His son was in juvie for manslaughter.
The very thought was surreal, and Reid’s insides felt made of glass as he parked outside Elliot’s houseboat. Lamplight glimmered on the water and pushed back the shadows as he and Jane got out. If only light could drive away the shadows of fear in his heart.
“Elliot knows we’re coming,” he told her.
The door opened as they walked along the dock to the boat, and Elliot waved at them. “I’m ready for something to do. What’s going on? I heard a rumor at the coffee shop that Will was arrested for manslaughter. That can’t be right.”
“It’s all too true, I’m afraid,” Reid said. “That’s why we need your help.”
Elliot stepped aside to motion them in. “Man, that’s just wrong.”
His curly blond hair was patchy where the doctors had shaved his head for brain surgery after his injury. Though he was only twenty-five, he was one of the smartest people Reid knew.
The living room was decorated in a beach theme with coral and turquoise colors. The scent of hand sanitizer hung in the air like usual, and a large, industrial-sized bottle of the stuff sat beside the computer. There were neat stacks of computer magazines next to various computers.
Reid explained what had happened. “Someone is trying to frame him.”
“You sure you’re up to working? How are the headaches?”
“Getting better, ma’am. I have some special glasses that are helping me with computer work. I’ll spend every waking minute on it. I love that kid. What do you need from me?”
“Find out everything about where Lauren has been these past years. Who has she been with? What has she been doing? Has she made any enemies? She had a fake ID, and we have that name and the social security number she’s been using so that should make things easier.”
“Piece of cake, boss.” Elliot glanced at Jane. “You doing okay, Chief?”
“No, neither of us are.” Her voice was thick with tears, and she wandered over to stare at the bank of computers along the wall. “These last months have been nearly unbearable with the constant attacks, but this is the worst. The cloud of suspicion over him will never go away, even if he’s acquitted. Not unless we find out who is doing this to us and why.”
“I’m on it.” Elliot’s blue eyes were bright with determination. “I’ll see if I can hack into her emails.”
Reid handed him a paper with all the information they’d been able to glean about Lauren’s past movements. “She’s been going by Lauren Haskell. You have a picture of her fake driver’s license, which was issued by Vegas, so that must be where she’s been living.”
Elliot took the paper and scanned it. “I should have some information for you by tomorrow.”
“Don’t stay up all night,” Jane said. “You need to rest.”
“I’m wide-awake. I had a nap this afternoon because there was nothing else to do. Walking around still makes my head ache, but I can rest when I need to. I’ll be able to sit right here and work. I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”
“You don’t know how much we appreciate it, Elliot,” Jane said. “We’re hoping he’ll be released tomorrow, but it will be up to the judge.”
At the anguish in her voice, Reid clasped her hand, and they moved toward the door. “Thanks, Elliot.” They exited into the humid night air. As he closed the door behind them, he heard the clack of computer keys.
He slipped his arm around Jane’s slim waist. “Want to get something to eat before I take you home?”
“I’m not hungry. But I don’t want to be alone. Want to come home with me for a while? I have leftover pizza if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not hungry either. I’ve got my laptop, and the two of us could see what we can dig up.”
She paused, then stepped into his embrace and rested her head on his chest. “This can’t be real, Reid. It’s not right. Justice is failing me.”
“Everything in this life can fail. I have to keep reminding myself that only God is faithful and never fails us. Things are bleak, life is unfair, but this isn’t over yet. We will see God work.”
She leaned her head back to stare up into his face. “I’m trying to believe that, but it’s so hard. Do you really think it’s true?”
“Yes, even though I have doubts as big as tidal waves. Every time they try to take me under, I grab hold of God’s promises. It’s hard right now. Harder than I ever dreamed it could be. We have to keep reminding ourselves that he has the power to fix this.”
She dropped her arms back to her sides and turned to go to the SUV. “I pray you’re right. I vacillate between total trust and total doubt.”
“He’s not afraid of our doubts. I’m scared too.” And he was. Fear was a suffocating companion that constantly tried to smother his faith. “These past few hours have taken every bit of my strength to hold on, to refuse to let terror make me forget who really rules the universe.” He opened the SUV door for her.
She smiled up at him. “So you’re not the Superman of faith?”
“Hardly. Faith takes more work than I ever dreamed. But when we get through this, we’ll look back and realize this trial will make the next one easier because we’ll have seen how God worked it out.”
She slid into the seat. “I’m ready for it to be over—for Will to be home with us. And it’s not just Will’s situation, but it’s Olivia too. And my mother. It’s like trying to touch faith through fog.”
She was so right. He went around to sit behind the wheel and drive the few blocks to her apartment. If only he could go to sleep and wake up with Will safe at home. But trials had to be walked through. They had no choice.
