Not by Sight (33 page)

Titus slid a cinnamon bun onto his plate. “Boy oh boy. These won’t last long.”

Savannah put her hand on Buck’s shoulder and lowered her voice. “You doin’ all right?”

“I’m holdin’
on
—to the One I know can bring Riley Jo home.”

“Lots of prayers are going up for her,” Savannah said.

“I know my church has our prayer chain on their knees.” Buck moved his finger around the rim of his cup. “I doubt if Virgil slept a wink last night either. He’s got his work cut out for him. I’m just grateful the authorities took a mouth swab from the girl to test her DNA before she disappeared. No one in the family doubts she’s Riley Jo, but we’ll all feel better when it’s official.”

“Are you confident with Sheriff Granger running it?” Titus cut a piece of cinnamon bun and pierced it with his fork. “Doesn’t sound to me like his people have exactly been on top of things over the years.”

Savannah kicked Titus under the table, and Buck pretended not to notice.

“I’m not worried one whit about the sheriff,” Buck said. “I’m confident that God’s in control. If we’re supposed to find Riley Jo, she’ll be found.”

Virgil yawned and turned to look out his office window. Glints of morning sun filtered through the leaves on the giant red maples that stood on the front lawn of the Raleigh County Courthouse.

On the sidewalk, a young woman pushed a stroller and held a schnauzer on a leash. Old Melvin Mayfield, clad in denim overalls and a yellow T-shirt, occupied a wrought-iron bench on the courthouse grounds, just like he did most mornings, sipping on a large coffee and reading the
New York Times.

Virgil had opted to sleep a couple hours on the couch in his office so he would be ready to go if any leads came in on Ella Tutt’s whereabouts. But no breaks had come, and his sleep had been fretful. He couldn’t quite shake the image of Micah fighting to his death, trying to protect his helpless daughter. How ironic that the skinny little neighbor kid who had idolized Virgil ended up dying a hero—murdered on Virgil’s watch.

Virgil blinked to clear the image and turned his thoughts to Kate. He didn’t want to let her down again. His deputies had worked through the night—gotten DCFS employees out of bed—but so far, none had offered his deputies anything useful. He refused to believe that Ella Tutt had vanished beyond their reach.

Virgil pulled the electric razor out of his drawer and turned it on just as he heard a knock at the door. “Come in.”

Kevin, looking a little battle worn, his eyes bloodshot, came in and stood next to Virgil’s desk.

“I’m about to make your day,” Kevin said. “The maintenance supervisor at DCFS just discovered the night cleaning supervisor bound and gagged and locked in a closet. The victim said a middle-aged Caucasian man wearing a red bandana on his face accosted her shortly after she started her shift and threatened to hurt her unless she gave him the keys to the offices and the night entrance. She complied. The EMTs checked her over, and she wasn’t harmed. We’re bringing her in for questioning now.”

“That had to be our perp,” Virgil said. “He must’ve gotten into the files and found out where Ella Tutt was and gone after her.”

Virgil, newly shaven and feeling more alert, sat with Kevin in the first interview room, across the table from Maria Diaz, the night cleaning supervisor accosted at DCFS. Introductions had been made and the woman given a bottle of water. She seemed to be at ease. Virgil decided to let Kevin take the lead.

“Ms. Diaz,” Kevin said, “we truly appreciate your coming down to talk with us about what happened. As you know, we’re in the middle of an investigation that includes a missing girl, whose whereabouts we believe were obtained by the man who accosted you.”

“Sorry,” Maria said. “I didn’t want to give him the keys. He threatened to hurt me.” Her lower lip quivered. “I have a son.”

Kevin nodded. “We understand. You did the right thing. He probably
would
have hurt you—and forced you to give him the keys anyway. But now we need you to answer some questions so we can find this man. Can you do that for us?”

“Yes. Yes,” Maria said. “Whatever I can do.”

“Start by telling us what happened. I know you talked to deputies already, but we’d like you to tell us.”

“Just after seven p.m., I got my supplies ready to clean the offices on the first floor when a big man with a bandana tied around his mouth grabbed me. He said he would hurt me real bad if I didn’t give him my keys to the building. I was scared. So I did what he said.”

“Okay, you gave him the keys.” Kevin made a notation on his pad. “Then what happened?”

“He made me show him which key opened the main offices. And which key opened the night door. Then he forced me down the hall and into a tool closet. He tied me with rope and put duct tape over my mouth. He said don’t make a sound, or he would come find me. And hurt me.” Maria began to whimper and put her face in her hands. “I was so afraid. I didn’t call for help or try to get untied—until I heard my coworkers calling for me.”

“Do you know what time that was?”

Maria nodded and looked up. “They were getting ready to leave, so I knew it was around one a.m. I screamed for them until I ran out of air, but the duct tape muffled my voice. Nobody came. After they left, I prayed until I fell asleep. I knew someone from maintenance would find me in the morning.”

“Okay, let’s talk about the man. You told detectives he was Caucasian, right?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“What color was the bandana he wore?”

“
Rojo
. I mean red.”

“Can you describe him?”

