Too bad Missy bred Labradors. If it was a smaller breed, she’d love to snag a pup for Wayne. He’d been itchin’ for a dog, but puppies were a lot of work. Plus, the apartments they were planning on seeing didn’t accept dogs. Later, when they were settled in a new city and state and had bought a home, she’d surprise him with a puppy. Maybe a hound like the one Wayne had had when he was a boy, before his evil father had broken its neck to punish Wayne for not doing his chores.
Remembering how broken up Wayne had been, how he’d tried to hide his tears and be a man—at ten—had all of her happy thoughts about their new baby turning into outrage. No child should have been treated as badly and inhumanely as Wayne had. But that was in the past and, as she pulled into her driveway, she needed to remain focused on the immediate future.
With the exception of what they’d need should they find themselves shacked up in a motel for longer than planned, most of the packing was done. She did have a little cleaning to do in order to make sure they received the initial deposit on their rental home, but she’d do that after the man who’d offered to buy her Honda came by. Wayne didn’t know she was selling her car, and she hoped he wouldn’t be angry that she hadn’t discussed it with him. But she’d rather have the extra cash and, living in Chicago, they wouldn’t need two cars.
She grabbed the Walmart bags from the car and hauled them into the house. When she dropped them on the linoleum, the dissecting kit fell out of one of the plastic bags. She picked it up and thought about the tattooed cashier’s brother. The boy who’d planned on dissecting a hamster had grown to be a surgeon. How about that, she smiled. The tools in the kit certainly weren’t surgeon quality, but they’d do the trick. Unlike Wayne, she’d never been squeamish when it came to blood. Delivering a child was messy business. Although she’d been scared out of her mind when she’d gone into labor with Elton, she remembered the blood. And the pain.
Unfortunately for Missy Schneider, tomorrow there would be plenty of both.
*
Dante scanned through the information Jake Tyler had compiled for the cold case he’d been working on, a sense of pride fracturing his foul mood. He’d trained Jake to be a CORE agent, and the former Marine and sheriff had continued to prove time and again he was a perfect fit for the agency.
“Great stuff,” he said, studying the twenty-year-old homicide photograph from the file. “Even if you didn’t have the new DNA evidence, the evidence you’ve discovered would still be enough to bring charges against this bastard.”
The bastard happened to be the father of a teenaged girl, who had been found raped and beaten to death in the Miller Beach woods outside of Gary, Indiana. Fifteen years ago Gary’s homicide detectives had listed the girl’s murder as a cold case, but her mother had never given up and had eventually turned to CORE for assistance. At the time of the girl’s murder, the father hadn’t been a suspect. After digging deeper into the man’s background and the story he’d told the night of his daughter’s disappearance, Jake had shocked the Gary detectives and the girl’s mother when he’d told them that he suspected the father had murdered his daughter for her life insurance. Once the small amount of DNA they’d had left from her rape kit had been analyzed, Jake had his proof. When questioned, the father admitted the rape had been done to throw the trail off of him.
Dante shook his head. The man had raped and murdered his own daughter for ten thousand dollars. Pathetic and disgusting.
“Thanks. I wanted you to look at my report before I turned it into Ian.” Jake shoved the files into a binder. “I didn’t think I’d like working a cold case. You know me, I’m all about action.” He grinned. “But I loved being able to help give this girl justice and her mom peace of mind. You know what I mean?”
Dante understood, more than anyone. All he had to do was look at his wife. Based on last night, his soon to be ex-wife. Refusing to let her in his head again, he gave Jake a nod. “I get it. Owen likes doing cold cases, too.” Now that their coworker, Owen Malcolm, was expecting his first child with his wife, Rachel, he preferred less action and travel.
“Maybe now, but once their baby is born, he might want to get out of town every now and then.” Jake rose from the chair and looked out Dante’s office window. “My oldest brother was like a zombie after their first kid was born. Between my sister-in-law’s baby blues and a colicky baby, he looked for every excuse to leave the house. I’m sure you know how that goes.”
