Chapter 37
J ohn had set an alarm for four-thirty. Before returning to the hospital, they stopped at a restaurant and stoked themselves on steak dinners with all the trimmings to make up for the meals they had missed.
Molly had been moved from the ER into a private room. John went in to see her alone, but returned ten minutes later. “She’s doing better. Vision is improving. They’re controlling the headache with medication, and she’s still being hydrated with an IV.”
“That all sounds positive,” Beth said.
“She’d like to meet you.”
“Now? Is this a good time? I mean, is she up to it?”
He gave a wry smile. “More than up to it, she’s insistent.”
He ushered her into the room. Molly was half-reclined on the bed, her hair a wreath of dark curls against the pillow. What Beth hadn’t noticed from seeing her only at a distance was the sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks. “Hi,” she said.
“Hello, Molly.” She walked over to the bed and smiled down at her. “I’m Beth.”
She grinned. “I’ve heard about you. You came down here from New York to see my dad.”
“Well…” Beth glanced at John, who kept his expression a blank canvas. “I came hoping to interview him for research.”
“Hmm.”
Beth sensed Molly’s women’s intuition had kicked in, because she looked back and forth between them with a knowing smile. Then to Beth, she said, “I’m going to New York after high school.”
“Your dad told me. To attend a very prestigious art school.”
“Do you know it?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve never been inside, but I’ve passed it many times.”
“Is it totally sick?”
“Sick?”
“That means good,” John said.
Beth laughed and said to Molly, “Yes. Totally sick.”
“My art teacher says I should apply for a scholarship.”
“That’s a strong vote of confidence in your talent.”
For the next fifteen minutes they chatted. Molly was avidly curious about her life in the city. No sooner would Beth answer a question than she was asked another.
During a pause, Beth changed the tenor of their conversation. “You endured a terrifying experience last night, Molly. I’m sorry it went so far before we got to you.”
“Dad told me that if it wasn’t for you figuring out that it was that professor, he probably would never have seen me again.” Her lower lip trembled. John walked over and smoothed back one of her curls.
“Hey, stop thinking about what could have been. I do enough of that for both of us.”
Although tears still threatened, she gave him a shaky smile, then said to Beth, “Anyway, thank you.”
“I’m grateful we got there in time, although I don’t think Professor Wallace stood a chance against your dad and Mitch.”
Molly grinned at that, but it dissolved when her cell phone chirped, and she saw the text. “Ugh. Mom’s on her way, and she’s bringing the loser.”
“Do you want me to head them off and send them away?”
“And start a war? Thanks, Dad, but no. I’ll tell them my eyes are wonky and making me seasick. Something like that so they won’t stay long.”
Beth said, “I’ll say goodbye now and give you two some time alone.” She patted Molly’s arm. “It was lovely to meet you. I only wish the circumstances had been different. Take care of yourself. Good luck with the scholarship application.”
“Send good vibes,” Molly said.
“I promise to.” To John, she said, “I’ll be downstairs in the main lobby. Take your time.”
After that, he made several trips in and out of Molly’s room, fetching an extra blanket, getting her a cup of ice cream, going back for a ginger ale when the ice cream didn’t sit well. Recognizing these errands as delay tactics, he poured the ginger ale over a cup of ice, then sat down on the edge of the bed and took Molly’s hand.
“For real, how are you doing?”
“Did the detective call you?”
“Derby? Yes. He’ll be here at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Do I have to talk to him about it?”
“Do you want to see the professor behind bars?”
Looking miserable, she said, “Of course.”
“Then, yes, you must tell Derby everything. But he’s a nice guy, and I’ll be right here with you.”
She turned her head toward the window where the blinds were only partially open. “When I start talking about it, I may lose it.”
“Doesn’t matter. They have Kleenex,” he said, pointing to the box on the nightstand. “You don’t have to be brave in front of me, Molly. I already know you’re brave. It’ll be rough, sure, but it’ll also be good for you to talk about it. Don’t keep it bottled up. I know what that does to a person. I know what it did to me. It eats you alive.”
“That’s what the hospital psychologist told me. She came by this afternoon.”
“I was told she would. I think it would be a good idea if you continued to see a therapist for a while.”
