No One Left to Tell (54 page)

‘
Bastard
.’ A sob rose in his throat, furious and desperate. ‘You fucking
bastard
.’

‘Oh, Silas, surely you don’t think . . . I had to grab her, to get her out of that hotel room you had her hiding in. I haven’t touched her
that
way. For shame.’

Silas drew a strangled breath. ‘What do you want?’

‘Much better. I want Smith and the PI dead. Then I want you, unarmed.’

‘You’ll trade? Me for my family? For Rose and Violet?’

‘Sure. Well, for Violet anyway.’

His heart stopped. Just . . . stopped. ‘Rose?’ he whispered.

‘She fought hard. Did you proud. Good cop’s wife.’

Silas couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t breathe.
Rose
. ‘You’re lying.’ He had to be lying.

‘Check your other cell. I just sent you a text.’

Silas did and bile rose to choke him. It was a picture. Rose, crumpled on the floor, her head covered in blood. Rage geysered, blinding him. ‘I’ll kill you, you sonofabitch.’

‘Silas,’ his boss cautioned in a friendly way. ‘Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Or so the saying goes. I want Smith and Holden dead. I want it done quickly, before they cause any more difficulty. I want it done today.’

‘And if it takes longer?’

‘You have until midnight. After that . . . You’ll need a small coffin.’

Panic filled him. Seized him by the throat. ‘How did you find them?’

‘You let Violet take her doll. I’d been in her room. It was a simple matter to place a tracker in the doll’s body.’

‘I see.’ He closed his eyes. ‘Just don’t hurt her. Please.’

‘I like it when you say please. I like it better when you obey me. So, Silas, obey.’

The connection was broken and Silas sat staring at his phone.

I killed her. I killed Rose
. He’d never raised his hand to his wife, but he’d killed her just the same.
My baby. That bastard has my baby
.

He covered his face with his hands, his decision made.
I’m sorry, Grayson. I don’t have any other choices
. He’d never killed a friend before. Today would be the first.

Thursday, April 7, 11.45
A.M
.

Grayson and Paige found Joseph on the porch of the townhouse, scowling at Peabody through the door’s side window. Peabody was staring, his teeth slightly bared.

It made Paige laugh. Joseph was not amused.

‘Your dog is a beast,’ he said.

‘My dog is a sweetie,’ she said. ‘He just doesn’t like you.’

Joseph’s eyes narrowed. ‘He would if you told him to.’

She shrugged. ‘I’ll tell him to when I’m sure that
I
like you.’

Grayson was pretty sure she already did, but that she enjoyed needling Joseph. With three sisters, Joseph was more than used to being needled. Down deep, he even liked it. Down deep, Joseph liked Paige, he could tell. With any other man than his brother, Grayson might be jealous.

‘One of these days you might wish you’d been nicer to me,’ Joseph growled.

Paige rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t you have, like, a job?’

‘I do,
like
, have a job. One I should be doing right now, except Romeo over there wants his Juliet to keep breathing.’

‘Play nice, you two,’ Grayson said mildly. Joseph had a very important job, but was so rattled by the bomb that he’d taken personal leave, a fact shared privately by his mother that morning.
Paige has her protection dog and I have mine
.

It moved him.
I’m a lucky man
.

Grayson unlocked the door and let them in, scratching Peabody behind the ears. ‘Paige, he’s brought you a present. The least you can do is tell Peabody to be friends.’

Joseph held out a paper bag. Paige peeked inside, then pulled out the Kevlar vest, hooking it over her pinky. ‘What every girl is wearing this year.’

‘What every girl who wants to stay alive is wearing this year,’ Joseph corrected. ‘I borrowed it from a colleague. Try not to get anything on it. You know, like blood.’

Paige sobered. ‘Thank you. And I didn’t tell Peabody not to trust you. He gets used to most people quickly, but there’s something about your scent that scares him.’

Joseph looked taken aback. ‘I scare him? Why? I like dogs. Dogs usually like me.’

‘More like he’s scared for me.’ She lifted her brows. ‘All that raw danger, y’know.’

‘The tape-will-self-destruct-Jim thing,’ Joseph said with a smirk. ‘I get that a lot.’

Paige glared at Grayson. ‘You told him what I said.’

Grayson shrugged. ‘He’s family. Go,’ he said gently. ‘Try it on. Please.’

She huffed her displeasure, but went upstairs, the vest in her hand. Grayson watched her, his eyes drawn to her ass. He looked back at Joseph, only to find his brother watching her too. Grayson cleared his throat.

