Evidence of Marriage

by Ann Voss Peterson

  A knock sounded on the door leading to the adjoining room.

  “Sylvie.” Diana raced to the door and pulled it open.

  Sylvie opened her arms and engulfed her sister in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t believe you saw Kane. Why didn’t you tell me that’s what you were going to do?”

  “Because you would have stopped me.”

  “You bet I would have.”

  Bryce appeared behind his bride, watching the sisters, concern threading across his brow.

  Reed stepped toward the door. With Bryce here and the officers outside, Diana would be safe. Reed could work off some tension on his weight bench and get back to concentrating on the case. With the Copycat Killer active again, his rest would have to come in the form of fifteen-minute naps. Giving Bryce a nod, he strode for the door.

  “Reed, wait,” Bryce called. “Someone left a gift for Sylvie at the hotel’s registration desk. It’s something you should see.”

  He turned around and stared at the little white music box cradled in Bryce’s hands.

  DIANA’S HEART SANK into her stomach. She stared at the white box identical to the one Reed had sent to the crime lab.

  “We thought it was from you,” Sylvie said. “Your wedding gift.”

  Diana could kick herself. “He sent me one, too. I should have called to warn you.” The most disturbing thing was that the music box had been delivered to the hotel. And that meant the copycat knew where Sylvie was. “I bought you four place settings and a bud vase.”

  Sylvie tried to smile, but the attempt fell flat. She looked as pale and drawn as she had this morning. No doubt she hadn’t rested all day. And maybe she hadn’t been able to eat either. “Kane mentioned a music box to me, back when you disappeared last fall.”

  Reed stepped away from the door and joined them in Sylvie and Bryce’s room. “What did he say?”

  “That Diana loved a puppet when she was a kid. And we both loved a music box.”

  Bryce nodded. “It should be on the videotape.”

  Reed scribbled something in a notebook.

  “It plays the ‘Wedding March’?”

  Sylvie cracked open the lid and the march tinkled through the room like the sound of shattering glass. Shuddering, she closed the box. “I have to sit down.”

  Sylvie perched on the edge of the bed, looking as if she might need to dash to the bathroom any moment.

  Diana looked down at the bloody edges of Sylvie’s fingernails. A habit she’d had as a child, Sylvie had begun digging at the edges of her nails after coming face-to-face with Kane last fall. As hard as the reality of having a serial killer for a father was on Diana, it was tougher for Sylvie. She’d spent her life longing to know her biological parents only to find out her father was a serial killer.

  Diana covered Sylvie’s hands with hers. “Go on your honeymoon. Concentrate on that baby you’re going to have. Concentrate on Bryce. They’re your family. Don’t think about Kane.”

  Sylvie shook her head. “And leave you here to deal with this alone? Not a chance.”

  “I’m not alone.” She glanced in Reed’s direction before she could catch herself. Shaking her head, she looked back to Sylvie. “Besides, it’s my fault he’s in our lives to begin with. I need to deal with it.”

  Sylvie shook her head. “We’ve been through that.”

  “Yes. And nothing’s changed.”

  “This is me, Diana. Kane is my father as much as he is yours.” Sylvie was trying to put on a brave face, but Diana couldn’t help but notice her flinch when she said the words.

  “He can’t know you’re pregnant.”

  Sylvie jerked her head up. “What do you think he’d do?”

  “I don’t know. But we don’t want to find out.”

  Sylvie rubbed a palm over her still-flat belly.

  An ache hollowed out in Diana’s own belly. An ache of longing and fear she didn’t want to own. “The surest way to keep him from finding out is to go away. At least until the police can identify the Copycat Killer.”

  “She’s right, Sylvie.” Reed’s voice came from behind Diana, smoothing over her like a caress. “You need to go. You have a lot to lose.”

  “We all have a lot to lose.” Sylvie zeroed in on Reed. “How close are you to finding him?”

  “Not close enough.”

