The Betrayal of Lies (7 page)

“Can you make that area larger?”

“I’ll have to open it in a different program. Give me a minute.” Emily worked the keyboard, then selected a section and enlarged it.

“There’s a tattoo on it,” Colin said. “I’ve seen that tattoo before somewhere.” He thought for a moment. “Jake Mitchell. It was on Jake’s arm when we chased him down at the health club.”

Chapter 6

As they headed back to the Serenity Health Club, hoping to catch Jake still there, Colin received a phone call from Nelly.

“Can you stop by for a minute?” she asked. “I have a few things I’d like to show you.”

“We’ll be there in five,” Colin replied.

Before long, Colin and Emily made their way through the county office and filled the doorway of the forensics lab, waiting for permission to enter. “Hello, Nelly. What’s up?”

Nelly was standing in front of her mass spectrometer and she turned to greet them. She was young and petite with blunt-cut black hair and large horn-rimmed glasses, wearing a white lab coat and blue latex gloves.

“Hey, guys. Come on in, just don’t touch anything.” She pattered over to her computer and brought up a few images on one of her oversized monitors.

Don’t touch anything?
Emily felt like a child being given instructions by her mother as they wandered through the china and crystal displays at the big department store in her hometown. “Yes, ma’am.” She crossed her arms as a gesture of keeping her hands to herself.

“What do you have for us, Nell?” Colin asked.

“I tested the drops of blood that were discovered on the area rug in the family room, as well as a bloody paper napkin that was found in the kitchen trash. They were from the same person and I was able to find a match in the national database.”

“Who is it?” Emily asked eagerly.

“Sullivan.”

A full-screen photo popped up on the monitor, looking more like a mug shot than a driver’s license photo. “Maggie Sullivan.”

Emily’s mouth dropped open as she eyed the photo and shot a quick look in Colin’s direction. “Maggie Sullivan?” How could their friend Maggie be involved?

“That’s right,” Nelly went on, “and some of the prints we lifted belonged to her as well. Why? Do you know her?”

“There’s gotta be some mistake.” Emily looked to Colin for his agreement. Why would Maggie’s DNA be in the national database? And why the mug shot?

Colin shrugged, appearing surprised as well.

“I don’t make mistakes,” Nelly replied flatly.

Colin put an arm around Emily’s shoulder. “There could be a number of reasons the blood is Maggie’s. We’ll figure it out. At least it tells us it wasn’t Elise’s blood. That hopefully means she hasn’t been harmed.”

“She didn’t look hurt in the video, just frightened,” Emily said.

Colin turned his attention back to Nelly. “What else?”

“The prints and lipstick on the wineglass are Elise Murphy’s, which we suspected, but the shards of glass from the broken goblet didn’t result in anything usable.”

“We have a good idea who was drinking the other glass of wine,” Emily said, thinking about Jake having admitted to spending the night with Elise.

“I found hair and prints in the bedroom that did not belong to Elise Murphy, her husband, or to Maggie. They belong to a…” Nelly looked down at her notes, “Jake Mitchell.”

Emily and Colin eyed each other.

“I’m not surprised,” Colin said. “They were, let’s say, friends with benefits.”

“I see.” Nelly raised her brows. “Well, one more thing. I can’t say for sure, but the crime scene appears to have been staged.”

“Why do you think that?” Emily asked.

Nelly held up an eight by ten photo of the family room. “See that leather sofa? There’s no way that sofa flipped back from a kidnapper struggling with Mrs. Murphy, I don’t care how big he was. It’s just way too heavy to go over that easily.”

Colin took the photo and studied it, then passed it on to Emily. “What else?”

“This photo of the bedroom, see the framed picture on the hardwood floor?” Nelly held the photo out, pointing to the item. “The frame’s not broken, neither is the glass. If it had been knocked off the dresser and onto the wood floor, at the very least the glass would have cracked—but nothing.”

“If the crime scene was staged, then…” Emily considered the possibilities.

“Then perhaps Elise wasn’t kidnapped at all.” Colin finished her thought.

~*~

They headed back to the police station, calling the Serenity Health Club on the way.

“May I speak to Jake Mitchell, please?” Emily said.

