Gone Before Goodbye (Love &Mystery in the--6-oh-3 Book 1) (28 page)

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Noah’s was running at peak level despite the fact the interrogation room would need a good fumigation after he finished.

Teagan’s announcement about a break hovered on the edge of his mind, daring him to think about her and forget his job. No way could he let her in and feel that stab in his chest.

He’d already wasted most of his afternoon on the Albino Man, whose legal name they’d discovered was Mr. Alfred Moore through his Vet records.

The guy laughed and grunted answers to questions. The clock in Noah’s head ticked away, reminding him Lisa Grant needed to be found while this guy played him for a fool. Noah shoved a picture of Kara Linn at him and asked if he’d seen the girl. The homeless man shrugged and shook his head. Noah followed up with a photo of Lisa. “Did you see this girl at the park?”

The homeless man nodded and sat grinning at him.

“Did the girl get in a car?”

Moore gave him thumbs-up.

Was he just gesturing or was that a yes? “How about you describe the vehicle? Truck? Car? Bike?”

Moore rocked back and forth in his seat.

Hell. Noah ripped a piece of paper from his pad and handed it and a pencil to Moore. “Draw the girl leaving the park.”

After several silent minutes, Moore produced a stick figure and a rectangle with four circles.

Noah gritted his teeth. What had he expected? Did Moore suffer from more than a stroke and PTSD, or did he just enjoy torturing a detective of the Hawick Falls Police Department?

Noah needed a new tact. “Hungry, Mr. Moore?”

The older man raised his eyes to Noah. His lips parted.

Now he’d gotten through to him. “You know what I like? That fast food place near the plaza. Their hamburgers are three inches thick, juicy, and on homemade rolls. Mmm. Ever taste one of those?”

Moore shook his head.

Now they were communicating. “We can finish up with you drawing or printing the name of the person who picked up Lisa Grant. Then I’ll buy us some burgers.”

Moore licked his lips.

What was going on in his brain?

Moore reached for the pencil and went to work scratching out something on his sketch.

What was he doing? Noah placed his palms on the table and leaned toward him. “What happened to Lisa Grant? Did she get into a car?” Moore seemed to be retracing his lines.

Noah pointed to the drawing on the paper. “Is this the vehicle?”

Moore added lines to the rectangle.

Mercy. This was useless. Noah’s thoughts drifted to Teagan. Time apart. Why didn’t she just say get lost? The priest was at her home while she ended it with him. Had she confessed her sin of sleeping with him and her penance was telling him to stay away? Pain stabbed him. He wasn’t ready to date again. He didn’t need the grief.

Across from him, Moore held up his picture. A series of Xs covered the shape.

Great, X marks the spot. Noah shoved away from the table. He needed to do something productive, and questioning Moore wasn’t it. He’d cruise over to Muffy’s and to the homeless shelter to ask a few questions about Moore. Maybe they’d been chasing the wrong suspects, and this man was involved in Lisa’s disappearance.

“I’ll order your burger before I leave.” Noah went to open the door and hesitated. “How about a side of fries?”

Moore’s eyes grew large.

“Try and tell me one more thing. Did—”

A knock interrupted his last question. Noah opened the door to an officer in the hallway.

The uniform gestured for Noah to step into the hallway. “I’ve something you should know. When the suspect emptied his pockets in booking, he had a wallet and key inside. I thought they were his and checked a few seconds ago. He had the missing girl, Lisa Grant’s, billfold with her license and a couple of dollars. The key was inside with the bills. It could be hers too since he doesn’t rent or own a home or car as far as we know. There’s a pink heart on the top of the key, which indicates probably belonged to a female.”

“Are you kidding me?” The Lisa Grant case grew stranger by the second or by the suspect. It explained why he chose the Raynes’ house. “What else did he have?”

“Nothing except the stolen food from Muffy’s.”

“Send a picture of the wallet, license, and key to my phone.”

The officer left. Noah waited until he heard the ding on his phone and marched back into the interview room.

“Okay, Mr. Moore. He pulled up the first photo on his cell and held it up to him. “Where’d you get the wallet?”

Moore tapped his mouth with his fingers.

“Did you find it?”

Moore gave Noah his vacant look.