  Sylvie sat back on the bed with a little sigh, as if she’d reached a decision. “I can’t just sit around and pretend to vacation while you face that monster down alone, Diana.”

  Diana shook her head. Sylvie couldn’t stay here. There had to be something she could say to convince her to go, something that would convince her not to put herself and her baby in danger for Diana’s sake. But what?

  “What if you could be a bigger help out of town than you are here?” Reed looked from Sylvie to Bryce.

  “How?” Bryce asked.

  “Kane has some sort of connection to this copycat. Could be a recent connection, could be someone he knew in the past. We’re expending a lot of resources looking into everyone he’s come into contact with recently.”

  “But in the past?”

  “We’ve run into a dead end there.”

  Bryce lowered himself on to the bed beside Sylvie and took his wife’s hand in his. “And you think we might be able to help?”

  “How would you two feel about taking your honeymoon to Oshishobee, Wisconsin?”

  “Oshishobee?” Sylvie asked. “Where’s that?”

  “It’s northeast, on the way to the Upper Peninsula.” Diana knew the town, though she’d never been there. She also thought she knew where Reed was leading. “It’s where Kane grew up.”

  “Nikki and I went up there last fall,” Reed said. “But it’s a very tight-lipped small town. I’m willing to bet people who refused to cooperate with the police might be more open to talking to one of Kane’s daughters.”

  Sylvie looked up at Bryce.

  “What would we be looking for specifically?” Bryce asked.

  “Today Kane mentioned something about the Copycat Killer being like a son to him.”

  Bryce raised his brows. “You think Kane has a son? And the copycat might be him?”

  “Hard to say. He might be someone younger that Kane knew, someone who looked up to him. Or someone he bullied. Of course his connection to the copycat might not have anything to do with his past. But we can’t afford not to look into every possibility.”

  Sylvie tilted her head skeptically. “With all that was written about Kane, someone must have researched his life growing up.”

  “Oshishobee has a Native American name, but it’s a tight-knit Norwegian town. People don’t trust any strangers, not just police detectives from Madison. I’m hoping as Kane’s daughter, you can cut through some of that resistance.”

  Diana held her breath, afraid to say anything that might interfere.

  Sylvie looked up at her husband. She pressed her lips into a determined line. “I think we’d better pack.”

  Diana expelled the breath she was holding in a whoosh.

  “But I’m worried about you, Diana. I don’t like the thought of you seeing him again, let alone meeting him every day. If Bryce and I agree to go, the two of you have to make me a deal.”

  An uneasy feeling clamped down on Diana’s shoulders. “What?”

  “You need to stick together. Reed, you’re the only one I trust to keep my sister safe.”

  A muscle twitched along Reed’s jaw.

  Diana forced a smile to her lips that she was far from feeling. As if she’d had any choice in the matter in the first place. “You know Reed, Syl. He’ll watch over my every move.”

  REED ACCOMPANIED DIANA BACK to her room, giving Sylvie and Bryce a chance to talk and make plans for their trip. But although Diana was grateful Reed had convinced Sylvie to leave town, being alone with Reed was the last thing she wanted at the moment. The promise Sylvie had elicited from them—that Reed would watch over Diana while Sylvie and Bryce were go
ne—hung heavy in the air like humidity gathering before a thunderstorm.

  Diana cleared her throat. She had to set things straight. The last thing she needed was for Reed to feel even more responsible for her than he already did. If that was even possible. “Don’t worry about what Sylvie said. What she wanted us to promise.”

  He looked up at her, startled, as if she’d disturbed him from an engrossing thought. “That I’ll keep you safe?”

  She shook her head. She knew he’d do that regardless. “That we need to stick together.”

  “Oh, that. Don’t worry. I know it isn’t personal.” He was clearly making fun of her. But there was no humor in his voice.

  She couldn’t blame him. There was nothing funny about this situation. Nothing at all. Being around Reed today had made her feel empty and vulnerable and raw. And he didn’t seem to be faring much better.

