Deadly Dozen: 12 Mysteries/Thrillers (120 page)

Maddie scooped Lord Berkeley up with one hand and walked out the door. I stripped down to nothing and stepped into the shower. I stood beneath the faucet wishing the moisture could wash away a lot more than a few flecks of dirt. In some ways, I felt I was getting somewhere locating the missing girls. I’d found a new witness and convinced Mr. Tate to turn over the drawing. But in other ways, I wasn’t anywhere near finding the answers. Maybe that’s why I’d taken the envelope in the first place. I wanted to grasp at something, even if it was the wrong thing.

I thought about Giovanni and wondered if he’d found his sister yet. I should have been there helping him, even if he didn’t want me to—but I was committed to finding Olivia and Savannah. I couldn’t stop now.

I turned the water off and reached around the shower curtain for my towel. I dried off, wrapped the towel around me, and stepped out. A hand grabbed at my arm, slapping a handcuff around my wrist. I looked up. Cade McCoy lifted my cuffed hand into the air and snapped the other half of the cuff around the shower rod. Not the greatest idea, but since it was bolted into the wall on both sides and the rod appeared to be industrial-strength, it wouldn’t be the easiest thing to get out of. And he knew what he was doing. He’d wrapped it so tight, even with my small wrists there was no way for me to break free.

“What are you doing?!” I said.

“Where’s the envelope, Sloane?”

“What?”

“I know you took it from Tate’s house.” He dangled a key in front of my face. “Tell me where it is, and I’ll unlock you.”

“I don’t have it,” I said.

He shrugged.

“Guess I have no choice—I’ll have to find it myself.”

He walked out of the bathroom. A moment later I heard the sound of various items being strewn around the bedroom.

“How dare you—you can’t just go through my things!” I said. “What right do you—”

He stuck his head into the bathroom and winked. “You wanna stop me, go right ahead.”

The nerve of him breaking into my hotel room and rifling through my personal items was too much for me. I braced myself against the wall and tugged on the cuffs, using every muscle at my disposal. They wouldn’t budge.

Cade burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny!” I shouted.

“Not to you maybe, but it is to me. How long do you think it’ll take you to get out of those?”

“Maddie will be back any minute, and then we’ll see if you still find it so amusing.”

“No, she won’t.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“I saw her down at the Chinese place a few minutes ago. Paid my friend a few bucks to uh, keep her busy for a while. She’s easily distracted, so I’d say I have all the time I need.”

“You could have just talked to me. You didn’t have to hold me against my will.”

“I’ve tried talking to you,” he said. “It never works. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I’ll keep it in mind for next time.”

Drawers opened and closed, and then Cade walked somewhere else. I heard the sound of papers shuffling around, followed by the unzipping of a suitcase. So much for privacy.

“Stay out of my bag—you can’t go through my personal items!”

“You know, Sloane, this would be a lot easier if you’d just told me where I could find it,” he said.

“Fine. Let me out of these cuffs, and I will.”

“Oh, no. Somethin’ tells me once you’re released, you might have a change of heart.”

He was getting ready to experience that change of heart first-hand. While he’d been sifting and sorting, I’d used my foot to inch over a sewing kit on the bathroom counter, a complimentary item provided by the hotel. Once it was close enough, I slid the plastic lid open with my hand, carefully and quietly pulling out the needle inside.

“You give up yet?” Cade shouted.

I thought about turning on the waterworks, but even I wouldn’t buy that. “I have nothing to say to you. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop talking.”

“Works for me,” he said.

I lifted the needle into the air, lining it up with the hole on the cuff around my wrist. All I had to do now was stick it in, make sure it was in the correct position, and I was free.

“What do you think you’re doin’?” Cade said.

The needle dropped as I glanced up. Defeated. Cade was inches from my face, staring down at me. My damp, soggy hair splashed droplets of water into my eyes, probably causing my mascara to run. I knew I should have scrubbed it off in the shower. I imagined I resembled one of the female zombies in Shaun of the Dead. No wonder he’d been laughing. Cade smelled like a mixture of spices and some kind of wood, which I shouldn’t have found intoxicating, but I couldn’t help it.

He leaned in, and I leaned back.

What was he doing?

“You know, you’re very pretty,” he said. “Even with all the wet hair in your face.”

“Don’t talk to me,” I said. But it was more of a whisper than a demand.

He raised his arms, and a moment later, my hand was free. I considered slapping him across the face but tended to my throbbing wrist instead. There was plenty of time to slap him later. Cade stepped back, fully prepared for me to strike. He was perplexed when I didn’t.

“Wait—that’s it?” he said. “I was prepared for some kind of retaliation. What’s gotten into you?”

The door to the hotel room had opened, and it took no time for Lord Berkeley to realize something was amiss. He bounded into the bathroom, teeth clenched, barking loud enough for five floors of guests to hear.

I looked at Cade.

“I suggest you don’t touch him. He may be small, but don’t let his size fool you.”

Cade nodded.

Maddie walked into the bathroom and came to a standstill, taking in the scene around her. The handcuffs were still dangling from the shower rod, and with me in nothing but a robe and Cade staring at me, key in hand, I could only imagine what she was thinking.

“I, umm, don’t really know what’s going on here, but ahh, do you two want me to go?” she said, pointing at the door.

I shook my head and reached down, scooping up Lord Berkeley. “Maddie stay, Cade go.”

“Can I say one thing before I leave?” Cade said.

“You’ve said enough, and you’ve done enough,” I said. “I’d like to get dressed now.”

He walked out, closing the door behind him.

I was relieved Cade hadn’t thought to ask Maddie about the envelope. He simply left the room like I’d asked.

