Count to Three

by T. R. Ragan

  Only seconds later, Sadie was inside the guest room, sniffing right outside the closet door. She held her breath, didn’t dare move.

  “Sadie! Come here, girl,” Frank called from the other room.

  The dog ran off.

  Dani sucked in some air and sank slowly to the floor, taking a second to calm herself. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she had seen. Sadie had gone through the doggy door and somehow let Frank in?

  How could that be?

  Before coming upstairs, she’d seen the door with her own eyes. Not only was it locked but there was also a latch with a chain.

  After her breathing returned to normal, she readied the video on her phone again, and walked quietly out of the room, across the hallway, and into the main bedroom.

  She hit the red button. Holding the phone in front of her, she made her way past the bed and the settee and stopped in front of the closet, both doors wide open.

  There he was. Frank Petri in all his glory.

  He was wearing one of Cameron’s dresses, a beautiful pink chiffon number with sequins across the bust. He walked toward the full-length mirror, did a twirl, then settled his gaze on his reflection and on Dani’s behind him.

  Turning around slowly as if he wanted to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, he looked right at her. It was hard to read his expression. Was he going to laugh or cry?

  He did neither.

  He just stood there.

  And she kept recording. “Could you please state your name?”

  “Frank Petri,” he said, making her job a little easier.

  “Birthday? Address? Tell me about yourself, Frank.”

  She had been half kidding about the “tell me about yourself” part, but that didn’t stop him from doing just that.

  “I was bored,” he said. “I had nothing to do. My wife passed away recently, you see, and my kids never come to visit. The dog—” He looked at Sadie, who was lying near the bathroom. “Come here, girl. She’s all I have left.”

  “So you broke into Cameron Bennington’s house because you were lonely and bored?”

  “Yes. That’s exactly what happened. She’s fairly new to the area, a breath of fresh air. There was something about her that made me happy. Nothing sexual,” he added quickly. “I can’t really explain it except to say that she gave me a reason to live again. I was walking Sadie one day, and I saw Cameron hide the key to her house under a planter box. I grabbed the key the next day and had a duplicate made. At first, Sadie and I would just enter through the front door, take a stroll around, and check things out. I got comfortable fairly quickly. Sometimes I would move a piece of furniture.” His eyes widened. “Not to scare her, but because I wanted to please her. My wife always told me I had a good instinct when it came to interior decorating. That’s all I was doing, I swear.”

  “You took things from her refrigerator,” Dani said.

  “No. No. I didn’t. I swear. I would go through her refrigerator, and if I found something that had gone bad, I would throw it out and wash the dishes. I never took a plate or a utensil. I never stole anything.”

  “Come on, Frank. You expect me to believe that?”

  “It’s true. I swear. Once she installed the camera out front, I knew I had to find a new way to get inside. I spent the next few months teaching Sadie to go through a doggy door and unlatch the chain. The rest was easy. She only had to rest her paw on the door handle and push down. Sadie is a very smart dog. She’s a rescue.” He smiled. Long enough for Dani to wonder if he was waiting for praise.

  “I never meant any harm,” he said before she turned off the video.

  When she called the police, his face fell, and she almost felt sorry for him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Two days after catching Frank Petri in action, Dani was in her bedroom getting dressed when Detective Whitton called. Hoping he had news about Rebecca Carr, she snatched up the phone and hit the talk button. “What’s going on?” she asked as she plunked down on the edge of the bed.

  “A couple of things,” he said. “The Skyler Temp Agency where Rebecca Carr worked is playing hardball with me. I told the manager I would get a court order if I had to. Hopefully we’ll hear back soon.”

  Her stomach rolled over. She needed to catch a break.

  The detective cleared his throat. “Did you hear about Frank Petri posting bail?”

  “No.”

  “They don’t consider him to be a threat, but his court appearance won’t be until next month. Let me know if you spot him lurking outside your office, and I’ll have him picked up on the spot.”

  “Thanks,” Dani said, disappointed to hear the temp agency wasn’t cooperating. “Anything else?”

  “The body found buried on Carlin Reed’s property has been identified as Gretchen Myles.”

  “Not too surprising,” she said. “Maybe her family can find peace, knowing she’s been found.”

  “You know why I haven’t retired yet?” Detective Whitton asked.

  “Because of all the homemade treats everyone at the station brings in every day?” she teased.

  “That’s only part of it. The main reason—the real reason—is I wanted to find Tinsley so you could have closure and peace too.”

  Dani swallowed a lump in her throat. “You’re a good friend, Detective Whitton. I think of you as family. You’ve been there for me every step of the way, but it’s time for you to take a breather.”

  “That’s why I turned in my thirty-day notice.”

  She tipped her head back and looked at the ceiling. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you. This is the beginning, not the end.” If anyone deserved peace and quiet and time to put their feet up, it was Detective Whitton. And yet she found herself with conflicting emotions as she wondered how she would ever keep Tinsley’s case alive without him.

  “We’ll be having lots of barbecues at the house, and I expect you to be there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  After saying goodbye, she finished dressing, pocketed her phone, and headed for the kitchen. On her way, the shoebox Carole had left with her caught her eye. She’d been avoiding it, knowing that any little trinket would take her right back to the day Tinsley was taken from her.

