Chapter Thirty-five
With a whoop of delight, Scott ran toward her and lifted her into his arms in a giant bear hug.
“Wow. Big surprise. I send the ransom money and look who shows up,” Thomas said sourly.
“Let’s dial it back a notch and see what she has to say. Maybe even jolly her along a little to give the sense we’re not suspecting she had anything to do with the kidnapping. Could be, if she feels safe, she might accidentally give herself away,” Roman said.
Thomas turned to study his face. “You do believe it was her. I thought I was the only one. I mean, who else would want to hurt Jenn or me?”
“Based on the information we have, Eliza’s our best guess. Let’s all play nice and make the most of this opportunity,” Mia said.
They approached Scott and Eliza who were still clinging to one another.
“I’m sorry. So sorry,” Eliza was saying over and over while Scott ran his hands up and down her back.
“Shush. It’s okay. You’re here now. That’s all that matters,” he crooned.
Thomas took a step forward, but Mia grabbed his elbow and shook her head. Roman made a combo throat-clearing/cough sound and Eliza jerked in Scott’s arms. When he released her, she spun toward them.
“What … why are you all here?” She shifted her gaze back to Scott. “Did you call in a search party? You must have been so worried.”
Tears leaked down her face. Her eyes and nose were tinged red. She was pale, and if she was wearing any makeup, it was hard to tell.
“Hey, of course I was worried. You’re my wife and you were upset. I should have gone to you straight away,” Scott said.
“I’m fine now. It’s just … I’m not sure why I lost my mind for a bit, but I’ve come to my senses. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks except you and me, right? Our marriage is worth fighting for.”
Scott draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her tight to his side. “That’s exactly right. Let’s get you in the house. I’ll bet you haven’t eaten. There’s a couple of slices of pizza left in the fridge or I can zap one of those protein bowls you like so much. I stocked my freezer specially for you.”
He led her up the steps and into the house, going straight to the great room on the far side of the kitchen. Pointing to the couch, he helped her onto it and shifted pillows around to make it even more comfortable. The rest of the group returned to the table with Thomas all but vibrating with suppressed rage. Roman glared at him and he swallowed and gave a subtle nod before checking his cell phone for messages.
“You guys. I’m sorry Scott worried you. I never meant to cause any trouble,” Eliza said in a trembling voice.
“Where were you? We went to your condo a few hours ago,” Mia said.
Scott straightened from where he’d been fishing out a microwavable dinner from the freezer drawer. “How come you changed the code on your door?”
“Oh … because … the building manager sent out a notice there’d been a break-in and said we should, you know, change our pass code or whatever so I did.”
“Okay. That makes sense. Unlucky timing for us, I guess. When I couldn’t reach you, I also talked to Kerry. She said you hadn’t called. Where’d you go?” Scott asked.
Eliza rubbed a hand over her face. “I was nowhere, really. I drove around for hours just trying to calm myself down.” Her eyes flicked to Thomas. “You really hurt me last night. I’m working hard to forgive what you and Jennifer did, but it’s going to take some time.”
Thomas’s face turned beet red. “I can’t believe you’d dare to—”
“Hey. Let’s not do this now,” Roman said, cutting him off. He turned his attention back to Eliza. “Are you telling us you’ve been driving for the whole afternoon and most of the night?”
“Well, I stopped a bunch of times, and I walked in a park, grabbed a couple of coffees. But yeah, mostly just driving.”
Mia’s scalp began to tingle, and the insight hit her in the next second. “Where’s JP?”
Eliza’s breath caught and she pressed a hand to her mouth and shook her head. “He’s at the groomers. I decided to leave him overnight. We’re so totally bonded, and he’s really sensitive to my moods. When I felt the sadness coming over me, I just knew I’d be sobbing for hours and I was afraid it would be hard on him. I miss him, though. So much. It’s like I’m not myself without my little man.”
Thomas pushed back from the table with a screech of chair legs scraping across tile. He shot to his feet and turned to Eliza. His face was practically purple, and a vein throbbed at his temple.
“You have the nerve to sit there spinning a tale of woe about hurt feelings and missing your damn dog like you haven’t spent the past eighteen hours putting Jenn through hell. What have you done with her?” His gaze pinged over on Roman. “I know I said no police before, but I want them now. Like immediately. We can’t allow this lying, conniving, evil woman to get away with this.”
He lunged for his phone, but Mia snatched it up off the table before he had a chance to make the call.
“Dad,” Scott hissed.
“Easy there, Thomas,” Roman said. “Let’s stay calm and talk it out like we discussed.
Eliza scrambled to the farthest corner of the couch, pulling her knees to her chin and wrapping her arms around them. Her eyes flicked to Scott’s face.
“Why is he saying these awful things to me?” Her gaze quickly passed over the others and she frowned. “Where is Jennifer, by the way? I’d have thought she’d want to be on the front line of the firing squad.”
