Cold Truth

29

“How could she have just disappeared like that?” Rick ran a worried hand through his hair. “She’s vanished.”

“That’s ridiculous. Are you certain she isn’t in the house?” Chief Denver pressed. “Did you think to look in the backyard?”

“We’ve been through every room of the house, Chief. I’m telling you, she isn’t here, and no one saw her leave. She got a phone call from Khaliyah…”

“Khaliyah Graves?”

“I don’t know the girl’s last name, the girl she plays basketball with.”

“What did she want?”

“I don’t know. Cass said the reception was bad, and she was going to take the call outside. That’s the last I saw of her.”

“Khaliyah lives over on Westbrook, but I don’t know the house number. Hold on, Rick, let me see if I can contact the department, see if we can get the girl’s number.”

Rick paced the sidewalk outside Jon Wainwright’s house, his phone close to his ear. How could it be that Cass had disappeared seemingly into thin air?

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He knew that she hadn’t just vanished. He knew, too, that she wouldn’t just walk off the scene, without at the very least telling him what she was doing. He shook his head. She’d do more than tell him. She’d take him with her.

She’d have to. She didn’t have a car.

“We got through to the girl. She says she didn’t call Cass. Says she can’t find her phone, she thinks someone took it from her gym bag while she was playing basketball.”

“I guess we know who that someone was, don’t we.” There could be only one explanation, and the very thought of it turned Rick cold inside.

Wainwright had her.

Rick didn’t know how he’d done it, but he was one hundred percent certain he had.

“Get the men who are still there to start canvassing the neighborhood. See if anyone saw her. I’ll see how quickly I can get out of the Carsons’. With Lilly still missing, I can’t do a quick hello good-bye. In the meantime, you keep in touch, you hear?”

“Will do.”

Rick closed the phone with a snap, then went into the house to call together the officers on the scene. He told them what had happened, what he and Chief Denver suspected, and what the chief had directed them to do. There was a mass exit out the front door, as the officers took to the streets in search of a sign of Cass or someone who might have seen her.

Within minutes, someone called from across the street.

“Here. I’ve found something.”

“What have you got?” Rick rushed to him, and looked down. Two handguns lay on the ground in the haze of an officer’s flashlight.

They stood silently, staring at the ground. Finally, the officer said, “How’d he get her to do that? Cass would never give up her guns, leave ’em lying on the ground like that.”

Rick knelt down to inspect the guns. He picked up the ankle holster he knew she had strapped on only hours before.

But there’d been three guns, he knew. If two were left here, she still had a weapon. Assuming, of course, that Wainwright hadn’t found it and turned it on her. He hoped that wasn’t the case.

Rick punched in a number on his cell, and waited while it rang.

“Annie, it’s Rick Cisco. We have a problem here in Bowers Inlet…”

He filled her in, listened, then thanked her. He disconnected, and immediately dialed the chief’s number.

“We found two of her guns, but not her,” Rick told him as he strode to his car. “Annie thinks he took her to where it all began. I’m thinking the bird sanctuary. I’m headed there now.”

“I’ll send a few cars out to meet you,” Denver said before Rick hung up.

The street was too narrow to make a U-turn, so Rick threw the car in reverse and drove backward to Bay Avenue, where he took a left. Wishing he had lights and sirens so everyone would get out of his way, Rick followed the route he remembered to the sanctuary.

What was Wainwright’s plan? Were his hands, even now, around her neck, strangling the life from her? Rick’s heart skipped a beat, imagining Cass fighting for her life.

“Fight the bastard,” he said aloud. “Fight him with everything you’ve got. Just hold on…”

Rick stopped the car at the entrance to the sanctuary, got out, and moved the gate aside. He drove straight through, his tires kicking up sand and small stones as he sped down the road to the Jenny Burke Memorial. After the second turn, he slowed, his high beams glancing off the rails on the side of the road at the left. Finally, he saw it, and pulled over. His Glock in one hand, a flashlight in the other, he closed the car door softly.

Rick stood by the side of the road and strained his ears to listen. He heard… nothing.

Finally, there was a rustle overhead, followed by the whooooooooo whooooooooo of an owl. The winged predator took off from its perch and disappeared into the night, leaving Rick with his mounting fears.

