Girl Eight

by Melinda Woodhall

  “What did you hear, Terri?”

  Adrenaline pumped through Doc, turning his words into a hoarse scream as he stared into Terri’s frightened eyes. His face burned red with anger and fear as he reached for her.

  He had to make her understand. Had to keep her from running out.

  Terri flinched and screamed in terror. She jumped back, frantic to get away, misjudging her distance from the top step. As she toppled backwards Doc covered his eyes, not wanting to see her fall. He heard a terrible crack as Terri came down hard on the mahogany bannister, the force of her fall propelling her up and over.

  Her head landed with a final thud on the living room’s hardwood floor, and then all was still.

  “Terri!” Doc called out.

  His anger had disappeared over the bannister as quickly as Terri had, and he hurried down the stairs and hovered next to her sprawled body.

  “Terri, can you hear me?”

  Terri didn’t respond, but Doc could see the slight in and out movement of her chest that meant she was still alive.

  He thudded back upstairs to pick up his phone where he’d dropped it. One tap and he’d be on the phone to 911. An ambulance would come to save her. She might make it.

  Doc hesitated. What if Terri had heard everything he’d said to Ace? What if she woke up and told the police? What if she decided to leave him?

  Doc descended the stairs slowly, trying to think through the possibilities. What should he do? Could he really let Terri die? He knelt beside her and smoothed back a dark strand of hair from her face.

  She was the only person he’d ever loved. The only one who had truly loved him back. No matter what happened he had to save her. He had to protect her. And if she survived, he promised himself he would never look at another woman again. If he didn’t lose her, he would spend his life making it up to her. She would be his everything.

  With a firm finger he pressed 911.

  Doc blinked into the glare of oncoming headlights. A car approached, and then passed the clinic without turning in.

  It was time to go. No use sitting there stewing on the things that couldn’t be changed. He’d been lucky really.

  While Terri had suffered a thoracic spinal cord injury, which had left her in a wheel chair, as well as a traumatic brain injury, which had taken away large chunks of her memory, including the events surrounding her accident, she had survived.

  She was still with him, and their marriage was stronger than ever.

  In a way her accident had been a blessing. It had been a wake-up call. He’d kept his promise. No more womanizing. No more playing away. Of course, Ace hadn’t liked it. He wasn’t able to hunt the way he wanted without Doc and his drugs. But they’d found a compromise.

  Doc would supply Ace with a certain kind of woman whenever an opportunity presented itself. What Ace did with those women was not Doc’s concern.

  Why should he care as long as Ace made sure the women never came back to tell tales?

  All he had to worry about was Terri.

  The other women were not his responsibility. They lived degenerate lives and wasted the healthy bodies they had been blessed with.

  They didn’t appreciate the independence that Terri no longer enjoyed. He felt no pity for the eight women he’d turned over to Ace.

  They deserved what they got.

  But he did worry about Terri. Sometimes he suspected her memory may be coming back. She’d give him a strange look, almost as if she were afraid of him, which was ridiculous.

  If only he could tell her that everything he'd done had been to protect her and their marriage.

  She was the only one he'd ever loved. He would do anything, had even killed, to protect her, and he wouldn't hesitate to do so again if needed.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Eden heard a television blaring inside the house as she once again stood on the Bellows’ front porch. Veronica Lee was warning residents that strong winds, heavy rain and local flooding should be expected for the next twelve to twenty-four hours as the hurricane plowed through the Gulf of Mexico, heading straight for the Florida coast. The eye of the storm was projected to make landfall just north of Willow Bay.

  Eden knocked twice and waited. The noise from the television abruptly stopped, and the blinds moved at the big bay window. A woman’s face looked out at Eden, then disappeared.

  “Mrs. Bellows? It’s Eden Winthrop. I need to speak to you`.”

  Eden waited, hoping to hear the rattling of the door chain, but there was only silence from the big house.

  “Please, Mrs. Bellows, a girl is missing…and the hurricane is coming. I need your help.”

