Evidence of Marriage

by Ann Voss Peterson

  “As soon as possible.” Reed gave her a tight-lipped smile and turned to her sister. “Sylvie? Do you want to come, too?”

  Diana braced herself, trying to beat back her concern. She didn’t want Sylvie anywhere near Cordell Turner any more than she wanted her visiting Dryden Kane. Whether her brother was the Copycat Killer or not, he was still a murderer. And their meeting would likely be traumatic no matter what kind of truth came out.

  Sylvie swallowed hard. She gripped the table harder, her knuckles blanching. “You’d better count me out.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  Diana couldn’t help be relieved. As relieved as worry for her sister would allow. If Sylvie was bowing out, she must really be sick. “Are you okay?”

  “I will be. I just need to lie low for a bit. Like nine months, apparently.”

  Bryce swiveled in his chair and laid a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder. “I’m taking you to the doctor.”

  “I’ll be okay. Really.”

  “I’m sure you will. But you’re going to the doctor anyway. We aren’t taking risks we don’t have to take.”

  “You’re right. We’ll go today.” Sylvie placed her hand over Bryce’s.

  Witnessing the couple’s connection, Diana couldn’t help but smile. She was so glad Sylvie had Bryce. The two of them were so perfect for each other, so focused on love and family. Watching the way they looked at each other, the tender way they touched, made Diana want to believe that maybe such happiness was possible. At least with the right man.

  Sylvie focused on Diana. “Let me know about him. Good or bad.”

  Diana nodded. She’d wanted Sylvie as far away from this case as she could get, but the thought of Sylvie having medical problems with the pregnancy sent a fresh shudder of fear along her nerves. “I’ll tell you every detail. And Sylvie?”

  “Yes?”

  “You and the baby will be okay. Right?”

  Sylvie nodded. “I’m sure we will.”

  Diana nodded, too, but looking at her sister’s complexion, she was far from certain.

  AS SOON AS REED STEPPED OUT of his car at the construction site where Cord Turner was washing windows, he knew bringing Diana along was a mistake. Just the thought of her being anywhere near a man who might be the Copycat Killer made him want to encase her in bubble wrap and plant her in a jail cell, where he could be sure of her safety.

  Maybe Perreth was right. Maybe having Diana around did compromise his thinking. Of course, as he, Diana and Nikki climbed from his car, he realized mistake or not, there wasn’t much he could do about it now.

  He shook his head and studied the three-story brick mansion jutting up from the shore of Lake Kegonsa. After putting the county sheriff’s department on standby, he was confident that if Turner resisted them for whatever reason, they could handle him. And he and Nikki would be able to keep Diana safe. But despite the facts, the situation troubled him far more than he wanted to admit.

  Diana and Nikki climbed out of the car, slamming their doors behind them. Stepping over the newly poured curb and gutter, they trudged across construction rubble and over plywood bridging the mud puddles dotting what would eventually be the front yard. An engine roared to life from a dump truck parked at the street. At the side of the house, a bulldozer kicked dust in the air despite the recent rain.

  Diana planed her hand over her eyes, blocking the sun. “How do you know he’s here?”

  “He told Nikki this morning.”

  She dropped her hand and glanced at Nikki. “You talked to him?”

  “I called about getting an estimate. Seems my apartment’s windows are in need of a good cleaning.” She gave a big proud grin.

  Reed almost shook his head. Nikki was just the type who would get a kick out of working undercover some day. He supposed she would, after she got bored with being a detective. If ever there was a woman who had ambitions to experience everything law enforcement had to offer, it was Nikki Valducci.

  “So that’s all there was to it?” asked Diana. “You just called and made an appointment and he told you where he was working?”

  “Not quite. He said he could stop by after he finished a job for a builder—a house scheduled to close tomorrow. A few calls to title companies, and I now know all the new construction changing hands tomorrow. This was the only builder who admitted to hiring a professional window cleaner. Wa-la, the miracle of police work.”

