Obsession (12 page)

Still no answer at the Moran home.

“If she’s here,” Dan suggested, “she’s not inclined to chat.”

“That’s so strange. Why would anyone not look forward to chatting with the two of us?” Jess shrugged and dropped her arms back to her sides. One hand just happened to land on the doorknob which she accidentally turned. The door opened, making her step back since it swung outward. She turned to Dan. “Oops.”

“Jess,” he warned.

Ignoring his caution and since no shots were fired, Jess stuck her head inside. “Miss Moran! I need to speak to you about your friend, Reanne. We know about Tim. If you talk to us now we won’t have to press charges against you for obstruction of justice.”

She surveyed the cluttered living room, listened for any sound in the rooms beyond. Looking wasn’t necessary to know that Dan would be barely containing his frustration at her tactics.

Walking through the door would constitute entering the premises without the proper court order. She had that one down pat.

What had possessed her to tell him the
whole
story…that her career was over? He’d caught her at a weak moment. Now she could feel all that sympathy oozing from his every pore. She did not want his sympathy.

Or anything else.

Too bad that assertion fell way short of providing any confidence in her ability to be that strong.

“She’s not coming to the door, Jess.”

Jess would just see about that. “Okay. I guess we’ll have to take the next step and get a warrant. It would be so much better if you spoke to us voluntarily.”

One turn and two strides, Jess hadn’t even made it to the steps of the rickety old porch when the reaction she’d hoped for materialized.

“I don’t know anything. I told that to the cops already.”

Jess turned back to the door and produced a smile for the young woman. “Hello, Miss Moran, I’m Agent Harris and this is Chief Burnett.” Dan had moved up behind her. “We’d like a few minutes of your time.”

The girl shook her dark head. “I don’t know what good it’ll do.”

She walked over and collapsed on one end of the battered sofa. Her clothes were rumpled as if she’d slept in them. The holes in her jeans revealed a knee and a splash of thigh. Her black t-shirt sported the logo of the sandwich shop where she worked. Bare feet sported black toenails, which matched her fingernails as well as the heavy eye makeup. Ears, nose and eyebrows were pierced. Probably the tongue, too.

“Well,” Jess offered, still standing on the outside of the threshold, “Kelli. May I call you Kelli?”

“Whatev.” 

“Kelli, thankfully we won’t need that warrant, but we’re sort of like vampires. We need an invitation to come inside.”  Behind her, Dan cleared his throat. If Patterson complained about their efforts, at least they could say Kelli Moran issued an invitation.

Kelli rolled her eyes. “Come in.” She waved her arm. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Jess took the other end of the sofa. Dan sat on the edge of the armchair. He looked like a high-class lawyer from one of those sexy television series. She’d almost told him this morning how flattering the suit was. Another elegant one, apparently tailored just for him and in a cool gray that made his dark hair and blue eyes even more distinct. Which was an idiotic and senseless observation. Proof positive that she had not regained her professional equilibrium. Or her emotional one.

“Your friend, Reanne Parsons…,” Jess began, surprised Dan was letting her lead. Maybe that took the heat off him with Patterson. “…is still missing.”

“Yeah,” she commented, too busy studying the chipped paint on her fingernails to look up, “I saw that on the news.”

“We found her cell phone.”

Kelli’s fingers stalled but she didn’t look up.

“The day she disappeared,” Jess continued, “she exchanged text messages with her boyfriend, Tim.”

Kelli glanced at Dan then resumed her rudimentary manicure. “Reanne didn’t have a boyfriend.”

“Maybe she and Tim were just friends.”

Kelli shrugged. “No clue.”

Jess and Dan exchanged a look that indicated he agreed with her assessment. Kelli Moran was afraid to talk. She had no arrest record. Though she had dropped out of high school, she had a reliable work record and had supported herself since. Which explained her lack of taste in housing. She wasn’t afraid of the police; that came across loud and clear in her attitude. But she was afraid of something.

“Kelli, I know Reanne confided in you. And we need your help. She may be in danger.”

Another covert peek at Dan. “I’ll tell you what I know.” She lifted her gaze to Jess. “Just
you
. I’m not talking in front of officer friendly.”

