Chapter 20 #4
As he called Jase, she leaned against a pillar. That was a sliver of hope at least. She glanced around the gloomy barn and shivered, thinking of her delicate sister sleeping in the loft, fearful and apprehensive. Maybe the person who attacked her had taken Di as well.
Rafe hung up and shook his head. “Plate belongs to a car reported stolen a few months ago. If that was your family’s car, someone put the stolen plate on it. I’m taking a look at that loft.”
As he investigated, she sat, holding her head. Soon he returned.
“I found this by a few horse blankets.” Rafe held up a tube of cosmetics.
Allison took the lip gloss and examined it. “This is Di’s favorite shade. I’m sure it’s hers. Maybe she left it for us to find?”
“Another damn clue.” He examined her head. “I’m taking you back to the cabin. This needs medical attention.”
“I’m fine.”
But as she stood, she staggered, stricken by a sudden bout of dizziness. “Give me a minute.”
He didn’t. Rafe lifted her into his arms and carried her over to his motorcycle and set her upon it. “Can you hold on, or should I call for an Uber?”
“I’ll be fine. Where are we going?”
“Hospital. You need to have that looked at.”
Allison blew out a breath. “Listen, Rodriguez, I know my body. I just need to rest a bit. Take me back to the cabin. No hospitals, no doctors.”
She appreciated this side of him, in control and concerned for her welfare. Everyone else in her life always took it for granted that she was the person who cared for others.
No one ever cared much for her, until Rafe came along.
“Ally, I need to call this into the local authorities. Stolen license plate on that car makes it a crime, and if you want to find your sister...”
“No!” She thought of how Rafe thought Diana was involved with drugs, but he was willing to set aside his suspicions for the search. Locals would be less charitable.
“Please, I need more time.”
They returned to the cabin. No sign of the car Diana had taken. Against more protests, Rafe carried her into the cabin and set her on the sofa.
She heard him call from the bathroom. “Where’s your first aid kit?”
“Don’t have one.”
He popped his head out the door. “You’re a nurse and you don’t have a first aid kit?”
“Don’t need one. I carry one in my pack, and you don’t need to play nurse with me.” She gave a light laugh. “I mean, play me with me. Damn, am I making sense?”
“No. And yes.”
She went to the bathroom to inspect the lump on her forehead as Rafe fetched her pack and handed over her kit.
Not too bad. Whoever attacked her hadn’t much strength, and the move served only to knock her off the ladder.
She swallowed a couple of anti-inflammatory pills and got a frozen bag of peas for the lump.
They went into the living room and sat on the sofa. Rafe pulled off her Dr. Martens and placed her feet on his lap, massaging them as she put the frozen peas against her head
“Damn, that feels so good. Maybe I should get hit on the head more often,” she told him.
He frowned. “Don’t even joke about it. Tell me about the lip gloss I found. Any idea why she’d leave it behind?”
“None, except she probably wanted us to find it, let us know she was there.”
“Allison, you keep saying your sister is innocent. Why wouldn’t she call you to tell you she’s safe?”
The delicious massaging of her feet ceased. Allison swung her legs over to rest them on the coffee table. Rafe turned into a serious FBI agent. Direct. Questioning. Impartial.
“She’s scared. Something must have scared her off and she can’t call me directly. She’s on the run.”
“Can you think of anyone in Diana’s life who would want to hurt her?”
Allison’s head throbbed, but she realized the importance of his question. “You believe me, finally. You think someone is after her and she’s not into smuggling drugs and has nothing to do with drugs.”
Expression guarded, he shook his head. “I’m eliminating all possible reasons why she ran away, especially now that we know she was here and the person who attacked you may have chased her.”
“I didn’t get a good look at the person.”
“Think, Allison. Perhaps someone in her past, or her fiancé’s past?”
His next question gave her pause. “Could it be a woman?”
Allison pressed a hand to her throbbing head. “I don’t know.”
“What about a former girlfriend?”
Not that Paul had many of those. “Paul was always quiet and devoted to his business. He had dated, but nothing serious. Paul’s low-key and average, and he’s never had a lot of money. All his income and time went back into his business.”
