She's Not There (21 page)

On a whim, Maggie stopped in Kristy’s Classics. She found Eric out in the garage, bent under the open hood of a ‘57 Chevy.

“Didn’t think you did the dirty work,“ Maggie jabbed.

Eric looked up, a clipboard in hand. “No, just recording the number from the firewall dataplate.”

“I just talked to Lisa and TJ and decided I’d stop and see you.”

“Why the personal visit, Detective?”

Maggie repeated what she’d told the others.

Eric said, “I’m not surprised. What happens if they find out that Wysecki didn’t kill Danielle?

“You’ll have to tell them everything.”

Eric grimaced.

She said, “How many of the women on your list are from Waukesha County?”

“Four, I believe, including my wife and Jamie Denison.”

“I’ve been thinking; if you get nowhere with the MPD, I’m pretty sure Waukesha County would take the case. Once it’s officially on Waukesha’s books, Milwaukee would be backed into it whether they wanted to be or not.”          

“I like your way of thinking, Detective,“ Eric said. “But we’d still want to finish what we’ve started. Couldn’t a profiler be helpful in finding a commonality between the women? Might move things along a little faster.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m not a big proponent of profiling. But if it would get you folks away from police work, go for it. You might want to talk to David. He had a case in Chicago when he was working there, and they used a local guy to run a profile for them. David liked him, said he was good.”

“Can you find out how to contact him?”

“Let me talk to David. I’ll let you know what he thinks. He knows this profiler pretty well, so if you decide to go that route, I’m sure he’d call him for you.”

“I’d appreciate that. I’ll be glad to pay his fee.”

“The others are talking about returning to their homes. I’m hoping you’ll convince then to stay with you. Maybe include Shannon.”

“I’ve been working on that. But I’m up against the holiday season and they’re a stubborn bunch.”

“Good. Do what you can. If there’s anything else I can do, let me know.”

TJ drove Janeen and the kids home from Eric’s. As she drove, she kept a close eye on any vehicles following them for more than a mile or two. TJ hadn’t told her sister all the details of what had been happening the last few weeks, only that they were trying to get evidence that someone was abducting abused women.

Janeen had her own experience with spousal abuse, one that included her sister, and ultimately resulted in TJ leaving the police force. She hadn’t been forced out. Her brother-in-law’s shooting had been ruled a clean shoot, necessary to protect the lives of Janeen and the police officer who shot him—TJ.

Try as she might to squelch them, scenes from that night still played in her mind: her sister screaming, Mario’s knife pressing into her sister’s neck, the way his body hit the wall when she’d shot him. She’d been eternally grateful that her sister had had the foresight to send the kids down the hall to a neighbor before things escalated.

TJ eased up on her rearview-mirror observations when Janeen asked, “So, what time are you meeting Richard for the big weekend?”

“Soon as he gets off; probably leave about five.”

“You don’t sound too excited about it.”

“Since when do you care about my plans with Richard?”

Janeen had never liked Richard and kept telling TJ to find a man her own age, someone she could settle down with. Have kids even, despite the fact that TJ denied wanting such mundane things.

“That Jeff guy seemed real nice. He’s the one you’ve been working with right?”

TJ should have known her sister would have picked up on her attraction to Jeff. Damn, she didn’t want to talk about it. “Yeah, he’s the one. Poor guy’s real upset about his wife going missing. Gotta feel sorry for him.” Maybe that would change the subject.

They were stopped at a light when her phone rang. Richard said, “Sorry, babe, but I’m still in Chicago. Some family things are going on and I have to stay for a couple more days. We’ll have to do our weekend another time. Tell you what. Why don’t you take your sister and the kids and go to the Dells anyway? I’ll pick up the hotel tab.”

“Not necessary.” TJ was annoyed at the last-minute cancellation but Janeen had been right; TJ hadn’t been that excited about their trip. But she suspected there was more to his call than a family thing; Richard wasn’t a family kind of guy.