Joseph just grinned. ‘Hey, she came downstairs this morning buck naked under your robe and I didn’t even sneak a peek. I think I can be trusted.’

‘I know you can. It’s just all that raw danger.’

Joseph snickered. ‘I know, I know. Drives the women crazy.’ His head came up, his gaze snapping to the window beside the door. For a long moment he stared, saying nothing. Then he let out a quiet breath. ‘Grayson, there is a woman coming up your walk with a lime-green suit, four-inch heels to match, and legs up to her shoulders.’

Grayson knew only one woman who dared to wear lime-green suits.

‘Daphne?’ Grayson opened the door. She was carrying a dry-cleaning bag with a suit in one hand, and a towel-covered basket in the other. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Deliverin’ your dry cleanin’, darlin’,’ she said with a drawl. She took one look at Joseph and stopped. ‘Well, well, well. I didn’t expect you’d have company.’

She was eyeing Joseph with interest, a reaction Grayson had become accustomed to since he and Joseph were in the fifth grade. It was always Joseph who the ladies preferred.
Except for Paige. Who prefers me
. The thought warmed him.

‘I didn’t expect you either.’ Grayson shut the door. ‘Joseph, my assistant, Daphne Montgomery. Daphne, my brother Joseph Carter.’

Daphne studied Joseph through the skinny glasses at the end of her nose. ‘I’d
definitely
shake your hand, honey, but mine are a little full.’ She held the dry-cleaning bag out to Grayson. ‘If you don’t mind.’

Grayson took his suit and hung it in the closet and she shook Joseph’s hand.

‘It’s very nice to meet you, Mr Carter.’ She pushed the basket into Joseph’s hands. ‘Poppyseed muffins. Made ’em myself. Grayson’s favorite, but there’s enough for everyone. Would you mind taking them into the kitchen?’

Joseph did, pausing to glance over his shoulder, his gaze sliding down to check out Daphne’s legs once more before heading into the kitchen. It had been Grayson’s first reaction as well, the first time Daphne had worn one of her short skirts. It was rumored that she’d been a Vegas showgirl, but if that was true it wasn’t in her work history.

She kept a more suitable outfit at her desk for the days she was in court, so Grayson had no cause to complain about her lime-green suits. He’d finally gotten used to her neon wardrobe, but it hadn’t been easy.

‘Your brother doesn’t say much,’ Daphne commented when they were alone.

Grayson found himself laughing. ‘I have to say I’ve missed you.’

‘Course you have, sugar,’ she said wryly. ‘I keep you just brimmin’ with cheer.’

He grew sober. ‘You didn’t really come to bring my dry cleaning. What’s wrong?’

‘Stevie said she was meeting you here, so I hoped I’d catch you. You’re such a mobile guy these days.’ She pulled a small envelope from her handbag. ‘You got a delivery. In person. From one Mal the cable guy.’

Grayson’s eyes widened. ‘Brittany’s boyfriend? What’s in it?’

‘I do not have X-ray eyes, Grayson,’ she snapped. ‘Open it yourself.’

Grayson looked up to see Joseph leaning against the kitchen doorframe, half a muffin in his hand, the other half in his mouth. Watching with keen interest.

Grayson tore off the side of the envelope and out slid a small key. ‘Safe-deposit-box key,’ he said. ‘No note. What did Mal the cable guy say, exactly?’

‘Not much. Brittany called him, told him where to find the key and asked him to bring it to you. Not to mail it, but to be certain someone in our office signed for it.’

‘Did you sign?’ Joseph asked and she nodded.

‘I did. Mal didn’t look terribly happy about the whole thing. He hadn’t slept. I asked him where Brittany had gone. He said he’d driven around all night looking for her.’

‘She’s gone into hiding,’ Grayson said. ‘What time did Mal say she called?’

‘After your car went kablooey. I’d be scared, too. Her with a kid and all.’

‘It fits,’ Paige announced, her footsteps creaking on the stairs above. ‘But severely limits my wardrobe choices.’ She appeared, her hand across the V collar of her shirt where the vest showed. Her eyes widened. ‘You’ve
got
to be Daphne,’ she said, coming down, her hand extended. ‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Paige.’

Daphne shook Paige’s hand hard. ‘It’s good to meet the woman who finally got Mr Tight-ass to take a vacation. Can’t say I’m partial to the method, but I like the results.’

Paige laughed, then threw a glance over her shoulder at Joseph. ‘Her, I like.’

Someone knocked on the front door and Daphne twisted to look through the side window. ‘Oh. Stevie’s here.’

‘She came for Crystal’s bank books and the medallion,’ Grayson said.

