Chapter Forty-Two

Daniel crept into the upstairs bedroom where he’d left the girl the night before. He expected—or dreaded—to find her lifeless.

He bent over the bed. She lay still, not moving. The blanket was tight around her, the way he’d left it. Her face was in shadow, hardly visible in the dim light seeping around the window blind. She must have shifted in the night—her body was tilted to one side, and he’d laid her out flat—but she was motionless now.

The tightness in his shoulders released. Okay, it’s over.

He knelt and placed his fingers on her neck, then her wrist.

No pulse.

She felt cool.

But not cold.

Then something fluttered at her throat, just below the skin. So slight that he wasn’t sure he’d seen it, until it happened again.

He reached forward, placing his hand in front of her face. A tiny whiff of air brushed his palm. A breath—almost not a breath at all, but a breath.

For a moment he was relieved. He jerked to his feet and stumbled out of the room.

His mouth dry, he paced up and down the short hallway. He peered in at her again, watching for any motion. None came.

He turned away from her doorway and bent over, bracing his hands against his thighs.

You still have the same problem as yesterday. If she can testify, that’s the end for you.

There’d be criminal charges, jail time. And he wasn’t willing to go to jail for her.

He stood up, rubbing a sore spot at his lower back. No, he had to carry on.

But maybe he hadn’t waited long enough for the drug to finish its job. He’d give it a little more time.

Wiping his palm across his mouth, he headed downstairs.

****

I phoned Bob to get Daniel’s address, but he wasn’t eager to give it to me. “What are you planning to do?”

“I can’t just sit around waiting—I need to do something. And I can’t get Daniel out of my mind. I want to go see him myself, see if I can get a vibe off him.”

Silence. “A vibe? What does that mean?”

I was impatient. “I don’t know, I just want to see how he reacts if I show up.”

“You know he had an alibi for the night she disappeared; he couldn’t have taken her. And we searched his house. Twice.”

“I know. But he’s been so obsessed with Maddy. I still think—”

“—and he knows now that Maddy isn’t Hannah. I told him yesterday.”

“How did he react when you told him?”

“He didn’t take it well.”

“What does that mean?”

“He nearly passed out—I thought he was having a heart attack or something.”

I snorted. “No wonder. You were undermining his obsession. Shaking his world.”

“Yeah, I guess. But he seemed to pull himself together before I left.”

“Anyway, I’m going to go see him.”

“At least wait until I can go with you. And I can’t get away right now—I’m with my boys at hockey practice. I’ll have to take them home first.”

“You don’t need to come with me. Just give me the address.”

Bob finally told me where Daniel was living. I was surprised to learn that it was only a few streets away from our neighborhood. Though it made sense—that explained how he’d come across the girls in the first place.

I jumped in my car and headed that way. I wasn’t sure what I’d say to Daniel, but I couldn’t let go of the idea that he was involved with Maddy’s absence somehow, and that she was in dreadful danger.

I located his house and parked across the street, taking a minute to check the surroundings. The street—Renfrew Avenue—was a lot like mine, lined with mature trees and two-story older houses, each with a short walkway leading from the sidewalk to a front porch. Narrow driveways between the houses suggested backyard garages, though many residents appeared to prefer parking in their driveways.

Daniel’s house was two stories like the others, with yellow siding and a small porch. A dark green pickup truck was parked in the drive.

Grabbing my shoulder bag, I got out of my car. A gust of wind took my breath away; the day was turning colder after all. I clutched my jacket more closely to me and crossed the street at an angle so I’d pass by that truck. I assumed it was Daniel’s, and I wanted to get a look at it before I knocked on his door.

There wasn’t much to see, though, either in the front seat or the extended-cab back seat. No garbage, nothing left in the foot wells or on the dash. Beyond the truck, the driveway led to two garages, one behind Daniel’s house and one in the next yard, the two houses sharing the driveway. I headed toward Daniel’s front door.

There was no answer to my knock, though a dog started to bark inside the house. I knocked again, and the barking came closer, sounding like it was right inside the door.

I knocked a third time, my knuckles resounding on the wood. This time I heard movement inside and a man’s voice, saying something to the dog. Then a click. He was unlocking the door.

Finally the door opened, and Daniel’s face appeared. He seemed flushed, though I couldn’t fully see his face; he was leaning over, holding his dog’s collar. I tried to see over his shoulder into the house, but the hallway was dark. He and the dog filled the small entryway.

“Dr. Koss—Susan—what are you doing here?” Before I could answer, he added, “Wait a minute.” He closed the door, leaving me on the porch. In a few moments he reappeared with a jacket on and came outside, closing the door again behind him.

He was upright now. As I’d remembered from our last encounter, his frame was thin and wiry, his eyes a few inches above mine. “Tucker gets a bit excited. It’s better if we talk out here without him.” The dog had stopped barking. “So what can I do for you? Why are you here?”

My stomach clenched; my body remembered the terror I’d felt the day he appeared at my door demanding to see Maddy. I sensed the same coiled energy in him I’d felt then.

But this time I was on the offensive. “You know very well. Maddy is missing, and we’re looking for her.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s terrible.” Then he frowned. “But I had nothing to do with that. The cops know it—they even searched my house. Twice.”

