Twisted Innocence (Moonlighters Series Book 3) (13 page)
“It’s not a competition. I’m just worried about her. Something’s not right.”
When it was time for Juliet to pick up Zach and Abe from church, Cathy insisted on staying with Robbie.
“You sure you want to?” Juliet asked. “If he wakes up, he might be fussy. Besides, you must be as tired as I am.”
“It’s okay. I can handle fussy,” Cathy told her. “And yeah, I’m tired, but I had planned to be up all night anyway to get my mailings ready for all the news outlets. I want to mail them tomorrow, but it might have to be Tuesday.”
Juliet got her purse. “Well, let me help you. After I pick up Abe and Zach, we’ll grab something to eat and then we’ll all come back here and stuff envelopes.”
“You don’t have to do that. You need to nap.”
“So do you, but we’re in this together. Set up that long folding table. The four of us can get it knocked out. Maybe Robbie will sleep the whole time.”
Cathy agreed gratefully. As she waited for Juliet and the boys, she used Michael’s computer to search more rap sheets for Deuce. When Juliet and company arrived with fast food bags, Juliet joined her and Zach and Abe went to the back living area to eat and watch TV.
Juliet ate her salad at the desk while Cathy clicked through
more mug shots. They heard a car door outside, and Juliet got up and went to the window. “It’s Max and his dad.”
Cathy looked up. “What are they doing here?”
“Did you tell them we were stuffing packets? Maybe they came to help.”
Cathy shook her head. “No, I didn’t tell them.” She went to the door to greet the men as they came in, then directed them away from the table in the front room and into the office.
“Looking good in here,” Jack said when they’d all taken a seat. “I haven’t been here in months. We were driving by and saw your car. Thought we’d stop in. You’re working on Sunday?”
“Not really,” Cathy said. “We just stopped by to take care of a few things.”
“A few things about the pardon efforts?” Max asked.
Cathy smiled at Juliet. “Yes, we’re getting press packets ready.”
“I’ve gotten the police department involved,” Jack said. “I’ve gotten promises that they’re going to write letters too.”
Max grinned. “Dad got to talk to each shift, and all our people are ready to storm the governor’s mailbox.”
“And I know one of the governor’s aides,” Jack said. “He’s the son of one of my former partners on the force. His dad owes me a favor.”
“Dad saved his life,” Max cut in.
Jack ignored that and went on. “He says he’ll put a bug in the governor’s ear too.”
Tears filled Cathy’s eyes. “Really? You guys, maybe we’re getting somewhere. Maybe he’ll consider it.”
“Anyway,” Jack said, sitting up in his chair. “I’ve been hearing about how you and your sisters are trying to keep the business running. That’s a big help to Michael. Max said he’s
been giving you a hand. I thought if he could do it, I could offer my services too.”
“Your services?” Cathy asked. “You mean here, in the business?”
“Yeah,” Jack said. “God knows I need something to do with my time. I hate retirement. Max suggested I help hold down the fort while Michael’s being held hostage by our flawed justice system . . .” He looked at the floor. “Leonard Miller’s walking free—a known murderer—and Michael gets locked up. Don’t get me started.” He rubbed his jaw. “But I can help with these cases, take the load off you gals. I don’t need pay. I have a decent pension. It’s the least I can do to help my son.”
Juliet and Cathy looked at each other and smiled. “We sure do need help,” Cathy said. “We’re in over our heads. Juliet’s working full-time, and I’m trying to. Holly’s about to start putting in more hours, but we still have more business than we can handle.”
“Then what do you say?”
Juliet started to laugh. “I say . . . we’re thrilled. You’re a godsend.”
“So what are you working on right now?” Max asked, glancing at the computer monitor, where the last mug shot Cathy had been looking at was still up.
“Well, honestly, we’re not working on a paying case right now,” Cathy said. “We’ve been researching Holly’s new boyfriend.”
Max frowned. “She has a new boyfriend?”