He found the path that led to the blind and followed it. When he arrived at the structure, he stood in the shadows and watched, and listened. Nothing. No movement, no sound.

He climbed the ladder silently, the Glock still in his right hand, but when he reached the top and looked over, he realized he’d been wrong. The blind was empty. He shined the light around the interior, but there was nothing.

“Where the hell are you?” Frustrated, he banged a hand on the floor of the blind before heading back down.

Cass stiffened when Jonathan pushed her through the cattails and the weathered brown house appeared in the moonlight.

“See?” Wainwright whispered in her ear. “Just like I told you. I brought you home.”

“Is she here?” Cass asked, her mouth dry.

“You’ll be able to answer that yourself in a moment.” He forced her to the top of the concrete basement steps, and she hesitated.

“Don’t be a child,” he told her, shoving her down the steps and through the basement to the stairs that led to the first floor. “Nothing to fear down here.”

“Where’s Lilly?” Cass asked as she was pushed through the door and into the living room of her childhood. Miraculously, everything was just as it had been twenty-six years earlier. The dark green sofa had, long ago, faded pale from the sun that beat in through the front windows. A magazine from 1979 lay on the floor next to a chair. After the murders, Cass’s grandparents had come into the house one time, and then only to get the things that Cass needed. Clothes, favorite toys, important papers. They had then simply locked the house when the police were through. Incredibly, to the best of Cass’s knowledge, no one had been inside since. Except for the thick layer of dust that covered everything, and the cobwebs that hung from the ceilings, all was as it had been.

“Lilly is upstairs.”

“I want to see her.”

“Patience, Cass.”

“Uh-uh. I want to see her now.”

“As you wish, then.” He gestured with the gun. “Up you go. And don’t forget who has the gun.”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten.”

She climbed the steps slowly, the child within her screaming silently with every step. Her hands shook and her knees threatened to simply give out. It took all of her willpower to force herself to continue forward. She could not be a coward. She could not fail Lilly.

There’d been no chance to save her mother. She hadn’t gotten to her sister in time.

This time, she was not a child. This time, she was not helpless.

This time he would not win.

She stood on the top step and took a deep breath.

“Where?”

“Why, in Mommy and Daddy’s room, of course. Honestly, Cass, you should know the game by now.”

“Is that what this is to you? A game?” She started to turn to face him but he jabbed her in the back.

“Figure of speech,” he hissed in her ear. “Now, go on, go on into Mommy’s room and see what we have waiting for us.”

She stepped in through the darkened doorway. In the light from the moon overhead, she could see a figure lying on the floor. Wainwright jabbed it with the toe of his foot, and the figure moaned.

“You said you’d let her go,” Cass reminded him. “Do it now.”

“No, that’s not exactly what I said. I said I wouldn’t kill her. And I won’t. I’m a man of my word.”

She turned slowly and saw the smirk on his face.

“But you’re not going to let her go, are you?”

“No. No, I’m not going to let her go. Sooner or later, someone will find her. Maybe she’ll still be alive.” He shrugged. “Maybe not.”

“Why?”

“Oh, please. I’ve seen all the same TV shows. Keep the bad guy talking until the guys in the white hats arrive. You think your Fed boyfriend is going to figure out where you are?” He snorted. “The guy doesn’t look that smart. And we both know Denver’s not that smart. Obviously. Did he tell you we sat at the bar in Gabby’s Place two weeks ago and bought each other drinks?”

He laughed. “I proved twenty-six years ago that I’m smarter than old Craig. I’m still smarter. Smarter than him, smarter than my old man. I do have to brag, though-it was a kick, watching the old man scramble around back then, acting like he was on to a lead here, a lead there. He didn’t have a clue. Not a fucking clue.” He laughed again. “You should have seen him when he got those letters I sent. All agitated. He knew the killer was smarter than he’d ever be. Well, I proved that, didn’t I? The man went to his grave years ago, still didn’t have a clue.”

“Why my mother?”

“Why not your mother?” He spun her against the wall in a rush, the gun now in her face. “Don’t you know what she was?”

“No, Jon. Why don’t you tell me?” she whispered.

“She was Jezebel, right out of the Bible.” His voice dropped. “She was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was… everything.”

“She was a married woman with children.”

“She would have walked away from all of you, to be with me.”

“Did she tell you that, Jon?”

