Surrender

by HELEN HARDT

  I pulled my wallet out of my purse and retracted the wrinkled piece of paper with some names on it. Rodney Cates had written down some information the last time Jonah and I had visited him. On this sheet of paper was the name of a woman, Marie Cooke, who had been a friend of Gina’s. She had told Rodney that Gina had been in love.

  Gina’s suicide note, which I’d told Ruby about, had indicated she was in love with me. I wanted to talk to Marie and find out if that was true. I had a suspicion that it wasn’t, and that the letter from Gina was a forgery, with the part about her being in love with me thrown in to push me further off track.

  It had worked.

  I handed the paper to Ruby. “Can you get an address for this name and number?”

  “I can try.” She called into the station. Within a few minutes, she had a home and work address.

  “I hate to bother her at work,” I said.

  “Police business,” she said. “I’ll whip out my badge, and she’ll cooperate.”

  “But she’s not in any trouble.”

  “Of course not, but this way we won’t have any trouble getting in to talk to her.”

  “All right.” I needed the information, and there was no reason Marie wouldn’t give it to me. Gina was gone.

  We drove in separate cars to the real estate office where Marie worked as a receptionist. When we walked in, there she sat right in the front. She was a pleasantly attractive young woman with light-brown hair and hazel eyes.

  “May I help you?” she asked us.

  Ruby whipped out her badge. “I’m Detective Ruby Lee with the Grand Junction Police, and this is Dr. Melanie Carmichael. Are you Marie Cooke?”

  “Yes.” She bit her lip timidly.

  “You’re not in any trouble, ma’am,” Ruby said, “but we need to speak to you. Is there a place where we can talk privately?”

  “Uh…sure. I guess.” She picked up her phone. “Megan? Can you cover for me for a few minutes?”

  Another girl came and took over the phones.

  Marie came out from behind her desk and led us to a conference room. “Is this okay?”

  “Yes, this is fine,” Ruby said. “We won’t take up much of your time.”

  Marie was still looking nervous.

  I smiled at her. “It’s okay. You’re not in any trouble, like Detective Lee said.”

  “All right. It’s just…weird when the police come looking for you.”

  “I know.” I patted her arm.

  “We’re actually here to ask about a friend of yours. Gina Cates,” Ruby said.

  “Oh. Gina is…”

  “We know she’s dead, ma’am,” Ruby said.

  I wanted to intervene. Ruby was just doing her job as professionally as she knew how, but her formality was freaking out Marie. I could see it in her eyes.

  I looked to Ruby, and she nodded slightly. I hoped that meant I could take the lead here.

  “Marie,” I said, “Gina’s father told us that you told him that Gina had been in love. Is that true?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Did she tell you who she was in love with?”

  “No. She didn’t. It was in the beginning phase, you know? She just said it was someone she’d met recently who made her toes curl. They’d only been out together a couple of times.”

  A-ha! “You mean she had gone out with this…person?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was this person a man?” I asked.

  Marie smiled. “I’m assuming so. Are you asking if Gina was a lesbian? Because she wasn’t. She was straight.”

  “We have reason to believe that Gina might have been in love with a woman. Is this something she would have told you?”

  “Maybe. We were friendly, but not that close. We were really close when we were teenagers, but her father threatened me when I was about fifteen.”

  “Yes,” Ruby said. “Gina told me about that.”

  “We connected again as adults, but we were never as close as we once had been. She probably would have told me if she was in love with a woman. But believe me, that wasn’t Gina. Gina liked men.”

  “Is it possible that she could have fallen in love with a woman?” I asked. “Her therapist, maybe?”

  “She was in therapy?”

  “That was just hypothetical.” Sometimes people didn’t even tell their closest friends they were in therapy. Nothing strange about that.

  “Oh. I can’t say for sure about anything. Like I said, we had kind of lost touch. But Gina was straight, and she did say she had been out with this person a few times.”

  Good enough proof for me. Gina and I had certainly never “gone out,” so Marie was talking about someone else. Whether the person was male or female didn’t matter at this point.

  “Thank you so much. I don’t think we need anything else.” I looked to Ruby.

  “Yes, thank you, ma’am. We’ll be in touch if we need you further.” She handed a business card to Marie.

  In the elevator going down, I turned to Ruby. “I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds. She just seemed so uncomfortable.”

  “I know I take being ‘businesslike’ to new heights,” Ruby said. “That’s why I let you do the talking. It was clear she wasn’t responding to me.”

  “Don’t be afraid to be…”

  “Be what?”

  I laughed. “Well, I was going to say ‘human,’ but I didn’t want you to think I was insulting you.”

  She joined in my laughter. “When you grow up like I did, you don’t really learn the finer points of etiquette.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’ve just never let myself get close to anyone. At first it was a defense mechanism. If anyone got close, I’d get caught when I was underage and shipped back to my father. Later, I just got used to it. I like being alone.”

  “Don’t be afraid of people, though. They can help.”

  She let out a chuckle. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to call you today and ask you to come along.”

