Deadly Obsession (16 page)

“Thank you.” Chance pocketed the card and stuck out his hand. “And thank you for filling in some of the gaps.”

Jillian hugged Thompson. “I'm sure if you had the chance to see Sarah and Julia again, they'd forgive you.”

“It's the one thing keeping me holding on. I hope to find them one day. I don't expect to reestablish a relationship, but I will never have closure until I say I'm sorry.”

Chance led Jillian back to the rental SUV. Once they were back on the highway headed for Cape Churn, he turned to Jillian. “I'll check his reference and have my boss do a background check on him.”

“I don't think he's responsible for any of what's happening at my house. I think it has something to do with Julia's abductor.”

Chance agreed, but it didn't hurt to check references. When it came to Jillian's life and well-being, he couldn't be too careful.

* * *

Jillian sat beside Chance on the way back to Cape Churn, her heart hurting for Alan Thompson, who had made poor decisions that cost him his family and home. The man obviously still suffered.

Deep down, Jillian knew he wasn't the one who'd abducted Julia, nor was he the one who was terrorizing her now.

“We're trying to solve a case the police weren't able to solve seventeen years ago,” she muttered.

“So it seems.” Chance shot a glance toward her. “Having second thoughts about the house?”

“Hell, no.” She balled her fists. “It only makes me that much more determined to get to the bottom of this.” She stared straight ahead. “One of the last people who saw Julia before she disappeared had to be at her school. From what Nora said, Julia walked home every day. Her mother was working as a teacher at another school and would have been home shortly after her. Maybe someone at the school saw something—anything that could have been a clue.”

“Let's check with Chief Taggart. He would know who was questioned. He might even be able to check the cold case file.”

Jillian couldn't wait to get to town. The more she learned about Julia's disappearance, the more she wanted to find the one responsible. That child had to have been through hell, and whoever the abductor was had gotten away with it. Hell, he could do it again. A shiver rippled down her spine.

As they entered cell phone coverage, Chance placed a call to follow up with Alan Thompson's alibi for the previous night. He placed another call to his boss, asking him to see if he could find any further information on Thompson. Chance was direct, to the point and didn't mince words. The man knew what to ask for, and his boss was obviously used to straight talk.

Jillian wondered what exactly Chance did as a supersecret agent and how dangerous it was. If he were to stick around Cape Churn to be with her, how often would he be called away to perform missions? How would she feel about his being gone all the time?

Like Molly, Jillian had established herself as an independent woman, capable of functioning without a man in her life. But Molly readily accepted that Nova would go on missions and was willing to take whatever time he could give to her. Could Jillian be as receptive to that kind of arrangement?

She almost laughed out loud. It wasn't as if Chance had asked her on a date, much less to marry her.

By the time Chance ended the short call to his boss, they were pulling into the police station. As soon as Chance parked, Jillian was out of the vehicle.

“What's the hurry?” he asked.

“I have questions that need answers.” Jillian didn't wait for Chance. Instead, she plowed through the front door of the station.

Behind her Chance chuckled. “You're like a dog with a bone, and you're not letting go.”

“Damn right. That's my house, and I'm not letting anyone scare me out of it.” She stopped at the reception counter.

The receptionist smiled. “Hi, Jillian. Thanks again for helping me find my beach bungalow. I love waking up to the sound of the waves on the shore.”

“I'm glad you're happy with it, Suzanna. It was a great buy.” Jillian glanced over the receptionist's shoulder. “I need to see Chief Taggart.”

“Let me see if he's in.” She punched a button on her phone and leaned forward. “Chief Taggart—”

“Jillian, I thought I heard your voice.” Chief Taggart stepped through a doorway and engulfed Jillian in a bear hug. “We were able to lift prints off the saw we found at the house.”

Jillian's heart leaped.

“I'm sorry, but we didn't find a match in the AFIS database. Whoever cut those spindles doesn't have a prior criminal record.”

Her hopes were temporarily dashed, but Jillian wasn't done yet. “Chief, do you have a list of the people you talked to at the school Julia attended? Are any of them still in Cape Churn?”

“Most of the teachers are still there. Except maybe two. Julia's teacher is now the principal at the same elementary school.”

Jillian glanced at the clock on the wall. School would have been out for a couple hours. “Do you know where we could find her?”

