love you, Detective Andrews.”

  Chapter 11

  Emily headed to Patrick Murphy’s office at the Murphy Towers. She recalled him saying something about heading to work after the money drop debacle. His wife was missing, maybe even dead, but apparently this grieving husband still felt compelled to go into the office to negotiate deals and sign contracts.

  She took the elevator to the ninth floor and waltzed up to the reception desk. “I’d like to speak with Patrick Murphy, please.”

  “Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist smiled politely as she looked Emily in the eye. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, well-dressed, with her rich brown hair cascading around her shoulders.

  “No, sorry, I don’t. I’m with the Paradise Valley Police. Please let him know I’m here. I’m sure he’ll want to talk to me.”

  “He’s very busy, and if you don’t have an appointment, I’m sorry but—”

  “Did you hear what I said, Miss? I’m with the police department. Mr. Murphy will want to speak with me.” It was still the truth, she hadn’t quit the case yet.

  The receptionist hit the intercom button on the phone. “There’s a woman here to speak to Mr. Murphy. She claims she’s with the police department.”

  There was a pause while the person on the other end of the line spoke. The receptionist eyed Emily in her fitted jeans, clingy black knit top, and mid-heeled boots. Emily ruffled her fingers through her tousled blonde curls for effect.

  “Yes, that’s what she claims.” Again the woman paused to listen. “All right.”

  “Ma’am,” the young woman said, “you can go and talk with Mr. Murphy’s assistant. Down that hall,” she gestured with an outstretched hand, “then go to the right.”

  Emily headed off down the hallway and glanced back over her shoulder. Just as she thought, the receptionist was watching her. She rounded the corner and ahead was an expansive desk with another polished young woman seated behind it.

  “Emily Parker. I’m a consultant with the Paradise Valley Police.” Emily stuck out her hand and the woman shook it. “I’d like to speak to Mr. Murphy, please.”

  “What is this about?”

  “It’s police business. He knows who I am. Please tell Mr. Murphy I’m here.”

  “Is it about his wife?” the woman asked.

  “You know about that?” Emily was surprised. They had tried to keep it out of the news. Patrick himself must have mentioned it.

  “Yes, Patrick—I mean Mr. Murphy—he told me about it. I know he wants to keep it hush hush, but I’m his personal assistant, so I know pretty much everything that goes on in his life.”

  The woman was stunning, tall and lithe, with fine features. Her eyes were deep green and her dark blonde hair was straight, gracefully brushing her shoulders.

  “Mr. Murphy said he had just returned from a business trip on Wednesday night. Where did he go?” Emily asked.

  “Well, he went to Austin, Texas, first and then he went on to Phoenix. Is that important?”

  “Oh, not really. Just trying to fill in the details.” Jake was from Phoenix. “If you’ll let him know I’m here, I’ll only keep him a few minutes. I want to bring him up to date with our investigation.”

  “Of course.” She pushed her intercom button and let Patrick know that Emily was there. “Go on in, Ms. Parker.”

  As Emily pushed through the large double doors, Patrick came from around his desk, extending his hand to her, which she took. “Please, have a seat.” He motioned toward the two upholstered club chairs across from his desk. “What have you learned?”

  “We believe Elise’s personal trainer is involved in your wife’s disappearance.”

  “Really? Have you found him?”

  “Not yet, but we’re close. Detective Andrews is closing in on him as we speak, so I thought I’d come and personally deliver the good news.
”

  “That is good news.” Patrick sat back in his massive leather chair and smiled. Then his expression turned serious as he leaned forward and crossed his arms on the desk. “But is Elise with him? Do you know if she’s still alive?”

  “We don’t know that yet. She could be, that is, we hope she is. But for all we know the gunshot we heard on your phone after the money drop went bad might have been…well, you know. So I want you to be prepared for the worst.”

  He lowered his face into his hands and shuddered.

  Was he crying?

  He wiped his hands over his eyes. “Sorry, it’s been a difficult few days. The not knowing is the worst. After what happened with the money this afternoon, well, let’s just say I don’t hold out much hope of your finding her alive.”

  “We’re doing all we can.” Emily rose. “You’ll be the first to know when we’ve found them.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Emily left the husband’s office and stopped again to speak with his assistant.

  “Miss?”

  “Kara,” she said. “Kara St. James.”

  “You look rather familiar to me. This might sound like a strange question, but do you work out at the Serenity Health Club?” Emily knew she might be grasping at straws, but she hoped she might make some kind of connection between Jake and certain people in this office.

  “Yes, I do.” A smug look of pride washed over her face as she ran a hand over her flat abdomen. “Do you?”

  “Uh, yes, I’ve just begun going there.” Emily knew it was a little white lie, but she hoped it would get her somewhere. “Isn’t Mandy just the sweetest receptionist?”

  “Yes, she’s a doll,” Kara replied.

  “You know, Kara, a friend of mine recommended one of the trainers there. Do you know Jake Mitchell?” Emily wondered if the assistant could be in cahoots with Jake, knowing how wealthy her boss is, maybe using that to her advantage.

  “Yes, I’m familiar with him. I hear he’s quite good at what he does.”

  “Thanks for the info. You’ve been very helpful.” Emily began to walk away, then stopped and spun back around. “Oh, I almost forgot, I think someone may have dinged Mr. Murphy’s car in the parking lot.”