Black Adagio (32 page)

“But I didn't meet him!” she broke in. “And he could have said just about anything because he was crazy! Don’t you see that he just wanted to get into my pants! But I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore, do ya think?”

“So you're saying he's dead?” Todd asked, staring at the grinning face of the teenager who seemed to think this was some kind of game.

“No, ‘
missing’
! You just told me he was!” she lashed back. “Tell you what, Bubba! I want a fucking lawyer! Now!” she demanded, crossing her arms and leaning back into the seat.

Flushed and breathing heavily, Laurie was cracking. Beyond upset. Foster wanted to dig in and see else what came out, but Todd put a hand on his chest.

“She asked for an attorney. Let's leave it alone,” he said quietly.

Foster nodded. Unwilling to jeopardize the case, Larabee could be a jerk, but even jerks don’t deserve to be torn apart in the woods by a group of refugees from a horror film.

“Fine,” he said, opening the door. A deputy led Laurie past her mother who had been waiting on a hard bench.

“Laurie! Laurie, I'm getting an attorney, baby! They can't do this!”

“Yeah, thanks a lot, mom! You fucking had to tell them I was a witch?”

“But I thought it would help! You told me they were all vegans and that they respected life and would never hurt ...”

“Shut the fuck up!” she shouted, turning her back on the mother that never seemed to get anything right, but then who was she to talk? Apparently, neither did she.

Chapter Thirty-seven

The movie over, the trio were comfortably seated in Manny’s. While the purpose of the outing was supposed to be a celebration of Missy landing the part in the new production, it had morphed into a chance for the young girl to clear her head. Melissa opened up about her session with Case Agent Scott Hotchkins. True to form, the Feds had arrived in a fury—anxious to talk to all parties connected with the case.

“Dear God! It was horrible,” she moaned. 

“Really? I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy,” Todd offered.

“Yeah, well, not with me he wasn’t. You’d have thought I was a suspect instead of the slob that found Larabee’s coat.”

“But what the hell happened to him?” Collette asked, shoveling leafy salad greens in her mouth. “Does anyone know?”

“Nope, we sure don’t,” Todd admitted.

“That’s not reassuring! This makes three people that have gone missing,” Collette continued.

“The way you’re phrasing it makes it sound more hopeless than it is. Might I remind you that last night they made a huge mistake. Larabee was able to tell Foster who he was meeting. She’s only 16, and there’s no way she’s going to be willing to take the entire rap.” 

“I see what you mean. I wouldn’t either,” Melissa agreed. “Not that I had anything to do with this,” she quickly added. 

“As if that was necessary,” Collette teased.

“Yeah, well, just in case there are wires or tapes or whatever you call those things that record somebody speaking around here somewhere,” Melissa replied.

“You call them recorders!” Collette continued to joke. Her humor breaking the growing tension, Melissa smiled for the first time since segueing to this subject.

“You! What would I do without your smart mouth?”

“Why you’d be lost and alone! Even worse, you’d be left to converse with that dolt Zoe.”

“Yeah, the girl that told that story about Barbara and the cult,” Todd responded. 

“Yeah, but I repeated it—to you!” Melissa reminded. “And you dismissed it!”

“Gotta rub that in, don’t you?” he answered, not thrilled about being reminded he was wrong.

“Absolutely! I’ve been right so few times over the past few weeks, that I’m taking full credit. By the way, what did that Hotchkins say to you?” she asked Collette.

“He kept going on and on about my banana feet and how thin I was. Kept trying to feed me a candy bar, but I fought him off.”

Getting the humor, Melissa burst into giggles. Todd looked askance, not quite sure what was so funny about having bananas for feet.

“It’s dance humor, Todd. You’re not expected to understand. Okay, so besides the comments on your emaciation and amazing arches, he didn’t get on you about being a serial killer? Are you telling me he only saved those kind of accusations for me?”

“Guess so,” Collette nonchalantly replied, digging back into her salad. “It’s the price thin, beautiful girls pay. Thank God you’ll never know anything about it.”

Melissa laughed again. Picking up her soda, she began scanning the diner that was chockfull of customers. Choking, she leaned in, whispering, “My stalker is here! How’d he get in without me noticing?”

Collette looked in the corner, her gaze fixing on the man casually salting his burger.

“It is him! I didn’t see him either!”

“I didn’t either,” Todd said, joining in. “but then people having a late night snack don’t usually set my warning lights off.”

“But he’s the one that followed us! I told you about that!” she started.

“I know what you said, Missy, and I’m taking it seriously. I’ve just got my hands full lately.”

“Understatement,” Collette retorted, shaking her head. “I’ll bet Holybrook has never had this happen before.”

“Not that anybody remembers,” Todd remarked.

“So did you call your dad?” Collette asked Melissa, changing the subject. 

“Haven’t had the chance, but I’ll tell him tonight.”

“Tell him what?” Todd inquired taking a bite of his poached salmon.

“That the school is closing.”

“Closing?” Todd asked, startled by the news. “I thought it just opened?”

Collette smiled, “Not forever. We were scheduled to get a couple days off for the holidays, but now they’re closing early and staying closed until the end of January. It’ll give you guys a chance to solve the case and us a chance to recuperate. They’ve been pushing us pretty hard.”

“I think that’s the smartest move anybody’s made since this crap started. Not that I want you to go,” Todd acknowledged, turning to Melissa, “but I was getting worried about you.”

“Me?” Melissa asked, surprised by the admission.

“Yes,
you
, and
you
,” he said including Collette. “And everyone else in Holybrook that is a potential victim. I swear, the things kids get involved in sometimes.”

