by Brenda Novak
Except when she’s helping me murder someone.
Considering the way Tiffany was looking at her, that snatch of conversation no longer felt like a dream. And there were other gut-level reactions rushing in on Zoe, like the revulsion, fear and dizziness she suddenly associated with her time at the Bells’ house.
Jonathan…She should’ve waited for him.
“Don’t be difficult,” Tiffany said. “It’ll just make this tougher.”
“Make what tougher?” Zoe calculated the distance to the driver’s side of the car. Had Tiffany taken the keys out of the ignition? She didn’t think so.
“The…surprise.”
“The only surprise I want is my daughter.”
Tiffany lowered her voice. “I promise you’ll see her again if you come with me.”
Even if that was true, Zoe wouldn’t be able to save Sam, not if Tiffany’s surprise was anything like she now suspected. Zoe had begun to sense a strange malevolence in her former neighbor.
She needed to get help, or she’d cost Sam any chance she had. “Jonathan will be here soon,” she said as if his name served as some sort of talisman.
Tiffany smiled triumphantly. “Of course he will. If he doesn’t get lost.”
Oh God! It was Tiffany who’d given Jonathan directions. Zoe hadn’t even listened to what she’d told him. She’d been too preoccupied, too sure they had it all figured out.
Her eyes darted to the shed, and she saw the door move an inch or so. Someone was peeking out at her. It had to be Colin. He wasn’t at work. That was an alibi. He was there, waiting for them….
Was her daughter in that shed, too? The mere possibility made Zoe want to rush over, regardless of Colin. But she couldn’t walk right into his grasp. She could be the only hope her daughter had left.
Turning on her heel, Zoe dashed for the car. She’d nearly wrenched open the door when Tiffany caught her, but then they both fell, wrestling, to the dusty earth. The slam of the same door she’d heard earlier told Zoe that Tiffany had reinforcements coming, but she hoped to inflict some damage before she was outnumbered.
Kicking and clawing, she distilled all her pent-up rage and anguish into hurting the person who’d kidnapped her daughter—and knew she’d hit her target when Tiffany screamed.
“Colin, help me! She’s gone crazy!”
“I won’t let you get away with it,” Zoe growled. Then she sank her teeth into Tiffany’s shoulder, drawing blood before Colin could drag her off.
* * *
Where could the cabin be? Jonathan had followed Tiffany’s directions to the letter, but he found himself deep in the Sierra Nevadas, where there was no cell service and no landline, either.
“Shit!” He slugged the dashboard and the radio came on, pumping out static since he couldn’t pick up a clear signal. What the hell should he do now? He had no idea where Sam was, where Zoe was, or how to find them. He hated to backtrack, since he was sure they had to be close. But, in the end, he had to do just that. After returning to the freeway, he drove down the mountain a few miles, where he could place a call.
“Scovil, Potter & Clay.”
He pulled out the card he’d taken from the receptionist’s desk earlier. “Misty?”
“Yes?”
“This is Jonathan Stivers.”
“Oh, hello Mr. Stivers.”
He ignored the added warmth in her voice. “Is Colin still around?”
“Yes, but…he’s in his office working and told me not to disturb him.”
“This is an emergency.”
“Wow, another one?”
“He’s had others?”
“His wife had one earlier today, and she called with another emergency last week.”
He was so intent on getting hold of Colin that he almost skimmed over that comment. But two emergencies in such a short time did seem a little odd. “What kind of emergencies?”
“This morning Tiffany said she’d been in a car accident.”
Oh God. Jonathan pulled off at the next exit and sat on the shoulder of the road. “Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone? I’m pretty sure she was alone.”
“When was this?”
“Not too long after you left the office.”
He let his breath go. That must’ve been before Zoe got in with her. And she’d been fine at that point, so…the accident was probably just a fender bender. “What about the other emergency?”
“Last week? Colin’s mother fell and hurt herself.”
Jonathan hadn’t heard anything about Colin’s mother—only his father. “What day did this call come in?”
