Dark Passing (The Ella Reynolds Series) (26 page)

“I only want to bring Mary’s mother some peace.”

Lola nodded. “I’m not unsympathetic. I’m a mother, and yesterday I tasted how hard it would be to lose a child. It’s like part of you is torn away.”

She looked well rested and put together today, though. And she sounded nothing like the person I’d spoken with last night. What changed? “Alfie contacted you, didn’t he?”

“Perhaps.”

“You haven’t told Fagan?”

“Do you think Carter would believe that Alfie ran away because he was scared he would be a suspect, but that he had nothing to do with any of the killings?”

I nearly laughed. Who did this woman think she was? “Do you think I will?”

Confidence exuded from her. “I think you will listen because you want the truth. As soon as you involve the police, I stop talking.”

I sat my cup down and gritted my teeth. “I’m listening.”

“Alfie came charging into the house that night in quite a state. He looked upset and his eyes were red. He practically shouted at me that William was having an affair. I always knew that someday he would find out, but I still wasn’t prepared. I didn’t react immediately, and he correctly surmised that I knew. He sat down on the couch, so defeated. I moved next to him and told him it was okay. He shook his head. ‘That’s why she wouldn’t go out with me,’ was all he said. That’s when I knew whomever William was with was someone our son knew and liked. My heart broke for him.”

Lola looked far away as she spoke.

“Alfie stormed out of the house, angry with me and his father, but not the girl. I called William and he told me it was Mary, but that he’d ended it that day. I tried to contact Alfie, but he didn’t answer.”

“And what time was all of this?”

“I really don’t know.”

“It’s important, Lola. If it happened later in the night, then it will clear Alfie. Can we get the phone records to prove his alibi?”

“And if it was earlier in the night?”

I gave her a helpless gesture.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I knew if the time was earlier, she wouldn’t give me the records, but at least it would be a lead in the right direction. “That still doesn’t explain why he ran.”

“Your visit and questions about Mary put him on edge. Then the other two girls were killed, and he knew both of them as well. Alfie has his failings, I know that, but he isn’t a killer, and he isn’t stupid. He knew that eventually you’d get back to him and uncover who Mary was seeing.”

“If he’s innocent, though, why is he hiding?”

She frowned. “If he has a reason beyond what I told you, I don’t know what it is.”

“I want to talk to him, Lola.” She shook her head. I pressed harder. “No police. He doesn’t even have to tell me where he is—and I’ll try to shield your family in the story, best I can. But if he won’t talk to me, and he knows anything that could help me solve these murders and is holding it back, I’ll make sure all your laundry becomes public knowledge.”

“Are you threatening me?” Her voice was soft and dangerous.

“No, I’m
promising.
If you and your family knew something and let the killer murder two more young women to protect your name, I will make it my personal mission to destroy whatever reputation you have. Do you understand me?” Fury made my voice low.

“Perfectly.”

“Then he has until, let’s say, 5:00 p.m. to call me. After that, I tell the two very interested officers waiting in the living room.” I left without waiting for a reply.

****

Fagan, Gabriel, and I sat in Fagan’s office and they badgered me about what happened. I kept my promise and told them nothing. I inspected my fingernails that were always short. I never took the time to paint them or decorate them in any way.
Writer hands,
I thought, looking at my long, thin, pale fingers with satisfaction.

“Ella, this isn’t a game. If she told you anything, you are obligated to tell Sheriff Fagan.” Gabriel tried to appeal to my reasonable side, but he should’ve known better. My reasonable side never won.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re obstructing justice, Ms. Reynolds.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m the only reason you have an investigation, Sheriff Fagan. I
am
the investigation.” I pointed to myself. “If I weren’t here, there wouldn’t be one at all.”

Fagan threw his arms up in the air and paced behind his desk. “Why was Lola—Mrs. Laurie—so angry when the two of you came out of the kitchen?”

I looked back at my hands folded in my lap.
Maybe I should have a manicure sometime.

“Ella intended to tell her about William’s affair,” Gabriel said slowly, watching me. I bit my lip. “That could be why she was angry.”

“You did what?” Fagan bellowed across his desk.

“If you’re going to yell, I’m going to leave,” I said with surprising calmness. I’d forgotten how easy it was to retreat into myself and away from them. It was easier to be indifferent when the outside world felt far away.

“She’s not going to talk. I’ve seen her do this before.” Gabriel frowned at me.

I sighed. I should’ve left him at home. “All I can say is, I don’t know anything that can help with Mary’s investigation yet. But when I do, hopefully later this afternoon, I’ll tell you everything. And I wouldn’t waste too much time on Alfie. Now that’s it. No more. Are you happy?”

“No,” Fagan said, but Gabriel winked and nodded. “What do you mean waste my time?”

I shrugged.

“She’s your girlfriend. Can’t you do something with her?”

Gabriel laughed. “If Ella says she can’t tell us something at this time, I trust that she can’t. Look, she’s agreed to tell all later. Let’s move on.”

Fagan sat back down and picked up a piece of paper from his desk. “This is the list of property owners and van owners. I have deputies canvassing the names.” He turned it so we could see. There were about fifteen names listed.

“And who owns the farm where we were yesterday?”

“Baervedlt University in the southeastern corner of the state. I don’t know his connection to the school, but the story goes he didn’t leave his family anything.”

“The story?”

He leaned back in his chair. “This was over fifty years ago. All I know are rumors.”

“Do you know what happened to his family?”

Fagan shook his head. “No. Do you think there’s a tie-in?” He frowned.

“Just curious. Gabriel told me the story and it was”—my phone rang—“interesting. Excuse me.” I stood up and answered as I walked back to my interview room.

“Lola?”

