Gone Before Goodbye (Love &Mystery in the--6-oh-3 Book 1) (7 page)

“Oh, I don’t know if the detective was going to shoot him for real, but who cares when he’s so hot looking? Besides, it was almost two years ago. Of course, only a therapist would understand what sets him off now, and he does carry a gun.”

Was it possible Noah had grown into a violent person? No, he wouldn’t have kept his job. Hawick Falls didn’t employ vigilantes. Why was she listening to Stacey? Teagan unlocked her door, but Stacey’s gossip left her with an uneasy feeling. If only the girl would leave. “Please, go eat your pizza. I’m going home.”

“I want to help. You’re under a lot of stress. I’ll call Father Matt. You’re alone in that empty house. I’m sure he’d hang with you for a while.”

Teagan tightened her hand on the door handle. “Stacey, don’t bother Father Matt. I need quiet.”

“He seems to like when you bother him.” Her blonde brows came together as though she were puzzling over the fact.

Was she hinting at something? “He’s a person whose work is to aid people who can’t help themselves.” Teagan tossed her purse on the passenger seat. “I’m not one of them since I’m capable of driving.”

“Really, Father Matt won’t mind going to your house if you’re ill. He’d like to be with you when you receive the terrible news. His job is to counsel and support the weak.”

“I don’t need company, and Lisa is coming home.” Teagan slid into the driver’s side and slammed the door, which proved to be a mistake. Her temple throbbed more.

Stacey jerked back, a scowl on her face. “You almost took off my head.”

At the moment, Teagan wished she could take off her own. She motioned Stacey out of the way and merged onto the street.

While she drove, questions rotated through her thoughts. Why would Lisa throw away her cell? If she’d lost it and someone found it, why not return or keep the phone? Teagan didn’t like the answer. Something terrible had happened to Lisa.

The lump in her throat grew. Tears blurred her vision when she turned into her driveway.

A cruiser pulled in behind her. The young officer who’d stopped her when she crossed the yellow line climbed out and approached.

Teagan wiped her eyes. “Are you here about Lisa?”

“No, ma’am. Detective Cassidy sent me to see that you arrived safely when I informed him you’d left. I’m to check your residence before I leave.”

She nodded and the policeman walked her to the front door and insisted she wait for his all clear before she entered. The seconds ticked into minutes, but at last, he announced no one was inside and bid her good day. 

Alone in the hall, she leaned against the door, exhausted. “Lisa, wherever you are, stay alive and come home.”

Jogger’s meow answered her.

Teagan swept her up. “Jogger, we’ve people to call today. Someone must have seen Lisa.”

Detective Cassidy sent one of his men to check on her safety. A small thrill rippled through her. She shook her head. He was an officer of the law. Stacey’s warning that he had a bad tempter floated in her mind.

What had he done to earn a notorious reputation and was Stacey’s version of the story even true? 

How long had she been shut up in the dark? Hours, Lisa guessed. Her throat was raw. She doubted a whisper would come out after screaming and blubbering forever for help. Water. Just a drop. She imagined the cool wetness sliding past her cracked lips.

Concentrate. Get yourself out of here.

With effort, her numb big toe bent. Somewhere, she’d lost her flip flops and her blouse and shorts—all her clothes. Even her bracelet was gone. 

The tingling in her body signaled she could move. Lisa wriggled around in the damp coldness until her feet hit a wall.

Was she in a locked coffin? Please, no. Tears spilled down her face and into her mouth. “Please, God, get me out of here.”

Maybe if she pressed her shoulders against the top, the lid would crack open. There had to be a way to escape.

A slamming noise broke through her thoughts. What was that? A door in the earth? She slowed her breathing and listened while a slice of hope cut through her.

Mutters traveled through wherever she was confined. Someone was speaking, but Lisa didn’t understand a word. Was it a man or woman?

The voice fell silent. She should yell. But what if it was the monster who’d put her in this hellhole? What—

Sobs mixed with mumbles interrupted the questions spiraling in her head. It sounded like a child crying for her mother.

“No, no. Don’t. I want my mommy. Mommy.” The child’s pleas turned into screams.

An icy chill raced through Lisa.

