Eye of the Abductor (17 page)

“Listen, I shouldn’t have used you.”

“You’re not the first. I’ve always been a little easy.”

Easy was understating it a bit.

He escorted Tammy to her red Mazda convertible and thanked her
for being so understanding. Allison drove up and parked nearby. She ignored him
and hurried toward her apartment, then disappeared inside.

“You want me to tell her nothing happened?”

“No. I’ll explain.”

Not that she’ll believe me.

“Send me a wedding invitation." Tammy closed her car door
and started her engine.

Walking back to his apartment, Allison’s door opened again. Her
expression revealed distress and horror. “Brance! Oh, God. Brance!”

He sprinted to her. “Allison, what is it?”

She stepped aside and allowed him to enter. He stared at the
disarray and total chaos. The cushions to her loveseat had been slashed and the
stuffing pulled out. It looked more like a Ginsu knife commercial gone wrong.
Clothes and kitchen articles had been dumped from boxes all over the living
room floor. He entered the kitchen. The drawers and cabinets were emptied out.

In her bedroom, her mattress had been sliced and diced as well,
and all the drawers of her dresser had been yanked out and tossed on the floor.

“My money’s gone. Every cent I've saved.”

"How much did you have?"

"A little over six thousand."

“Where did you have it?”

“Under the sink in a coffee can.”

“Don’t touch anything. Let me call this in. Did anyone know you
kept your money there?”

“Just Jill. I was at the theater with her tonight.” She sighed.
“Oh, God. I know what this is about. They were searching for the five million
and stumbled across my money.”

“We’ll dust for prints." Brance stared at the two suitcases.
Their contents had been rambled through. “It looks as though you were packed.
Going somewhere?”

Her eyes turned into pools of guilt.

Without her saying another word, he knew. From the way things
looked, she planned to disappear soon. The thought of never seeing her again
made him physically sick.

“Ah, Allison. You can’t do it. You’ll always be on the run. What
kind of life would that be for Nathan?”

She grimaced and closed her eyes.

As desperate sobs racked her body, he drew her close and held her
in his arms. “Don’t cry, Allison. I’ll take care of you.”

She tore herself from his embrace. Her face grew tight, and her
brows furrowed. “So you can take care of two women in one night. That doesn’t
surprise me.”

“Allison, nothing happened. I took Tammy to dinner, but I passed
on the other stuff. I realized there’s only one woman I’m interested in.”

“Don’t! Right now my world has just been flipped upside down.
Nothing is important at this moment except my son. My chance of leaving here
with Nathan disappeared with my money." She held out her wrists for him to
cuff. "Are you going to arrest me?”

“For what? You didn’t go through with it.”

She wiped her eyes. “I’d already be gone if the Wilsons had
attended church last Wednesday. I had planned to try again tomorrow morning.”
Pain contorted her face. “I just want my little boy. I cannot go on living
without him.”

At that moment, Brance would do anything to help her, even if it
meant putting his job in jeopardy.

He made the call to the precinct before escorting her to his
apartment. “Have a seat. Someone will be here soon to fill out a report. If you
want something to drink, I have sodas in the fridge.”

“No, thank you.”

“I’ll be downstairs. Sit tight until I come back.” He knelt
beside her. “If they ask why your belongings are packed tell them you were
moving in with Jill.”

“I will.”

Someone rapped on the door. Brance opened it and recognized the
two officers. “Let’s go downstairs.”

***

Allison didn’t know whether to slap the man or kiss him. She
didn’t trust him, not completely.

Despite her past and the fact that she was contemplating Nathan’s
abduction, he still made innuendos that he was interested in her. Was he after
the five million? Her thoughts drifted from Brance to the money someone had
stolen from her.

Plan B had received a fatal blow and wouldn’t recover. She was
penniless. Along with her savings, her December rent money had been stolen.

Brance returned shortly with a female officer accompanying him.
He introduced Allison and explained who her ex-husband was, knowing it was
relevant.

Officer Moser sat in a chair across from her. “Let's get
started.”

Allison nodded, feeling very weary and distraught.

