Taken to the Edge

by Kara Lennox

  Claudia was one of those therapists who made you want to give the right answers. She was an expert at recovering lost memories through hypnosis. Roy warmed up to her right away, chattering about his plane trip—his first experience with first class—not even realizing Claudia’s “small talk” was designed to elicit information she needed to evaluate his sincerity and truthfulness as a witness.

  After an initial, low-key interview, Claudia had Roy sit in a comfortable chair, and the session began.

  Ford, Robyn and Glasgow stayed in the room, but sat out of Roy’s field of vision. So although he knew they were there, he would feel as if he were alone with the pretty psychologist.

  Claudia took Roy through a series of questions. It seemed like Roy was merely relaxed, talking easily, his eyes half-closed.

  “So tell me what happened the night Justin Jasperson disappeared,” Claudia asked in a conversational tone.

  “I was working a split shift,” Roy said. “So I got into work about nine.”

  “Was it a busy night?”

  “No, pretty quiet.”

  “Anything unusual occur that night? Besides the child’s disappearance, that is.”

  “No. Just an ordinary night. The dining room closed at eleven, so after that we just did to-go orders. The driver, Jeff, left for his last delivery right before midnight. That’s when the Jasperson order came in, for a large pizza.”

  “Did you know the Jaspersons?”

  “No.”

  “Do you remember what kind of pizza?”

  “Half-and-half. One side was pepperoni, the other black olive.”

  Ford looked at Robyn and gave her a thumbs-up. Roy’s story hadn’t changed, and he appeared to be recalling even more details.

  “Did you take the order?”

  “No, Mindy, the night manager did. I made the pizza and put it in the oven, then I took my break.”

  “And what did you do during your break?”

  “I went to the parking lot to smoke. There was an area off to the side, near the Dumpster. We weren’t allowed to smoke in front of the restaurant.”

  “What kind of cigarettes did you smoke?”

  “I had a joint in my pocket.” He no longer seemed bothered by admitting to drug use; Ford had assured him the statute of limitations had long since passed. “I lit that and took a couple of hits. Just a little something to make work bearable. Then I saw a car pull into the parking lot, so I put out the joint and lit a Marlboro.”

  “What kind of car?”

  “Jag. Silver. I remember thinking how I was gonna have a car like that someday.”

  “Did you see who was driving?”

  “I saw Eldon Jasperson get out. I mean, I didn’t know him then, but I know who it was now. After all the publicity.”

  “How did he seem?”

  “Seem?”

  “How did he act? Was he calm, or agitated?”

  “He locked the door with a remote. Then he went right inside. Walking kind of fast but not running.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I was thinking about that car, you know, imagining what it would be like to drive it—the kind of shit kids think about all the time. Then another car pulled into the parking lot and parked right next to the Jag. I thought that was kind of strange, because the parking lot was empty. The second car could have picked any space.”

  Ford glanced over at the detective. He sat impassively, not even taking notes, the bastard. Of course, Glasgow didn’t want it known that the police had blown their investigation into the biggest crime in Green Prairie history, but at some point he had to drop that agenda and pay attention to the facts.

  “What kind of car was it?” Claudia asked.

  There was a long pause, and Ford held his breath. Robyn reached over and took his hand in a tense grip. He wondered if she even realized she’d done it.

  “It was small. Silver. A Toyota Camry or something similar. Those cars are everywhere so I didn’t pay attention.”

  “Did you note the license plate?”

  Another long pause. “PCA,” he said matter-of-factly. “Those were the first three letters. I don’t know about the rest.”

  Ford had to control the urge to leap out of his chair and put his fist in the air. This was huge! With a partial license plate, along with the color and a possible make and model, he could track this car down.

  He looked over at Robyn, expecting to see her smiling and excited. Instead, she looked stricken, and her face was a deathly white.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered. “Are you sick?”

  In answer she stood and quietly left the room.

