Lost & Found Love (28 page)

If Peterson answered, he simply said that the senator and his family were not available. If by chance Stoner got one of the calls, he usually hung up with a terse “go to hell” until he caught Tabby frowning at him and decided he should simply let Peterson continue to screen calls. Stoner knew from experience that the interest would die down pretty quickly. That suited the hell out of him. He wanted Tabby left alone so she could recover.

He had discussions with both Joe and Sam about the publicity. Sam had located a driver’s license photo of Tabby’s stepfather and distributed copies to his deputies. Joe and Stoner had taken a good look at it too. As plans moved ahead for the art showing, both men decided some caution was warranted.

In addition to Tabby’s story making it to traditional media, Stoner found it plastered on the Internet. He read the article and saw the mention of his other children. Erin’s name jumped out at him. Stoner rubbed the ache in his chest. When Catherine couldn’t reach Erin by phone, she had sent her e-mail about Tabby and the upcoming art exhibition, but she’d heard nothing in return. The last thing any of them wanted was for Erin to find out about Tabby by reading it in a news story. Stoner hated the disappointment that rose in him when he thought of Erin.

If she showed up at all, it would surprise him. Erin and surprise usually weren’t two words anyone wanted in the same sentence.

* * * *

Evan’s cell phone chimed just as he returned to his office in the courthouse after grabbing a sandwich at Mercer’s on Tuesday. As soon as he saw the caller’s identity, he swiped his thumb across the screen.

“Hey, Jake! What’s up, man?”

“Took a call about an hour ago from Dennis Underwood. Any chance you can come out to Mike and Missy Matthews’s house?’

Evan’s heart sank. Shit, if anything had happened to that little girl Tabby was so worried about, she would be crushed. He was already turning away from his office door with its gold stenciled “Commonwealth’s Attorney” lettering.

“What’s going on, Jake?”

“They’re dead. Melodie’s MIA.”

“I’m on my way.”

He made it in record time. Now, Evan stood beside Jake outside The Matthews’s house. Jake was tapping his cap against his thigh, always a sign something was bothering him. Well, something was bothering Evan too—the knowledge that Tabby had not overreacted and everyone else had underreacted.

Jake cleared his throat. “Mike and Missy Matthews are both in there. You might want to take a look, see if you need to gather additional evidence, but it seems pretty clear cut, Ev, as a murder-suicide. There are signs a pretty violent struggle took place. Mike’s dead in the kitchen from multiple stab wounds. Kitchen shears appear to be the weapon. They’re lying nearby. Plenty of blood. Missy’s in the master bath downstairs with slit wrists, knife on the floor next to her. So far, we haven’t found Melodie.”

Evan stared at the big home and shook his head. “You think she’s dead?”

Jake grimaced. “I don’t know. We found traces of blood behind the couch in the den that don’t fit any of the spatter patterns for Mike or Missy, and there’s blood upstairs in the little girl’s room, but not enough to be consistent with a fatal injury. There were also hair samples—more than normal hair loss, like it was pulled.” Jake blew out a breath and resumed tapping his cap against his thigh. “My men have searched the house, and we can’t find her anywhere. We’ve tried calling her name. I even brought her teacher over.”

“
Yes
.” Evan slapped Jake on the back. “That’s it. You just brought the
wrong
teacher, Jake.” He pulled his cell phone out and called Jenny. “Hey, honey. What are the chances I could bring Tabby over here to the Matthews’s house?”

“She’s not up to a whole lot of moving around yet, Evan. How much of an emergency is this?”

Evan hesitated telling her. Jenny had known Missy. They’d gone to high school together. In the end, though, there wasn’t much choice. He needed her permission to bring Tabby over.

“Mike and Missy are both dead. Melodie’s missing.”

“Oh no! Tabby was right about everything. But, Evan, she’s still so fragile.”

“I’ll help Tabby, and I’ll only keep her here five minutes, I promise. Jen, you know she’s got a connection to this little girl. It looks like a murder-suicide, but we can’t find the little girl anywhere. If Tabby—”

“You think Melodie will come out of hiding if she knows Tabby’s looking for her?” Jenny sighed heavily. “Five minutes, Evan. You have to promise.”

“I swear to you, five minutes only, then I’ll personally take her back to Dad’s. I love you.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket.