“That would probably be a good idea.”
He’d expected her to protest and was heartened by her agreeing to it so readily. “We’ll find someone you like and feel comfortable with.”
Seeming relieved that the matter had been addressed and settled, she gave him a sly look from beneath her lashes. “Beth is amazing.”
“Yeah, she’s smart. Gutsy. You should have seen her in action today. Laying it on thick with the professor. Shoving that car in gear and speeding off in reverse. Taking on the deputies who tried to keep her…” Realizing he was babbling, he stopped, looked at his watch, and overreacted when he saw the time. “I’d better get out of here before your mother and her intended arrive.”
“See?”
“What?”
“I say Beth’s name, and you get all weird.”
“I don’t get weird. I don’t even know what that means.”
She gave him an arch look. “Yes, you do.”
Yes, he did, and, in spite of himself, he grinned. “Don’t be a smart-ass.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You gonna be okay? Honestly. I’ll spend the night here if you want me to.”
“No, they put something in the IV bag to ‘help me relax.’ I’m already getting sleepy. Maybe I’ll get lucky and conk out before my next visitors get here.”
“Good idea. Play possum.” He stood but kept her hand in his. “I’ll be here early tomorrow morning. Between now and then call me for any reason. Swear.”
She crossed her heart. “Swear. You’re my go-to person, Dad.”
He met Beth in the lobby. As they walked to his car, he recapped Molly’s and his conversation.
“She’s suffered a trauma,” Beth said. “She’ll need therapy, more than likely for a while, maybe forever. But you are her mainstay, John. You’re her dragon slayer.”
“She said I was her go-to.”
“See? Told ya.” After a moment, she added, “Don’t underestimate the value of that. My father never faced down a dragon for me.”
“His loss,” he said, meaning it. “But after seeing how you responded to the emergency this morning, I don’t think you need a dragon slayer. Only a damn fool would mess with you.”
They got into the car, but he didn’t start it. “Okay if we sit here for a minute? I want to call Derby, see how it’s going with Wallace.” He placed the call and put it on speaker.
Derby answered and after exchanging hellos, he said, “Regarding Barker, we’re pressing to get the ballistics report back on the bullet recovered from Frank Gray. Lab is trying to lift fingerprints off your service weapon, but Barker was smart enough to make that difficult.”
“And even if his are recovered, he could explain it by saying he picked it up after I placed it on his desk.”
“Right. I think this is going to be a preponderance of evidence case. You and Mitch Haskell are material witnesses. So is everybody who saw you surrender that gun. I think Barker will be sunk; I’ve just got to figure out how to do it.”
“What about Victor Wallace?”
“Oh, he’s cute,” the detective said. “Just ask him.”
“He’s playing you?”
“Exactly like you said he would.”
“Has he said anything about Crissy Mellin?”
“He asked if he could watch Crisis Point tonight. We denied him that privilege. He speculated on where and how her body had been disposed of. He also ventured that Billy Oliver might not have been the guilty party. He asked us if we’d ever considered that someone else had abducted her.”
“Did he bring all that up before or after you’d pressed him on it?”
“That’s just it, John. Nobody had even mentioned Crissy Mellin to him.”
“Another wink,” Beth exclaimed. “He’s flirting. Please, Detective, if he gives up anything, let me know immediately. I’m hoping to keep that episode from airing, so time is of the essence.”
“I’ll goad him. If anything comes of it, I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you.”
John disconnected, then propped his elbow on the steering wheel, cupped his hand over his mouth, and stared through the windshield.
“You’ve got that dent between your eyebrows,” Beth said.
He turned his head and looked at her. “Dent? I don’t have a dent.”
She smiled over that, waited a moment, then looked down into her lap. “John, this is my deadline, not Derby’s, not yours. You’ve got time to finagle Wallace. You don’t have to be under pressure to do so tonight.”
“What was it you said to me earlier?” He reached across and raised her chin with his fingertip. “Don’t be stupid.”
She whispered, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Then she said, “I broke your concentration. What were you thinking so hard about?”
“I was thinking that maybe Carla Mellin would be willing to have a face-to-face with Wallace, and that if she did, it would rattle him.”
