Icy Betrayal (19 page)

Branch Kramer made another appearance in the six o’clock news and stations again showed Lisa’s picture and mentioned the reward. It too generated calls. The operators were told to hand over anything remotely promising to Mia or Keller.

Ralph Bumgartner just about ripped Kit’s arm off as she arrived home from her shift at the Mountain View Café.

“C’mon, Kit, you gotta see this. That Castle Springs murder fella’s got some fancy lawyer, and the sheriff is puttin’ up a $25,000 reward for that lady you seen. Here sit down, he’ll be back on in a minute.”

The picture of Lisa Sullivan was back on the TV screen moments later, and Kit was more certain than ever Lisa Sullivan was the woman she’d seen at the café.

“That’s her all right,” Kit said.

“Kit, that’s $25,000. That’s the brand new RV tent trailer we want and enough to take it all over the country. You gotta call. Here, I wrote the number down for you.”

“Okay, Ralphie, I hear you, just bring me the phone.”

“I got it right here,” Ralph said, handing Kit the wireless handset.

Kit dialed and waited as the call went through.

“Hello, I’m calling about the missing woman you’re looking for. I think I seen her, and I thought I’d call it in… Well, how do y’all pay that reward anyway? I told you I seen her at my work… at the Mountain Cafe off I-70… Okay, I’ll hold.”

Belinda turned to Jack and Mia, “I have a lady on the line who she says she saw Sullivan a few weeks ago at a cafe off I-70 near the ski resorts. Who wants to take it?”

“I’ll take it,” Keller said.

He took the phone from the clerk. “This is Investigator Keller, how can I help you?”

Jack listened for a few moments, then turned to Mia and rolled his eyes.

“Well, the sheriff’s department is offering $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Lisa Sullivan. I’m not sure what else I can tell you about it… Like I said, there has to be an arrest and conviction—assuming, of course, your tip is the one that leads us to her, then you’d get paid… Tell me where you saw her.”

Keller swallowed hard. The woman’s voice confirmed his fear—it was the waitress who gave him the attitude.

“Um, okay, when was this? And you’re sure it was Lisa Sullivan?” Keller asked.

After several seconds, Keller lowered his voice and continued, “Have you told anyone else about this?”

“You told Ralphie? Who’s Ralphie?”

Keller turned away from the others sitting at the phone bank. “No, ma’am, you don’t need to call anyone else. But I will give you another number, and if you think of anything else, you can call me directly. Now can you give me your contact information?”

Keller offered Kit Baumgartner his private cell number. He jotted down her name and contact information and promised to investigate. He thanked Kit for the assistance and handed the receiver back to the clerk. Keller then waited for Mia to get off another call.

“Well?” he asked her.

“A big nothing. You?”

“Same,” Jack said, trying to look disappointed.

THIRTY-SEVEN

A
fter morning mass, Jack went to the sacristy to see Father John.

“Good morning, Jack. Guess you heard I came by your office?”

“Yep.”

“Would you like to come back to the rectory for a cup of coffee?”

“Sure, we can do that.”

Keller followed the priest across the side parking lot and into the rectory.

Keller started. “So, your visit yesterday to my office… It was just a social one?”

“Hardly, Jack, and I have no doubt you know what’s on my mind.”

“Actually, I haven’t a clue.”

“I saw the news about the arrest of the man in the murder case. I also saw the news about the woman they’re searching for.”

“Did you want to report a sighting, Padre?”

“Jack, don’t be a smart ass. My concern is about the conversation we had a couple weeks ago on Castle Trail. You told me about a struggle you were having about a daughter you had recently come to know. How she was in trouble and you felt an obligation to help her.”

“I remember.”

“You said you were willing to risk your career for her, and you asked me if somehow you helping her could be justified given the mistakes you had made with her early in her life.”

“Yeah, I remember that too, but—”

“So, is this woman on the run your daughter?”

He would have been a great cop, Jack thought.

“Like I said, Father, it’s not a big deal.”

“You aren’t answering my question. I need to know, is the woman they’re looking for your daughter?”

Jack looked down at his coffee cup on the table. Then he spoke, “Let me ask you something, Father, just a hypothetical question. Do you mind?”

“Go ahead.”

“If you and I talk about something, something private, isn’t that, like, protected? Isn’t what a priest hears from a parishioner held in confidence? Doesn’t the priest have an obligation to keep quiet about it?”

“I think you are mistaking an ordinary conversation a priest might have with someone with what is said in the confessional. Clearly, anything said under the sacrament of reconciliation is held in the strictest confidence. Neither the police nor the courts can order that conversation be disclosed. I guess it could be compared to the attorney-client privilege. But something that is disclosed in the course of an ordinary conversation, like the one we are having right now, is not protected.”

“It seems to me that’s a pretty fine line. I mean, who’s to say what you interpret as ordinary conversation, as you put it, isn’t something much larger in the mind of the person who is saying it. I mean, you hear stuff all day long from people; it’s your job. Just another day at the office. But for the ordinary person, the conversation they are having with their priest is huge, and they in fact wouldn’t have said the things they said if they thought there was any risk of the priest going public with what was said. Make sense?”

“You are making a lot of assumptions here, Jack. When the conversation starts out with ‘Father, I need to confess something’ or ‘Father, it’s been six months since my last confession, these are my sins…’ that falls under the confessional rule. When things are discussed in the normal course of conversation, then that is obviously something different. I think there’s a pretty clear delineation between those two scenarios.”

Jack shook his head. “I disagree. If someone is sharing with you things that could never be shared with anyone else, and they are asking not only for guidance, but really for permission and ultimately forgiveness, then that clearly falls under your confession rule.”

They were at a standstill.