He said, “Should I reschedule?”

“Sure. No problem.” Did he really think she’d bought his weak excuse? The jerk probably met someone in Chi-Town that he couldn’t resist. But she needed a weekend alone, after all. Alone, in her own place.

It had been two years since Lisa had stopped seeing her therapist, Robert Bernstein, but after what had happened with Tyler, she knew it was time—time to sort through her ongoing love affair with exciting, albeit unfulfilling, relationships.           

“Lisa. It’s been a while.”

“I know. Sorry, Robert, you probably have a lot going on, but I’d like to see you.”

“Something urgent?”

“Not really. Can you fit me in?”

“I’m not in the office today. I’m actually off for the weekend at my wife’s insistence.”

“I don’t want to take you away from your family.”

“No, no. Mother and daughters are at the mall indulging in their favorite pastime. I’m about to go for a run. Want to join me?”

They met on a hiking path in the Kettle Moraine area, a state park north of Oconomowoc. Lisa found him at the side of his car, doing deep stretches. “I maintain a very slow pace. The better to hear you speak, my dear,” he laughed. “Baby steps, you know. I’m trying to get rid of some of this gut.” He patted his middle. A tall man, Bernstein carried the extra pounds well.

“I know what you mean. I stuffed enough food in my mouth yesterday to hibernate for a month.”

They started off walking, then picked up the pace to a slow jog. There weren’t many people on the paths, a few dog walkers the only people around.

“Robert, you’re doing a great job with Jeff. He speaks highly of you.” Lisa had sent Jeff to Robert when she had to stop seeing him.

“I’m not sure I can take all the credit.”

“Being busy has helped, too, I’m sure.”

“Lisa, I know you aren’t here because of Jeff.”

“No. I’m not sure how much Jeff has told you about what we’re doing . . . it’s been intense.”

“Intense? It sounds more like life-endangering lunacy to me.”

“Something had to be done. Too many women have been victimized by this person.”

“How do you know it isn’t ‘persons?”

“We don’t, I suppose.”

“Other than the obvious, what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing in my life has changed a whole lot since we last talked—since you gave up on me.”
That’s what it had felt like.

“Gave up on you? I wouldn’t call it that, Lisa. You’d given up on yourself; there was nothing more I could do for you. Taking any more of your hard-earned dollars for therapy would have made me a charlatan.”

“I guess you’re right.” Professionally she’d known it, but it had, nevertheless, made her feel deserted.

“You know I’m right. Only a quack keeps seeing a patient who won’t make the necessary effort to get better. You’re here, so what’s changed?”

“It’s a long story, but I’m not happy with my life, my relationships.”

“Lisa, if you’re serious about working on it now, I’ll be happy to start seeing you again.”

Lisa stopped to retie a shoelace, glad for a break in the conversation.

Robert ran in place. “I’m surprised you aren’t putting therapy on hold until this investigation of yours is over.”

Lisa sighed. He knew there was more. She’d never been able to hold out on him.

They resumed their pace. “It can’t be easy for all of you, holed up together like you are.”

“You’ve guessed it, haven’t you?”

“Hey, your life is in danger, you’ve been forced to live away from the home you love, Paige is gone, and you’re trying to break away from the addiction that’s always kept you going. It’s only natural you’d want to reach out to someone when you’re in such a vulnerable place.”

“All true. But Eric Schindler can be such an exasperating man.”

“Eric Schindler?”

“You didn’t think I’d be attracted to Jeff, did you?”

Robert laughed. “Jeff is in your usual age range.”

Lisa grinned. “Guess I deserved that one.”

“So what’s happening with Eric?”

“Nothing yet, but there’s beginning to be an attraction there. For me, anyway.”

“What’s holding you back? That’s not like you.”

“Eric and I are both broken, Robert. Two jagged pieces don’t make a whole.”