  “But you did it.”

  “Only because the thought of facing my aunt and uncle alone scares the shit out of me. I mean, these people let their daughter get abused by my father. I haven’t seen them in years.”

  “Are you armed?” I asked.

  She pointed to her ankle. “Always.”

  “Good. Not that I think they’ll be violent, but we don’t have the muscle Jonah has. He had to get pretty tough with Rodney the last time.”

  Jonah. He was never far from my mind, even when I’d been talking to Marie. I’d turned on the therapist to make her comfortable and get the information I needed, but still, Jonah niggled at my mind. I couldn’t turn off the worry that consumed me.

  I couldn’t lose him.

  I just couldn’t.

  I wouldn’t.

  Ruby and I drove to the townhome where the Cateses were staying. A new door hung from the hinges. Jonah had cracked the old one, trying to break it down because Rodney wouldn’t come to the door.

  I grabbed the yearbook that I had brought with me off the dash.

  “Here we are,” Ruby said.

  I clutched at the book. “Here we are indeed.”

  Chapter Thirty–Six

  Jonah

  My body swayed.

  No! Had to stay focused. I drew the gun and aimed it at Wendy once more.

  “Now you listen to me, you conniving, crazy bitch. You are going to walk me through what happened to my son. And don’t you leave out one single detail, or I will put a bullet in your heart and splatter your blood on this cheap carpeting. Do we understand each other?”

  She nodded timidly, and I opened my mouth to speak—

  The blare of a siren pierced through the silence.

  Someone had found me.

  At just the wrong time.

  Just as I was about to get the information out of Wendy that I needed.

  I turned toward the sounds that were growing louder by the second.

  �
�Joe?”

  I turned back to Wendy.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I lifted my eyebrows. “What did you call me?”

  “I called you Joe. Short for Jonah. Your name.”

  Now her sanity kicks in. Great.

  “Wendy, where are we?”

  “We’re in my home. Of course, I no longer live here. I live with my mother in Denver now. How did I get here?”

  “You really want to know? You freaking kidnapped me and brought me here. You were convinced I was my father.”

  She shook her head, her brow furrowing. “That doesn’t make any sense. You do look just like him, though.”

  “You’ve been sending me stalking texts from some phone number in Iowa.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t have any phone number in—”

  Someone banged on the door. “Police! Open up!”

  “Gladly,” I said under my breath, still holding the gun. I went to the door and opened it.

  Two uniformed officers stood there, their guns drawn.

  “Jonah Steel?” one of them said.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. She didn’t harm me, other than injecting me with something. I’m recovered now.”

  They walked in. “Where is she?”

  I laid down the weapon and gestured. “Over there.”

  Now Wendy was cowering in the corner. “Officers? I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Are you Wendy Madigan?” one asked.

  “Yes. I am.”

  “Get to your feet, ma’am.” The first officer pointed a gun at her.

  “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “You abducted this man, Jonah Steel. How do you think he got here otherwise?”

  Her eyes misted up. “I wish I could tell you. The last thing I remember is… I think I was in Denver with my mother. Maybe… What day is it today anyway?”

  “She’s got some kind of personality disorder. Or she’s just a great liar,” I said. “I don’t know how I got here. She drugged me with something. She’s been calling me by my father’s name. She only just came out of the delusion now.”

  “Is this true, ma’am?”

  She shook her head, closing her eyes. “No. I don’t remember…”

  “She’s crazy,” I said.

  The first officer nodded. He put his gun in his holster and grabbed a set of handcuffs. “Wendy Madigan, I’m placing you under arrest for the abduction, drugging, and false imprisonment of Jonah Steel. You have the right to remain silent. If you choose not to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will provide one to represent you. Do you understand these rights?”

  She nodded, biting her lip. I wasn’t sure she understood the rights at all. Clearly she was incapacitated. Her attorney would probably get her off on some insanity plea.

  “Officer,” I said. “She has information I need. I was just getting her to talk when you burst in.”

  “We’re taking her in, Mr. Steel. You can talk to her at the station. If it’s okay with her attorney.”

  Shit. Now I might never get what I needed. She would no doubt end up in some psychiatric hospital strapped to a bed, and I might never be able to find out what had truly happened to Talon and why.

  And then there was the issue of Ryan.

  Part of me wanted to disbelieve Wendy. What she said couldn’t be true. But it made an eerie sort of sense.

  How could my father have slept with this woman? I shook my head. He’d probably slept with her when he was in high school. That was when her obsession with him seemed to have started. She said herself that she had joined the future lawmakers club to be near him.

  I heaved a sigh.

  “You all right?” the second officer asked me.

  “Fucking fine,” I said. “Just no closer than I’ve ever been to the truth.”

  “What truth is that?” the officer asked me.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Nothing at all. How did you find me?”

  “We got a tip from some PIs.”

  “Mills and Johnson?”

  “Those are the ones. They’re legendary all throughout Colorado. They charge a pretty penny.”

  I nodded. How well I knew.