  Finally, the door swung open. Terri Bellows looked up from her wheelchair, cheeks flushed and eyes cautious.

  “I’m sorry to be a pest,” Eden said, inching her way past Terri and into the foyer. “But I’m getting a little desperate.”

  “No problem, Ms. Winthrop.” Terri closed the door behind Eden. “It’s just that my husband told me not to let anyone in when he’s gone…but I’m sure he didn’t mean you.”

  Eden wondered why Bellows didn’t want his wife to let anyone into the house. Her work with abused women at the Mercy Harbor Foundation had taught her that a man who claimed to be protecting a woman by isolating her, was usually trying to control her.

  Is Bellows an abusive husband, or does he have something else to hide?

  “Well, I do appreciate it,” Eden said, pasting on a smile. “You see, a young woman from Hope House has gone missing, and I’m hoping your husband may know where she is.”

  A confused frown appeared on Terri’s face.

  “Is it the girl he saved? The one that overdosed?”

  “Yes, she’s the one,” Eden agreed. “Her name is Kara Stanislaus, and she’s been gone for over forty-eight hours now. With the storm coming I’m getting pretty worried.”

  “And you think Doc knows where she could have gone?

  “Doc?” Eden blinked, then smiled. “Oh, is that what you call your husband?”

  “Yes, all his friends call him Doc. I think the nickname started even before he was a real doctor, back when he was just a medic in the air force.”

  Terri wheeled into the living room, motioning for Eden to join her. She came to a stop under a framed photo on the wall.

  “There he is in his uniform.” She smiled up at the picture. “He was so young and handsome. I wished I’d gotten the chance to know him then. He served overseas you know, at an Air Force base in Germany. That’s where he met Ace.”

  “Who’s Ace?” Eden asked, studying the picture of the young Bellows, dressed in a dark blue uniform and service cap.

  “Ace is the reason Doc moved here. They met in the military and just hit it off. Once Doc was discharged, he came back to Willow Bay to visit Ace. Then after his residency he'd wanted to move back here and open up his practice. He says he fell in love with the town, but I think he just wanted to be near his buddy.”

  A gust of wind rattled the window next to them and Eden flinched. The storm was near. She needed to find Kara.

  “It sounds like Doc enjoys helping people, so I’m hoping he can help me find Kara. Or maybe you’ve seen her? She was at the hospital on Saturday around the same time you were there. Then she just disappeared.”

  Terri looked blank. Once again the frown appeared.

  “I wasn’t at the hospital on Saturday. In fact, I didn’t leave the house all day. Doc was pretty busy.”

  Terri seemed sad as she remembered. Then her face lit up.

  “But he did find time to take me for a drive Sunday afternoon. We even stopped for lunch at that new café on the corner of Hyacinth and Main. Their butternut squash soup was absolutely delicious.”

  Eden stared at the woman in dismay, not sure if she understood the seriousness of the situation.

  “Mrs. Bellows?”

  “Please, call me Terri. And may I call you Eden?”

  “Yes, of course. But I really need to ask-�
�

  “You know I’ve read all about you and the River Girls killer in the paper. I do admire you.” Terri’s words spilled out in a nervous rush. “You must have been very brave to have saved those girls.”

  “Thank you, I just did what any concerned citizen would-”

  “I was so proud when Doc told me he was going to volunteer at Hope House.”

  Terri didn’t seem to notice that Eden had spoken.

  “He does love working with the girls there. He should be home soon, you know.”

  Eden considered Terri’s nervous eyes, and the way her hands kept fidgeting with the skirt of her white dress.

  The woman was definitely scared of something, or someone.

  “Doc wanted to check on the clinic before the hurricane hits. He’s so considerate. Always thinking of others.”

  Terri suddenly wheeled her chair around.

  “I just remembered I was clearing lunch off the table when you knocked.”

  “Oh, well, let me help you. Is it this way?”