Daphne opened the door. ‘Come on in, honey. You look like shit.’

‘Thank you,’ Stevie said. ‘I love you, too.’

Daphne shrugged. ‘I call ’em like I see ’em.’

Spying Paige, Stevie held out a zippered bag. ‘Makeup from my sister Izzy.’

Paige held the bag as if it were a treasure. ‘Thank you. I’ve felt undressed all day.’

Joseph cleared his throat and Grayson glared at him before turning to Stevie. ‘No success finding Silas, I take it,’ he said and she shook her head, eyes dull with worry.

‘We’ve put out a BOLO. Armed, approach with caution. Just like any other killer. Rose isn’t answering her phone, either. Please give me some good news.’

Grayson and Paige exchanged a look. ‘We don’t have any either,’ Grayson said.

‘Just the opposite,’ Paige added with a sigh.

‘Let’s have it,’ Stevie said. She sat at the dining-room table wearily. ‘I’m ready.’

Grayson, Paige, and Daphne joined her. Joseph stayed in the kitchen doorway, listening while they related the visit to Reba’s office, the discovery of the MAC program, and the librarian who’d confirmed that Crystal had indeed been one of the children invited to the estate in 1998.

‘Something happened to her there,’ Paige said. ‘Something that made her come back eight years later planning to make big money. It’s hard not to imagine the worst.’

‘That’s disgusting,’ Daphne said. ‘And damn tragic.’

‘But it happens,’ Stevie said heavily. ‘All too often.’

‘I want to get inside the MAC charity records,’ Grayson said. ‘Without a live complainant, the only hope is if someone else was also a victim and will come forward.’

‘You’re making an assumption that Crystal was molested,’ Joseph said quietly. ‘What if that’s not true?’

‘We still have to find who murdered her,’ Grayson said. ‘For now, the best suspect is Rex, but I couldn’t even get a grand jury convened on what we have. After this much time, I don’t expect any physical evidence to remain. I need a witness who wasn’t high or drunk that night, and who saw Rex emerge from the gardener’s shed with bloody pruning shears and I don’t think that’s going to happen.’

Joseph pointed at the key. ‘The sister knows something. Brittany.’

‘We’ve got a BOLO on her too, and her kid,’ Stevie said. ‘If she’s using her own car, she’s kept to back roads. Hasn’t gone through a single toll station.’

‘She hasn’t used any of her credit cards,’ Paige said, and everyone stared at her. ‘What? It’s not hard to look. My phone alarms if one of her cards gets swiped.’

‘She’s gone under,’ Daphne said. ‘Probably terrified she’ll get blown up. Too bad we don’t know which bank she has her safe-deposit box at.’

‘Maybe we do.’ Grayson went to his safe and got out the envelope Brittany had given them the day before. ‘Crystal had an account in Brittany’s name and Brittany kept it active until about six months ago. Maybe her box is there too.’

‘We’ll need a court order to get into it,’ Stevie said. She looked at Daphne.

‘Write it up, sugar. I’ll get a judge to sign it.’

‘We need a court order for Brittany’s bank account, too,’ Grayson remembered. ‘I meant to ask for it last night, but things got a little busy.’

‘Can I see that key?’ Paige said, then held it up to the light when Grayson handed it to her. ‘Remember the little kinks in the medallion’s ribbon? I bet they’ll match the teeth in this key. Brittany had the key with the medallion. She purposely held it back.’

‘What is that girl up to?’ Stevie wondered.

‘That’s why we need to get inside the charity,’ Grayson said. ‘Brittany was full of shit, but she gave us the medallion for a reason.’

‘I can go to Reba’s office,’ Daphne said quietly. ‘I can be Paige’s sponsor.’

All eyes turned to her and for a moment there was an uncomfortable silence. Grayson wasn’t sure what to say. ‘Daphne, I, um, appreciate it, but you’re . . . memorable. If anyone’s ever seen you in court, your cover will be blown in a heartbeat.’

Daphne’s lips curved. ‘Memorable. I like that.’ She picked up her enormous neon orange handbag from the floor. ‘I’ll see you later. No, don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.’

Grayson winced when the door closed. ‘I hurt her feelings.’

Paige smacked his arm. ‘Y’think? Geeze.’

‘But she
is
memorable,’ Grayson said, then rubbed his arm. ‘Ow.’

‘No woman likes to be called “memorable” in that way,’ Joseph said, rebuke in his voice. ‘Especially a woman like that.’

Stevie gave Grayson a pitying look. ‘You’re going to have to fix that and don’t ask me how. You’re on your own.’