“I just don’t think he’s all that smart. I think our killer is much smarter, slicker. He’s more sophisticated. Mickey’s like, oh, like a big goofy pup. There’s nothing playful about our killer.”
“Maybe he’s smarter than he looks, Mia. Maybe that’s a ruse.”
“If it is, he’s damned good at it.” She sat down across the table from Beck. “Beck, I’m really, really sorry that you weren’t able to get in touch with me. I left my phone on the kitchen counter and unfortunately, forgot about it. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about Lisa. And that I wasn’t here for you. Personally and professionally.”
He nodded slowly. “It was a long, sad night, Mia.”
She reached across the table and took his hand in both of hers. “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything…”
“I stopped out at Singer’s house around six, but there wasn’t anyone there. I stopped at the showroom, but Jay said Todd hadn’t gotten back from taking the kids to Annapolis, that he’d called and said he was staying to have dinner with his sister and her family. Then Todd called me at home around eleven. Said he’d just gotten back and Lisa wasn’t there. He wanted to know if she was working overtime. I got in my car and I drove up and down every street in town, looking for her car. I called in Hal and Susan and had them search for her, too. This morning I put everyone on it. If she’s in St. Dennis, she’s hidden pretty damn well.”
“Those old buildings you were talking about yesterday…” She disengaged their hands.
“Funny you should bring that up. He held up a stack of computer printouts. “Three of the buildings were open-not secured in any way, and they were searched overnight. Oh, there were signs someone had been in them, but it was most likely kids. There were a few comic books, some empty beer cans. Cigarette butts, that sort of thing. There were a few that were pretty well boarded up, though. Hal had someone in records check them out. You’ll never guess who they belong to.”
“Surprise me.”
“Hamilton Forbes.” Beck shoved the list across the table. “Mickey’s father.”
“So you went inside and found…”
“Nothing, yet.” Beck looked at his watch. “Once Ham knew we’d brought Mickey in and why, there was no point in asking for the keys. He went ballistic.”
“I imagine his mother didn’t appreciate it much either.”
“Christina?” Beck scoffed. “She was the one who insisted Mickey come and talk to me. She says he couldn’t possibly have anything to hide, so there was no point making it look as if he did by making him hide behind the family lawyer. She also demanded that Ham hand over the keys to all the properties he owns, which he is refusing to do. So the two of them are at each others throats again.”
“And in the meantime, Lisa’s still missing.”
“Yes.” He looked at her with weary cop’s eyes. “Lisa is still missing.”
“I’m assuming you asked for a warrant…”
“I’m just waiting for Hal to get back here with it.” He nodded. “I swear to God, if I find a trace of her in any of those buildings…”
He pushed back from the table and out of his chair.
“She’s a good cop, Mia. One of the best. She’s a great mom-she’s devoted to her kids, devoted to Todd…” He raked a hand through his hair. “If that bastard has taken her, I swear to you…”
“We’ll find her, Beck. We’ll turn St. Dennis inside out if we have to, but we’ll find her.”
Duncan buzzed in on the intercom.
“Chief, Hal just called in. Judge Enoch signed the warrants. He said he’s on his way down to the river and he’ll meet you at the old crabbers’ lodge.”
“Thanks.” Beck headed for the door. “Let’s do it,” he said to Mia.
She reached for her keys that she’d tossed on the table and followed him up the steps and out the door.
“Garland, call Susan and tell her to stick to Mickey Forbes like a burr on a dog.” Beck and Mia passed the dispatcher’s desk in a blur. “And find Duncan. He should have been in by now…”
Beck stopped outside the front door and cursed.
“What?” Mia asked.
“I meant to call for a rental car. I keep forgetting.”
“Where’s your cruiser?” She gestured for him to follow her.
“Hal has it. He loaned his car to his brother, Phil, who’s on vacation, so I let him use mine. It was actually his, you know?” Beck waited for Mia to unlock the Lexus. “When he was chief. He picked out the options, he ordered the car. Whenever I drive it, I feel like a kid who’s borrowed his…”
“His father’s wheels?” She slid behind the wheel. Without waiting for him to comment, she added, “Nice of you to let him continue to drive it.”
“He got shot when he was in ’Nam. Upper left thigh. He likes to pretend it doesn’t bother him, but if he’s on his legs for too long, I know it hurts. So I’d just as soon have him use the cruiser. I like to walk around town anyway.”
“Which way am I going?”
“Go left on Charles, then straight out to the highway. There are several roads leading down to the river. The old buildings Ham Forbes bought are all within walking distance from each other. One used to be a boat house, another was used by the crabbers who worked the bay. I forget what the third one was used for. Hopefully, not chaining up women and torturing them.”
She drove through town, past St. Catherine’s Church, the oldest church in town, with it’s white spire and rustic cemetery.
“Listen, Mia.” Beck shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “About this morning. I’m really sorry for what I said to you on the phone. It was inexcusable. It’s none of my business what you do on your time or on anyone else’s.”
“It’s okay. I know how worried you are about Lisa. And it isn’t as if I hadn’t set myself up for that sort of reaction.” She tried to smile. “Ironic that I’d spent the night guzzling club soda instead of my usual beverage of choice. Which, given the way the night turned out, was probably a pretty good thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“My cousin Connor came home last night. He was making us dinner when he realized some sensor he’d set in the basement windows had gone off. Guys got ears like a Doberman. I never heard a thing.”
“You mean the security alarm went off?”
She nodded. “When we went downstairs to look, we found that someone had been cutting away the glass in one of the basement windows.”
“Someone tried to break into your house?”
“Connor’s house. We’re not sure what they were after.” She bit her bottom lip. “He thinks it couldn’t have been him, because he says no one knew he was back in the country.”
“Which leaves you.”
She could feel his eyes on her.
“Why would someone be after you?”
“I don’t know that anyone was.” She kept her voice steady and her eyes straight ahead. “It could have been just a random burglary.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Connor doesn’t.”
“So that’s why you were late.”
She nodded.
“Jesus, I feel like a real jerk,” he said. “Giving you so much shit about not answering my calls…”
“Hey, it’s okay. Given the circumstances, you were entitled to be a little testy.”
“‘A little testy’ is very kind.” He touched her shoulder. “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked softly.
“Everything just happened so fast. One minute, Connor and I were in the kitchen, getting dinner ready, the next minute, he’s flying down the steps with his gun in his hand. Before I knew it, the troops started arriving. Besides, there wasn’t anything you could have done from here.”
“You had some backup?”
“Our boss sent five or six agents out to process the scene. There were some prints near the basement window where the prowler had been kneeling, I guess while he was cutting away the glass. Then they found some tire prints down the road, which they casted and are trying to match.”