The small living room held only a couch, coffee table, stereo and television. Though Stacey expected to see pictures of Mark and Deanna snuggling on a beach, there were none.
I guess Deanna doesn't want to advertise her relationship with Mark, Stacey thought.
Tina invited Stacey to sit on the couch and offered her a drink. Stacey declined the drink but sat on the couch.
“How do you know Mark?” Tina asked.
“Valley Health Club.”
Tina nodded. “I'm thinking of joining myself. How do you like it?”
“It's great,” she said enthusiastically.
“I didn't get your name.”
“Cathy,” Stacey said, getting tired of using the false name and looking forward to life getting back to normal.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cathy. Now, what can I help you with?”
“I have a message for Deanna. From Mark.” She looked at Tina to see her reaction. Tina looked surprised and Stacey went on. “You know, with all the media around, it's been hard for him to go anywhere without being seen. He called me and asked if I would deliver the message.”
Tina seemed to accept this explanation. “What is it?”
Stacey frowned. “I’m sorry, Tina. He told me to give it to Deanna directly.”
“I see.” Tina stood and went into the small kitchen. When she came out she was holding a piece of paper. “This is where Deanna is staying.” Tina handed the paper to Stacey.
“Thank you for your time,” Stacey said, standing.
Tina walked her the short distance to the door. “I'm glad I could be of help.” She paused. “And would you tell Deanna things are going well on this end?”
“I'll do that.”
Chapter Thirty
Stacey looked at the paper in her hand as she sat in her car outside the apartment complex, and wondered why Deanna had left town. Had she and Mark had a falling out? Stacey remembered the scene at the park. They had seemed to be arguing. And what was Tina talking about when she said, “Everything is going well on this end”? Stacey tucked the paper into her purse, turned the key in the ignition and pulled out into traffic.
It was difficult to maneuver down her street with all the reporters there. She wasn't sure, but she thought there were more reporters there than had been there earlier. Had something happened?
She went into the house and found Jason pulling weeds in the backyard. Robby and Nikki were trying to help him. Stacey smiled as she watched her family at work. After a moment she eased the sliding glass door open and stepped out onto the patio. She went over to Jason and the children and said hello, then turned on the hose and stood on tiptoe to water her hanging plants. Nikki came running over to give Stacey a flower she had picked.
“Thank you, honey,” she said, giving her daughter a hug.
Nikki climbed onto the swing set and began pumping herself high into the sky. Robby joined her and soon they were both squealing with joy. Stacey went over to Jason, who was bent over the weeds, and massaged his shoulders. Looking up at her gratefully, he smiled and she bent down to give him a kiss.
“Where'd you go?” he wanted to know.
She smiled. “Just trying to clear your name.”
He stood up and faced her. “I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm sure the police will find out who the kidnapper really is and then everything will work out.”
Stacey's lips turned down into a frown. “And in the meantime, we have FBI agents in the neighborhood.” She looked at him quizzically. “And who knows? Maybe they even have our phones tapped.”
His eyebrows went up. “I hadn't thought of that.” He laughed nervously. “I guess I'd better be careful not to mention my sales commissions. Then they'll know the truth. I'm a lousy salesman.”
Stacey laughed along with him. “You are not.”
He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Thank you.”
She tipped her head up to accept his kiss and held him close for a moment.
Pulling away, he grinned. “What does Detective Hunter have planned for this afternoon?”
She smiled back. “Just boring stuff, actually. I need to do some things in the house.”
He nodded. “Okay. But pulling weeds is a lot more fun.”
“Yeah, right.” She kissed him again before going back inside.
She sat at the desk and pulled out the piece of paper Deanna’s roommate had given her. Written on it was the address of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. Stacey didn’t have any idea why Deanna would have gone there, but she knew she would have to find out. San Francisco was about an hour and a half drive away. Stacey decided to go out there the next day.
After making that choice she determined to do something useful around the house. Because she’d been gone so much lately, things had gotten way behind. Yet she didn’t feel like doing the usual cleaning jobs. She thought about the mess in the linen closet and headed down the hall.
First she pulled out all the towels and then folded them back up and stacked them neatly on the shelves. When she was finished, she went into the laundry room and began straightening things in there. When she got to the junk drawer, she gave a big sigh and debated whether to tackle this job, but then decided to get it over with. Pulling the entire drawer out of the cabinet, she dumped it out on the floor.
After sitting down next to the mess, she placed everything into little piles on the floor. One pile was for trash. There were several scraps of paper that had been in the drawer and after quickly scanning the contents, Stacey deemed most of them to be unimportant and put them into the trash pile.
When she was almost through, she came to one last piece of paper. It was folded into eighths and she almost threw it away without opening it, then decided she'd better check what was on it, just in case. It was a bill of sale for the old Toyota. She sucked in her breath as she read the name of the buyer. The date was from two months before.
