She pressed rewind and watched in real time again as Tina turned the corner. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—”
The figure appeared in the frame, and she paused it just as the they passed under the large glowing lights from the gym’s name.
Same boots Tommy wore. A hole in the pocket of the jeans, like Tommy’s.
She grabbed her cell phone and pressed Grace’s name, clutching the phone harder with each ring.
“Hi—"
“The night before Tina disappeared, Amanda followed her into the gym. She only stayed for less than two minutes and left. When Tina left Matt and went around the corner of the building the night she disappeared, someone in a black hoodie followed her around the side of the building about seven seconds later. They didn’t come from the gym. It was Tommy!”
“Whoa, okay, slow down. How do you know?”
“Remember when we thought a woman was Tina, but it wasn’t? When we were watching the video? Well, that’s because it was Amanda. She arrived before Tina and came out less than two minutes after Tina went in. She wasn’t in there long, but maybe she talked to her. I think that’s when she stole her credit card.”
“Okay, I’m following, but how do you know it was Tommy the next night?”
Madigan sighed. “Okay, so he had a hole in his jean pocket tonight, and in the video, the person in the hoodie is wearing the same jeans. Same work boots, too. He looks about Tommy’s height, too, but it’s hard to tell without anyone in the frame to compare. I mean, what are the chances about the hole in the jean pocket?”
“Okay… Wow.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d be more excited? Or maybe that’s not the right word. You’re just questioning me a lot here—”
“No, no. Good discoveries. It’s just—odd. They followed Tina to the gym, stole her credit card the night before she disappeared, even though they could have taken her that night, but they waited until the next night to take her?”
“I’m just telling you what I see.”
Buster jumped up on the bench beside her again and flopped his weight down against her side.
“Okay, let’s run through it.” Grace paused, possibly getting a pen and paper before continuing. “Amanda goes into the gym first. Tina comes soon after. Amanda spends not two minutes in there and then leaves. Tina goes back home that night. She’s at home the next day when Shawna comes by. Shawna notices her bruise, and Tina says it happened at work, but then Rhett comes downstairs, presumably after hearing them talk about the bruise, and he and Shawna get into a fight. Rhett leaves. Shawna leaves. Tina is home alone until just after seven that evening when she goes to the Gym and Go. She meets Matt there. They come out, and he kisses her. They go their separate ways. Someone who matches Tommy’s description seems to follow her. Hold on, I’m just making notes.”
Madigan scratched Buster’s chest and studied the screen with the figure under the lights.
He was there. That means he doesn’t have a solid alibi for the night she went missing, and whatever Shelling thinks he knows is wrong because Tommy hasn’t been brought in.
“Okay, so Tina’s credit card is used in South Bend three days later, and Amanda is the one in possession of it. She looks like Tina. Hasn’t been home in days. Her car is broken. After the video, she isn’t seen again either. The Leman brothers are at The Crow’s Landing tonight. Tommy tells you he and his girlfriend are no longer together because she lied. He offers to take you to a quiet place, presumably the cabin I saw in their photos. Which brings me to the fact that they do not have another property in their name, but I’m still looking. It could have been somewhere they rented.”
“Why wouldn’t Tommy take her that first night when Amanda went in? Instead, he risked more the next night because Matt was with her.”
“Maybe Amanda told him the timing wasn’t right that first night. Maybe she saw something that made her nervous.”
Madigan leaned back against the seat. “The facts are, Amanda Post followed her and got her credit card. I’m almost sure Tommy followed her, too.”
“I believe you. The police have the tapes, but they need to know our findings now. They might be able to find out where the cabin is.”
“They might also be able to further investigate whatever false alibi Tommy gave them for the night of Tina’s disappearance. We need to get this information to Shelling…but what about you? I can just go on my own if that would be better?”
“No. I’ve already decided. I’ve been involving myself in a case that’s not mine because I want to help Tina, and I’m going to do whatever I have to, even if it gets me reprimanded. Or worse.” A long, empty pause followed, and just as Madigan was about to ask if she was sure, Grace spoke again, “Even if it means I never get to go back to Amherst again, I’m prepared for that. I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself and like what I see if I’d obeyed Sergeant Colette’s orders and left Leah when he said I should. The same goes for Tina. I’m coming over now. Be ready.”
Madigan ended the call and shoved her cell in her bag, grabbing two bananas for the trip. “I’m sorry, Buster. I’m leaving you again, but tomorrow, I promise…”
Tomorrow, if I could magically stop feeling the way I do for Jack, I would be in the Holden’s backyard, celebrating with Jack as he and Aleesia dance the night away, toasting to their happiness.
If I could just get over him… Why can’t I just be happy for him?
She walked Buster to his dog bed and pointed to it. He curled up in it, and she draped a soft blanket over him as he settled in, resting his chin on his stuffed animal owl.
“Hootie, you’re in charge.” She kissed Buster on the head. “Be back soon. Be good.”
As she opened the door, the urge to check under the bench cushion overwhelmed her, and she stared at the spot where the envelope with the information on her mother had once poked out.