  Diana smiled. “I’m impressed.”

  Reed turned away from Diana and Nikki and devoted his attention to giving the house a once-over. The place looked as if it had a long way to go before anyone could even think about moving in. Of course, once the day of closing approached, he imagined things got done more quickly. Stepping onto the mud-encrusted concrete stoop, Reed froze and knelt down. A wavy-soled footprint was pressed into the dried mud.

  “What is it?” Diana leaned over his shoulder.

  “Nikki?” He pointed out the footprint. “Take a photo of this, will you?”

  Diana knelt down, her hair cascading over one shoulder. The midday sun glinted on her hair, turning it to gold. “It’s the same as the tread in the lobby of my building.”

  Reed’s gut hitched. Diana hadn’t shared how she felt about having a brother, but he knew. Even if she suspected he could be the Copycat Killer, she wouldn’t want to believe it. She would be pulling for him to be innocent with all her heart. Only solid evidence would convince her otherwise, and while a footprint wasn’t anywhere near conclusive, it was still evidence. Evidence he wished he didn’t have to point out. “It’s also similar to the footprint I found in the hotel room last night.”

  Diana turned to him with horrified eyes. “You think that tread is from the copycat’s shoes? How do you know?”

  “I don’t. It might not mean anything at all. That’s the way it is with evidence. Sometimes you don’t know what is important until you find something important.” He ran a hand through his hair. “That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “You’ll have to explain it to me sometime, then.” He glanced from Diana to Nikki and back again. “You two had better wait in the car. This might not mean anything, but I don’t want to take a chance. I’ll get Turner and bring him out.”

  Nikki looked up from her camera. “You can’t go in there without backup.”

  “And Diana can’t stay alone in the car.”

  Diana thrust herself to her feet. “Yes, I can. I’ll be fine.”

  He shook his head. This was a mistake. This whole trip was a mistake. He should have left Diana at the task-force offices. At least there, he knew she’d be safe. “We’ll take you back to Madison.”

  Diana held up a hand. “That’s ridiculous. A waste of time. There are construction workers all over the place here. I’ll be plenty safe in the car. I’ll lock myself in.”

  He scanned the area. She had a point. Trucks and vans lined the street. Just across the street from the car, three workers ate an early lunch clustered around a van with carpet rolls sticking out the back. Add them to the dump-truck driver, the bulldozer operator, and another silhouette sitting in a van just down the street, and Diana should be safe. With that many people around, someone would have to be crazy to pull anything.

  He massaged his aching neck, trying to make himself feel better about the situation. “Lean on the horn if you notice anything out of the ordinary. And I mean anything.”

  She nodded.

  “And take these.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys. He put them into her hand. “Don’t be afraid to just drive away.”

  “I’ll be out of here like a shot.” She gave him a teasing smile.

  His gut hitched one more time. But this time, fear wasn’t the only cause. It had been a long time since she had teased him. A long time since he’d seen that smile that sparkled in her eyes and crinkled her nose. “I mean it, Diana. Be careful.”

  She nodded. Reversing, she
hiked back over the plywood-and-dirt path. He waited until she’d climbed into the car, locked the doors and gave a wave before he turned back to the house.

  Having documented the footprint, Nikki followed him through the scarred steel door. A new ornate door of wood and leaded glass leaned against the brick, waiting to be set.

  Workers clamored inside, their air hammers popping over the blaring radio. Reed and Nikki stepped gingerly over the paper runner in the foyer that provided a protective pathway over the dusty-gray marble floor. Weaving their way up the partially carpeted staircase, they ventured into three different bedrooms before they finally located Turner working on a giant bay window overlooking the lake.

  Turner was built like many ex-cons Reed had known and wished he hadn’t. Of average height, like his father, Turner had obviously spent more hours in the prison weight room than Dryden Kane. Tattooed arms like steel pipes stretched the short sleeves of his blue polo shirt. Hard muscle defined his back, tapering to a tool belt hugging a trim waist.