  Losing Tinsley had broken all the rules of life and death. Living without her was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. There were times when she thought she couldn’t go on, but someone like Detective James Whitton would come along, and then Quinn Sullivan, sparking a light inside her and showing her the way forward.

  She clung to that light as she picked up the box and took a seat on the sofa. She slipped off the rubber bands and removed the lid with trepidation, as if she were expecting a jack-in-the-box to spring forward.

  Nothing scary popped out at her. There were papers on top. She unfolded one, smiling at the colorful drawing Tinsley had made of her family: Mom, Dad, and Tinsley. Stick figures. There was a sun and what looked like a tree, and maybe a sliver of a moon too.

  She looked at every drawing before setting them aside. Inside a plastic bag was the first tooth Tinsley had lost at the age of four. So tiny. My baby. Dani smiled at the Barbie-doll shoes tumbling around. There was also a dime and a nickel and a Happy Meal toy. She’d forgotten about the award Tinsley had gotten in prekindergarten for being kind. And there was a gold ribbon with tiny red hearts—Tinsley’s favorite ribbon.

  Teary-eyed, Dani put the ribbon to her nose to see if it smelled like her little girl. She rubbed its silkiness against her cheek. An image flashed through her mind as she recalled putting the ribbon in Tinsley’s hair on her first day of school.

  Her chest tightened.

  If Tinsley had been wearing the ribbon, how was it possible the ribbon was here in this box?

  Feeling unsettled, she started when a knock sounded at the door. A second wave of urgent knocking prompted her to set aside the box and get up. Through the peephole, she saw Frank Petri.

  She whipped open the door. “What are you doin
g here, Frank?”

  He rapidly blinked as if her bluntness startled him.

  “I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to thank you for stopping me.”

  She had no idea what he was talking about, but she waited for him to elaborate.

  “If not for you,” he went on, “my curious behavior might have gotten out of hand.”

  His downturned facial features and his inability to meet her gaze made him appear so pathetic that it was difficult for her to be angry with him. She knew his story. He’d lost his wife, and in so doing had lost his mind too. A camera, a Nikon, hung around his neck, which made no sense, but seemed to fit the moment perfectly. “Your curious behavior did get out of hand, Frank.”

  “I know. And I have you to thank for stopping me.”

  “You really shouldn’t be here, Frank.”

  “There’s more I need to tell you. It’s important.”

  She didn’t think he was dangerous, but just to be safe she gestured toward the two cushioned chairs on her front porch. “Why don’t we sit down while you tell me what’s on your mind?”

  He nodded, nervously pulling at the collar of his shirt. She wondered if he’d changed his mind about coming. Finally, he took a seat and she did the same. “So what is it you want to tell me?” Dani asked.

  “I know I could never make up for what I’ve done—”

  “What is it, Frank?” she asked impatiently. Tired, exhausted, and wanting to be alone with her melancholy thoughts, she already regretted giving him a moment of her time.

  His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish trapped in a bowl. If he didn’t get on with it, she was going to simply walk back into the house, lock the door behind her, and call the police.

  “I know things would have gotten worse,” he murmured, “because when I first noticed you watching Ms. Bennington’s house, I started watching you too. I used your license plate to find out who you were and where you lived and worked.”

  “Oh. Yeah. That’s not good, Frank.”

  “I know. While I was watching you, I saw some things . . . things that I should have shown you a while ago. That’s why I was at the park when you spotted me, but I chickened out and ran.”

  Ah, so it was all starting to make sense. Sort of. Either way, she wished he would hurry things along.

  “I was watching your office, waiting for you to return, the same day you were attacked.”

  She instantly perked up. “You were there? At the office?”

  He nodded. And something must have shaken loose inside his brain because the words suddenly tumbled out. “It was the same day I approached you and introduced myself.”

  “I remember.” She’d had to be in court and had sped off.

  “After you left, I took Sadie home and then drove to your office. I was hidden behind a row of cars a few doors down when a small pickup truck pulled into the parking lot where I was hiding. The person was dressed all in black. It was a woman. I didn’t think anything of it until I watched her cross the street, make a left, and head straight for your office. I was shocked when I saw where she was going. She pulled something from her pocket; I figured it was a key because she opened the door and went right in. Maybe ten minutes later, I saw you drive up. I got scared and left.”

  “Please don’t tell me that’s the end of your story. Did you get a license plate number by any chance?”

  This time when he smiled, he puffed his chest. “I got better than that. I have a video of the whole thing. Her car . . . everything.”

  Chills washed over Dani as she leaned closer. “Show me.”

  Frank pulled the strap over his head, switched on the camera, and did exactly that.

  Fifteen minutes later, Frank had left, but not until he handed over the memory card from his camera. Dani was sitting in front of her computer inside the house, tapping furiously at her computer keyboard, uploading the license plate number into a pay database.

  The pinwheel went round and round.

  Bingo!