She thought hard. “There’s always women who get jealous in the modeling world, but I can’t think of one in particular who would target Diana.”
Then she remembered. “Paul’s ex was hung up on him.”
Rafe made notes on his phone. “Who?”
“Lucy. Late thirties, dark hair and eyes. She works as a housekeeper in his uncle’s house.”
He glanced at her. “The brunette who was nasty?”
“Yeah, I forgot you met her. Briefly. Miserable woman. She works for Hernandez part-time in exchange for living in the guesthouse. I saw Di have a run-in with her.”
“At the house?”
“No. She worked at the dress shop where Diana had her wedding gown altered. Lucy had started working there, and when Diana saw her she wanted to change seamstresses, but it was too late. Not enough time before the wedding. I went with Di for her second fitting, and Lucy looked at Diana and sniffed and told her, ‘You think you have it so good, puta, just wait and see. You’ll get yours.”
“You can’t recall her full name? Saw it on a name tag, perhaps?”
Allison shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know! Why can’t I remember?”
“Stress affects memory. Close your eyes. Think of sounds, smells. The sewing machines running, the women talking, fans stirring the air and the rustle of fabric.”
Closing her eyes, she envisioned the small, dark shop and the rows of industrial sewing machines, the glaring fluorescent lights overhead and the women bent over the machines. The place reminded her of a sweat shop, but not wanting to ruin Diana’s excitement, she’d kept her suspicions to herself.
“Maybe her last name reminded you of something. A celebrity, a town, a favorite drink.”
The spicy fragrance of his cologne enveloped her in a warm blanket of scent.
The shop smelled of machine oil, the sharp smell of fabric, the heavy and cloying scent of inexpensive perfume.
Lucy had kept watching them as she and Di made their way past the rows of machines to the back where fittings took place.
The harsh overhead fluorescents, Lucy’s pretty face sallow, the dinky plastic name tag reflecting the light. ..
Allison’s eyes flew open. “Martin. Lucy Martin. I remember now because I had made a stupid joke at the dress shop, asking if she were related to Ricki Martin, the singer, to break up the tension.”
Rafe smiled. “Good job. Do you recall anything else?”
“Lucy said Di would come to no good end because men only wanted her for one thing. Di was snarky and said with her looks, she was surprised Paul ever slept with her.”
He winced. “Ouch.”
“I thought I might have to break up a catfight, so I hustled Di to the back room. When we left, Lucy was gone for the day.”
“Anything else you remember?”
“Diana did tell me it bothered her Lucy worked at the same shop where she was getting her fitting. She was going to change shops, but it was getting too late.” Allison studied her hands.
“Why was Lucy working at the Hernandez house?” Rafe narrowed his gaze. “It seems awfully suspicious.”
“Paul asked his uncle to hire Lucy because she was living in her car. He felt bad for her because she couldn’t afford a place in Miami and he’d kicked her out of his condo when they broke up. He told Di it was only temporary.”
But Rafe narrowed his eyes. “Allison, I would never do favors like that for an ex. Those kind of mixed messages give the wrong impression to a woman.”
She had thought so as well. “I got the feeling from what Di said that Lucy found a lover with deeper pockets, like Paul’s uncle. She may be more than Hector’s housekeeper. But she’s still a likely suspect. Lucy was upset at the breakup, from what Di said.”
Rafe texted on his phone. “I’ll have Jase check her out. She may have planned something for the wedding, but heard about the elopement.”
“I have her cell phone number. Swiped it from Di’s phone, just in case.” Allison texted it to him.
“I have some calls to make.” He went outside.
Judging from Rafe’s tension when he returned, the news wasn’t terrific.
“We were able to ping Lucy’s cell phone to a tower in northern Georgia. She’s close by as of a few hours ago.”
Her heart sank as new fear rippled through her. The woman who hated Di the most, who had the most reason to do her harm was here.
And probably after Diana, who was still missing.
They needed to track down this bitch. Allison was certain wherever Lucy was, Di would be as well. She had to cling to hope her sister was still alive.
Rafe’s cell rang. Blood drained from his face as he listened to the call. He hung up.
“Keith and Debbie need your nursing skills. It’s an emergency.”