Carla Cassidy – Cold Case, Hot Accomplice (страница 10)

Steve was still waiting for closure in his own missing-persons case, and in the absence of that closure he’d adopted the laid-back “surfer dude” attitude to hide his own fear and pain. The day that his ex-girlfriend had kidnapped his son had been the moment Steve’s world had shattered. That had been two years ago, and during that time Steve had never stopped looking for the little boy he loved more than anything else on earth.

“So what happens next?” Roxy asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

He gave himself a mental shake. He had to stay focused on this missing-persons case.

He walked over to the counter where Liz’s purse was and looked inside. He pulled out her cell phone, punched a couple of numbers and frowned. “The history of incoming calls has been deleted.”

“So we don’t know who might have called Aunt Liz early Friday morning,” Roxy said flatly.

“We’ll drop the phone off at the station. Frank not only does magic with finding people—he’s also a rock star at getting this kind of information. The calls might be deleted from the phone, but the cell phone company will have the records.”

“And after we drop it off at the station?”

“Next we go talk to Patricia Burns. You told me yesterday that she was your aunt’s closest friend. Maybe she’ll know something about your aunt that you don’t know.”

Roxy shot him a tight grin. “Doubtful, but we have to do what we have to do.”

What was happening? Steve asked himself minutes later when they were back in his car after dropping off the phone at the station and heading to Patricia Burns’s house. What was he doing with Roxy like a mouse in his pocket, gnawing a tiny hole in his sanity?

He should have done the professional thing and sent her on her way that morning in the station. He wasn’t sure exactly how he had become we. He had two perfectly good partners to work with, and he didn’t need another one. He especially didn’t need one who’d felt so right pulled tight against his body, one who sent his adrenaline rushing whenever her eyes snapped with fire.

As soon as he interviewed Patricia Burns, he was taking Roxy right back to her car at the station and carrying on alone. He’d promise her frequent check-ins, but he needed to get her out of his pocket.

Patricia Burns lived two blocks away from Liz Marcoli in a neat ranch house that was identical to Liz’s except for the color.

Their knock was greeted by a petite woman with short salt-and-pepper hair and a worried expression in her brown eyes. She instantly grabbed Roxy’s hand. “No word?”

“No, nothing.”

Patricia nodded to Steve and then gestured them into a living room decorated in shades of blue. Steve introduced himself to her as he sat in a chair next to the sofa, where the two women sank down side by side.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Patricia asked.

“Thanks, but we’re fine,” Steve replied. “I understand you and Liz are good friends, Mrs. Burns,” he continued.

“Best friends, and, please, call me Treetie.” She smiled and patted Roxy’s hand. “When the girls were little they had trouble saying Patricia, and so I became Treetie and the nickname stuck.”

“Okay, Treetie, when was the last time you spoke to Liz?”

“Thursday night. We talked on the phone around eight.”

“Anything unusual going on with her? Anything she was worried about?” Steve took out his little pad and pen, ready to take any notes that might be pertinent to the case.

“No, nothing unusual. The only thing Liz ever worried about was the girls. She worried that Marlene was never going to get over her divorce and that Sheri would wind up being all alone with only the chipmunks for company. And, of course, she worried that Roxy would keep any man from ever marrying her because of her sharp tongue and the scars left from her early life with her mother.”

She patted Roxy’s hand as Roxy’s cheeks dusted with high color. “Sorry, honey, but that’s the truth.” She pulled her hand back from Roxy’s. “Other than that, Liz was enjoying her life. She had her baking that she did for the Dollhouse, she was planning her flower and vegetable garden and she had Edward.”

“Edward?” Steve asked.

“Edward?” Roxy parroted in confusion. “Who in the hell is Edward?”

Chapter 5

“Edward Cardell.” Treetie frowned and shot a quick glance at Roxy and then looked back at Steve. She drew a deep, reluctant sigh. “She didn’t want the girls to know about him.”

“What about him?” Roxy asked, her head beginning to spin.

“They were dating. They’ve been dating for quite some time.”

The air whooshed out of Roxy. Aunt Liz dating? She was positively stunned by the news. The very idea was as alien as a vegan in a meatpacking plant.

