Vanna took Charlie home in Georgia’s car. Jimmy and Georgia stayed until the officers finished processing the scene around midnight. They’d done a thorough job, Georgia thought. One cop took photos, including the mussed bedcovers, the nail file on the bathroom floor, and the drops of blood in the kitchen and along the way to it. White fingerprint dust coated the kitchen and bathroom water fixtures, toilet, doorknobs, JoBeth’s phone, and most of the other surfaces in the apartment. The other cop shined Luminol everywhere and picked up a few small blood smears in the bathroom, which supported Vanna’s theory that JoBeth had tried to stab her attacker. They also tried to harvest whatever DNA they could, although there was so little, apart from the blood, that they warned Georgia and Jimmy not to count on solid results.
But no one knew who the attacker was or why JoBeth was abducted in the first place. Most crimes in Northglen were either domestics, robberies, or drug related. A kidnapping was unusual, although one of the cops said custody fights sometimes ended up in short-lived kidnappings. On the way home, Jimmy suggested they brainstorm to see if they could come up with any possibilities.
“I have some time until we get the results from the scene.”
“Okay,” Georgia said. “Are you suggesting we ignore the obvious?”
“You mean that you’re in danger because you look like a woman on the run that someone wants to find. And probably hurt, if not kill?”
“Exactly. And that someone kidnapped my mother to send me some kind of message?
Jimmy nodded. “Yes. I am suggesting that we forget that for a minute or two. We both know that’s going to be the case, and we’ll deal with it. But let’s stretch our brains for a couple of minutes just to see where we end up. Maybe it will be helpful. Maybe not.”
“Okay. You start.”
“Okay. It’s been relatively quiet at the lake. Still off season, with few tourists. Yes, the drug trade never stops, and it’s been consistent, but nothing that’s involved me personally, except turning over a few cases to the DA.”
“Wasn’t there a robbery at the vacation house of a North Shore family? You came down here to follow up.”
He nodded. “I was only peripherally involved. And I only came down so I could see you.”
Georgia thought for a moment. “What about Luke Sutton? Could it be someone who has it in for him?”
“Ellie Foreman’s boyfriend? Why him?”
Georgia shrugged. “Well, you know the troubles he had a few years ago. You were personally involved then. Could there be someone who didn’t like the way it turned out and has been planning revenge? Someone who’s crazy enough to think that kidnapping your girlfriend’s mother would work?”
“That’s probably a long shot. I don’t know of any trouble with Luke. Or his mother. And his brother is still doing life in max. Everyone else is dead. But you have a good memory.” He turned off Green Bay toward Georgia’s apartment. “I’m just spit-balling here,” he said, “but what about Vanna? She had a rough time when she first got to Chicago.”
Georgia was pensive. “I was just thinking about that. Maybe it’s some Russian mafia guy who never forgave us for what we did.”
“You could check it out. Didn’t you have a powwow with the head of the North Shore Mafia?”
She nodded. “We’ve left each other alone since then. Frankly, I think he was glad it worked out the way it did. I have a feeling there was no love lost between him and the other guy.” She hesitated. “But I’ll check.”
“Any crazy johns who might have been harboring a grudge? For getting VD or something like that?”
Georgia shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“What about her birth father’s family?” Jimmy went on. “Maybe they resented JoBeth for disappearing and taking Vanna with her.”
Georgia yawned. Fatigue was fogging her mind. “After seventeen years? Unlikely.
And that means we’d need to drag Vanna into it. Do we want to do that?”
“Can’t you trace her father’s family without her knowing?”
“I can try. But—” She cut herself off. “There’s a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m supposed to be down at the Palmer House tomorrow morning for an interview with Dr. Richard Blackstone and LeJeune.”
Jimmy turned toward her, surprise on his face. “They found him?”
“You and I haven’t had a chance to talk. Actually, I discovered he was hiding out in Ecuador.”
“Are you kidding? South America?”
“There’s a huge American expat community in one of the cities. I guess he thought it was far enough away to be safe. Then he started emailing from an internet café down there. The policía and Interpol picked him up earlier today and handed him over to the Bureau in Quito. He’s on his way back.”
“That’s great news.”
“It is. But I have to spend pretty much the next couple of days working on the Covid case. I feel terrible. This is a family emergency. I should be focusing on JoBeth.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take the lead until you free up.”
“Thanks. They’d better not hurt her!”
They arrived back in Evanston, and Jimmy parked the cruiser in an illegal spot. It was one of the perks of being a police officer, although the Evanston cops might still ticket a Lake Geneva cruiser. Still, it was worth the risk. They tiptoed inside, hoping not to wake Vanna or the baby.
Georgia stripped off her clothes and slipped under the covers. She wanted her brain to turn off. Images of her mother at the Doll House Emporium, the restaurant in Nauvoo, and playing with Charlie tugged at her. She flashed back to her mother in the hospital a few months earlier, smiling bravely even though she had to be in excruciating pain when she was shot. JoBeth was trying to make up for lost time. She wanted to be a good mother.
But was Georgia a good daughter? Her throat closed up, and her eyes filled. Jimmy slipped in beside her and snuggled close. He didn’t have to say a word. She let the tears come.