The door to Heath Van Brunt’s office opened, and a patrolman stuck his head in and held up a package. ‘Sorry to interrupt, sir. The disc you’ve been waiting for just arrived.’
Ken McCarthy, who was sitting in the visitor’s chair, jumped up and took it from the patrolman.
‘Pop it in,’ said the captain, indicating the screen on his computer. Ken tore open the package and pushed the DVD into the slot. As Oprah’s music and introductions of her guests began, Ken and the captain conferred.
‘The guy who owned the restaurant didn’t have a picture of him,’ said Ken. ‘He never had his picture taken. Always had an excuse to miss the photo session. This gay guy never pushed it. Told me he considered it rather,’ Ken consulted his notebook, ‘“déclassé” to post a picture of your piano player anyway.’
‘That figures,’ Van Brunt said, shaking his head. ‘Queens.’
‘Anyway,’ Ken continued, ‘he was all in a lather because Tyrell had been there, claiming he was on duty, and asking questions …’
‘Watkins,’ the captain exploded, ‘what business did he have going over there? That suspension is going to be permanent.’
Ken decided not to tell the captain that Tyrell had gone off in search of Ward and Miss Russell. He hadn’t wanted to admit that Tyrell was involved at all, but the gay guy, Mr Gelman, had made such a fuss about him being there. ‘He let us borrow his phone. We’ll be able to trace where she was calling from. I’m expecting that information any minute.’
Captain Van Brunt was still fuming about Tyrell. ‘Technically, he was impersonating a police officer. There are laws against that.’
‘Hey, look, sir,’ said Ken, pointing to the television. ‘Is this the one? Ward has two daughters. This guy had two daughters …’
Ken and the captain turned their attention to the screen. Oprah’s first guest, a trim, dark-haired woman in her thirties, sat tensely in her seat as photos of her ex-husband and missing children were projected on the screen. The man was clean-shaven and was holding a baby in his arms. A toddler with little blonde braids clung to his leg.
‘And that photo was taken just before they disappeared,’ said Oprah sympathetically.
The woman nodded. ‘After the judge heard testimony about his irrationality, and his controlling behavior, she awarded me full custody. She referred to him as emotionally abusive. That was all he needed to hear. He was an abused child himself. His mother was … involved in the legal system, so had utter contempt for the law. His visits were supposed to be supervised, but he managed to charm his way around that. He could be charming when he wanted to be … The third visit …’ The woman choked.
‘He took the girls and disappeared …’ Oprah finished her sentence for her. ‘And you haven’t seen him, or your daughters, since?’
The woman shook her head. Oprah said something soothing to her, and then cut to a commercial.
‘That’s got to be our guy,’ said Van Brunt. ‘The ages of the children would be about right.’
‘He’s got a beard now,’ said Ken.
‘So, Mrs Kelly recognized him from this program and decided to go and speak to him about it. That’s what I’m figuring,’ said Van Brunt. ‘Have we got a match on the fingerprints?’
‘They’re running his music sheets that the restaurant guy gave me right now.’
‘Good,’ said Van Brunt.
The patrolman stuck his head in the door and apologized again. ‘Captain,’ he said, ‘Jennifer Hubbell’s husband is here.’
Heath Van Brunt grimaced. He knew what the man wanted. He wanted new developments. But there were no new developments. At least, not at the moment.
‘Ken,’ he said. ‘Go out there and put him off. Nicely. Tell him I’ll get back to him ASAP.’
Ken nodded, and walked out of the captain’s office, and went over to where Ron Hubbell stood waiting with a nicely dressed couple. He felt sorry for Ron, who looked like nine kinds of Hell. He wished there was something encouraging he could tell him about their investigation.
‘Mr Hubbell,’ he said warmly, ‘how are you doing?’
‘Not too well, I’m afraid.’
Ken could see that. ‘What can I do for you? The captain’s tied up at the moment but he promises to get back to you ASAP.’
Ron ran a hand through his unkempt hair. ‘I … um … I had a bad night.’