Brance initiated the questions. “You said you’d gone to a movie
with Jill. Did anyone know you were going out tonight?”

“No, it wasn’t planned. I called her after you left. She
suggested we take in a movie. If not I’d have been here.”

Officer Moser jotted down the information.

“If you’d been home, there’s a chance you could’ve lost more than
your money,” Brance said.

“But if they killed me, the possibility of finding where Rob hid
the five million would be gone as well." Allison shifted her attention to
the female officer. “Before you jump to any conclusions, I don’t have a clue
where the money is.”

“But someone thinks you know?” she asked.

“Yes. Rob never told me. During his arraignment, the judge
decided he was too great of a flight risk and held him over. He didn’t see that
one coming, or he’d have already disappeared with Candy Mirkle sooner.”

“Does anyone have a key to your apartment besides you?” Officer
Moser asked.

“Just Jill, but I was with her. Why?”

“There’s no sign of forced entry,” Officer Moser replied.
“Someone unlocked your door and walked right in.”

After several more questions, another officer made a set of
Allison’s fingerprints for comparison to any discovered in her apartment.

Brance finished up the questioning, then offered his hand. “I’ll
escort you downstairs. I want you to pack enough stuff for tonight and
tomorrow. Toothbrush. Cosmetics. Anything you think you might need.”

“Why? Where am I going?”

“You’re staying here. You can have my bed, and I’ll take the
couch.”

Officer Moser’s gaze diverted from the clipboard and landed on
Brance. Could Kate Moser have been another one of his conquests?

“I’ll call Jill. It might be best if I stay with her.”

“How do you know Jill wasn’t in on this? She could have given the
key to whoever broke in,” Brance stated.

Allison shook her head. “She’s like my sister. When no one was
there for me, she was.”

“Call her.” He offered his cell phone.

Allison let Jill’s phone ring and ring, wishing she’d pick up.
“Her voicemail is full.”

“Maybe she told someone about you or your circumstances,” Brance
suggested.

“No, she wouldn’t.” Allison handed him back his cell phone. “I’ll
go to a motel. I have some Visa gifts cards I'd purchased earlier in my purse.
I can use them.”

“No. You’ll stay at my place until you can make other
arrangements. If you have a problem with me sleeping on the couch, then I’ll
sleep at your place.”

“No, I’d actually feel safer with you here.”

Downstairs, Allison stared at the devastation. She walked past
several officers processing the crime scene and stopped in the center of her
living room. Both of her new lamps had been smashed. She rubbed her hand across
the sofa’s slashed leather. Then she headed to the bedroom. The slaughtered
mattress would have to be thrown out as well.  

She bit back the tears and fought the urge to drop to the floor.
She had to overcome this feeling of defeat, had to stay strong for Nathan. But
how? She had nothing now, nothing to hope for, not one thing to live for if she
couldn’t have her son.

Allison picked up the eight by ten frame from the floor and
flipped it over. The glass covering Nathan’s picture had been shattered.

Wearing latex gloves, Brance took the frame from her. “Don’t
disturb anything, remember?”

“Please, can I take this?”

Brance instructed someone to dust it for prints. Once it’d been
processed, he cleaned the broken glass away from the picture.

When Randy walked through the door, Allison's spine tightened.
His accusing glare locked on her.

“Thought you were off tonight,” Brance said to Randy.

“No, I’m working for Conley.” Randy scanned the room, assessing
the damage. “Any idea who did it?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“You’re the one who recognized Allison.”

“Yes, then I mentioned it to four or five friends. News like that
spreads.”

When Brance shifted his attention to her, she took the
opportunity to speak. “I’m ready.”

“I’ll walk you upstairs.”

“Upstairs?” Randy echoed. “She’s staying with you?”

Brance nodded. “You got a problem with it?”

“Man, you’re screwing up. Her being a part of her husband’s drug
operation was as good as pulling the trigger on Johnny Jenkins. And if you
think any of us are going to overlook this, you’re insane. There are a lot of
bitches in heat. Find another one.”

Fire exploded into Allison’s cheeks. “You bastard.”