  Ford wanted to follow her, but he needed to stay and listen to the remainder of Roy’s session. At least Glasgow seemed to be paying attention now. He’d taken a small notebook out of his breast pocket and was scribbling something.

  The remainder of the interview didn’t last long. Roy said that he’d finished his cigarette and returned to work right after the second car drove up. He didn’t see who was behind the wheel or any other pertinent details. He recalled boxing up the pizza, and then the uproar a few minutes later when Eldon announced that his child was missing.

  As soon as Claudia began the process of bringing Roy back to full consciousness, Ford quietly left the room. He expected to find Robyn in the waiting room, but all of the chairs there were empty. Claudia’s receptionist was on the phone.

  Ford walked out into the hallway, his worry for Robyn ratcheting up a notch. He sank with relief when he spotted her coming out of the ladies’ room, mopping her face with a paper towel. She looked shaky, but at least some color had returned to her face.

  “Are you okay?” he demanded. “What happened back there?”

  “I’m sorry…I had to leave, I thought I was going to be sick.”

  “Was it something you ate?” he asked, bewildered. People reacted to good news in all different ways, but they usually didn’t throw up.

  She blinked at him owlishly. “I don’t think you understand.”

  “I understand that Roy White just gave us a huge lead. We stand a very good chance of tracking down that second car.”

  “You don’t have to track it down. Eight years ago, I was driving a silver Honda Accord—very similar to a Toyota Camry. The license plate was PCA 227.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ROBYN SAW THE EXACT MOMENT Ford realized the implications of what she was saying. At first he was confused, as if he hadn’t heard her right. Then he shook his head, as if that would negate the facts she’d just told him.

  Finally he looked her straight in the eye. “You’re telling me Roy White just implicated you in the kidnapping and murder of your own son.”She nodded. A few times in her life, she’d been frightened, but not like this. In the span of a few seconds, she’d watched her future, her very life, drain into nothingness.

  What she needed more than anything was for Ford to fold her into his arms and tell her this was some kind of terrible mistake, that Roy was mistaken or lying and Ford would straighten everything out by lunchtime.

  But he didn’t. His bewilderment turned to anger. His face hardened into something Robyn had never seen before. Then he turned on his heel without a word and strode back down the hall to Claudia’s office suite.

  Robyn didn’t know what to do except follow.

  She would be brought into the police for questioning, that was a given. She might even be cuffed and incarcerated.

  But all she could think about was that look on Ford’s face. He’d been horrified, angry.

  At her?

  He had already dashed her hopes about any sort of romantic involvement, but she thought she would at least have his friendship, his respect.

  Now she felt even that draining away. He was all about law and order, right and wrong, and she was about to become a murder suspect.

  Never mind that that Roy White was a lying jerk.

  Her mind raced. Why would Roy lie? The answer was easy. Someone paid
him to lie. Someone was getting nervous, which meant they were closer to the truth than they knew.

  Robyn pulled herself together and made herself follow Ford back into the office. The answer was simple. Ford would interrogate Roy and he would crack; he would admit that he was being paid to falsify testimony, and he would give up the name of the guilty party.

  But when she entered the waiting room, the scene that greeted her nearly knocked her to her knees. Roy and Ford were shaking hands and Claudia was beaming. All three of them viewed the hypnosis session as a triumph. They’d gotten the information they wanted.

  Did Ford actually believe Roy?

  How could he? Didn’t he know Robyn better than that? She had opened herself up to him so thoroughly; she’d kept no secrets from him, not the most private parts of her life. She had offered up everything for his dissection in the hopes of somehow saving Eldon.

  He should be angry, defending her innocence. Because if he didn’t, who would?

  She could survive the coming ordeal, but only if she held on to hope. Ford was the one who could give her that. At the moment, he wasn’t giving her anything. He wouldn’t even look at her.

  Confused, and afraid she would burst into tears in front of everyone, she slipped out of the room, down the elevator, out of the building, finding herself on a street in the busy West University neighborhood far from anything familiar. She struck out aimlessly down the street, needing the release of a brisk walk. It was as hot as a sauna, but she didn’t care.