Jess looked to Dan. He stood. But before excusing himself, he asked, “Miss Moran, are you here alone?”

She gave him a dramatic eye roll. “Whenever I’m not at work, I’m here alone. Guys don’t know how to appreciate a smart, independent chick like me.”

“You won’t mind if I confirm that before I go outside?”

Jess clamped her jaw shut rather than say the words poised on the tip of her tongue. She could take care of herself.
This
is what happened when a female member of law enforcement showed the slightest hint of weakness. Suddenly she wasn’t capable of taking care of herself. She shouldn’t have told him. Damn it.

“Have at it,” Kelli authorized.

Jess waited, her pulse jumping with anticipation, as Dan did the protector thing. 

Finally, he paused at the front door. “I’ll be right outside.”

“Thank you, chief.” Jess forced a smile even as she threatened his ability to continue breathing with her eyes. When he was out the door, Jess turned her attention back to Reanne’s friend.

“You cannot tell her folks,” Kelli pleaded, the obnoxious attitude gone. “There’s no telling what they would do. She does not want them to find her. She’s nineteen, she has that right.”

Having that conclusion confirmed set Reanne apart from the others but did nothing to solve this case. Not what Jess had hoped for. “Can you tell me about Tim? How he and Reanne began their relationship?”

“First,” Kelli leaned toward Jess as if she didn’t want to talk above a whisper, “you need to know that Reanne was desperate to get away from her folks. Her mom and dad are crazy strict.”

Obviously the girl hadn’t watched the morning or noon news. “Did she say she wanted to get away from her parents?”

Kelli nodded. “She loves them but they go too far with the religious gig. She’d had enough. Reanne wants her own life. After she started talking to Tim, she was happy for like the first time in her life.”

“How did she and Tim meet?” Jess wanted her to believe they knew Tim’s identity, in an effort to hopefully get as much of the truth as possible. What they learned from this young woman could make the difference in how this case moved forward.

“It was wild.” She smiled, looked away as if to hide the expression.

When she smiled, the dark, brooding girl was very pretty. Jess wondered if she realized how attractive she was. “How do you mean?”

“She got notes at work for weeks. From a secret admirer. The envelopes would be on a table or on the counter.
Reanne
would be written across the front. It was super exciting for her. Finally, he gave her his number. Reanne bought one of those prepaid phones so they could text. His parents are weird, too, so they couldn’t
talk
talk. They had to text. His folks hovered over him worse than Reanne’s.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he warned her to never call. His parents wouldn’t understand the texts but a call would be different.”

Jess could appreciate that. She couldn’t decipher text language either. “How long have they been communicating?” Apparently she had been right to assume the two hadn’t met in person…at least not until the day Reanne disappeared.

“Nearly two months.”

“But she never shared his last name or address with you?”

Kelli shook her head. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t know anything but his first name. Putting that kind of info in a note or text was too risky. Their plan depended on careful preparation.”

“Their escape plan?” Jess suggested.

Kelli nodded. “They planned it down to the minute.”

“Where did she pick him up?”

A frown furrowed the girl’s brow, accentuating the row of small hoops in her left eyebrow. “Reanne doesn’t have a car. One of her parents took her everywhere.”

“Of course, you’re right. He picked her up.”

Suspicion crept into her dramatically embellished eyes. “I guess.”

“You haven’t heard from her?”

“No.”

There came the fear. Jess felt another surge of anticipation. Kelli was either lying or she was concerned about some aspect of Reanne’s disappearance. “I appreciate your cooperation, Kelli.” Jess stood. “I guess we can take Reanne off our list. You’ve confirmed for us that she left of her own free will. No need for the police to get into her business.”

Jess was halfway to the door when the girl spoke again, “You said she might be in danger.”

Jess turned back to her. “Looks like we were wrong.” She shrugged. “You said she and Tim had made their plan. Very carefully. They appear to have accomplished their goal. You’re her best friend.” That was a guess. “And you said she doesn’t want to be found. That hardly leaves us anything to investigate.”

