Dark Powers (16 page)

She kept her head turned toward him but directed her gaze over his right shoulder. “I’ve got to pee.”

“Me, too. You can go first.”

“There’s no toilet seat.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

He stood up and turned around, but he was still very aware of her in the next cell. When she had flushed, he took his turn, aware of her a few feet away, listening to
him
.

When he came back to his bunk, she said, “I think embarrassing us is part of the chief’s punishment.”

“I think you’re right.” He hated the way the man was using his power over them, but there was nothing he could do about it. And any show of anger or fear was only going to make it worse.

Getting as comfortable as possible on the bunk, he propped his hands behind his head and cast around for a subject that might take their minds off the long night.

“What was your favorite book when you were a kid?” he asked.

There was a smile in her voice as she answered, “
The Wizard of Oz
.”

“How come?”

“I guess at first because a favorite teacher gave it to me. When I read it, I liked it. Maybe I wanted to get away from my life and escape to an imaginary land. I read that first book, then a bunch of the others in the series.” She laughed.“I even named my cat Princess Ozma after one of the characters.”

He couldn’t see her face, but her voice had taken on more color.

“What about you?” she asked.

“
Red Planet
by Robert Heinlein.”

“I’ve heard of him, but I never read any of his books.”

“More escapist literature. It’s a story about a boy who was a colonist on Mars. I’ll bet we both would have liked Harry Potter if it had come out when we were kids.”

“I
did
like those, even though they were supposed to be for children. I read the first one, and I was hooked.”

“Your turn to ask a question,” he said.

“I don’t even know where you grew up.”

“Chicago. Not far from Wrigley Field. We used to go to the Cubs’ games when we could. We’d sit way up in the cheap seats.”

“But you were on the football team in high school.”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“It fits.”

“I wasn’t a star.”

“But you were good,” she said firmly, then asked, “What was your first job?”

“You mean after working at a fast-food restaurant when I was in high school? I joined the Army right after I graduated. I figured it was a good way to get away from home.”

“You too?”

“Yeah. I resented my old man’s discipline.” He laughed. “Of course, the Army’s was a lot worse. I was in Special Forces, which is where I got a lot of my training.” He shifted toward her, hoping to take the focus off himself. “And how did a nice girl like you end up as an accountant?”

“It sounded reliable. Not like my mom, dependent on men or working low-paying jobs. I’m detail oriented, and I figured there would always be death and taxes.” Her voice hitched. “Well, I was thinking about taxes. Not death.”

“Yeah.”

“That thing you did with the skeleton.”

“Let’s not talk about it here,” he said sharply.

“Oh, right. I keep forgetting they’re probably listening to us. Do you think the chief will order a DNA test?”

“I hope so,” he answered, thinking he wasn’t going to try and push the chief until Mark Linton got them out of custody.

Now that the conversation had started, Ben and Sage kept talking to each other.

He found out her favorite fruit was raspberries, and her favorite color was blue. And she found out that he liked watermelon and black.

“Black! That’s not a color,” she objected.

“I can’t help what I like.”

“What do you do to relax?” he asked.

“My apartment has a big window with a southern exposure. I have a lot of plants.”

“What kind?”

“I love orchids. I have a lot of them.”

“You’re not home to water them.”

“They don’t need much water. Besides, a neighbor will do it for me.”

She went on to talk about her collection, and he smiled as he listened to the enthusiasm in her voice. The conversation was keeping her mind off the nastiness of the night. But he knew that as soon as they got out of here, she was going to try and make up for lost time. She would find her sister or die trying. And he prayed the latter wasn’t going to be the case.

oOo

Laurel was sleeping when she heard the outer door open. She wished she had a watch. She had the feeling it was very late at night or early in the morning, but she had no way of knowing for sure. Her waking and sleep cycle was all screwed up.

She heard Mr. Hood banging around out there. Usually he took his time about coming in. Today he came barreling into her room only a few minutes after he’d entered the house, and his hood wasn’t on quite straight. He stood in the doorway, panting as he adjusted it. She could see he was upset about something. Something she’d done? Or something in the outside world? She was afraid to ask what was bothering him.

He put her food tray on the floor and shoved it toward her, and she shoved the old one back.

Then he just stood with his hands on his hips, watching her as she ate the barbecued pork and coleslaw he’d brought. She recognized it from the Three Little Pigs fast-food place downtown.

She was hungry, but she tried not to eat quickly. He’d criticized her for that. He’d criticized her for not keeping her hair clean, which was pretty hard to do when she had to wash it in a bucket. He’d criticized her for not making the bed.

“Haven’t I told you to eat neatly?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I thought I was.”

“I’m running out of patience with you.”

She felt her lower lip quiver. What should she say? That she was sorry? Sometimes it seemed that he liked to hear her say it, and other times it seemed like it only made him angry.

“This is so good,” she said.

“You like it?”

“Yes. Barbeque is one of my favorites.”

“Why didn’t you say that before?”

“I didn’t think of it,” she answered, hoping she wasn’t going to set him off.

He continued to stare at her, and she heard him make a noise. It sounded like he was crying. He stood there for a few moments, his shoulders shaking. Then he turned and left the room.