“Sorry, he’s gone for the day,” was the receptionist’s reply.

Emily gave Colin the news before trying Jake’s cell number that was in the file Ernie had given.

“It’s just going to voicemail.” Emily hung up. No need to leave a message and tip him off to the fact they were looking for him.

“I’m going to drop you by your place, then I’ll get a warrant to search Jake’s apartment,” Colin said.

“You don’t want me to come with you?”

“It’s Thursday night. You have your weekly girls-only dinner with your friends, don’t you?”

“Yes, but—”

Shortly after Emily had become friends with Camille, Maggie, and Isabel, they had instituted the weekly ritual of meeting at one of their homes for a girls-only potluck dinner, each taking their turn hosting the get-together. This week it was Maggie’s turn and the theme was Southern comfort food. Since the other three women could cook circles around Emily, she was usually the one assigned to bring bread and green salad, or some other elementary dish she couldn’t mess up.

“Take the evening off and we’ll look at the case with fresh eyes in the morning.”

“But I’d rather stay with you, stay on the case.”

“The money drop isn’t until tomorrow noon and I can handle the search. Besides, maybe you can get some information out of Maggie as to why her blood was found at the scene without me having to haul her down to the police station for questioning.”

“Aha, that’s the real reason you want me to go to the girls’ dinner.” Emily chuckled. “You want me to do your dirty work. Well, all right. I’ll have to stop by the bakery before they close and pick up some sort of bread and a dessert that I can take, but maybe Camille can tell me a little more about Elise over dinner too.”

~*~

Colin pulled his car into Emily’s driveway and walked her to the door.

“You get all dolled up and have a good time, and I’ll see you in the morning, Babe.” He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Leaning down, he kissed her softly.

“You don’t want to come in for a while?” She flashed him what she hoped was her most seductive smile.

“I’d better not, I won’t want to leave. I’ve still got work to do tonight.”

“I know, but we’ve hardly had any time together today,” she said, lacing her arms around his neck.

“What are you talking about?” He grinned down at her. “We’ve been together all day.”

“Yeah, working,” she moaned. “I’m talking about a little one-on-one time.” Emily pulled his face down for another kiss.

When their lips parted, he gazed into her eyes for a moment, then planted a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “Think of Elise.”

“Yes, poor Elise,” she reluctantly agreed. Her hands glided over his broad shoulders and down his muscular arms. “After what Nelly said, I wonder if maybe she planned this whole thing as a way of getting away from her husband.”

“And having some money to start over with.” Colin nodded pensively. “We need to find out what that ex-con Jake Mitchell’s role is in all of this.”

“I guess that’s my cue to let you go.” Emily smiled up at him, letting loose and taking a small step back. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He pulled her into his arms again. “On second thought, how about one more for the road.”

Chapter 7

Pulling her car in front of Maggie’s cottage-style house, not far from her own home in the quaint, older part of Paradise Valley, the clock in her dash told her the stop at the bakery made her a few minutes late. From the cars parked out front, she knew Isabel and Camille had already arrived.

“Knock, knock,” Emily called out as she opened the red front door. Chattering voices and laughter spilled out from the kitchen at the back of the house.

“Back here!” she heard Maggie call out.

Carrying her bag of buttermilk biscuits in one hand and a pecan pie in the other, she stepped into the doorway of the kitchen. “Hello, everyone. Sorry I’m late.”

Maggie rushed over to her and unburdened her arms. “Gettin’ to be a habit, Em.”

Camille gave her a hug. “We weren’t sure you were going to make it. Isabel said you and Colin were working on a big case.”

Emily looked over at Isabel, unwrapping her pan of delicious-looking macaroni and cheese with bacon that she had set on the counter. “Don’t worry,” Isabel said, tossing her a glance, “I didn’t give any details.”

“No, she wouldn’t say a thing,” Maggie moaned. “Can’t you give us the teensiest hint, Em?”

“I don’t know how much I can say. Before I left, Colin warned me it’s an on-going investigation.” Emily was especially concerned that, if Maggie was somehow involved, giving away too many details could land herself in a lot of hot water…and not just with Colin.

However, she had already discussed with Camille the fact that Elise was missing when she questioned her that morning, and knowing Camille’s appetite for gossip, it was likely that Maggie already knew as much as Camille did.

