And what if Drake was innocent? Nothing was proven yet.
“When you submit your warrant to the judge, make sure you ask for his employment application, his CV, and references.”
“CV?”
“It’s a little more detailed than your average résumé. It should include a list of any publications. Also, ask for his billing records and my log so you’ll know when he says he was supposed to be working. As far as the security of the records goes, I’ll just lock him out of the office due to the nature of the investigation, which is your idea by the way. In fact, you didn’t get any of this from me. Are we clear on that? You just happen to be one smart, detail-oriented detective—which I think is the truth anyway.”
“I don’t mind being the fall guy if it helps take him off the street. Can you help me with setting up some interviews with others on your staff?”
“I can have the staff stay after work for a couple of hours. We can’t shut everything down to help you out. Plus, if any patients get wind that our staff has been questioned by the police, they’ll assume the worst, and the gossip alone will cost us business.”
“That’s great, Kadin. I couldn’t ask for anything better, and you have my word I will bend over backward as far as I have to in order to minimize the impact on your employees.”
Kadin watched as Nathan scratched down several notes.
“Do you believe her?” Kadin folded over the top of the chip bag, his appetite diminished.
“Lilly? Absolutely. You can’t refute good evidence. Why would I not believe her?”
Kadin shook his head. It was hard for him not to let his own desire for self-preservation overshadow his need to believe Lilly.
“When do you anticipate this hitting the news?”
“We haven’t officially arrested him yet. We need to conduct more interviews and wait for the DNA tests. We’re playing it close to the vest, and it’s not our practice to divulge a suspect until more evidence is gathered. We wouldn’t do a press release until he’s in custody. Anything sooner and we run the risk of turning him into a fugitive. If he is our serial rapist, we don’t want to make any careless mistakes. This guy is not going to get off on a technicality.”
“How’s Lilly doing?”
“Physically, she’s fine. Emotionally, I’m not sure. Drake has pressed charges against her for assault.”
“What?”
“Unfortunately, we had to charge her. The incident was witnessed by several people in the ER. We’ll need more to arrest Drake than just Lilly’s accusation. Though Lilly did identify his tattoo as belonging to her assailant, as have other women. His mother’s vehicle that you mention was noted to be in the vicinity of another victim as well. These should strengthen our case. We still have a lot of work to do.”
“Where is she? And where is he for that matter?”
“Home … and I don’t know. We’re concerned for her safety since we had to let Drake walk away. We just don’t have enough to hold him right now. If he is the rapist, he seems to like killing his pregnant victims. So I had an officer take her home and clear her residence before she went inside. The cops will be near her townhouse tonight, and I’m working on additional coverage for later. If you have any idea of how to keep her out of harm’s way, I’m open to suggestions. Can you think of someplace for her to go?”
Kadin wanted to go to her. He wanted to protect her.
“She doesn’t have any close family that I’m aware of. Of course, she’s welcome to stay with me. I don’t know if she would choose to do that. Dana, her closest friend, is a possibility as well.”
“How has Lilly been over the past couple of weeks?” Nathan asked.
“A complete and utter disaster would be an understatement.” Kadin threw his empty soda can into the wastebasket across the room. It sank into the middle of the trash with a muffled kerchunk. He felt his nerves beginning to settle.
“Want to expand on that?”
“She’s been missing work, drinking too much, and taking sleeping pills. The baby seems to be helping her pull it back together, at least for now. She won’t let me examine her or the baby.”
“She will. Give her time. I think she feels she has a vested interest in keeping this baby alive.”
“Why?”
“To prove that Drake is guilty.”
“Well, the DNA will do that anyway.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Chapter 28
December 22
NATHAN WAS WEARY as he and Brett returned to the Center for Mental Healing where Heather was still a patient. They’d spoken to Dr. Jonas, who cleared his morning schedule so he could be available as well to support Heather during the interview.
According to Jonas, Heather had been doing well. Her OCD was improving, and she was filling fewer notebooks with the fractured reminiscences of her attack. They entered Dr. Jonas’s office. He sat behind his desk, minus the orange-and-black striped bow tie Nathan remembered from their first encounter. For this meeting, he wore a white one with large red polka dots.
At least we’re in sync with the holidays.
To the side sat Heather in a pine-green, overstuffed, chenille chair. She wore a tank top and skirt despite the cool weather, and the exposed areas of muscle showed striations of rediscovered muscle mass. Clear eyes returned Nathan’s gaze as she stood and walked to him, giving him a confident hug. Before he could return the gesture, she pulled away but kept her hands on his upper arms.
“I always meant to send you a note. To thank you,” she said, giving one of his arms a couple of strokes before stepping back, tucking her long, straight brown hair behind her ears.
“I haven’t done anything,” Nathan said.
“You were so kind to me when we first met. Other than Dr. Jonas, you were one of the first men I felt safe being around.”