Ken folded his arms over his chest. He had a feeling that he knew what that meant. A bad night. He glanced questioningly at Ron’s friend, who returned his look gravely and nodded.
‘My friends here, think I should go up to Boston with them. I’m finding it kind of difficult …’ His voice trailed off.
‘Officer,’ said the other man, extending his hand. Ken shook it. ‘I’m Skip Lanman. I’m an old friend of Ron’s. Laura and I are just concerned about him sitting around this town, not being able to work, with all these terrible memories. It’s my understanding that you’ve eliminated him as a suspect, so we were wondering if it would be all right—’
Laura, who was squeezing Ron’s hand in her own, blurted out, ‘We just feel he’d be a lot better off if he came with us … What purpose can be served by keeping him here?’
Ken stared at her.
Laura automatically reached for the buttons on her blouse, wondering if she’d forgotten to fasten something critical in her haste to reach Ron. Early this morning, Skip had dreamed that Ron had hung himself, and he woke up, thrashing and wailing. As it turned out, he had not been far off the mark. When they arrived at the hotel in Monroe, Ron had confessed to considering suicide. Getting so far as to take the pills in hand. Laura felt she would always be grateful that they had decided to call. The rush to get a flight here had been worthwhile. But she did feel slightly discombobulated. Still, her buttons checked out. Everything felt as if it were in place. But the officer continued to stare.
Faltering a little, she continued. ‘It’s a simple matter to reach him. And we can have him back here anytime you need him … Officer …?’ she asked.
‘It’s you,’ said Ken. ‘The woman on Oprah. It’s you.’
Laura and Skip exchanged a glance.
Then Laura nodded. ‘Yeah. I was on Oprah’s show this week.’
‘Your husband …’
‘My ex-husband kidnapped our children three years ago. Oprah is very good about giving people like me a chance to tell our stories. To try to reach people.’
‘Oh Lord,’ said Ken. ‘Wait a minute.’ Then he put a hand up. ‘Don’t move. Don’t go anywhere.’
Ken disappeared back into Van Brunt’s office. Laura looked from Skip to Ron. Then she noticed how pale Ron looked. ‘You’d better sit down, honey,’ she said, pulling out a nearby chair. Ron sat, and Skip leaned against a desk. Laura stood, twitching. Not daring to hope for anything because after all this time, she tried not to get her hopes up. These appearances always occasioned leads and phone calls. And none of them had ever led her back to her girls. She bit her lip and rocked.
In a few minutes, Ken emerged from Van Brunt’s office, followed by the captain. Van Brunt came over to them, and greeted the trio somberly. Then, he frowned at a paper he had in his hand, and cleared his throat.
‘Mrs Mallory,’ he said.
‘Yes.’
‘Your ex-husband is Clifford Mallory?’
‘That’s right,’ she said. In spite of her determination not to entertain false hope, her heart was in her throat.
‘He kidnapped your daughters three and a half years ago?’
‘That’s right,’ she said. Her mouth was dry. Her pulse was a drumbeat in her ear.
Van Brunt handed her a photo. It had been taken in the restaurant during an anniversary party when Peter was at the piano. ‘Is this your ex-husband?’
Laura let out a cry and staggered back. Skip rushed to hold her up.
‘This is Clifford Mallory?’
Laura nodded, her face white.
‘Mrs Mallory, it would appear that your ex-husband, and your daughters were living in Monroe for the last two years under an alias.’
Laura gasped. And then panicked. ‘What do you mean, “were living.” Where are they?’ she cried. ‘Are my girls all right?’
‘Yes, as far as we know. Though they have left Monroe. They moved out of the house they were living in and headed for … well, they said they were heading to Minneapolis but apparently that’s not true. Fortunately, they only left yesterday. They can’t have gotten too far. I’ve just this minute issued an APB on them …’
Laura’s eyes lit up wildly, with a kind of dizzy combination of joy and fear. ‘They’re that close. Oh God, this is the most hope I’ve had in three years.’ Her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away impatiently. ‘They might be … they were in Monroe. Oh my God, I don’t believe it. Oh, Skip.’ She turned to him and he crushed her in his arms, his face mirroring her joy.