He gauged Beth’s reaction and saw that she favored it. “She told us to stay away from her unless we’d caught the person who took Crissy from her. Of course, we don’t know with absolute certainty, but—”
“It feels right. And the way he’s—as you said—flirting with us about it? These guys, these sociopaths, never want to get caught, but deep down they want to boast.” Suddenly energized, he looked at his watch. “Seven-forty. Carla’s new shift, she’ll be off at eight.”
“Locally, the show airs in an hour and twenty minutes.”
“Maybe we can talk her into leaving twenty minutes early.” He had Carla’s cell number in his contacts and made the call. It went straight to voice mail.
“Do you have the number of the clinic?” Beth asked.
Within seconds, he did. A man answered. John asked to speak with Carla.
“Today’s her day off.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected.
Beth said, “We’ll try her at home.”
“It’ll be harder than launching a beach assault,” he said, but he started the car.
John broke every speed limit getting to Carla’s house, which looked even more forlorn beneath a sky that was approaching full darkness. The full moon had risen, but wispy clouds threatened to keep it from being the vivid, spectacular blood moon that had been predicted.
They walked to her front door. Yellowish light filtered through window shades in a corner room, which John assumed was a bedroom. TV light flickered in the living room where they’d talked with Carla on their previous meeting. He pressed the doorbell, and as footsteps approached, he muttered, “Here goes nothing.”
The porch light came on above them. As before, Carla opened the door only a crack and peered out at them. “Didn’t your mamas teach you any manners? Like showing up at somebody’s house without an invitation.”
Beth said, “You did invite us, Carla. On the condition we had the person who took Crissy in custody. We believe we do. He’s being questioned as we speak.”
That took her by surprise. Mistrustfully, her eyes sawed back and forth between them.
“There’s a lot to tell, Carla, and we’re very, very short on time,” Beth continued. “In little more than an hour from now the episode on Crissy is going to air. I’m still trying to halt it. I came to ask for your help.”
“Help how? And why would I help at all? I told you I don’t give a damn about your professional reputation or that of your TV show. Who is this person anyway?”
“His name is Victor Wallace. Last night, he abducted John’s daughter, Molly.”
Carla shifted her hostile gaze to John, who said, “We rescued Molly and captured him before he did more than terrify her and give her a concussion, but he had some grisly activities planned for her tonight that would have resulted in her death. I’m taking it real personally.
“We’ve got him for kidnapping Molly. I’d love to attach him to Crissy’s abduction, too. As to why you would help? If we can nail Wallace for it, Billy Oliver would be vindicated.”
She screwed her mouth up into a frown of indecision. “I’ll think about it.” She tried to close the door, but John planted his foot in the narrow opening to prevent it.
Beth said, “Once that program airs, Billy will be regarded as the deviant monster next door who, when caught, took the easy way out rather than receive the punishment he deserved. Is that the legacy you wish for him?”
“It could be retracted.”
“But the seeds of doubt would have been sown. Too often retractions are overlooked because they’re not as sensational as the first news flash. You know that.”
Her lips pursed tighter; then she said, “What are you asking me to do, specifically?”
“Face Victor Wallace,” John said. “Accuse him of robbing your daughter of a long life. Accuse him of robbing you of her. It may crack him.”
“‘May,’” she huffed. “I doubt it.”
“For godsake, isn’t it worth a try?”
Carla looked at John with scorn. “Who are you doing this for? Crissy, Billy, me, or her ?” She hitched her chin toward Beth. “I’m not stupid, you know.”
No, but you’re meaner than hell. He forcibly tamped down his temper, which would get him nowhere with her. Candor had worked before. “You told the people Beth works with that you suspected she and I were sleeping together. That was a crappy thing to do. But so what if we are? That has nothing to do with what happened to Crissy, or to my daughter.
“For terrorizing her, I want to put Victor Wallace away for a long, long time. I was able to stop him before he killed Molly, but I failed Crissy. For whatever he did to her, I want to put him away for life .”
“That’s your job, Mr. Detective. Not mine. I can’t help you.”
Before she could close the door on them, it was pulled open wider. “I can help.” The young woman standing just beyond Carla’s shoulder said, “I’ll face him.”