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“She disappeared, and although Madeline always swore that her daughter had been abducted, the rest of us believed that she ran away. She liked attention that way.” Art gestured toward the picture that Ethan still held in his hand, his disdain apparent. “Sabrina was a selfish girl and thought of no one but herself. What she put her mother and
father
through was downright cruel, if you ask me.”

“Is that why you had her declared dead?” Taryn asked, forcibly making herself take another sip of coffee. She knew the question might lead to an early exit, but he’d given her the perfect opportunity to inquire about Sabrina’s
death
. “I’m sure that wasn’t an easy thing to do, considering that you felt she had run away from home and there wasn’t a body.”

“Art, I can just imagine how hard these past twelve years have been and I must say we truly appreciate you showing us a picture of Sabrina,” Ethan interjected, smoothing over the damage she may have caused. Taryn wanted Art to answer her question and wasn’t happy that Ethan hadn’t given the man a chance to offer up the truth. “I mean, you’ve lost your niece, nephew, brother, and sister-in-law in that time. You have our condolences.”

“I appreciate that,” Art replied, never once taking his eyes off of Taryn. She didn’t like him in the least and he knew it, not that he cared of anyone’s opinion but his own. “I would like to address Ms. Sisal’s question, if I may?”

She leaned forward and placed her cup on the silver tray that Alice had left on the corner of Art’s elegant desk, which Taryn was confident had been Charles Bowers’, once upon a time. Upon leaving here she would have to scour the police reports to see how the detective in charge couldn’t find evidence that Arthur Bowers had a hand in at least some of these deaths. Her initial thought of Sabrina’s brother was changing. Had Arthur had him killed as well, wanting to be the sole hair of Charles’ fortune? That was unlikely, considering Travis Bowers was killed while on active duty in the Army.

“Mr. Bowers, I would like that very much,” Taryn replied, sitting back in her chair. “I don’t mean to infer that you didn’t care for your niece, but I do find it hard to believe that Madeline would have so easily gone along with that.”

“You must understand that Madeline had lost both of her children, and while I wouldn’t have said she could have won an award for mother of the year, she became lost after that.” Art leaned forward and set his own coffee down before resting back in his chair as if he were recalling yesterday’s weather. He didn’t bother to feign his grief. “When my brother was murdered in cold blood, Madeline couldn’t cope with the magnitude of what had to be done with Charles’ estate. The company was floundering and with the way his will read, Sabrina was to inherit everything. Unless I had her declared dead, Madeline wouldn’t have had a penny to her name. I did what had to be done.”

“Do you really feel that Sabrina is dead?” Taryn felt the nudge of Ethan’s foot indicating that she was pushing their subject too hard. He was right, but men like Arthur Bowers didn’t know how to be subtle. He was direct and to the point. She would use that to her advantage. “I’m sure that Charles and Madeline hired the best private investigators when Sabrina first went missing. I’m surprised that there were no leads.”

“There were no leads because Sabrina ran away.” It was evident that Arthur’s agitation was rising. Taryn was banking on it and hoping he would slip up and say something that would really benefit them. This man knew more than he was letting on. “Whether she was taken against her will or willingly left home, she was dead to this family anyway. As I said, I did what had to be done.”

“What you did for your sister-in-law is commendable.” Ethan held up the picture as he continued speaking. “I’m sure you can imagine how shocking this is to Taryn. She’s found out that she has a sister she will never meet. Is there any way we could get a copy of this picture, so that Taryn at least has something to reflect upon in later years?”

Arthur didn’t respond the way Taryn was hoping, but instead shifted in his leather bound chair and contemplated what Ethan had to say. She liked this good cop, bad cop thing they were playing. It once again made her think that the old Ethan was back. When the older man nodded his head and indicated they could keep the photograph and frame that Ethan was holding she pushed a little harder.

“I know this might be out of line, but is there any way that Madeline’s son Travis wasn’t Charles’ child?” Taryn allowed her words to sink in, and when Arthur didn’t seem too offended, she continued on this shaky ground of a topic. “I know that Travis couldn’t possibly be my father’s son, but what if he had another family out there? I would think they have a right to know.”

“Travis was Charles’ son through and through,” Arthur announced, his chest rising in pride. It made Taryn doubt her earlier assumption. “When Travis died during one of his many deployments, I’ve never witnessed such pain as what this family went through. I do have a question of my own, Ms. Sisal. What
came to light
that made you think your father had an affair with Madeline?”

Taryn was normally quick on the draw, but she’d been too focused on getting Arthur to slip up and let on that he knew something more. She quickly ran through what she could possibly say that would satisfy his curiosity without thinking they were here for anything other than that, but she was coming up blank.

“Taryn found a letter from Madeline within some of George’s possessions. It must have been during their brief affair, because all it basically said was that she was looking forward to seeing him again.” Ethan handed Taryn the framed photograph with a tender smile, playing up this ruse for Arthur. “As I’m sure you can conceive, Taryn was quite wary of what she’d discovered and was afraid that her father had an affair while married to her mother. You can imagine the relief Taryn must feel to know that George never betrayed Sharon. We have you to thank for that and we do appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions.”

