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Chapter 22

December 11

K
ADIN WORRIED AS
he bounded up the steps to Lilly’s townhouse. He’d received a frantic call from Dana begging him to do everything he could to clear his schedule and come immediately. Next to Lilly, or at least who Lilly had been before she became this shadow, Dana was one of the most levelheaded people he knew, and her demeanor never rose above subtle joy at best.

He knocked softly on the door. Dana answered in mere seconds and pulled him by the elbow into Lilly’s home. The scene before him was so foreign that he had to force himself not to back out the door and check the address.

The living room was dark. Only a faint glow from the gas logs provided any light. Lilly was supine on the couch dressed in underwear with a loosely fitted white blouse covering her upper chest. It was buttoned just below her breasts, exposing her belly. She held one of her firearms over her navel and did not meet Kadin’s eyes.

Covering her coffee table were several empty wine coolers, beer bottles, and shot glasses. Her empty eyes threatened to pull him into an unrelenting void of despair.

He cursed himself silently for not coming by last week.

“What’s going on?”

“Follow me.”

Watching Lilly from the corner of his eye, he followed Dana up the stairs and to the bathroom that sat opposite Lilly’s bedroom. Entering after her, he paused, attempting to interpret the scene before him.

Strewn in every conceivable nook were dozens of white sticks. They bloomed from the small white trash can that sat next to the sink.

“They’re pregnancy tests.”

“I know what they are.” Kadin stepped closer to the vanity and leaned closer to see what the results indicated.

“They’re all positive. I checked.”

“I thought she took emergency contraception.”

“She did.”

“How long has she known?”

Dana sighed and plopped down on the toilet, the knuckle of her index finger gathering her sadness before it tumbled down her cheeks.

“I don’t know. She hasn’t returned any of my calls for over a week. Anderson cornered me in the ER to ask about her when I was down there for a consult. Said she’s missed her last three shifts. She hasn’t even called in to report her absence.” She paused, tapping two fingers on the nearby toilet paper roll, tearing off several sheets, and dabbing her eyes. “When I got here, the door was open. She won’t acknowledge me. It’s freaking me out!”

Kadin could feel his heart heave beneath his ribs. “Do you think she’s suicidal?”

“I don’t know. I can’t get her to talk.”

He leaned down before her. “We’ll get this figured out. We won’t leave her alone.”

Dana nodded weakly.

“Why don’t you let me try.” Kadin stood.

They returned to the lower level. Dana took the chair. Kadin sat at the end of the couch. He reached for the gun and slipped it from her listless fingers. He released the magazine and set it separate from the weapon on the floor next to him.

“Lilly, Dana and I are very worried about you. Can you tell us what’s going on?”

Kadin feared falling into her cavernous depression.

“Obviously, we know about the baby. Do you want to talk about it?”

Lilly did not engage him.

Kadin turned to Dana, searching for a suggestion. She shrugged her shoulders haplessly. His soul tugged at his heart. Unsure what Lilly’s response would be, he folded his hands and prayed.

“Heavenly Father, Dana and I come to you on behalf of our friend Lilly. We see she is in such deep pain that she can’t seem to even speak of it. We know the Holy Spirit will pray for us when we don’t have the words …”

“Do not pray for me, Kadin.”

A pain cracked in his chest. He looked up. The voice was strong, free of slurred, intoxicated syllables.

“Unless you talk to me, I don’t know how else to help you, Lilly.”

“Do you think I deserve what’s happened to me?” Tears fell freely, though her voice remained steady.

Kadin’s mouth dried. “Of course not.”

“Then why did God allow this to happen? Why do I have to carry this monster’s child?”

Kadin tried to hide the shock from his eyes, but he couldn’t keep it from his next question. “You intend to keep the baby?” Lilly looked away, and Dana’s glance threw knives as she shook her head in disapproval. He placed his palms over his eyes and rubbed hard.

“It’s hard for me to speak to you about this, Lilly. I fear whatever I say will be too much and send you in the wrong direction.”

