FOR THE BABY'S SAKE (8 page)

“I gave her a chance to come forward. If she was scared of Mirandez, why didn’t she say something?” Sawyer asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe she thought that Mirandez would kill her, too. Maybe she thought Mirandez would rest easy once he found out that she didn’t intend to turn him in.”

“I don’t think he’s the type to forget. They don’t teach you to turn the other cheek in the hood.”

“I don’t think she has lots of experience with men like Mirandez.”

“No one does. They all die first.”

Liz shrugged. “That’s why I’m going after her.”

No way. Evil surrounded Mirandez. He wouldn’t risk letting that evil leak out and touch Liz. “That’s not possible. It’s a police matter.”

“But you said the police are searching in Chicago. They aren’t going to find Mirandez or Mary.”

“We know Mirandez has dropped out of sight. But we don’t have any reason to believe that Mirandez is in Wisconsin. I told you that we have people on the inside. There’s been no talk about fishing. He would have told somebody in his organization. And our guys would know.”

“I think the girl at Jumpin’ Jack Flash told me the truth.”

“What was her name?”

Liz blushed. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to scare her. She had dark hair, about shoulder length, with olive-colored skin. Late teens. I’d estimate she was five or six months pregnant.”

“Of course.”

Liz raised an eyebrow when she heard the bitterness in his voice. “Are you automatically discounting everything she said because she’s young and pregnant?”

Young pregnant women lied. His girlfriend had lied to him. Mary had lied. Why wouldn’t this one lie? “No. But I don’t accept it as gospel.”

Liz shook her head, clearly disgusted with him. “I’m going to Wisconsin. She needs me.”

“You don’t even know where to begin,” he protested.

“I’ll get a map. I’ve got some recent photos of Mary. I’ll show them around, and somebody will have seen her. Someone will know where I can find her.”

If it was that easy, they wouldn’t have a stack of missing-person reports. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t let you do it.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand. “I’ll ask Lieutenant Fischer to send a few guys north. We’ll expand the search. We’ll notify both local and state authorities in Wisconsin.” It was the best he could do. Probably better than the half-baked lead deserved.

“Thank you. But I’m still going. I have to.”

She wasn’t going to let him keep her safe. “Mary doesn’t deserve this kind of loyalty. She lied to you. She told you that she didn’t even know Mirandez. You know that she’s been living with him for the past six months. Don’t you even care that she looked you in the eye and lied to you?”

“Mary’s in a fragile state right now. I’m not sure she’s able to make good decisions.”

“
You’re
not making good decisions,” he accused. When she shrugged in return, he knew continued arguing would get them nowhere.

“You should probably go,” she said. “I want to get an early start.”

“I hope to hell she’s worth it,” he said as he pulled the door shut behind him.

Chapter Seven

Sawyer called Lieutenant Fischer from his car, knowing he had a responsibility to give the man any information that might lead to Mirandez’s capture. The older man listened, asked a couple questions and agreed it was a long shot. That said, he’d assign a few resources to Wisconsin. They couldn’t afford to ignore any lead, no matter how preposterous.

“There’s one other thing, Lieutenant,” Sawyer said. Now that he’d had a minute to think about Liz going to Wisconsin, he realized that there was one good thing about it. If whoever had sent the threat was serious about it, it got her out of harm’s way here.

“Yes.”

“Liz Mayfield intends to search, as well. Would you... Could you get the word out? I don’t want her getting caught in any cross fire.”

Lieutenant Fischer didn’t answer right away. When he did, he surprised Sawyer. “We should use Liz Mayfield.”

The department didn’t use civilians. They weren’t trained. They could botch up almost any action, putting officers at risk. “I don’t understand, sir.”

“You think that Mary Thorton willingly went with Mirandez?”

“I think there’s a high probability of that,” Sawyer answered. “She’s been living with him for months. She didn’t turn on him when she had the chance.”

“If that’s true, she’s going to run if she thinks the cops are closing in. Or she’s going to tell Mirandez and they’ll both run, or there’s going to be a bloody battle between Mirandez and us. But if Liz gets close, she may be able to talk to the girl. You said yourself that there seemed to be a really strong bond between the two of them. That if anyone could get to Mary, it would be her.”

Sawyer regretted ever having said those words. “Sir, you
cannot
send her after Mirandez. He’s a monster. He wouldn’t think twice about killing her.”

“That’s why I’m sending you with her. It’s your job to keep her safe. If she gets hurt, I’m going to have the mayor and her boss and God knows who else wanting my head. Stick to her like glue.”

There was no damn way. “No.”

“Why not?”

He couldn’t tell his lieutenant about what had happened in Liz’s kitchen, that he’d almost exploded from wanting her. “She’s not going to like having me as her shadow.”

“Too bad. She doesn’t have a choice. Some things just can’t be negotiated.”

He was a doomed man. “Will you let Robert know where I am?”

“Sure. By the way, I talked to him just a little while ago. He told me that the two of you had sprung Liz from Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Good call on Robert’s part. Better to tell the boss rather than let him hear it through the grapevine. “Seemed like the right thing to do,” Sawyer said.