“Leave now,” Brance said to Randy.

“Man, you’ll be sorry if you get tangled up with her."

“I said leave!”

Randy sneered at Allison before storming from the room.

“Maybe I should go to a motel. I'll be fine.”

“You’re not going anywhere but upstairs where I can be sure
you’re safe.”

“You think someone might harm me?” Allison asked.

“It’s crossed my mind. Just maybe whoever did this thought you’d
be here, so he could force you to talk. Or get even with you for Johnny
Jenkin’s death. After all, the anniversary date of his murder was this week.”

How could she have forgotten? Apparently, someone had remembered.

Chapter Ten

“Let’s go." Brance grabbed her overnight bag. He hadn’t
intended to frighten her, but whoever ransacked her apartment might return. “We
can come back in the morning.”

“Sure. I’m exhausted.” Allison walked to the door, still
clutching Nathan’s picture in her arms. After instructing the other officers to
lock up when they were finished, he followed her up the steps.

Allison sat on the sofa while he fixed her a rum and Coke. She’d
been serious about abducting her son and was thoroughly disappointed her plan
had gone up in smoke.

He joined her on the sofa. “Allison, trust the system. Don’t give
up on getting Nathan back through legal channels.”

Anger sparked in her eyes. “Trust the system? I did, and it put
me behind bars. I believed the truth would surface, but it didn’t, and I lost
my son. Don’t ever ask me to depend on the legal system to do what’s right.”

“Okay, things went wrong for you. Do you honestly think you could
enjoy life always having to look over your shoulder or live knowing one day you
could lose Nathan again? You'd be sent back to prison. Think what that'd do to
him."

She closed her eyes and gulped a huge shaky breath. “But how? How
will I ever get my son back? I don’t have the money! I’ll never have that kind
of money. You even said I might not be given custody. There's no guarantee.”

“Marry me." He moved in closer, placing his hand over hers.

Instead of smiling, she appeared appalled. “Randy’s right.” She
jerked her hand from beneath his. “You’re insane.”

Brance thought carefully before saying any more. He wanted to
tell her he loved her, but didn’t. She wouldn't buy it.

Another idea came to mind and though he didn’t give a rat’s ass
about Gramie’s money, he couldn’t let Allison know that. She didn’t believe in
happily-ever-after. Instead, she believed the worst and had little faith in
people. She would come closer to believing he had a financial motive for the
marriage.

He had to remember that she would’ve run away with her son
without giving him a second thought. The woman didn’t love him. Was he willing
to chance having another woman stomp on his heart? He decided Allison was worth
the risk.

“It’d be a business deal. Being married to me, you’d stand a
better chance of getting custody. Plus I could help with the court expenses.”

Allison leaned back on the sofa, putting some distance between
them. “And what’s in it for you, Brance?”

He shifted his position, so he could look into her eyes. “What
the hell are you talking about?”

Before he could answer her gaze turned cold. “I don’t know where
Rob’s money is, if that’s what you’re after.”

“I’ve been through this with you. I believe you're innocent. If
you had that kind of money, you’d already have your son back. So don’t bring up
the missing drug money again.”

“So what’s your angle?”

“Remember me mentioning my grandmother’s decision to leave me out
of her will unless I'm married?”

“Yes, vaguely.”

“She’s serious. It wouldn’t be so urgent but she has cancer and
hasn’t been given long to live.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am too. I love her. At first I didn’t give a damn about the
money. But I’ve been thinking about it, and a million dollars is a lot to give
up," Brance lied.

“It probably has more to do with the company you keep.”

“It’s still not realistic. But she’s old and senile.”

“If I marry you, she’ll include you in her will?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll help me get Nathan back?”

“That’s the plan. I have money in savings. Enough we could start
the legal wheels rolling now. We’ll buy a house in a good school district.”

“Will you attend church with me?”

“Yes,” he said, knowing there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for
her or give her. “On Sundays I'm off.”

Her facial muscles relaxed. “After we get Nathan back and you’ve
inherited your grandmother’s money, I suppose you’ll want a divorce.”