Stacey took the piece of paper out to the backyard and showed it to Jason. The look of relief on his face would have been comical if it hadn't been such a serious situation.
“Do you remember the buyer?” she asked.
Jason looked at the name on the paper and thought for a minute. “Not really.”
“We need to give this to the police.” Stacey nodded toward the piece of paper in her hand.
Jason frowned. “I do not want to go to that police station again.”
“You could just take it out to the FBI agents at the Stone's house.”
Jason sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
Stacey noted his reluctance. “Would you like me to give it to them?”
“Maybe you should give it to the Detective that questioned Robby. You said he seemed pretty nice.”
“He was.” Stacey paused. “I want to make a copy of it first anyway so I think I will take it to the police station.”
Jason shook his head. “It's really my responsibility. I should take it.”
“Why? What's the difference which one of us takes it there?”
Jason shrugged. “I don't know. It just seems like something I should do.”
Stacey put her hands on his shoulders. “Jason, let me take care of this. After all, I'm the one who told them you owned the car.”
He nodded. “That's true.” He looked past her head. “Okay. If you really want to, I guess that would be all right.”
She smiled. “Good. I'll be back later.”
* * *
Watching Stacey drive away, Jason leaned his head against the cool front window. He felt discouraged and very humbled by what had happened. At first he had been angry with the FBI, but after the fiasco at the mall his bravado was punctured.
I could end up in jail for kidnapping, he realized. The thought terrified him. He didn't really believe Stacey could do anything to get him out of it. Panic swelled within him as he considered what could happen.
* * *
Before she went to the police station Stacey went t
o the library to use their copy machine. As she dropped her change in the slot and waited the few seconds for the copy to come out she thought about the person who had bought Jason's car and knew it would be a good idea to keep a copy of the evidence. She put the original in her pocket and the copy in her purse.
Humming to herself as she drove to the police station, she smiled at the good feeling that this little piece of paper would put an end to their problems. She patted her pocket and smiled, then pulled into the police parking lot and climbed out of her car with confidence.
She opened the door and walked right up to the desk sergeant.
“Is Detective Perkins in?”
The man behind the desk did not return her smile. “Who wants to know?”
“Tell him Stacey Hunter is here and I have something to show him that will really interest him.”
He scowled at her and told her to go sit down. She didn't let his apparent bad mood affect her. She sat down and waited patiently until Perkins came out. He walked over to her, curiosity on his face.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Hunter. The sergeant said you had something to show me?”
“Yes. Look at this.” She handed him the piece of paper.
He looked it over. “This is very interesting.” He looked up at Stacey. “But I thought your husband sold this car a while ago.”
“It turns out it was actually recent,” Stacey said.
He didn't seem convinced. “Something about this smells funny.”
Butterflies fluttered in Stacey's stomach. “What are you saying? Do you think it's forged?”
He looked at her steadily. “I'm saying we'll check it out. But I'm not making any promises.”
Trying not to feel disappointed, she walked out of the police station and into the blindingly bright sun. She sat in her car and rested her head in her hands. Sitting up straighter, she pulled out her copy of the sales agreement. She read it over again and wondered why it didn't “smell” right to Perkins. It had the date, the vehicle identification number, Jason's signature and the signature of the buyer. She allowed herself a small smile as she read the buyer’s name: Gary Tomlison.
Once they show Gary the evidence, he's sure to confess, she thought. And it should be a simple matter to confirm the signature.
She drove home to tell Jason what had happened and as she turned down her street and saw all the cars parked there, she hoped it would be soon that these media people would leave their street and their lives forever.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jason was sitting in his favorite chair watching a ball game on television when Stacey got home from the police station. At the grim look on her face, he knew things had not gone as well as they had hoped. She told him what Perkins had said and he threw his hands up in exasperation.
“I just can't win, can I?”
Stacey knew how he felt. It was as if the police wanted to believe Jason was the one who had done it.
As she began fixing a snack, her attention was drawn to the television when, after a commercial, the hourly news update came on. The weatherman gave the current temperature and then they cut to the news anchor. “We have breaking news,” he announced. “Police have informed us that an unidentified man was found shot to death just after noon. Sources say he was a male in his early forties. The only identifying mark was a jagged scar above his right eye. Police are investigating.”
Stacey dropped the pitcher of lemonade she had been holding. Yellow liquid spread everywhere.
Jason called to her. “What'd you drop?”
“Nothing. It’s fine.” Wiping it up as quickly as she could, she grabbed the plate of crackers and handed them to Jason. “I’ve got to run a quick errand. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said, a puzzled look on his face.
“I’ll be back in a little while.”
* * *
On the drive to Gary’s house, she thought about what she knew about this man who was now probably dead. He had bought Jason’s car, which had been involved in the kidnapping, and when she had spoken to him she thought she’d noticed a bit of animosity toward Mark Stone. Stacey was starting to think he was involved in the kidnapping. But why did he turn up dead? And who had killed him?