“It’s fine,” his boss said.

Sawyer understood. Lieutenant Fischer wasn’t going to worry about the small stuff when he was close to snagging Mirandez.

* * *

L
IZ
FROZE
WHEN
SHE
HEARD
the knocking on her front door. In the mirror, she could see the reflection of the digital alarm clock. Eight minutes after four. No one knocked on her door at that time of the morning.

Mary. She spit out the toothpaste, took a gulp of water and grabbed a towel. She wiped her mouth on the way to the door. “Just a minute,” she yelled. She wanted to yank the door open but took the extra second to check the peephole. She looked, pulled back, blinked a couple times and looked again.

Sawyer. She twisted the bolt lock to the right, pulled the chain back and opened the door.

“What happened?” she said.

“Can I come in?”

She opened the door wider. “It’s Mary, isn’t it? Oh, God, is she all right?”

“Liz, calm down. I don’t know anything more than I knew last night when I left here.”

“Oh.” She felt the relief flow through her body. No news wasn’t necessarily good news, but it wasn’t bad news, either. Swiftly on the heels of the relief came annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

She thought he looked a bit unsure. But that must be her imagination.
Capable
Detective Montgomery didn’t do unsure.

“You said you were leaving early.” Sawyer gave her a slight smile. “I know you sometimes get up at the crack of dawn. I didn’t want to miss you.”

“It’s four o’clock,” she said.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I didn’t wake you.”

No, he hadn’t. She’d already showered, dried her hair and packed her bag. In another ten minutes, she’d have been gone.

“Why are you here?” she asked again.

“I’m going with you. To look for Mary.”

She backed up a few steps and shook her head. Her tired mind must be playing tricks on her.

“Do you have any coffee made?” Sawyer asked.

“No.” She didn’t intend to offer him coffee. First of all, the man had kissed her like crazy and then stopped. It was the stopping she was mad about. Then he had compounded his errors by dismissing the notion that she might have gotten a viable lead on Mary. Now he acted as if he had every right to come to her house at four in the morning for conversation and coffee.

He crinkled his nose and pretended to sniff the air. “Funny. That smells like coffee.”

She’d been done in by hazelnut beans. “I’ve got a timer. It must have turned on.”

“Great. I could use a cup.”

He could pour his own. She intended to go finish packing, and then they would go their separate ways.

“Fine. Cups are on the counter. I’ve got things to do.”

He nodded and pointed at the corner of her mouth. “You’ve got just a speck of toothpaste there.”

Oh, the nerve of this guy. “I was saving it for later,” Liz said, her voice dripping with sweetness.

Sawyer laughed. “Good one. You’re funny in the morning.”

He’d think funny when she left him standing on the curb.

Ten minutes later, Liz walked into the kitchen. Sawyer stood at the counter, drinking out of her favorite cup and eating a piece of toast. “I made you some,” he said. “I didn’t know if you liked jelly.”

“Sawyer.” Liz smiled, purposefully patronizing. She felt calmer now that she’d had a few moments to herself. “This is bizarre. You can’t come to my house at four in the morning and have breakfast.”

“I packed enough to last a week. I suggest you do the same.”

A week? He expected her to spend a week with him?

Liz grabbed for the piece of toast he held out to her. She needed food. She surely had low blood sugar. He couldn’t have said
a week.
It would all be better once she’d eaten.

“I did an internet search last night,” Sawyer continued, as if he had every right. “I’ve identified the most likely places.”

Likely places? “Sawyer, stop. You’re giving me a headache. First of all, when did you have time to do an internet search? You left here just hours ago. Did you sleep at all? And more important, why are you doing this? Last night you didn’t seem to think that my information had much value.”

“Any lead is better than no lead.”

“Well, you can’t go with me.” She couldn’t spend a week with him. Heck, she couldn’t spend an hour with him without itching to touch him. Mr. Can’t-compromise-the-investigation had no idea that given another two minutes last night, she’d have been all over him. The man had no idea just how much at risk he’d been. The desire had been swift, hot, almost painful.

Throughout the very short night, she’d relived the scene over and over again. By morning, she’d been almost willing to admit that he’d probably done the right thing. There was no need for the little spark between the two of them to grow into a really big flame. With air, a little encouragement and fresh sheets, it could be spontaneous combustion.

They’d both be burned, hurt worse than they could imagine.

Which was ridiculous. Absolutely not necessary. They both wanted Mary. He wanted to use the girl. She wanted to save her. Same goal, different objectives. No common values or mission statement. There was no need to share strategy. Certainly no need to share a car.

“I want to go by myself,” she stated.

“No.”

Who had died and put him in charge? “You can’t stop me.”

“I can,” he said, suddenly sounding very serious, more like he had the night before. “I’m the lead detective on the case. If you don’t cooperate with me, I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a police investigation.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” she accused. He just stood there, not blinking, not moving.

“I’ll do what I have to do.”

