Clay eyed her grandfather. “Nothing compared to what Lisa went through.”
“Well, yeah, of course. That goes without saying.” Her grandfather pointed his chin at Clay. “You sound like you don’t believe us. That we did something to get our sweet little Lisa taken. We didn’t. We loved that child. Love her now, too. What I wouldn’t give to see her walk in the door. We’d throw a party for her.”
“We need her DNA,” Clay said. “Might you have anything of hers, like a hairbrush?”
“We kept her suitcase and everything in it.” Her grandmother looked at Toni. “Your parents stayed in a hotel in town for six months or so looking for Lisa. When they went back home, they left Lisa’s things behind. I was surprised they didn’t want them, but maybe the memories were too much for them.” She stood, rising slowly, her hand on her back. “I’ll get her brush.”
She hurried out of the room as if a marauding army had arrived and not her granddaughter asking a few questions.
Clay looked at her grandfather. “You wouldn’t happen to have a church directory from that time, would you?”
“Probably, but why?”
“I’d like to see who Nolan might’ve talked to. To see if he lied to you and knows something about Lisa’s disappearance.”
“I hate to dredge all this up again, but if you can find Lisa, it’s well worth the pain of getting your sister back.” He peered at Toni.
She didn’t think her sister was coming back, but she didn’t say so. She wanted to hope for Lisa too, but statistics said children who weren’t found in the first twenty-four hours were rarely found alive. With those dire stats, what hope was there for Lisa after being missing for more than thirty years?
16
Toni looked around the family room while Clay talked to Erik about looking for Nolan Wilshire. The Byrd’s beach house was now familiar and comfortable to her and felt like a sanctuary. Like the house was surrounding her with protective arms and helping her come to grips with everything.
She’d been desperate for family since her dad died. Now that she knew about the others, she honestly had no clue what she was feeling. Or even if she was feeling anything for them. She probably should. But they were strangers to her, and they may have withheld valuable information on Lisa’s abduction. Toni couldn’t move forward until they were cleared of any involvement.
Tears wetted her eyes, and the very last thing she wanted was to cry. She was an agent, for goodness’ sakes. She’d been shot at before and didn’t start boo-hooing. At least not in front of anyone. She could hold back the emotions today too. After all, she’d been containing them in front of the team for days now. She could manage it until she was alone.
She went to her boxes sitting near the dining table. She started pawing through the top one holding her dad’s work items and picked up the picture with her mother.
She’d been gone for over twenty years, but at times, to Toni, it felt as if she’d lost her mom just yesterday. She’d missed so many years of being with her mother, so many important moments. Her first date. Prom. Homecoming. Graduation from high school, college, and the Academy.
These special milestones weren’t the only difficult days. She missed her mother’s comforting arms. Their conversations. Sharing triumphs and hurts. Oh, how Toni missed her. She still remembered the day it really hit her that her mother was gone. It happened a month after the funeral. Toni had a craving for her mom’s chocolate chip cookies—crisp and extra sweet.
Without her dad knowing it, Toni grabbed her mother’s recipe box, mixed up a batch, and baked the first pan. But they didn’t turn out crispy. They weren’t like her mother’s at all. At first she’d thought it was because she was just a kid and shouldn’t have been baking. Her mind flashed to thinking, I’ll just ask Mom.
Then it hit her. She couldn’t ask her mom. Not ever again.
She’d dropped to the floor in the kitchen and sobbed. Her dad had found her there. He tried to comfort her, but Toni only wanted her mother’s special touch. Then and right now. Toni needed her mother.
Tears flooded her eyes, and she made sure Clay couldn’t see her face from the family room. The front door opened, and his brothers came barreling inside. A tornado of testosterone.
She swiped a hand over her eyes and swallowed hard.
Clay left everyone in the family room and joined her.
They looked at each other for a long moment, and something unspoken passed between them. Another thing she couldn’t put a name to, but the feeling cheered her.
He nodded at the frame she was still clutching. “You looking for something in that photo?”
“Some comfort, I guess,” she admitted. “The meeting with my grandparents has left me a mess.”
He stepped closer while his brothers settled onto the big living room sectional and clicked on the television. Erik released Pong from his crate and took him outside.
“Me too, but I’ll deny ever having said it.” Clay smiled at her, a soft, intimate smile only for her.
He really was a special guy, and she wanted to get lost in his eyes. Maybe seek comfort in his arms again, but not in front of his brothers. She turned her attention back to the photo and tapped it. “I’m still wondering how Rader got this outfit.”
“May I?” Clay held out his hand.
“I just don’t get it.” She handed over the frame. “What’s his connection to me?”
Clay flipped the picture then looked up. “You said your dad kept this on his desk.”
“He did.”
Clay ran his fingers over the brown paper glued to the frame in a neat seal. “There’s no stand affixed to the back like most desktop picture frames include.”
She dug in the box and pulled out a Lucite easel. “He used this.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to get a frame with a built-in stand?”
“I suppose. Do you think it’s important?”
“What if the paper is covering something up?”
