“You’re kidding me.”
Stella grinned. “I went out to their new compound to check him out. You’re right, he’s damn weird. And that Anya, who works for him? She’s weird too.”
“You can’t arrest someone for being weird.”
Stella shook her head. “If you could, my ex-in-laws would’ve been locked up long before I met them.”
Mattie smiled.
Stella’s demeanor became serious. “I think they’re worth pursuing. Hornsby seemed mad as hell to see me, said he was going to sue for harassment. Anya seemed to calm him down, and he made the right choice to stick around for some questions. They say they were both present and accounted for there at the health spa on Friday morning. Of course, they’re each other’s alibis. Makes it real handy. If we find something else on the guy, we could bring him in and question him here. Or any of the other people out there, for that matter.”
Mattie had run the plate on the vehicle parked at Brody’s after she returned home last night. It belonged to a dark-gray Ford Escape registered to Adrienne Howard, the massage therapist she’d met at the hot springs yesterday morning. She hesitated to share this with Stella. So far she had nothing solid against either one of them, Brody or Ms. Howard. She decided to sit on it a little longer.
Stella was still talking. “And I made some copies of a couple of pages from the kid’s diary last night that I’d like for you to see. It’s damn sad reading the thing, and I respect the kid’s privacy. Other than these two pages that pertain to the case, I don’t plan to share it with others.”
“I respect that decision,” Mattie replied.
“Can we grab a cup of coffee and meet outside at the picnic table for a minute while I have a cigarette?”
Mattie checked her watch. “I have about ten minutes before briefing.”
“Let’s postpone the coffee. I’ll just go for the cigarette.”
Mattie followed the older woman down the sidewalk to the side of the building where there was a covered picnic table meant for employees to have lunch but used mostly as a spot for them to take a cigarette break. This early in the morning, the area was deserted.
While Stella lit up, she said, “You look like someone’s holding you hostage this morning? What’s up?”
Mattie marveled at the detective’s perceptiveness. “My brother called my foster-mom and told her to ask me if I’d want to talk to him.”
“This is the brother you haven’t heard from since he left town? Years ago, right?”
“Yeah. Since we were kids.”
“Hot damn.” Stella took another hit on her cigarette. “And you got his phone number, right?”
“He didn’t leave it.”
“Caller ID?”
“Mama has an old rotary phone.”
“We could get her phone records.”
Mattie smiled at the lengths Stella seemed willing to go. “That won’t be necessary. He’ll call her back, and then he’ll call me.”
“Okay. But what if he doesn’t?”
“He will.”
“Don’t postpone this, Mattie. What are you afraid of? You still functioning under the misconception that what happened to your family is all your fault?”
Mattie paused, no longer sure how she felt but knowing she could never admit it and face Stella’s wrath. “No.”
Stella gave a skeptical look. “One thing I learned a long time ago, Mattie—and you should remember this—is that it’s okay to get out of an abusive situation. You don’t have to beat up on yourself just because you refuse to let someone else do it.” She sucked another lungful of cigarette smoke while Mattie stared back at her and said nothing.
“Let’s move on,” Stella said, shifting to a more businesslike manner and reaching into her case to retrieve two copied pages covered in plastic sheets. She handed them to Mattie.
Quickly, Mattie scanned the pages for dates. There were only two entries, one made the week before Grace’s murder and one made the very day. The first entry read,
Followed M and his dogs to a cabin up Ute Canyon, and I’m parked at a spot just a little ways up where I can watch without him noticing me. He takes a dog inside one at a time and then brings it out to the trailer. WTF is he doing? I wish I could ask, but he’d freak if he knew I’ve been following him.
Mattie glanced at Stella, who blew a thin stream of smoke out of her pursed lips. She went on to the next one, the one made on the day of the girl’s murder.
Followed M back to the same spot. Today there’s another car here, a gray SUV kinda like mine. M keeps taking the dogs back and forth. This is so lame sitting here watching him through binoculars. I’m going down there to see what’s going on!!!!
With a dull ache in her chest, Mattie looked at the detective.
Mouth downturned, Stella said, “My guess is, they weren’t too pleased to see her.” She moved her cigarette back up to her lips.
Mattie just shook her head. “I wish she’d written down the plate.”
A snort released some smoke from Stella’s nostrils. “Tell me about it. We’d be making an arrest about now.”
“I’m glad for the parents’ sake that there’ll be no more speculation about her involvement with the drug ring.”
The conversation died while Stella took a last drag on her cigarette, threw it in the grass, and then stubbed it out with the toe of her shoe.
Mattie said, “Guess it’s time to go inside.”
Brody came strutting around the corner of the building, headed their way. “Cobb! Are you going to work today or just sit around smoking cigarettes with the detective?”
Stella’s annoyance was evident.
“I’m on it,” Mattie told him, getting up from the bench.
“What?” Brody said to Stella, gesturing with his hands, palms up.
“Just reminded me of an argument that Deputy Cobb and I had about male and female cops,” Stella said. “Now, let’s go to work and try to do some good.”
Chapter 23
“I want braids. Mommy always makes braids for me.”
Sophie’s whiny voice made Cole wish for a nanny. No wonder Liv was worn down.
“Sophie, I tell you what. If you don’t stop that whining, I’m going to send you to your room, breakfast or no breakfast. Do you hear? I can’t take it anymore.”
Sophie hugged the stuffed rabbit she’d found on the kitchen chair, where, in the excitement of getting Belle last night, he’d forgotten and left it. She stuffed one of its ears into her mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clamped her teeth. She looked sadder than a wet cat.
Good Lord. The kid was suffering and all he could do was yell at her. He ought to be shot and put out of his own misery. “Come here, little bit.”
Cole wrapped his arms around his youngest and rocked her gently until she relaxed into him, sobbing out her lonesomeness.
“I want Mommy,” she said between sobs.
“I know, I know.” Cole continued to rock her, side to side.
He’d tried to reach Olivia last night by phone, but either she was away from home or she was screening calls and decided not to pick up. He hated to be paranoid, but he thought it was probably the latter. Finally, he’d left the message that he and kids missed her, and he had some important local news he needed to tell her.
He’d hesitated to ask her to call him back; he’d already done that many times to no avail. But it just didn’t seem right that she learn about Grace’s death on the news or, worse yet, through the grapevine. Olivia had known the girl since the children were first graders, and he knew the news would be a shock to her.