Found With Murder (4 page)

Rilynne looked from her to Joe, trying to find the right thing to say.  Before she could, though, a deep, groggy voice sounded beside them.

“You need to stay here,” Wilcome said.  With him sleeping on the couch, Rilynne had completely forgotten he was there.  “You have to be here if a ransom call comes in.”

Lori shifted her gaze to the equipment on the table.  After a few seconds, she nodded and sat back down.

Rilynne gave her a kind smile before walking to the door.  Joe followed close behind.  “Call me immediately if she leaves,” she whispered.  “You know as well as I do that she won't sit on the sidelines for long.  Just do what you can to keep her calm.  I'll be at the station if you need anything.  Hopefully we'll find an answer somewhere in this list.”

“Just find her,” he pleaded.  “Please find her and bring her home.”

*     *     *

“Did you have any luck?” Matthews asked when she walked in.  She held up the list and nodded.  “Good.  We'll start running them down and see if anything turns up.”

Rilynne handed him the list and dropped down into her chair.  “I'm going to start with the biological father,” she said.  “His name is Dustin Fore.  Maybe he changed his mind about signing over his rights, or perhaps he knows someone in the biological mother's family who wants her.”

Matthews peered up from the list, a look of bewilderment on his face.

“Kim was adopted,” she said, baffled by his confusion.  “You knew that, didn't you?”

“No,” he said shortly.

She hadn't considered the fact that, unlike in Bodker, no one here would have known unless Lori mentioned it.  Though she never hid Kim's past, it wasn't something that normally came up in conversation.

“Her birth mother was killed in a shooting a little over a month after Lori made homicide.  She responded to the scene and stayed with her all the way to the hospital.  The girl managed to hold on until they got there, giving the doctors time to perform a cesarean and save the baby.  Lori adopted Kim when she couldn't find any family to take her.  Both of the birth mother's parents were dead, and she wasn't able to find anyone else in her family.  Fore was young, eighteen if I remember correctly, and willingly terminated his rights,” she explained.

“And it's not unheard of for biological families to change their minds and want the kids back,” he continued.  “Since there are not legal ways about it, they could be desperate enough to resort to kidnapping.”

“Exactly,” said Rilynne.  “Especially with Kim's birthday just a week away.  It could have definitely made someone nostalgic enough to take such drastic measures.”

“Why didn't we start looking into this last night?” he asked.

Rilynne groaned and dropped her head down hard on her desk.  “Because I'm an idiot and it completely slipped my mind.  I didn't even think about it until Lori made a comment about not letting strangers around Kim after she brought her home,” she said.  “And before you start in on me, I'm already beating myself up enough.”

“You shouldn't be,” he said.  He was just being nice; she could hear it in his voice.  “There was so much going on last night that it's not surprising that something from four years ago slipped your mind.”

She avoided looking up at him, not wanting to see the look she knew was on his face.  Instead, she reached for her phone.

It took less time than she thought for the Bodker homicide unit to track down Dustin Fore.  In just under an hour, they had him in the office and ready for Rilynne to interview him.  Since he was across the country, she knew it would be a waste of time to either fly up or have him brought down.  At the same time, she needed to be able to look at him so she would have a higher chance of being able to see anything.  Luckily, the Bodker detectives were more than willing to help her out.

“Mr. Fore, I'm Detective Rilynne Evans,” Rilynne said, sitting back in her chair in the quiet conference room.

Fore looked around him before turning back to Rilynne.  He looked confused and perhaps a little worried.  “They won't tell me what I'm doing here,” he said.  “I don't understand what's going on.”

“Mr. Fore, can you tell me where you were last night around nine?” she asked.

“I already told the guys here,” he said.  “I was at work.  Now can you tell me what's going on?  Am I being charged with something?  And why am I talking to you on a computer?”

She studied his young face carefully.  She knew he had to be in around twenty-two, but he didn’t even appear to have reached his eighteenth birthday yet.  His eyes, the same shape and blue as Kim's, were filled with fear.

“Last night a little girl was abducted.  We were hoping you might be able to help us in locating who might be responsible.”  There was no hint of recollection on his face.  He just looked more confused.  “The little girl is your biological daughter.”

“What?”  He leaned forward, eyes wide as he stared at her.  “She was adopted by a cop.  How can she have been taken?”

