by Kate Morris
“Who came and picked her up?”
“Some kid,” he answered.
“Did your daughter tell you who he was?”
He frowned, “Said it was her boyfriend and that I shouldn’t worry. I do, though. These young girls…” he said, his voice trailing off.
Lorena did what any good cop would do. She let him go. Jack knew she was stringing him out, letting him ponder and think about the past. Hopefully, he’d slip up and say something relevant or implicate himself. If not, at the very least he might remember something that would help their case.
He started speaking a moment later, his eyes more vacant and distant this time, “They don’t take care of themselves, always running around, getting into trouble, dating too many boys. It’s all going to lead to trouble of some kind or another some day. She should be more careful, that girl. I warn Sky all the time about boys and drugs and all that. I don’t know if she is even listing most of the time. This girl, this Hailee, she was the same way. I could tell. Her father probably warned her, too. It didn’t work any better. She was doing things she shouldn’t be doing. I could tell that, too.”
Suddenly, Chambers seemed a little stranger than a moment before. Was he really just worried about his daughter and her friend, or was he a psychopath who needed to control young women?
“What was she doing that would get her into trouble?” Lorena pressed.
“What?” he asked, clearly startled back into the moment. “Oh, the usual. She was running around with boys, probably doing drugs and all that. Lying to her parents.”
“How do you know she was doing drugs or going with multiple boys? Maybe she just had one boyfriend and didn’t do drugs at all.”
He shook his head, his eyes turning cold, “No, I could tell. She was a liar. I could see it in her. It’s probably why she didn’t want to go to dinner with me there. She knew I could see through her secrets and lies.”
“Did you ever meet her again?”
“No, I didn’t. But, let me tell you, I thought about calling her father that night and letting him know what his daughter was up to. She got into a car with a boy and left the bookstore without calling her parents to pick her up. I suspect they thought Skylar’s mother was going to bring her home, or else they wouldn’t have let her go in the first place.”
“Why would you speculate that?”
“Because Sky told me that the girl had to keep her boyfriend a secret, that her father didn’t approve. I’d have to agree. I don’t want Skylar dating anyone, either. Boys these days, they’re dangerous. I want to keep my daughter as protected and pure as I can. Of course, her mother doesn’t help in this. She couldn’t care less where Sky is most of the time. So worthless. Such a whore.”
Jack wasn’t sure if the man was a jilted husband, or if he was a secret killer who hated women. Although he was only forty-three, the guy had a lot of wrinkles and gray hair. Of course, so did Jack. He wasn’t one to judge.
“Do you watch the nightly news, Mr. Chambers?” Lorena asked next.
“Not usually, no. I work late at night. It’s when I’ve always worked. Night owl. Why do you ask?”
“Hailee Neumann is missing.”
“Probably ran away. That’s what most teenagers do. People think they’ve been abducted, want their kids’ disappearances looked into. Most teens just run away. Portland’s streets are full of them. Poor, sad sacks, they are. Weren’t wanted at home, selling their bodies on the streets for money. Makes me sick.”
It was interesting to Jack that he knew this statistic about teenagers already. It could be his way of figuring out an alibi or else he was just a curious person and had read that somewhere.
“She was taken from her home, Mr. Chambers. She’s not a runaway.”
“Really? How do you know? What evidence do you have to back up that theory?”
“It’s not a theory. The man who took her left us a note.”
“She could’ve written it herself. How do you know it’s not a fake note?”
This was unusual. He was either looking for hints at what the police had on the killer and the abduction because it was him, or he was an armchair detective.
“It’s not a fake. I can assure you that it’s legitimate, that she didn’t write the note, and that she was taken. Do you know anyone who could’ve done this?”
“Me? Is that why you drove all the way up here? You think I had something to do with this kid getting abducted? I told you. She was headed for trouble. I was right. Now look what happened.”
“I didn’t mean that you did it,” Lorena corrected. “I meant is there anyone you could think of that might’ve done this?”
“That boyfriend? Whoever it was? Sky didn’t tell me his name. I don’t know, Detective. Kids like her are bound to get themselves into trouble. I try to warn Sky all the time about shit like this happening. She always thinks I’m just being overly protective, but look what happens when you take your guard down for just a second. Bam!”
“Does the name Trix mean anything to you?”
Jack watched the other man’s face scowl with confusion.
“As in magic tricks?”
She shook her head. “Where were you two days ago in the afternoon?”
“Do I need a lawyer? Now you’re asking for an alibi or something?”
“No, I’m just ruling out everyone to make it easier to find the person who has her. Your daughter is the girl’s best friend. We rule out. Then we narrow down those who can’t be ruled out.”
“I was here. I went trapping,” he explained.
“Animals?”
“Yes, I’ve got beavers upriver from here that are messing up my lake. I set traps and watch them daily. It’s about a two-mile hike from the house.”
“Take anyone with you?”
“No, it’s not exactly exciting work. And, besides, I live here for the seclusion, remember? If I wanted to hang out with people and be surrounded by them, I’d move back to the city.”