Lilly left her escaping tears untouched.

“What’s been going on?” Dana asked.

“I don’t know if I can talk about it.”

“Do you want to kill yourself?” Kadin asked. “It was a little unnerving seeing you lying here with a loaded weapon.”

Dana squirmed, struggling for words. She stilled, a determination straightening her posture.

“Lilly, you have to be honest with us on this. Otherwise, we’re not leaving you here until we’re sure you’re safe.”

“I think I would be better off dead than to live through this.”

Kadin’s breath stilled in the silence. Considering Lilly’s lack of faith, he feared his words would drop her from the cliff as he held on with a shaky grip from the ledge. It was almost like she was opening up her hand so she would fall. Would shock help her hold on tighter?

“What’s stopping you, Lilly?” Kadin challenged. From his peripheral vision, he saw Dana tilt in her seat, incredulous.

“I can’t kill the baby.”

The hand took hold. Motherly instinct kicked in. “Why not? You didn’t care about the possibility before.”

“Kadin, back off,” Dana warned.

“That’s before I knew it was real! Before I felt it moving!”

Kadin leaned back as Lilly sat up. Relief flooded through his body. Anger meant she could still fight.

“I’ve missed several cycles. I thought it was stress because I had some spotting the first couple of months after the rape.”

They both remained silent.

“Denial is an extremely useful tool.” She brought the back of her hand to her face and cleared each cheek. “I started to not feel well a couple of months ago. I would come home and immediately go to bed. I asked Anderson to split my shifts because I couldn’t bear the thought of working two in a row.”

Lilly settled her legs straight. Kadin took in the swollen abdomen.

“My last shift, I had this lady come and visit me.”

“You specifically?” Kadin asked.

“Work seems to be a nice place to get messages delivered.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I got horribly sick, I was visited by a man name Gabe.”

Dana sat forward. “Lilly, you already told me about this. The story he told you.”

“Well, did I mention he told me I would have to make a decision about a life and it wouldn’t exactly be a clear one?”

Kadin took her hands. “Try to calm down …”

“Then, my last shift, it was Sonya’s baby shower. I didn’t feel well at all—something weird in my belly like a dozen trapped butterflies, like weird muscle fasciculations. I was sick to my stomach. Eating didn’t make it better. I nearly killed a patient! Then this woman comes to see me. She’s dying of cancer.”

It took everything for Kadin not to interrupt and clarify exactly what these odd happenings meant. But it was the most she’d ever opened up.

“She said she’d been having dreams from God. That he wanted her to give me a message.”

“What was the message?”

“To not be afraid. That I needed to take a pregnancy test. That this baby would save my life. How is that possible when it will remind me every day of what happened?”

Kadin gripped her hands tighter. “Lilly, we’re going to be fine here.”

Her words clustered between sobs. “The baby’s not going to be right, anyway. All of the drinking I’ve been doing. It’s going to be damaged.”

“That’s not necessarily true, Lilly,” Dana said.

“Lilly, I think God gave you this baby to make a way for you to be free. To understand how a child can save.”

“Do not give me any line about how God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

“Lilly.” Kadin leaned forward and placed both hands on her exposed abdomen. “I know I’ve probably said all the wrong things. My purpose is not to alienate you from God, and I beg his forgiveness every night if I do things that make him less visible to you. In my heart, I know this baby lives to give life back to you. I don’t know how, but it will save you. Sometimes, God will bring you to the end of yourself so that all you can see is him.”

Chapter 23

December 18

T
OUCHDOWN WAS SMOOTH
, and it didn’t take long for Nathan and Brett to gather their luggage and make it off the plane. It was midmorning in Las Vegas. They were scheduled to stay one evening. Nathan hoped they could wrap up this interview and he could have one night to rest from the stress of the case. To say that this was all-consuming wouldn’t rise to the level of an understatement.