Dante wouldn’t know. Within the first few weeks, Sophia had slept throughout the night and Jessica had never had any issues with postpartum depression. He’d loved being with the two of them and, like Owen, had requested assignments that had kept him close to home.
Jake turned away from the window, apology written all over his face. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to bring up your daughter.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t think anything of it.” His daughter was never far from his thoughts, but he also didn’t want his coworkers constantly worrying about what they said in front of him. Unlike Jessica, he’d accepted that Sophia was gone and that the chance of her returning to them alive was slim to none. Losing his daughter, not knowing what had happened to her—if she’d suffered, if she still suffered—had punched a hole in his chest. His life had completely changed that day and hadn’t been the same since. He’d barely slept through the night since she’d been taken, and would wake from nightmares, his body and sheets soaked with sweat, his heart racing and his mind on his missing daughter.
He cleared his throat. “So what’s going to happen to the girl’s father?” he asked, shifting the conversation away from babies and back to the cold case.
“Fortunately the murder took place in Indiana. Local authorities are going for the death penalty.”
“I hope they get it.” For what the man had done to his daughter, he deserved death. How could he have helped bring a child into the world, only to rape and kill her? And over a pittance of life insurance money.
“How’re things working out with Lola?” Jake asked.
“Really well. She’s catching on fast.” He’d leave out his concerns for how she would handle herself once she was in the field alone. Lola was CORE’s first female agent and he didn’t want his male counterparts thinking any less of her. Until she finished her training and proved she could handle herself, he’d keep his opinion to himself and give Ian his assessment.
“Good.”
“Yeah.” He picked up his own case file to look through, hoping Jake would take the hint. But the agent remained by the window. “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”
“I…ah…” He approached the desk, then took a seat at the edge of the chair. “I have a favor to ask, but if you’re not comfortable with it or you think—”
“Just ask. If I’m not comfortable with it, you’ll be the first to know.”
Jake blew out a breath. “Okay. Naomi and I started the adoption process.”
“You guys just got married,” he said, leaving out that Naomi had only recently recovered from the wounds she received while they’d all been hunting down a mass murderer.
“Right, but the adoption process could take a couple of years. So, we figured we’d get started now.”
“Makes sense.” He shrugged. “What do you need from me?”
“A reference letter. The adoption agency doesn’t want letters from family, and we don’t have many friends. Again, if you’re not comfortable—”
Dante held up a hand. “I’m honored you asked. When do you need it by?”
Jake relaxed into the chair and gave him a big smile. “Thanks, man. We have a meeting with our caseworker in three weeks. If you can have it to us by then, that’d be great.”
“You got it.” He stood and offered his hand. After what Naomi and Jake had been through, he hoped the adoption worked out for them. Having a child, in his opinion, was one of the greatest gifts. Sophia might have only been in his life for ten short months, but they’d been the best ten months of his li
fe.
Jake also stood and shook Dante’s hand. “Thanks, I really appreciate the help.” He gathered his binder and moved for the door. “Just try to leave out the fact you think I’m a little fucked up,” he said with a grin.
He chuckled. “I don’t think it, I know it. But I’ll keep that to myself.”
When Dante’s cell phone rang, Jake opened the door. “I’ll let you get that. I need to show Ian what I have,” he said, raising the binder. “Thanks for looking over my report.”
“Anytime,” he said, and once Jake left the room he answered his cell.
“Dante,” Alex Byrnes, Jessica’s partner and his close friend, began, worry in his tone, “thank God I got a hold of you.”
Jessica. He gripped the phone tight and rushed to his desk. “What’s happened? Is Jessica okay?” he asked, pulling his car keys from the drawer.
“I don’t know. She didn’t show up for work and she’s not answering her phone.”
“Did you go to her apartment?”
“Yeah, I didn’t get an answer.”
Don’t panic. She’d disappeared a couple of times when she’d thought she had a solid lead on Sophia’s whereabouts. Today could be one of those times.