‘They’ll find him now,’ he whispered. ‘You’ll have them back. We’ll have them back.’
‘Oh, how can I ever thank you? And God bless Oprah. My babies. My darling girls. Are they healthy? Do you have a picture of them?’
Captain Van Brunt and Ken McCarthy exchanged a glance. Laura saw it and froze. ‘What’s going on? What’s the matter?’
Van Brunt cleared his throat again. ‘This is kind of tricky. We have to move carefully. Your … ex is in a rather desperate situation. I’m afraid your husband – ex-husband – is suspected of killing a woman who baby-sat for him. Apparently, she recognized him and the girls from the Oprah show. We think she confronted him.’
‘Oh God, no.’ Laura sagged against Skip. ‘It’s not possible. Tell me that’s not possible.’
‘I’m afraid so, ma’am,’ said Van Brunt. He hoped she would not ask how Brenda Kelly had died. He didn’t want to tell her about the bathtub, the baby shampoo. He didn’t want to acknowledge, even to himself, the possibility that one of the children was in the tub when it happened.
‘He was always crazy,’ she said bitterly. ‘He seemed normal when I met him, but in time … I knew. And then he took the children. But murder. Not murder. Could it be a mistake?’
‘It seems pretty certain.’
‘A coincidence, maybe.’
‘I don’t think so. There’s something else, Mrs Mallory.’ Van Brunt grimaced. Laura waited. What could be worse? She was afraid to know.
‘Was your ex-husband acquainted with Jennifer Hubbell?’
‘Well, yes. They knew each other, although they were certainly not friends. I was in the process of getting a divorce when I met Jenn. I was attending a support group for domestic abuse victims and their families. She’d started coming because of her sister’s death. We became close friends. She helped me to move out.’ And then, suddenly, she realized what he was saying. She looked over at Ron, who had covered his face with his trembling hands. She looked back at the two policemen.
The sickening sensation in her stomach as they returned her gaze confirmed her fears. ‘You think … Jennifer.’
‘We don’t know that. But, it begins to seem … It’s possible that they had an accidental encounter. In a town as small as Monroe, it was probably inevitable. There was a connection. He is … was … friendly with a woman who was staying at the Hubbells’ house. It’s possible that Jennifer recognized him, threatened to expose him, and he acted on impulse. He didn’t want to be caught. Lose the children. The killer obviously did not have a weapon with him. Which leads us to think …’
Laura glanced at Ron. ‘Oh God,’ she breathed. ‘Oh Ron. I’m so sorry. Our Jenn …’ She began to weep.
Van Brunt watched them, moved by their pain. Why was it that the people who were not to blame suffered more than the criminals themselves? They rarely cared that much about the destruction they caused.
‘Mrs Mallory,’ he said gently. ‘All of this is speculation right now …’
Laura shook her head with the certainly of one who is doomed. ‘That’s what happened,’ she said. ‘I know it. If Jennifer had seen him …’
‘One thing is certain,’ said Van Brunt. ‘We are going to locate this man. And your children. I promise you. I think you might want to stay put, so that you can accompany us to them.’
‘Wild horses couldn’t stop me,’ she said through her tears. She hesitated, wiping her eyes. Then, she walked over to Ron and knelt down in front of him. ‘This is my fault,’ she said. ‘Because of my mistake, you’ve lost Jenn …’
Ron shook his head. ‘No. Don’t think of it that way.’
‘I have to,’ she said. ‘When the girls and I first left, we stayed with her. At her apartment. Peter was furious. Jenn wouldn’t let him in the door. We were all cramped in her place – the four of us. It was the first time I had slept easily in years.’
Ron squeezed her hands. ‘That’s the way she was. She wanted to help. She would have done anything to help you get those children back.’ He tried to smile at her through his tears. ‘Maybe now, she has.’