“Call Sam. Have him bring Tabby here. We’ll have five minutes. I’ll call Joe. I want him here with Tabby.” When they finished their calls, Evan looked at Jake. “Let me take a look. It might not need additional investigation for Mike and Missy, but until we find the girl, we have to keep looking for evidence.”

Evan had seen some grisly sights, but this was one of the worst. Added to it was the fact the coroner put the time of death more than forty-eight hours ago. He braced for what they’d find inside, his stomach tight. Before they entered, Jake handed Evan a mask, gloves, and booties. Evan put on the booties and the gloves, but shoved the mask into his pocket. The things always made him feel smothered. He took his handkerchief out instead and held it over his nose. They looked at Mike’s body first.

“From the way items were broken,” Jake explained, “it looks to me like he dragged Missy through the house in here, maybe to use the phone. His cell phone’s still in the car in the garage.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t dragging the girl?”

“Possible but not logical. He could have carried her. Anyway, it looks like once they got in here, Missy somehow got hold of the kitchen scissors and went to work on him. We’ve already lifted prints from the shears consistent with the size of her hand and bagged the scissors for evidence. They’ll print Mike and Missy at the morgue so we can match it up. From the blood on both sides of the back doorknob and on the deck railing, I believe Missy came outside after she killed Mike.”

They stepped out onto the deck, into the fresh air, and Evan took the handkerchief away from his face to breathe deeply.

“You think she was looking for the girl?”

“I want to believe that,” Jake said. “There are bloody prints throughout the house. If it’s Mike’s blood, that would fit a scenario of Melodie still being alive after Mike’s death.”

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus, Jake. How could a woman do that to her husband?”

“I think the theory you were looking into is probably correct. It goes back to the baby she lost last year. I—I keep thinking what it would have been like, you know? What if when Holly went into labor we had delivered Noelle, and she had been dead? Can you even imagine?”

Evan shuddered. “No way. It would be tough enough as a father, but to be the one to carry the baby for nine months, feel it alive and moving inside of you, then…nothing?” Evan shook his head. “It ripped me up finding out what Jenny had to go through with that miscarriage. I was scared shitless when she delivered Peter.”

One of the sheriff’s detectives, who had come to assist in the investigation, poked his head around the corner. “I’ve got what looks like the girl’s church clothes from Sunday, and sir, your sister just pulled up with Sam.”

* * * *

Tabby sat in the cruiser. She wasn’t ready for this. She was still trying to absorb the news that Melodie’s parents were dead. Fear churned heavily in her stomach that Melodie couldn’t possibly have survived.

Evan opened the door and squatted next to her.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Evan. I know she trusted me to help her, but if she’s alive, she must be so traumatized.”

“Just try, honey, that’s all we ask. She needs our help. Her mama and daddy are dead. They’ve spotted blood in Melodie’s room we think belongs to her, but we can’t find her, Tabby.”

Tabby closed her eyes, clutching Evan’s hand for a minute.
Please God,
she thought,
help me find this little girl. Let me help her like she trusted I would.

“Help me up.”

“Tabby,” he warned. “You have to take it easy.”

Her gaze lifted beyond him to where Joseph stood, outlined against the trees and the afternoon sunlight that filtered through them. He looked tall and golden. Even from this distance, his innate peacefulness flowed over her, soothed her. “Joseph,” she called. “Help me. Take me inside. I want to go to her room.”

“Tabby,” Jake said. “You need to be prepared. Mike and Missy Matthews have been in there dead for two days. Melodie’s room is upstairs….”

Tabby looked at all three men. “One of you can either carry me or I’ll crawl, but I will get there. That’s what you brought me here to do, and I promised her I’d help her.”

Her voice rose, and two of the investigators looked around. Joseph stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’ll help.”

It was slow going. By the time they stood at the base of the staircase, Tabby stared at Joe, feeling a little light-headed. “I can’t do it, Joseph. I can’t get up those stairs, but I feel sure it’s where she would try to hide. Some place where she felt safe, and some place far away from what happened down here.”

He smiled. “If you can’t do it on your own, then I’ll carry you. Put your good arm around my neck. I’ll try not to jostle your other shoulder. We’ll do this together, Tabby. You’ll help Melodie. You’ll find her.”

