Dead Right (Stillwater Trilogy #3)(12)
Author: Brenda Novak

“Sure. In the meantime, try to relax, okay? You’re worrying me.”

“I’m fine,” Madeline said, but she had a headache from being awake most of the night. “Fine” actually felt a long way off.

“Call me if you need anything,” he said and hung up without a goodbye. He didn’t waste words. She’d gotten more out of him today than she usually did, but she didn’t have time to think about that. Her stepmother looked upset.

“Hi, Mom.” She rounded the desk to give Irene a hug.

“Hi, honey.” Irene embraced Madeline rather stiffly, proof that she was as anxious and upset as Madeline was. “Have you heard from Chief Pontiff?”

“No. You?”

An expression of disgust tugged at her stepmother’s lips. “He’d never call me. Not unless he had another search warrant. Or an arrest warrant.” Although Chief Pontiff seemed less prejudiced against the Montgomerys than some people in Stillwater, he wasn’t particularly friendly to them, either. In the absence of hard evidence, he was obviously making an effort to reserve judgment. But Madeline sensed that he believed what everyone else believed—that her stepfamily had caused whatever had happened to Lee Barker.

“It shouldn’t be long now,” she said, to herself as much as Irene.

“Do they know what they’re doing? They should’ve asked Allie for help.”

“They didn’t?”

“No. She called and offered, but they turned her down.”

The Vincellis had gotten to Toby, just as she’d expected. Otherwise, he would’ve included Allie. Allie had more experience in gathering evidence than anyone in Stillwater; she would’ve been the obvious choice. “I’m sure they’re doing their best. Chief Pontiff is a good man.”

But he was new at his job, and Madeline didn’t have a lot of confidence in his ability to shrug off the political influence of people like Mayor Nibley, who happened to be a friend of the Vincellis.

“Chief McCormick was a good man, too,” Irene said bitterly.

Madeline didn’t respond. Her stepmother was still in love with Allie’s father. That was clear. Not that she saw him anymore. The McCormicks had relocated in an attempt to save their marriage. According to Allie, they were managing, although it remained to be seen whether or not they’d ultimately succeed.

Madeline knew Irene was hoping against it. Her stepmother was so lonely she dropped in more often these days. With Clay and Grace both married, and Molly living in New York, it was natural that she’d turn to Madeline. But Madeline could’ve survived without today’s visit. Her stepmother’s angst added fuel to her own.

“Should we call him?” Madeline asked.

Irene nodded, but the phone rang before Madeline could reach it.

Bending over the desk, she pulled it toward her. Caller ID registered a blocked number, but she still hoped it was Chief Pontiff. “Stillwater Independent,” she said.

“Madeline?” The voice was muffled, odd, as if someone was purposely trying to disguise it.

“Yes?” she said hesitantly.

“I heard your father’s car was found in the quarry.”

Madeline was fairly certain it was a woman, although the caller was attempting to deepen her voice. “That’s true.”

“It was Clay who drove it there. I saw him,” she said.

Then the phone went dead.

Chapter Four

Madeline told herself that it was just another crank call. She’d gotten a lot of them, all promising information they never delivered. But there was something different about this one. The caller had seemed so nervous, so self-conscious, so…genuine.

Irene watched her with worried eyes. “What is it?”

“Wrong number.” She conjured up what was probably a lame smile, but she couldn’t manage anything more sincere. The sound of the caller’s voice hung over her like the gray clouds outside. Who’d placed that call? If she’d really seen what she’d claimed, why didn’t she come forward, be more specific? Madeline had a list of people who said they’d witnessed this or that. But once her father had left the church that last day, no one could say for sure where he’d gone.

Movement at the window caught Madeline’s attention.

“It’s Pontiff,” Irene said.

Toby stepped through the door, looking very official in his police-issue raincoat.

Madeline immediately forgot about the caller. “Chief,” she said expectantly.

He stood dripping on her doormat as he sent a fleeting glance at Irene, then nodded politely.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

His eyebrows gathered over his brown eyes. “Can I speak to you, Madeline? Privately?”

Madeline hesitated. She wanted to agree, simply because it’d give her a moment to absorb what he had to say before thinking about how it might affect her stepmother. But she couldn’t pull him into the tiny bathroom, and other than that her office was one big room occupied mostly by a giant printer. She wasn’t about to be so rude as to huddle in a corner and whisper while Irene was at her desk. She worked too hard to make sure others treated her stepmother with respect to ever slight Irene herself. “It’s okay. Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of my mother.”

He looked as if he might argue, but ultimately must’ve decided against it. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but we found some items this morning that could possibly turn into leads.”

“Possibly?” she echoed, her pulse kicking up. “What, exactly, are we talking about?”

“Some short strands of hair, for one.”

“That didn’t belong to my father?”

“They’re black.”

She knew what he was going to say next, so she said it for him. “Like Clay’s.”

It was Clay who drove it there…

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Irene snapped.

The Montgomerys had been accused so many times, Madeline could scarcely blame Irene for sounding belligerent. But Madeline was afraid her stepmother’s attitude wouldn’t win her any points with Pontiff, so she squelched her own flicker of doubt beneath the love and respect she felt for Clay.

“Mom’s right. If you look closely, you’ll probably find my hair in that car, too. And Grace’s. And Molly’s. We took the Cadillac to church every week.”

“Saying you found Clay’s hair in the car is like saying you found Clay’s DNA in the house!” Irene added.