“Is it about Elise having gone missing?” Camille asked. “‘Cause there’s been nothing on the news about it.”

“Elise is missin’?” Maggie gasped.

Emily’s gaze met Isabel’s. “Unfortunately, she is.”

Apparently Emily was wrong about Camille this time, but now the cat was out of the proverbial bag.

“Since when?” Maggie asked.

“Sometime yesterday,” Emily admitted.

“I did a workout with her after the weddin’ appointment. She seemed fine.”

“At your studio?” Emily asked.

“No, at her house. You think that’s where she was taken from?”

“It looks that way.”

That put Maggie at the Murphy home with an innocent enough reason, but how did Maggie’s blood get on the area rug and in the trash? And why was Elise wearing the same clothes in the bank’s video that she’d had on at the wedding appointment if she had done a workout in between? Maybe this wasn’t the best time to ask Maggie those questions, but they would have to be asked—and answered—soon.

“What about you, Maggs?” Emily asked casually. “Everything okay with you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Maggie said, her brow wrinkling quizzically.

“I mean with you and Elise. Any disagreements or misunderstandings with her?”

Maggie’s frown grew more intense. “Are you askin’ if I had anything to do with her disappearance?”

“You just admitted you were at her house around the time she went missing.”

“Oh, Emily,” Camille broke in. “You can’t be serious.”

Emily’s gaze remained on Maggie. Yes, her friend was sweet and kind, but she was also in terrific physical shape, and Emily and Isabel had trained her well in self-defense. If Maggie wanted to restrain Elise and force her to do something, she was fully capable of doing it, especially if she had help—namely Jake Mitchell.

She didn’t want to believe her friend would have anything to do with Elise’s disappearance, but the timeline fit and then there was her blood. Maybe Maggie was the one drinking the other glass of wine. Could she have slipped a drug into Elise’s glass to make her more compliant? Had there been enough residue in the glass for Nelly to test for anything unusual?

“I’m just trying to find out what happened to Elise. If you know anything, now would be a good time to tell me.”

“Well, I don’t know anything, Miss Emily Parker.” Maggie’s hands were now firmly planted on her hips. “And frankly, I’m offended you would even ask.”

The fact that Maggie called Emily by her full name was her roundabout way of telling Emily she was treating her like they were strangers, not close friends, and she did not appreciate it.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Maggie, I only—”

“Hey, enough already,” Isabel cut in, obviously attempting to diffuse the situation and rescue Emily from going too far. “Let’s sit down and eat before the food gets cold.”

“Yes,” Camille agreed. “Everyone grab your plate and let’s try to have a nice dinner.”

Emily caught Maggie glaring at her as she picked up a plate from the stack. It was an unusually uncomfortable feeling. She had all but accused her good friend of being part of a felony, and if she was wrong, there may be no coming back from it.

They quietly filled their dishes and took their seats. As was their common practice, they each took turns around the table talking about what was going on in their lives. Emily hoped that would break the silence and return them to their usual friendly conversation.

Maggie jumped in first, complaining she was working more and more at the Serenity Health Club and less at her own studio, it seemed. Some of her clients were being wooed away by all the luxurious amenities and state-of-the-art exercise equipment the new club had to offer, making it hard for her to compete. “It’s seriously cuttin’ into my bottom line, if you know what I mean.”

The comment about Maggie’s financial woes did not escape Emily’s notice. It was a possible motive for getting drawn into Elise’s kidnapping, especially if there was a cut of the ransom money to be had.

Isabel shared that she wasn’t working on anything big right now at the FBI, but her boss had her busy keeping an eye on a potentially sticky situation the Governor had expressed interest in.

“Tell us about it,” Maggie begged. “It sounds interestin’.”

“Sorry, I can’t, at least not at this point. Maybe in a few weeks.” Isabel looked over at Emily again.

Camille boasted that her catering and event planning business was booming, keeping her busier than she would like. She had hired Elise to take some of the load off of her, but now that she was missing, she didn’t know what she was going to do.

“Of course, I’m not putting my business before Elise’s welfare, you understand. It’s just that I have clients depending on me and I’m going to have to start looking for a replacement.”