I glowered at him. “I’m not convinced. She wasn’t here when they searched. But you could have her someplace else…”

He backed away, his palms up toward me. “No!” His eyes were in shadow. “I had nothing to do with it,” he said again.

I leaned forward, not bothering to mask my fury. “I find it hard to believe that. You were so determined to see her, to get to know her.”

He squared his shoulders, his voice raspy. “I’m sorry to hear she’s still missing. I’m worried about her too…”

I snorted. “If you’re so worried, why haven’t you been out searching?”

He wiped his hand across his face. “How do you know I haven’t been? I’ve seen the appeals on TV. I’ve been watching for her any time I’m out.”

I stared at him, my hands on my hips. “You insisted she was your granddaughter. If you believed that, and you didn’t have her, you’d have been doing more than ‘watching for her.’ You’d be frantic. Weren’t you terrified something would happen to her?”

****

Daniel blinked at Susan, doing his best to keep his breathing level.

At least Tucker had stopped barking, though that had actually helped—it had kept Susan out on the porch. He couldn’t let her in, of course. He was fairly certain the girl wouldn’t stir, but she might have left something lying around downstairs that Susan would recognize.

Susan had her hands on her hips, glaring at him. He forced himself to appear calm. “I told you I’ve been worried. I wish I could help, but I don’t know what more I could do.”

She kept leaning into his face, wouldn’t back up. “A lot of people who don’t know her at all are out searching and putting up posters. They seem more concerned than you are.”

He had to get rid of her. “The police will find her, won’t they?”

Susan glared. “They haven’t found her yet. Every minute she’s gone, she could be in worse danger.”

Daniel clamped his lips tight and reached for the doorknob. “I’ll keep an eye out, like I said. And I hope she turns up.” He turned and went inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

****

I stared at the door that had closed in front of me. What a terrible man! His protestations of concern didn’t convince me.

Bob had told him that Maddy wasn’t his granddaughter. So maybe he really didn’t care what happened to her. But something about his reaction felt off. Phony.

I wished I had X-ray eyes to see into his house, but I had no authority to demand to be let in. There wasn’t anything more I could do.

But he gave me a sick feeling. I didn’t trust him one bit.

A burgeoning rage rose inside me. I could almost feel heat shooting up through my body and filling my head.

Maddy would never have run away if Daniel hadn’t appeared in our lives. We would never have had that disastrous DNA test—that was the trigger for her to leave, I was sure. Yes, there were other issues between Maddy and me. But she wouldn’t have run away without the disruption Daniel brought into our lives.

I wanted to explode, to do something violent. I felt a savage urge to pound at Daniel, do something vicious. To let out my frustration and anger.

I stepped back from the door. My car was across the street, but something in me rebelled against just driving home. I needed to do something to punish Daniel.

Eyeing his truck sitting in the driveway alongside the house, I glanced back and realized that none of Daniel’s windows overlooked it. I stalked over to the vehicle and walked around it.

I wished I knew a way to disable it. Maybe…could I slash his tires? I reached into my shoulder bag to see if I had anything sharp enough. Wallet, Kleenex, my small cosmetic bag, hairbrush, nail clipper...I shoved aside my almost-full bottle of water to search farther, then stopped.

My dad said something once about water in the gas tank. “Make sure to close the gas tank after you fill it; you don’t want water getting in.”

I unscrewed the cap to Daniel’s gas tank and emptied my bottle of water into it. Whistling, I walked to my car.

****

Daniel heaved a sigh of relief when she left. Now he could check on the girl, see if the drug had finished its job. And he needed to do a sweep through the ground floor, make sure none of her belongings were visible.

Turning, he saw a little stack of the girl’s drawings on the hall table and scooped them up. Whew. Good thing Susan didn’t see those. He’d have to burn them.

Before he could move farther, there was another knock at the door. Tucker barked again, three short barks.

Daniel opened the door cautiously. It was Jim Trafford from next door.

“Hi—I just wanted to let you know I’m taking off now.”

Daniel gave him a blank look.

“For my fishing trip.”

Daniel dimly remembered him mentioning it. “Oh, yeah. Well, the best of luck. Enjoy the peace and quiet, and catch lots of fish.” Jim had been good company these last few weeks; he’d taken Daniel to the Legion and helped fill some evenings, playing cards or going bowling. And that had accidentally given him an alibi for the night the girl went missing.

Jim started to tell him the details—his driving route, the things he had to stop and pick up on the way, the best time of day to fish. Daniel wanted to be civil. He was grateful, after all, but would the guy not shut up? If he was leaving, why not just get under way?

Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. “I was hoping you’d feed my cat, Josie. She shouldn’t be any trouble. Just needs to be fed once a day, and pet her a little if you’ve got time. Her food and water dishes are in the kitchen beside the stove, and I left the bag of dry cat food there too. Just fill up the water dish and the food dish. She nibbles at it all day. It’s not like feeding a dog.”

Daniel was about to refuse. How could he agree to feed a cat—he wouldn’t even be here! He’d be long gone before Jim was back from this fishing trip.

Wait—this could work out in your favor.

Having a key to an empty house might be just what he needed.

“Sure, of course,” he said, forcing a smile as he took the key. “I’ll be happy to do that.”

If he had to leave the cat unfed, so be it. He could always leave a big bowl of food and water to last until Jim got home.