“She was kidnapped this morning,” Scott said.
“But … how … where?” Eliza’s mouth opened and closed while she formed her next thought. “What happened?”
“Like you don’t already know,” Thomas said, sinking to his chair.
“Before we answer your questions how about you tell us more about the last few hours. Where exactly were you driving? Did you get gas? Do you have receipts from buying the drinks?” Roman asked Eliza.
She slowly straightened her legs to the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. “Wow. So I’m the kidnapper now? Is that what this is about? I love you, Scott, I really do. But holy cow, I don’t think I can take much more of your family. Talk about toxic. Since I had nothing to do with this situation, you guys had better stop looking at me and figure out who really did it.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Mia asked.
Surprise crossed Eliza’s face and she shook her head. “I mean … no … maybe it was some work thing from Thomas’s company. Like someone he dissed or cut out of a deal.” She sneered at him. “It’s probably all your fault and you sit there on your high horse blaming me.”
“Nice try but you still haven’t proven your whereabouts. Let’s see those receipts,” Thomas shot back.
She surged to her feet and brushed by Thomas’s chair, giving it a solid bump with her hip. Mia shot Roman a look before jogging after her. She caught Eliza on the driveway.
“I hope you’re not planning to run,” Mia said.
“Why would I?” Eliza shot over her shoulder. She marched to her car and yanked open the door. “I’ll show him the damn receipts, that smug son of a bitch.”
She dove across the driver’s seat before re-emerging with her purse and rummaging a hand inside the Louis Vuitton bucket bag.
“I can understand why you’re mad, but try to see it from his point of view. It’s been a hell of a day and he still doesn’t know if Jennifer’s safe,” Mia said.
“Ta da.” Eliza lifted a piece of paper in triumph. “This is from the iced mocha I had around dinner time. Read it and weep. I probably have more evidence on my phone.”
She began retracing her steps to the house and Mia moved up beside her.
“That’s good.”
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ in your voice? You’re as bad as the rest of them,” Eliza whined.
“Gee. I wonder why I don’t trust you? Could it be because you outright threatened me then went after my business, set fire to Roman’s office, and tried to shut down my wedding?”
Scott stepped out onto the front porch. “Everything okay out here?”
“Why didn’t you stand up for me in there? If you think I had anything to do with your stepmom’s disappearance, we might as well throw this marriage in the toilet. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t believe in me,” Eliza said in a hitching voice.
Mia watched as one perfect tear teetered on her lash, the floodlight making it shine like a diamond, before it plopped onto her cheek. The girl had skills. That was for sure.
While Eliza sniffled and dabbed at her eyes, Mia pushed out with her mind. She hit the despair first. A deep down, helpless feeling permeated the woman. And under that was a layer of anger. She caught flashes of Thomas and her own face along with Roman’s.
Jennifer was also prominently featured along with several quick glimpses of Scott’s friends. Tracey Millar had a moment of time too.
Interestingly, Mia didn’t find Scott in the anger parade. Surely if Eliza had been planning—for some time now—to kill her brand-new husband, there’d be all sorts of negative emotion directed at him. Yet he simply wasn’t featured at all.
“Come here.” Scott wrapped his arms around Eliza. “It’s going to be fine, you’ll see. Just hang in there.”
Eliza turned into him and Mia had a clear view of her face. There were no smug looks or secret smiles. Instead, the woman’s body sagged while she closed her eyes and melted against her husband. When Mia pushed into her mind yet again, she caught the overwhelming sense of comfort and love Eliza was experiencing in that moment.
It just wasn’t adding up. This woman didn’t present as a psychotic homicidal monster. Instead, it seemed she was mostly soft and gooey on the inside. Sure, she wasn’t above being snooty and throwing her weight around, but could she have actually killed anyone?
Maybe not.
Unless she was the greatest actor in the world and the most dangerous person Mia had ever met.
A shiver went down her spine, and she felt instant relief when Roman shoved open the front door.
“You guys are having a party and you didn’t invite me. What gives?”
“Party’s over. Let’s all go back inside,” Scott said, his arm still around his bride.
When they got to the kitchen, Eliza marched straight over to Thomas and slapped the crumpled piece of paper into his hand. “I really was driving around just like I said.”
He squinted down at it then shook his head. “One coffee receipt doesn’t prove anything. What about the nav on your car. Print that off for me and then we’ll talk.”
“I didn’t have it on. It’s not like I was lost or anything.” When Thomas continued staring stonily at her she threw up her hands. “I can’t win with you, can I? Let me see your nav. Bet you didn’t use yours today either.”
“I’m not the suspect here,” Thomas said, stepping toward Eliza.
“Why not? It’s almost always the husband or boyfriend, right Roman?” Eliza asked while keeping her gaze locked on Thomas’s face.