“Apparently,” Juliet said. “She left me with the baby last night and lied about where she was going. Didn’t call or anything all night. Then she shows up this morning . . .” Juliet let her voice trail off. “Never mind, I shouldn’t be telling you
that. I’m just a little miffed at her. We just want to see who this guy is.”
Max came closer and leaned over the desk to see the monitor better. “What’s his name?”
“Deuce. It’s all we got.”
“You say she didn’t show up last night? Didn’t call?”
“Right.”
“Is that like her?”
“Used to be,” Cathy said. “But not in the last year.”
Cathy watched Max’s face as he read through the rap sheet on the screen. “It’s not him,” she said. “We were just going through guys named Deuce. We haven’t found him yet.”
“So you saw the guy? Would you recognize him if you saw him again?”
“Yes,” Cathy said.
“Mind if I try something?”
Cathy surrendered her chair. “Be my guest.”
Cathy watched as Max typed in “Creed Kershaw.” Frowning at Juliet, she waited. Suddenly, a driver’s license picture came up.
Juliet caught her breath. “That’s him! Max, how did you know?”
Max rubbed his temples, frowning.
“Max, who is this guy?” Cathy asked. “How did you know his name?”
“Holly told me.”
“She told you she was seeing someone?”
“No,” he said. “She’s not seeing him. I think something’s wrong. Holly could be in a lot of trouble.”
Cathy stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I think you two need to sit down.”
W
hy wouldn’t she tell us that?” Juliet cried after Max told her what he knew. “How could she run off after a murderer and not have someone watching her back?”
“She was embarrassed. She didn’t want you to know about him being the father,” Max said.
“Why would she tell
you
?” Cathy demanded.
“Because she needed my help to find out things about him. I shouldn’t have given her anything. I knew she was going to go off and do this.”
“So let me get this straight,” Cathy said. “Holly has been going to Southport to look for this guy, presumably so she can turn him in to the police and she won’t have to deal with him coming back into her life . . .”
“Right. And it looks like she found him.”
“So . . . what? Is he holding her hostage?”
“Juliet, I’m no expert on Holly, but if she didn’t call last
night and didn’t get her baby until this morning, and this guy was sticking to her side like glue, my guess is that she was under the gun. Literally.”
Juliet felt light-headed. “He let her come get the baby, but he wouldn’t let her get more than a few feet away. His hand was in his pocket the whole time.”
“He had a gun,” Cathy whispered. “Juliet, we’ve got to find her. He could kidnap Lily, or hurt them both. He could kill them! Max, can you put out an APB on her taxi? It can’t be that hard to find. She could be here or in Southport, or anywhere in Northern Florida.”
“Can you track her phone?” he asked.
Cathy hesitated. “I’ll go to her house and try her computer. She probably has her laptop with her if she was searching for him, but she does have a desktop computer at home. It might be set up to track her phone if she loses it.”
“Last night her phone was going straight to voice mail,” Juliet said. “If he took the battery out, we can’t track it.”
“I’ll go over there with you,” Max said.
Cathy pulled up a database on the computer. “Max, do you have this guy’s address?”
“Yes, but he’s on the lam. I gave Holly his address, his parents’, his sister’s, and the place where he worked. That’s all she had to start with.”
“Do you think he really goes by Deuce?”
“No. That was probably just for you guys. So you wouldn’t go looking him up under his real name.”
Juliet picked up the desk phone and dialed her brother. “I’m calling Jay,” she said. “I’ll get him to keep the boys while we go look for Holly.”
T
he Southport police located Holly’s taxi outside the gates of the RV park, but no one Juliet and Cathy questioned there had seen her. They followed her path to Creed’s parents’ house. To Cathy, it looked like a middle-class home with a well-manicured yard. The garage was closed and no cars sat in the driveway, and all the blinds were pulled.
“If they’re home, do we tell them that Creed could be the father of Holly’s baby?” Juliet asked.
“No, I don’t think so. We tell them we’re looking for our sister, and we think she’s with him.”