You were a dick to her last night. He had been, and for good reason. But Jessica wouldn’t disappear because of him. What he’d said last night couldn’t have hurt her—she’d have to actually care about him for that to happen. Which she clearly didn’t. Jessica had only one concern in the world and that was finding their daughter. Everything and everyone else came second, him included—if at all.
“Did you call her parents?” Dante asked. “Maybe she skipped town for the night.”
“Her parents are on an Alaskan cruise.”
“What about Gabby?” Gabby had been Jessica’s best friend since they were kids. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Gabby since he and Jessica had split.
“No. They had a falling out a couple years ago and don’t speak anymore.”
How did he not know this? While he tried to think of whom Jessica might turn to, he realized he’d been so out of touch with his wife, he couldn’t come up with a suggestion. Hell, Alex was probably closer to her than he was, which pissed him off. Then again, how could he remain close to someone who continually pushed him away? “Who else would she contact?”
“That’s it. She’s pretty much alienated herself from everyone.”
A soft knock came at the door. He moved away from the desk and opened up the small closet. “I’ll go to her apartment and see if I can figure out where she went,” he said, pulling out his lock pick kit.
“I’d meet you there, but I have to be in court in about an hour.”
“No problem. I’ll handle it.”
“Text me if you find her.”
“Will do,” he said, then after disconnecting the call, he opened his office door.
“Are we leaving?” Lola asked, dropping her gaze to the keys in his hand. “I thought we were going to work through these other robberies.”
Shit. He didn’t have time for busy work. After a little digging yesterday, they’d discovered pawn shop robberies, similar to the two they were currently working on in Villa Park, Lyons and Broadview, which were all cities within thirty minutes of Chicago. While the insurance company that had hired CORE had no association with these other pawn shops, he and Lola thought they’d investigate the robberies to see if there was a link. Based on the amount of merchandise stolen, if there was a link and this was an inside job, then they were looking for a lot of players.
“Sorry, but you’re going to have to get started on your own.”
“You don’t need me to go with you?” she asked, the disappointment evident on her face. “Wait. Does this have anything to do with the vegetable garden?”
Since arriving at CORE this morning, he’d managed to avoid being alone with Lola. He’d taken her advice and had tried to romance his wife. Granted, lasagna didn’t scream romance, but for whatever reason, that particular dish used to always put Jessica in the mood. He’d tried and had failed, the end result abysmal.
Divorce.
He’d hoped she would never sign the divorce papers and that they’d eventually reconcile. After last night, he knew it had to happen. What they were doing to each other was unhealthy. Neither of them could move forward if they were stuck in the past. He didn’t want to sell the house or finalize the divorce, but at this point, it was the only solution. He still loved Jessica, he still wanted to give their marriage a shot, only she hadn’t. Which hurt like hell.
And now she’d disappeared.
“No,” he answered. “The vegetable garden is fine.”
She grinned. “Really? So my idea worked?”
“Not at all.”
“But you said the vegetable—”
“Because it is fine. I’ve got a timer on the sprinkler. So no more stops back to the house for watering, and no more text messages.”
Her smile fell. “I’m sorry. If you need help creating good feng shui—”
“I’m good, thanks.” Fuck the feng shui. He needed a good divorce lawyer. It had been so long since their divorce papers had been drawn up, his attorney had since retired. But first, he needed to find his soon to be ex-wife.
He stepped out the door. “Since you don’t have an office yet, feel free to use mine. I’ll call you.”
“Any idea when you’ll be back?”
“Soon.” He hoped, and headed down the hallway, giving Lola a quick wave over his shoulder. He might love Jessica, but last night had made him realize he’d been a fool to hang onto something that no longer existed. The sooner they cut ties, the better. He wasn’t interested in finding someone new, he simply wanted to ease the stress she’d continuously put him under, and find an emotional and spiritual plane that would bring peace to his soul.