“That's what we're trying to find out,” she replied.  “It looks like whoever took her was targeting her.  It wasn't a random abduction.”

He nodded and looked down.  “So you think that I changed my mind about giving her up and decided to take her.”  He let out a deep sigh before looking back up at Rilynne.  “Kimberly and I had only been together a couple weeks when she found out she was pregnant.  I was eighteen and about to graduate from high school.  I was looking forward to starting a new life in college, not raising a child.  Don't get me wrong, I was still going to step up and be there for Kimberly and the baby.  Then she was killed…”  His voice cracked.  “You have to understand, I wasn't ready when it was the two of us.  Then she was gone.  I couldn't raise a baby by myself.  When that detective approached me about adopting her, I knew it was for the best.  She could give her a life I never could.  I don't regret the decision I made, detective.  I'm still not even ready to settle into a serious relationship, let alone raise a four year old.”

“Can you think of anyone who might have been upset with your decision to give her up, or maybe someone in Kimberly's family?” she asked.

A guilty look quickly passed over his face.  He appeared almost like a child who had been caught doing something he knew he shouldn't.  “I never told my family,” he said.  “At first, I was just scared and in denial.  Then as time passed, I didn't know how to tell them.  I was eighteen.  What was I supposed to do, go home for a visit and say 'Oh, by the way'?”

“So your family didn't even know you got your girlfriend pregnant?”  She tried to hide her shock, but was unsuccessful.

Fore just shook his head.  He let out a quick laugh at her bewilderment, but his expression quickly hardened again.  “Find her,” he said.  “Please find her.”

Rilynne nodded.  “I'll do everything I can.  What can you tell me about Kimberly's family?  I know both of her parents have passed, but is there anyone else you can think of?”

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.  “Kimberly was an only child.  The only other family member that I knew of was her aunt, but she was with her mother in the accident.  They were both killed.  I don't think there was anyone else.  Kimberly told me that the only thing that kept her going with her entire family gone was knowing the baby was coming and she wouldn't be alone for long.” 

It made her sad thinking of just how much tragedy had hit that one family.  She tried to push it aside, though, knowing her focus was required somewhere else.  She racked her brain, thinking of anything else she needed to ask the scared young man.  Nothing came to her.

Rilynne hesitated for a moment and leaned forward.  “So you know, she's a very happy little girl.  She's loved more than you can imagine.”

“You know her?” he asked.  His eyes looked wetter than they had moments before.

“I'm her godmother,” she replied.  He looked almost relieved by her statement.  While it could have just been that he was glad Kim was cared for, she knew it was something else.  In that moment, he knew she wouldn't stop at anything before finding Kim.  “I think that's everything I need right now, Mr. Fore.  If I need anything else, I'll be in touch.  If you think of anything, even if you don't think it's important, call me immediately.”

He was still nodding when Rilynne turned off the screen.  She leaned back in her seat and groaned before closing her eyes.

It was the fifth time she had tried to see anything after her initial flash at the rehearsal dinner.  Other than the horrific glimpse she received in the clearing and the dream she had with Kim on the beach, her attempts to see anything useful had all been unsuccessful.  She let out a frustrated growl.  When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find that she was no longer alone.

“You scared me,” she said as she jumped in her seat.  “I didn't hear you come in.”

Ben grinned and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against.  “I didn't want to interrupt you.”

“You wouldn't have,” she said, not hiding her annoyance.  “I haven't been able to see anything since the dream I had last night.”  He looked at her almost hopefully but she banished the notion with a wave of her hand.  “It wasn't anything helpful,” she continued.  “Kim couldn't tell me anything.  She was too interested in the little crab crawling around in the sand in front of us.  We were at the beach. 
Your beach.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She was perplexed by his question until she remembered that she hadn't told him about the beach in her dreams.  There was always something more pressing going on whenever she would
find herself there, and she'd forget to mention it.

“The beach your father took your mother to right before they died,” she said.  “Unless that didn't really happen,” she added, suddenly aware that it was a story told to her during a dream.

“No, it did,” he said.  Surprise was battling with the amusement in his expression.  “How… I've never told you that.  We've never talked about the beach.  You dream about it?”