“She’s done a lot of great work,” Jonas said, still seated. “Shall we all sit?”
Brett took one of the chairs in front of Jonas. Nathan opened Heather’s file and slipped out several photos. “Heather, that’s kind of you to say. Did Dr. Jonas explain why Brett and I are here today?”
“He said you think you might have a suspect in my case.”
“We believe that the same man who attacked you is responsible for crimes against several other women. The DNA sample collected from you matches that of another victim, which is good news. One of these women was able to identify him. We want our case to be as strong as possible. I know your memory is fuzzy, but you do have excellent recall of some of his physical characteristics like his tattoo.”
“I do remember that.”
“Can you explain it to me? The drawings in your journals are black and white. I’m looking more for the colors you remember, the approximate size of it.”
She pondered his question as she tapped her foot on the floor and clenched her hands tight against her belly, a small crack in her calm demeanor exposing itself.
“The colors were bright, almost psychedelic. Like what you’d think of from the sixties. It was a beast with three heads. One breathed fire—that was red, orange.”
“What about the size?” Nathan asked.
Heather held up her hand and splayed her fingers open. “Slightly larger than this. I put my hand over it to try to push him away. It’s the last thing I remember, those three hideous heads peeking through the open spaces between my fingers.”
Heather shuddered. Nathan took the knitted throw that lay on the back of the chair and placed it over her shoulders.
“I have some pictures I’d like to show you of some tattoos to see if you can identify the one you remember.”
While Nathan had been interviewing Dr. Daughtry at the hospital, Brett had spent several hours with one of the department’s computer specialists, finding different pictures of tattoos. The pictures were then cropped to show only the tattoo on a dermal background in order to limit anything else that might bias the witness. He handed the photo series to Heather that had been ar
ranged on a single page. She pulled the wrap tightly around herself, fisting the layers together. She placed the paper on one thigh and studied them. Nathan watched her face as she scanned over the images and saw hints of recognition play on her features.
Tense lips. A slight raise of her eyebrow. An unconscious action of pulling away from the paper.
She stared at Maguire’s tattoo.
“This is the one.” Heather tapped the page, confirming Nathan’s suspicion, and then flicked the edge of it, sending it gliding off her leg to the floor. She made no effort to grab for it and turned her head away as it flittered onto the carpet.
“Heather, don’t worry. Let me get them. You’re doing great,” Nathan said. “I need to ask you a few more questions. Are you doing okay?”
She turned her head back to Nathan and nodded. Nathan looked to Jonas, who motioned for him to continue. Brett gave him a thumbs-up.
“You also mentioned in your report your assailant had different colored eyes. Do you remember the colors?”
“One was brown and the other was blue.”
“Do you remember which was which?”
She shook her head.
“Have you ever sought medical care at Sage Medical Center?”
“I think I’ve been in the ER before.”
“Did you see any other doctors other than an ER physician?”
“I don’t think so. I was there for a few stitches after I caught my hand in a machine at the gym.”
“Whom do you go to for female issues?” Brett asked.
“Dr. Minor.”
That physician was not in Kadin’s practice.
“Do you know a Dr. Maguire?” Nathan asked.
“Drake?”
Brett leaned forward. Nathan stood from his kneeled position and tucked the photo line-up back in his folder.
A cool calm washed over Nathan. “That’s his first name. Do you know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?” Brett asked.
“He was a client of mine. I was trying to save up extra cash for college, and I did some personal training over the summer.”
“What did you think of him?”
“I felt, I don’t know, weird around him.”
“Why?”
“For one thing, I didn’t really understand why he needed a trainer. I mean, I’d seen him in the gym a lot. He knew how to workout. He didn’t need to lose weight. It was a waste of his money, and I felt like he used the opportunity to hit on me.”
“How many sessions did he sign up for?”
“Only one.”
“Was there anything odd to you about his appearance?”
“It was obvious he wore colored contacts. Nobody’s eyes are naturally that green.”
Nathan took a few deep breaths to slow his increasing heartbeat like a hunter preparing for the kill shot. “Do you remember anything strange happening around the time of his training session? Was your home broken into? Any strange phone calls?”
“My locker had been broken into that day at work.”
“Was anything missing?” Nathan imagined the feel of a rifle in his hands.
“No, but it did look like someone had gone through my purse. My keys were out of it. They were sitting at the bottom of the locker when I opened it.”
“When was your attack in relation to this incident?”
“It was that night.”
All these details brought Drake into his line of sight and closer to a home behind prison bars. Nathan smiled as he pressed the trigger.
Chapter 29
December 26
THE GRAVES THRUST up from the sparkling snow like broken, gaping teeth. Lilly held the poinsettia plant in one hand as she consulted the map the caretaker had given her. The blanket of white powder covered her usual landmarks, and after twenty minutes of traipsing through the cold crystals, she’d surrendered and asked for help. Turning to her left, she began to brush the flakes off the faces of the chilled marble. On the fifth one she stopped, tracing her fingers in the grooves of the stone.