“Edward Cardell. Who exactly is he, and what do you know about him?” Steve asked, taking the words right out of Roxy’s mouth.

“Oh, dear.” Treetie looked worriedly at Roxy and then at Steve. “I told Liz she should have mentioned him to the girls a while ago, but she insisted that she wanted to keep things quiet for the time being. I think she was enjoying having a little secret all her own. Edward lives here in town. He’s a very nice gentleman, retired from the post office a couple of years ago. He’s been a widow for about three years, and he and Liz met one night at bingo about a year ago and hit it off.”

“Aunt Liz has been dating for a year?” Roxy wondered what other secrets her aunt might have had.

“Were Liz and Edward having any problems?”

Treetie frowned. “Not any real problems. The only issue was that Edward thought it was past time for Liz to come clean about him with the girls. He was ready to be a part of the entire family and was beginning to pressure her a bit to make their relationship more public.”

“And did that upset her?” Steve asked.

“No.” Treetie smiled. “Liz is a strong-willed woman, and there was really no question that she’d tell the girls only when she was good and ready. Edward knew that, and he’d push a little and she’d push back, but they never really fought about it. They’re wonderfully suited to each other.”

“Why would she want to keep him a secret?” Roxy asked, still reeling with the shock.

“She never wanted you girls to believe that anything or anyone came before you.”

Roxy’s heart squeezed tight. “But we’re all grown-up now. We’d be delighted if we knew that Aunt Liz had found somebody who made her happy. She deserved to have a life of her own after all the years she gave to us.”

Treetie smiled at her. “You know Liz—to her you all were always going to be her baby girls.”

The numbness that had washed over Roxy at various times since her aunt’s vanishing now overwhelmed her as Steve continued to question Treetie.

Was it possible that Aunt Liz was someplace with this Edward Cardell? That perhaps he had swept her away somewhere for a romantic weekend without her knowing his plans? Maybe she’d been so flustered by the unexpected event that she’d left her purse and forgotten about delivering the usual items to the restaurant.

There was a certain relief in that thought, and yet she couldn’t imagine Liz not insisting that before they go anywhere she take care of her duty in delivering the baked goods to Roxy for the day.

But look what men managed to do to your mother, a little voice whispered in the back of her head. Men and drugs had ruined Ramona’s life. Men often caused women to make bad choices. Wasn’t it possible Aunt Liz was so crazy in love that she’d been talked into being whisked away without any thought of Roxy or responsibilities?

By the time she and Steve got back in the car, the numbness that had overtaken Roxy had transformed to an excitement mixed with hopeful possibility. “We need to find this Edward Cardell,” she said as Steve started the car. “Maybe he and Aunt Liz are together somewhere.”

“Maybe,” Steve replied. “But the first thing we’re doing is heading back to the station. I want to check in with Frank and see if he’s managed to get a location on your mother or any information from Liz’s cell phone, and it’s time for this partnership to end.”

“What are you talking about?” Roxy asked. “We have a lead, Edward Cardell, and we should follow up on it immediately.”

“We aren’t doing anything, Roxy. I’m going to take you back to your car, and you need to get back to work at the Dollhouse or go talk to your sisters, or do whatever you want to do, but you aren’t coming with me.”

“Are you worried that being seen with me might make one of your other girlfriends mad?” she asked.

“Knock it off with the girlfriend thing, Roxy. It’s getting old. I’m doing my job, and it isn’t professional or right for you to be with me while I’m conducting an investigation.”

“It’s exactly right for me to be with you while you’re interviewing my aunt’s friends and acquaintances. If I hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have known that Aunt Liz was seeing somebody.” A frantic feeling rose up inside Roxy. She had to be a part of this. She needed to be a part of it.

“A fact she obviously didn’t want you to know,” he returned.

Roxy chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully and then dropped her hand to her lap. “There’s only one reason why Aunt Liz would have kept her relationship with this Edward a secret, and that would have been because she thought we wouldn’t approve of him. Which means Edward probably wasn’t right for her. For all we know, he’s a serial killer or a sexual deviant.”