Rilynne grinned and nodded. 
“Since shortly after we met, actually.  I didn't know what it was until earlier this year.  I actually forgot that I hadn't told you about it yet.”

“And it's the same beach?” he asked.  “Are you sure?”

“I checked the pictures you have in your apartment,” she said.  “Besides, you told me it was the same beach.  You told me about your parents and about going back out there with Justin.”

He seemed to be taking a moment to absorb the fact that she had a conversation with him in her dreams that was accurate, even though he technically wasn't a part of it.  After a moment, he shrugged it off and continued.  “So do you go there often?”

She nodded again.  “It's like the clearing for you,” she said.  “I find myself there every time something is bothering me or if I need to work something out.  It's utterly relaxing there, no matter what's going on around me.”

“Do you ever…” he hesitated, as if trying to find the words.

He didn't need them for her to know what he was thinking.  “No,” she said gently.  “I haven't seen them there.  Other than the occasional person from a case that I'm working, the only person I've ever been there with is you.  I haven't seen your parents or brother.”

“Maybe someday you will.”  He crossed the room and sat down in the chair next to her.  “So, how did the interview go?”

“Equally as unhelpful as my attempt to see anything.  Fore has an alibi and claims that no one in his family even knew he had a child,” she said.  “I don't think he's involved.”

Ben opened his mouth, but something in the office stopped him before he could get a word out.  Looking out the window in the door, his jaw dropped as a subtle smirk rose on his face.  Rilynne traced his gaze and cursed when her eyes landed on their target.  When she jumped up from her seat, Ben reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Don't make a scene,” he said in almost a demanding tone.

R
ilynne took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing he was right, before walking back into the office.

“I can see her now!”  A skinny woman wearing clothes straight out of the seventies was standing in the middle of the office.  Her curly blonde hair was tied up with a scarf, giving her the appearance of a palm reader at a carnival.  “She's scared but safe.  She's saying something; I can hear her.  She's saying…
'Mommy.  I want my mommy.'  She's trying to say something else.”

She let out a dramatic gasp as her body relaxed.  “I lost it,” she said.  “I lost the connection.”

Rilynne looked around the room at the expressions on everyone's face.  Aside from one young officer in the back who seemed genuinely intrigued, everyone had the same amused look.

Ben walked up behind her and gently placed his hand on her back.  He leaned down and
whispered in her ear, “Is she a-”

“Fake?” she finished. 
“Absolutely.”

She was considering stepping toward the woman but was glad when Matthews beat her to it.  When he directed her into a chair next to his desk, Rilynne took her own seat.  Though she didn't trust herself to say anything to the woman, she still wanted to hear what she had to say.

“Oh, detective,” she said, placing her hands on Matthews'.  “Your poor wife.  She's so uncomfortable, isn't she?  You should pick up something for her at the store on your way home.  It will help to ease her nerves about the babies.”

Matthews' gaze shifted quickly to Rilynne.  When she rolled her eyes, he grinned and turned back to the psychic.  “Miss…”

“Young,” she said.  “Selena Young.”

“Ms. Young, what can you
tell me about the disappearance of Kim Sibrian?”  Although he had a kind look about him, she could hear an almost imperceptible note of mockery in his voice.

Young started rocking in her seat and she pulled her fingers up to her temples.  “Such a sweet little girl,” she said.  “She's scared, but he's treating her well.  She's upset because she lost something… a toy… no, she lost her shoe.  He gave her new ones, but it's not the same.”

“And do you know who took her?” he asked.

She rocked for another moment before shaking her head.  “No, I can't see his face.  He's hiding it from me.  I can see something, though.  There's a picture… a tattoo.  I can't make it out, but he definitely has a tattoo.”

Rilynne looked up at Ben as he sat on the edge of her desk and let out an annoyed sigh.  He didn't seem to know whether to laugh or not.

She just dropped her forehead down on his knee and closed her eyes.  Unlike when she was trying to see things about Kim, it took no time at all for her to start seeing flashes.

Young was sitting in front of a computer.  On the screen, their department website was pulled up.  In front of her were several newspaper clippings: Lori and Joe's engagement announcement, a story for a case she and Matthews had solved the month before, and the story that had been done on her and Ben's upcoming wedding.

