The Perfect Couple (43 page)

"Sticks and stones," he responded with a laugh. "Anyway, I've got some good news."

"You're dying of...cancer?" Her eyelids closed again--it was too much trouble to keep them open--but she managed a smile at her own joke. She had to be delirious to provoke him, but she was too numb to care, too numb to feel fear.

"Ha. You're funny, you know that?

"And you're...a...a dumb fathead."

Shoot. Couldn't she come up with a better insult? Not in her current state. Her mouth was so dry she could hardly speak.

"Oh, yeah? If I'm such a fathead, how come I'm the one in control?

You're in a suitcase, where you've been peeing on yourself."

She curled up. "I'd still...rather be me."

He laughed again. "Deathly sick? Wearing a collar? Staked to the ground? And smelling like shit?"

"At least--" she licked her cracked lips "--I'm worth loving."

"What a little bitch you are!" The tenor of his voice told her that her words had stung. It was a small victory, but with Colin a victory was a victory.

"You'd rather I was...stupid...like Tiffany?"

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"What do you mean by that?"

"...thinking you're...some...something special?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll kill you before your mother even gets here,"

he snapped.

At this, she dragged in her first sharp breath. "What'd you say?"

"I said you stink like a pig."

"What about my mother?"

He didn't repeat it. He left and returned with a container of water, which he poured over her to rinse away the urine. Then he carried her to his car, put her in the passenger seat and handcuffed the end of her chain to the steering wheel.

Zoe was frantic by the time Tiffany found the cabin. It'd taken them more than two hours to reach a place they should've been able to get to in an hour and a half. But as they drove through the trees and the wooden A-frame appeared in front of her, fear overtook frustration.

"There's no car," she said.

"I don't see one," Tiffany agreed.

"Then Paddy can't be here. No one could reach this place without transportation. It's too remote."

Tiffany didn't respond.

"So...what now?" She was asking herself more than Tiffany, asking herself if she could deal with the disappointment.

"We should look around, don't you think?" Tiffany said. "See if anyone's been here?"

Zoe nodded. Please, God, help me find my child. And let her be okay.

Tiffany opened her door. "Maybe...maybe you should stay here for a minute. You know, just in case."

Zoe's heart lodged in her throat. Just in case...what? Just in case they found her daughter dead?

The macabre image that rose in her mind nearly made her throw up.

"No, I'll come. G-give me a minute." She put her head between her knees to reestablish her equilibrium.

"You don't look so good. Stay here." Tiffany hopped out before Zoe could conquer the sudden nausea. Now that the cabin seemed to be empty she'd lost the sense of urgency that'd propelled her this far. Fear and dread acted like fifty-pound weights on each limb, making it difficult to move.

Why not let Tiffany tell her if it was safe to look? Zoe didn't want her last memory of Sam to be the sight that might very well greet her if she walked through that door....

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So she watched Colin's wife hurry to the cabin and disappear inside.

Then she coaxed herself to lean back and draw deep breaths while she waited. She had to be prepared for the worst, had to be ready to bear up under...whatever.

Fortunately, Jonathan would be coming soon. Knowing that made the situation just a little easier.

But no car pulled in behind the BMW. And, a moment later, Tiffany emerged from the cabin and crossed over to a ramshackle outbuilding without even glancing up.

What was going on? Tiffany knew how anxious Zoe was....

Impatient, she opened her car door and got out. Her knees felt less than steady as she stumbled toward the shed, but determination kept her moving. "Sam, be alive. Be alive, baby," she whispered.

Before Zoe could make it halfway across the clearing, Tiffany came out and let the spring-loaded door slam behind her.

"Anything?" Zoe asked hopefully.

"She was in there, all right." Tiffany gestured behind her.

Zoe's eyes zeroed in on the shed and her vision narrowed until it was all she could see. "How do you know?"

"There's some granola wrappers and an old blanket inside."

That was it? How did that tell Tiffany anything? Anyone could've left some trash. "But no--" she swallowed hard, made her mouth form the word

"--body?"

"No." She beckoned Zoe toward her. "Come see for yourself."