“Right,” Lorena said and wrote something on her notepad.
“I did take a conference call later in the afternoon,” he said.
“What time, do you recall?”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled, “Here it is. Four-thirty to six. It was with a potential client. We were working up what they’d want for human resources software.”
He tipped the phone toward Lorena, who looked at it.
“If you want any more than this, then you’ll need to bring back a search warrant,” he said out of the blue.
“I don’t know why that would be necessary,” Lorena returned.
“Seems to me that I’m on your suspect list,” he said with growing hostility.
“Is there any reason you would be?” Lorena pressed.
“No, like I said. I didn’t even remember meeting this girl till ten minutes ago.”
“Right,” Lorena said.
“You need to work on a suspect list, but my name shouldn’t be on it. I’m sorry for this girl’s family and what they must be going through, but I’m not your killer.”
“Killer? We never said she was dead,” Lorena said, zeroing in on his words.
“Kidnapper. Whatever you want to call this. We both know how this goes, though. Most young women who are taken like this end up being found dead.”
More armchair detective work, Jack thought to himself.
“I don’t know that this case will end that way. We’re only talking to people who knew her, friends of hers, and family,” Lorena told him.
A few moments later, they concluded their interview with Dermot Chambers and left his compound. Jack noticed on their way out, security cameras he hadn’t seen before in the foyer and again on the front porch hidden near the soffit. He also saw three more of them as they went back down the steep driveway.
“Lot of surveillance cameras,” Jack noted.
“I noticed,” Lorena said.
They drove back to the city to prepare for Lorena’s interview on the n
ews network. Craig prepped her on what to say, sitting next to her in the back seat while Jack drove. He felt more like a chauffeur taking kids to prom.
Chapter Twelve
Lorena
“Just try to stick to the script,” the FBI agent said to her.
Lorena wished she was just about anywhere else. She’d heard from Grace and was relieved to know that Bob had her in custody. That was one weight off her shoulders. If only she could’ve gone with her niece back home.
“Got it,” Lorena said. Except that she didn’t agree with everything that was written in the script. Some of it seemed wrong to say.
She was sitting in the green room of the local television news network. Thankfully, there was a young woman, who didn’t look much older than eighteen, in the room who was handling her makeup.
“You have great eyes,” the girl commented.
“Oh, um, thanks,” Lorena said, having never contemplated her eyes other than that they helped her to see.
“Yeah, I can really do a lot with them. And you have really full lips.”
“Yeah, annoying. I go through a ton of ChapStick.”
The girl looked at her as if she was horrified. Lorena didn’t understand what she said to offend her.
“We’ll just go with some moisturizing lipstick and top it off with a little gloss,” the girl said.
“Sure,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
Lorena reviewed the paper in front of her again. She looked up to find Jack staring at her.
“What?”
“Hm?” he asked, startled. He shook his head, “Nothing.”
“What? Do I look bad or something? Be honest. You know I’m not good at this crap.”
“No, no,” Jack said, as he drew closer to her. “You look great. I’m just worried. This guy already has a thing for you. If you go on air all dolled up, I fully expect him to be waiting for us in our apartment when we go home tonight.”
His last four words hit her funny. It sounded intimate, going home with Jack. She cleared her voice. “I think he’s singling me out because they announced that we were brought in to work on his case.”
“I don’t know about that. He’s a freak. He thinks he has some sort of mystic connection with you.”
“Awesome. I attract all the weirdos and creeps.”
Jack laughed loudly, and Lorena noticed that the makeup artist smiled broadly at him. It wasn’t just that she was joining in on his humor. She didn’t know what they were talking about. The young woman was looking at him with stars in her eyes. Lorena had to admit, never to him, though, that Jack did look nice tonight. He sported a late five o’clock shadow, his salt and pepper hair was slicked back from the rain they had to run through to get into the building, and his black bomber jacket fit well with his dark denim jeans. He looked like he belonged in a spy movie or maybe as the next James Bond. She looked away to avoid staring, even though her makeup assistant did not.
“I’m having our things moved, just in case,” he told her.
Lorena’s gaze shot from the paper to his face. “What do you mean?”
“My friend’s out of town, up in Canada on a hunting trip with some friends,” he explained and leaned against the counter. “I’m moving us onto my houseboat. I think it’ll be safer. Nobody will know where we are.”
“Why?”
“Someone in the bureau leaked that you were working this case. I got a hunch it was that dick from the meeting the first day. Remember him?”
“Yes, of course. I make a great impression on freaks, weirdos, and also dick agents, too.”
He chuckled, his dimples showing. “Right, well, he or whoever did the leaking could also let it be known where the feds have us housed. I’d rather not go home to another Juliette encounter.”
She hated remembering that day. She’d come home with Gracie and found the house trashed, mostly just her bedroom and office. What she’d thought was blood on the walls was red paint, but it had frightened her, truly frightened her. Lorena had worked dangerous cases before, but Gingerbread had, by far, been the worse to date. Jack was right. She didn’t want to go back to their apartment one of these times to find Trix hanging out waiting to kill them. If he was the high-tech computer nerd, Skylar’s father, he could probably hack public building cameras and get the license plate number off of their rental. He could track them, follow them, hide in the apartment and eventually kill them.
