“He drove me to the woods, pulled out a shotgun from the back seat and made me walk toward the creek. I thought he was going to kill me.”
“I’m not listening to this.” Angie tries to get away, but Madison holds onto her arm.
“You are listening to this, because I had to live it!”
“I don’t believe you.”
Madison ignores her. “Your husband took me to the darkest part of the woods and threatened to shoot me dead unless I undressed for him.”
“You would have told someone afterward!” shouts Angie. “You would’ve called the cops.”
The adrenaline rush is making Madison dizzy, but she needs to fight back. Because she didn’t fight that night, and telling her sister about it feels like being violated all over again. “He made me lie on my front while he pointed the gun at my head.”
Angie pulls free of her. She looks wild. “You would have told Mom.”
Tears are streaming down Madison’s face. “You don’t get to say what I would have done or what I should have done. Not until you’ve lived it. I was frightened for my life. He told me he’d hurt Mom if I ever told anyone. And he said he’d tell you I seduced him if you ever found out.” She wipes her face. “You know the worst part about that for me? I knew he was right. I knew you would have taken his word over mine. And today you’ve proved that.”
She sees something in Angie’s eyes. Is it regret? Sympathy? Belief? Is there hope for them? It clears before she can tell.
“You need to get off my land. And if you ever tell your crazy story to anyone, Wyatt will kill you. With my blessing.”
Madison’s heart sinks. Angie has made her choice. They don’t have anything binding them together anymore. The woman in front of her is a bitter stranger.
Someone creeps up on them.
“Angie? I need to speak to you.”
Madison looks up in surprise to see Mike turning the corner. When he spots her, he almost turns back, but then realizes it’s too late.
“Madison? What are you doing here?” he asks.
She wipes her face again. She’s drained and shaky and she just wants to get the hell out of here, but Mike’s reaction confuses her. “I could ask you the same question.”
He looks at Angie. “I came to speak to Mason.”
“You mean Owen,” she says through gritted teeth.
He looks confused for a moment, then comprehension dawns.
“You asshole!” she shouts. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He takes her arm and leads her away from Angie.
“Listen to me: I didn’t know for sure. Owen disappeared after you were sent down. You think child services tell us anything? You know better than that. When I asked about him, the social worker said they’d managed to track down his father. How was I supposed to know you screwed Wyatt back in the day?”
She shakes her head. She feels like killing him for keeping this from her. She’s wasted two days when she could have been with her son.
“They took him out of school and I didn’t see him around Lost Creek at all,” Mike continues. “I only started seeing this Mason kid around when he was older, and I never asked them outright who he was because it was none of my business. You’ve got to remember that until recently I hadn’t heard from you for seven years!”
“Yeah, well, I was a little busy serving someone else’s sentence. You kind of slipped my mind. Apologies for the lack of Christmas cards.” She knows her attitude stinks but she doesn’t care.
“Where’s Owen now?” he asks. “Douglas is trying to get a warrant for his arrest and it’s in Owen’s best interests to give himself up rather than be brought in. You know that, Madison.”
She looks him in the eye as she realizes what he’s saying. “Why are you assuming he had anything to do with his girlfriend’s death?”
Mike takes a deep breath and folds his arms. “Because we still don’t have the knife, and there’s evidence on Nikki’s cell phone to suggest he was with her when she died. On top of that, he hasn’t contacted us despite his name being all over the media. That’s why I’m here, so I can question him before Douglas assumes control. So tell me: where is he?”
“If I knew where he was, I wouldn’t be wasting my time talking to you. You need to speak to Angie. She’s hiding him. She clearly doesn’t want to give him back to me, but he was never hers in the first place.”
“Don’t be stupid, she wouldn’t hide him from you.”
Madison goes quiet.
“Madison?”
“How can you say that? You know as well as I do she’s never liked me.”
“She’s allowed to be disappointed in you after learning you slept with her husband. And don’t forget you were convicted of killing a cop. Angie’s had to bear some of the burden of that.”
“But I didn’t kill Ryan!”
He sighs. “I’m sorry, but that’s not what the jury decided.”
She gasps. “You asshole. I’m going to find my son before you let Douglas do to him what he did to me.”
Just then, Wyatt appears from the house. Her stomach leaps at the sight of him.
“What the fuck’s going on here?” he says. When he recognizes Madison, he looks over at Angie. “What’s your cop-killing sister doing on my property?”
Madison can feel the tension rising. She needs to get away before Wyatt finds out what she told Angie. She doesn’t know if Mike being here is enough to protect her.
She walks silently away from them all, down the steps and toward her car. She tenses as she walks, not trusting she won’t get shot in the back.
37
It’s after eight by the time Madison arrives home. She’s completely drained from seeing her sister, but when she spots Nate’s Jeep in the driveway, she relaxes. Finally he’s back.
He must have been waiting for her, because he and Brody greet her at the front door. She left the dog at home this time. She ignores Nate’s smile and walks straight past them both to collapse onto the couch in the living room.