  Reed looked down to the ex-con’s feet. Work boots. Not a match with the footprints they’d found. Of course, the footprint on the front step was dried. It might not have been made today.

  “Cordell Turner?”

  The brute tensed and spun around. Light from the window struck the hard planes of his face and glinted off the sharp edge of a razor scraper he held in one fist. He narrowed his eyes on Reed and Nikki. “Who are you? Cops?”

  “You expecting police?”

  “I’m never expecting police. But with the way you look, you’re either a cop or a high-school principal. And I have no idea what a principal would be doing here.”

  Reed didn’t return his smile. “Detective Reed McCaskey and Detective Nikki Valducci of the Madison PD. We need a word with you.”

  He gestured to the window with the razor. “I’m in a hurry. Got to finish this today. Closing tomorrow.”

  “It can’t wait.”

  Turner flipped the guard closed on his razor scraper and shoved it into the pouch on his belt. Grabbing a striped towel from a back pocket, he dried his hands. “What about?”

  “I need to ask you some questions about your father.”

  Ice-blue eyes—identical to Kane’s—squinted at the reference. “You have the wrong man.”

  Before they’d left the task-force offices, Reed had looked up Turner’s mug shot. He’d been young when it had been taken, and as thin as a rail. But the face was unmistakable—particularly those eyes. “You’re the man.”

  “I don’t have a father.” He gave a half frown, as if realizing how inane the comment sounded. “I’ve never met him. My mother never even told me his name.”

  “Well, I’ve met him. And I have some questions. So if you’ll cooperate, we can make this quick, and you can get back to work.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “I believe cooperating with police is part of the terms of your parole. It would be a shame to go back into the system after only being out two years.”

  “You think you know all about me, huh?”

  “I want to know more.”

  Turner’s jaw hardened. He stared at Reed the way he’d probably stared down fellow convicts.

  Reed didn’t flinch. Turner might have twenty pounds of muscle on Reed but, in this situation, Reed and Nikki were the ones with the power. If Turner was smart, he’d recognize that.

  Finally, Turner let out a long breath. “What do you want to know?”

  “Maybe we should step outside.” Reed gestured to the men in the master bath, finishing trim. “Unless you want everyone to know your business.”

  “Fine.” He walked to the door.

  Reed fell into step behind him and Nikki brought up the rear. So far, so good. But as easy as this encounter had gone, he wasn’t about to trust the ex-con.

  Not for a second.

  They threaded through carpenters, crossed the foyer and filed out the front door. Reed spotted Diana through the passenger window of his car. Letting out a relieved breath, he gave her a nod.

  Turner spun to face him, a scowl on his face. “What is she? Some kind of witness? You trying to pin something on me?”

  “She’s not a witness.”

  “What is she then?”

  Reed hesitated. He didn’t want to tell this brute who Diana was. He wanted to slap the cuffs on him and throw him back in the slam where he belonged. Of course if he wasn’t the copycat, he shouldn’t pose any danger to Diana. And if he was, he already knew about her. “She’s your sister.”

  “Sister?” He clawed a hand through his hair. “I don’t have a sister.”

  “No, you have two.”

  Turner glanced from Reed to Nikki and back, his eyes as wary as a trapped animal. “What the hell are you talking about? What is going on here?”

  Diana approached them. She searched Turner’s face. Glancing to Reed, she shook her head.

  Reed let out a heavy breath. She didn’t remember seeing him. He should have known this wouldn’t be that easy. Nothing on this case was easy. “Where were you last night?”

  “Why? What the hell do you think I did?”

  “I’m asking the questions, Turner.”

  “Should I be calling a lawyer?”

  The last thing Reed wanted Turner to do was lawyer up. After a lawyer entered the fray, it was doubtful Reed could convince the ex-con to admit his name. Of course, he didn’t want Turner to know the suggestion bothered him. “You have a lawyer handy?”