She drove along the street, periodically looking at the piece of paper in her hand and eventually came to a house matching the address Michelle had given her. Parking across the street, she studied the house, wondering about Gary and Michelle Tomlison.
Although brown paint was peeling off the sides of the house, the lawn looked well cared for and the colorful rows of pansies lining the walk were blooming. A moment later Stacey got out of the car and went to the front door.
As she waited for someone to answer the door, Stacey considered how Michelle would take the news of her husband’s death and involvement in a crime - assuming Stacey was correct. She could imagine how she would feel, having just gone through her own suspicion of Jason.
A moment later Michelle Tomlison answered the door. “Hi, Stacey. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
Stacey smiled. “Did you end up staying for the whole Beautiful You meeting?”
“Yeah. Thanks for your help, by the way.”
“No problem.” Stacey paused. “How are you?”
“Pretty awful if you really want to know.”
“What's going on?” Stacey asked, fairly certain she knew the answer.
As she followed Michelle into the living room, Stacey could see all was not right in this house. Things were a mess. Some of the couch cushions were on the floor and one was even torn open, revealing the stuffing inside. On the coffee table a glass lay on its side, an amber colored liquid spread out next to it.
“What happened, Michelle?” Stacey asked.
Her mouth quivered. “That's what I'd like to know. I spent the morning at my mother's house and when I came home a little while ago this is what I found.” She swept her arm around the room.
“Where's your husband?” She asked, even though she was quite sure he was the dead man.
“I can't find him. He said he was going to the mall this morning but I expected him back by now.”
Stacey's heart beat faster as she received this further confirmation Gary was involved in the kidnapping. “What was he doing at the mall?”
Michelle frowned at the question. “He said he had to run an errand for a friend. It was kind of strange, actually.”
“What was so strange about that?”
“He usually hates going to the mall, but this morning he seemed like he could hardly wait to get there.”
Stacey bit the inside of her lip, trying to keep herself from shouting out the truth. “Did he say who the friend was?”
Her eyes moistened with tears. “He said it was none of my business.”
She figured this “friend” was probably involved with the kidnapping too. “Well, I was just in the neighborhood and I wanted to see how the meeting went.”
“Thanks for thinking of me. But as you can see, I have some work to do here.”
“Aren’t you going to call the police?” Stacey asked, hoping they could find fingerprints of Gary’s accomplice.
“Yeah, I guess I should. It doesn’t seem like anything’s been taken, but you never know.”
“Do you want me to stay until they come?”
“No. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Stacey left a moment later.
Chapter Thirty-Two
After she left Michelle, Stacey ran several errands, ending at the grocery store to buy some milk. Heading home, she tried to control the despair and hopelessness that Kyle's abduction wouldn't be solved. It seemed like all she did was run into dead ends, and when she thought she had a real piece of evidence, the police didn't even believe her.
Even though she felt discouraged, her heart lifted a little at the thought that the next day, when she went to San Francisco, she might be able to find something helpful. Of course she didn't know how Jason would react to her leaving town
for the day.
By the time she pulled into her driveway it was five o'clock. She was surprised to see Detective Perkins and Officer Jurgen waiting for her.
“Can I help you?” She asked.
“We'd like to ask you some questions.”
She was startled. “Why? What's wrong?”
Perkins never smiled. “Please follow us to the police station.”
The reporters began inching in their direction and Jurgen looked over at them nervously.
Stacey felt panicky. “I'd like to know what's going on.” When Perkins reached for her arm, she pulled back quickly. “Okay. I'll follow you.”
They took her into an interrogation room and she sat on a hard metal folding chair. A large mirror to her right made her wonder if there were people on the other side observing the interview. She wondered if Agent Morrison was there. She also wondered if this was the same room Jason had been questioned in. Now she knew how he must have felt.
She became even more alarmed when Perkins read her something called a noncustodial rights warning. He explained it was like the traditional Miranda warning with one difference: She didn't have the option of having a lawyer appointed for her, and she was told she could leave anytime she desired. She nodded mutely when he asked her if she understood she wasn't under arrest at this time.
A woman came in and introduced herself as Detective Clemens. She had curly red hair and a pleasant face. Smiling, she told Stacey she would be doing the questioning.
It was almost a relief to see a new face, and a feminine one at that. Stacey relaxed a bit.
Clemens sat opposite Stacey and began the questioning. “How well did you know Gary Tomlison?”
She looked at Detective Clemens, then at Perkins. With the two of them staring at her, waiting for her response, she felt like they were ganging up on her. “I met Mr. Tomlison earlier this week.”
“Where did you meet him?” The woman spoke softly and smiled at Stacey with encouragement.
“At the high school.”
“And what were you doing there, Mrs. Hunter?”
Suspicions: a novel of suspense Page 16