Was it? She’d never considered the idea. Not once in the countless times she’d looked at the picture when she’d visited her dad’s office. But she’d been too focused on drinking in the sight of her mother. Of trying to remember this day. Remember the feeling of joy. Of love. Not of sadness over her loss.
“Mind if I take the paper off?” Clay asked.
“Go ahead,” she said, doubting they would find anything.
Erik returned with Pong and settled on the sofa as Clay dug a small knife from his pocket and flipped out the blade. He sliced around the back, set the knife on the table, and lifted the paper.
He revealed a brass key taped on the back of the photo. She gaped at the shiny key sparkling in the overhead light.
“Oh my gosh!” She ripped the key free and studied it. “There’s a bank’s name engraved on it.”
Clay looked at her, excitement burning in his eyes. “It’s likely for a safe deposit box.”
“Not for his regular bank. I closed those accounts. And there weren’t any statements or correspondence for this bank in his things. Not at home or at work.”
Clay locked onto her gaze. “Sounds like he didn’t want anyone to know about this.”
“Another secret.”
“Which means it’s something we really need to see. Hopefully your dad left money in this account to keep paying the rental fees. Otherwise, the bank could’ve disposed of the contents.”
“My dad was very thorough. He probably paid rent on it for a year or two. If the items are important, that is. Which they must be.” She felt the heaviness of the key in her palm. “I need to overnight this to Vance. I’m sure he’ll check it out for us.” She got out her phone to call her father’s former boss.
Clay started to set down the photo but stopped and stared at it as if the picture might jump out of the frame and bite him like the rattler they’d encountered.
Her stomach started churning. “What is it?”
“Something’s written on the back, but prepare your
self.” He held it out. “It’s a shocker.”
17
Clay reached out to catch Toni as she dropped to the stool, her face as pale as the white countertop in the attached kitchen. He didn’t think she could survive another family secret, but she was working hard to do so. Breathing deeply and exhaling, obviously trying to cope.
She traced her finger over the crisp handwriting on the photo back. Clay checked the words again to be sure he’d read them right. Lisa and Edie.
“He lied to me again.” Toni shook her head. “All these years I’ve been trying to place this day in my memory, and it’s not my memory at all. It’s Lisa and Mom.”
Toni tossed the photo on the counter and turned her back on it. “Finding a copy of this picture and the clothes in Rader’s garage makes more sense now.”
“You’re thinking Rader took Lisa.”
She flashed him a look. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes, but we can only prove that Rader knew about her and the other girls and perhaps took souvenirs from them.”
“Then we need to find that proof.” She made strong eye contact. “Do you think Lisa is buried in his backyard?”
“First, we don’t officially know if Kelsey found graves. Second, we have no indication Lisa died.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Clay spun, his hand on his weapon. He looked at his brothers. “Anyone expecting a visitor?”
He received head shakes in response, and Pong’s head came up, his posture hyperalert. Clay went to the door, drawing his gun on the way. He looked out the peephole.
“It’s Trent.” Clay holstered his sidearm and opened the door.
“Heard you went to meet the Longs.” Trent pressed his lips together.
Clay had done nothing wrong but he felt a need to raise his shoulders. “We did.”
Trent rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s talk about it.”
Clay didn’t want Toni to have to relive the conversation, but he didn’t want to alienate Trent either, so Clay stepped back, and Trent strode past him. Clay introduced him to his brothers, and they shared a look of mutual respect that one law enforcement officer automatically had for the other. No judgment for leaving law enforcement. Just respect.
“Can I get you some coffee or water?” Clay asked.
Trent rubbed a hand over a tired face. “I’d kill for a cup of coffee.”
Clay led him into the kitchen and looked at Toni. “Want a cup?”
She shook her head, still seeming like she was barely hanging in there.
Trent took a seat at the counter, three stools away from Toni. “You look like meeting them has left you shaken up.”
Toni bit her lip and looked at Clay, probably trying to decide if she should mention the key and the picture. He gave her a quick nod.
“I am, but it’s more than that now.” She slid the picture over to Trent. “The photo we thought was me and my mom is actually Lisa and Mom.”
Trent took a long look at the back of the picture. “You didn’t ever suspect that?”
“Sure, all my life I wondered if my parents were hiding siblings from me. I used to check the closets, just in case.”
Her sarcastic tone was so unusual that Clay turned to check on her.
“Sorry.” She clutched her hands together on the countertop. “I’m at the end of my rope.”
“This is big.” Trent tapped the picture. “Ties Rader to Lisa’s disappearance.”
“Yeah,” was all Toni said.
The single-serve cup of coffee started dripping, and Clay rested against the counter. “While we were there, we got Lisa’s hairbrush. Emory will process it for DNA. And I’m hoping you’ll give Kelsey permission to tell us if it matches the remains found at the school.”
Trent sucked in a sharp breath. “My department should’ve taken that into evidence.”
Clay might be cooperating but he wasn’t going to be blamed for doing something wrong when he didn’t. “You don’t have an active investigation open on Lisa, so I figured it was okay for us to handle.”
Trent continued to stare at him.
Clay pushed off the counter and planted his feet. “She’s Toni’s sister, and she’s missing for Pete’s sake. Toni has every right to find out what happened to her.”