“You...you...” she sputtered, unable to find the word that captured her anger. “You cop.” It was the best she could do at four in the morning.

He shrugged. “I want Mirandez. Mary’s my ticket. She testifies against Mirandez and we get to throw away the key. I haven’t made any bones about what I’m trying to do. You think they’re in Wisconsin. That’s as good a guess as any right now. Are you ready to go?”

She wasn’t going anywhere with him. “I’m packed. I’m leaving. Solo. Alone. You can follow me if you want, but we aren’t going together.”

“That’s a waste of gas if we’re both going the same way.”

He didn’t
really
care about wasting gas. “You’re afraid that I’m going to warn Mary. You don’t trust me.”

He looked a little offended. “I trust you. About as much as you trust me.”

She didn’t trust him one bit. He’d steal her heart and never give it back. She’d be the Tin Man looking for the Wizard.

“I want Mirandez to pay for his crimes,” Liz said. “If you’re right and Mary can testify against him, I’ll do everything I can to persuade her to do so.”

“You still refuse to accept that she might be part of this.”

“She’s not.”

“Fine. I’ll be the first to say I’m wrong. But if I’m right, I’m going to arrest both of them. Maybe it would be in Mary’s best interests if you were with me when I find them.”

Mary wouldn’t talk to Sawyer. Liz knew that. He was everything she despised. She’d clam up, or worse yet, she’d spout off and probably irritate the hell out of him. She didn’t think Sawyer would arrest her out of spite. He wasn’t that type of cop or man. No, Sawyer wasn’t the wild card. But Mary was. She needed to be there when the two of them met up again.

“All right,” she said. “We’ll go together. But you’d better not slow me down.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be there in three hours. Then we start working the river.”

“Working the river?”

“Yes. In that area, most of the major campgrounds and resort areas are close to the Wisconsin River. We’ll pick a point and then work both sides of the river, north and south. The girl at Jumpin’ Jack Flash said he was fishing. He’s got to be staying in the area. Could be a tent, a cabin or a damn resort. We’ll check them all. If we’re going to do this, we do it right.”

That seemed like a whole lot of
we.
“Fine.” Did she just say
fine?
What was she thinking? “Let’s go.”

“We can take your car or I’d be happy to drive.”

“Oh, no,” she said. “Let’s take my car.”

“Then follow me over to the police station. I’ll drop my wheels there.”

How had this happened? She was drawn to Sawyer like some cheap magnet to a refrigerator. He could see the attraction, yet he had some crazy ethical, moral or puritanical code—she wasn’t sure which—that prevented him from acting on it.

So, however much she tried to avoid it, she’d be squirming in her seat for days, and he’d be determined to withstand it. To prevail.

It made her furious. With herself and with him. “I’ll get my bag,” she said. “While you’re waiting, find a thermos. I think there’s one in those cupboards. I’m gonna want coffee.”

* * *

S
AWYER
PULLED
INTO
a truck stop shortly after seven. They’d beaten the rush-hour traffic, scooting out of the Chicagoland area before lots of commuters hit the road. It had been a straight shot north up I-94, and now they were headed west, just twenty minutes shy of Madison.

Liz hadn’t said a word to him since they’d left his car at the station and he’d climbed into hers. Not even when he’d ask her if he could drive. She’d just looked at him and dropped the keys to her Toyota into his open hand. He’d pushed the seat back and tried to get comfortable. She’d sat on her side of the car, drank coffee, fiddled with the radio stations and generally ignored him.

He didn’t care. A little dislike between him and Liz could go a long way. He hoped it went far enough that it kept him from wanting her, from taking her into his arms, from pulling her under his body.

He didn’t think he’d be satisfied with less. He knew he didn’t have a right to ask for more. He needed to keep his hands on the wheel and let her be pissed off at him. It was safer and ultimately easier and better for the both of them.

“I’m hungry,” he said.

“Fine.” She barely spared him a look before she turned her face to the window.

“We need gas, too.”

“Fine,” she repeated. She reached down between her feet, opened her purse and pulled out a twenty.

“I’ll buy gas,” Sawyer told her. “This is police business.”

“Your boss knows you’re going?”

“Of course. He thinks it’s probably a wild-goose chase. But since Mirandez has had us chasing our tails for over a year, he’s pulling out all the stops.”

“When we find Mary, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me talk to her first. She’ll be scared.”

She had no idea she was playing into Lieutenant Fischer’s hands. That was exactly what the man had hoped for. The lieutenant wanted Liz to draw Mary in, to get her to testify against Mirandez. Lord, he hated using Liz like this. “I’ll do my best.” Sawyer heard the stiffness in his voice. He ignored the quick look Liz shot in his direction and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Let’s go.”

Sawyer took the lead, but no one even glanced up when they walked through the door. Not until Liz walked past the two men who were sitting in the middle booth drinking coffee. Sawyer heard the soft whistle first, then “Wouldn’t mind having those wrapped around my waist.”

Sawyer stopped in his tracks. He balled up his fist and turned.