  “I had a lawyer.”

  “Ten years ago?” Reed threw his hands out to the side as if Turner was making a stupid mistake. “You can track down your lawyer, waste the rest of the day and a lot of goddamn money, or you can answer a few simple questions and say hello to your sister. Your choice.”

  Turner narrowed his eyes to icy slits. “Give me your questions, and I’ll decide if I want to answer them.”

  “I gave you the first already. Where were you last night?”

  He looked out at the lake beyond the house without really seeming to see it. “I was home.”

  “Is there anyone who can verify that?”

  “I live alone.”

  “Did you go out at all? Talk to anyone on the phone?”

  “No. I ate a frozen pizza and fooled around on eBay.” eBay. He might be able to work with that. “Did you bid on anything?”

  “No.”

  Standing next to him, Nikki scribbled in her notebook.

  Reed stroked his chin. “Not much of an alibi.”

  “I didn’t know I would need one. You still haven’t told me what the hell this is about.”

  And he wasn’t planning to. Not yet. “How about Saturday night?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Nothing. Watched TV.”

  So Turner had no alibi for either the night Nadine Washburn had been abducted nor for the night her body had been displayed in Diana’s hotel room. As soon as the autopsy was completed, and they had a time of death, Reed could nail down Turner’s story for the time of her murder. So far, Cordell Turner wasn’t off to a good start. “You said you don’t know who your father is.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Have you ever visited the Banesbridge Correctional Facility?”

  “No.”

  “Have you ever visited the Wisconsin Secure Detention Facility or the Grantsville Correctional Facility?”

  “No. You know I can’t associate with cons. The parole?”

  “How about before you were in prison?”

  “When I was a kid?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you saying? My father is in prison?” He glanced at Diana for the first time, as if looking to her for help.

  “Answer my question.”

  “No. I don’t remember ever setting foot in a prison. Not until the day I was sentenced.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  “Nothing to tell.”

  “You were convicted for manslaughter.”


  “I got in a fight. I killed a man.” He shrugged a shoulder, as if it weren’t a big deal. Maybe to him, killing wasn’t. “I served my time.”

  “And that happened in Milwaukee?”

  “Was that a question? You know it did.”

  “What brought you to the Madison area?”

  “There’s nothing in my parole that says I can’t live in Madison. I informed the court of my move. I dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.”

  “But you grew up in Milwaukee. Everyone you knew was in Milwaukee. Why the move?”

  “I wanted to branch out, find some new friends.”

  Reed stared the con down. He needed his smart-ass sarcasm like he needed a hole in the head. “You’re not doing yourself any favors with that attitude.”

  Turner expelled a breath. “What does my move from Milwaukee have to do with anything?”

  “Do you expect me to believe you moved to Madison for no reason whatsoever?”

  “No. I had a good reason for moving here. But it didn’t have anything to do with some father I don’t even know, if that’s what you’re getting at.” He tossed Diana a glare. “Or any sisters.”

  “So what does it have to do with?”

  He balled his hands into fists, as if preparing to slug his way out. “I’ve cooperated enough. Now it’s time for you to give me some answers. Who the hell do you think is my father?”

  Reed focused on the hard lines of Turner’s face. He might as well tell him, watch for his reaction. “Dryden Kane.”

  His eyes flared wide. Red crept up his neck. “You’re full of it.”

  “It’s true.” Diana’s voice rang steady, despite the tangle of emotion playing across her face. “Dryden Kane is our biological father. He was involved with your mother when they were both teenagers back in a little town up north called Oshishobee. Before he married my mother.”

  Turner swung to face her. “Bull.”

  “I didn’t want to believe it either. Neither did Sylvie, my twin. But we’re his daughters. And you…you look just like him. You look so much like him.”

  “Eff you. All of you.” He spun around and strode for the house.

  Nikki stepped after him. “We’re not finished.”