by Rebecca Deel
“Hey.” Remy nudged her knee with his own.
Lily dragged her gaze from the screen. “What?”
“You okay?”
Something about the way he said those two words made her realize the Cajun had been trying to get her attention for a while. “Yeah, fine. I need to make a call.” She jumped up, walked the aisle to the restroom and locked herself in.
CHAPTER TWO
Remy watched Lily hustle toward the back of the plane. What lit a fire under her feet? He didn’t want to push for information if whatever put that look on her face wasn’t case related. That was the first time he’d seen G.I. Jane ice white. He didn’t like it one bit.
He forced himself to turn around and face forward. Doubt she’d appreciate it if he banged on the john door and demanded an explanation. His lips curled. She was more likely to kick his backside than answer his questions. He hoped she would learn to trust him in time. Another glance over his shoulder at the still closed door. He wanted the little elf to tell him what was eating at her voluntarily. If she didn’t spill soon, distasteful as it might be, he would have to make sure whatever set her off didn’t relate to Christine’s disappearance.
His gaze dropped again to his screen. Old James hadn’t been too forthcoming with the details. Christine had gone for a drive and never returned home. He frowned. He’d never known her to just go out for a drive with no purpose but to drive around. Then again, he hadn’t seen her in years. Each time Remy had visited his family, he made it a point not to cross paths with Christine or James. At first, it hurt too much, seeing her with his best friend. After a couple years, he no longer felt as if an ice pick were being driven into his heart when he saw them, but he made them uncomfortable by his presence. So he avoided places they were likely to hang out. Easy enough. When he visited family, he stayed at the house.
He sighed, drew his attention back to the file. Christine’s car hadn’t been found. The local cops didn’t have any clues as to her whereabouts.
Remy snorted. They wouldn’t recognize a clue if it rose up and bit them. He’d had more than his share of run-ins with the law in his parish. Those boys hated the Doucet clan and him in particular. After spending ten years on the NYPD, five of those as a homicide detective, he recognized good police work when he saw it. The Oak Hill PD operated several cuts below pitiful police work. Those boys were flat out incompetent and many were badge-wearing thugs.
While he looked forward to spending some time with his family, he dreaded the confrontations sure to come with the local law.
A door opened behind him. A minute later, Lily seated herself beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted her improved color. The rest of the flight passed with a few questions between them as they scoured the news clippings about Christine’s disappearance. A lot of nothing. Nobody knew anything. Speculation ran rampant, though. One old codger believed aliens had abducted her. Right. Another believed her husband had killed her and thrown her body into the bayou. Nice. How did the newsies always find these kooks to interview? The alien theory didn’t rate a mention in the press and James puked at the sight of blood.
When they landed at Atlantic Aviation, the general aviation arm of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Remy was more than happy to disembark. That driving need to do something to help Christine was crawling under his skin again. Grabbing their gear, he and Lily crossed to the rental counter and scored a Yukon like his own. This one, however, had running boards.
Remy guided the vehicle away from the airport and toward Oak Hill. He made a mental note to keep all the traffic laws or the local cops would pull them over. He’d like a chance to talk to James and do some investigation before the locals learned he was in town. Chances were, though, they’d know inside of 24 hours. Such was the way of small towns.
He glanced at his partner. “Look, Lily, I don’t want to pry into your business, but you seemed upset earlier.”
“I’m fine.” Her cool gaze raked over his face.
“So you said. Sorry, but your poker face needs work. At least tell me if whatever is bugging you has anything to do with our case.”
“No.”
Remy scowled at her. “That’s it? No?”
“Want me to break into song?”
“You sing any better than you play the piano?”
“Worse.”
“Pass.” After a couple minutes of silence, Remy tried again. “I’d like to help if you will let me.”
Lily’s head turned his direction. Unlike her, he did have a poker face, and he used it now as she scrutinized him. Remy weighed his chances of getting her to talk this early on, decided it was about 20 percent. G.I. Jane didn’t really know him. Their earlier conversation didn’t translate into knowing someone well enough to trust.
“Nothing to tell at this point. Look, Zane is doing research for me. If he turns up anything you can help with, you’ll be the first to know.”
Zane, their communications guru, was amazing at research. Good thing since a close encounter with an IED had left him confined to a wheelchair. Quite a blow to the former Navy SEAL. “If he turns up anything, you let me know.”
“Why should you care?”
“Humor me.”
She blew out a breath. “Yeah, okay. I’ll tell you what he turns up.”
The rest of the drive Lily stared out the window at Lake Ponchartrain, the bayous, and Spanish moss-laden trees. At the outskirts of town, Remy turned onto winding side roads, determined to keep them off the police radar for a little longer. At a fork in the road, he guided the SUV to the right instead of left toward home. According to Brent’s notes, James was working from home while the search for Christine progressed. If you could call doing nothing but waiting by the phone for someone to confess to kidnapping as searching. Zane hadn’t uncovered any search activity after the first 24 hours.