* * *
The microwave beeped in the kitchen where Reid was warming up pizza. Jane sat on her sofa and fingered the brass key. It was worn smooth from being handled over the years, and the name of the manufacturer had been rubbed off. She wished she had the safe-deposit box. Seeing the evidence of what had happened so long ago might distract her from her fear for Will, even for a few minutes.
But there were so many other important things to do. She could make a list of who to question about Gail’s death. And talk to more of Finn’s coworkers or family. That investigation was still her job.
But Will was the most important thing in her life.
Parker yawned and jumped onto the floor before looking at her quizzically, as if to ask if she was ready to go to bed.
The grueling last two days had left her body exhausted, but her mind still buzzed. She felt wired and alert, though she also wanted to crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head. She reached for her laptop and called up the bank website.
Reid came into the room carrying two plates of pizza. “Dinner is served.”
The aroma of garlic and tomato sauce made her stomach turn. The thought of eating was nauseating, but she accepted the plate he offered anyway. She set it on the coffee table in front of her. Maybe her appetite would return later.
He settled beside her on the sofa. “Find anything?”
“I decided to look up hours for getting into the safe-deposit box at the bank.”
He’d reached for a piece of pizza, but he drew his hand back at her words. “I’m not sure I want to see the pictures she mentioned. I don’t think I can handle what happened to my mom right now.”
She closed the webpage. “You’re right. This can wait. I was looking for a distraction, but I obviously wasn’t thinking it through.”
He picked up his laptop on the sofa and opened it. “You have access to more information than I do. Have you done a search for Lauren?”
“Not yet.” She went to the NCIC site to log in. The National Crime Information Center had data of virtually all possible crimes. “Augusta will have already done this, but I might see something she missed. Or something that leads me in a different direction.”
His shoulder brushed hers, and his breath brushed her face. “Will this tell us where she was?”
“I hope so. Let’s try the stolen identity first. She had to get that identity somehow because she used a social security number.” Jane started the search and waited a few seconds before the results appeared. “That social is for a Penelope Haskell, which is probably how she came up with the last name she was using. Penelope died ten years ago. Let me see if there are any outstanding warrants for her arrest.” She executed another search. “Nothing there, so she was keeping her nose clean. What’s the address on her driver’s license?”
Reid pulled out the paper and read off the address to her. “Let’s search Google Earth. We could see what houses are nearby, maybe call neighbors and see what they can tell us.”
“Good idea.” She pulled up the program and typed in the address.
A neighborhood popped onto the screen, and she navigated to a street view to study the houses. “She came here dressed to the nines and reeking of money, but this place is very middle class.”
The modest green ranch house in Baxter, Kentucky, couldn’t have been more than a thousand square feet. Scraggly crabgrass poked through the dirt in places, and the shrubs seemed half dead from lack of care. The paint on the door and window trim was peeling.
She called up a real estate website and scanned for house prices. “She probably didn’t pay more than eighty thousand for that place.”
Reid touched a finger to the screen. “That’s her car, so it’s definitely her house. This must be an old picture.”
“Most of the photos on Google Earth aren’t current time.” Jane peered at the computer. “Looks like it was taken three years ago, so she’d been there awhile.” She zoomed out to check out another view from the other side. “Someone’s in the backyard. A man. It’s too blurry to make out his face though.”
“Could Nora do anything to enhance it?”
“I can have her try.” Jane saved the picture and shot it off in an email to Nora with her request. “I’ll have to pay her overtime. She’s got to be torn in a million directions with all that’s going on.”
“Can you read the street addresses on either side?” Reid asked.
“Sure.” She navigated until the numbers on the house to the right were visible, jotted them down, then moved to the house on the other side.
“And on the opposite side?”
She positioned the screen until she got the information about the three closest houses across the street. “It’s too late to make any calls tonight, but we can look up the phone numbers and be ready to talk to them tomorrow.”
She spent ten more minutes searching for the addresses and phone records of the neighbors while Reid ate his pizza. “The one directly across the street seems a good one to call first thing. According to the owner information, an older woman lives there, and she might be the type who pays attention to what’s going on in her neighborhood. We can divide up the names and call.”
He wiped his fingers on a napkin before he accepted the paper she handed him. “Any other ideas?”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m too tired to think.”
“I’ll go home and let you try to get some rest.” He drew her close for a good-night kiss that gave her more comfort than he knew. He was such a steady rock in her life. “C-Could we pray for Will before you go?”
He stilled and nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
His deep voice rumbled through her like an electrical current as he asked God to protect and comfort Will when they couldn’t. Tears burned her eyes and leaked out from under her closed lids. She had been trying not to imagine how alone and scared Will must feel right now, but it had been impossible not to picture him in that cell.
God would be in that cell with Will even though they couldn’t. It would have to be enough for tonight.