  Ford would wonder where she’d gone, but she didn’t intend to stay gone long. She wouldn’t make any effort to hide; she merely needed some time alone to gather her dignity together.

  When the police came, when the media showed up, when the cameras rolled, she wouldn’t let them see the pain.

  Like Eldon, she’d be stoical. Because if Ford—the man she wanted so badly to love—did not step forward as her champion, nothing else mattered.

  FORD HAD KNOWN THE EXACT moment Robyn came into the waiting room, and the exact moment she’d departed. He’d felt her pain, her confusion, but he hadn’t been able to do anything about it. He’d been too busy putting on a show for Roy, pretending he believed the lying son of a bitch, and that he didn’t realize his client had just been implicated in a murder.

  “I need to talk to the Captain about this,” Glasgow was saying. He seemed to be taking the turn of events seriously. Ford wished now that he hadn’t involved the police. Because now he was going to have to come clean; otherwise he would be guilty of obstructing justice. It wouldn’t take a decent investigator long to arrive at Robyn as their new suspect anyway; a cursory examination of the case file would turn up the kind of car she’d owned at the time of Justin’s disappearance, including the license plate.“Just a minute, Sergeant.” Ford pressed some cash into Roy’s hand. “Here’s some cab fare. That should get you back to your hotel. Your plane leaves tomorrow morning. A car will pick you up at 7:00 a.m. to take you to the airport.”

  Roy nodded. “Is that all? I mean, I could stay a couple more days if you need me for something.”

  Glasgow eyed Roy up and down, sizing up his credibility, perhaps. “The police will be in touch.”

  “I’m really glad I could help.”

  It was all Ford could do not to wipe up the floor with Roy’s smug, insincere face.

  Roy walked out, and the detective looked expectantly at Ford. “You had something you wanted to say?”

  “The car Roy described. It’s Robyn’s car. You’ll find it in the case file.”

  Glasgow’s jaw dropped. He glanced at the door, then back at Ford. “You shouldn’t have let her leave.”

  “She won’t run. You have my word on that.” He knew that much about Robyn—she would squarely face any accusations against her.

  “We’ll need to talk with her,” Glasgow said. “Sooner rather than later.”

  Ford knew what “talk” meant. A stifling interrogation room. Two, maybe three detectives hammering on Robyn for hours at a time.

  “Just a minute,” Claudia said. “Sergeant, there’s something you should know. Roy White was lying.”

  Glasgow raised his eyebrows. “Was he, now? He sounded pretty sincere to me. And I’m a trained interrogator.”

  “He was lying,” she insisted. “Not about the whole thing, just the description of the car. The body language of truth and lies is an emerging, legitimate field of study, and Roy’s session was a textbook case.”

  “You can’t have it both ways,” the detective said, rocking back on his heels. “Either your witness was telling the truth, in which case we throw out Eldon Jasperson’s conviction and arrest his ex-wife, or your witness is lying, and Eldon Jasperson fries as scheduled. Which will it be?”

  Ford wanted to throttle the sneering sergeant, but he forced himself to use logic instead of brute force. “You know it’s not that simple.”

  Glasgow seemed to come to a decision, and for the first time Ford saw a glint of intelligence behind the sergeant’s pompous demeanor. “I’ll do what I can for Eldon Jasperson. Clearly there are elements to this case that were not explored. But I’ll expect you to deliver Robyn Jasperson to our headquarters by 8:00 p.m. tonight. You don’t, we’ll come looking for her.”

  With that, he nodded and made his exit.

  Claudia looked crushed. “Ford, I’m so sorry I didn’t convince him. Maybe if I talked to someone else—”

  “Going over Glasgow’s head will only make him mad.” Anyway, right now, Ford had more urgent business. He had to find Robyn.

  She wasn’t in the hallway, and when he cracked the bathroom door and called her name, he was greeted with silence.

