I work the ropes, back and forth, back and forth.

My one misstep in my hasty escape that awful morning has been rectified. Who knew I would need the weapon for this stage? If they thought I wouldn’t notice what they had done, they were so very wrong. I know exactly what they did, and it will be part of their undoing in the end.

I’ve even left a clue, if anyone cares to notice.

Before this is done I will have their full attention.

30

Monday, June 11

7:00 a.m.

Devlin Residence

Twenty-First Avenue South

Kerri glanced at the digital clock on the microwave as she downed her second cup of coffee. Falco would be here soon. There were forty-odd pawnshops in the greater Birmingham area. Not all sold weapons, but more than thirty did. They intended to visit each one in an effort to determine if Sela Abbott had purchased a weapon—specifically a .22 pistol. The lab had sent the ballistics report to Kerri’s email at six this morning.

The .22 used to kill Jacqueline Rollins and Ben Abbott was the same weapon. There were no weapons registered to Ben or Sela. None to Jacqueline Rollins. The murder weapon had been brought into the house by the shooter. Considering Sela had purchased a potential getaway car and mentioned having a problem to Keaton, it was reasonable to follow up on the possibility that she had armed herself as well.

Kerri still wasn’t all in with the theory that the wife was their shooter, but she couldn’t ignore the probability that she was involved somehow. Too many of those fragments they continued to find kept pointing back to the missing wife.

Since her daughter obviously wasn’t coming out of her room before Kerri left, she decided to go up and tell her to have a nice day. The silent treatment had gone on long enough. Though most teenagers slept late every chance they got, Tori was usually up by seven even on weekends.

Maybe she’d decided it was easier to ignore her mother if she stayed in her room.

Kerri topped the stairs and walked to her daughter’s door. She knocked and then opened the door. “I have to go, kiddo.”

The bed was empty. The covers spread smoothly and the pillows piled against the headboard. That was another thing about Tori: she always made her bed.

Kerri glanced across the hall at the open bathroom door.

Where was she?

Panic started its steady climb up her backbone. She rushed to her bedroom and checked her unmade bed and then her bathroom. No Tori.

The third-bedroom-turned-office-for-Kerri was empty.

She dashed back downstairs to see if maybe her daughter had fallen asleep on the sofa and Kerri had failed to notice. She wasn’t exactly at the top of her game in the mornings until after a sufficient amount of coffee had been consumed.

No Tori in the living room.

Fear slammed into her chest. Had Nick, the bastard, dared to drive all the way here and pick her up?

Not reasonable. Think!

Kerri grabbed her cell and called Tori’s. Straight to voice mail. Her heart pounding, she called Amelia.

Voice mail.

“Shit!”

Her cell rang, and a trickle of relief gave Kerri the ability to breathe again. Not Tori or Amelia.

“What?” she demanded of her partner.

“Whoa. Just calling to let you know I’m out here.”

“I can’t find my—” An incoming text snagged her attention. “I’ll be right out,” she said to Falco.

She ended the call and stared at the text from Amelia.

Sorry at work. Something wrong?

Tori is missing! Even as she typed and sent the words, Kerri’s heart threatened to burst from her chest.

No! She’s ok. She spent the night with me. I’m sorry. Thought you knew. Left her asleep in my bed.

Kerri leaned against the wall to brace herself. She drew in a deep breath, ordered her heart to slow.

Ok. Thanks. She and I haven’t been talking much lately.

She’s just confused. She loves you. I remember 13. It sucked.

Kerri managed a smile. Love you!

Ditto! <3

Pushing away from the wall, Kerri turned off the coffee maker and took a couple more deep breaths.

She had no idea how Diana survived with three kids.

On the way out the door, she made a call to Diana just to confirm that Tori was still there. Diana assured Kerri she was and promised to see that she got home safely. She reminded Kerri that Tori had come for dinner last night. Since Kerri still hadn’t been home at eight, Tori had asked to spend the night, and Diana had agreed. She hadn’t realized Tori had failed to inform her mom.

Kerri felt like kicking herself as she slid into the passenger seat of Falco’s car. She should have remembered her daughter’s plans—especially plans she had helped to make—and maybe she wouldn’t have freaked out. When she’d arrived home last night at eleven o’clock, she’d stood outside Tori’s door but decided not to knock since she was likely already asleep. She should have opened the door. Should have checked then.

What if Tori had been missing?

Kerri had allowed this case to take over her life. She knew better. The truth was, since the divorce it was easier that way.

Anger at her own selfish actions roared through her. How could she accuse Nick of only thinking of himself when she was doing the same thing?

“Good morning to you too, Devlin.”

Dragging her attention back to the here and now, she grunted a skeptical sound and focused on slowing her pounding heart. “We’ll see.”

“Still no transactions on the accounts at the local banks or on the credit cards,” he announced. “If our missing wife is alive, she definitely planned for all her needs, including cash. Cell carrier finally came through with her records. I skimmed those at the office this morning. Nothing except calls to her husband and other known folks listed in her contacts. No calls or texts since Tuesday night.”

Kerri frowned. “You’ve been to the office already?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Finally got up at three.” He glanced at her. “I figured you wouldn’t want me showing up at that hour.”

“Thanks for that.” She exhaled a big breath. Her nerves were still rattled. “I’ve looked at this upside down and sideways, Falco. From what the professor and that detective out in Cali said, she’s been preparing for this for a very long time. I’m still not prepared to label her our shooter, but she’s part of this or behind it somehow for sure.”

Falco merged onto the interstate. “So you’re leaning toward the revenge motive.”

“I am. But I think something went wrong, and her husband and mother were murdered. She was either in the middle of setting up her vanishing-wife scenario and hid while the intruder did the killing, or she came in after, found the mess, and went on with her plan.”

“Makes her sound damned coldhearted.”

“Sometimes when you focus on something for so long, nothing else matters.” She didn’t look at Falco, but she was reasonably confident he got the message. Maybe they were both guilty of going down that path. Only he hadn’t walked or stumbled; he’d run as hard as he could.

“Sometimes you do what you think you’ve gotta do,” he agreed.

There was more to his story. Some reason that had prompted him to give up everything and dive into the deep water before he’d learned to swim. She pushed the thought aside. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

“What we need more than anything right now is to know why Sela Abbott set in motion this elaborate plan to disappear.” They could no longer ignore that scenario. “Was she attempting to pin her abduction on the person or persons responsible for her sister’s disappearance, and some aspect of her plan backfired?”

“Chances are,” Falco said, “her rich husband would have moved mountains to find her and get to the bottom of what happened. Maybe he was supposed to solve the crime and see that the revenge she wanted so badly was carried out. All she had to do was make him want to—he loved her; they’re having a baby. Bam, he’s in all the way.”

Kerri contemplated the scattered pieces of this puzzle that were slowly but surely coming together. “But we need evidence. The car is a start, but we need more.” Kerri studied the search results on her phone. “We have six pawnshops that open at eight. We can start with those.”

“Just call out the address where you want to start, and we’re on our way.”

Eventually she would know the rest of Sela’s secrets. Kerri studied her partner. And maybe his as well.

31

11:00 a.m.

Swanner Auto Repair

Richard Arrington Junior Boulevard South

Jen parked in front of the shop entrance and climbed out. She did not have time for this. Today was her only day off this week, and she needed to run a dozen errands. She would rather be anywhere than at home.

Plus the idea of being stranded without her car was like a death sentence. She would never survive being stuck at home, helpless to do as she pleased.