  The truck belonged to a woman named Hattie Goodwin, forty, who lived in a cabin in the woods surrounding Lake Tahoe. She had no social media presence, but Dani’s breath hitched when she saw that Hattie Goodwin had a criminal record.

  Public records revealed that the woman had spent most of her life in New York City. While living there she attempted to kidnap a six-month-old girl from a stroller but was stopped by a man on his way to work. All in all, Hattie Goodwin had been arrested three times and was imprisoned for four years after being convicted on second-degree kidnapping charges in 2010. Somewhere along the way she’d changed her name and moved to California.

  Dani scrolled through the information until she found what she was looking for—Hattie Goodwin’s mug shot.

  Dani did a double take.

  It was her—Hattie Goodwin was also Rebecca Carr.

  Dani uploaded the video Frank Petri had taken. When it was ready, she watched it again, pausing the video and zooming in on the image where Frank had caught the woman unlocking the door. She took a screenshot of the image and did the same with the side-view mug shot so she could place the images side by side. Same elegant jawline and sharp nose.

  As she stared at the images, she found herself questioning why the woman would have broken into her office. It defied reason. Why take such a risk after all these years?

  Dani mentally went over the days before the break-in. The only thing that stood out was Quinn’s impromptu interview with Channel 10 News.

  That was it. Why hadn’t she seen it before?

  Quinn had looked straight into the camera and declared with confidence that they had new evidence and were close to tracking down the woman seen on the security camera at the school on the day Tinsley was abducted.

  Why would Hattie Goodwin break into her office looking for evidence unless she had something to do with Tinsley’s disappearance?

  Her foot bounced as she called Detective Whitton. “Come on. Answer the phone.” When there was no answer she left a message telling him about Frank Petri’s visit, the video, and what she’d learned about Rebecca Carr/Hattie Goodwin. She told him where she was going. He would be upset that she’d gone without backup, but there was no stopping her. She searched around the house for the Taser she’d recently used. The battery was dead, so she left it where it was. She had pepper spray in the duffel bag she kept in the car, along with water and snacks. After locking up the house, she climbed in behind the wheel of her car and keyed the Tahoe address into the navigation system.

  When she hit I-80E headed toward CA-89S, her phone rang. Detective Whitton’s name popped up on the screen in front of her. She hit “Talk” and said hello.

  “I got your message, Dani. I also got a call back from the Skyler Temp Agency. I was able to get enough information to confirm what you already know. Rebecca Carr’s real name is Hattie Goodwin. I need you to pull off at the next exit and wait for backup.”

  “I can’t do that. I’ve waited too long.”

  “She’s dangerous. You know that for a fact.”

  Dani’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She couldn’t think like that, couldn’t let fear stop her from getting to the truth. “Hattie must have seen Quinn on TV, telling the world that we were getting closer to solving Tinsley’s case. She was looking for evidence. If she had carried a gun, she would have shot me already.”

  “Think about what you’re doing. If she takes you out and makes a run for it, we might never know what happened to Tinsley.”

  Dani’s chest tightened. She let up on the gas but refused to pull over or turn around. Was the hope she’d been hanging on to for so long just a wild, crazy fantasy? Did all parents whose children were ripped from their lives think only of the day they were finally reunited? “Is it too much to hope that Tinsley is still alive?”

  Silence was followed by, “No, Dani. It’s not. But please, don’t go knocking on her door. Wait for backup. We’re on our way.”

  An hour and fifteen minutes lat
er, Dani pulled off a main road onto a side street in serious need of surface repairs. She drove slowly, careful not to hit any of the deeper ruts. Cabins dotted the mountainside as she followed the winding road. Two-hundred-and-fifty-foot sugar pine trees, eight feet in diameter, stood like giant sentinels everywhere she looked.

  Feeling nauseous, she pulled to the side of the road, rolled down her window, and inhaled the crisp, clean air. The notion that she might find out once and for all what happened to Tinsley filled her with a mixture of joy and also dread.

  The thought of finding Tinsley was what got her up in the morning and kept her going, day after day. What if the truth ended up being the harsh reality that Matthew had always painted for her? What then? How would she keep going?

  She let out a ponderous breath and continued on. A car came around a bend. She held her breath, peering closely at the driver as the car crept past. It was an elderly man behind the wheel of a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Neither of them waved.

  A glance at her navigation system told her she had less than a mile to go. A fluttery feeling erupted inside her. Not for the first time, she considered pulling over and waiting for the cavalry, but kept going instead, driven by an invisible force.

  A few minutes later, her navigation system told her she had arrived: “Your destination is ahead to the left.”

  It was an unmarked road covered with forest debris. At the corner was a wooden post where she could see that the signage had been removed. The notion that she might finally be closing in on the truth left her feeling anxious. Her window was still down. She inhaled the thick scent of pines.

  Be patient.

  How many times had she said those two words to Quinn over the past few years?

  Too many times to count.

  She passed by the unmarked road and pulled to the right up ahead, next to a trash bin that had a different street number and belonged to one of Hattie Goodwin’s neighbors. Dani wasn’t surprised when she checked her phone to see that she had no reception and wouldn’t be able to call Detective Whitton and tell him she’d changed her mind.