“Okay, fine,” she whispered and shivered. Suddenly, her blazer and silk blouse didn’t feel sufficient to keep out the dampness of the Portland air.
“What’d you think of our interviewee this afternoon?” he asked, not wanting to reveal anything in front of the makeup girl.
“Do you mind if I fix your hair? It looks like you got caught in some of our famous rain,” the girl commented.
“Sure, whatever you think,” Lorena said. Then she looked at Jack as the makeup artist took down her hair from the bun she and Grace had managed earlier. “I don’t know. Craig said his alibi checked out. He was on a conference call. It ended with enough time for him to go down and abduct her, though.”
“He could’ve made the call from Portland, too. He’s smart enough to know how to manipulate his phone to make it look like he was still at his cabin.”
He scowled and chewed the inside of his cheek.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Something’s just been bothering me,” he said.
“What?”
Jack paused before saying, “It’s not boating season yet.”
“Are you wanting to get some fishing in before we fly back to Cleveland?” she jeered.
“Funny,” he said with a smirk. “No. I was just thinking about the boathouse at Elizabeth’s.”
It bothered her that he spoke of his ex-wife in that way, calling her by her first name and not something else. ‘Cold bitch’ would’ve been fine with Lorena.
“What about it?”
“There were fresh footprints in the mud down there,” he remarked.
“Yeah, I know. I saw them, too.”
“Who was down at the boathouse in the middle of winter- well, spring?”
“Maybe she met her boyfriend out there sometimes,” she said. “We should put a call in to him and ask.”
“Yeah, let me get on that. I’ll ask Elizabeth tonight, too.”
“Are you meeting her again?”
“We’re meeting her as soon as you’re done with your acting gig,” he quipped and left.
Lorena now had two reasons to feel nervous. The makeup girl spun her in her chair to give final approval. It was definitely an improvement over what she usually looked like. Her hair was laying in soft waves over her shoulders, and her makeup was complimentary but not too heavy.
“Great. Thanks,” she said and hopped down from the chair, anxious to get it all over with.
“Hey,” the girl said and touched her elbow, “Is your partner… you know, is he seeing someone?”
“He’s gay,” Lorena answered.
The girl’s face fell, and she nodded, “Makes sense.”
Lorena laughed and left her. Then she had to contemplate the reason she’d told her that. The young woman was naturally interested in Jack, so Lorena had no place lying as she had. She was also old enough to date him. At first, she’d thought the lie had come from a place of humor, which it was, and he’d probably think so, too. But then she thought harder on it, and definitely realized that it was leading down a road of thought she didn’t want to travel.
The news anchor with the pale blonde bob and perfectly bronzed skin and bright white teeth that would probably glow under a black light sat beside her behind the news desk and would be asking her the appropriated questions given to her by Craig. The session was not being taped, so there wasn’t room for errors. The producer and crew were rushing around, coming back from a commercial break, and someone counted down on their fingers until they came to one.
The news anchor, Melanie, spoke a moment
about the missing girl case and re-introduced the public to Hailee. Then she turned her chair to face Lorena and gave the reason she was in the studio.
“You’re one of the detectives working the case,” the newscaster said, to which Lorena nodded. “Can you give the public some sort of idea where the investigation is at this point?”
“We’re working every angle and questioning everyone we can to find Hailee Neumann. We have investigators working around the clock, twenty-four-seven exclusively on this case.”
Craig whispered, “Good,” in her earpiece. Lorena tried to drown him out.
“Do you believe Hailee is still alive? Have you been given any clues that she might not be at this point?”
“No, she’s still alive,” Lorena said. She decided to forget the piece of paper in front of her. She didn’t need the help or the staccato performance of looking like a stiff on t.v. in front of Trix. She knew somehow that this would only serve to piss him off. He wanted to talk to her. She could hear the producer saying that they only had thirty seconds left in the segment. Lorena had to make a connection with him. Answering the same humdrum questions that took place in every interview like this was never going to draw him out.
“And this man, the Tooth Fairy, he left a letter telling the police that he was the one who took her,” she asked, to which Lorena nodded again.
“Yes, we believe this to be true.”
“Can you give the public any sort of clues as to what he’s like in case they think they might know him and want to call in to our Crime Stoppers hotline?”
“This man is intelligent, elusive, cunning…” she said, pausing. She looked down at the script. This wasn’t working for her. She added, “Like a rabbit.”
She was referring to him in the way he preferred.
Melanie asked, “A rabbit?”
Her host was clearly confused. Lorena was not. She just kept going.
“He stops at nothing to get what he wants. He craves attention, needs it to fulfill his fantasies of being powerful and too smart to get caught. He has an extraordinarily high I.Q., much like my own.”
“Lorena! Stop!” Craig whispered. This time he was standing off camera waving his arms. She ignored him.