Tabby gazed into his warm blue eyes and knew he was right. His confidence bolstered hers. Jake led the way into Melodie’s room with Evan bringing up the rear. As Joseph set Tabby on her feet, he kept his arm around her waist to support her. She saw the blood-spattered paper, and her heart missed a beat.

Tabby closed her eyes and leaned heavily against Joe. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but could the rest of you go downstairs for a few minutes.”

Joe squeezed her hand. Evan nodded to the other men standing in the doorway. Tabby waited until she heard the last one finish going down the steps.

Tabby sat on the edge of Melodie’s bed, looking around the room. The walls were painted a pale pink, the windows trimmed in white with lacy curtains that gave everything outside a kind of fairytale quality. A lot of pain could be hidden in even the best of surroundings. Tabby struggled to her feet, limping to the table and the paper lying there. Angels. Melodie loved to draw them, and in this picture they seemed to be hovering over someone… Tabby’s eyes filled. It looked like her. Melodie had been drawing her.

Tabby sucked in a shaky breath.

“Where are you, baby?” Tabby said softly. She stared around the room again, thinking back to her own childhood. Melodie’s room had a ceiling like Tabby’s childhood bedroom in the attic they had converted. Tabby chewed her lip. Her room had contained a crawlspace at the back of her closet. What were the odds….?

After limping slowly to the double doors, Tabby opened them and flipped the switch that turned on the light.

“Melodie,” she said in a louder voice. “It’s Miss MacVie. Everyone’s worried about you. I’m worried about you.”

Nothing stirred.

“Oh, sweetie, I know you’re scared. I know your mama hurt you, but she can’t hurt you anymore.” Tabby paused, clearing her throat to ease the tightness of the tears clogging it. “I’m here to help you, but I can’t stay long. I can see from your drawing that you know about my accident. I’m still hurt, and I bet you are too.”

“Please come out now, honey. It’s safe. It’s just me. No one else is here until you tell me it’s okay, but I need you to come out for me.”

Tabby leaned against the door, supporting some of her weight as she waited. She thought she heard a slight noise, but wasn’t sure. The seconds ticked by with incredible slowness.

After an eternity, what appeared to be simply a stack of storage boxes moved. One box at the base pushed outward to reveal a hole only large enough for a child. Slowly, a little girl with tangled black hair and blood still on her face crawled out. She crept cautiously forward, clutching her teddy bear and a blanket in one hand. Her other arm she tucked close to her. It was bruised and discolored between the elbow and shoulder. Blood stained her shirt and her face was bruised as well. She didn’t say a word, but as she looked at Tabby absolute trust shone from her eyes.

“Oh, honey,” Tabby said, and her voice broke. “I’m too hurt to come to you.”

Melodie stumbled over to her and carefully leaned her bruised head against Tabby’s uninjured side. “I knew you would come,” she whispered. “You said you would help, and you came.”

Tears choked Tabby stroked Melodie’s tangled hair. “Everything will be all right, but we need to get you out of here. I can’t pick you up, honey, because I’m hurt, too. Is it okay if I ask Joseph, Mr. Evan, and Chief Jake to come up here?”

Melodie trembled but slowly nodded. Tabby gently caressed the little girl’s tangled hair as she called down the stairs. Melodie examined the three men who soon surrounded them, but her eyes came back to Joseph. She held her hand with the teddy bear and blanket out to him.

“You can carry me,” she said. Joseph blinked and swallowed, then bent down to lift her carefully in his arms. She leaned her head against him trustingly. Her blue eyes gazed steadily into his. “You’re the man who sings. Will you sing to me too?”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice a husky rumble. “Anytime.”

Tabby bit her lip as the tears flowed. When she started to sway, Evan caught her and lifted her into his arms. “I’ve got you. Let’s get you two back downstairs. Jen will have my head.”

Jake put his arm on Evan’s shoulder as they left the house and said quietly, “The girl has to be examined, Evan, but I’m afraid the hospital will traumatize her even more. Can you get Jenny to look at her at your house? I’ll contact social services and see what we can do about placing her somewhere temporarily.”

“Could she come home with me to Daddy’s?” Tabby asked.

Jake seemed surprised. “I don’t know. Evan?”

“I’ll talk to the judge, Tabby, while Jenny’s making sure Melodie doesn’t have any serious injuries. Right now, we need to get her away from here so we can move the bodies.”