Dead Right Page 2

  The police chief pulled out some jumper cables, a couple of quarts of oil, a sopping blanket. Familiar items that could be found in any trunk.

  There’ll be something that’ll finally reveal the truth. Madeline was praying so hard she almost couldn’t believe it when she heard him say, “That’s it.”

  “What?” she cried. “There’s nothing that tells us where he went?”

  Pontiff shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m afraid not.”

  She didn’t move—felt absolutely rooted to the spot—as Clay wiped her tears with his thumb. “I’m sorry, Maddy.”

  Sorry didn’t have any meaning. She’d been expecting so much more. It couldn’t be over. If so, she was right back where she’d been before they discovered the car. Where she’d been all along—faced with this nagging mystery and the prospect that she might never know.

  “There…” Her teeth chattered from the cold. “There h-has to be…something else here,” she said. “You’ll…look, won’t you? You’ll…let the car dry out and…and go over it inch by inch?”

  Chief Pontiff nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t optimistic.

  “Will you let Allie help?” Her sister-in-law had been a cold case detective in Chicago. Surely, she’d uncover some kind of clue.

  With a grudging glance at Joe and Roger, Pontiff scowled. “You know I can’t do that.”

  “Don’t let the…the Vincellis dictate how you handle this,” Madeline said. “She’s the most qualified…p-person around here.”

  “She’s also married to the man who did it!” Joe shouted.

  The cleft in Joe’s chin was a little too deep to be attractive. Or maybe it was his close-set eyes that gave him a shifty air. He stood six feet tall and was almost as muscular as Clay, but Madeline had never found him good-looking. “Stop it,” she murmured, but he talked right over her.

  “Give me a break! Will you listen to yourself? Maddy, if you want to know what happened to your father, ask that man right there!”

  He pointed at Clay, but wilted when Clay pinned him with a steely gaze. Not many men could stand up to Clay, and Joe was no exception. He shuffled back, muttering, “Tell ‘em, Roger.”

  Joe’s brother was even less handsome. His teeth were straighter, but he was thinner, a full three inches shorter, and had a severely receding hairline. Although he was the older brother, he tended to stay in Joe’s shadow. “It’s true,” he said, but weakly, as if he didn’t really want to incite Clay.

  Chief Pontiff ignored them both. Madeline knew he was well aware of the suspicion and accusations of the past. He’d been on the force when Clay’s future wife had returned to town and begun following up on the Barker case. He’d been around when Allie’s father, the former chief of police, charged Clay with murder and put him in jail last summer. He’d also been around when they let Clay go because there wasn’t, and never had been, any real evidence linking him to the crime.

  “This car has been submerged for more than half our lives,” Pontiff said, his attention on Madeline. “Look at it. Even the metal’s begun to corrode. Much as I hate to say it, the Caddy might not tell us what we want to know. You need to prepare yourself, just in case.”

  “No!” She hugged herself to stop the shaking. “There could be a…a tooth, or a comb stuck way down between the seats. Some evidence, some lead.” She watched those forensics shows on TV religiously, recorded them if she wasn’t going to be home. She’d seen dozens of cases solved with the tiniest scrap of evidence.

  “We’ll check, like I said, but…” His words dwindled away.

  “Oh, Maddy,” Grace said softly.

  Madeline didn’t respond to her stepsister. She wanted to calm down, for her family’s sake. They didn’t need the added stress of her breaking down. They’d been through a lot, too. At least no one had blamed her for her father’s disappearance. But she couldn’t seem to restrain herself. Not this time. “Don’t prepare an excuse before you even try,” she said. “Find s-something. I want to know what happened. I need to know what happened.” She grabbed Chief Pontiff’s arm. “Do your job!”

  Pontiff blinked in surprise, and Clay quickly pulled her into his arms. “Maddy, stop,” he murmured against her hair.

  If anyone else had asked her, she wouldn’t have—couldn’t have—gained control of her wayward emotions. But regardless of the turmoil inside her, she had too much respect for Clay to ignore his wishes or embarrass him further. Burying her face in his chest, she started to cry as she hadn’t cried since she was a child, with big wracking sobs that shook her whole body.

  He hugged her close. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s okay.”

  “You’re hugging the man who killed him,” Joe whispered.

  “Shut up, Joe,” she snapped. Clay had been the one to keep their family safe through the dark years after her father was gone. At times, he’d been the only thing standing between them and destitution.

  “I’m sorry,” she told Clay. She didn’t want to draw attention to him. She knew he simply wanted to go on with his life and forget. She wished she could forget. But it was impossible. She’d tried.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said.

  With a sniff, she pulled away and dashed a hand across her cheeks. “I’m going home.”

  “I’ll call you if we find anything,” Pontiff said.

  Joe and his brother were still there, but one look from Clay kept them shuffling around the perimeter of the group like jackals attracted to a carcass. They obviously wanted to come closer, to say more, but were afraid to risk the consequences.

  Madeline turned to her car. The police always said they’d keep digging, keep asking questions, go back through the files, whatever. But they never found anything solid. They didn’t really care about the truth. They just wanted to pin it on the Montgomerys to satisfy the Vincellis, who held political power in this town. Maybe Pontiff was a friend of sorts, but he was subject to the same political pressures as his predecessors and would probably follow in their footsteps. Nothing would change.