Something was wrong. Tiffany had stepped out of the car as one person--solicitous, worried, sweet--and returned as another. Her eyes glittered with some emotion Zoe hadn't seen earlier, and her nostrils flared as if she was extremely agitated or excited.

Zoe managed a smile that felt too tight on her face. "That's okay. We'd better get the police."

Tiffany's eyes widened, and her nostrils flared again. "You don't want to see what I found?"

"I wouldn't want to destroy any forensic evidence." She took a step back. "If Sam's not here, the police will be better equipped to deal with any leads your father-in-law might've left."

Tiffany glanced behind her. "But...but you drove all this way."

To find Sam. To save her, if possible. But Tiffany had just said Sam wasn't here. "I'll go over every detail with the police."

"But there's--" she frowned, glanced behind her again "--something you should see."

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"What is it?"

"Take a look." Hoping Jonathan would arrive, Zoe twisted around to check the road again. But the dust kicked up by their tires had long since settled and there was no sound--nothing but the drone of insects.

"I don't want to."

"You don't have to go all the way inside," Tiffany said. "Just poke your head in. Maybe you'll recognize the swimsuit top I saw in there."

If she'd spotted a girl's swimsuit top, why didn't she grab it and bring it out?

You have a...really nice wife.

Except when she's helping me murder someone.

Considering the way Tiffany was looking at her, that snatch of conversation no longer felt like a dream. And there were other gut-level reactions rushing in on Zoe, like the revulsion, fear and dizziness she suddenly associated with her time at the Bells' house.

Jonathan...She should've waited for him.

"Don't be difficult," Tiffany said. "It'll just make this tougher."

"Make what tougher?" Zoe calculated the distance to the driver's side of the car. Had Tiffany taken the keys out of the ignition? She didn't think so.

"The...surprise."

"The only surprise I want is my daughter."

Tiffany lowered her voice. "I promise you'll see her again if you come with me."

Even if that was true, Zoe wouldn't be able to save Sam, not if Tiffany's surprise was anything like she now suspected. Zoe had begun to sense a strange malevolence in her former neighbor.

She needed to get help, or she'd cost Sam any chance she had.

"Jonathan will be here soon," she said as if his name served as some sort of talisman.

Tiffany smiled triumphantly. "Of course he will. If he doesn't get lost."

Oh God! It was Tiffany who'd given Jonathan directions. Zoe hadn't even listened to what she'd told him. She'd been too preoccupied, too sure they had it all figured out.

Her eyes darted to the shed, and she saw the door move an inch or so.

Someone was peeking out at her. It had to be Colin. He wasn't at work. That was an alibi. He was there, waiting for them....

Was her daughter in that shed, too? The mere possibility made Zoe want to rush over, regardless of Colin. But she couldn't walk right into his 285

grasp. She could be the only hope her daughter had left.

Turning on her heel, Zoe dashed for the car. She'd nearly wrenched open the door when Tiffany caught her, but then they both fell, wrestling, to the dusty earth. The slam of the same door she'd heard earlier told Zoe that Tiffany had reinforcements coming, but she hoped to inflict some damage before she was outnumbered.

Kicking and clawing, she distilled all her pent-up rage and anguish into hurting the person who'd kidnapped her daughter--and knew she'd hit her target when Tiffany screamed.

"Colin, help me! She's gone crazy!"

"I won't let you get away with it," Zoe growled. Then she sank her teeth into Tiffany's shoulder, drawing blood before Colin could drag her off.

Where could the cabin be? Jonathan had followed Tiffany's directions to the letter, but he found himself deep in the Sierra Nevadas, where there was no cell service and no landline, either.

"Shit!" He slugged the dashboard and the radio came on, pumping out static since he couldn't pick up a clear signal. What the hell should he do now? He had no idea where Sam was, where Zoe was, or how to find them.

He hated to backtrack, since he was sure they had to be close. But, in the end, he had to do just that. After returning to the freeway, he drove down the mountain a few miles, where he could place a call.

"Scovil, Potter & Clay."

He pulled out the card he'd taken from the receptionist's desk earlier.

"Misty?"

"Yes?"

"This is Jonathan Stivers."

