If his story was the real deal.
Tomorrow, he and Catelyn would spend their day investigating the case. Another Saturday spent working. But at least he’d be with Catelyn. Maybe she’d open up more with him tomorrow during the course of the day.
He had a feeling she’d left a lot unsaid tonight.
The door opened and his dad stepped out. “Joseph? Are you all right?”
“Fine, Dad. Just sitting here…contemplating, praying a little. When are Ethan and Marianna coming home?”
“They’ll be back tomorrow. Said they had some news for us.”
His interest piqued, he quirked a brow at his parent. “Really? What kind of news?”
“Not sure. Ethan’s been thinking about transferring into South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, so they may be moving to Columbia.”
“Ouch. What does Mom say to that?”
“She’s not happy about it, but wants what’s best for all.”
“Yeah.” His thoughts returned to Catelyn.
“Catelyn’s gotten ahold of you again, huh?”
Startled at his dad’s astute assessment, Joseph let out a low laugh. “Now what would make you say that?”
“We’re a visual family, Joey,” his dad said, pulling his childhood nickname from the past. “I see a lot. And you didn’t take off two years ago for New York because your life was going along smoothly.”
“But I never said…”
“You didn’t have to, son. Some things a dad just knows.”
“Huh.”
“So, she’s gotten ahold of you again.”
“Yeah, she has.” Why bother to deny it? “But she’s got this…anger deep inside her about something. It’s like a silent fury that’s bubbling underneath the surface ready to erupt. I think it has something to do with her father’s death, but I’m not sure. I just get that idea from reading between the lines. I think she’s got a lot of anger towards God, too. And until she gets that resolved, she and I really can’t go forward.”
“Wow. That’s a lot to deal with.”
“For her and me. Because I want to be there for her when it happens. I think it’s going to have to in order for her to be able to move on with her life. I just wish she’d share it all with me.”
“Are you up to it?”
He met his dad’s eyes. “I have to be. I think if we can get through whatever’s going on inside her right now, we can deal with whatever the future throws at us. I think.”
“All right, well I’ll be praying, too. She’s a lot different from your mom, but she’s a good woman. A man could consider himself blessed with a girl like that. Night, son.”
Speechless, Joseph watched his father reenter the house. Then he raised his eyes back toward the heavens and in suspicious wonder, said, “Huh.”
His phone rang.
Catelyn.
He listened as she kept her tone professional and distant. “I’m on the way to see the graveyard shift at the lab. I found a baseball cap behind my entertainment center. I’m going to see if someone is willing to process it tonight to see if we can get anything useful from it. We’ve got to find Kelly, Joseph. I really feel like her time is running out.”
EIGHT
Sluggishly, Catelyn pulled her weary body from her bed. A late-night run to the third-shift crime lab to drop off the hat had her arriving back home for the third time that day and climbing in bed around two in the morning.
She’d allowed herself five and half hours of sleep before rising and dressing for the day ahead. Anticipation and dread churned within her at the thought of seeing Joseph again. He had told her to call him if she got anything, but the lab had been crazy and she’d finally left without getting the information she wanted to grab a few hours of sleep. Hopefully today she and Joseph would learn something new.
Joseph.
Now that she had time to contemplate her revelations to him last night, she felt almost embarrassed, wondering if he’d think less of her for revealing some of her innermost feelings.
Her mind said he wouldn’t, not the Joseph she’d known two years ago, but her heart still wondered. Gulping down a bagel and some coffee, she headed toward the office. She didn’t bother to call Joseph, knowing full well he’d probably be there when she arrived.
Sure enough, when she pulled into the parking lot, his car sat in the spot nearest the door. Butterflies tickled her insides. As much as she wished it wasn’t so, she realized she really looked forward to seeing Joseph.
In spite of her embarrassment over last night’s outburst.
Entering the building, she strode to the elevator and rode up to the third floor. Stepping out when the double doors opened, she ran smack into a hard chest made harder by a Kevlar vest. “Oomph.”
Masculine hands grasped her upper arms and set her back. “In a hurry, Clark? If I’d known you were that anxious to throw yourself into my arms, I would’ve done something before now.”
“Back off, Johnson,” anther male voice demanded.
Tim Johnson’s brows shot Heavenward and he obeyed Joseph’s order, holding his hands in the universal sign for surrender. “I was just kidding. Catelyn and I are old friends.”
Catelyn stared in surprise at the danger glinting in Joseph’s dark eyes. Catelyn shot lasers at Joseph and he stared for a moment before shrugging. “Right.”
He turned and walked back to his desk. Catelyn gave Tim a disgusted look and trotted off after Joseph. He sat at his desk, not bothering to look up when she approached. “You think that was necessary? That I can’t take care of myself?”
Finally, his eyes lifted to meet hers. Innocence radiated from him. “What?”
She opened her mouth to reply then snapped it shut. “Forget it. We’ve got a girl to find.”
“I agree.”
Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it. “Hello?”
“Hey. This is Sandy.”
Crime-lab Sandy. “What’s up?”
“I’ve got that DNA from the hat.”
“What? Already? When I left last night, the place was a zoo.”