“I’m glad that I could help,” Arthur said, his shoulders relaxing just a bit. He directed his next words to Taryn. “I’m glad that I could give you closure. George was young and should have known better than to get involved with a married woman, but he didn’t cheat on your mother. Madeline is the one at fault here, from the choices she made to the fact that she made Charles believe that Sabrina was his daughter. As I said, it wasn’t my place to interfere in their family business. The only time that I intruded was to have Sabrina declared dead, but that was to benefit Madeline. She had no one left other than myself.”

Taryn needed Arthur to continue to think that she and Ethan were satisfied with what they’d discovered today. There were still many things that they needed to investigate, such as why Sabrina ran away after graduating high school. Who had aided her into evolving into Yvette Capre? She had to have been trained and given access to that type of life. Had Ryland been the one to do it? Where would he have met her?

“Art, I do appreciate your honesty and as Ethan said, I feel better knowing my father didn’t betray my mother.” Taryn stood up and the men followed her act. She held out her hand. “I am truly sorry for the losses to your family.”

Arthur returned the gesture and did the same to Ethan before pressing a button on the desk phone. Ethan selected one kernel of popcorn from the bowl and popped it into his mouth. Art alerted Alice that his guests were ready to leave and then led them to the office door. All the while, Taryn searched for any other family photos but found that none were displayed.

“Alice, the popcorn was wonderful,” Ethan announced as the older woman appeared in the hallway. “You’ll have to tell me what brand you’re using.”

As the two of them walked down the hallway with Taryn bringing up the rear, she glanced back at the office to find that Art was watching them leave as he stood in the doorway. She smiled and lifted a hand, but he didn’t return the gesture. Maybe she had been too quick on the draw to think that Ethan’s reassurance had redirected the older man’s doubts regarding their visit. It didn’t matter. She and Ethan had gotten what they’d needed. With a little more connecting of the dots, they’d be able to figure out how Ryland and Yvette met. If they pulled hard enough on any loose thread, would it taunt Ryland enough to come and find them?

Chapter Ten

E
than was lying on the only bed in Taryn’s hotel room, sorting through her notes from last night while she sat at the small desk and ran Sabrina Bowers through more software programs. An appointment was scheduled with the lead detective on Sabrina’s disappearance case for later that afternoon, and then afterward Taryn and Ethan would pay a visit to Alice. The woman knew something and they needed to find out what it was.

Taryn was having trouble concentrating on the screen as she stared at Ethan’s reflection in the mirror. He would glance at her back every once in a while, but he really hadn’t spoken much since they’d had room service delivered for an early lunch. He seemed oblivious to her watching him in the mirror. She thought back to earlier this morning when he said that the path he wanted to embark on would be new and arousing. Where the hell did he come up with this shit? There had to be a reason that he was acting this way and suggesting something so ludicrous.

“If you keep chewing on the end of that pencil, you’re going to end up swallowing half the damn thing and then we’ll be at the hospital instead of the police station.”

Taryn glanced back up and met Ethan’s gaze in the mirror. Shit. He appeared relaxed as he leaned back against the pillows with papers strewn all around him. His focus was directly on her though and she’d only ever seen that intensity when he was at Masters. Her body once again started to react without her permission and she threw her pencil on the desk as she shifted on the chair to face him.

“I wouldn’t be this stressed if it weren’t for you,” Taryn accused, finally standing. She just wanted things back the way they were. She inhaled deeply, knowing that he was right in a sense that she couldn’t run from this. He wasn’t going anywhere and she couldn’t continue with the way things were going between them. They needed to talk this out. “Ethan, I don’t know what happened to make you think that you and I becoming more than what we are was a good idea, but it isn’t. We’re partners. We’re best friends. I’ve had your back for years, just as you’ve had mine. We are perfect the way we are.”

“What if we could be better than perfect?” Ethan spoke softly and the fact that he didn’t move or make any attempt to truly argue with what she was saying only jacked her emotions higher. He threw out the
what if
question as if they were discussing the case when this was so much more. “You came into my life as if you were made to be there. I’m just now facing the reality of it. You need more time though. I understand that. Let’s talk about the case. Have you found out anything else on Yvette?”

“Stop it,” Taryn ordered, not liking that last night all he wanted to do was talk about them and now he was willing to put them on the backburner. He was also throwing out meaningful thoughts as if it was something he did on an everyday basis. He didn’t. He was the jokester of the office who never took anything serious. He made her laugh and feel better about her life “We’re talking about
us
.”

“You said you weren’t ready for that,” Ethan pointed out, lacing his fingers together behind his head as if he had all the time in the world. “Which is why we’re in your hotel room working instead of making better use of this bed. I’m giving you room to see that I’m right.”

“You’re not—” Taryn broke off before her frustration mounted to fury. Ethan wasn’t right, but he’d always been stubborn. She tried to take the track that she normally would. “Ethan, you need to stop and really think about this.
We
are at stake here and your flippant attitude could take that away from us.”

“I dreamt about you.” Ethan spoke quietly and in such a solemn manner his demeanor hypnotized Taryn. “Underneath me in my bed with your body against mine. Your hands were tied to my headboard, yet your legs were wrapped around my waist so tight I felt the impression of your heels in my back hours after I had awakened. Your submission was so beautiful and so surreal that never in my wildest imagination would I have thought you could do so in reality. Your admission the other day solidified our future, but I’m willing to wait for you to come to terms with this newfound realization.”