“Are you talking about Principal Tillman?” Suzanna asked. “My niece goes to that elementary school. I know where Rebecca Tillman lives. Let me look up her actual address.” The receptionist typed on her keyboard for a minute and then got up and walked to a printer located behind her. She came back with a sheet of paper with a map of the streets of Cape Churn with a red dot and an address listed. “Hope that helps.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Chief Taggart asked.

“No, we can manage,” Jillian said. “I'd appreciate any other names of people who were questioned who lived around the school or on the path Julia would have taken home.”

“The school is on the edge of town. There weren't many houses past it then or even now. Most of the community growth has been closer to the water and the beaches in the lower-lying areas. But I'll get a list of the people we questioned on the case. Stop by tomorrow and I'll have it for you.”

“Thanks, Chief.” Jillian held out her hand to shake the chief's but he pulled her into his arms.

“I'm sorry you're having troubles. When will you have that phone installed? I don't like that you have no reception out there.”

She smiled up at the man who'd come to mean a lot to her in the two years she'd lived in Cape Churn. “I'm hoping before the wedding.”

“You're staying at the McGregor B and B?”

“Not tonight, if I have running water by the time I get home.”

The chief frowned. “You're not staying out there all by yourself, are you?”

Jillian's cheeks heated.

“No, sir.” Chance stepped up beside her and slipped an arm around her waist. “I'll be there.”

The frown eased from the chief's forehead. “Good. I'm glad she won't be alone. Until we find out who's up to no good, it's not safe for her to be alone in that house.”

Chance nodded. “Agreed.”

“I refuse to be scared away from my own home.” Jillian stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Better scared and safe than dead,” Chief Taggart said.

Jillian refused to be ruled by fear. She left the police station, determined to find answers. But as she got into the vandalized rental car, she couldn't hold back the shiver of apprehension slithering down the back of her neck.

Chapter 16

C
hance pulled up at the address Suzanna had given them. The house was a neat little Cape Cod bungalow with a picket fence and mailbox in the shape of an openmouthed fish.

He parked next to the curb and met Jillian at the gate.

Dusk was settling in and lights shone through the window into the dining room, where a man and a woman sat at their dinner table.

Though he didn't like disturbing people at dinner, Chance rang the doorbell and waited.

Jillian curled her fingers around his arm and leaned against him. “I feel bad for disturbing them.”

Chance loved that they were on the same wavelength. It made him warm in the chilly evening air.

A man opened the door and stared out at them on the stoop. “Can I help you?”

“Sir, I'm Chance McCall and this is Jillian Taylor.”

“I know Jillian—you helped us with a house for my mother-in-law. We were eating dinner. Can't it wait until we're done?”

“Sir, we'd like to speak to your wife about a student of hers from seventeen years ago.”

The man snorted. “My wife has had a lot of students over the past seventeen years. You can't expect her to remember all of them.”

“Mr. Tillman, I think she'll remember this one,” Jillian said. “Julia Thompson. The child who went missing.”

Tillman's lips thinned. “Jillian, why do you want to know about what happened before you even came to Cape Churn?”

Jillian's lips twisted. “I bought the old Thompson house from the bank. And ever since I started remodeling efforts, it seems someone is trying to stop me.”

“Steve, let them in,” a soft voice said behind the man.

For a moment Tillman stood, blocking their entry into his home. Then he sighed. “Come in.” He held the door as Jillian and then Chance passed.

Rebecca Tillman greeted Jillian with a hug. “Don't let Steve scare you away. He's just trying to protect me. We had a journalist come around a couple years ago asking about the Julia Thompson case. He wasn't very nice and he refused to take no for an answer.” She waved her hand to the front living room. “Please have a seat.”

“We wouldn't bother you, but Jillian has had a couple attempts on her life.”

Mrs. Tillman gasped. “Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do to help, I will. I just don't know what I can tell you that I didn't tell the police at the time they were searching for little Julia and her abductor.”

“Do you know who was the last person to see Julia before she disappeared?”

Mrs. Tillman pressed her hand to her chest. “As far as I know, it was me. Julia always stayed late after school to help clean the boards. Her mother was a teacher at the middle school and didn't get home right away, so Julia would help me until I left. Then she would walk home.”

“Which way did she go?” Chance asked.

“She took the road leading from the school toward her house a mile or so away.”

“Were there other people who lived on that route?”

“Not at the time.”

“Did other people travel that route on a regular basis?”