“Let’s see…I can tell if I flip back through my calendar,” she said. “Here it is. Monday. I’d just gotten my hair trimmed and Colin walked in and gave me a dirty look.”
Monday. Zoe had lost her daughter on the same day. Was that a coincidence? It could be. But wouldn’t most people have mentioned it if their mother had been hurt? Zoe had said Colin’s mother had left her husband once she’d learned of his abuse…. Maybe she and her son weren’t close. Or maybe she hadn’t been too badly hurt in that fall.
“Thanks,” he said. “Can you ring Colin?”
“He won’t like it,” she complained.
“I’ll tell him I made you do it. He’ll understand. I promise. This is really important.”
She sighed into the phone. “Okay, I’ll do it for you. But you owe me, and that might mean lunch.”
Jonathan opened his mouth to tell her he wasn’t in the market. He had no objection to taking her out. She was a nice enough girl. But he was already committed. And this time it wasn’t Sheridan who came to mind. “I’m happy to buy you a meal, but…just so you know, Misty, I have a girlfriend.”
“The good ones are always taken,” she grumbled. “Hang on.”
He waited so long he thought she’d gotten on another line and forgotten about him.
Finally, Misty picked up again. “Jonathan?”
“Yes?”
“He must’ve left. But I don’t know when. He didn’t come past me.”
“Can you do me one more favor and check the parking lot?”
“I already did,” she said. “His car’s gone.”
That was where she’d been. What a sweetheart. “So, you have no idea when he left.”
“None. But I can tell you this. Chances are good he won’t be coming back. Mr. Scovil heard me asking about him and went through the roof.”
Had Colin decided to go to the cabin after all? “Can you give me his cell-phone number?”
“I’m not supposed to share that information, not without permission.”
“Come on, Misty. This is about that little girl we’re trying to find.”
“But if Colin doesn’t like it, he’ll get some sort of revenge.”
“He’s not coming back, remember? And I won’t tell him how I came by the number. I could probably get it some other way. I just don’t have time.”
“All right, give me a sec….”
He imagined her thumbing through her Rolodex.
“Here it is.”
He entered it in his BlackBerry as she rattled it off. “Perfect. Thanks, Misty.”
“Too bad you’ve got a girlfriend,” she said and disconnected.
He chuckled to himself as he dialed the number, but the worry he’d felt before returned when Colin didn’t pick up. Every call went directly to voice mail. Had Colin been the one who’d come home while Jonathan was in the garage? If so, he must not have gone back to work.
Trying to figure out what to do next, he tapped the steering wheel. He had to get to that cabin. But how?
Maybe Paddy had remarried….
As it turned out, directory assistance had a Paddy Bell in Antelope, where Toby had been kidnapped. A woman answered almost as soon as the phone rang.
“Hello?” She sounded anxious. Hopeful.
“Is this Mrs. Bell?”
“Yes, it is.”
“You’re married to Paddy Bell, C
olin Bell’s father?”
“That’s right.”
“This is Jonathan Stivers. I’m a private detective investigating the kidnapping of—”
“My husband?” she cut in. “Has my husband been kidnapped? Is that where he is?”
He released his seat belt.
“Not that I know of, ma’am. A young girl, who was living next door to your stepson, went missing last Monday, and I’ve been searching for her ever since.”
“Next door to Colin?” She seemed puzzled. “Curious he didn’t mention it. Maybe there’s a connection between her and my Paddy,” she said with tears in her voice. “Where are all these people going, anyway? The Simpson boy was taken from the school just down the street. I don’t understand.”
“Colin believes your husband might’ve kidnapped Samantha Duncan.”
“What? He doesn’t even know the girl. What would he want with her?”
Hoping for a cool breeze, Jonathan lowered the window. “Colin claims your husband is a—”
“No!” she cried before he could finish.
“Yes.”
“That’s a lie! I know Paddy better than anyone else does. He’s not a predator. He’s a good man!”