Father Jon leaned forward. “Jack, I think you know the right thing to do. Please, don’t put me in an awkward position.”

“That almost sounds like a threat, Father.”

“I have a moral obligation to do what is right. This is a very difficult situation.”

“So, what are you going to do, Padre?”

“For the time being, I’m going to pray on it, Jack. I’m going to pray really hard for guidance.”

Jack stood and walked to the door. Father Jon didn’t see him out.

Jack was livid. The priest was playing a very dangerous game. If Father Jon came forward and revealed their earlier conversation on Castle Trail, everything would come apart. The focus of the investigation would shift to him, and he’d be forced to tell what he knew about Lisa. If he told authorities about his role in Lisa’s escape, then she would certainly be captured and charged as an accomplice to murder and likely for evading arrest. Under that scenario his daughter could be looking at a sentence of 20 years or more.

He was also growing increasingly concerned about Branch Kramer and the media attention he brought to the case. Kramer knew there would be a phalanx of reporters following his every move, and those reporters would spread the story far and wide. That meant a story that wouldn’t normally get much play outside Colorado could easily become national or even international news. The last thing he needed was for Lisa’s picture to be shown on CNN and the other networks, especially the ones that reached into Mexico.

On her first full day as a Puerto Peñasco resident, Lisa took a long, leisurely walk on the beach. She headed south from the condo past high-end resorts, shops, and restaurants. Before long she found herself inside a small boutique along the boardwalk; the colorful beachwear had lured her inside.

“Welcome to Summer Fling, can I help you?”

The saleswoman had a bright, friendly smile and a deep Puerto Peñasco tan.

“Well, I just arrived in town, and I think I need to pick up a few things if I’m going to blend in around here. I love your shop, it’s so colorful.”

“We just got in a new shipment, and I’ve got some things that would be perfect for you. Let me slip in the back and bring out a few thing for you to see. Do you mind?”

“Oh, that would be great, thanks.”

What if she asks me my name? Lisa thought. Should she give her name as Lisa or should she make something up? Her father had told her she needed to come up with a new name but she hadn’t decided on anything. What name should she pick, knowing it was quite possible she’d spend the rest of her life with it?

“I think these should fit you. There are a couple of sundresses, some shorts, and a few tops. Oh, and I included a couple of swimsuits. If you want to try the stuff on, the dressing room is over there. I’m Sarah, just holler if you need another size or color.”

“Thanks so much. I will do that.”

Lisa took the clothes and walked back to the dressing room while Sarah helped another customer. She tried on each outfit and loved them all. Why not, she thought, I need a new wardrobe to go with my new life. She gathered up the clothes and walked up to the front counter.

“You have great taste, Sarah,” said Lisa with a smile.

“Can I wrap them up for you, then?”

“Yep, I’ll take them all.”

“Great, will that be cash or charge?”

Suddenly, Lisa realized she had no money.

“Oh, my gosh. I am so embarrassed. I totally forgot my wallet. I was really just on a walk along the beach and didn’t plan to do any shopping this morning. I’m sorry, Sarah, can you put these aside for me, and I’ll come back and pay you then?”

“Of course, don’t worry about it! It happens all the time. What name should I put on the bag in case I’m not here when you return?”

It came to her in a flash. “Natalie. Natalie Summers.”

“Great. I hope to see you when you come back in. It was nice meeting you, Natalie.”

“It was great meeting you as well, Sarah. Thanks again for all the help.”

Natalie Summers walked out of the shop and back onto the beach on the beautiful shore of the Sea of Cortez.

McCallister got the call he was dreading from the DA.

“Anything new on Sullivan?”

“Not much, Dave. We’ve had some calls into the station reporting sightings, but you know how that goes. Nothing significant.”

“Well, if nothing breaks in the next twenty-four hours, we’re going to have to cut him loose. Without something from the woman, we don’t have enough to hold him.”

“I know. When she didn’t show on Sunday I had to make the call on Lennox. I’m sorry about the flack. It was my call, and I take responsibility.”

“Look, Mick, you did the right thing. When you have them in your sights, you grab ‘em. But we’ll take a hit and that asshole Kramer will fan the flames. On the bright side, it will send that blowhard back to Dallas and the press will move on to the next story. But when you do get Sullivan, we’ll need a rock solid case. We can’t get burned on this twice.”

The waves crashed onto the beach and echoed through the condo. Inside, Lisa pondered her new life. She had walked into the dress shop totally unprepared. Now, she had a name, but no background. She had to fill in the rest of the puzzle.

Lisa realized the farther she strayed from her real life, the more likely she’d get tripped up. So, she would still be a nurse. She’d say she’d come to Puerto Peñasco for an extended vacation. But why? Escaping a broken marriage, maybe? A big inheritance came her way? Maybe she won the lotto? There were lots of options, but which would bring the least amount of scrutiny? And where was she from? She knew she should stay clear of her Colorado past, but St. Louis had been her home for the first few years of her life, until her father had walked out… maybe that would work. What about her age and her birthday? Should she change those as well? So much to consider, she thought.

There was a knock at the door. It was Frito.

“Hi, Roberto, thanks for coming over.”

“No hay problema, Miss Lisa.”

“I did a dumb thing this morning. I went for a walk down the beach and ended up in a little dress shop. I find a bunch of stuff and I go to pay for it and like an idiot I realize I didn’t bring my wallet. The girl in the shop was super nice, and she put my stuff aside. So, I need to stop there so I can pay for my stuff. Do you mind?”

“De nada, I take you anywhere you want to go.”

“And maybe on the way back we could stop at a market so I can pick up a few things. Oh, and I need to find an English/Spanish translation book. I’ve got to start getting comfortable with the language, at least some of the common words and phrases.”