“It’s why every parent should get their child into ballet class,” Collette quipped. “We’re too tired to get into trouble.”

“It’s true,” Melissa concurred. “Plus the fact we spend all our spare time in gyms and not kidnapping people, or whatever this cult did.”

The choice of her words made Manny look up from the grill. His expression a blend of guilt and fear, it pointed towards having a restive soul.

“Don’t know what the heck’s gotten into him,” Bonnie remarked, nodding her head in her boss’ direction. “Now can I do anything else for you, folks?”

The two girls shook their heads.

“Guess not,” Todd answered, patting his stomach, “And I’m stuffed.”

“In that case.” Totaling the bill, she ripped it off, handing it to him. The bell rang, Agent Hotchkins and two members of his team entering.

“Oh, Christ!” Melissa gasped, hiding behind him. 

Todd gently took her arm.

“They’re just having dinner. That’s all. Now calm down.”

She exhaled, trying to relax, “I hope so.”

“Here you go, Bonnie,” Todd said, paying the tab and adding in a hefty tip.

“Thanks, Todd! You all have a nice evening,” she said hurrying to the agents that were looking for a place to sit. Directing them to a booth still cluttered with the remnants of uneaten food, she started to clear away the plates.

Putting on her coat, Missy felt a cold chill as she passed by her stalker, the man with the too-black pompadour giving her a calculated stare.

Collecting outside, Collette fiddled with the buttons of her coat. Todd looked in the window of the diner, taking hold of Melissa’s arm.

“You two keep walking.”

“What?” Melissa asked.

“You heard me. Walk!” he ordered, ducking behind the corner of the building.

Following the directive, the two girls sauntered towards the center of town. Setting a trap, it was a little too coincidental that the man Missy had singled out had suddenly decided to leave. The sound of the bell told Todd that the mystery man was set to follow. Todd waited until he neared the alley. Jumping out, he secured him by his collar, pushing him up against a wall.

“Okay, pal,” he said fishing out and flashing his badge. “You want to tell me why an old man like you is following young girls all over town?”

“I was trying to protect them,” he blurted.

More curious than mad, Todd eased his elbow out from the place digging in the man’s throat.

“I want some ID. Now!”

“Okay,” the older man said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Easy, easy!” Todd warned, as the man slowly withdrew a wallet. Taking it, he read the name on the license.

“Robert Mulligan.”

Things clicking, the name rang a bell. “Robert Mulligan? You’re the guy that ran off with Barbara Moore. What the hell are you doing back here?” he asked, placing the billfold back into the nervous man’s hands.

The man fumbled with it, trying to push it back in the black denim jeans that were one size too small.

“I’m back here because I saw the story about the missing girl. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen … for forty goddamned years,” he admitted, his voice quivering with emotion. His face twitching, his eyes were hooded, filled with a kind of pain that only comes from years of torture. “I never did run off with Barbara. She disappeared.”

“What?” Todd said, ready to dive into a round of questioning.

“Todd?”

Recognizing the voice behind him, Melissa was checking on what he was doing. Not about to get her involved, he needed to find out more about why Mulligan had returned.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” he said, his voice softening. Mulligan tried to smile in an effort to convince her that nothing was wrong. Not convinced, Todd repeated the statement, his voice sounding like broken glass.

“Sure,” she responded, wandering away. Out of earshot, Todd continued.

“Are you telling me that you haven’t been living with Barbara all these years?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“And that she never married you?

“Married to me?” he laughed derisively. “No, but that was the plan.”

Looking down at his old boots, his eyes misted with tears.

“Then, what the hell?” Todd gushed, unable to reconcile the conflicting statements. “Where are you staying?”

“At the Grey Inn Lodge. Room 112.”

“You go back there, you hear? You stay right there because I want to talk to you. Do you understand? And if I get there and find out you’re gone, I’ll sic the FBI on you faster than butter melts on toast. That clear, Mr. Mulligan?”

“As glass,” he replied, as he vanished into the falling snow.

Chapter Thirty-eight

“Hey, where’d you disappear?” Kurt cringed at his unfortunate choice of words. “Sorry! Didn’t mean it that way!”

“It’s alright. We know you weren’t trying to be a jerk,” Melissa assured,

“Yeah, if this keeps up, pretty soon all words are going to be taboo,” Collette added.

“Really? I thought they caught the perp,” Kurt queried, zipping up his outdoor jacket.

“One of them, anyway,” Collette replied. “And never mind what we were doing, where are you headed, young Master Casings? Don’t tell me you’re going outside?”

“Since when is 10 o’clock late?

“Since this shit started happening!” she spurted.

“And stopped happening now that the lame-o girl is out of commission,” he replied, sliding his lined leather gloves over his hands.

“Collette’s right. We don’t know who she’s involved with and that anything has stopped. And you didn’t answer the question,” Melissa insisted.

“If you have to know, I’m meeting Zoe,” he answered, not being able to refuse her dark eyes anything. He would have loved to have kissed her—just grabbed her and planted a smooch on those luscious lips, but doubted Velofsky’s would approve of such lustful impulses. Not sure how she’d feel about it, he would have chanced it in a heartbeat if her friend weren’t around.

Her sultry face registered a note of consternation that could be read as jealousy, but could he be that lucky? Never able to get a handle on how this girl felt about him, he decided not to push it because of the circumstances of working together. The last thing he wanted was to be known as the creepy guy who took advantage of the dancers he partnered.

“You’re going to meet Zoe?” Melissa stammered, furious that she was trying to get her hooks in him. Certain that she was doing it for revenge, everyone knew he had a sweet spot for her.