Trent let out a breath and looked at Toni. “Sorry. Yeah, you do have the right. And I don’t have an open investigation.”
“Can Kelsey tell us if there’s a match?” Toni asked, looking like a lost little girl instead of a strong FBI agent.
Trent shook his head, and Clay wanted to deck the guy.
“But I can.” Trent gave her a tight smile. “The remains are from a young girl, and they haven’t been in the wall long enough for it to be Lisa. We think we have an identity but we’re waiting on DNA to confirm.”
Clay smiled at Toni. “Good news, right?”
She nodded and let out a hissing breath, looking like she was deflating as her shoulders sank and she clutched her arms around her stomach.
The urge to hold her nearly had Clay crossing over to her, but the coffee finished, so he handed the mug to Trent. “Cream or sugar?”
“Black’s good.” Trent blew on the liquid and took a sip.
Clay started another cup brewing for himself. “What can you tell us about the graves at Rader’s place?”
Trent took a long sip of his mug. “Who said Dr. Dunbar found graves?”
“I stopped by to check on her. She had six markers and she was looking for bodies, so I put two and two together.”
Trent sighed.
“Look,” Clay said. “We’re sharing information with you. You can at least confirm the graves exist.”
“Okay, fine. Six graves were located on Rader’s property.”
“Has Kelsey begun to dig yet?” Clay asked.
Trent nodded. “And you should know, I banished your brother to the front of the property so don’t expect him to report any findings to you. I assigned a deputy to assist Kelsey.”
“Will you let us know if Lisa’s DNA is recovered?” Toni asked.
Trent nodded.
“How are you coming along with matching the photos from Rader’s garage?” Clay asked not only because he wanted to know, but for Toni’s sake, he wanted to move them away from discussing Lisa.
Trent set down his cup and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve got murder investigations for the high school and Rader. Not to mention Jason Rader’s beach house investigation. And my IT guy is stretched to the max. He’s just now starting a search on the photos. What about you?”
“Got an algorithm scraping the internet,” Erik called out from the family room, Pong’s alert expression matching Erik’s tone. “Should have something by end of day.”
“Good.” Trent took another sip of his coffee and stood. “Keep me updated on what you find.”
“You do the same.” Clay walked Trent to the door and stopped in the family room on the way back to look at his brothers. “Please tell me someone has located Nolan Wilshire.”
“I have,” Brendan said. “But you won’t like what I found.”
After a planning meeting with the team, Toni was back in the SUV with Clay, heading down a country road toward Nolan Wilshire’s secluded property. Brendan had discovered the guy had drawn a gun on the last law enforcement officer who’d visited him, and she was feeling way too vulnerable to handle a guy aiming a gun at her. The loss of her mother and father told her life was fleeting. Add to it the loss of a sister she’d never even met and probably never would. And then there was Clay. She now knew she didn’t want to lose him from her life too. But was she ready to commit to more than a passing interest?
Am I?
Irritated at the turn of her thoughts, she got out the church directory from her grandfather and started flipping through the pages, looking for anything to help with their questioning of Wilshire. The directory held names, addresses, and family photos. She paused at her grandparents’ picture and sucked in a deep breath.
&n
bsp; “What is it?” Clay asked.
She tapped the photo. “My grandmother looks like my mom in the picture with Lisa.”
Clay nodded but didn’t say anything as he came to a stop at a red light.
She moved on. Turning past the names in alphabetical order and coming to a stop again when she saw a familiar name in the R section. “The Raders were members.”
She held out the photo of a much younger looking Fritz Rader with Jason and Ursula.
Clay glanced at it and got the car moving again. “She really was a striking woman.”
“Probably why Rader didn’t want her to leave him. Maybe Wilshire will know more about them.” She continued on through the directory.
The GPS voice announced their last turn ahead, and Clay clicked on his blinker. He slowed and made the turn onto an even narrower road, then looked at Toni for a long moment. “You’ve been awful quiet.”
“Thinking.” She left it at that. She wasn’t about to tell him her thoughts about him were racing across her forehead like a billboard in Times Square, and looked away before she said something she might regret.
He focused on the road again and sped up. “I know our risk assessment said the risks with this guy are low, even if he drew down on a deputy, but I want you to be careful.”
“Will do,” she said, her mind still on the directory, wondering if someone listed in the pages might know what happened to Lisa.
“Remember, our doors are armor-plated, so please stand behind yours until we have his buy-in.”
She locked gazes for a moment. “I can do this, Clay. Just trust me.”
He opened his mouth as if to respond but pressed his lips tight and looked back at the road. He pulled into Wilshire’s driveway and passed the posted No Trespassing sign. He continued to a tiny clearing in a property surrounded by tall pines and holding a minuscule house.
He shifted into park, and she got out of the SUV. He slid out on his side, but her attention went to a man stepping onto the porch, rifle in hand. His head was shaved, his beard scraggly, and his face wrinkled. Baggy jeans hung on his slight frame, and he’d paired them with a green undershirt, and an open plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off. She spotted a large tattoo on his left forearm but couldn’t make it out.
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