He swiped to the next image. “How about the key? Did you use it to try and enter the Raynes’ residence?”

Moore stared back without recognition. Noah asked a few more questions, but Mr. Moore was done.

Noah dropped his arm in frustration. “I’ll order the food.” He had to talk to Teagan about the wallet. Would she act different around him now? What had happened to change her feelings for him from this morning? It had to be Father Matt.

Mentally, he shook his head. What had he expected? One night together didn’t mean they were going steady. Geesh, he’d lost it and over a woman who believed in saints and miracles.
Get your head into the case
.

Moore was smiling as Noah left the room. Noah told the officer outside the room to order some food for Moore and to charge it to Noah before Moore returned to the holding cell.

Noah walked into the squad room where half the desks stood empty. 

“Hey, Cassidy.” A young woman in uniform waved him over to her desk where she was closing down her computer. “I heard Paul found Travis Bodell.”

“Paul? I thought he was at Miss Raynes’ home?”

“Guess you’ll have to investigate, Cassidy. I’ve got to go. A bear is emptying the bird feeders on Elm Street. Animal Control called for assistance with the crowd.”

“Thanks.” He whirled around and missed colliding with Teagan.

Her mouth opened with a small gasp of surprise as she recognized him.

They stood staring at each other. Stray strands of hair clung to her flushed cheeks. Her gaze of shock smoothed into one of confusion. She was embarrassed to see him again.

“Noah, I…”

“Are you with the priest?” He struggled to speak in a low voice.

“Matt? He’s not here. Why?”

“You seem attached to him.”

“I don’t understand.” She shifted and her shoulders slumped forward. “Noah, I…”  Her voice trailed away. She lowered her eyes and twisted her ring.

He wanted to touch her, to reassure her, and watch a smile of relief and happiness spread across her face before he kissed her one last time.

But he wasn’t asking for another knife in his chest. “I’d like a moment to show you a couple of pictures.” He motioned for her to move to an empty desk and took out his phone. In two seconds, he brought up a photo of the Mr. Moore.

“That’s him. That’s the man who tried to get into my cellar.”

He swiped to the picture of the blue wallet with the initial L on it. “Look familiar?”

Teagan’s shoulders rose as she nodded. “It’s Lisa’s. Where did you find it?”

“Your homeless man had it in his possession. Could he have taken it from your house?”

“Only if he came inside before I reported Lisa missing. The police searched the house, and it was gone.”

“I just wanted to make sure. We don’t know how he got it, or if he met Lisa. He’s not talking. I’ve another picture.” He brought up the key.

Teagan twisted the ring on her finger round and round. “The key belongs to Lisa. She drew the pink heart on it with permanent marker. She kept it in her wallet. She was going to add the house key to a keychain when she bought her first car.”

“We know why Moore didn’t break a lock to enter. He assumed the key would work.” Noah pocketed his phone. “That’s all I need for now.”

“Noah, I’m sorry about earlier when—”

“It’s not important.” He walked past her. He had to forget about Teagan, workplace politics, and even his own past. Self-torture wasn’t his style. He had to do one thing. Bring down the predator who had killed Kara Linn and kidnapped Lisa Grant, and do it fast. Instinct told him it was one and the same person. But who? And how would he find the predator?

The next day, Teagan entered the brick courthouse across from Falls Pizza for Travis’ arraignment. Gray clouds blanketed the sky, threatening another storm. First they had a heat wave, and now downpours. The good news was the police might have a lead to Lisa, thanks to the homeless man.

Travis entered the oak paneled courtroom with his middle-aged public defender with a goatee. The charges of criminal trespass and destruction of public property were read aloud. A prosecutor explained how a search had determined Travis was sleeping inside the public building with clear No Trespassing signs.

Travis pleaded not guilty, and the judge announced bail and the next court date. The arraignment was over in minutes.

Teagan’s stomach fluttered with nerves as she rose to leave. No one had mentioned Lisa. What if Travis hid her somewhere and she depended on him for food and water? They had to locate her and fast.

Where are you, Lisa?
Teagan clenched her teeth against the frustration. Across the room, Seth sent her a furious look and stormed through the door.