“Every time she looked at me, I knew.”

“So you killed her? You killed the woman who loved you? That makes no sense.”

“I didn’t plan on… that wasn’t supposed to…” He appeared suddenly confused. She used the moment to swing the door into his body, hoping to slam his gun hand into the jamb.

She missed.

“Bitch!” he screamed at her, and twisted her arm behind her back.

Her hand struggled to get the small handgun from the small of her back. It caught in the waistband of her jeans and she cursed loudly as he tried to pin her against the wall. His gun was in her face, his finger on the trigger.

From somewhere outside, a car door slammed.

His eyes darted to the front of the house; the brief hesitation was all she needed. She wrenched her hand free and jammed the gun into his chest. And fired. Once, and the gun dropped from his hand. Twice, and he slumped against her. Three times, and his body began to fall.

The door crashed open on the floor below, and she pushed Jonathan Wainwright to the floor.

“Cassie?”

“Rick? I’m here. I’m here…” Her voice caught in her throat. “I’m here…”

He took the steps two at a time, slowing only when he reached the top.

“Wainwright…?”

She pointed to the floor.

“Are you all right?” He went to her, put his arms around her.

“I am now.” She wanted him to hold on, hold on and on and make this nightmare go away. But… “Lilly Carson is over there. She’s alive, but I don’t know for how much longer. I don’t know what he’s done to her.”

They moved farther into the bedroom and he snapped on the light. Lilly lay on her side, her dark hair spilled across the carpet. Cass’s knees went weak.

“Lilly.” Rick knelt down next to her. “Lilly, can you hear me?”

Slowly the woman opened her eyes and blinked against the light.

“We’re going to get help,” he promised. He reached for his phone just as cars pulled up outside. He looked at Cass. “Go tell them she’s here. Tell them to get an ambulance ASAP.”

Cass nodded, and willed her legs to move to the stairs.

“Up here,” she called down with a shaky voice. “She’s up here…”

Cass sat on the bottom step and watched the activity around her. Once again, the home she had shared with her family had turned into a crime scene.

Tasha Welsh arrived, as did the medical examiner. Both stopped to squeeze her shoulder and offer congratulations on their way up the steps. Cass couldn’t bring herself to go up with them, not right then. She still didn’t trust her legs to take her anywhere.

“How did you know?” Cass asked Rick when he sat down next to her and took her hand. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Annie said he’d take you back to where it all began. At first, I thought that meant the sanctuary, where he met your mother. When I got there and realized he hadn’t been there tonight, there was only one other place he could have taken you. This is where the killing began. I’m only sorry I didn’t catch on sooner.”

She sat as if still in shock.

“Not that you needed my help,” he told her. “You did just fine without me.”

“I’ve never killed anyone before,” she said simply. “I’m glad it was him.”

“I didn’t hear you say that.” Chief Denver approached the steps. “I need you to hand over your gun, Cass.”

She handed it to him without comment.

“You know the county will investigate, as they do every time an officer is involved in a shooting.”

She nodded.

“The shooting was totally justified,” Rick interjected. “He had a gun on her. He was going to kill her.”

“No doubt in my mind about that. No one’s questioning the justification, Agent Cisco. It’s just a formality.”

Denver knelt before Cass and studied her face. “Cassie, are you sure you’re all right?”

“I can’t believe it’s over. It’s over. He’s really dead?”

“He’s really dead,” he assured her.

“All of my life, I was haunted by what happened here.” She looked around the living room at furnishings that were at once both strange and familiar. “I thought about coming home that day, about him being here. I thought about stopping him in time.”

“Well, this time you did that.” Denver patted her knee and stood up. He went past them to the steps to the second floor.

She and Rick sat in silence for a long time. He looked to the top of the stairs, where the lights had all been turned on and brown stains marred the pale carpet.

Old blood, not new.

Her blood, not Wainwright’s.

“When you said you dreamed of stopping him, you meant that first time. Not this time, now. But then.”

She nodded.

“I wanted to save my parents. My sister.” Her eyes filled with tears, and Rick knew the dam was close to bursting.

“You were six years old.”

“I know that. I do. And I don’t blame myself for not saving them, Rick, I swear I don’t.” She swallowed hard, her bottom lip trembled. “I just wish I could have…”

“Come on, Cass, let’s go.” He stood and tugged at her hand. He wanted to put his arms around her and comfort her, make all the pain go away.

