“We’ll have the two of you sit with a police artist,” Noah said. “Kenny, do you know how Austin knew about the condo? How he got the key?”
“He had a summer job with a carpenter on the condo. That’s how he paid for camp.”
“Do you know the carpenter’s name?” Noah asked but Kenny shook his head.
Olivia frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Does Austin have dark hair?”
“It’s brown,” Kenny signed, “but he dyes it red.”
“Why?” she asked.
“His dad left them,” he signed. “Austin looks exactly like him and he knew it hurt his mom to look at him. So he changed his hair. It’s been red since he was twelve.”
Olivia drew a breath. That emotion she understood. Her own mother had hated Olivia’s face because she looked like the man who’d abandoned them. “All right. We’re going to leave a police officer outside the boys’ dorm until we’re sure it’s safe.”
Oaks nodded, relieved. “Thank you.”
When she and Noah reached her car, Olivia closed her eyes, drained. “Hell. I can’t believe that kid. Kane’s dead because Kenny had a crush on a girl.”
“No, Liv. Kane’s dead because a sonofabitch shot him twice while trying to kidnap a kid. Kenny’s responsible for withholding information, but make him pay for what he did.”
Olivia winced. “I said that yesterday. To that Crawford asshole.” When he’d lit into Lincoln Jefferson, who actually had done something wrong. “You’re right.”
“I know. So, where do we go from here?”
“Kane and I were going to track down Joel Fischer’s friends. And we need to find out what Austin saw, see if he knew Joel or any of his friends. And we need to find Val.”
“She may be dead.”
“I know. But what if she’s not? She said she was going to a sub sandwich place three blocks from here. We can start there in the morning, try to trace her last steps.”
Noah opened Olivia’s car door and waited for her to get in, crouching next to her. “How did this guy know about Val?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I guess he was following us.”
“I guess that’s possible. Go to sleep for a few hours. If you need me, call me.”
She nodded. Now that the conversation with Kenny was over, she was dreading going home. It would be too quiet. She wondered where David was, if he was all right. If he was back at the cabin yet. She didn’t want to be alone.
She needed to sleep. She needed to be able to breathe again. She needed David.
She found her cell phone in her pocket. Saw that he’d called. That meant he was okay. That was good. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction, suddenly aware that some part of her mind had maintained a constant, nagging worry the words bad fire invoked. He was a good firefighter. He’d be careful.
Kane had been careful, too. And now he was dead.
She dialed David’s number but got his voice mail. She hung up, unable to form the words she wanted to say. I need you. Please come. Simple words, but they opened up a world of hurt. His pillow. She’d been able to smell him there. For tonight, that might have to be enough. She turned her car north and drove.
Wednesday, September 22, 3:20 a.m.
WELCOME TO DULUTH.
Passing the highway sign, he glanced down at his GPS. Only another ten miles and all his worries would be eliminated, along with Austin Dent.
Well, not all his worries. He thought about Mary and Albert’s conversation. She was right about their being able to claim he’d Photoshopped them into the video. If anything, the video showed there had been a fifth person there, who’d seen all. If she’d balked at the beginning, it might have made a difference, but Eric hadn’t told her. Now he had them in too deep. Still, Mary might just balk if given any more assignments.
In the beginning, he’d planned to expose her naughty arsonist ways, humiliating her daddy. It would destroy the SOB, like he tried to destroy me.
But that wasn’t enough anymore. Mary had tried to deal a different game, leaving those glass balls behind. She was no environmental activist, not that he’d believed for a moment she ever had been. Now she was a multiple killer. That fire had gone way wrong tonight. He’d listened to the story on the radio until he’d lost the signal. Innocent people had died.
The police weren’t going to care for it too much either. Especially given the incident with Detective Kane. The cops would be looking for someone to pay. He’d much rather that someone be Albert or Mary. Or both.
Trouble was, he wasn’t exactly sure how to make that happen. He glanced at his GPS again. Almost there. He’d get rid of Austin; then he’d consider his next steps.
Wednesday, September 22, 3:15 a.m.
David showered and changed at the firehouse, called Olivia again only to get her voice mail, then drove to the hospital where Jeff’s fiancée, Kayla, sat in the waiting room.
He sat next to her, suddenly afraid to ask her about Jeff. “Zell?”
“His back is broken, his hip is crushed.” She recited this as if reading a phone book. She was barely holding on. “He’s still in surgery. David, what do I do?”
“Be there for him, for now. Did you talk to him before they took him to surgery?”
“No. He wasn’t conscious. He won’t walk again, will he?”
“You don’t know that. A broken back doesn’t mean paralysis. And even if that’s the case, people come back from injuries like that. My brother did,” he added.
“The same as before?” she asked through her tears.
“No,” he said honestly. “Max was a professional athlete. It ended his career. But he found a new one and if Zell comes to that place, he will, too.”
She shuddered on a sob. “God, I’m sorry.”
He slid his arm around her shaking shoulders. “Why?”
“Because I’m sitting here, wishing he’d pulled you out.”
It startled him, but for just a moment. “I can understand that. My…” What is Olivia? “My friend’s a cop. Her partner died tonight. I’m… I don’t know. I can’t believe he’s gone, but I’m relieved she wasn’t there when the shooting happened. So I understand.”
She wiped her face with her fingers. “You’re on shift soon, aren’t you?”
He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “In a couple hours, yeah.”
“Then get some sleep. I’ll tell him you were here. Thank you. I do mean that.”
His heart heavy, he walked back to his car, checking his phone as he walked. He frowned, recognizing the number. Noah. Who was watching over his mother.
“Noah, what’s wrong with Ma?”
“Nothing. As far as I know, she’s asleep.”
“What do you mean, as far as you know? Where are you?”
“Following Olivia who just exited north. I’m headed into the precinct. Did you hear?”
“About Kane, yeah. How is Olivia? I tried to call, but she wasn’t picking up.”
“She’s holding, barely. I told her to go home, but the exit she took wasn’t hers. She’s headed north.”
North. Relief flooded him. She’s coming to me. “I know where she’s going.”
“I thought you might. Look, try to keep her from calling in.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“We have the name of the kid we’re looking for-the one who saw Weems get shot. Kid’s supposed to be home in Duluth, but the state cops just called to say they can’t find the kid. Looks like he saw them coming and bolted through a rear window. We hope.”
“You hope?”
“Olivia knows Kane’s shooter has the kid’s address. If she finds out he’s gone…”
“She’ll drive up there to look for him.”
“Exactly. She’s hanging on by a thread. She needs to rest.”
“She’s not gonna like that you decided that for her,” David said quietly.
“You gonna tell her?”
“If she asks, I won’t lie, but I won’t offer. If you’re working, who’s watching Ma?”
“She called that old firefighter friend of yours.”
“Okay, thanks.” This was becoming weird, his mother and Glenn. But his focus right now was Olivia. She’s coming to me. He wanted to fix it so that she wouldn’t leave any time soon. With a grimace for the late hour, he dialed Paige, unsurprised when she answered on the first ring. “Where are you?”