Daddy's Home (5 page)

Maureen came back inside the house. “Good work, Detective,” Holly said. “Want to grab a beer when we wrap?” It was a good idea to watch your back by maintaining tight friendships on the force.

“Yeah,” Chad said. “Brooke and I are heading over to The Tavern around six, if it works out. You guys up for it?”

“Sure,” Maureen said. “After today, I’m gonna need a stiff one.”

“I’m not touching that at all,” Holly said. “I can grab a drink with you, but just one. I’ve got to pick up Chloe at a friend’s house. He’s also expecting me for dinner.” Holly realized that she’d slipped when Maureen and Chad exchanged curious glances. “No, no, don’t you two get any ideas. He’s a friend from Chloe’s school. His daughter is in the same class.”

“Sure,” Maureen said. “Nice cover.”

Chad winked at her.

“Let’s get back to work, Cupid and his side-kick. I want to get this letter to Psych and see what the good doctor has to say about our UNSUB.” She tapped the sealed evidence with her finger, reading it again.

“What do you mean?” Maureen asked.

“I think we need to expect some overtime on this. The media is on it like flies on fresh shit. Once this is all out in the open, it will get ugly out there until we get this sicko. I think I’ll walk the scene. See what I get. Has anyone called Shannon McKay’s parents?”

“Not yet,” Chad replied looking down at the ground.

She knew that was going to fall on her shoulders, and she dreaded it.

“But they have called her several times. Their messages sound worried, and they were planning for her to drive up north for Thanksgiving. I checked their locale. Looks like they’re up in the Napa area. You might want to play that last message.”

Holly saw the blinking light on an answering machine hooked up to a kitchen phone. She pressed play. There were messages from a few friends. She jotted down their names. One said that they wanted to stop by, but since Shannon had the week off, she assumed she’d taken Sara up to Napa early. The woman on the machine, named Judy, jokingly said that she was a little peeved at Shannon for not letting her know that she was going away, and that she would’ve gladly looked after Petie. Holly wrote down the names “Judy” and “Petie.”

“Any trace of a kitty or dog?”

“There’s a dog bowl, but no dog. He must’ve taken off.”

“Any photos of the dog?”

“One over there.” Chad pointed to a side table next to the sofa.

Holly walked over and picked it up. Another snapshot of Shannon and Sara at Christmas time. A Yorkie Terrier with a small Santa hat on its head sat on Sara’s lap. “I need to get the vet’s number. I better check those records. If she was as organized with her records as she was this house, we might find something. Maybe our man has the dog. We know he likes to take things.”

Holly slowly crept through the house. She drowned out the voices and activity going on around her as best she could. She would probably have to come back once the chaos died down, but maybe she would get something now.

The house was small, a two bedroom with one bath. She came to Sara’s room first and swallowed hard at the sight of Barbie’s Townhouse, the same one Chloe had. This was a little girl like most little girls—like
her
little girl. An emotional surge rushed through her, and she fought hard to hold it back. Holly wanted to catch this fucker, now more than anything she had ever wanted. She needed to wipe him off the face of the earth, because he killed children. She knew in her gut and mind, down to her soul in fact, that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her own child if given the chance.

Chloe’s face flashed through Holly’s mind. She had no choice but to go forward and dedicate herself to tracking and killing this monster herself. This was more than a murder case. Equating Sara McKay with her own daughter made this a personal quest.

Sara liked Barbies, and she liked to draw and paint, which was evident by the various illustrations throughout the house. Some of them were taped on the walls, some in frames. All put up, Holly was certain, by a proud mother. It reminded her of her own home, which, too, had some charm and definite age to it. It was in the Loma Portal area of town where there remained some Old Spanish style homes and a few scattered Craftsman houses—very similar to this part of town. Holly was known to decorate with Chloe’s artwork, and seeing the pictures that adorned the walls of a dead little girl’s house tugged at her hard. The reaction alarmed her.
Distant. Stay distant
.
You can’t get involved like this.
Emotions had to be shut down. She was good at that. But it was hard to do in this situation.