Nathan waited as Brett got their rental car. It seemed like such an outside shot that this vehicle and the woman who owned it would have anything to do with the case. Meanwhile, the task force was considering themselves lucky that there hadn’t been a new attack and the rapist seemed to be veering off his normal pattern.

Then again, maybe there was another victim, and they just didn’t know about her yet.

Brett neared him and jingled the keys in front of his face. “Ready?”

“Why not?”

They made their way through the terminal, exchanged paperwork with the rental car company, and neared the row of vehicles. After several failed attempts to locate it, Brett hit the remote entry, and a set of headlights flashed to their left.

“I thought you got a midsize?” Nathan asked.

“How can a car be that small?” Brett inspected it for damage and struggled to stow their luggage in the truck. “Why’d you bring so much?”

“Case files.”

“There’d be less if you were a girl.” Brett struggled to latch the miniature trunk. He finally gave up, took a high leap, and slammed his rear on top of the lid to close it.

“I hope we can get that open again. The weight of your buttocks probably broke the latch.”

“Ooh, Mr. Funnyman today. You navigate, and I’ll drive.”

Getting inside their white compact car, Brett wiggled in the seat, pushing his feet into the floorboard.

“I think that’s as far back as it goes.” Nathan pulled his seat belt and locked it.

“You have got to be kidding me. My knees are touching the dash.” More wiggling ensued.

“Brett, your seat is touching the backseat. Give it up.”

He sighed as he turned around. “You cannot call that a backseat. You know there are a minimum set of dimensions.”

“For you and a woman to have some fun?” Nathan opened a local map and checked the address.

“It’s only American.”

“Well, the problem is, I doubt this is American made.”

“Whatever. Which way?”

“Take a left out of here.”

The glory of the Vegas strip was lost as the sun rose high and whitewashed the landscape. Still, it seemed busy with foot traffic. After passing the major hotel attractions, they settled into residential areas that were calm and modest. A sharp contrast to the glitz of the main corridor.

“You said she lives in a gated community.” Brett thumped his knee against the steering column.

“It should be about another five miles up the road here.”

Nathan noticed the houses beginning to space out. A large stone-and-wrought-iron fence began, shielding the rich from the poorer citizens. A guarded gate was on their right. Brett turned the vehicle in, and the guard did not immediately open the window.

“He thinks we’re in the wrong neighborhood. Doesn’t like our car much.” Brett cranked down his window. “Not even a power package.” Nathan smirked as his partner twisted, attempting to reach his wallet. The car rocked back and forth.

“You’re going to pop a tire, all that movement,” Nathan teased.

“Shut up.”

Pulling out his ID, Brett quick-flipped it at the guard, who slid the window open.

“We’re here to see Meryl Stipman,” Brett said.

“I’ll have to ring her.” He slid the window shut.

“I’m going to start feeling insulted,” Brett said, the car jiggled more as he placed his wallet back.

“I’m already there.”

The window slid open again. “She says she’s expecting you. Take the large circle around, first right you can make, she’s the second property on the right.”

“Thanks.” Brett eased the car through the gate.

“Can’t wait to see this place. They don’t even call it a house.”

A long, winding street was lined with giant palm trees on either side of the lane. The road split into a circular drive; the center area was grass with a huge, gray stone fountain with a vase spilling water over a large pile of rocks. Brett parked their micro car in front of the marble staircase that led up to the front entrance of the property. Tiered fountains sat at the base of either side of the stairwell. The house was several stories of white stucco and black clay roof tiles.

“You know she has some money.”

“I wonder where the pink Escalade is.” Nathan said as they topped the staircase. There was a bell with a pull chain. Brett gave it a single tug. The black doors opened, and a young woman in a tailored pantsuit greeted them.

“Detectives, come in. Ms. Stipman is waiting for you in the sunroom.”

They followed her clicking heels across intricate tile floors as she veered slightly left into a glass-walled room. The view out the back of the house was even more stunning. A large patio met a large oval pool lined with more palm trees that continued around the pool and made another small lane to a group of tennis courts.