  He didn’t like this. Although she refused to believe it, Robyn was still in danger. The real murderer was out there. He had persuaded Roy to lie and implicate Robyn; a person would have to be carrying around an awful lot of hate and anger to do that.

  He dialed Robyn’s cell phone and was relieved when she answered. “Hello, Ford.” Her voice was strained.

  “Robyn, where are you?”

  “I’m walking around the block. I just had to get away by myself for a few minutes. I know you’re probably sorry now that you threw in your lot with me, but don’t worry, I’m not skipping town.”

  “I never—for God’s sake, come back to Claudia’s office, now.” He knew she was scared. But she’d held herself together for so long, even on caffeine overload, with no sleep and frayed patience. Now wasn’t the time for her to fall apart, and he wouldn’t let her.

  Doubts? How could she, even for half a second, think that Ford had believed Roy?

  Not for the first time, Ford wished he still had the powers of a police department behind him. He could look into phone records and find out who the hell had gotten to Roy White.

  When he exited the professional building, he spotted Robyn heading down the sidewalk toward him, looking a bit bedraggled from the heat. As she came close, their eyes met and held for a mere second before she looked away.

  “I’m sorry I ran off like that,” she said stiffly. “I was afraid I would fall apart in front of Sergeant Serious.”

  His irritation with her melted. She’d been upset; she’d reacted illogically. He couldn’t blame her for that.

  She glanced around her, as if she expected a horde of cops to come out of the woodwork and slap on the cuffs. “Where is he, anyway?”

  “Off to do some fact-checking.”

  “So he believed Roy?”

  “I’m afraid so. He’s asked that you report to the Green Prairie police headquarters by eight o’clock tonight.”

  Robyn closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to absorb the blow. “What about Eldon?”

  Of course, Robyn would worry about someone else’s welfare when her own wasn’t in the best shape. “Glasgow said he would intervene.”

  “Do you think he’ll succeed? Do you think the governor will listen? There’s so little time. Just two days.”

  “Yes, I th
ink the governor will listen. I can’t guarantee he’ll act, but he’s not an unreasonable man.”

  Robyn almost smiled. “At least there’s that. We did what we set out to do.”

  Yeah, but at what cost?

  “Will they arrest me?” she asked in a small voice.

  He wished he could reassure her, but he had to be honest. “I don’t know.”

  “I should stop by home and water my plants, just in case.” Her attempt at humor fell flat.

  “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”

  “Will you? If I’m charged, will Project Justice take my case?”

  He opened his mouth, ready to say of course Project Justice would take her case. But she was talking about Project Justice, not him personally, and it wasn’t his place to say yes or no. It wasn’t his decision to make. That was only part of the reason he hesitated, however. He paused, carefully formulating what he wanted to say.

  But he was too slow. The light of hope left her eyes. “I guess I can’t blame you. The evidence points to me. You’d be crazy to champion me without knowing more. I get that.”

  She turned and waved her arm in the air at an oncoming taxi.

  “You’re the one jumping to conclusions.” He grasped her arm to stop her from waving, hoping the taxi would drive on. “Look, you can’t just run off. Let me at least find you a lawyer. If not Raleigh, then someone just as good.” Handle the immediate crisis first. Then they could step back and develop a strategy. That was how cops worked—how he worked.

  The taxi pulled to the curb and he reluctantly released her. Robyn opened the back door, but she paused and faced him before getting in.

  “I don’t need a lawyer. I’m innocent.”

  “You can’t possibly be that naive. Innocent or guilty, they’ll turn you to mincemeat in that interrogation room.”

  “You forget, I’ve been through it before. I’ll handle it. But thank you for caring what happens to me.”

  She climbed into the cab and pulled the door closed.

  Hell. He really should have handled that differently.

  FIVE MINUTES LATER, AS her taxi became bogged down in city traffic, Robyn felt the shock wearing off and wished she could live over the past few minutes. Ford had offered help. He’d wanted to hook her up with a lawyer. And she’d run away like a frightened child. In her position, she should be embracing any support she could get.