The shrieks continued. Lisa gritted her teeth while terror rode up her spine. God, help me. Help the girl. Get her and me out of here before I start whining for my mommy. I’ll do everything I should. I promise. I’ll never leave my room. Please, God. I won’t argue with Teagan again. I’ll do whatever she or my teachers ask me. Lisa shivered and prayed until a deadly silence fell.

Suddenly, the wall near her feet swung open. It was a door. She blinked in pain as a beam of light hit her eyes. Squinting, she croaked, “Don’t hurt me.”

Two hours later, Noah jumped into his car and drove away from Muffy’s. He called his partner at All Saint’s High School, where he was finishing interviews with Lisa’s teachers. With luck, the Latin teacher would already be on his partner’s interview list and offer them a lead.

“Hey, it’s my long lost sidekick.” Denny Hines’ voice came in loud and clear over the phone. “I missed your ugly face,” Hines said.

“Yeah, it makes yours look good.” Noah could always count on Hines’s support even when Noah was wrong. The man was like a brother, on or off the force.

“How ya doing, Noah?”

“Afraid I need to go back to therapy?”

“Doesn’t hurt to talk to someone.” Hines’ tone changed from light to serious.

“Done that. More than once. The first time, I was in grammar school. I had to visit the guidance counselor when I got into too many fights at school. She told me to use my words not my fists. I smartened up. Now I use handcuffs.”

“Well, you picked the right job.”

“Damn straight. Are you up to speed on the search at Muffy’s?”

“The whole East Coast knows about Muffy’s. The teachers are stopping by to ask me what’s happening.”

“You seem to have survived.”

“Chief told me to sit tight. Said he’d call again if you found anything besides the phone. I take it I’m continuing my interviews since I haven’t heard from him.”

“The chief’s finishing up at the Mart, and nothing but Lisa’s cell showed up behind the dumpster. At the moment, I’ve a few questions for Lisa’s Latin teacher. Did you talk to him, yet?”

“Must be your lucky day, Detective Cassidy. I’m about to meet the man in ten minutes, though I don’t expect to learn any new details. All Lisa’s teachers described verbal run-ins with her in their classes. Come on down to the principal’s office and join the fun.”

Hines’ sunny disposition shone through. When he’d worked patrol, the neighborhood nicknamed him Officer Friendly. His easygoing nature, boyish red-hair and freckles made him an approachable favorite.

“I thought I was done being called to the office. I’ll be there in five.” Noah drove through the blocks of single and two story residences separated by trees for privacy. The neighborhood closest to the school contained newer homes. A few of the houses sported metal roofs in different colors, ready for the harsh northern New Hampshire winter. Miniature American flags decked out the green lawns and blooming flowerbeds. The Fourth of July parade used All Saints for the gathering and starting points, and the residents had decorated for the holiday.

A flock of turkeys emerged from the woods on the corner. Noah stopped to allow them to trot by. While waiting, his thoughts cycled back to Teagan. She seemed to have a stubborn streak, but he suspected her doggedness had gotten her through tough spots in the past. The blush that pinked her cheeks when she was mad or flustered, he’d found eye-catching. Never mind the curves she couldn’t hide in her simple summer clothes. A spike of heat caught him in the gut as the roar of a biker’s muffler broke into his thoughts.

On the road, the turkeys had made it to the other side and loitered near the woods. He hit the pedal and the sprawling All Saints High School came into view. In the lot, he cut the engine.

A Seth’s Landscaping sign with contact info was tacked to a telephone pole by his parking spot. In another month, he’d change his ad to Seth’s Cordwood. The address told Noah this Seth was Travis’s uncle. He seemed to vary his profession to match the season.

The chirp of birds filled the air as Noah walked up the front sidewalk to the entrance. Inside, the odor of floor wax and the middle-aged receptionist wearing bright pink glasses welcomed him. After he flashed his ID, she directed him to the first office around the corner.

Noah entered through a glass door, and Denny Hines jumped up from behind a wooden desk and greeted him with, “About time, Cassidy.”

“I’m just in time if you’ve taken over the principal’s chair.” Noah took in the bookcases, computer, phone, couch, and file cabinet. A large analog clock on the opposite wall faced the desktop. Noah pointed at the glass divider separating them from the hallway. “Not too private.”

“I guess they want to show the administration is accessible.”