His crying frightened her. He’d never done anything like that before. She’d never thought of him as stable, but now it looked like he was coming apart. And she couldn’t believe that was good for her.

Chapter Eleven

There was no way to mark time in the jail. Finally, in the relentless sameness of the environment, one of the patrolmen came in. His name tag said he was Carpenter.

“Your lawyer’s here.”

Which meant it must be morning.

Feeling stiff and rumpled, Ben heaved himself off the bunk. He stroked his hand along his jaw, rubbing the beard stubble. What a way to greet his lawyer.

“Come on,” he said to Sage.

“Just you,” Carpenter interjected.

“Why?”

“He’s your lawyer, not hers.”

Sage’s face had taken on a look of panic. Ben wanted to wring the cop’s neck, except that he knew the guy was just following orders. Another small torture from Chief Judd.

“It will be okay,” he said to Sage. How many times had he said that since they’d ended up in police custody?

Walking stiffly, he exited the cell and followed Carpenter to an interrogation room. Mark Linton, who worked on retainer for Decorah Security, was sitting at the table. He was in his late thirties, with dark hair and dark eyes. This morning he was dressed in a lightweight sport coat, dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, making Ben feel even more grungy after his night in a cell. An open briefcase sat on the table in front of him.

Linton waited until the door had closed and Ben had taken a seat before speaking. “So you got yourself into some trouble last night.”

“Not last night. Yesterday late afternoon. The chief delayed our processing until he thought I wouldn’t be able to contact you.”

“Nice of him.”

Ben looked toward the door. “It’s not just me who’s been here all night. Sage Arnold was arrested with me. The cops wouldn’t let her come in here with us. Can I assume that this is a confidential conversation and that you’ll also represent her?”

“The conversation better be confidential. And I’ll certainly represent her.”

Ben let out a long breath. “Thanks.”

“I reviewed the file on the case you’re investigating. Ms. Arnold’s sister went missing, and you’re down here with her trying to find the woman.”

“Yes. And Police Chief Judd doesn’t want her disappearance investigated as a missing-person case.”

“Because?”

Ben hesitated. “Sage told me that tourism is the town’s lifeblood, and the men who run the place don’t want any suspicion that coming here is dangerous. But I think there might be more to it.”

“Like what?”

“Something else is going on that we don’t know about. But right now, our focus is the string of women who disappeared over a five-year period.”

Mark whistled through his teeth.

“I think we found one of them. Magdalina Sawicki. Or we found skeletonized remains in the abandoned warehouse where we were trespassing, and we believe it’s her.”

“Why?”

“She was wearing clothing similar to what was in Magdalina’s effects.”

“I think I can work with that.” Linton stood up, crossed the room and opened the door. “I’d like to continue this conversation with the chief,” he called out.

Moments later, Judd came swaggering into the room.

“I would like my clients released immediately.”

“Clients?”

“I am also representing Ms. Arnold.”

“They were trespassing on private property.”

“At 717 South Town Road?”

“Correct.”

“I checked the ownership of the property. It’s scheduled for sale due to failure to pay property taxes. I believe the owners were negotiating with a developer interested in putting up luxury homes, but the deal fell through when the economy turned sour.”

The chief’s face reddened. Apparently he hadn’t expected the lawyer to check the property records.

“I spoke to the owners, and they don’t want to press charges under the circumstances.”

“What did you do, bribe them?”

“No. And if you want to pursue the matter, I will arrange interviews with the local media where my clients will discuss having found the skeletal remains of a woman in an abandoned warehouse.”

Judd’s voice lowered as he leaned toward Linton. “Are you threatening me?”

“No. I’m telling you the consequences, if you don’t release my clients immediately.”

Judd looked as though he had chewed on ground glass.

“Have you sent a sample of DNA to the state lab?” Linton asked.

“Not yet.”

“I suggest you do it.”

“And now you’re telling me how to run my department?”

“No. But I think it’s to your advantage to determine the identity of the remains.”

Judd turned to Ben. “Get out of here.”

“With Ms. Arnold,” Ben answered.

oOo

Once she was alone, Sage took the opportunity to use the toilet again and wash her face. There was no mirror in the cell, but she suspected she must look like she’d spent the night camping. She wanted clean underwear and a toothbrush. But she knew she wasn’t getting either one of them until the lawyer sprung them. If he could spring them.

She didn’t know what was happening out there, and her heart pounded as she ran various scenarios through her mind.

What if the lawyer could only free Ben?

Even if that were true, he wouldn’t abandon her. Last night they’d talked for hours. She knew more about him than she had before. But not just his background. She knew the kind of man he was, and she liked him. The trouble was, he didn’t like himself.

One topic he’d avoided had been the time he’d spent on that pleasure ship—the
Windward
. She knew he felt tremendous guilt for what had happened there. And she’d wanted to help him see that he’d been in an impossible situation, but she’d known that bringing it up in the jail cell would have been a big mistake.

When the door to the cellblock opened, her head jerked up. She’d hoped to see Ben. Instead it was one of the young patrol officers, looking angry.

She didn’t ask him what was wrong. She only waited while he unlocked her cell.

“Come on.”

She followed him to the front of the building. When she saw Ben and another man standing in the lobby, relief flooded through her. Judging by his clothes, the stranger must be the lawyer.