  “You sure you’re okay? Should we call an ambulance for you?”

  “Whatever she gave me seems to have worn off. My mind came back before my body. My vision was blurry and my legs and knees didn’t work for a while, but I’m fine now, as you can see.”

  “Let’s get you an ambulance. That way they can do a blood test on you and see what you’ve got in your system.”

  What the hell? I wasn’t going to get any further hanging around here. Besides, I needed a ride.

  * * *

  “Chloral hydrate,” the doctor said to me. “It’s an older drug. When used with alcohol, it’s called a Mickey Finn. You’ve heard the phrase ‘slipped him a mickey,’ haven’t you?” He pointed to a tender spot on my neck. “Looks like you were injected here.”

  “My vision was blurry when I woke, even though my mind was okay. I had trouble standing.”

  “Dizziness is a common side effect. You’ll be okay. It’ll be out of your system soon.”

  “Damn.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe somebody got into my house and did all this.”

  “Do you have a security system?”

  “Yes. But I was up. I had turned it off. Why can’t I remember any of this happening?”

  “Retrograde amnesia. It’s pretty common. People sometimes lose the few minutes before an attack.”

  I shook my head again.

  “The good news is there’s no evidence of any other bodily injury.”

  So I hadn’t been beaten or raped. I supposed that was good news, given what our family had already been through.

  “How long do I need to stay here?”

  “I don’t see any reason to keep you. You’re obviously fine. The drug will leave your system on its own.”

  “Good. Is there a phone around here? I have some calls I need to make.”

  Chapter Thirty–Seven

  Melanie

  Ruby knocked on the door of the townhome. “Rodney Cates? Open up. Police.”

  No response. Not that I expected one.

  She banged on the door again. “Open up, or we’ll force our way in.”

  A few seconds later, the doorknob turned.

  Rodney Cates stood there. “You don’t look like a police officer to me. Where’s your uniform?”

  “I guess you don’t recognize me”—Ruby pulled out her badge—“Uncle Rodney.”

  He took the badge from her and stared at it. “Detective Ruby Lee.” He looked back at Ruby. “Shit, you’re Theo’s daughter.”

  “I am. I think you know Dr. Carmichael?”

  Rodney glared at me. “What are you doing here? You have no right to be here. I just brought Erica home.”

  “Good,” Ruby said. “I have a few words for you and for her.”

  “She’s not in any condition—”

  Ruby grabbed the badge from Rodney’s hand and pushed him out of the way, entering the townhome. I did a double take. She was a completely different person in the line of duty.

  I followed her in, clasping the yearbook to my chest.

  “We have some questions, Uncle Rodney.”

  “Look, whatever you think is going on, I assure you that Erica and I are not involved.”

  “Really? Two people are wanted for murder and a host of other crimes right now—two people you knew very well at one time. One of them is your brother-in-law, my father, the man who raped my cousin, which led directly to her death.”

  “Gina’s suicide is no business of yours.”

  “Isn’t it? My father tried to do the same thing to me, as you know. And at this point, we’re questioning whether Gina actually did kill herself.”


  “What are you saying?”

  “We think she might’ve been murdered.”

  He rolled his eyes. I scanned his features. An eye roll wasn’t what I had expected from a distraught father. I walked closer, still clutching the yearbook to my chest.

  He regarded me. “What do you have there?”

  I handed the book to Ruby. She turned to the relevant page, the photo of the future lawmakers club.

  “I want you to take a look at this.” She pointed. “That is Theodore Mathias, my father. That is Tom Simpson, who is also wanted right now on charges of kidnapping, raping, and torturing a ten-year-old boy. That is Larry Wade, currently incarcerated and awaiting trial on those same charges. And that, Uncle Rodney, is you.”

  “Where the hell did you get this?”

  “I’m thinking you might already know. A poor woman is dead because of this yearbook.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t? Then I think I will be going into the bedroom there to talk to my aunt. I have a feeling she’ll be a little more talkative than you are.”

  “You know I’m not going to allow that.”

  “That’s fine. I can make her talk to me. I can take you both down to the station for questioning. Then you’ll have to talk to me.”

  “You don’t have anything on me. Or Erica.”

  “I don’t have to have anything on you. Your brother-in-law is a wanted man. Taking you to the station for questioning is standard procedure.”

  “Erica is not in any condition—”

  “I don’t rightly care. I came here for information, and I aim to get it. Now we can either do it here or at the station.”

  “Fine.” Rodney sighed. “I don’t want her here.” He pointed to me.

  “No, you don’t get to make the rules. She stays.” Ruby walked through the living room and into the kitchen. “Let’s all sit at the table.”

  I followed her, determined to be strong. I didn’t know what Rodney’s connection was to Talon’s abductors, other than being the brother-in-law of one and being in the same club as they were decades ago, but I knew one thing. Whatever the connection was, it wasn’t going to be good.

  We sat at the table, and Ruby slid the yearbook in front of Rodney. “I need to know about this club. What was the purpose of it?”