AT THE NOON hour, Braedon ordered boxed lunches to be delivered from a local café. After everyone wolfed down their sandwiches, they headed out again on their assigned search routes. Work continued on the footers in the backyard, but even though the footers were being dug at a record pace, nothing of interest had turned up. No clues about why someone was so determined to stop the renovations, if that was even the case.
Pierce rounded the house from checking on his brothers in the backyard and was about to head inside when Hamilton drove up. Pierce waited for the lieutenant to join him before going inside.
“Finally got a few hours sleep?” Pierce asked.
“Had to,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard to keep the respect of your troops when they wake you up in a puddle of drool on the coffee table.”
Pierce slapped him on the back. “Tessa just got here. She said she has some news.”
“Any news has got to be better than the big zero we have right now.”
Pierce wasn’t so sure he agreed. Tessa had flatly refused to give him any information on the phone, and she hadn’t sounded enthusiastic about what she’d found. Instead, she’d sounded downright grim.
Tessa glanced up from her seat on the couch when they came inside. “You’re not going to like this.”
“I didn’t think you’d come here to deliver good news.” Pierce sat down on the other couch. Hamilton took one of the chairs.
Tessa set a file on the coffee table. “We can go over this in more detail later. I’ll just give you the highlights. As far as the motel is concerned, the woman in those photographs is definitely not under any duress. I see no signs of coercion, and I interviewed three witnesses that saw her and the man she was with entering the motel room. All three were positive, without exception, that the two were an amorous couple.”
Pierce scrubbed his face. “And you believe the woman was Madison.”
Tessa nodded. “I believe the facts. None of the facts support the conclusion that it’s not her.”
“We’ll come back to that later. What else do you have?”
She flipped the folder open and spread out a stack of faxes and printouts. “This is the dossier Casey—” she stopped, glancing up at Hamilton, as if she’d just realized she’d said something she shouldn’t have said.
He rolled his eyes. “Like I didn’t suspect Agent Matthews was helping you two. I’m sure he’s focusing on the ‘Simon says’ case too. Go on.” He waved for her to continue.
She nodded her thanks. “Casey dug as much as he could on Damon McKinley. The man is a saint. He doesn’t have a criminal record, not even a speeding ticket. He was born and raised in Montana, was well-respected in his community. The only negative about him that I could find is that he had a lot of health problems, and he didn’t seem to allow anyone to get close to him. He was reclusive, no friends, no family. No one knew him all that well, but he was generous with local charities and had an excellent reputation as a philanthropist in his community back in Montana.”
“How far back did you go?” Pierce asked.
“All the way . . . birth.”
That feeling of unease was starting up inside Pierce again. “That’s not the picture Madison painted of him.”
“He was an entrepreneur, like she said. He made a lot of money, but he gave away half as much as he earned.”
Pierce stood and paced behind the couch. “Why did he move to New York if he was such a respected saint in his hometown?”
“That I can’t answer. My theory is he got bored, wanted new challenges, new territory to invest in and build his wealth. I’m sorry, Pierce, but this man doesn’t sound like someone who would fake his death and stalk his former wife.”
Pierce stopped behind her. “Are you telling me you can’t find one single bad thing on him?”
“Not so far.”
The front door opened and Matt stepped inside. When he saw Tessa, he frowned and strode over to the couch.
Tessa barely spared him a glance. She looked over at Hamilton, who was following the conversation with fascinated interest. “On paper at least, Damon McKinley was a model citizen who had nothing to gain by faking his death. Madison, on the other hand, had everything to gain. She didn’t become wealthy in her own right until after she inherited her father’s money. Her husband had a million dollars in the bank when he died, money that went straight to Madison.”
Pierce looked between Tessa and Hamilton. “You’re both so convinced Damon is a good guy.”
“I’m not.” Matt crossed his arms and glared at Tessa.
“Was a good guy,” she said, ignoring Matt. “He’s dead.”
“I’m inclined to believe a woman knows her own husband,” Pierce said. “Madison said the man in the park was her husband. I believe her.”
“You didn’t seem so sure when she first went missing,” Hamilton said.