  He walked toward the door and laid a hand on the knob. But instead of pulling it open, he turned back to face her. “You know, Sylvie isn’t the only one in danger here.”

  Of course she knew that. “All the women in the Madison area are in danger.”

  “You should get out of town, too.”

  She held up a hand. They’d been through this before, his need to protect her, to take care of her, to control everything that happened in her life. “I don’t need to hear this again.”

  “Everything both you and I said to Sylvie also applies to you.”

  “Except the pregnancy.” She hoped the last bit would add some levity. It fell far short.

  She folded her arms around her middle. She hadn’t eaten all day, yet she didn’t feel hungry. If anything, the nervous vibration in her stomach made her feel as sick as Sylvie had looked.

  She drew in a deep breath and forced confidence into her voice. “I’m in a position to talk to Kane, to understand the way he thinks, maybe even to find out who the copycat is and where he is holding Nadine Washburn. I can’t leave. You of all people know that.”

  “You have a very optimistic view of what Kane is going to let you learn.”

  “Optimistic?” She threw up her hands and let them land against her thighs with a stinging smack. “I don’t know if he’s going to tell me anything. But we have to use what we can get, don’t we?”

  “Within reason.”

  “Reason? What is reasonable? Or maybe you should ask Nadine Washburn’s mother that question.”

  “If Nadine has been abducted by the copycat, I want to save her every bit as much as you do.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  “Then what’s your point?”

  “I know what it’s like to be tied to a bed in the darkness, waiting to die. I know what she’s thinking. I know what she’s feeling. I’m the only one in this room who truly understands what’s within reason and what isn’t.”

  Reed’s face went rigid. “I understand perfectly. I was there when you were kidnapped, remember? I might not know what Nadine feels, but I more than understand the pain her mother is living through. I understand the worry. I understand the helplessness. I understand the guilt.”

  “Guilt?” Obviously somewhere in his last monologue, Reed had stopped talking about Nadine’s mother and started describing himself. “Why on earth would you feel guilty? Vincent Bertram nearly killed you.”

  He shook his head slowly, his black eyes boring into her. “Bertram was nothing. Losing you nearly killed me.”

  The weight of his look solidified and sank into her chest. “Reed, don’t.”

  “Why the hell not? I’m sick of pretending that you breaking off our marriage was good for both of us. I’m sick of pretending seeing you again is just business, just part of my job. Ever since you walked into that damn diner this morning, all I can think about is how I shouldn’t be seeing the way you brush your hair from your cheek or hearing that tremble in your voice when you’re frightened. Or your scent… God, I certainly shouldn’t be leaning toward you every chance I get just to breathe you in.”

  She turned away from him. She wanted him to stop. He had to stop. She couldn’t hear this.

  “Damn it, Diana. When you’re around, I can’t see anything but you.”

  “Then why did you insist on going with me? Why didn’t you let Nikki handle my meeting with Kane? Or, God help me, even Perreth?”

  “You haven’t heard anything I’ve said, have you?”

  On the contrary, she’d heard every word, every hitch in his voice, every loaded pause. She could feel the intensity of them vibrating in her bones. “I’ve heard enough to know we shouldn’t be together.”

  His footsteps sounded behind her. He gripped her arm and turned her to face him. “Losing you once almost killed me. Losing you, to Kane, to the damn copycat…”

  His face was so close, she could reach out her hand and trace the line of dark stubble on his cheek. She could lean forward, just a little, and find herself in his arms.

  “It’s not going to happen. And the only way I can make sure it doesn’t is to be next to you when he tries.”

  She looked down, unable to peer into his eyes one second longer. She’d been an idiot to think anything between her and Reed wouldn’t be personal. Looking at him across a crowded room would be personal.

  But where did that leave her? Where did it leave them both? “I can’t go back, Reed. You say you almost lost me, well I lost myself long before our wedding day.” That is, if she’d ever found herself in the first place.