“You’re a friend who was victimized. I stayed late.”
Touched, Catelyn responded. “Wow. Thanks so much.”
“If you can get me a sample from whoever you think it belongs to, I can try to match it up for you.”
“That’ll be what I’m working on today. What color was the hair?”
“You’re looking for a redheaded male. Good luck.”
“Yeah, and thanks again,” she said.
She hung up.
Great.
“What do you have?” Joseph asked from his spot behind his desk.
Nothing about last night. Good. Breathing a sigh of relief, she said, “Sandy extracted the DNA, but we need something to match it up to.”
“You’ve got a picture of the hat?”
“Yes.”
“We can show it around, but it could belong to anyone. However, just giving an educated guess, I’m willing to bet that it belongs to someone between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.”
“Redheaded and male, too.”
He quirked a brow. “That helps.”
“I know. At least it’s a start. And if we come across a redheaded teen, we can ask for his DNA.”
“Let’s start with Billy Franklin again. There was just something about that kid when we talked to him at school. He was nervous, scared. And he has reddish-blonde hair. Let’s catch him at home.”
“Sounds good to me.”
On the way to the Franklin residence, Catelyn called to check on Zachary only to be told there was no change in his condition. She told the nurse, “Please call me as soon as he wakes up.”
“If he wakes up, I will,” came the sympathetic response.
“Right.”
Catelyn relayed her conversation to Joseph, who sighed then said, “I have another question for Billy. Not only do I want to know who the hat belongs to, I want to know if he knows who Zachary hangs out with and who h
e could have been with the day before his sister’s funeral.”
Ten minutes later, they pulled into the Franklin’s driveway. Catelyn had called and let Mrs. Franklin know they were coming. Fortunately, they’d been home and were free to meet. Billy was on his way home from his coach’s house where he’d been hanging out with some friends of his from the baseball team.
Joseph knocked on the door then stepped back, his badge in his hand. Less than a minute later, Mrs. Franklin opened the door. “Hello.”
“Thanks for agreeing to meet with us.”
“Anything to find Kelly.”
The forty-something woman opened the screen door and stood back to allow Catelyn and Joseph to step inside. Then she led the way to a small family room where she gestured for them to have a seat.
Running a hand through her mussed gray hair, she said, “Billy’s on his way. I called his cell a few minutes ago and he promised to be here soon.”
“That’s fine,” Joseph said. The woman looked worn out. “I know this is an incredibly difficult time for your family, but I promise we’re doing everything possible to track down your daughter.”
She gave a small sad smile. “I know. It just seems like there should be something more that I could be doing. Some way to help find her.”
“Unfortunately, there’s not. You’re staying by the phone, keeping your cell phone charged in case she sends you a text message. That’s about all you can do.” He didn’t bother to tell her they’d already tried to trace Kelly’s cell phone and hadn’t had any luck.
The door slammed and Billy entered the den. He’d lost weight. His hands shook as he nodded at the two officers sitting in his den. Joseph frowned. The poor kid was falling apart. “Hi, Billy.”
“Hi.” He slouched onto the couch, shoulders hunched, his head pulled low, like he was trying to impersonate a turtle.
“Sorry to pull you away from your friends.”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t having much fun anyway. Alonso was there, though. You should…” He stopped and looked away.
“I should what?”
“Nothing.”
“You’ve got a big game coming up in a few days, don’t you? Play-offs?”
“Right.” No enthusiasm whatsoever. Depression? Possibly.
Joseph pulled the picture of the hat out of his pocket. “Do you recognize this hat?”
Billy leaned forward and took the proffered photo. He studied it for all of three seconds before he said, “Sure. Practically every kid at the deaf school has one. Kelly even has one. They give them away the first day of school in a kind of welcome-back-to-school package.”
Catelyn pulled in a deep breath. Joseph flicked a glance in her direction. Great. “Do you know anyone it could possibly belong to?” The break-in happened last night. Plus the hat probably belonged to a deaf kid.
“No, I don’t know.”
“All right, one last question.” The real reason for their visit. “Do you know who Zachary was hanging out with the day before his sister’s funeral? His mother didn’t know and no one can tell us.”
Billy’s body language went from slouched and lethargic to ramrod straight and tense. His eyes slid to his mother then back to Joseph, before ending their journey on the floor. “I don’t know. I saw him right before the visitation, but he never said anything about being with anyone. He just seemed mad.”
“Mad? Not sad?”
The boy jerked. “No, he wasn’t sad. He didn’t like his sister that much.”
Well, that sort of went along with what Dylan had told them. Catelyn shifted, but didn’t stop writing on the pad in front of her. Joseph probed deeper. “Why do you say that?”
“She was mean. And always causing trouble for Zachary.”
“Do you think Zachary killed his sister?”
“No. As much as she got on his nerves, he wouldn’t kill her.”
“Why not?”
Billy shrugged, glanced at his watch and shifted. “I don’t know, I just don’t think he would have. I mean he didn’t like her, but she was still his sister, you know?”
“The first day we started this investigation, a young boy by the name of Chad thought Dylan killed Tracy. What do you think?”