Holly walked into the room. A canopy bed with floral duvet was the first thing she noticed. It looked expensive, handmade, nothing like what you might buy at a department store or outlet.
I don’t think Shannon had a lot of money, but she definitely wanted the best for this child.

She bent down and glanced inside the Barbie case. Everything was organized to a tee. Like mother, like daughter. Something was missing—out of place—and it took Holly a few minutes to figure out what that was. There was Doctor Barbie, wearing her white doctor’s coat, Mermaid Barbie in her getup, and a few others. But there was a set of Barbie clothes to the side of the case, which was odd since everything else was clearly in place, and each Barbie was inside her own compartment except for one—Beach Barbie. Holly recognized the sunglasses and pink high-heeled sandals that Beach Barbie wore. But Beach Barbie was nowhere to be found, and one of the compartments in the doll case was missing its doll. Holly was pretty sure that Sara had had enough Barbies to fill the case.
He let her take a doll with her. He took them to his place. But how? Shannon struggled with him. She did not go out of here without a fight, and he would’ve had to control both of them.

The whole thing baffled her. Holly didn’t know how he got in or how he got out with the two of them, and he most likely still had the Barbie on him.
He has to be one strong son of a bitch, because Shannon would have fought like hell.

Holly then went into the bathroom located between the two bedrooms. It was also small, but done as nicely as the rest of the house with the old pattern styles of mixing black and turquoise tiles together from days gone by. Holly scanned the bathroom. Nothing appeared out of order. She opened the medicine cabinet and found a couple of prescriptions for Sara, including Albuterol for a ventilator.
You were asthmatic.
There were a couple of inhalers and even a prescription for Prednisone—a strong steroid. The child must have been a pretty bad asthmatic at that. Prednisone was not a drug that physicians gave out lightly
.
Had Sara had an asthma attack when the killer had them? Stress could bring it on. If she was frightened and
gasping for air, and he didn’t have her medicine, had he
panicked? Had that been what sent him over the edge? Holly didn’t know. It would mean more questions for the Medical Examiner.

She jotted her questions into her notepad and then stepped into Shannon’s bedroom. Clean, as she expected, just like the rest of the house. The bed hadn’t been slept in. He hadn’t taken them from their beds.
Did you know this bastard, Shannon?

Holly breathed in deeply, stale air combined with the slight smell of rose from a diffuser on the wicker nightstand next to Shannon’s bed, a decidedly tropical style with a bamboo headboard and a floral print on the duvet.
A romantic?
There were candles everywhere, but so far no one on the team had determined whether or not there was a lover in her life. If there had been, she’d kept it low key. Sara was definitely her mother’s first priority, and if there was a man in Shannon’s life, she more than likely kept him clear of her child, unless they were serious.

In one corner stood the secretary that Chad had mentioned. Holly sat at the wicker-backed chair and folded down the front panel, revealing compartments and drawers. She pulled open the first drawer. Stacks of bills and presumably important papers lay before her. She picked up one of the stacks, a ribbon securing it, and began rifling through it. Mainly basic bills—utilities, phone, cable, plus a gym membership.
Have to check that one out.
Another stack. She snapped the rubber band and flipped through. These were all medical bills, primarily for Sara—asthma, allergy specialists, pediatrician, a gastro doc, and an endocrinologist. Most of the docs were located up at Children’s Hospital. Sara must have been a sickly child. This troubled Holly even further.
So, do you intentionally prey upon the weak?
She knew she’d have to look further into Sara’s medical conditions. It probably wasn’t really important, but there could be something there.

One more stack. It contained information on school activities and programs that Sara was involved in, including an acting class, and piano lessons. There was also a sheet of paper discretely stuck inside a blank envelope. Holly pulled it out, and as she read it, her heart raced a bit faster.
Fetish and Fun?
What do we have here? Mom wasn’t only a romantic, but she was also apparently into the rough stuff. Holly looked over the receipt for black leather wrist studs, a blindfold, whip, and the super-deluxe large man dildo.

“Find anything?”