“Lisa, I’ve always maintained that you are not a relationship addict. Not in the true sense.” When she started to protest, he said, “You aren’t. I know that’s how you label yourself, but you know as well as I do that not every little foible can be labeled a personality disorder. Everything in our profession is not black or white.”

He was right. But labeling it made it feel inescapable, unfixable. It allowed her to enjoy the excitement of the new and the pain when it ended; even a painful breakup made her feel alive. “Then what is the solution for my not-a-relationship addiction?”

“You know the answer to that as well as I do, Lisa. You have to break the pattern, learn to find joy in a relationship that isn’t destined to be terminal. One that’s both exciting and comfortable with someone who loves you, who’ll be there for you.”

“Right. Meanwhile I’m trapped in limbo with a man I’m both attracted to and despise.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Despise may be a little harsh. He has some good qualities.”

Robert chuckled. “So, what would be wrong with just going with the flow for now?”

“Are you suggesting I hop in bed with him?” She laughed at the thought, but it was an intriguing one.

“As your therapist I would never do such a thing. As your friend, I’m concerned about you and think connecting with another person might be good for you right now. I’m not saying it needs to be a sexual connection.”

She stopped running and broke out in laughter. “Oh, Robert, I was just going to say ‘you’re screwing with me, right?’ but the absurdity of the pun stopped me.” Lisa wiped away the tears brought on by her own joke as Robert looked on, smiling.

“Lisa, call my office and make an appointment. I think you’re ready to do some real work on your issue.”

“My man-diction?” Her play on words sent her into another fit of giggling.

In her apartment after she’d dropped off Janeen and the kids, TJ reviewed what they had so far on the missing women; there just weren’t any real commonalities among them. There were a few who had a hint of a new man in their lives, but nothing certain. They needed something concrete.

Eric hadn’t thought Kayla had been seeing anyone, but Kayla had been a party girl, so maybe anything was possible. When TJ had interviewed Kayla’s two running partners neither claimed to have known about her seeing someone. Maybe it was time for a rematch with those bitches. It was, after all, Friday night—their night to prowl the clubs. TJ wasn’t ready to let the group know she was home alone since they didn’t know she and Richard cancelled their weekend plans. She didn’t want to tell them and listen to a safety lecture, but she wasn’t feeling up for going out by herself either.

She dialed Shannon’s cell. The woman was always eager to be included. When she picked up, TJ said, “You aren’t talking to me. Get it?”

“Sure. Lisa said you were gone for the weekend.”

“My plans changed.”

“Okay. I heard you were going to the Y this morning. Did you find anything?”

“Nothin’ much. Found the woman who talked to Jamie from time to time. She remembered Jamie mentioned a new guy she‘d seen around the Y, told her he was a real hottie, but that was about it. Checked with management to see if they had a new membership right around that time, but there weren’t any new sign-ups that fit the description. So either he was already a member at some other location or passed himself off as a member.”

“Too bad we couldn’t find someone who remembers him.”

“Yeah. Don’t think there’s anything more there.”

“How about the Sombrero Club?”

“They said next week would be better. You know, folks gone for the holiday now.”

“Well, employees might be, but this might be a good weekend to find the regulars hanging out.”

Great. Now Shannon thought going out was her idea. “Wanna meet me there?”

“Uh . . . sure.”

“Park in the overflow lot across the street. I’ll meet you at ten.”

A country-rock band was playing at the Sombrero Club when TJ and Shannon walked in. The place was busy, but not as crowded as she’d expected, which was even better for their purposes. The clubs got the biggest crowd after eleven, so now would be a good time to talk to the bartenders.

Every barkeep they talked to either hadn’t been working that night or didn’t recognize the photo of Jamie Denison. TJ noticed another guy working the waitress station at the end of the bar. When she showed him the photo, he studied it for a long time.