Mrs. Tillman shook her head. “Not that I know of. Her house was the only one at the end of that road. Some say there was another house a long time ago, but it burned to the ground before I was born. The historians think it belonged to a famous pirate who gave up his pirating ways to settle in Cape Churn and raise a family. I never put much stock in that story. Without a house or records, it was all just old wives' tales passed down from former residents.”

“What was Julia's frame of mind when she left your classroom that day? Was she feeling well? Was she lucid?”

Mrs. Tillman's eyes clouded with tears. “She was so very happy. Because she was such a wonderful helper, I gave her a gift to show my appreciation for all she did to help me.”

“What kind of gift?”

“It was a Russian music box I picked up when I backpacked through Europe and into Russia between my junior and senior years of college.” The woman inhaled and let out a long slow breath. Then she smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “She was over the moon, thrilled. She couldn't wait to get home and show her mother.”

“Which way did she go when she left the school?”

“Across the school yard and met up with the road leading toward her house.” Rebecca stared out the window of her living room. “I remember watching her until she rounded the curve and moved out of sight. I always felt it was my fault she was abducted. I should have walked her home.”

Her husband sat beside her on the sofa. “You can't walk all of your students home.”

“I know. But I could have walked Julia home that day. She probably wasn't aware of anything but the music box. She was staring down at it all the way across the school yard, holding it out in front of her like she was afraid she'd break it.”

“Mrs. Tillman, you couldn't have known what was going to happen,” Chance said.

“I spoke with her mother in the weeks that followed. She said Julia sometimes cut through the woods to get home quicker.” Mrs. Tillman bowed her head. “I should have offered to take her home, since she had to carry the music box.”

Her husband laid his hand on her shoulder. “Hindsight doesn't change the past.”

She raised her hand to cover his and gave a weak, shaky smile. “I was so relieved when she finally came home. Too many children gone that long are never found.” Her brows furrowed. “I had her back in my class for a couple weeks before her mother pulled her out and moved away. I haven't seen or heard from them since. But not a day goes by that I don't think about them and wonder how Julia is now. She was a bright and happy child. As pretty as her mother.”

“Had there been anyone lurking around the school during that time frame?” Chance asked.

Mrs. Tillman shook her head. “If there was, I was too busy working and straightening my classroom to notice. I believe the police asked the same question of every one of the school staff, and none of us had seen anyone suspicious.”

“What about homes or businesses in the vicinity of the school?” Chance asked.

“The school sits a little bit back off the road.” Mrs. Tillman shook her head. “It was built where it is on purpose. Only those people who had a need to be at the school come down the road. The closest buildings are the trailer park and the auto body shop, and they are a good quarter of a mile away.”

“Were you the last one to leave the school?” Chance asked.

“No. I left at the same time as Melanie Bateman. We went to an exercise class together.” She closed her eyes. “I remember being in the break room the next day. Every teacher was questioned, the admin staff and old Mr. Locke, the janitor, although he'd been home sick the previous afternoon. His wife took him to the doctor. Everyone had an alibi. Not that I could see any of the staff abducting a child. We love all of our students.”

Jillian nodded. “Thank you for answering our questions. I know it's a long shot trying to figure out who held Julia captive. But with the attempts on my life and the damage to my house, I have to try. I can't think of anything else that might cause someone to feel threatened by my buying the house.”

“I hope you figure it out.” Mrs. Tillman squeezed her husband's hand. “For the past seventeen years, the parents and teachers in this town have lived in fear of a repeat abduction. Some have become complacent over time.”

“Not you. Right, Rebecca?” her husband said. “I think she cried every night for months. And the nightmares...” He shook his head. “She still has them.”

Chance rose and held out his hand to Steve Tillman. “Mr. Tillman.” He shook hands with the man and turned to Rebecca and held out his hand, helping her to her feet. “Mrs. Tillman, thank you for answering our questions.”

“I wish I could be of more help. If we had caught the one responsible for holding Julia hostage for a month, perhaps she and her mother wouldn't have left Cape Churn. Julia was such a pleasure to have in class and her mother was always kind. She worked at the middle school across town. We ran into each other at workshops.”

Jillian left the house first. Chance followed, opened the door to the SUV and waited for her to get in. Once she was settled, he rounded to the other side and climbed in. “Did you get anything out of that session?”

Jillian sat silent for a moment, staring at her hands in her lap. “Julia wasn't paying attention. She could have cut through the woods and fallen, maybe hitting her head.”