That wind he’d been hoping for stirred his hair. “You’ve never heard of him abusing his children while they were growing up?”
“Of course not! That’s crazy. You can ask his first wife. She’ll tell you Paddy was a keeper. She says it to me all the time. She says their marriage would’ve worked if not for Colin.”
“What did Colin do?”
“He was a difficult kid, a troubled kid.”
“How troubled?”
“It depends on who you ask. Tina—his mother—thinks he’s the equivalent of Damien. Paddy thinks Colin’s issues come from the fact that they were too hard on him.”
“Do you happen to have Tina’s number, Mrs. Bell?”
“I do. I’ve called her myself since Paddy disappeared. I consider her a friend. Just a minute.” He heard her rummage around before coming back on the line.
“Here you go.”
When she’d given him the number, he thanked her, but she stopped him before he could disconnect.
“Mr. Stivers?”
“Yes.”
“I can tell you what Tina’s going to say before you call her. She moved away to escape Colin, not Paddy. Courtney, her daughter, will confirm it.”
Jonathan dropped his head in his hand. Colin, the man he’d angered at the firm today. Colin, the man who had a connection to Paddy and Sam. And even to Toby, who lived very close to Paddy…Colin, the man who had sleeping pills in his house and dog food in his garage and who’d been with Zoe right before he’d found her dumped on a motel bed with her clothes askew. Jonathan was willing to bet that if he’d had time to finish with all those rental records, he would’ve found Colin’s name in there somewhere—or the name of someone who knew Colin.
Maybe suspecting him hadn’t been so crazy, after all.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he told her.
“You don’t think he’d hurt his father, do you?”
A beat-up truck rumbled past and vanished as the road veered out of sight. “How would his ex-wife answer that question?”
“When I called her, she wanted to know where Colin was when Paddy went missing. That’s an odd question to ask about your own son, don’t you think? I’ve always agreed with Paddy and thought Colin’s problems stemmed from Tina’s inability to love him. But now, if it wasn’t for Tiffany, I might be tempted to believe Tina.”
“You like Tiffany, then?”
“She’s a real sweetheart, so eager to please.”
More eager to please her husband than anyone else…“I’m guessing she was with him when Paddy went missing.”
“That’s right. She told me so herself.”
Because Tiffany knew. She protected Colin. “Can you tell me how to get to Paddy’s cabin, Mrs. Bell?”
“No, sir. It’s been too long since I’ve been there. And Paddy always drove.”
He refastened his seat belt. “I need to find it. Immediately.”
“Colin and Tiffany already checked the cabin, just yesterday,” she said. “No one’s there.”
“We need to check again. Where can we get an address?”
“Gee, I don’t know….” There was a pause. “I suppose it would be on the deed. But there’s no telling how long it would take me to find that. It’s probably out in the garage in one of those—wait,” she said. “What about Glen?”
“Glen?”
“My son used to go up there with Paddy quite a bit. He’ll know how to find it.”
“Is he available?”
“What is it—three o’clock? I should be able to catch him at work.”
“Call him right away,” Jonathan said and prayed that right away would be soon enough….
CHAPTER 35
“You’re a little hellcat, aren’t you!” Colin seemed more excited than upset to see Zoe and Tiffany fighting. “I never dreamed you had it in you.”
“You’re glad she hurt me?” Tiffany sat on the ground, covered in dust, her hand over her injury.
Grimacing at the metallic taste of blood, Zoe wiped her mouth and shoved her tangled hair out of her eyes so she could glare up at him. “That was for Sam and Toby!”
“You mean Rover?” He chuckled. “You’re feeling protective of him, too?”
“How could anyone hurt him like that? How could you, someone I know, someone I’ve touched and spoken to and lived beside? You’re a monster, not a man!”
He made a show of waving her words away. “Give me a break. You’re just as capable of hurting people as I am. Look at poor Tiff.”
Zoe didn’t care about Tiffany. It was Colin she had to defeat if she wanted to get out of this alive—if she wanted to get Sam out alive.