“I think she was here that night. Yeah, I noticed her ‘cause she was just standing by herself near the end of the bar.” He grinned. “I’m partial to blondes. She wasn’t dancing or talking to anybody. She just stood there holding a glass of wine and watching the crowd.”

“Did you notice when she left?”

“No.” He reached over to fill an order for a waitress who’d slapped a drink order on the bar.

TJ was about to ask him something else, when he said, “You know I saw her talk to somebody.”

“A guy?”

“Nah, a woman. She’s a regular—name’s Kimberly. She’s out on the dance floor now. The one with the tight pants and shiny top.”

She was easy to spot. Doing a wild hip-hop, the other dancers were giving her and her partner a wide berth.

TJ stopped the woman as she came off the dance floor. Moving fast it looked like she was trying to shake off the guy she’d been dancing with.

“Excuse me, Kimberly?” TJ introduced herself. “Mind talking to me a minute?”

Leading her into the restaurant where the noise level was conducive to conversation, they took a seat in the waiting area. TJ handed her the photo of Jamie, explaining that the bartender had seen them talking the night Jamie had disappeared. 

Kimberly’s dark-brown hair, cut short on the back of her neck, tapered dramatically longer to fall into giant commas around her face as she looked down at the photo. “Yeah, I talked to her. It was probably a Friday night, but I can’t say which one. Couple months ago, maybe. Might have been that night.”

“Can you remember what you talked about?”

“She was just standing by the bar watching, not dancing or talking to anyone. Then Willie came and asked her to dance.” When TJ looked at her questioningly she said, “Oh, yeah. Willie’s here all the time. He’s a real loser—kind of a nut-job, you know? Anyway, this chick in the photo was turning down everybody that asked her to dance. When Willie kept asking her she got real pissed.”

“Did you hear what she said to him?”

“I don’t think she said anything really bad. When he finally moved on, I said something to her like ‘He does that to everyone.’ And that’s when we talked.”

“Do you remember what you talked about?’

“She said something like ‘How could a creep like that think I’d dance with him?’ I told her not to feel bad, he hits on everybody; no one dances with him unless they’re desperate. And if they do, it’s only once ‘cause he dances like he’s having some kind of seizure.”

“That’s all she said to you?”

“I don’t remember anything else. We didn’t talk much, but mostly we talked about getting rid of guys who won’t take no for an answer. And losers like Willie always hit on the hottest girls. Go figure.”

TJ asked, “He here tonight?”

“I haven’t seen him yet, and he’s always the first one here if he’s around.”

TJ figured Kimberly was done talking; her eyes kept drifting toward the bar. “Did you see her talk to anyone else?”

“Uh-uh. I didn’t see her again. After I talked to her, she left the bar, walked over into the restaurant.”

TJ found Shannon and repeated the interview with Kimberly. They went into the restaurant and asked for the manager. When a baby-faced guy wrapped in a white apron walked out to talk to them, TJ didn’t think a guy who looked like he hadn’t had his first shave yet could possibly be the manager. His nametag, however, read, ‘Jason Turnbill, Night Manager.’

A deep, husky voice contrasted with his youthful appearance. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for anyone who saw this woman on a Friday night about two months ago.” TJ handed him the photo of Jamie and gave him the date Jamie was there. As he looked at it, she added, “She was seen entering the restaurant at about eleven.”

“She doesn’t look familiar to me, but I’m not out front too much at that time of night. I can check my records and get back to you in a couple days.”

“Listen, this is really important. Could you run this by the people who are here now and see if anyone remembers her? And we’ll need a list of employees who were working that night.”

 Baby-face frowned. “Is this that woman who’s missing?”

“Yeah, and we need to know about her movements that night.”

“Ok, I’ll be right back.”

Shannon said, “She probably just got something to eat and left.”

“Dunno. She didn’t go back home.”

“Right. She probably wouldn’t have gone to another club if she ate.”

The back of TJ’s neck tingled. “Somethin’ happened
here
.”