She hoped she wouldn’t meet him on the street again. Once she exited into the hall, she hit a long stride toward the elevator. No signs of Noah at the hearing. He must be on his other case.

“Miss Raynes,” Detective Hines called out to her.

She stopped and waited for him to catch up to her.

“Thanks for coming today. I wanted to assure you we’re working on bringing more charges against Travis. Today’s arraignment maintains him on our radar.”

“Do we know where he’s been besides the snack shack? Lisa might be in one of his hideouts. He told me he moved around a lot to avoid the police.”

“Travis insists he hasn’t seen Lisa since the day they argued over paying for her hamburger. He claims he first stayed near the lake, then in a neighbor’s boat that he kept in his yard, and finally the snack bar.”

“Maybe Lisa’s in the boat.” Her voice rose with desperation. She blew out a breath.

“We went back and searched these areas again.”

“Sorry, I was hoping Lisa and Travis were together and he’d lead us to her.” She cleared her throat, trying to ease the fear closing off her breathing.

“Don’t worry, Miss Raynes. We’ll continue looking for Lisa. Yesterday we concentrated on the athletic field in the park, but we turned up nothing,” he admitted. “We’re bringing in machinery to dig in a few suspicious places.”

They must be searching for someone buried. More news she didn’t want to hear.

“I do need to inform you that the DA considered trespassing charges against you and Mr. Taylor, but has declined to bring them since you weren’t living on the grounds.”

“Please, thank the DA for me.” She hesitated for a moment, and toyed with the idea of bringing up Noah’s name. No, bad idea. She thanked Hines and stepped into the elevator. In seconds, she was exiting the courthouse. Humidity surrounded her once she left the air-conditioned building. She hurried across the pavement until she reached her car and paused to dig her keys from her skirt pocket.

“You bitch.”

She whirled around. Seth Bodell was less than three feet from her. She flinched and shot a glance over the parking lot. No one was close enough to help if he whipped out a gun.

“You’re ruinin’ my nephew’s life.”

She had to get out of here, but Seth pressed closer to her. The odor of alcohol on his breath hit her cheek. She flattened herself against her vehicle to avoid touching him. Her purse served as a flimsy buffer between them. Unable to evade, she went as still as a cornered animal.

“You’re goin’ to hurt the way Travis hurts. You always hated him. I bet you’re the one who killed Lisa to blame him. You’re sick.”

He was calling her a killer? Anger sizzled in her brain. Teagan shoved her hand into her purse. Her fingers wrapped around the butt of her weapon. “I have a gun in my purse. Touch me, and I’ll shoot. But before I do, I’ll scream and everyone will know you were attacking me and the shot was justified.”

His eyes flicked wider with shock and dropped to her purse.

“Hey, Bodell,” a skinny man yelled from the rear courthouse steps. “Let’s leave.”

He was a member of the men’s group at church. No doubt, Father Matt sent him to support Seth.

Seth eased away from her. He walked a short distance and tossed her a glance over his shoulder. His surly expression had vanished, replaced by confusion and uncertainty.  He crossed the pavement to his companion, spoke to him, and then jumped into his truck.

Teagan slid into her vehicle.
Guess I handled him.
Tears of relief and fear streamed down her cheeks. Should she call the police and report him? What would she say? He’d threatened her, and she’d done the same to him. What a mess. What was happening to her? Her fingers fumbled with the engine key.
Home. I just want to go home.

Seth pulled away in the opposite direction. For once, she wished the cruiser that used to shadow her was still her companion. Paul had disappeared with Travis’ arrest and gone to work another assignment.

The patrol drove past her house on the half hour. She wasn’t completely alone, she reminded herself as she steered toward High Street.

At home, the silence was deafening. She sat listening to the sound of her own breathing.

Negative thoughts filled her mind. Lucy remained nonresponsive.  Kara dead. Lisa gone. They were no closer to finding her than when she first vanished. If only Lisa appeared like Travis

If only Noah would call her. She couldn’t blot him out in the quiet of her living room. She remembered him sitting next to her on the sofa. His warmth and reassuring voice helped her through the worst moments.

She remembered their last morning together, his kisses, and his touch. She replayed every microsecond they’d shared and ended with his cold expression when they met at the station. He wanted nothing to do with her.