Holly jumped and nearly fell off the chair. “Jesus, you startled me,” she said, turning to see Chad.

“Sorry.”

She handed him the receipt and looked back into the envelope to retrieve a second piece of paper. Chad let out a low, long whistle. “Mommy liked a little S&M, huh?”

“Yeah, and she wasn’t necessarily playing with people she knew. Look at this.”

The second piece of paper she handed him was a phone number to a dating escort service that boasted confidentiality for players who liked to live life on the edge. “Now, what do you think that means?” she asked Chad.

“I don’t know, but I’d say we’d better find out. Say we pay the friends over at
Date or Do Me Nicely
a visit.”

“I don’t know if we should go busting in as cops. This isn’t your average dating service.”

“You think someone ought to go in undercover and do some fishing?” Chad asked.

Holly nodded.

“Who?”

Holly pointed at him.

“Oh, no. Besides, don’t you think we might find out a little more if we send a woman in?”

Holly slumped back in Shannon’s chair and sighed. “I’ll send in Maureen.”

“You can’t do that. She just gave a press conference. Her face will be all over tonight’s newscasts. Trust me, people don’t forget someone who looks like Maureen.”

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“No time like the present.”

“Now?”

“You want to solve this thing, don’t you?”

“You’re a real pain in the ass. Grab a crew and let’s head out.”

“Good idea.”

Holly watched as Chad left the bedroom. She bagged the separate sections of mail, let out a long breath, and shook her head. The voice in her head screamed at her that this was about to get very, very interesting. And possibly very, very ugly.

CHAPTER FIVE

Exhaustion settled in as Holly shimmied into the Lycra red dress. Wow, that was attractive. She noticed her breasts were nearly popping out the front as if she’d just appeared in a photo shoot for a Victoria’s Secret Catalog. Somehow, though, she didn’t think her 5’4” frame would’ve worked as a sexy model. But she would have to throw caution to the wind and step out in this instance. Somewhere a killer was waiting for his next set of victims, if he hadn’t already found them, and Holly knew it was up to her to find the sadistic madman.

Regardless, this really was the last thing she wanted to be doing at almost five o’clock. That drink was calling her name. But it was at least a good hour away. She had already put in a call to Brendan letting him know that she might be later than expected. He didn’t seem put off by it, and said that he’d get the girls to bed if need be, as it was a school night. That familiar pang of guilt hit her in the center of her gut. Another child’s parent shouldn’t be putting her child to bed. She knew that it was her duty. Right now, what choice did she have? And she knew the truth of the matter was that if any other parent was going to be putting Chloe to bed, she’d just as soon have it be Brendan O’Neil. The thought made her bite her bottom lip, close her eyes, and pray she could fight the lust welling inside her. The care he gave to his children and her own daughter made Brendan even more appealing.

She walked into the squad room. Robb let out a low, long whistle. “Well you won’t make Supermodel of the Year, but I’d do you.”

Holly looked him square in the eye and said, “Carpenter, you make one more sexist, chauvinistic remark to me today, tomorrow, or ever, for that matter, I’ll serve you with a sexual harassment suit so fast your
dick won’t ever want to do another woman again. You’ll hate my kind so much, you’ll go homo on all of us.”

Robb’s face reddened. He looked as if he was about to comment when Chad said, “I wouldn’t, pal.”

“I’m out of here. You two can handle this the rest of the day. I’ve got to head back over to the McKay’s neighborhood and speak to a few more neighbors,” Robb said coolly.

“And we will miss you,” Holly shot back. She placed her hands over her heart and batted her eyes.

Robb stormed out of the office. Chad shook his head at her. “You two are terrible.”

“Hey, he started it, and if he can’t take the heat, it’s not my problem. He’s one of those who can only dish it out. I don’t care what he thinks. Let’s head out and get this over with. I’m ready for a margarita on the rocks.”

“Okay, you’re the boss. And a hot one at that.” He winked at her.

“You watch it.” She shook a finger at him. “You may be getting a letter from my attorney, too.”

“You wouldn’t.”