When Rilynne sat back up, she shot a baleful look at Young and rose from her seat. Grabbing Ben by the hand, she pulled him back into the conference room.

“I must say,” he said as he closed the door behind them.  “I'm a little proud of you.”

Rilynne let out a quick laughed followed by a groan.  “Why, did you think I was going to pounce on her in the middle of the office and call her out as a fraud?”

He twisted his face and nodded.  “The thought had crossed my mind,” he said.  The grin on his face calmed her.  “So how'd she do it?  I know you saw something.”  She looked up at him curiously.  “You tense up just slightly when you have one of your flashes.  It's not noticeable unless you know to be looking for it.”

“Huh…” she said as she thought over it.  She didn't know whether she should be pleased with his level of observation or concerned with the fact that she had a visible tell.  She was still contemplating it moments later when Ben elbowed her and brought her back to their conversation.

“Oh, um… She researched us online and read the stories in the paper about us.  As for Kim's shoe, that wouldn't have been hard to learn about.  I even heard some officers talking about it downstairs when I walked in.  I'm sure she did, too.”

Ben leaned against the table and looked over at Young through the window.  After a few moments, an impish grin formed on his face.

“What?” Rilynne asked.

“Oh, I was just trying to picture you dressed up like that,” he said.  Rilynne reached out and shoved him.  “What?  I think you'd look cute.  You could even get charms you could carry around, jingling in front of people.”

“I'm glad you think it's so funny.  You remember this if anyone actually does find out and we're both looked at the way people are looking at her now,” she said.  She slid off the table and took a step toward the door.  Ben reached out and pulled her back to him, wrapping her up in his arms.

“That's something you will never have to worry about,” he said.  His hot breath against the back of her neck sent a wave of chills down her spine.  “Even in the off chance that they actually did learn the truth, no one here would ever look at you like you were crazy.  There isn't a single person in this office
who doesn't trust you with their life.  Nothing could ever change that.”

Rilynne leaned back against him, pulling his arms tighter around her.  “Just because you accepted it, doesn't mean anyone else would.”  He leaned down and pressed his lips against her neck.  Her chest tightened as a quiver spread through her.

“That's not fair,” she whispered.

He kissed her again, this time just behind her ear.   “What's that?”

“You know I can't think straight when you do that,” she said on a low moan.  “You're trying to distract me so I don't go in there and call her out.  It’s an abuse of power.”

Reaching up, he grabbed her chin and turned her head around to face him.  He leaned down until their lips were so close that she could feel his warmth reaching out for her.  “Is that really a bad thing?”  With each word, his lips grazed against hers.  When she couldn't take it anymore, she moved forward to meet them.  As she did, though, he pulled back just enough to maintain their separation.

Rilynne grinned as her heart started racing.  “No,” she whispered.

When she moved forward again, he didn't pull back.  Instead, he kissed her, hard.  She spun around in his arms and deepened the kiss.  For one perfect moment, she forgot about everything going on around them.  The world dissolved away, leaving just them in that quiet room, with nothing to think about except each other.

“What did I say about saving it for the honeymoon?” interrupted Matthews a few moments later.

Rilynne grinned as they drew apart.  She closed her eyes and shook her head before turning to face her partner.  He was standing in the open doorway, arms pulled up in front of him with a puckish grin on his face.  “Can we help you with something?” she asked.

“Just thought I should let you know what that psychic said,” he said.  He pushed off the door frame and moved to the table.  “You know, it always surprises me that the freaks come out on cases like this.  You would think that when a child's safety hangs in the balance, they would have some decency and back off.”

Rilynne shot Ben a sideways glance before walking over and sitting next to Matthews.

“So what did that charlatan have to say?” she asked.

“Well, she wasn't bad as far as they go” he said.  “I was honestly surprised when she mentioned Katy.”

“Newspaper article last month,” Rilynne interrupted.  “You'll notice she talked her way around it, not stating that Katy was pregnant, because she didn't know if she still was.  The nerves that she mentioned could either be from pregnancy or from being a first time mom with twins.”

He nodded in an impressed sort of way.

“People like that are good at saying just enough to let you come to your own conclusions,” she continued.  It was a skill she mastered herself at a young age.  “So what did she have to say about Kim?”