“I’m sure now.”
“Why? What’s changed?”
“Twenty-four hours, that’s what’s changed. Something has happened to her or she would have called. She wouldn’t put me through this type of hell on purpose.” As soon as the words were out, he snapped his jaw shut. The look of pity on Tessa’s face had him wishing he’d never asked for her help.
“Why would Damon stalk her?” Tessa’s voice was soft, hesitant, as if she were afraid he was on the verge of breaking down.
“I don’t know, not yet. What I need you all to do is keep a few things in mind. First, on paper, Madison is just as innocent and as much of a model citizen as Damon appears to be. There’s no reason to assume she’s the bad guy in any of this.” He looked directly at Hamilton when he said that.
Hamilton gave him a reluctant nod. “Agreed.”
“Second, if you turn this around and assume Madison is right—that it really is Damon behind everything that’s been happening since she came to Savannah—then he has some kind of motive you haven’t discovered yet. There’s more to this than you’re seeing, than we’re seeing. Think about the inconsistencies. There aren’t any pictures of Damon. How do you know the man you researched is really Damon without having photographs?”
“I’m still working on that,” Tessa said.
“You mentioned he had health problems.” Pierce said.
“Damon had several medical problems. Nothing too serious, but one of the articles done about him in his hometown paper said he saw doctors regularly and took meds.”
“Madison never mentioned that.”
Tessa frowned. “She didn’t?”
“No. Did you find his medical records in New York?”
“Not yet. I don’t have anything worthy of a search warrant, so I may not even be able to get anyone to admit they were his doctor.”
“Can I get a copy of that folder?” Hamilton asked.
“Absolutely.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere closer to finding Madison,” Pierce said. “Are you sure you followed up all the leads at the motel? Someone had to see Madison’s car leave the parking lot. What direction did it go?”
“I’m drawing a blank there. I can’t find a single person who saw the car leave, which seems bizarre since it’s such an eye-catching color.”
“And yet, you have several witnesses who saw the car arrive, and it was caught arriving on camera—conveniently showing the license plate as well,” this from Matt.
Tessa looked up at him, her eyes half-closed as if she were only tolerating his presence because she had to. “I admit it seems like someone wanted witnesses to think Madison was at that motel.”
“Right,” Pierce interrupted. “But when the car left the motel, it left in some obscure way—perhaps down a back alley, to avoid witnesses and cameras.”
“A set-up,” Matt said.
“Seems that way to me. Madison has been with me for several days. She’s had no opportunity to be alone, to arrange some clandestine meeting with some man in a motel. And she’s not exactly the type to sneak around. If she wants to do something, she does it.”
“Now, that I’ll agree with,” Hamilton said. “I’ve seen no signs of meek and mild in Mrs. McKinley.”
Pierce raised a brow. “You’re on my side now?”
“I’ve never not been on your side. I just want the truth.”
“So what’s the next step?” Tessa asked. “We’re out of leads.”
The front door slammed and everyone glanced up.
Logan Richards stood in the entryway, his usual crisp, polished appearance only a distant memory. He needed a shave as badly as Pierce did, and his suit was rumpled, as if he’d slept in it. He saw Pierce and strode toward him.
Pierce rose to greet him, but his words died on his lips when he saw the anger flashing in Logan’s eyes.
“I asked you to check on my sister.” Logan’s deep voice boomed through the room. “And now she’s missing.” He shoved Pierce, forcing Pierce to take a step back. “What the hell are you doing to find her?”
“Now wait just a minute.” Matt tried to shove his way between them.
Logan knocked him flat on the couch without even looking at him.
“Don’t,” Pierce said to Matt, when he jumped up with his fists curled in front of him. “Logan has every right to be angry. I should have protected Madison. It’s my fault she’s missing.”
“Damn right it is,” Logan said.
Matt ignored Pierce’s warning and pushed between them again. “Arguing isn’t going to help us find her any faster.”
Pierce froze and blinked in disbelief as he stared past Logan. Logan turned and they both stood in stunned amazement to see who was standing in the open doorway.
Madison.