  But Madeline couldn’t accept “nothing” any longer. She had to take more aggressive action, do something that would finally provide answers.

  She was pretty sure what that something had to be. But her stepfamily wouldn’t like it. And there was no guarantee it’d work.

  Chapter Two

  Madeline longed to call Kirk. She hadn’t talked to him since they’d broken up. But allowing herself to do what was comfortable and convenient would only land her in the same old rut. She and Kirk had no real hope of long-term happiness together. She wanted children; he was adamantly opposed to them. He wanted to leave Stillwater, travel the world; she wanted to stay close to her family and maintain her home and business. It was better to let go and move on, better for both of them.

  Maybe she was doing the right thing. But life was damn lonely in the meantime. Especially since she hadn’t gone to her office today. Although she had no staff, just three people who earned a little extra money delivering papers for her once a week, the small office she leased for The Stillwater Independent was located on Main Street and a lot of people dropped in on her. She usually enjoyed the company—a journalist had to stay connected to the community. Today, however, she hadn’t wanted to face the questions, the sympathy, the reaction that recovering the Cadillac would evoke.

  Feeling guilty for hiding out, she scooped up her cat and rubbed her chin on Sophie’s fur. If it hadn’t been her own father who’d gone missing, she would already have produced an article on the incident at the quarry, slapped it on the front page and given it a huge headline: Reverend’s Car Found. But she was too close to the story, and after the flurry of activity following the drowning of Rachel Simmons—the search, the funeral, the outpouring of sympathy for the family—she was emotionally exhausted.

  She couldn’t write about what she’d been through this morning. Not yet. She hadn’t done much of anything today except scour the Internet for someone who might be able to
help her, and pace.

  Putting Sophie down, she took her mother’s old quilt from the couch where she’d been curled up a few minutes earlier, wrapped it around her shoulders and crossed to the window. It was getting late. And it was still raining.

  God, she was tired of the constant drizzle, tired of the cold. The steady drumming against the roof made her feel hollow. And everything looked soggy and beaten down and smelled of mold.

  She glanced at her car keys, lying on the antique secretary by the door. Maybe she should go out, visit her family. But the soft chime of the clock in the hall told her it was far too late. She didn’t want to go to the farm where Clay and Allie lived, anyway. She’d grown up there and wouldn’t be able to return without thinking of her father.

  Images of her parents’ Cadillac, rusty and encrusted with dirt, once again flitted through Madeline’s mind.

  She pressed her palms to her eyes, but she could still see Pontiff holding up her father’s camera. She also heard the squeak of the metal, the splash of the water that had poured out of the open door and the echo of Chief Pontiff’s voice when he’d said, “That’s it.”

  Heading to the small desk in her old-fashioned kitchen, she picked up the listing of private investigators she’d printed off from the Internet. She’d called several of them earlier but had been disappointed by their responses. They were too busy. They wouldn’t be able to come to Stillwater to do the necessary research. They specialized in lost children or cheating husbands.

  However, a few had recommended a man named Hunter Solozano. They said he could find anyone or anything and often accepted unusual jobs for the challenge. But when she’d called the number they’d given her, his voice mail had indicated there was no room for new messages.

  Swallowing a sigh, she picked up the handset and tried Mr. Solozano again. It was past midnight, but she didn’t care. Surely it was an office phone, which meant it wouldn’t matter. Maybe she’d finally be able to leave a message so she could feel as if there was some hope.

  She’d expected at least three rings—so she jerked upright when a deep voice answered almost immediately.

  “Damn it, Antoinette, you’ve already got your pound of flesh!”

  Madeline stiffened in surprise. “And if this isn’t Antoinette?” she ventured.

  There was a moment of startled silence. “That depends,” he drawled, smoothly recovering. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “That also depends,” she replied. “Are you Hunter Solozano?”

  “Yes.”

  “And are you as good as they say?” she asked eagerly.

  He chuckled. “Better. Particularly if you’re talking about sex.”

  Thanks to her preoccupation, she’d walked right into that one. Embarrassed and annoyed, she cleared her throat. “I’m talking about your professional skills.”

  “So this is a business call.”

  “Yes.”

  “At ten-thirty at night.”

  His time. She’d wondered about the area code. Fortunately, he lived to the west of her and not the east or he’d have a lot more reason to complain. “You sound like you’re awake to me,” she said hesitantly, tapping a pencil on the desk.

  “Thanks to you and my ex-wife.” His voice dropped meaningfully. “In case you haven’t guessed, that doesn’t put you in very good company.”

  A touch of defensiveness made Madeline rub her furrowed brow. “I assumed I was calling an office number.”

  “That means you weren’t expecting a response. Great. This can wait until morning, then.”

  “No!” she cried before he could disconnect.

  The fact that she didn’t hear a click encouraged her. “You weren’t picking up earlier. And your voice mail was full.”

  He didn’t make any excuses. Neither did he promise her she’d be able to reach him later. So she kept talking, trying to keep him on the line until she had a better chance of enlisting his help. “How was I supposed to know I’d been given your home number?”