“Chad was in love with Tracy. He’d never have hurt her. He was obsessed with her or something. But Tracy thought he was a loser and wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Dylan and Tracy used to be friends until he started dating Kelly. For some reason Tracy didn’t like that, but I don’t know why. She never said anything. I do know Zachary wanted Kelly for himself, but Kelly was a good girl.” His throat bobbed again. “She wouldn’t have anything to do with Zachary.” This time his eyes met Joseph’s. “I wouldn’t let her.”
“Because of his gang affiliations?”
“Yeah, mostly.”
“What do you know about the gang, The Skulls?”
Fear bleached his face white. “I already told you. I stay away from them. I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”
“But they’ve infiltrated the deaf school. They’ve got deaf kids joining this gang. Do you think they’ve done something to Kelly?”
Tears flooded his eyes and he sighed, glanced at his watch one more time. “I don’t know.” He stood. “Look, I wish I could help, but I can’t.”
“You keep looking at your watch. Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
“I told Coach I’d be right back. We’re discussing baseball strategy for the game on Tuesday night.”
Joseph looked at Catelyn. “Do you have any more questions you need to ask?”
“Just one, if I gave you a description of a redheaded deaf teen, who would be the first one to come to mind?”
Confusion flashed across his face along with a smidge of irritation. “I don’t know. Um, Lee Myers, maybe.”
Joseph stood, facing the teen. “All right, thanks. If you think of anything else, give us a call, will you?”
“Right.” Billy looked at his mother. “Gotta go, Ma. Coach is feeding us supper. Cooking out. I’ll be home around nine, okay?”
Anxiety written on her features, Mrs. Franklin nodded. “Fine. I’ll tell your father.”
“Thanks.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Waving to Joseph and Catelyn, he slipped out the door.
After thanking the woman for her time, they headed at a fast clip for the car.
“What’s your hurry?” Catelyn asked.
“That kid is up to something. I want to follow him and find out what.”
Catelyn hurried around to her side of the car and hopped in. Joseph climbed behind the wheel and pulled from the curb. Billy’s taillights flashed for a brief moment at the stop sign at the end of his street. He turned left and Joseph followed a safe distance behind.
“That kid is royally scared of something,” Catelyn muttered as they pulled out of the subdivision onto Pine Street. Cars whizzed by, but Joseph had no trouble keeping Billy’s vehicle in sight.
“Yeah, I get the same feeling. I just want to know what it is.”
“Or who it is.”
“Right.”
Catelyn rubbed her eyes, turned to him and said, “He saw us there and didn’t ask any questions about Kelly.”
“You noticed that, too?”
“Right off. Most people worried about someone see us and immediately ask if there are any new developments.”
“True, but he is a seventeen-year-old kid.”
“Granted. However, he just sat there. He also shows symptoms of depression. Although, I guess those could be attributed to whatever he’s afraid of, too.”
He wheeled around the next corner and entered a very prestigious subdivision. “Hey, isn’t this where Coach Dillard lives?”
“Sure is. And there’s his house.”
“Well, it’s exactly where Billy said he was going.”
Joseph pulled up to the curb. They had a pretty good view of the huge backyard from their vantage point.
“Look, they’re sig
ning.”
“And there’s your brother.”
Joseph frowned. “He didn’t say anything about a baseball get-together today.”
“I guess he doesn’t feel like he has to report in to big brother about his activities.” She gave him a smile.
“Guess not.”
“Who’s that?” Catelyn pointed to another young man. One she recognized as the kid who attacked Dylan at Joseph’s house. “That’s Chad, right?”
“It sure is.”
“And look, there’s a redheaded kid signing to Alonso.”
They exchanged a look then Joseph shook his head. “Naw, it couldn’t be that easy.”
“Of course not. And we don’t have any reason to ask him for his DNA.”
“I see several of those hats on heads over there.”
“The deaf school and the high school have really come together to give these kids a great opportunity. A lot of good deaf baseball players at the deaf school, but no team. A high school that needed good players. Couldn’t ask for a better combination.”
“Not to mention a winning one. That coach, Alan Dillard, sure is committed to his boys, isn’t he?”
“It’s good to see. Kids need role models like that.”
Billy came out of the house and Coach Dillard immediately walked up to the boy and put his arm around his shoulders. Billy kept his eyes on the wooden flooring of the deck.
The coach leaned over and said something in Billy’s ear. Billy shook his head, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans. Coach Dillard nodded, slapped him on the back and then stepped up onto the large wooden deck. He clapped his hands, waved his arms and motioned for the boys to gather around.
Coach Dillard started to talk and sign at the same time and Joseph turned to Catelyn. “I’ve seen enough.” They started forward and Catelyn grabbed his arm and pointed. Billy had turned from the crowd and isolated himself in a far corner.
“The kid’s hurting…or something. Something more than his sister being missing is going on with him,” she murmured.
“I agree.” Joseph sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “All right, I’m going to talk to Alonso about that hat. I also want to ask Coach Dillard to let me know if one of his players is missing a hat that he normally wears. Feel free to eavesdrop if you can see what we’re saying. You coming?”
A Silent Fury Page 10