“Most of the time,” Roman said with a shrug. “But kidnappings are a little different.”
Scott moved between his wife and his father and held up his hands. “We’re tired. We’re stressed. And this isn’t helping. Let’s put it aside for now. It’s been almost three hours since the money was sent and we could hear something any second.”
Eliza stepped back from Thomas and her shoulders sagged. She turned to Scott. “There was a ransom?”
“Yep. A million bucks.”
“Okay. They weren’t fooling around. Though if they knew anything about your family, they should’ve asked for a lot more. What?” she snarled when Thomas made a scoffing sound. “It’s not like it’s a state secret. You both own public companies. Where was the drop off? Did you see them?”
“It was done electronically,” Roman said.
“Oh. I see. Like Bitcoin.”
“Good guess. Monero,” Mia said, watching her closely.
Eliza wrinkled her nose. “Never heard of it, but then, that’s not exactly my thing. Did they give you some kind of password or something?”
“Yep.” Scott retrieved Thomas’s phone from the table and flicked over to the messaging app before handing it to her.
“That’s a weird account number,” Eliza said, her eyes glued to the phone. She mumbled the numbers under her breath several times then dug a pen from her purse and wrote something on her hand. “And nothing since then?”
“Not yet,” Roman said while Eliza set down the phone.
She stood there for almost a minute seemingly lost in thought while she counted on her fingers, her lips moving the entire time. Then she wrapped her arms around her chest, and gently shifted side to side as though rocking herself. Even from across the room, Mia could feel the joy pumping off the woman.
“Something’s going on,” Mia murmured to Roman.
Scott returned to the kitchen island and pulled back the plastic film on the protein bowl before setting it in the microwave. “Anyone else want food? Dad, you didn’t eat dinner you should grab a bite too.”
“I don’t think I can get anything down right now. Maybe later.”
When the food was ready, Eliza took it to the couch and Scott joined her. Thomas remained at the table and Mia and Roman, deciding to give the family some space, retreated to the sitting room.
It was going on four in the morning and once again there was nothing to do but wait. Roman drifted off to sleep and later, when Mia wandered quietly through the great room, she saw both Scott and Eliza lying huddled together with their eyes closed. Scott, at least, was still awake since his hand stroked gently up and down her arm. Thomas had moved to an easy chair by the French door but remained alert with his phone clutched in his hand.
Eventually, the sun rose over the pool in the backyard, bathing the beautiful outdoor space in a golden light. One by one, everyone made their way back to the kitchen and hunkered down around the table. Mia set about making coffee for the group and even indulged in a steaming mug of java herself since she so badly needed a boost of energy.
Thomas somehow looked greyer, and his cheeks seemed to have sunk in on themselves in the past few hours. Eliza, on the other hand, had freshened herself up. Her hair was coiled into an intricate bun at the top of her head and her makeup was on point, including soft pink gloss on her lips.
“We’re not going to get her back, are we?” Thomas said. His voice was raspy and his eyes bleak.
“Don’t say that. We will.” Scott scrubbed a hand up and down his face. “We have to. I refuse to accept any other alternative.
Eliza leaned over and gently smoothed Scott’s copper hair where it stood up at the top of his head. “Of course we’ll get her back. Thomas paid. Why wouldn’t the kidnapper release her?”
“Because they want more money. Or they just like killing people. Or Jenn can identify them,” Thomas snapped.
With a sigh, Roman took his first sip of coffee and swore he could feel the instant the caffeine hit his bloodstream. He took several more in quick succession, giving his system a chance to get up to speed, before setting the mug in front of him on the table.
“Okay. We may be stuck waiting to hear but, in the meantime, there’s a couple of things we can do. First off, let’s start calling hospitals. They might have released Jennifer but if she has a concussion or some other issue her memory would be screwed up. I also think we should get the police on board. At the very least, they can process the Tesla and surrounding area. Maybe something will show up.”
Thomas’s eyes fixed on Roman’s. “When Eliza suddenly appeared, I know I said I wanted to call them, but I’ve changed my mind. Or at least not yet. What if the kidnapper set up some kind of surveillance on the parking lot? It’s so easy to do nowadays with all these miniature cameras and the like.”
“Calling hospitals is a good idea,” Scott said. “After that though, I’m with Roman. We kept up our end of the bargain and the kidnapper reneged, so we’re within our rights to add the police into the mix.”
“Okay, everyone spread out. Mia and I will take Nashville. Thomas, you cover Walkerton. Scott and Eliza, split up the outlying areas between you and hit any hospitals you can find. Don’t forget about urgent care clinics, too,” Roman said.
Roman had barely pushed back from the table when a ping sounded. All eyes went to Thomas and he snatched up his phone from the table.
‘It’s not me,” he barked. “Whose phone is that?”
“Mine. It says unknown caller,” Scott said. He cleared his throat and blew out a breath between pursed lips. “Hello.”