Maybe I can’t be happy for Jack because I’m not really happy for myself. I don’t know where I come from, and I haven’t wanted to because I’m afraid of being disappointed. Of being unwanted.
But maybe if I look, I can finally know myself. Maybe then, I could be happy. Whole.
Madigan dug under the cushion, grabbed the envelope, and tucked it into her bag before hopping outside and locking up behind her. She ducked into Grace’s car and set the bag on her lap, ready to ask for some emotional support from her sister as she opened it on the way to Amherst.
“I got a text from Shawna,” Grace said.
“What’d she say?”
“She wants us to meet with her and her dad tomorrow morning.”
“Really? Why?”
“She says there’s something we need to hear.”
“And she couldn’t be more specific than that?” Madigan huffed.
“The text just asked to meet tomorrow morning at her dad’s home because there’s something we need to hear. I told her we’d be there. If you’re busy, I can go on my own.”
“No, of course I’m coming. I’m scheduled to work the afternoon shift, but I’m sure we’ll be back by then.”
“Alright, good, and thanks for coming with me tonight. I really don’t know what to expect at the department, but if this is any evidence of the kind of planning and intent Tommy Leman and Amanda Post did, it’s worth it, whatever it is. Do you want the music on?”
Maybe Madigan’s been on to something. Drowning out my emotions sounds pretty good right about now.
“No, that’s alright.” Madigan tucked her leg up beneath her. “Umm, okay, sure.”
Grace turned the knob, already at Madigan’s favourite rock station, but Madigan turned the volume down a bit.
Not enough to drown out these thoughts…
So many events that we know of could have triggered Tina’s disappearance. Rhett wanting to get married or being abusive. Asking Matt for a divorce and then seeing him behind her boyfriend’s back. Tommy’s release from prison. The bruise on her arm…
“So I was thinki
ng about the bruise on Tina’s arm,” Grace started as they merged onto the highway toward Amherst. “It really might have been from work; that happens sometimes, but with two supposedly controlling men in her life, and now Tommy, there are too many other possibilities.”
Madigan turned to her. “It makes sense that she didn’t tell Shawna the truth either way. If she didn’t want Rhett to hear upstairs that she was confiding in Shawna, or if she didn’t want Rhett or Shawna to know it was from Matt. If Tommy or Shawna did it, wouldn’t she have told someone?”
“There are some missing pieces for sure. Hopefully Shelling can connect some dots.”
“Mhmm.”
“And it’s going to be okay tonight.”
“Yeah.”
She’s not her usual, talkative self. Is she still worried about me and what’s about to happen at the department? I have enough anxiety for the both of us.
“You okay?”
Madigan turned the radio off and took an envelope out of her bag. “Recognize this? It’s the papers about my birth mom. The ones my adoptive parents gave me.”
“It’s been on your mind, has it?”
“To say the least. Thinking about Tina and Shawna, their connection. They went through some rough times together and apart, but I know Tina did everything she could for her daughter. Whenever I see that, I get a little jealous, I guess. Since we were kids, really. Do you?”
“Not so much jealousy, but it’s always been tough to relate to that kind of relationship.”
Madigan peeked inside the envelope. “There are just a few pages in here, and I’m afraid I’ll be opening Pandora’s Box if I look—but as long as I don’t—I feel like there’s this piece of me missing. I mean, I’m here. I am who I am, but to know where I came from, that’s a piece of me. Some people never get to know where their parents were from, or their grandparents. Like yours on your mom’s side.”
Grace nodded. “I wish I knew her and my dad, but I know the whole mom thing is different for you.”
Madigan nodded. “Yours died, and it’s terrible, but you know. You don’t have to wonder about whether she’s out there somewhere. I have these documents, though. I have some answers right here.”
“But you’re scared of what you’ll find.”
“I am.”
“I really don’t want to push you either way. It has to be your decision, and I’m really surprised the Knoxes kept it from you all this time.”
“They must have had it since the adoption was finalized, when we were like twelve. I keep thinking the reason they never showed me is because it’s bad. Maybe they wanted to protect me from it, but now that I’m an adult…”
“You’ve been an adult for a while.”
“Yeah, but they were dealing with the loss of Drew once I became an adult, so I don’t think they were doing a lot of thinking about me and what I might want or need.”
“Fair point.”
“I keep this tucked away in my trailer, and it’s like a grenade, ready to explode once I pull the pin. Could be a dud, but chances are far more likely it’ll…” she stared down at the envelope and muttered, “blow me to pieces.”
“You know I’m here for you either way. It doesn’t sound like you’re ready yet, for what it’s worth. Don’t do it because you can. Do it because you want to.”
Madigan nodded and tucked the envelope back into the bag. “You’re right; I’m not ready.”
Grace let the decision settle in before turning the radio up. They listened to music until they arrived in Amherst and Grace tapped Madigan’s shoulder. “You can wait out here if you want.”
Grace parked on the street across from the police department.
I used to be here all the time, and after this, I might never be for work again.
“And take the fall on your own? No way.” Madigan smiled bleakly and stepped outside, following Grace into the department to the front desk.