“It’s more like the fishbowl approach to education.” Noah sat on the blue couch against the transparent partition and stretched his long legs in front of him.

Hines reclined in the office chair and put his hands together behind his head. “I’m getting a vibe sitting in this seat. It’s kind of a power trip.”

“Don’t travel too far on your journey. Teagan Raynes received a death threat through the mail today. It was written in Latin on a holy card.”

Hines let out a whistle and dropped his arms. “Ah, that explains your meeting with the Latin teacher. His name is Jake Clark. And a warning on a holy card is strange.”

“Did you learn that last idea at the police academy or church?”

“Academy Lesson 101. You must have been absent that day. I interviewed Jake Clark’s ex, Lucy Watson, by phone if you’re interested in her. Miss Watson is a friend of Teagan Raynes, knew Lisa, and was often in their home.”

“Hit me with the rest.”

Hines flipped through his notes, putting his finger under a line in his notebook. “At first, Lucy Watson thought Jake was a generous caring man. When she figured out the caring was only for himself, she broke up with him. But she doesn’t see him as a kidnapper.” Hines scanned down the page and read aloud. “Jake never displayed violent behavior and showed more interest in his books and plays than in young girls.” Hines glanced up. “Lisa rarely interacted with Jake when they visited.”

“I’ve heard the same, ‘he didn’t do it’, from the wives and girlfriends of guys who were cheating with underage females,” Noah said. “No leads from Miss Watson, at least at this time.”

“I learned one more interesting thing about him,” Hines said. “Jake got his job at All Saints based on the recommendation of Father Matthew Hastings or Father Matt as everyone calls him.”

“Are Jake and Father Matt good friends?”

“Like Toad and Frog. How’s Miss Raynes doing?” Hines plunked his pad on the desk. “She acted shell-shocked when I spoke with her.”

“Today, she was functioning. She reminded me we both went to Camp Mighty Joe.” Teagan’s face with her eyes darkened by pain surfaced in Noah’s thoughts.

“Camp?”

Hines’ question refocused Noah. “It’s a topic for another time. What’s a holy card for anyway?”

“The cards usually have prayers on them, not death threats. They’re popular at funerals. It sounds as if someone involved in a church would send it.”

“Kind of throws the light on Miss Raynes’ close friend, Father Matt. What’s the deal with the priest?” Noah recalled how Father Matt had given him the once over when they shook hands. Was Noah seeing more than was there?

“Father Matt’s a lifer in the clergy. Similar to other priests, he’s been assigned to different parishes, and by all accounts, all his parishioners have loved him. According to one report, he sang in parish musicals put on as fundraisers and they hit record ticket sales.”

“Instead of the singing nun, we have the singing padre. What else?”

He’s been great at organizing parish members who volunteer to search for Lisa,” Hines said as he ran through his notes. “I confirmed his alibi for the night Lisa disappeared. He was at the home of a dying parishioner from noon to the next afternoon.”

“The exact hour of her disappearance isn’t nailed down. What about his relationships…with women?”

“He was clean until reports emerged of an affair at St. Jude’s. They coincided with his name being submitted for bishop. He denied a relationship.”

“But he didn’t get the position.” Noah tapped his fingers on the desktop.

“True. I interviewed his secretary, Stacey Smith, who also worked with Lisa Grant in the church office. She doesn’t have much of an alibi for the night or morning when Lisa Grant went missing.” Hines consulted his scribbles again.

“Miss Smith went to her job, drove home, and spent a few hours on her computer before going to bed. The next day, she arrived at nine a.m. as usual.” Hines lowered his notebook. “The secretary is part of the ‘I-love-Father-Matt’ club and had the same observations about Lisa Grant as others. Lisa is smart, mouthy, and engaged in lots of fights with her boyfriend, Travis. Before she vanished, Lisa had lunch with him. She returned angry because Travis was too cheap to buy her a burger and announced they were done. She was unable to work until Father Matt calmed her down.”

“I met Stacey at Muffy’s. She doesn't seem like the church employee type.”

“Last year, she was laid off from a dental office, where she was a receptionist. The dentist retired. She’s been in the parish office for eight months.”

“Don’t tell me, she’s the woman in the Father Matt rumors?”

“Who knows if the mystery woman exists? Religion can be a political beast and members’ motives are as convoluted as in the secular world.”