Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
MADIGAN
I glared at the two phones in my hand for the millionth fucking time. Horror memories of Kettleworth flashed through my brain. The waiting. The worrying. Not hearing from him. Not knowing what was going on. Not knowing if he was even alive.
Why the fuck hadn’t I realised it was Nick’s phone I was holding when I got out of the car? For that matter, why hadn’t he?
Together. We were in this together.
What a fucking joke.
And as for Nick being good at this stuff? Yeah, about that.
At least we had Samuel on our side. I hadn’t been at all sure he would follow through with his promises after chewing me out for fucking with his day, dragging him into another pile of stinking legal manure, and refusing to give up our highly contentious source.
Samuel had promised to kick said source like a tin can into the Manukau Harbour the second he found out who they were.
And he would find out, he assured me. When he finally ran out of steam, he agreed to see if he could dig up some probable cause for a search warrant, but not to hold my breath.
Wright had been a harder nut to crack. Even after hearing about Austin’s debt to the Crow brothers, the possible repercussions of that, his potential drug dealing, the lies about his job, and why Austin might have seen Chloe as a solution to his many problems, Wright offered about the same amount of encouragement that Samuel had.
Without evidence from a legitimate source, there wasn’t much he could do unless Chloe was found to answer some questions.
Then Wright surprised me by adding that Austin hadn’t lied to them about his job.
He’d been honest. And just because Austin’s accounts were running low and he was rumoured to be carrying some risky debt, didn’t mean he was involved in Chloe’s disappearance.
He had no police record and his story held up with her GP and neighbours.
Not to mention we’d only known Chloe for two days.
He’d need more than rumour to get a search warrant for the man’s financials at this stage.
All of which I knew. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t mad as hell. Nick’s mother was out there somewhere, freezing and in trouble, and the man Nick and I were sure was responsible was cosying up to the police and playing an admirable role as the concerned caregiver.
I checked my watch . . . again. It was almost four. I should’ve heard from Nick by now. He’d surely have found some way to get in touch, knowing what this would be doing to me. Driving me fucking crazy.
“You’ll wear a hole in the concrete at the rate you’re going.” Detective Wright made his way up the townhouse driveway toward me. He’d been down at search HQ to check on progress. By the look on his face, the news wasn’t good.
I strode toward him. “Still nothing?”
He shook his head. “They’re talking about expanding the search area along the river in both directions. I take it you’ve not heard from Nick either?”
A scowl settled on my brow and I snapped, “What do you think?”
Wright held my stare. “I think you’re angry with us and with me, and I think you’re worried out of your mind about Nick and his mother.”
“Of course I’m bloody worried.” Panicked was closer to the mark. “Wow, you really are a detective. Who knew?”
Wright blinked, clearly taken aback.
Shame coloured my cheeks, but I was past apologising. The man was pissing me off big time. “Why aren’t you doing something? You could at least send a car to look.”
Wright sighed. “And go where? I already checked with hospital security.”
That shut me up. “And?”
“There are limited cameras inside the hospital itself for obvious reasons,” Wright explained.
“The ones they have mostly target the public waiting areas, stairwells, and lifts, et cetera. They did catch Austin dropping Belinda off at the main entrance, and your rental car was seen following Austin in and out of the car park, but that’s it.
We don’t know where Belinda currently is or even if she is still at the hospital.
They paged her but she didn’t answer. Security said that if you’re staff, it’s easy to come and go unseen if you know which doors to use.
This isn’t some big city hospital with all the security bells and whistles. ”
“But why did Austin leave her there? Where did he go?” I pressed. “I thought he was taking her there because he was worried about her state of mind.”
Wright shrugged. “They were planning to canvass some of the places Chloe liked to go, so maybe they decided to divide and conquer. Austin went on his own while Belinda was at the hospital?”
“Then why aren’t they answering their phones?” I snapped. “Either of them? They said they’d be an hour or so, not three. You told them to keep their phones close in case you found Chloe. Come on, Jonothon, this stinks, and you know it.”
Wright’s mouth set in a grim line. “Okay, yes, I’m not happy about it. But that’s hardly enough to divert people away from the search for Chloe just to follow up on your boyfriend’s ill-conceived amateur detective hour.”
I blinked. “Now just back the fuck up. How dare you.”
Wright grimaced, then gave a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just we’re getting a little stretched here and time is running out. The chance of Chloe surviving another sub-zero night is minimal, and I won’t weaken the search by redirecting people somewhere else.”
“But you don’t know Nick. And you’re not listening.
What if Chloe isn’t out there somewhere?
What if Austin has had her the whole time?
What if Nick discovered that, and now he’s in trouble?
He would never do this to me unless he didn’t have a choice.
” I didn’t let on that I wasn’t nearly as sure of that as I sounded.
Nick could be pig-headed and reckless even. “Did Samuel reach you?”
Wright shot me a narrow look. “So I have you to thank for him tearing me a new one.”
Thank Christ. I was gonna kiss that man the next time I saw him. “Is that why you came scuttling back?”
Wright arched a brow.
“Sorry. Arsehole in training here, at least according to Nick.”
