But she wouldn’t be calling Baxter to blackmail him in front of Joanne. They must have parted ways.
Baxter unclipped his private cell from his waist and punched in a number. Mr. Idiot answered on the first ring.
“They got away, you moron. Again.”
“What? The car—”
“Strip the car of the GPS and go home. You can’t be anywhere around that hotel.”
“But—” His man huffed over the line. “So then what?”
Baxter related the exact spot in the woods to watch on Monday. “There will be a box there, with ‘Ann’ written on top. You got all this?”
“Written down. When’s she coming?”
“I don’t know. Anytime after ten. Just hide and watch.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t miss. And I don’t ever want her body found.”
“When do I do the other lady?”
“We’ll talk about her later.”
“What about my leg, man? It’s still got a bullet in it. I got it wrapped up, but it hurts like—”
“Dig it out yourself.”
Baxter smacked off the call.
FORTY-SEVEN
After our initial shock over Melissa’s disappearance, Dan jumped on the phone to the local police. Perry headed out to search for Melissa himself. “She couldn’t have gotten far.” He threw open Dan’s front door and ran outside.
I stayed behind, too tired and sick at heart to hurry after him. Perry wouldn’t find her anyway. She’d skulk in the dark until she was blocks from Dan’s house. The police with their spotlights were more likely to locate her.
Back in Dan’s kitchen I listened to him request that Hollis-ter police put out a BOLO—Be On the Look Out—for Melissa. If found, she would be arrested. They’d bring her in on the gun charge and the material witness thing. A little time in jail should change her mind about testifying against Baxter. But the fact that Melissa was on foot made the BOLO more difficult to be effective. Police wouldn’t have a certain car to be searching for. Who knew what friend Melissa might call to pick her up?
“She’s likely to call Tony Whistman,” I told Dan as soon as he got off the phone. “The guy she just broke up with.”
Dan stood in his kitchen, one hand on his hip, the other drumming his granite countertop. He looked none too happy. “You know how to contact him?”
“I have his cell number. I don’t know his address, but I can find that quickly enough if you get me on a computer.”
Dan reached for the phone. “I can have his name run for his address and driver’s license. For now I can put some fear in him, in case Melissa’s already called. What’s his number?”
If Melissa had phoned Tony, he could already be on his way to pick her up. Fortunately it would take him some time to reach Hollister.
“Just a sec.” I hurried to the living room and pulled my notebook from my purse. Back in the kitchen, I rattled off the number. Dan punched in the digits, then hovered over the counter, head down.
I watched him listen to Tony’s phone ring. Anxiety pinged through my system like wayward electrodes. My legs threatened to give out any minute. I so needed sleep, but I wasn’t about to get it now. More than that, I needed a new life. No matter what happened here, Vonita would never be the same for me.
My body wobbled. I pulled out a kitchen chair and fell into it.
Dan’s head came up. “Tony Whistman?” He paused. “This is Dan Marlahn, district attorney for San Benito County. I need to talk to you about Melissa Harkoff…”
My nerves jittered and bounced—and just like that, some internal fuse blew. My mind dulled. I listened to Dan’s conversation with Tony as if he spoke from the opposite end of a long tunnel. Dan warned Tony that any help he gave Melissa in fleeing would be against the law, and Dan would personally come down hard on him. “Again, Tony, understand that if she cooperates with us as a witness in this case, we will protect her and keep her safe. And free. If she doesn’t, she’ll face jail time herself. If you care for her, you’ll do the right thing by contacting us the minute she calls you.”
My eyes closed. Dan’s voice faded. My head lowered…
I jerked up. My eyes blinked open, struggling to focus.
Dan was eyeing me, his phone on the counter. “He claimed she hasn’t called.”
I pulled in a deep breath, straightened in the chair. “Think he’s lying?”
“Don’t know.” He sighed. “We need to get you down to the station so they can take your statement.”
I nodded. “You got something to eat first? I need some energy.”
“Yeah, sure.” Distracted, his mind clearly running a mile a minute, Dan pulled out some lunch meat and cheese. I scarfed it down and drank two glasses of water. Then a craving for Jelly Bellies hit. When this night was over, I was going on a serious binge.
Perry stomped in as I was eating, thoroughly frustrated. “No go.” He leaned against a counter and frowned at the floor. A ticker tape of emotions scrolled across his features.
Dan made another phone call to police with three more requests. First, to alert hospital emergency room personnel in the San Jose area to contact them if a man came in with a bullet wound in the leg. Second, to tow in my car so a forensics team could go through it for fingerprints and other evidence, as well as checking for any hidden devices such as a GPS unit.
Great. Now I’d lost my car to police. No telling how long it would take to get it back.
Third, Dan sent an officer to run down a judge for a court order for Melissa’s cell phone records.
“On a Sunday night?” I asked when he hung up. “Aren’t you pushing it with some judge?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I need to get the process started. Once I get that order, it’ll still take me maybe twenty-four hours to get the records—and that’s if I keep after the cell phone company. Those guys are overwhelmed with requests. They’d take days if I let ’em.”
Perry looked up. “You’ll track her via cell phone towers?”
“Yeah. She makes a call, we’ll be able to locate her.”
I left the kitchen to visit the bathroom. As I washed my hands I stared at myself in the mirror. Bags under my eyes, my mouth pulled down with tiredness. I looked like a truck hit me.
The night stretched out, long and unknowable.
Sadness bubbled up within me. I leaned over the sink, hands supporting me on either side. Forget finding Melissa, forget bringing Baxter to justice. Forget even skip tracing. I just wanted to crawl into a cave and hide. And sleep.
Dear God, please help me. I don’t turn to you enough. But I really need you right now.
Guilt surfaced as soon as the prayer wafted heavenward. Melissa’s cutting words rang in my ears. “The only difference between you and Linda and Baxter and me is I don’t claim to be a Christian.”
In the living room I pulled my cell from my purse and called Dineen.
“Where have you been?” My sister’s voice thickened with sleep and worry.
“I’m fine. Safe. I’m…working on things. I’ll call you later.”
Perry and Dan joined me. Perry handed me my notebook. I would have left it in Dan’s kitchen. The DA held the plastic bag containing the gun he’d taken from Melissa. “I’ll lead you to the San Jose station in my own car,” he said. “I want to be there for your statement, Joanne.”
“San Jose?”
“The break-in and shooting took place in their jurisdiction.”
Oh. Right.
During the drive, I leaned back against the headrest in Perry’s passenger seat and closed my eyes. The lyrics to “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” sludged through my brain.