The entrance to the Wilder drive was marked by magnolia trees on either side of the concrete driveway. Fifty feet beyond, black wrought iron gates blocked the way to the plantation-style house in the distance.
Lily’s quiet gasp drew a glance from him. He smiled. “Quite a showplace, isn’t it?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Same inside, if Christine didn’t change anything when she and James married.” He’d spent many hours roaming the halls with James as they grew up. All that changed, though, with Christine. His and James’s friendship had never been the same once Remy had started dating her. Lot of good that did him. He’d lost her to his best friend anyway. Water under the bridge, he reminded himself. He’d changed a lot since his last year of high school. No doubt, Christine had as well. The fact that she and James were still married after all these years reinforced his belief that he’d made the right choice to leave town.
Remy slowed to a stop beside a black call box at the gate. After lowering the window, he pressed the button.
“Can I help you?”
“Remy Doucet. James is expecting me.”
“One moment please.”
A minute later, the gates swung inward, allowing their vehicle to pass through. He braked at the front of the house and turned off the engine. “Our acting roles begin now, Lily.”
Her hand clenched. “Okay.”
“Know anything about small towns?”
“Nope.”
“Everybody’s favorite pastime is gossiping about everybody else. We’ll be the hot topic of conversation as soon as we step out of the SUV. I expect somebody has already texted about our arrival before we even cleared the gate.”
Her jaw dropped. Street rat, he reminded himself. This would be a totally alien world to the city girl. “Ready?”
“Let’s go.” She popped open the vehicle door and climbed down, assessing her surroundings as she waited for him to come around the vehicle’s nose.
As Remy reached Lily’s side, he draped an arm around her shoulders. Though she stiffened momentarily, it didn’t take long for her to toss him a teasing smile and circle his
waist with her arm. Oddly enough, despite their height differences, she fit perfectly against his side. His gaze dropped to the top of her blond hair. Maybe he’d get a chance to plunge his hands into her long tresses before this op was finished. Yeah, fat chance of that, but a guy could dream about reaching one of his goals. Something about the rain of golden silk just did it for him.
Together, they climbed the wide stairs up to the front door. James opened the door to their knock. He looked much the same as he had at 18 despite a softening around the middle and a few less hairs on his head. New were the dark circles under his eyes and deep lines at the corners of his mouth. Remy’s stomach clenched in sympathy. “James.”
“Come in,” he said, stepping back to allow them to pass. “Thank you for coming, Remy. I know it wasn’t easy for you.” His gaze shifted to Lily as he closed the door behind them. “And who is this beautiful lady?”
“My girlfriend, Lily.”
She smiled, held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilder.”
“Please, it’s James. People call me Mr. Wilder and I turn around, looking for my father.” He inclined his head at Remy. “This one treating you right?”
“I wouldn’t allow him to behave otherwise.”
A small smile curved his lips. “Glad to hear it. You keep an eye on him. He’s a lady charmer.” The smile faded. “Come with me.”
James led them to an office and closed the door. “I didn’t know what else to do, who else to call. With your background in police work, I hoped you could find her. Remy, Christine’s just gone.” His voice broke on that last statement. “I’ve been expecting a ransom demand, but there hasn’t been one. I’d pay any amount of money to get her back safely. My life’s worth nothing without her.”
“We’ll find her,” Remy said. “We won’t stop hunting until we find her and bring her home to you.”
“We? You take your girlfriend along on your investigations?”
“Lily works for Fortress as well.”
“Please, sit.” He sat behind the desk and waved them to the cushioned chairs in front of him. “What can I tell you that might help?”
“Did Christine mention anything odd, something that made her uneasy?”
He shook his head. “She’s never been happier. Christine was restless until a couple months ago.
“Restless.” Remy scrutinized his friend. “Explain that.”
James dragged his hands over his face. “She’s always been interested in community service. You remember how she always volunteered at various places in town. Just about every day Christine has a meeting with at least one committee or charitable organization. She has such a big heart for people and animals.”
Remy swallowed the spurt of laughter that wanted to burst out of his chest. Unless his old flame had had a personality transplant, Christine cared more for herself than anyone or anything else. That was one of the many things they fought about in the last weeks before she dumped him for James. She hated his family with a passion, called them a bunch of swamp rats. Still kindled a fierce flame in him to think of that. Never could figure what she saw in him as he was from the same swamp rat stock as the rest of the Doucets.
“A couple months ago, she stopped attending some of those meetings. As the weeks passed, she ditched still more.”
“Did you question her about it?” Lily asked.
“She said the work wasn’t fulfilling anymore. They did the same things repeatedly, and those things served little purpose. I just don’t understand it. Christine’s concerned about protecting my public image. She’s active in the community to represent the Wilder name because I don’t have time, especially since Dad retired.”
Concerned about James’ public image? Remy’s lips curled. More like concerned how people perceived her.
Lily tilted her head. “What did you say to that?”
“I suggested maybe it was finally time to have children.” A wistful expression settled on his face. “You don’t know how much I envied you, Remy. My family was wealthy, but money doesn’t buy everything. Your home was filled with love and laughter. I want that with Christine.”