She climbed to her feet and dusted off her clothes. “Tiffany’s an adult. Besides, she attacked me.”
“I’ve never been one for subtle distinctions,” he said with a shrug. “Life is about grabbing what you want and taking all you can.”
“What have you done with my daughter?” she asked.
His lips curved in a taunting smile. “It’s what I’m about to do that matters.”
Zoe’s fingernails curved into her palms. Sam was alive. “Why’d you lure me up here? To tell me it was you? To kill us both?”
He leaned close, smelled her hair, then licked her cheek. She suppressed a shudder of revulsion, trying to pretend it didn’t bother her. “What is it you want from us?”
“I want you. I’ve wanted you since the first moment—”
“Colin!” Tiffany found her feet and pulled him away. “Not while I’m here. I can’t watch this. Take her with you and go to Chester. Just make sure I never see her again.”
“Ooh,” he jeered. “Did you hear what she said? She wants to be rid of you. She’s tired of the way you’ve teased me with that tight little ass of yours.”
“I haven’t teased you,” Zoe said.
“Just seeing you teases me.”
“Colin!” Tiffany again.
“Okay, okay, I get it,” he told his wife. “You and Zoe have some unfinished business. I’ll let you take care of it.” He glanced between them. “Go ahead and fight it out, ladies. It’ll be like…like a cockfight.” He grinned. “You’re going to do more cockfighting later, if you know what I mean.”
Memories of Franky, of the stifling hot trailer in the dead of summer, washed over Zoe and panic set in.
“No.” She shook her head but her denial meant nothing to him. He winked, seemingly happier than she’d ever seen him, and all his odd statements and come-ons filtered through her mind. She’d been so busy playing the polite neighbor and giving him the benefit of every doubt that she hadn’t read them as the warning signs they were. She’d trusted what he appeared to be instead of what her instincts told her. Anyone could’ve been misled, but she was especiall
y vulnerable because she was so determined not to suspect danger around every corner. After what Franky had done, it was the only way she could live a normal life.
“You ready for this?” he asked his wife.
“For what?”
“To fight her!”
“Colin, no!” Tiffany pointed to her wounded shoulder. “Look at me!”
“You’re okay, babe. You’ve had worse.”
“Quit it, Colin. You’ve got to get out of here. Stivers will find this place eventually. It’s not as if it’s invisible.”
“It’s so remote it might as well be invisible,” he said.
“Why won’t you listen?” she shouted. “Are you on something again? He’ll be here any minute, Colin!”
“No, he won’t. Come on, babe.” He grabbed her ass and gave it a lascivious squeeze, letting his tongue dangle out as he did. “You’re not willing to duke it out for your man? I thought you hated Zoe. I thought you wanted me to kill her.”
Tiffany staggered back a few steps. “Shut up! God, I hate you!”
He stiffened as if she’d slapped him. “What’d you say?”
She covered her mouth. Obviously, she regretted those words, but that didn’t seem to matter. Tiffany was right. Colin had to be on something. He was acting bizarre.
The Bells stared at each other for several seconds. Then Colin strode over and yanked Tiffany by the hair. “You want her?” he said to Zoe. “Here she is.”
Zoe had to think of some way to prevail. Her daughter was alive. Colin had spoken of her in the present tense. But where was she? Zoe hoped she was in the shed or the cabin. If she was anywhere else, she might never find her.
“Let’s go to Sam,” she said.
“In a minute.”
Tiffany winced but didn’t cry out as Colin forced her arms behind her back. “My wife deserves to be taught a lesson.” He licked Tiffany’s cheek this time. “What do you say, babe? You hate me, huh? Is that it?”
“I didn’t mean it,” she whined. “You know I love you, Colin. I’d do anything for you. I brought her here, didn’t I?”
“You brought her here so I could kill her. That’s hardly a sacrifice.” He returned his attention to Zoe. “If you’ll kick her ass, I’ll kill Sam quick.”
Sam was indeed alive—but how was Zoe going to keep her that way?