A giggling Maddie looked at me and said, “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”

So I did.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

When I was sixteen, I was hired by a family on my street to watch their seven-year-old daughter, Anna. Both parents worked. And before I came along, I heard they’d left her alone from time to time while they ran what they liked to call “short” errands. But some of those errands lasted for hours. At least, that’s what the neighbors told my mother during one of their gossip sessions.

I was thrilled to earn some extra money, but developing a relationship with Anna was like trying to befriend a dog who wasn’t loyal to anyone but his owners. I couldn’t get her to talk to me. She wasn’t shy; it was like she didn’t trust anyone. I tried different things with her, even taking her to the movies once. In the middle of the show, she said she wanted more popcorn. She knew where the concession counter was, and hadn’t wanted me to come with her. So I sat there. Five minutes passed and then ten. I went to check on her and couldn’t find her anywhere. She wasn’t in the building. One of the workers said he’d filled up her popcorn and then she walked out of the movie theater. The feeling of fear that I had about losing her was more intense than anything I’d ever experienced in my entire life.

Anna had decided to walk home. I found her on a sidewalk a couple blocks away, cold and shaking. It took some convincing, but I finally managed to get her inside the car.

When we arrived back at Anna’s house, her father questioned her about why she left the theater without telling me. She wouldn’t answer, so he pulled her pants down in front of me, spanking her with his bare hand. I thought it would just be once, but then he did it again, this time becoming more enraged.

When Anna’s father raised his hand a third time, she looked at me, and in a trembling voice, she said my name. Up until then, I wasn’t even sure she knew what it was. She’d never said it before. I’ll never forget how she looked at me, like I was the only one in her life who understood what her life was like. And I did. Her father was a lot bigger than me, of course. But sometimes people underestimate how strong another person can be, especially once the adrenalin starts flowing. No one could stop me, not even him. I yanked her off his knee, tore out of the house with her in tow, and ran all the way to my house, both of us too terrified to look back until we got there.

I never babysat for Anna’s parents again, but I did tell my mother what had happened, and since she had been a victim of abuse herself during her marriage to my father, she had zero tolerance when it came to letting it happen to anyone else, especially when that person was a child. She tried to talk to Anna’s mother, and when that didn’t work, she made some phone calls. I didn’t see Anna again after that day. I asked my mom what had happened, and the only thing she said was she’d taken care of it: Anna was safe.

Some people shouldn’t have kids.

I thought about that as I watched the minutes tick by on the digital clock on the nightstand. I’d tried to sleep for hours, but I couldn’t quiet my mind. It was filled with the mental images I’d created of Olivia and Savannah and the sorrow I felt for what their families were going through.

The soft melody coming from my iPhone pulled me out of my thoughts. The time was now three-something in the morning. Only one of my eyes was functioning properly, so I couldn’t be sure of the time.

Maddie grunted in disgust. “Who calls at this hour?”

I didn’t move. Was the phone actually ringing?

Maddie chucked a pillow in my direction. “Are you going to answer it, or what?”

“Hello?” I said.

“Miss Monroe?”

“Who’s this?” I said.

“Noah Tate.”

But it didn’t sound like Mr. Tate at all.

“It’s early, Mr. Tate,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“No—it’s not. It’s my wife, Jane.”

As soon as he’d said his wife’s name, I knew everything wasn’t okay. I knew everything wasn’t going to be okay ever again. By the time Maddie and I parked at the hospital and went in, it was already too late. Jane Tate was dead. She’d woken up at some point in the night, taken about ten too many pills, and went back to sleep, this time for all eternity. Even if I did find Savannah, and even if she was still alive, their family wouldn’t ever be together. Not in this lifetime.

Mr. Tate came stumbling into the waiting room, his face pale and clammy. He looked right at me but didn’t see me. He acted like he didn’t see much of anything. Detective McCoy came around the corner, trying to console him, but it didn’t do much good.

I looked at Cade, who was seated in the waiting room. “Where’s Lily?”

He leaned over and whispered, “She’s fine. The nurses put her in one of the spare beds. She doesn’t have any idea what’s going on.”

I was grateful. She’d been through enough.

“Where is she?” I said.

“Four doors down on the right.”

I found Lily’s room and went inside, carefully closing the door behind me. She was curled up in the bed, asleep, a little stuffed unicorn tucked beneath her arm. If there was ever a time I wanted to shed tears for another human being, this was it. First her sister, and now her mother. I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek, and hoped she was still young enough to have a chance at a happy life.

When I returned to the waiting room, Cade was still there. “Look,” he said, “about what happened earlier. I’m sorry I—”

I touched his arm. “Don’t be. You were right.”

He looked at me, puzzled.

I handed him the plastic case. He took it without saying anything, opened it, and then gripped it so tight, his knuckles changed color.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “Are you trying to help this case or sabotage it?”

I remained silent. He didn’t.

“I’ve only known one other PI in my life, and they didn’t take cases like you do. They did fluffy stuff like follow a woman’s husband to see if he was cheatin’, so I honestly don’t know what’s going on here. But if you think you can show up in my town, and disrespect all that my father has done for this family, I’ll escort you back to Utah right now.”

Maddie started to get up from her chair but I shook my head. I deserved every word. Cade had a right to feel the way he did. I was mad at myself. My heart was in the right place, but he didn’t know me enough to understand who I was or what lengths I would go to in order to bring my client the justice they deserved. But right now wasn’t the right time to explain it.

I tilted my head toward the front door and Maddie got up.

Cade shook his head.

“You don’t have anything to say?”

I looked at him and whispered, “You’re right, about everything, and I understand.”