"Oh, hello Mr. Stivers."

He ignored the added warmth in her voice. "Is Colin still around?"

"Yes, but...he's in his office working and told me not to disturb him."

"This is an emergency."

"Wow, another one?"

"He's had others?"

"His wife had one earlier today, and she called with another emergency last week."

He was so intent on getting hold of Colin that he almost skimmed over that comment. But two emergencies in such a short time did seem a little odd. "What kind of emergencies?"

"This morning Tiffany said she'd been in a car accident."

Oh God. Jonathan pulled off at the next exit and sat on the shoulder of 286

the road. "Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone? I'm pretty sure she was alone."

"When was this?"

"Not too long after you left the office."

He let his breath go. That must've been before Zoe got in with her.

And she'd been fine at that point, so...the accident was probably just a fender bender. "What about the other emergency?"

"Last week? Colin's mother fell and hurt herself."

Jonathan hadn't heard anything about Colin's mother--only his father.

"What day did this call come in?"

"Let's see...I can tell if I flip back through my calendar," she said.

"Here it is. Monday. I'd just gotten my hair trimmed and Colin walked in and gave me a dirty look."

Monday. Zoe had lost her daughter on the same day. Was that a coincidence? It could be. But wouldn't most people have mentioned it if their mother had been hurt? Zoe had said Colin's mother had left her husband once she'd learned of his abuse.... Maybe she and her son weren't close. Or maybe she hadn't been too badly hurt in that fall.

"Thanks," he said. "Can you ring Colin?"

"He won't like it," she complained.

"I'll tell him I made you do it. He'll understand. I promise. This is really important."

She sighed into the phone. "Okay, I'll do it for you. But you owe me, and that might mean lunch."

Jonathan opened his mouth to tell her he wasn't in the market. He had no objection to taking her out. She was a nice enough girl. But he was already committed. And this time it wasn't Sheridan who came to mind. "I'm happy to buy you a meal, but...just so you know, Misty, I have a girlfriend."

"The good ones are always taken," she grumbled. "Hang on."

He waited so long he thought she'd gotten on another line and forgotten about him.

Finally, Misty picked up again. "Jonathan?"

"Yes?"

"He must've left. But I don't know when. He didn't come past me."

"Can you do me one more favor and check the parking lot?"

"I already did," she said. "His car's gone."

That was where she'd been. What a sweetheart. "So, you have no idea when he left."

"None. But I can tell you this. Chances are good he won't be coming back. Mr. Scovil heard me asking about him and went through the roof."

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Had Colin decided to go to the cabin after all? "Can you give me his cell-phone number?"

"I'm not supposed to share that information, not without permission."

"Come on, Misty. This is about that little girl we're trying to find."

"But if Colin doesn't like it, he'll get some sort of revenge."

"He's not coming back, remember? And I won't tell him how I came by the number. I could probably get it some other way. I just don't have time."

"All right, give me a sec...."

He imagined her thumbing through her Rolodex.

"Here it is."

He entered it in his BlackBerry as she rattled it off. "Perfect. Thanks, Misty."

"Too bad you've got a girlfriend," she said and disconnected.

He chuckled to himself as he dialed the number, but the worry he'd felt before returned when Colin didn't pick up. Every call went directly to voice mail. Had Colin been the one who'd come home while Jonathan was in the garage? If so, he must not have gone back to work.

Trying to figure out what to do next, he tapped the steering wheel. He had to get to that cabin. But how?

Maybe Paddy had remarried....

As it turned out, directory assistance had a Paddy Bell in Antelope, where Toby had been kidnapped. A woman answered almost as soon as the phone rang.

"Hello?" She sounded anxious. Hopeful.

"Is this Mrs. Bell?"

"Yes, it is."

"You're married to Paddy Bell, Colin Bell's father?"

"That's right."

"This is Jonathan Stivers. I'm a private detective investigating the kidnapping of--"

"My husband?" she cut in. "Has my husband been kidnapped? Is that where he is?"

He released his seat belt.

"Not that I know of, ma'am. A young girl, who was living next door to your stepson, went missing last Monday, and I've been searching for her ever since."