  Eden followed Terri down the hall, furtively looking into each room as they passed.

  The dining room table had been set for lunch. One plate held a half-eaten sandwich and a few potato chips.

  “Doc didn’t finish his food.” Terri tutted as she wheeled toward the plate. “He hasn’t had his usual appetite lately.”

  “I’ll get that for you.”

  Eden scurried around and picked up the plate with one hand, then used the other to collect the napkin and glass next to it. She carried the dishes into the big kitchen, putting the plate into the sink. Terry pushed through the door behind her just as Eden wrapped the napkin around the glass and dropped it into her purse

  “So, you worked at the old community health center with Doc?”

  Eden turned to face Terri.

  “Did you know either Natalie Lorenzo or Helena Steele?”

  Terri looked down at her lap, fingers still twisting her dress.

  “I’d met Helena Steele.”

  She spoke softly, not looking up.

  “But I didn’t really know her. She was…gone soon after I started volunteering there. It was very sad for everyone involved.”

  “What about Natalie Lorenzo. Did you meet her, too?”

  A pained expression passed over Terri’s face. She clutched at her head and rocked back and forth. Eden crossed to her and put a soft hand on her arm. Her skin was cold and clammy, and she was shaking like a leaf.

  “Are you okay, Terri? Do you need an ambulance?”

  “No, it’s just one of my episodes,” Terri managed to say, still holding her head. “I had a TBI…a traumatic brain injury…some years ago. Sometimes it acts up. I think I need to rest now.”

  “Yes, that’s a good idea,” Eden said, suddenly eager leave. “I’ll come back later when Doc is home. Good luck with the storm.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Pat Monahan’s desk was empty as Eden passed, and she assumed the paralegal must have gone home to secure her house and collect her pug, Tinkerbell, before evacuating further inland.

  Leo sat with his legs propped on the desk, talking into the phone. He smiled when he saw Eden enter, and dropped his legs to the floor.

  “Gotta go, Barker. A very welcome visitor just stopped by.”

  He dropped the phone on the desk and rose to pull Eden to him. She inhaled the heady scent of his cologne, and allowed herself to lean against his chest for a few, blissful minutes. Then she pushed back and looked into his tired eyes.

  “I have something for you.”

  Leo raised an eyebrow and produced a wicked smile.

  “Is it what I hope it is?” he teased, taking her hands in his and trying to pull her back toward him. “After all, we are all alone here.”

  “Stop messing around, Leo,” she said, but softened the words with a smile. “This is important.”

  Eden reached into her purse and pulled out the glass she’d wrapped in the napkin. She set it carefully on the desk in front of Leo, watching his handsome features settle into a puzzled frown.

  “I stopped by Dr. Bellows’ house and talked with his wife,” Eden said, hoping he wouldn’t be irritated that she’d gone on her own. “Although Terri Bellows didn’t share any useful information, I did manage to get this.”

  Leo reached for the glass, but Eden put out a hand to stop him.

  “Don’t touch it, Leo. Dr. Bellows’ fingerprints should be on that glass. If we give it to Nessa, maybe she can compare it against the prints they found at Natalie Lorenzo’s crime scene.”

  Leo bent to stare at the glass, then smiled up at Eden.

  “I like the way you think.”

  Eden returned the smile, already dialing Nessa’s number.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Leo almost missed Nessa as she ran past him in the street. The hood of her yellow rain slicker had been pulled up, hiding her trademark red curls and disguising her as just another citizen trying to escape the city before all hell broke loose. But at the last minute she glanced up, and Leo caught a glimpse of pale blue eyes puffy with exhaustion.

  “Nessa? Hey, wait up!”

  Rain sluiced down the bright yellow PVC jacket as Nessa whirled around and squinted through the rain. Leo huddled under a large, black umbrella, his expensive shoes and the pants of his custom-made suit drenched.

  “Leo? What the hell are you doing out here in this weather? You aren’t thinking to ride out the storm in town, are you?”