Remy could imagine how that went over. Another bone of contention between them. “How did she respond to your suggestion?”
“She said maybe I was right, that her biological time clock was ticking. Two days later, she was gone.”
No ransom demand. No car found. Restless. That all indicated Christine walked away of her own free will. If that were the case, why? Why would she walk away from a husband who adored her and a life of luxury and power, things she’d always wanted and couldn’t get from Remy the swamp rat?
Guess he’d have to ask Christine when he found her.
CHAPTER THREE
Lily studied James Wilder, his facial expressions as he talked, his body language, gauging his honesty. And tried to keep the distaste she felt for Christine’s life from showing on her face. Bored with society life and the endless cycle of committee meetings and charity events? Who wouldn’t be? That kind of life would drive Lily insane.
She couldn’t imagine anything more horrid than sitting in on endless meetings to raise money or community awareness for various causes. Lily hated anything that kept her captive indoors, meetings in Fortress’s conference room included. She felt trapped. Good thing she was a field operative instead of a paper pusher. When faced with appeals for money, she considered the merits of the organization asking and how strongly she felt about the cause. Because her work schedule was erratic, if she felt the need to help, Lily simply made a donation. Most people didn’t even do that, she reasoned. No need to wallow in guilt because she couldn’t volunteer a ton of hours at the animal shelter, though she loved to do that when her schedule allowed. She loved springing the dogs from their cages and walking them, playing with them. Guess she could relate because of her background. She’d always felt trapped, caged by her life growing up. There had been no one to help free her.
“James, in order to find your wife, we’ll have to ask questions of you and your friends and neighbors that will be uncomfortable. We need you to be absolutely honest in your answers. Anything you hold back will make our jobs that much harder.” Lily leaned forward, her gaze fixed on his. “Will you be honest with us?”
“Of course. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“I hope so because I want to know about your marriage. Are you having any problems?”
James’ eyes glittered, his cheeks flooded with color. “What are you saying? Problems in my marriage? I’m the one who called Remy to come find my wife. Why would I call Fortress for help if I had done something to her?” He leaped to his feet. “Are you accusing me of hurting my wife?”
“Sit down, James,” Remy said, voice quiet. “The cops didn’t ask you the same question?”
“Of course not. They know me.” His voice rose.
“Then it’s a good thing you called Fortress. That’s one of the first questions I asked spouses or significant others as a cop. You don’t want to answer the questions, you make yourself look guilty and we’ll waste Fortress resources racing down trails, chasing information you could have given us voluntarily. So answer my girlfriend’s question, James. How was your marriage?”
Hearing the edge in his voice, Lily glanced at her partner. His intense gaze was focused on his friend. She hoped James gave them the right answer because the way Remy looked, he might fly over that desk and tackle the man if he’d been the cause of Christine’s disappearance. That sent another shard of uneasiness through her gut. Would he be able to handle whatever they learned throughout the course of their investigation? He’d better. Christine’s life might depend on it. And Lily’s.
Just as suddenly as he leaped to his feet, James dropped back into his chair. “We weren’t having problems, all right? Not really. Wilder Enterprises is going through a rough patch. I’ve been spending a lot of time away from home lately. I think Christine felt neglected.”
“You think?” Lil
y asked. “Did you talk to her about it?”
“I didn’t think it was necessary. We’ve been married for fifteen years. We can finish each other’s sentences.”
“Doesn’t mean you communicated.”
“She was angry that the expense allowance had been cut.”
“Why?”
“Christine’s not used to watching her pennies. It distressed her.”
Lily barely restrained a snort. Mrs. Wilder wouldn’t have survived the foster care system or life on the streets. “Why did you curtail her expense allowance?”
A tired sigh from their client as he leaned his head back against the chair, eyes closed. “One of the staff accountants embezzled millions of dollars. I had payments due to suppliers and bank loans to cover on top of business slowing down. I cut corners everywhere I could to pay everything on time, including cutting my own salary. Wilder Enterprises is the largest employer in this region. If we go under, we’ll put hundreds of good, hard-working employees out of a job. That will not only devastate my workers and their families, it will be a disaster for the local economy as well.”
“The information you gave Fortress indicates she went for a drive and simply vanished. Is that right?”
He hesitated.
“James.” A warning note in Remy’s voice.
“She was on a shopping trip.”
“So if you had cut her spending allowance, why was she going shopping the day she disappeared?” Lily asked.
“She had a huge charity auction event she was hosting and needed something new to wear. I took money out of savings and gave it to her.”
“How much?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“How much?” Remy’s voice vibrated with tension.
“Two thousand.”
Shock rolled through Lily like a tidal wave. Good grief! She could fill every closet in her apartment with clothes for that much money and Christine needed that much for one outfit? Of course, Lily preferred fatigues to dressing up any day. Made her clothes choices a lot simpler. And someone would have to force her at gunpoint to host anything. “Where did she normally go when shopping for clothes?”