Who the hell was he kidding? He wanted to punch the fucking wall. The anger and resentment inside of him had become harder and harder to restrain. He’d set those festering emotions aside last night hoping he’d been wrong, that they could—if Jessica bothered to make an effort—make their marriage work. Instead, she’d shoved their daughter’s disappearance down his throat and had made it about her. About how devastated she felt. What about him? Had she become that obsessed and self-absorbed? Couldn’t she see he was still just as devastated?
Now she’d decided to go off the grid, likely to investigate another bullshit, wild-goose chase. A little too convenient and coincidental for him. He climbed into the Camaro, started the car, then peeled out of the parking garage. Did she think he was stupid? That he didn’t understand what she was doing? She didn’t want to be married to him, but she didn’t want to let go of the marriage, either. She’d agreed to finalize the divorce, then suddenly disappeared. Yes. Very convenient and coincidental. Or rather, an excellent excuse to avoid the inevitable.
Screw that.
After she’d left last night, he’d tried to eat the lasagna but hadn’t had an appetite. Instead, he’d opted for a few glasses of Jack and Coke. Self-destructive tendencies weren’t in his nature, but damn it if Jessica didn’t sometimes bring out the worst in him.
She’d also made you a better man.
Like last night, he didn’t want to consider that now. He didn’t want to think about how she’d been the one to talk him into becoming a SEAL, then later, after he’d opted to not reenlist, how she’d encouraged him to take the chance and accept a position with CORE. If it wasn’t for her pushing him and encouraging, he might have gone a different route. He’d loved being a SEAL, but also hadn’t wanted to be numbered in their divorce rate statistic.
How’s that working out for you?
Right. But he still had no regrets over leaving the Navy. He’d wanted to be with his wife and enjoy the home they’d worked so hard to buy and remodel. He’d wanted to start a family and go into a line of work that wouldn’t constantly put him in danger. Sure, he’d been in dangerous situations as a CORE agent, but nothing i
n comparison to when he’d been with the SEALs. Now he was in danger of losing his wife and house. Normally, he wouldn’t back down from a fight, but he didn’t see his situation with Jessica turning into any type of victory. They’d both lost so much. Better to raise the white flag and accept defeat before they wound up hurting each other more than they already had.
His stomach tightened with anxiety when he parked his car along the street near Jessica’s apartment. He hoped to God she’d decided to hole up inside and was simply avoiding Alex’s calls. If she had gone on another wild-goose chase and hadn’t left a trail behind in her apartment, it could be days before he found her. The last time she’d left without a trace, she hadn’t returned to Chicago for nearly a week.
If she kept doing this kind of crap, she could end up losing her job. Plus, it wasn’t good for her mental health. Every time she found a new lead on their daughter and it ultimately failed to pan out, she became more determined to continue her search. The stress she put herself under showed. He hadn’t been lying last night. She’d become too skinny. She’d never been the type to wear a ton of make-up and mess with her hair. Naturally pretty, she hadn’t needed to. But au naturel wasn’t working for her. She’d become too pale, the dark smudges from lack of sleep too prominent. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked genuinely happy and didn’t have worry lines creasing her forehead.
As he entered the six-story brick apartment building, he thought back to the day he’d first met Jessica. He’d been twenty-three, in his fourth year with the Navy and on a two-week leave. His dad had owned a used car dealership just outside of Chicago, and he’d gone there that day to hang out and check out the new inventory. Jessica had stopped by looking for something inexpensive and reliable. Before his dad or any of the other salesmen could pounce on her, he had. Growing up around the dealership he knew cars, so pretending to be a salesman hadn’t been difficult. The thing was, he couldn’t have cared less if she’d bought a car from his dad, he’d been more interested in acquiring her phone number. Man, she’d been something else. Those eyes of hers had had him tongue-tied. They’d reminded him of an Olive Matuka fishing fly, dark brown with flecks of olive green. Her long and wavy dark blond hair had emphasized her eyes and that smile…
Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) Page 7
