Chapter 32
"That's not me," Sadie said in the interrogation room.
I had laid out the pictures from the surveillance footage in front of her.
"That girl’s booty doesn’t look near as good as mine. And she's wearing different shoes."
I studied the image again. Upon closer inspection, it was possible these were two different girls. There were subtle but noteworthy differences in the shape of their assets.
Could we really be dealing with two different sets of criminals?
"What is Wyatt saying?"
"Wyatt is saying that you are the mastermind of this whole thing,” I said.
Her eyes flared, and her jaw clenched tight. Her cheeks reddened. "What an asshole. That's complete bullshit!”
"I'm more than happy to listen to your side of the story.”
"He forced me to come along. I didn’t want any part of it. But he said I needed to have skin in the game.”
"Why is that?"
"Because I asked him where all the money was coming from. He would show up with all this stuff—jewelry, cash, guns, you name it. He finally admitted to me that he had been knocking off houses that he’d been on service calls to. He said I had to come along now that I knew what was going on.”
I didn't buy it. They were in on it together, most likely.
"How does Jared factor into this whole thing?”
"He's a friend of Wyatt's. Jared has always been a bad influence. If you want the truth, I think this whole thing started with him. It was probably his idea.”
We chatted with her for a bit, then talked to Jared. Of course, he painted both of them out to be the instigators. It didn’t really matter at this point. We had enough to take them all down.
All three denied involvement in the Caldwell murder.
That didn't surprise me. Nobody wanted to admit to that. But it was the only consistent part of their stories. It didn't change, even after multiple times through. It's harder to keep details straight when you lie. But the truth doesn't change.
After the interrogations, we stepped into the hall and held a conference with the sheriff.
“There’s not enough here to get them on the Caldwell case. Drum up something stronger, or find the right people.”
“We’re on it,” I said.
I called Denise as we left the station. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m ready for another bathroom break.”
“We’re on our way.”
We climbed into the Porsche and drove back toward the Driftwood.
“You really think we’re dealing with two crews?” JD asked along the way.
“I’m beginning to think so.”
We had searched Shelby’s apartment and couldn’t find a pair of shoes that matched the girl in the Caldwell video.
We grabbed some cheeseburgers along the way from a drive-through and stuffed our faces on the way back to the motel. We’d missed lunch, and my stomach rumbled. I washed it down with a diet soda.
Jack pulled in behind Denise’s SUV and parked at the curb. I climbed out and moved to her window, still chomping on the last bites of my burger. “You’re a lifesaver. Any movement?”
“No. She ordered a pizza about an hour ago. That was it.” Denise paused. “You look tired.”
“I am.”
“Get some sleep.”
I laughed. “That’s a good one.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
“Go arrest her.”
I shook my head. “She’s going to lead us to the dagger and hopefully to Dane and Brock.”
She sighed. “Look, I’ll come back and sit here for another couple of hours. I’m just chilling, listening to music, catching up on phone calls.”
“No. I’ve asked too much of you already. But you’re a sweetheart.”
She gave me a look. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
After a beat, she said, “Okay. I’m out.”
“Thank you.”
We said goodbye, and she cranked up the engine and pulled away. I walked back to the Porsche and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Why don’t you catch a little shuteye?” Jack said. “I got this.”
He didn’t get any resistance from me. I finished my meal, reclined the seat, and dozed off for a bit.
About an hour and a half later, Isabella buzzed my phone. I peeled open a sleepy eye and read the text. [Daphne is on the move.]
I sat up, wiped the sleep from my eyes, and nudged JD. He’d nodded off as well.
I scanned the parking lot, and my eyes fixed on the door to room #6.
There was no sign of Daphne.
[Are you sure?]
[Positive. She's heading north toward Mockingbird Lane.]
I told Jack, "She must have crawled out the bathroom window.”
He cranked up the engine and pulled away from the curb. We slowed as we passed the motel. I peered down the alley behind and saw Daphne hustling north.
Jack drove to the next intersection and took a left on Flamingo Way.
At the corner, Daphne climbed into Shelby's white SUV. Shelby pulled away from the curb, took a left on Flamingo, and we followed, keeping our distance.
"You think she's on to us?” JD asked, hanging back a few car lengths.
"Well, Denise’s yellow SUV was parked outside all day. It might have been a little obvious. Or maybe she's just taking precautions.”
We followed the white SUV as Shelby drove across town.
The afternoon sun hung low in the sky.
Shelby drove to the Mangrove Bay Marina and pulled around by the dock.
Daphne hopped out of the vehicle, hustled around to the back, and lifted the hatch.
She pulled out scuba gear and a tank, then lugged it down the dock to a 25-foot center console.
She loaded the gear aboard, hurried back to the SUV, grabbed a few more items, and closed the hatch.
Shelby drove away.
By that time, JD had pulled into a parking space. From there, we had an angle on the dock.
Daphne boarded the boat, cast off the lines, and fired up the twin outboards. She pulled out of the slip.
"Where do you think she's headed?" Jack said in a knowing tone.
He drove out of the space, and we headed back to the marina at Diver Down to grab the Raptor.
I called Isabella and asked her to keep me updated on the location of Daphne’s burner phone. We’d catch up with her on the water and follow. I had a strong suspicion she’d lead us right to the dagger.