  She could feel his gaze on her, his eyes searching, struggling to understand.

  She didn’t know if she could help him. Not any more than she’d been able to when she’d given back his ring. She wasn’t sure she understood any of this herself.

  Taking a deep breath, she met his eyes. She had to try. It was only fair to him that she try. “I’ve always been what other people wanted. My mother. My father.”

  Reed’s face grew hard, as if he sensed what was coming.

  “You.”

  His eyes darkened, as if bruised. “I never asked you to be anything but who you are.”

  She longed to run her hand along his cheek, to smooth away the hurt, to take back the words. But she couldn’t let herself. She had to tell him the truth. At least the small part of it she had figured out.

  She took a step to the side, putting a little more distance between them, hoping it would help her think. “I know you never asked me to be what you wanted. You never even told me what you wanted. Not in words. You didn’t have to. I sensed it. I gave you what you were looking for before you even knew you wanted it.”

  He shook his head. “We were happy together. We loved each other.”

  “I loved you.”

  “But you don’t believe I loved you?” His expression didn’t change, but anger sharpened the edges of his voice.

  “I never gave you the chance. I never even let you know who I really was. I was afraid to.”

  “Afraid? Why?” He took a step toward her, closing the distance between them. “I didn’t do anything to make you afraid.”

  “I didn’t say you did, Reed. It’s me. It’s who I am. It’s what I do. I make myself what others want me to be.”

  He watched her under lowered brows. Back to the bedside lamp, his eyes blended with shadow.

  She couldn’t tell if he was following her or not, but she had to push on. She had to make him see. “I didn’t even know I was doing it until I was tied up in that dark cabin waiting to die. I had to draw on myself to survive. On the strength inside me.” She closed her eyes. The room spun out of control. Just like the days and nights in the cabin. The raw vulnerability. The fear. “Reed, there was nothing for me to draw on. There was nothing there.”

  He touched her arm, sending chills racing along her nerves. “You were frightened out of your mind, Diana. Anyone would feel that way.”

  “No. You would never feel that way, Reed. You know who you are. You know where your strength lies.”

  “I’m a detective. I have training to
fall back on. It’s not the same thing.”

  “Sylvie didn’t feel that way. Bryce didn’t feel that way. If they had, we’d all be dead.”

  “You’re being too hard on yourself.”

  “I’m being realistic. I’m not hiding from the truth anymore.” She forced her mind closed, shutting out the sensation of his fingers on her skin. “My adoptive father dictated how I should feel, how I should think.”

  “Ed Gale was an abusive ass. I never dictated anything.”

  “No. You didn’t. You rescued me. You fixed things for me. You took care of me.”

  “And how is that bad? That’s how a man should treat the woman he loves.”

  Loves. Not loved. As if she had to wonder how he still felt about her. Or at least, how he felt about his idea of her.

  “I have to learn to rescue myself. I have to take care of myself.” That wasn’t quite right. She tried again, groping through her mind for an emotion just out of her grasp. “No, I have to feel like there’s a me inside worth rescuing. A me that isn’t dictated by my need to please others. A core me. I know this makes no sense to you. You’ve always known who you are. It doesn’t even make sense to me, really. But if I ever face a tough situation again, I need something to draw on. Something inside me. I need to know I can pull myself through.”

  Darkness seeped into his eyes. Tension pulled his lips into a scowl.

  Her throat ached. She was doing a horrible job of explaining, but she didn’t know a way to make her feelings more clear. If only he could understand how she wanted to kiss that scowl away, curl up in his arms and forget all the questions and insecurities and shadowy emotions ripping her apart. He was the only man she’d ever wanted, the only man she’d ever loved. But she knew in every fiber of her being that for her, he was the wrong man. “You’ll always take care of me, Reed. It’s who you are. And as long as I’m with you, I’ll never learn to rely on myself. I’ll never really know who I am.”