42
“Do you think we did the right thing?” Conrad looked up from his computer screen at Zink. In spite of not being scheduled, they’d both ended up at the station, trying to find a lead on Layla.
“You mean getting Maria up out of bed and back to the flower shop?”
“It might be too soon. It’s only been a few days. She has a right to a meltdown. Her daughter’s missing.”
“She does have a right, but believe me. It won’t do her any good. It will only make things worse. The longer she was in the bed the harder it would have been to get up and take that first step.”
“It’s amazing how you come in each day and smile.”
Zink brushed her fingernails against her chest and smiled. “I am sort of amazing, aren’t I?”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
She leaned back in her chair and twirled a pencil. “I do think it’s the right thing for Maria to do. As my therapist explained, people are creatures of habit, so if we get in the habit of giving up and being depressed, we only dig a deeper hole to climb out of.”
“So, the reverse is true as well.”
Zink looked at him with a question in her eyes.
“If you get in the habit of ignoring the bad things, it makes it easier to get on with life.”
“I have found that to be true.”
“The U.S. Marshals aren’t very happy about her decision to stay in town.”
“Well they’re idiots if they thought Maria would just pack up and leave for parts unknown without her daughter. So she might as well forge some sort of life here until...” She changed the subject. “I hear that Morgan Reed resigned.”
“Resigned? I doubt it. More like got fired. I can’t believe she was just going to turn Maria over to the Feds without an argument.”
“I don’t think she’s in any danger now, anyway.”
“Who? Morgan?”
She wadded up a sheet of paper and threw it at him. “No, not Morgan. Maria. Whoever took Layla clearly wanted her and not Maria. I think she’s safe.”
“For what it’s worth, I agree.”
His computer beeped an alarm message. After clicking a few keystrokes, he looked up at Zink again. “They found Hamm’s rental car.”
“Really? Where?”
“At the car rental place where it was rented from. One of the workers was checking out another car and found it.”
“You’re kidding me. That’s an odd thing to do.”
“It is. What do you suppose it means?”
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they each worked out what it could mean.
“If I had a guess,” Zink finally said, “I would say it means he dropped it off and hopped on a plane.”
“With Layla?”
“That would be hard to do, wouldn’t it? He would need ID for her to get on a plane. Maybe he was alone.”
Conrad refused to believe the worst. Why would the man have gone to all the trouble of taking the little girl and then kill her? It didn’t make sense. “Maybe he stole another car. He knew we’d be looking for that one so he had to ditch it and get something else. If he took a car out of long-term parking, it could be days or weeks before the owner even knows it’s been stolen.”
“Yeah, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Except we don’t even know what the needle looks like. Not good.”
“Not good at all.” He stood and picked up his keys.
“Where are you going?”
“To talk to the guy who found the car.”
Zink tapped her watch. “Maria will be here to pick you up for your date.”
“I think finding her daughter is more important than missing a dinner date.”
“I do too, but you should call and let her know you might be late. After all, it’s your first date.”
“Not if you count the coffee dates we had. And besides you heard the woman. It’s not a date date, anyway.”
“Oh, please. The two of you are so smitten.”
“All the more reason to find her daughter. I don’t see much happening in our relationship while her heart is broken. Anyway, I’ll leave a message here and tell her I’ll be a little late.”
“Are you going to tell her what you’re doing?”
“No reason to get her hopes up.”
****
Maria pulled into the parking lot of the ramshackle motel. It was worse than she imagined. She glanced over at Rosie.
“I know it looks bad.” She shrugged. “Who am I kidding? It is what it is.”
Maria was glad she’d offered help to the teen. “How much is it?”
“Seventy-five dollars a week. That takes about half my mom’s check, and then we use the rest for food.”
“Are you going to school?”
“I am. I know I have to. It’s the only way we’re going to get out of this mess.”
“Good girl.” Making a decision, Maria looked over at Rosie. “I can give you twenty hours a week. Come in Wednesday after school and we can work out a schedule.”
“Thanks. That will help so much.”
Maria scanned the empty parking lot wondering if it was safe for Rosie and her mother. The place looked less than reputable. “Who else stays here?”
Rosie pointed at the first room. “Bob, that’s the owner, stays there with his girlfriend. And then it was just Mom and me. We’re in the second unit. But some guy showed up a few days ago. He stays in the last room. He gives me the creeps.”
Her mother alarm went off. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Something about him I don’t like. Bob told me that he asked to have the very last room. Even though it’s smaller than the rest of the rooms. And he keeps his car parked around back. Kind of strange since his car’s the only one in the parking lot besides Bob’s.”
“Probably hiding from his wife or girlfriend?”
Rosie giggled. “Or both. You’re probably right. We don’t see that many people around here like him. I guess I’m just being judgmental because of his accent.”
“His accent?” Maria’s heart dropped a beat. His accent. Her world tilted on its axis. It wouldn’t realign until she had Layla back.
A memory surfaced. Maria had been cooking Raymond’s breakfast omelet. He’d walked in and smiled pleasantly at her. “How are you this morning, dear?” His voice sounded different somehow. She thought she was tired because sleep had not come easy for her the night before.
“Fine.” She set down the plate in front of him. ”And yourself?”
“Just wonderful. It looks delicious. So, what are your plans for today?”
His voice definitely sounded different. Raymond rarely engaged in morning conversation. And he never asked about her daily plans unless it related to Layla.
“Not much. I might take Layla to the park. And then we have swimming lessons this afternoon. I still have a few last-minute things to do for the benefit.”
“That sounds nice. I read a newspaper article that said American children don’t get as much physical activity as they need. We don’t want our daughter to get fat and lazy, do we?”
Maria looked over at her husband. Had there been an odd tone when he said the word American? Almost a sneer. She chuckled. “I’m sure that’s very true. So many children want to stay in the house playing video games for hours and hours instead of going outside in the fresh air.”
“It is very sad indeed.” His voice—clipped and stilted, almost a foreign accent, but that was impossible. He didn’t speak with an accent. He was American.
She looked up from the omelet and over at him.
They gazes met.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
A chill travelled down her spine.
They stared at each for a moment, and then he lifted the paper once again.
Maria turned back to the sink…
She’d ignored that moment so long ago and had regretted it ever since. She wouldn’t ignore this moment. She looked over at Rosie. “What does this man look like?”