Maggie gestured at the grocery bag. “So what’s in there? You run out to Super One to get some Pop-Tarts?”
Lance still didn’t smile.
“We found something hidden in a plastic garbage bag inside the salt reservoir for the water softener.”
He made a show of snapping his plastic gloves. Then he reached inside the grocery bag and emerged with a small red child’s backpack that was designed to look like a strawberry. It had a Hello Kitty face on the outside.
“Shit!” Maggie exclaimed. “That’s the ransom bag.”
“Did you look inside?” Stride asked.
Lance nodded. He delicately opened the zipper of the backpack and separated the flaps so they could see the interior. Stride expected multiple wads of cash, but instead, he saw only a single sheaf of bills held together with a rubber band. The outermost bill was a crisp hundred-dollar note.
“Are those all hundreds?” Maggie asked.
“Yes. We found Hink’s wallet upstairs, too. There were a handful of C-notes inside, just like your witness said.”
Stride frowned. “Did you count the cash?”
“We did. It comes out to eighty-nine bills or eight thousand nine hundred dollars. There was another nine hundred dollars in Hink’s wallet, which puts him two hundred short of an even ten thousand.”
Maggie looked at Stride. “Ten thousand? Gavin said the ransom was one hundred thousand.”
Stride put on his own gloves and removed the band of bills from inside the backpack. He flipped through the stack to confirm they were all hundreds, and his face darkened. “Where’s the rest of the money?”
20
“Do you know a girl named Delaney Candis?” Serena asked Cat.
The two of them stood next to Serena’s Mustang in a parking lot across from the main library at UMD. Cat was eating a PowerBar, and she had a laptop bag slung over her shoulder. She wore shorts that highlighted her sleek golden legs and a maroon UMD hoodie over her torso. It was a cool, bright afternoon, and the nearby sidewalks were crowded with students and faculty.
A little smile crossed Cat’s lips at the mention of the girl’s name. “Oh, I know of Delaney, that’s for sure. I bet she knows me, too.”
“Why is that?”
“Our calculus prof posts everybody’s tests scores online with a class ranking. She says competition makes us work harder. The first test, Delaney ranked number one, and I ranked number two. That pissed me off, so the next test, I studied my ass off and made sure I beat her out for the top spot.”
“I take it she’s smart?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s really smart. I just want to prove I’m smarter.”
“Have you met her?”
“No, but I tutor one of the guys in class. He’s Delaney’s boyfriend. Or he used to be when they were in high school. Sounds like they don’t hang out anymore.”
“Why is that?”
Cat shrugged. “Don’t know, probably just a college thing.”
“What’s the boyfriend’s name? The one you tutor.”
“Zach Larsen. I’m pretty sure he likes me. That’s why he asked me to help him. And he needs the help. Math is definitely not his subject.”
“What about you? Do you like him?”
“He’s okay, but he’s just a kid,” Cat said, which made Serena smile. “What do you want with Delaney?”
“It’s an old case. I want to make sure I didn’t miss something.”
“You? Not likely.”
“Well, there were special circumstances,” Serena replied. “Anyway, I called Delaney, and she’s supposed to meet me here. I figured I’d see how you were doing first.”
“I’m glad you did.” Cat finished her power bar and crumpled the wrapper. “Hey, I heard about the dog.”
“Elton? Yeah. He went home.”
“Sorry. Is there any chance you’ll get him back?”
“I don’t think so. The whole thing was just — I don’t know what it was. My circuits got fried with Samantha dying, and Elton helped me through it. But that’s over.”
Cat gave her a look that said nothing was over. “You think Stride didn’t tell me? Come on.”
“Fine, okay,” Serena admitted, feeling annoyed that she had to say it out loud. “I had a bad night.”
“Um, yeah. No kidding. Have you called Alice?”
“I don’t need a shrink.”
“It sounds like you need something. Just call her.”
“I don’t need you acting like a shrink, either.”
“Well, fuck that, I don’t care! Who do you think you’re talking to? Get pissed off at me if you want, but I get to be worried about you, all right? You did a cartwheel off the wagon, and the next day you’re over here crapping around with old cases like nothing happened to you. What’s that about?”
“This is my therapy,” Serena told her.
“Sounds more like a river in Egypt to me,” the girl muttered.
“Enough. Knock it off, okay?”
Cat didn’t look satisfied, but in fact, Serena wasn’t in denial about how bad off she was. Or at least, that was what she was telling herself. Working on this case did feel like the therapy she needed. Dealing with the death of Nikki Candis was her mind’s way of dealing with the death of Samantha.
Two mothers, both of whom had failed their daughters.
Two daughters, both determined to protect their mothers. Regardless of the cost.
“What did Stride say when he found you?” Cat asked.
“He was very sweet, which bugged me.”
“What a shock.” Cat shook her head in exasperation. “What the hell is it with the two of you? Was I the only thing holding you together?”
Then the girl shrunk back, as if her temper had carried her too far. “Sorry. That was a shitty thing to say.”
“Yeah. It was.”
“Except I’m not wrong, am I?”
Serena wanted to scream at the girl, but she pushed down her frustration. With Cat. With Stride. But mostly with herself. It had a bitter taste.
“No, you’re not wrong,” she acknowledged wearily. “Jonny and I love each other, but we still don’t know how to rely on each other. I know I should be turning to him for support, and I’m not. But it’s not like he’s asking me for help, either.”
“Are you going to drink again tonight?” Cat asked.
Serena could have lied, but what was the point? “Probably.”
“Just like that?”
“You asked for the truth, Cat,” Serena snapped. “If you don’t want it, don’t ask, okay? I’m not planning to drink, but I know myself. I already want another drink right now. I want a dozen drinks right now. It’s taking every bit of self-restraint I have not to drive straight to a bar from here. So I’m not kidding myself. Yeah, odds are, I’m going to drink tonight. I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions. Even bad ones.”
“You want me to go with you?”
“I definitely do not want that.”
“I’d do it. I’d hold your hair back when you throw up.”
“I know you would, but I’m not dragging you into my disease. Got that?”
Cat bit her lip, as if struggling to find something to say. “At least don’t drive.”
“I won’t.”
“If you can’t call Stride, call me.”
Serena softened. “Yeah. Okay.”
Cat was about to head to the library, but Serena took her shoulder. “Hang on. One more cop question.”
Cat smiled. “Sure.”
“Curt says he solicits UMD girls to go to parties for money. Particularly for somebody named Broadway who runs an illegal gambling racket. Have you heard anything about that?”
“Yes,” the girl admitted.
“I hear it’s good money.”
“Very good.”