The detective’s lips twitched.
I pressed, “What did Samuel say?”
Wright gave a weary shake of his head. “He said I should listen to you. That as much as the two of you drive him batshit with your antics, you have great instincts.”
I blinked. “He really said that?”
Wright winced. “I will neither confirm nor deny in a court of law. My balls are on the line . . . apparently.”
I swallowed a smile. “What else did he say?”
“That he still had nothing solid on Austin but that one of his colleagues tapped a confidential informant who did in fact back up your claims.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs in a flood of relief. “So, you believe us then?”
“I didn’t not believe you before. I just had some reservations.
The Crows don’t have a big presence south of the Cook Strait, which means I don’t have the same type of confidential informants that big city cops do.
But I didn’t dismiss your suspicions either.
I had one of my men do a little digging. ”
“And?” I was going to wring the man’s neck if he didn’t speed up.
“He asked some questions of Austin’s colleagues at the school and a couple of teachers had some interesting things to say.
First off, neither liked him. Said he was sanctimonious and pretentious but also seemed to be under a lot of stress.
They’d already assumed he was a bit of a gambler because they’d seen him scrolling betting sites in the staff room, but that was as far as they’d go. ”
“Is that it?” It didn’t sound like enough to act on.
“No.” Wright glanced down as Teddy wove in and out of his feet.
“The principal said Austin had been reprimanded twice in the last year for poor academic standards and general tardiness. When asked about a gambling problem, he said he couldn’t say much because a complaint was before the school board.
When pushed, he admitted the complaint dealt with gambling during class time. ”
This had to be good news for us. “Wow. He’s really down the rabbit hole if he’s doing that.”
Wright nodded. “Wow indeed. The principal said that Austin complained a lot about his father’s partner. That he begrudged her getting money he thought should’ve come to him, and that he wouldn’t want Austin looking after his mother if he was the last person standing.”
“So why are we still standing here?” I pressed. “This has to be enough. The guy’s a dirtbag and he’s holed up with Chloe and Nick somewhere that isn’t down there.” I waved a hand in the general direction of the riverwalk.
“Slow down,” Wright cautioned. “He may be a dirtbag, but just how he’s involved with Chloe’s disappearance still isn’t clear.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Oh, come on, Jonothon. You and I both know the how doesn’t matter. Finding Chloe is what matters, and if there’s even a chance Nick and I are right, you have to do something.”
Wright studied me for a moment. “Okay, assuming your suspicions are correct and Austin has squirrelled Chloe away, claiming she’s confused and wandering in order to persuade her to hand him power of attorney, what’s stopping her from simply spilling the beans when she’s found?”
I forced myself not to bite his head off. “Because she’s been drugged out of her tree with Valium, that’s why. No one will pay much attention to anything she says. Don’t you think that story about his dad’s pills was a little too convenient?”
The considering look in Wright’s eyes told me he’d had the same thought.
He dragged a hand over his mouth and stared at the ground, his jaw working.
“But there’s a problem with your theory.
Austin staged Chloe’s disappearance after he read the letter and knowing who Nick is, so he’d have to assume that Chloe might just as easily ask Nick instead.
And as of this morning, he learned she already has.
Assuming Nick accepts, Chloe’s ongoing disappearance achieves nothing except delaying a done deal.
Austin is going to be cut out of everything regardless. It makes no sense.”
The answer hit me like a punch to the chest.
Austin was going to be cut out of everything regardless.
Except he wouldn’t.
Not if she wasn’t found alive.
Not if she died before the power of attorney was signed over.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I clamped both hands around my head and groaned. “Oh my God, we’ve been idiots.”
Wright’s tone sharpened. “What are you talking about?”
I looked up. “Brendon left almost everything to Chloe, right?”
Wright frowned. “According to Austin and what you’ve told us, yes. We haven’t seen a filed copy. She’s been missing less than a day. There’s been no reason to ask for one until now.”
“Okay, well, he did,” I told him. “You can check later. She got ninety-five percent of it, but anything left in the pot when Chloe dies reverts to Austin. No power of attorney needed. No crossing t’s or dotting i’s or dealing with any legal oversight.
No looking after his father’s ageing partner and watching her drain his money.
Nothing. If Chloe is dead, Austin gets everything.
Lock, stock, and barrel, no questions asked. ”
Wright stared at me. “Jesus Christ. You’re saying—”
“That Austin doesn’t mean for Chloe to be found alive. He never did. He’s had to bring the timing forward after we appeared, but the plan was always for her to go missing and then die before she was found.”
“Holy shit.” As Wright pulled out his phone, I grabbed his arm.
“The point is—” I leaned in close, so he had to pay attention.
“—if I’ve worked it out, then Nick has too.
He’s way better at this stuff than I am.
Way better than amateur.” I used the word pointedly, happy to see Wright squirm just a little.
“Which means Nick is in trouble, and Austin is too far into this to back out now. If Nick has seen something he shouldn’t, the only chance Austin has to salvage things and not go to jail is for both Chloe and Nick not to be around.
We have to find them, Jon. Please. Before it’s too late. ”