“More of the same after you left,” he said.  “She avoided any direct questions, though she was adamant that Kim was safe and would remain that way.”

“Of course she was,” Ben said.  He straightened the collar on his pale blue polo before walking toward them.  “No one would listen to her if she said otherwise.  Do you have any
actual
leads?”

“We ran a check on all the names that were on the list and everyone came back clean.  There were a few misdemeanors here and there and one DWI charge, but nothing of relevance,” he stated.  “How did the interview with the biological father go?”

With the sudden appearance of the psychic, Rilynne had completely forgotten about talking to Fore.  “Dead end.  He's a kid with no desire to be a parent.  He also confirmed that Kimberly Adams didn't have any other family.  At least none that he knew about.”

“Well, it's getting pretty late,” Matthews said.  “I'm going to go home and check on Katy.”

“Don't forget to stop by the store so you can ease Katy's nerves,” Rilynne joked.  Matthews laughed before his expression hardened.  “You're going to the store, aren't you?” she asked.

Matthews let out a sigh before nodding and walking out the door.

“He's really going to, isn't he?”  Ben asked, pulling Rilynne back into his arms.  Rilynne chuckled and dropped her head down against him.

“We should probably head home, too,” Ben said.  “Marti is going to need out.  I haven't been able to swing by since lunch, and I'm guessing you haven't either.”

Rilynne had completely forgotten about the puppy waiting for her at home.  Ben had gotten her a fluffy Siberian Husky puppy just a month before.  He said it was a pre-wedding gift, but she had a feeling he had ulterior motives.  A large dog would not only provide some protection at home, she’d also be able to take her out running with her when she was old enough.  He wasn't shy with his reservations about her out running alone, especially with how accident prone she was.

“No, I haven't,” she said.  “I have a few more things to finish up, though, so why don't you go take care of her and I'll be just a few minutes behind.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.  “I can wait.”

“No, you go ahead,” she insisted.  “I'm sure she's already begging to be let out.  I won't be long.”

Ben kissed her cheek and stood up.

After watching him leave, Rilynne sat down at her desk.  The office had been full all day; it was almost unsettling how quiet it now was.  While it brought back the sense of dread and heartache she had been struggling to push away, quiet was exactly what she needed.

She flipped through Kim's adoption paperwork, looking for anything that stood out.  After that, she made her way down the list Lori had given her.  Everyone who had come in contact with Kim was listed on it, including anyone who frequently passed the house like the mailman or delivery drivers.

Rilynne started at the top of the list and worked her way down, name by name.  The pediatrician, his nurses, and the preschool staff were all easily cleared.  Each was either home with their families or already in bed.  None had any feelings coursing through them that led her to believe they had anything to do with Kim’s disappearance.

While she did see disturbing scenes from one of the moms from the play date group, leaving her to believe she was running a swingers party in her basement, and another one who was smoking something that didn't look like a cigarette, no one stood out.  The same was said for the karate instructor and the maintenance men.

By the time she reached the men from Joe’s poker game, she was starting to grow frustrated.  She tried to push it off, knowing she wouldn’t be able to see anything if she didn’t relax, but it didn’t help.  After the third man in the group was cleared, she found herself unable to see anything else.  She tried each name, but the only thing she found was more frustration.

She groaned, her eyes starting to burn as they passed over the list for the third time, and closed her eyes to try and clear her mind.

She was walking down the sidewalk toward her house.  With the moon shining brightly against the dark sky, the street was lit up almost as if it were the middle of the day.  Or maybe it wasn't the moon causing it.

Rilynne looked around as she started to smell something harsh.  The breeze carried an aroma that closely resembled a tire burning.  The moment it registered in her nose, she saw a billow of smoke slowly moving toward her.

“What?” she said aloud, looking at the twenty foot wall that was steadily inching
forward.  She peered side to side, looking for a way around it, but it went on in both directions for as far as she could see.  It was so thick that as soon as it passed over something, it could no longer be seen.

“Fire!” she yelled down the empty street.  Panic filled her as she looked at all of the homes that were only moments away from being consumed.  “Wake up!  There's a fire!”

She tried to run to the house on the left, knowing the elderly woman who lived there, but she was too late.  Before she could reach the door, it was swallowed by the smoke.  She considered pushing through it and going in after her, but she couldn't make herself.