Kelli stood and hooked her thumbs in her back pockets. “I don’t exactly know for sure. That was the plan…but…”

Jess closed the distance between them. “This is your chance, Kelli. If you know any reason why we should continue to look for Reanne or should suspect foul play, you need to tell me right now.”

The fear escalated. Her pupils flared with the blast. “I…don’t know for sure.” She shook her head, tears brimming on lashes caked with black mascara. “I mean, it’s not really a big deal.”

“Three other girls around Reanne’s age are missing. She could be a victim of whoever took them. Every minute we waste could mean the difference between life and death for those girls. For your friend.”

Two seconds, three, then five. “I’ll show you.”

Kelli grabbed her hand and led Jess back to the bedroom. There was only one in the small trailer and like the living room a whirlwind appeared to have gone through it. Kelli reached into the disorganized closet and pulled out a suitcase. She placed it on the unmade bed and opened it.

Jess moved to the bed and stared at the contents.

“She bought all this stuff at the thrift store.” Kelli picked through the items. Two pair of jeans. Five cute little feminine blouses. Sexy bras and panties. And a slinky nightie. “For when they took off.” From the zipper compartment inside the suitcase, Kelli pulled out a few folded bills. “She had been saving part of her tips.” She tucked the cash back into its place. “After he picked her up they were gonna come by here and get this.”

“Maybe you weren’t home when they came by.”

A single tear streaked down her cheek. “She knew where the key was hidden.”

Jess played devil’s advocate. “It’s only clothes and a few dollars.”

Kelli reached into the suitcase again, this time she withdrew a cross on a silver chain. “Her daddy gave this to her when she was twelve.” Kelli fingered the small cross. “She said it was the last time she remembered being happy.” Her gaze locked with Jess’s. “Her period started the next month and everything changed. It was like they expected her to turn into a whore or something.”

“If,” Jess ventured carefully, “you’re that convinced that Reanne wouldn’t leave without picking up her stuff, why didn’t you call the police?”

More tears followed that dark trail down her cheeks. “I was scared to say anything. I didn’t want to get her in trouble. Her parents are insane. I didn’t want to be the reason they found her if she and Tim got away.”

“What are your instincts telling you, Kelli?” Jess searched her eyes for any flicker of emotion other than the fear. “Do you think she would leave without this stuff?”

“She might.” Kelli held out her hand, the cross and chain in her palm. “But she wouldn’t leave without this. As crazy as her folks made her, she loved them. She never took this off, not until the day before she and Tim were hitting the road. She told me to put it in her suitcase so she wouldn’t get excited and forget to come by and get her stuff. It was her reminder.” Kelli touched her throat. “She was always messing with it, straightening it. There is no way she forgot about it or left without it. Even if she’d been able to come get it for some reasons, she would have found a way to call me and let me know how to get it to her.”

Jess lifted the delicate chain from her palm. Her heart pounded. “Kelli,” she met the girl’s terrified gaze, “did she keep any of the notes from Tim?”

“She always got rid of them at work.”

Jess flinched. She’d hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

“But…” Kelli hurried to the scarred dresser at the foot of her bed and rummaged in the bottom drawer. She removed a white, folded piece of paper and brought it to Jess. “I got this one out of the trash.” She shrugged. “I figured I’d keep it for her. She might wish later on that she’d kept at least one.”

Smart girl. Jess’s fingers trembled a little as she accepted the note that had obviously been crumpled then smoothed out and folded. She opened it and studied the bold, sprawled words.

Tomorrow it’s our turn
.

Jess lifted her gaze to Kelli’s. “You didn’t get the envelope?”

She shook her head.

Jess should have known she wouldn’t be so lucky. “Just a couple more questions, Kelli.”

The girl waited, the terror making her eyes huge.

“Has anyone contacted you? Been following or watching you since Reanne disappeared?”

Kelli shook her head.

“No strange vehicles in and out of here? No one who behaved oddly came into the shop?”

She shook her head again.

“Okay.” Jess nodded, searched for a way to ask the final question that wouldn’t scare the girl worse than she already was. “Is there any place else you can stay for a while? With a friend or family member?”

After more than two weeks there was really no reason to believe Kelli was in any danger, but Jess wasn’t prepared to take that risk.