“I have the cell phone records. I tried to call Alfie at 10:12 p.m. and I called his father at 9:54 p.m. Does that clear him?”

“How long was he at your house?”

“I don’t know. About twenty minutes.”

That didn’t fit with our timeline. Unless he hired someone to kidnap her, Alfie probably didn’t do it. “It does.”

“Then Alfie will call you today. You have my word.”

“Thank you. After I speak to him, I’ll have to bring in Gabriel and Fagan. You can trust them. I promise.”

She paused. “I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”

I hung up and strode about the small room. It was nice to be alone with my thoughts. If Fagan didn’t do it, Alfie didn’t do it, and I didn’t believe Lola did it, that only left William— but my gut said no, it wasn’t him either. So who else was left? Bryan? Caleb? What had we missed? Damn it.

“You coming back, El?” Gabriel asked from the doorway.

I shook my head as I went toward him. “We’re burning through suspects. We need to look at the timeline again.”

“That means we’re making progress. Don’t get discouraged. We’ll get there.” He waited until I nodded. “Now what other suspects did we lose?”

“Alfie—and my intuition says Lola and William are off the hook, too.”

He leaned against the door and hooked his thumbs in his jean pockets. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what you and Lola discussed.”

I was tempted to tell him because his opinion meant a lot, but a promise was a promise. “Nope. No cops and you, my dear, are the police.”

He held up his hands. “Fair enough. I can wait, but Fagan is very put out. He’s gone out on a limb for you. He told you about William, he’s letting you look into a case he investigated, and he’s brought you in on new crimes. Now you’re keeping secrets.”

“Only for a few more hours.” A little guilt slipped through. We were all trying to do our best and bring justice. I wouldn’t appreciate being left in the dark, but I was doing just that to him.

“You know that I’m right. I can see it right there.” He traced the crease between my eyebrows.

I brushed his hand away. A conscience wasn’t going to solve this case.

Gabriel and Fagan headed back to the barn because the blood tests had come back that at least some of the blood was human, and I spent the afternoon reading Mary’s diary. It was the typical lamenting of a college freshman. She felt socially awkward and out of place, as she tried to carve herself a niche among her new peers. Her old friends and family just didn’t understand her anymore. She mentioned “Buddy” occasionally, but never with any real detail. In fact, once the novelty of the relationship wore off, she seemed to tire of it. She talked a little about Bryan and how she needed to break up with him because he was holding her back. As I neared the end of the book, William was also on the cutting block. If Mary was anything, she was focused and driven. She clearly and empirically worked out why neither man was a suitable match for her. I found myself rooting for her, forgetting that all of her plans and dreams were snuffed out. When I got to the last entry, the realization hit me: this diary was it for Mary. There’d never be anything else from her in the world.

April 11
^th
, 2012

Cecelia,

I got it!!!! OMG, I can’t believe it. I got the internship! Squee!!! Ahahaha, I am literally jumping up and down in Buddy’s house as I write this.

Mom’s going to be so happy. I can’t wait to start packing. Maybe I’ll do that tonight. And that’s it, no more stalling. I WILL break up with Bryan. I already talked to Buddy about ending this, whatever this is. He wants to see me one more time tomorrow, so this is the last night I hide my diary here. I’ll miss having a quiet place to come between classes. Oh, I’ll need to tell Martha too, so she can find someone else to help out over the summer. Gah! So much to do! There’s no way I can make it to Alfie’s party tomorrow. Wait until Nikki hears, she’ll die. I knew this year was going to be awesome!

See you later, Jackson. Hello the rest of my life!

-M

That was it. Mary never wrote in her diary again. The last entry was dated the day before she died, and since I’d found the journal in her hiding spot, I assumed she never made it back to the house on the 12
^th
to meet with William, but maybe she did. She had plans to jilt two men—providing each with the oldest motive in the book. Bryan still seemed unlikely to me, but if all else failed, I’d revisit him.

Right now I needed to see William, but I had a dilemma. Fagan had banned me from talking to him, and, surprisingly, I felt I should respect his wishes. My phone buzzed, and I answered, my mind still working on what to do about William, a.k.a. Buddy.

“Hello.”

“Ella?” I didn’t recognize the voice right away. “This is Alfie. Mom said I should talk to you.”

That got my attention. My head snapped up, and I gripped the phone tighter, pen poised over my notebook. “I’m glad you called. Your mom says you know something about the murders.”

“I don’t want to talk over the phone. Can we meet in person?”

“Where are you?”

There was a long pause. “My parents’ house.”

The little shit was still in Jackson, after he caused such a big hubbub. Fagan would be pissed. “Have you been here the whole time?”

“No. Mom made me come back today. Are you going to meet me or what?”

“I’ll come over now.”

Alfie disconnected without saying good-bye, and I gathered my stuff and called Gabriel. “How are you guys doing?” I asked when he answered.

“Fine. We’re walking the property now.” The wind roared in the phone, making him sound very far away.

“So you guys won’t be back for a while, huh?”

“Probably not. Why? Do you need us?”

“No, I just need a ride back out to the Laurie’s house. But I’m sure I can find another way.”

“Is this about the call you’ve been waiting for?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you more later. I have to go.”

“Hmm, careful, El.”

“I’ll be fine. Talk to you soon.” I hung up and went out to the lobby. “Deanna, is it possible to call a cab in this town?”

Her face screwed up. “No, everyone just drives themselves.” I sighed. “You need a ride somewhere? I’m about to get off.”

 “Would you mind? I need to go to the Laurie’s.”

“Sure. I’ll get someone to cover the desk. Sheriff Fagan told me to get you whatever you needed before he left, and this way I get to take off early.” She flashed a grin.