Nate hesitantly joins her, looking as drained as she feels.
“You’re an asshole.”
He nods. “I am. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I guess I need to make some changes in my life.”
She looks away from him, out of the front window. The sun is starting to lose its intensity, but the sticky feeling under her arms tells her there’s no sign of the day’s humidity reducing as the evening advances.
“I promise I won’t disappear like that again.”
“You can do what you want. You’re a free agent.” She turns to him. “You don’t answer to me. Especially after I brought you here under false pretenses.”
She must look pathetic, because he moves closer and places a comforting hand on her back. “You shouldn’t have led me to believe you suspected the cops were the ones who framed you. But after disappearing on you last night, I guess that makes us even.”
She squeezes his other hand and leans back, silent. She doesn’t have the energy to explain everything that occurred while he was off on his coke binge. Brody sits between them on the floor.
Eventually Nate says, “Has something else happened?”
She turns to him and takes a deep breath. “I’ve found Owen.”
His mouth opens in surprise, which quickly turns to excitement. “What? Where is he?”
She has to hold back tears. “I don’t know. Still! All I know is that he’s changed his name. He’s the Mason McCoy kid everyone’s talking about in the news.”
“Nikki Jackson’s boyfriend?”
She nods. “Apparently his name was changed after my conviction to give him an easier time.”
“But who adopted him?”
She tenses. “He wasn’t adopted. He went to live with my sister and her husband.”
Nate frowns. “I didn’t realize your sister still lives here.”
She pushes her hair behind her ears and pulls her feet up under her on the couch. “We hadn’t
spoken for eighteen years. Angie’s older than me and we had a terrible relationship growing up. When she was a teenager, she started hanging out with the troublemakers from high school and joining in with their drinking and shoplifting, that kind of thing. She eventually married a complete asshole by the name of Wyatt McCoy. After that she distanced herself from me and Mom. I think she realized she’d made a terrible mistake in her choice of husband but would never admit it, so she stuck by him and pretended she was happy. That’s how stubborn she is. Mom and I told her how we felt about Wyatt before they got married, but she didn’t want to hear it. And she was never an aunt to Owen.”
“So how come she took him in?” he asks.
Madison takes a deep breath. “Because her husband, Wyatt, is Owen’s biological father.”
She can see him putting it all together in his head; to say he looks surprised is an understatement.
“Did you sleep with Wyatt while your sister was married to him? Because I’m guessing that would be a good enough reason for not wanting to speak to you again. She must have been angry at both of you, but I guess especially you, being her sister and all.”
Madison feels the shame reddening her face. “They were married at the time, yes. But Angie never knew it happened and neither she nor Wyatt knew Owen was his. Angie never cared enough to ask me for details when I fell pregnant; we were barely in contact by then anyway. And I never told anyone who his father was. I still wouldn’t if I had my way. When I fell pregnant, I told my mom and Angie that it was the result of a one-night stand with a cop.”
“But she obviously knows Wyatt’s his father now,” he says.
She nods, imagining how livid Angie must have been when Wyatt let it slip. “Wyatt told her, presumably after I was arrested. I expect he didn’t want his son living with strangers.”
“How come Stephanie never told you they had him? Wouldn’t she have spotted him around?”
That’s something Madison has been thinking about too. Stephanie must have known all those years. “I can only think of two reasons: to let Owen have a fresh start in life without living in my shadow, or to save me from worrying about where he was. She would have known I wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowing he was with the McCoys.” And she’d have been right. A family of strangers would have been better.
“But what’s so bad about them?”
“Wyatt’s a monster.” She glances at him. “I didn’t voluntarily sleep with him, Nate.” She pauses. “He raped me. That’s how I got pregnant.”
Nate shakes his head. She doesn’t have to worry about whether or not he believes her, because his face says it all. He takes her hand, but she pulls away after a minute or two. She doesn’t need to be treated delicately. It’s better if she’s not, or she’ll break down. Instead she needs to focus, because her son’s freedom is at stake.
“Owen wasn’t at their place earlier. Angie’s taken him somewhere to lie low, under the guise of protecting him, which is only going to make things worse with the cops. It’s making him look guilty.”
“So we need to find him,” says Nate. “Find out who his friends are. He could be with one of them.”
“I agree. The best place to start is Fantasy World. Apparently he worked there alongside Nikki Jackson, so all the teenagers will know him and who he hangs out with.” She stands up, but notices the look on Nate’s face. It suggests he was hoping to wait until morning.
“I can go alone.”
He gets to his feet. “Don’t be stupid. Let’s go.”
38
It’s past eight o’clock before Mike can finally get his things together and go home. His cell phone rings as he washes his stained coffee mug in the station’s tiny kitchen and his daughter’s smiling face pops up on the screen. Instead of delight, he feels dread. He takes the call in an empty interview room.
“Hey, Dad! Are you still taking me to Fantasy World next weekend?”