“Yeah, but someone had to have found her. She was gone for an entire month. She wouldn't have survived two weeks in the woods. It gets cold at night. She'd have died of hypothermia or starvation.”

“But she didn't.” Jillian looked up. “I want to go to the school and attempt to retrace Julia's steps.”

“It's getting dark outside.”

“Please. I won't go far and we can start at the curve in the road. The last place Mrs. Tillman saw Julia.”

Though he didn't like the idea of Jillian out at night, wandering around in the woods, Chance reasoned that he would be there and could protect her. So far the threats had involved another vehicle or her house. If they didn't stay until it got really dark, they should be okay.

* * *

Jillian leaned forward as Chance drove down the road leading into the school yard. He made a circle where parents dropped off their children in the morning and then drove to the back of the building, where trucks delivered supplies for the kitchen and the administrative staff. He parked and got out.

Jillian exited and stood beside him, her hand reaching for his. “This is where it all started.”

“I can't imagine a little girl walking home, not a care in the world, and poof. Gone.” Chance's hand tightened on hers. “It's a parent's worst nightmare.”

Jillian nodded. “How frightening for little Julia.” She stared across the school yard, past the playground equipment to the soccer goals and farther toward where she could see the slim ribbon of a road. “That street doesn't connect to the one coming in or out of the school campus.” She tugged on his hand. “Let's drive around to the curve before it gets too dark to see.”

“It's about that dark now,” he said, but got into the car with her and drove away from the school. Once off school property, he turned right and connected with the road leading up to Jillian's house. The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving the land bathed in dusk gray, that time of day when shadows consumed the light.

Jillian swiveled in her seat, looking back at the school yard. She touched his arm. “Stop here.”

Chance pulled to a stop on the shoulder.

Jillian got out and stared back at the school. She moved several feet farther down the road, looking back every so often until she came to a halt. “At this point, Mrs. Tillman couldn't see Julia.” She turned toward the woods and squinted, wishing she could see her house through the brush. “If Julia wanted to get home in a hurry, she probably cut through the woods, and if she was busy looking at the music box she was carrying, she could have lost her way.”

Chance came to stand behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Your point?”

Jillian sagged. “It's too dark to look now, but tomorrow I'd like to come out and walk through the woods.”

“She could just as well have walked home by the road. Someone could have driven by and forced her into the vehicle.”

Jillian shook her head. “Call it a gut feeling, but I don't think so.”

“Why?” Chance asked, though he couldn't argue with instinct. It had saved his butt on more than one occasion.

“She knew she wasn't supposed to walk through the woods, but she was so excited with her gift, she probably took the shortcut anyway.”

“Okay. We'll come back tomorrow when it's daylight and we can see two feet in front of us. In the meantime, we need to see if your house is habitable. We might be staying in town tonight if there isn't water.”

Jillian nodded. “You're right. It can wait until tomorrow. In the daylight. No. Wait. It'll have to be the day after tomorrow. I'm working in the morning and meeting with Molly in the afternoon for the final dress fitting.”

“Okay.”

“And I'll want to drive through the trailer park, as well.”

“That's the same trailer park where we dropped Daryl, right?”

Jillian nodded, chewing on her lip. Finally she asked the question that had been gnawing at her. “Do you think Daryl had anything to do with Julia's disappearance?”

Chance didn't answer right away. When he did, he said, “I really don't know Daryl enough to make that call. The man cried over a lost dog. I can't imagine he has a mean bone in his body.”

“Yeah. That's what I think. He'd never spray paint graffiti on the walls or cut the rails. And he can't drive, so he couldn't have been the one to crash into us.”

“Or can he drive and he's putting on a front?”

Jillian shook her head. “I don't know what to think anymore. Let's head back to town and grab something from the café for dinner. I can call my contractor while we're in town. If he says the water's on, we'll go back to the house. If it isn't, we'll find a place to stay in town.”

Chance turned around in the middle of the road and headed back into town. As soon she had reception on her cell phone, Jillian called Bob.

“I'm glad you called,” he said.

Jillian braced for bad news.

“The septic system is fine and functioning. The plumber cleaned it out and finished running the new pipes. The water's on throughout the house, and we didn't find any leaks. You're in business.”

Jillian let go of the breath she'd been holding. “That's the first good news we've had all day. Thank you.” She ended the call and beamed at Chance. “We're staying at the house tonight.”