“Go where?”

“Anyplace but here.”

He parked on the street that she’d directed him to and turned off the ignition. He took off his shoes and socks while she did the same, then together they set off on foot, taking care to keep to the narrow boardwalk that led over the unlit dunes.

In silence they followed the sound of the ocean across the dark beach to the waterline, then walked a half mile up the beach, the tide swirling at their feet. Cass paused at the foot of the jetty.

“This might be a little tough to maneuver in the dark.”

“I have a flashlight in the car.”

“That’s the easy way.”

It was too dark to see her face, but he could almost feel her smile.

“Go on, then.” He took her hand.

They picked their way slowly through the smooth rocks until they reached the end. Cass lowered herself carefully to perch on the end of the jetty, and Rick did the same. He put both arms around her and pulled her close.

“I want you to know I would have ripped him apart with my bare hands if he’d hurt you,” he told her.

“I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”

He wanted to say that he thought it was best that she had been the one to kill Wainwright, but it was stating the obvious. Instead, he tightened his hold on her and just held on. When she turned to him, he leaned down and kissed her mouth. She tasted of tears, and she kissed him back, so he kissed her again. And again.

“I meant it when I said I felt as if I’ve known you for a long time,” he whispered.

“I thought that was just a line.”

“A line?” He frowned. “You thought that was a line? I don’t do lines.”

She laughed softly, and he tried to remember when he’d last heard her laugh.

“I swear-”

“Shhh. I was just teasing you. You looked so serious, so earnest for a moment.”

The clouds that had covered the face of the moon drifted aside, and light spread in rivers across the water. The tide lapped against the rocks, and she stuck out her foot to catch it.

“It’s really over, isn’t it, Rick?”

“It’s really over.”

She leaned against him and sighed.

“Do you want to go back to the Inn?” he asked.

“In a little while.”

“How do you feel, Cass?”

“I feel at peace, Rick. For the first time I can remember, I feel at peace.”

He couldn’t have asked for more than that.

Cass came out of the kitchen carrying a large spray bottle of water and a scraper, when she heard a car pull into the drive. She went to the dining room window and watched the driver of the Camaro get out. She tapped on the glass and pointed to the front door.

“Hey,” she said as she opened it.

“Hey, yourself.” He kissed her, then stepped inside and looked around. “What are you up to?”

“A lot can happen in three weeks.”

“I’m sorry. I was out of the country. I couldn’t get in touch. I figured rather than call and try to make excuses on the phone, I’d drive up here and make excuses in person.”

“Apology accepted.” She closed the door behind him. “You know, I never thought I’d step back inside this house, let alone ever consider living here. But it was the strangest thing, after that night… I don’t know, I just wanted to be here. I thought if I got rid of the…”

She motioned in the general direction of the second floor and the kitchen.

“You know, the telltale signs. If the walls and the floors were cleaned up, maybe it could be all right. I had someone come and clean out the bad stuff-take out the old carpets and clean the walls and the kitchen, and it’s as if all the bad karma is gone now.”

“I have to admit I was surprised when I stopped at the police station and Denver told me you were thinking about living here again.”

“Lucy wants to live in Gramma’s house, which she is totally entitled to do. She wants to move down here with her boys for the rest of the summer, once they finish up at camp. She isn’t going back to David. I could certainly stay there with them, but it’s going to be a bit crowded. I got to thinking that I have another place to live. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but once I came back, it seemed the ghosts were gone. The bad ones, anyway. I can live with the others. I’m not one hundred percent certain, but I want to try. I thought giving the rooms a new coat of paint would be a good place to start.”

“Well,” he said, looking around, “you have your work cut out for you. Fortunately for you, I’m an expert at home repairs-and a whiz at painting. Did I ever tell you that I paid for a summer in Vienna by painting houses? No? Well, remind me to tell you about that sometime. For now, I’m all yours. You just tell me where to start.”

“Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish, Agent Cisco.” She poked at him with the wallpaper scraper, then started up the steps to the second floor.

“Don’t you worry, Detective Burke.” He grinned and followed her up the stairs. “I’ve got two weeks’ vacation saved up. More than enough time to finish whatever it is you’ve got in mind.”