“I need to speak to Detective Shelling regarding the Tina Morelli case, please.” She flashed her badge. “Detective Grace Sheppard, Deerhorn County.”
What if that’s the last time I introduce myself like that?
The officer made a call and held up a finger. Grace nodded and stepped away from the desk.
“Should I give them the tapes?” Madigan whispered. “They’ll know we were the ones who sent them.”
Grace shook her head no, and Detective Shelling strode out from behind a wall partition with dark circles under his eyes and a stubbly beard. “Detective Sheppard. Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again.”
“We have some information for you.”
“This way,” he grumbled, shuffling back the way he came.
Late nights, barely any sleep, no time for yourself, and the pressure to solve a case on your shoulders. I’ll take all the bad to keep doing the good if they let me.
They followed him down the hall toward an exposed cubical, and as they sat down, their knees almost touched in the cramped space.
“What do you have?”
I have to give this my best shot at helping Tina.
“Detective Shelling, we are personal friends of Tina and Shawna Morelli, and provided personal support for Shawna during this time, while also ascertaining information about the case through natural conversation, some of which I followed up on myself and with Madigan.”
“Go on.”
“We followed up on some of the routines Tina Morelli followed before her disappearance, including her regular visits to Gym and Go. We discovered she had met with her ex-husband, Matt Morelli, which I understand you already know. We also discovered a man named Tommy Leman had just been released from prison prior to Tina’s disappearance and has a personal vendetta against her. Through video surveillance footage, we discovered potential evidence that he, along with a personal friend of his, Amanda Post, followed Tina to said gym, potentially obtaining the stolen credit card from her the night prior to her disappearance, and had contact with her on the night of her disappearance. It’s all on surveillance footage I believe you have.”
Shelling stared down his nose at her before clearing his throat. “I can’t comment on this case at all. Based on your statements, why do you think the man you mentioned made contact with Tina the night of her disappearance?”
“The figure wearing the hoodie also wore jeans with a hole in the pocket corresponding with the same jeans we saw on him personally, and, along with the other physical attributes in the video footage, lead us to believe it looks like him.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he stared Grace down again. “Wait here.”
Grace folded her hands in her lap as he scooted past them out of the cubicle and down the hallway.
“What’s happening now?” Madigan asked.
“He might be notifying others he’s working with or checking if our statements match, or—”
Her old supervising sergeant, Bruno Colette, strode up to them, and Grace stood, Madigan following.
Here we go.
“Come with me,” he sneered before turning around and leading them to an office much bigger than Detective Shelling’s cubicle.
Grace’s legs shook with each step.
After closing the door behind them, he stood behind the desk where Shelling waited. “You were warned not to become involved with this case, Sheppard, and now that you’re bordering on obstruction of justice, I’ll be writing you up for this.” He turned to Madigan. “Young lady, I know who you are, and you’ve been involved with some shady people and crimes, and to find you’re associated with Detective Sheppard is a disappointment, but not a surprise. We know you’ve been asking Morelli’s neighbours about her. I also suspected the tapes we received were from you. Sheppard, you’ve really stepped in it. Again.”
“Sergeant Collette, please, I assure you, this was all brought on out of concern for a long-time friend and her daughter—”
“Save it!” His face turned a bright shade of red as he held his hand up to her.
Just keep calm. Don’t react. He has no authority over me.
“I’ve put a call in to Chief Banning, whose case you’re currently wrapping up. You’re to stay out of the Morelli investigation, and I recommend you stay away from Shawna Morelli as well, since you can’t seem to separate your personal and professional lives. You’re a disappointment, Sheppard. Do I have to relocate you to Alaska to make sure you’re not my problem anymore? Because Tall Pines doesn’t seem to be far enough.”
Her heart pounded in her ears, and she averted her eyes from Shelling as he watched on from the corner.
This is mortifying.
“If we see you attempting to have any association with this case, I’ll see your Staff Inspector suspends you without pay. If you use your position as a detective to acquire any knowledge regarding this case, or obstruct the investigation in any way henceforth, you’ll be fired. Do I make myself clear?”
He doesn’t get to make that decision, but maybe there’s still something to salvage here.
“Sergeant Colette, I understand the seriousness of this case. My only intention was to give my friend’s daughter the support she desperately needs, and that became joining the search for Tina.” She turned to Shelling. “I certainly did not intend to interfere with the investigation. I apologize to you specifically, Detective Shelling, for any issues I’ve caused you with my involvement.”
“Well,” Shelling spoke up, “you haven’t caused—”
Colette cleared his throat. “Now, to finish this nonsense, you’re required to hand over any materials or information you’ve acquired regarding your unauthorized investigation to Detective Shelling. If you withhold anything, we’ll find you in obstruction of justice on this case right now.” He turned to Shelling. “Keep them until you’re satisfied you have everything.”
Shelling nodded and left the room. Madigan stood but remained in place, staring at Colette. Grace tapped her arm, and they made eye contact for the first time as Grace blinked back tears of embarrassment.
The Lies You Told Page 15