“Very big man. Tall. Big here.” Maria wrapped her fingers around her upper arm. “His eyes were dark like mine. His hair was mixed—dark brown with some gray.”

“So how old would you guess him to be?”

“Forty-five. Maybe fifty.”

“I know the bandana hid much of his face, but could you tell if he had a beard?”

“I didn’t see one.”

Kevin wrote something on his pad. “What was he wearing?”

“I was so scared I didn’t pay attention. But I
think
jeans and a blue shirt with no sleeves.”

“You’re doing great. Now, how tall was he?” Kevin stood. “Would you stand for a moment, please, Ms. Diaz?”

Maria did as he asked and stood facing him.

“I’m six feet tall,” Kevin said. “Was the man taller or shorter than me?”

“Taller. He was a giant of a man. Not fat. Just thick. I’m not sure what is the right word to describe him.”

“You’re doing fine. You can sit now. Thank you.” Kevin sat again and wrote something in his notes. “Okay, I need you to think really hard. Was there anything in particular that stood out about this man besides his size?”

“Yes, he sounded stuffed up, like he had a cold or allergies. He kept sniffing. It was disgusting.”

“That’s great information!” Kevin said. “Especially if we can apprehend him soon. Anything else?”

“His arms were hairy. And tan.”

“Keep going,” Kevin said.

“That’s all I can think of at the moment.”

Virgil cleared his throat. “Did your assailant say
why
he wanted the keys? Or did he say anything else directly to you or mumble anything under his breath?”

“He did mumble something.” Maria seemed to be collecting her thoughts. “Something about his brother
frying
? I thought he sounded crazy. Does that mean something?”

Virgil’s gaze collided with Kevin’s. “Yes, ma’am. I believe it does.”

Chapter 36

Virgil gripped the windowsill in his office, finally taking a breath after his minute-long rant that left Chief Deputy Kevin Mann red-faced and mute.

Virgil paused a few moments and then lowered his voice. “Good grief, Kevin. I thought you’d checked out Tutt’s family.”

“I … I don’t know what to say, Sheriff. I didn’t see this coming. We did check out Tutt’s family. His only relatives that live in the area are an elderly mother and one brother, Walter, who kept the twins while Otha was being questioned. I met him when he came to the scene and picked up the boys. He seemed dazed and totally shocked that his brother was being accused of kidnapping Ella. I never once suspected Walter Tutt of anything.”

“Yeah, well, he was
counting
on that.”

“Duncan and Hobbs questioned him at his home. You saw the report.”

Virgil exhaled. “Yeah, I saw it. Walter claims he hadn’t seen Isaiah for a few years and then moved back to the area two years ago to help look after their elderly mother. Said he never met Isaiah’s first wife, Ella, who died in childbirth. And that little Ella was five when he first met her.”

“I’m guessing he really believes Ella is Isaiah’s daughter.”

“Which would give him all the motivation in the world to snatch her from foster care!” Virgil brought his hands down on the windowsill and swore under his breath. “I didn’t see it either. I’m as upset with myself as anybody.”

“How do you want to handle this?” Kevin said.

“We need to move quickly. Let’s get Walter Tutt’s driver’s license photo and show it to Maria Diaz. I know he had a bandana around his face, but she might see a resemblance in his eyes and hair. Check what it shows for his height and weight, and see if it matches what she told us.” Virgil paced in front of the window. “Send Duncan and Hobbs out to Otha Tutt’s ASAP. See if she has a better photo of Walter. See if she can fill you in on the layout of his house. Ask her about his mental stability. His behaviors. Any history of violence at home. I want to know everything she knows about the guy—down to what kind of toothpaste he uses.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Kevin said. “I’ll check and see if any firearms are registered to him.”

Virgil nodded. “Good. I’ll have someone place a bogus call to his house and make sure he’s home. If he’s there, I’ll set up a covert containment around his property until we can decide on a course of action. I’ll update Chief Mitchell and ask him to help us with manpower.”

“Should I get a warrant?”

“We clearly have grounds for exigent circumstances.”

“I agree,” Kevin said, “but I would hate to lose any evidence we find to some second-guessing judge who won’t allow for any gray area in his black-and-white world.”

“Right now, our job is to ensure the safety of that little girl.”

“Can’t we do both? Sir, this is a high-profile case. I don’t think we should act in haste. There’s no reason to believe Walter intends to harm the girl as long as he doesn’t know we’re on to him.”

Virgil paused, then looked over at Kevin. “All right, start the ball rolling on a warrant in case we end up with a protracted containment. But I’m not waiting on a warrant if the situation requires we go in.”

Abby trudged down the back lawn at Angel View, passed by the cedar gazebo, and spotted Jay sitting on the bench under the sycamore tree. She waved, and he ran to meet her, his nose swollen and bruised, his face covered in cuts.

They threw their arms around each other, and Abby rested in her friend’s embrace.

“I still can’t believe Riley Jo’s missing again,” Jay said. “Any news?”

“Last I heard, a cleaning lady at DCFS was found locked in a closet. She told Sheriff Granger that some guy forced her to give him her keys. The sheriff thinks he got into the offices there and found out where Riley Jo’s foster parents live.”