Samantha Reeves.
She cleared the remainder of the marker and set the plant down at its base.
“Hey, Mom, sorry I missed your birthday this year.”
Flurries dotted the black, glossy surface.
Black and white.
Lilly pushed her hands into her pockets. Were there any clear-cut choices anymore?
“Someone I know visited Dad. He gave me your journal.”
She tilted side to side, like a bell swaying in a gentle breeze. One of her childhood habits surfacing when she struggled to come up with the right words. Her eyelashes began to stick as tears froze in the biting wind.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that he was responsible for your death? That his selfishness took you away from me?”
Her body tensed as she heard footsteps crunch through the snow behind her. Turning, she blinked several times, attempting to convince herself it really wasn’t her mother standing behind her.
“Aunt Savannah?”
The woman approached her and brought her arms up slowly, wrapping her in a cautious hug. Lilly felt her muscles stiffen as the protrusion of Lilly’s belly limited the usual close embrace. Pulling away, Savannah held Lilly’s shoulders within her hands, bringing one up she placed her palm against Lilly’s face. The warmth was comforting.
“What a Christmas blessing to see you,” she said.
Lilly took a full step back, pulling away from her grasp.
It was as if her mother’s features had been stamped onto her aunt’s face. Savannah stood a couple of inches shorter than Lilly. Her black hair was shoulder length with streaks of gray, the natural wave giving it fullness. Just like her mother’s eyes, Savannah’s crystal-blue irises comforted Lilly. Business slacks and a button-up shirt had replaced the tracksuit and tennis shoes. More refined than Lilly remembered.
“How are you?” Savannah asked.
Lilly took her index finger and held it to her lower eyelid, a dam against the flood of tears.
“It’s been a tough couple of months.”
“You didn’t come on her birthday this year.”
“How would you know?”
“Because I come on that day, too. Mostly to watch you.”
“You never spoke with me before. Why today?”
“Nosy, I guess. I was curious about the baby.” She motioned toward Lilly’s midsection. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Did you know the real reason my mother died?”
Savannah pulled her boot through the snow. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“It was your father’s wish. That’s why he kept your mother’s journal. You must be in possession of it if you’re asking me these questions.”
“Why would you, of all people, want to protect him?”
Looking directly at Lilly, Savannah pulled a stray strand of hair that clung to Lilly’s eyelash.
“Growing up, you yearned for a relationship with him. If you knew it was his choice in refusing to give her his kidney, the chances of reconciliation between the two of you would be negligible.”
“You hiding all of this from me was not the right choice to make! Whether or not I had a relationship with my father should have been my decision. All these years, I blamed her for not doing enough to live.”
“You’re right, Lilly. But which would have been easier for you to overcome? The thought that your father emotionally couldn’t handle her wasting away from cancer, or his utter selfishness that he couldn’t spare any part of himself for you or her to keep your family together, to keep her alive?”
“It doesn’t seem to have made a difference anyway. He never tried to find me, so the reason for his leaving seems irrelevant.”
“I’m not saying what we did was right; after all, I was complicit in the lie. You were suffering so badly. He begged me not to tell you that it was his fault. I made up the cancer story.” Savannah paused, tracing more pa
tterns in the snow. A star. A heart. “Maybe now would be a good time to reconnect with all of us.”
“Because of this?” Lilly pushed her abdomen out and patted it. “The baby? Actually, no. It’s not a good time to bring all of you back into my life. I don’t want to have to explain any of it, and after I was kicked out of your house, you didn’t really stay in touch, either.”
“Lilly, you were an angry teen at that time. You chose to go. I didn’t force you to leave. I kept tabs on you, but anytime I tried to reach out, you wouldn’t have anything to do with it. You hung up on me, returned my letters unopened. I understand all of this. Your father left. Your mother died. You witnessed your uncle shot and murdered.”
“How did my father even know when my mother died? I thought when he left he cut off all contact.”
“I told him. One, I needed money to bury her. Two, we were talking all the time over our concern for your welfare. In his own way, he was watching over you.”
“Just not in any way that mattered.”
“Lilly.” Savannah sighed. “These are wounds that are hard to heal. I want a relationship with you. I always have.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. Lilly did not immediately reach for it. “I sense you’re in trouble. Obviously pregnant. No ring on your hand. You rarely stray from your routine, yet here you are, the day after Christmas, at your mother’s grave. You have all this new information about your family, and you don’t know how to process it. I can help you. I want to help you. I have money now.”
“I don’t need your money.”
“I didn’t mean for it to sound like you couldn’t take care of yourself. You have for so long. Aren’t you tired of that? Of being alone?
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