Juliet let out a ragged breath and covered her face. “I’m sick that I thought the worst of Holly when she was in danger. Of course she wouldn’t have just run out on Lily without a good reason!”
“We can feel guilty later,” Cathy said. “Right now let’s just focus.” She opened the car door. “Are you going to stay in the car with Robbie?”
“No,” Juliet said. “I want to hear what they say. I’ll take him with us. Maybe he’ll make us seem less threatening.”
Robbie was in a good mood after his nap, and his fever seemed to have broken. Juliet handed him a teething biscuit and got him out of his seat. When Cathy rang the bell, she heard footsteps, then felt as though someone was looking out the peephole. There was noise around the lock, then the door opened.
A woman who seemed about fifty looked suspiciously out at them. “Hello.”
“Hi. I’m Cathy Cramer, and this is my sister Juliet, and her son Robbie.”
The woman smiled at the baby. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re looking for our sister, and we think she’s with your son.”
The smile vanished. “I don’t know where he is. I’m sorry.”
She started to close the door, but Cathy spoke again. “Please . . . could we come in and talk to you?”
“We’re not police,” Juliet said quickly. “Creed was at my house with our sister this morning, and something wasn’t right. I was babysitting for her, and she picked up her daughter and they left together. Then we realized who he was. We think he’s holding her hostage.”
The door opened again, and now a man stood with the woman in the doorway. He looked outside for any other cars on the street, then ushered them in. “Come in.”
The tidy house had been decorated with love—tchotchkes and family pictures covering the walls and every surface. Pictures of Creed when he was a kid, playing baseball, football, fishing with his dad, laughing with his family. He didn’t look as rough as he had this morning. And he looked nothing like a killer. But killers didn’t all look evil.
Sunshine poured in through the back windows of the
house, but it was quiet, and the TV was off. Mr. Kershaw led them to the kitchen table, where two Bibles lay open.
Christians
, she thought.
This must be torturous for them
.
“Sit down,” he said. “I’m Creed’s dad, Frank.”
They all shook hands, and Mrs. Kershaw—who told them to call her Sandra—offered them coffee, which they declined. When they’d all sat down, Frank asked them about the visit. “You say he was there this morning? At your house?”
Juliet told them about Holly’s disappearance and her odd behavior this morning.
“Could she be a girlfriend?” his mother asked, deep lines of sorrow on her face.
“Our sister wasn’t seeing anyone. She’s a single mom, and she’s got a lot on her plate. She knew him, but I don’t think they’d seen each other in several months.”
“So maybe she’s helping him?”
“We don’t think so. She would have given us some explanation. It was all very strange.”
Sandra looked at Frank, her mouth compressed and twisted. “My son is a good boy. He didn’t kill that man. He’s gotten in with the wrong people . . . dangerous people. He’s in over his head, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Frank rubbed his jaw. “He’s had a hard time since graduating from high school. He didn’t get into the college he wanted, so he went to community college, then dropped out and decided to just work. Waiting tables didn’t support him. Then he started using drugs.”
“What drugs?” Cathy asked.
“Marijuana at first, but then we think he graduated to cocaine. Couple of weeks ago he seemed to come to his senses. Told us he’d stopped using and wanted to quit waiting tables and come work for me. We felt like we had him back. Only
now we hear that he might have been selling cocaine, and that this situation with this man he was supposed to have killed was a drug deal.”
“We know he was doing something bad,” Sandra said, wiping her face, “but if you knew him . . . he’s got so much compassion for people. He once hurt a guy in a football game—broke his leg when he tackled him—and he cried about it for days. He would have taken the break himself if he could have. He would never take anybody’s life.”
Juliet turned Robbie on her lap so that he was facing out. He smiled at them, and the misery on Sandra’s face faded slightly. She breathed a laugh and took his little hand.
“Mrs. Kershaw . . . Sandra,” Cathy said, “can you tell us who his friends were? Who we might talk to to find our sister?”