  Her voice blew away in a gust of wind and Leo motioned that he would follow her into the parking garage.

  Once they were both safely under the heavy concrete roof of the garage, Nessa pushed back her hood and watched Leo close his umbrella. She turned tired eyes up to him, not bothering to hide her impatience.

  “Okay, so what’s more important than a natural disaster?”

  “I need your help, Nessa.”

  Leo lifted up a plastic bag he’d tucked under his arm.

  “I’ve obtained an item that belongs to Dr. Bellows. His fingerprints are clearly on it, and I want you to compare them to the prints found at the Natalie Lorenzo crime scene.”

  Nessa’s eyes suddenly looked less tired, and Leo thought he saw a flash of interest. But then she shook her head in frustration.

  “We can’t test something that hasn’t come into our possession through the proper channels, Leo. You know that.”

  She looked around the dark garage, as if worried someone might be lurking in the shadows listening. She lowered her voice.

  “And the object, whatever it is, obviously hasn’t been protected through a documented chain of custody. Even if I wanted to test it, it wouldn’t stand up in court.”

  “I don’t give a damn about it standing up in court right now,” Leo said, not caring who might hear. “I just want to know who killed Natalie Lorenzo, and if that person also killed my mother. I have a right to know.”

  Nessa’s eyes softened but again she shook her head.

  “The whole city is closing up to brace for the hurricane. It’s essential personnel only right now, so I’m not even sure Alma or her team would be able to help.”

  Leo let out a frustrated breath, looking out at the sheets of rain around them with angry eyes.

  “As soon as the storm passes I’ll think of a way to get the item tested,” Nessa said, although she didn’t sound confident.

  “I can’t wait any more, Nessa. I’ve waited twelve years already. Please, at least ask Alma if she’ll stay and compare the prints.”

  When Nessa still looked unsure, Leo decided he had no choice but to pull out his secret weapon.

  “Please, Nessa, have you forgotten so soon that I risked my life to save you?” Leo arranged his features into a forlorn expression. “Can you really refuse me a simple request to compare these prints?”

  Nessa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You’re really gonna use the old guilt trip on me?”

  “You
owe me, Nessa. Besides, if Adrian Bellows is linked to Natalie’s murder, that gives you a possible motive for him killing Penelope Yates. Don’t you want to know if he’s a killer?”

  Nessa sighed and reached for the plastic bag in Leo’s hands.

  “Do I dare ask how you got this?”

  Nessa peeked in the bag but didn’t reach in to touch the glass.

  “Let’s just say a mutual friend of ours got it right off the saintly doctor’s dining room table.”

  Nessa looked impressed, then stuck the bag under her raincoat and pulled her hood back up. But before she turned to go, she stopped and stared at Leo.

  “Was Pete Barker involved in obtaining this?”

  “No, Barker didn’t take this. But he is working with me, and he does know we have it. Why?”

  “Barker doesn’t need to get in any more trouble, Leo. He’s still recovering from his heart attack, and…”

  Nessa’s voice trailed off as if she had been about to say something she shouldn’t say.

  “And what, Nessa? Is there something about Barker I need to know?”

  “Well, he tries to hide it, but he’s still a mess over losing his wife to cancer a few years back. He really went off the deep end when it happened, and then after Taylor just up and ran off…well, it really tore him up.”

  “Who’s Taylor?” Leo asked, realizing he’d never talked to Barker about his family, and knew next to nothing about the retired detective’s personal life.

  “She’s his daughter.”

  “He never mentioned having a daughter. Does she live in town?”

  “That’s the problem. Barker doesn’t know where she lives. Tara took off after her mother died, and Barker seems to think she blames him for her mother’s death.”

  “Ouch. That must hurt. Might even explain his heart attack.”

  Leo knew the excruciating pain of losing a parent, and he’d suffered through years of people blaming his father for his mother’s death. Like Barker, he’d lived through the agony of losing his whole family. Empathy for Barker rushed through him.