  “It’s not my home number. It’s my cell. If you want to talk to me, that’s the only number. I like things simple.”

  “You don’t have an office?”

  “I have a small office, but you’ll rarely catch me there.”

  Purring, Sophie brushed against her legs, but Madeline was too preoccupied to pay attention. “I take it you’re not interested in developing new business.”

  “I have more business than I can handle.”

  That response wasn’t encouraging…“That’s fortunate for you, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Plumbing the depths of human frailty has its downside.”

  “So why don’t you do something else?”

  “Some people are good at building houses. I’m not one of them.”

  He wasn’t particularly good with people, either, but she’d heard too many testimonials about him to give up now that she had him on the phone. “I have a challenge for you.”

  “I’m tired and I want to go bed,” he said. “But thanks for the call.”

  “Can I leave you my number at least? Will you get back to me in the morning?”

  There was a long silence.

  “Hello?” she prompted.

  “Why don’t I refer you to a young associate of mine?”

  Maybe this other person would be easier to deal with. “Is this ‘young associate’ any good?”

  “He worked at my office for a short while doing database searches and just got his own license. He doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he’s hungry and he’s learning.”

  Learning? “No! I need someone who really knows what he’s doing.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Mrs.—”

  “Barker. But I’ve never been married. Call me Madeline.”

  “Ms. Barker. If I haven’t made myself clear, I’m not interested. Judging by your accent, you live several states from me, anyway.”

  “I’m in Stillwater, Mississippi. Where’re you?”

  “L.A.”

  “It’s crowded in Los Angeles,” she said, hoping to point out one of the city’s less appealing aspects.

  “That’s true, but if you’ve ever been here, you’d know why.”

  “I’ll pay you. Well.” She frowned at the check register lying open at her elbow. That was hardly the card she’d wanted to play. She was barely keeping herself and the paper afloat. How would she manage?

  “I suggest you contact someone in your own area,” he said.

  Panic caused Madeline to tighten her grip on the phone. “But I haven’t even told you what I want.”

  “Let me guess. You want me to slay the dragon that’s keeping you up at night.”

  She glared, bleary-eyed, at the clock on the wall to her right. She was tired, and too frayed around the edges to hide it. Evidently, that wasn’t working in her favor. “Isn’t that the case with most of your clients?”

  “These days, I typically work with people who want me to find out whether their estranged mates are hiding assets or having affairs so they can get a better divorce settlement. Or they’re trying to collect on a debt. Their dragon is usually greed.” There was a slight pause. “Do you fit into either of these categories, Ms. Barker?”

  “No, but…” She struggled to reel in her temper at his all-too-easy dismissal. “So you’ve gotten lazy? You only take on the easy stuff?”

  “I take on the convenient stuff, the close stuff. Besides, I doubt you could afford me.”

  She finally bent down to scratch her persistent cat. “What makes you think that?”

  “Maybe it’s the accent.”

  Her jaw dropped before she could rally her response. “That’s…discriminatory,” she sputtered.

  “You called me. Feel free to hang up anytime.”

  Nudging Sophie away, she stood and nearly told him to go to hell. But she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to find anyone else. According to what she’d been told, she’d certainly find no one better. “I need you,” she s
aid, resorting to simple honesty. “I need your help.”

  He cursed but didn’t hang up, so she took a bolstering breath. “You’re still with me?”

  “What is it you’re looking for?” he asked with enough resignation to give her hope.

  “A person.”

  “Who?”

  “My father.” She didn’t add that he’d been missing since she was sixteen. Better to reveal the potential difficulty of the task in stages.

  “Where do you think he went?”

  Despite all the years that had passed, she’d clung to the dream of a reunion—until they’d found the Cadillac. “I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”

  “Because…”

  She caught her breath, letting it out a little with each word. “He hasn’t been seen in…a long, long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Nineteen years.”

  “Almost two decades? Aren’t you a bit late in following up, Ms. Barker?”

  The accusation in his tone made her throat clog with emotion. “I’ve done what I could,” she managed to say. She’d even crossed the line a few times—breaking into Jed Fowler’s auto shop, hiring Officer Hendricks to scare Allie into believing someone out there was still dangerous.

  “And you’ve learned what?”

  Very little. The mystery was beyond her own sleuthing ability, as well as that of the entire Stillwater Police Department. Mr. Solozano was right, she should’ve looked for an outside investigator long ago. “Not enough.”

  “Who stood to gain the most from his death?”

  “It’s not that straightforward. My stepmother inherited the farm, but she’d never hurt a soul.”

  “Who else is there?”

  “Jed Fowler, an older man who was working on our tractor in the barn the night my father went missing. He can seem…strange. And a younger guy, Mike Metzger, who’s in prison on drug-related charges. But I don’t know if either one of them is responsible. That’s what I want you to find out.”

  “Sounds like a murder investigation to me. You should contact the police.”

  She bristled at his lack of compassion. He had to know, in twenty years, she would already have tried the police. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to get involved. Maybe Hunter Solozano was a good investigator but he was the most insensitive jerk she’d ever met.