He sighs. That place will never be the same for him after witnessing Nikki Jackson’s lifeless body on the Ferris wheel. “Sure, if you still want to go. Aren’t you getting too old for amusement park rides and cotton candy, though?”
“Dad, I’m eleven, not your age.”
He laughs. Sally’s the only good thing going on in his life.
“I’ve got birthday money to spend, so it won’t cost you too much.”
“Oh sure. I’ll believe that when I see it.”
She giggles and the sound tugs at his heart. “How’s your mom?” he asks.
“She’s good. Her new boyfriend is annoying, though. I’ve told her he’s not allowed to move in until I’m old enough to move out.”
Mike didn’t know Viv was dating someone new. It’s none of his business, but it still stings. “I like that idea.”
Detective Douglas pokes his head into the room, gesturing for Mike to join him. Mike sighs. He was so close to getting out of here.
“I’ve got to go, honey. I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Do you promise this time? Because last time you had to work.”
She’s right; Stephanie Garcia’s murder got in the way. “I promise that nothing will stop me from taking you to Fantasy World this time.”
“Even if your boss tries to make you work?”
He laughs. “If that happens, I’ll play hooky and we’ll still go. I might have to wear a ski mask so no one from work recognizes me, but I’d do that for you.”
“Yay! Bye, Daddy.”
He leaves the interview room with a heavy heart. He doesn’t see her enough. He doesn’t know whether that’s because there’s never enough time, or because being with her makes him feel like a bad father. A bad person.
Douglas is waiting for him. “I’ve charged Paul Harris with Stephanie Garcia’s murder.”
Mike smiles. “Good work. Based on questioning or because of the evidence?”
“He didn’t have an alibi, and Alex is collecting his DNA so he can check it against the semen found at the scene. But I have a positive ID from one of Garcia’s neighbors, who saw Harris loitering in a car near the house at least three times in the weeks leading up to her murder. On two occasions he had another guy with him, presumably his brother, but he’s not giving up any names and is still denying he was there.”
Mike nods, relieved that they have someone in custody. “So Madison was telling the truth when she said Stephanie had been calling her about getting unsavory visitors. I take it she’s no longer a suspect in your eyes?”
Douglas looks away. “Unless she ordered the hit.”
Mike scowls. “Come on, Don. You need to let it go. She’s not stupid enough to turn up straight after ordering a hit on someone! Besides, earlier today I broke the news that Stephanie’s been cremated. She was devastated.”
Douglas appears to consider it. “Fine. But I need to figure out what Harris’s motive was. If he was one of the men hassling Garcia about Harper’s whereabouts, then he must know her in some way. Otherwise why would he care where she was?”
“Maybe Davis Levy hired him to keep track of her after her release? He called me earlier. He’s pretty pissed now she’s back in town.”
Douglas nods. “I’ll look into it. Have you heard from the McCoys or their boy since he was named by reporters?”
“I spoke to them earlier and they said he’s gone camping, but they’re going to get him to call me as soon as they can reach him on the phone. Cell service is bad where he’s gone.”
“They expect us to believe that?” Douglas is shaking his head.
Mike shrugs. “Sullivan says we have to tread carefully because it’s the McCoys and we wouldn’t want to wrongly arrest their son. Wouldn’t be good for community relations, apparently. We’re to give them an opportunity to bring the boy in themselves. If he’s not here by mid morning tomorrow, he’ll let us go get him.”
Douglas looks annoyed. “I swear that couple have got half this town in their pockets.”
“All the more reason to tread carefully.”
Mike’s alarmed. That won’t go down well with Angie and Wyatt if they find out.
“Why are you so worried?” asks Douglas. “No one’s above the law, Bowers. Not even the McCoys.”
Mike nods. He knows Douglas is right. He just can’t help feeling that nothing good is going to come out of arresting Mason McCoy.
39
Madison drives to the amusement park in Steph’s car while Nate fills her in on what the locksmith said about her gun safe.
She responds before he’s even finished. “I didn’t leave my safe unlocked. I can see why you would think that was possible, but it was still locked when I was arrested and the key was in my purse with no one else’s prints found on it.”
He nods, then runs her through his conversation with Jane Levy. “She was adamant you were to blame for her son’s murder.”
The thought of Jane Levy bad-mouthing her pisses her off. “I had the misfortune to run into both of Ryan’s parents in the grocery store earlier. The hatred they had for me was shocking. I’m pretty sure they threatened to kill Owen to show me how they feel about losing their son.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No.” She sighs and watches the sun setting behind the mountains ahead of them as she drives. Her heavy eyelids are fighting to stay open. She needs caffeine as soon as they reach the park.
“In that case, could they have been behind Stephanie’s murder?” asks Nate.
She hadn’t even considered that. “Jesus, that would be messed up: killing someone I loved in the mistaken belief that I killed their son. How will they react when they find out I was wrongly convicted?”
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