“Do you play?”

“Tennis?” Nathan neared the older woman and took her hand in both of his. Ms. Stipman was nearly three inches taller than he was, with stylish gray hair and steel-blue eyes. “I rarely have time for sports. I’m Detective Nathan Long. This is my partner, Brett Sawyer.”

She relinquished Nathan’s hand, offering hers to Brett. “You?”

“I like to try every now and then.”

“Honestly?” She pulled his hand closer to her, lowering her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “You seem more the armchair-quarterback type.”

Nathan could sense Brett didn’t know if that was playful bantering or an outright insult.

“Maybe we’ll play and you can judge for yourself.” He dropped her hand.

“Seems crazy you boys had to come all this way to look at my silly vehicle.” She walked away from them. Brett rolled his eyes at Nathan.

“We just need to ask you a few questions, and we should be on our way.”

“I’m just curious about the color,” Brett said. “Why pink? Seems like a dainty choice for a heavy-duty vehicle. I don’t imagine you get much snow here in Vegas.” He took a seat in a padded white wicker chair.

“Let’s just say I had a small disagreement with a cosmetics company. Wanted to show off a little bit.”

“Mary Kay?” Nathan replied.

“In turn, I started my own home-based cosmetics company to try to run them into the ground. As you can see, I’ve been quite successful with that.”

“But they’re still more prominent. Why not pick your own unique color?”

She seemed stumped. Nathan wondered what Brett’s angle was. “Were you in Colorado around January 3 of this year?”

“Yes, I was visiting a relative for the holidays.”

“Were you in an accident?”

“I’m not used to driving in inclement weather. It had snowed, and the roads were icy. I slid into a sign as I was trying to stop at a light.”

“Did you report the accident?” Nathan asked.

“I didn’t see a need to. No other cars were involved, and I figured the police were too busy doing other things.”

Nathan smoothed his tongue on the inside of his cheek. Had he just caught her in a lie? “Where does your relative live?

“In Lone Tree.”

“Were you in possession of your vehicle the whole time?” Brett asked.

Meryl tapped her heels together where she stood, like Dorothy trying to go home.

“These questions seem to be going outside those for a minor traffic collision. I already said I was in the car at the time of the accident.”

“Who were you visiting?”

“I said a relative.”

“Mrs.—”

“Ms., please.”

“Ms. Stipman, the more forthright you can be with your answers, the less likely we are to become suspicious that you’re trying to hide something. Your vehicle was in the vicinity of a crime, and we believe that the person who committed it is responsible for several others.”

“So there’s been a rash of unreported stop sign collisions? That’s why you’re here?”

“No, of course not.” Nathan closed his notepad and squared his shoulders. He took several steps in her direction. “There have been several rapes. Are you a mother?”

“Yes.”

“Any daughters?”

“No, two sons.”

“Is that who you were visiting? Your son?” Brett asked, picking up Nathan’s dangling thread.

She eased away from Nathan and looked at Brett. “Yes, I was visiting him.”

“So, I’ll ask you again, Ms. Stipman, were you in possession of your vehicle the whole time?”

“That is like the airport baggage question. If you walk two steps away from your suitcase, are you still in possession of it?”

“So, either you’re not sure, or you don’t want to commit to any answer.” Nathan blocked her between the two of them.

“I’m just saying it’s technical. After the damage occurred, my son took it to a body shop. He said he was friends with the owner and could get a good price.”

“But why would you be worried about money, considering your incredible resources?” Brett stood and inched closer.

“Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m not frugal.”

“Why didn’t you fly, Ms. Stipman?” Nathan asked. “Seems an awfully long way for you to drive.”

“My son wanted to see the car.”

“Why didn’t he come here to visit?”

“He’s a doctor. It’s hard for him to get away.”

“A doctor?” Nathan’s heart dropped several beats as pressure swelled in his throat. “What hospital?”

“He covers several.”

“Is Sage Medical Center one of them?”

“I believe so. Why?”

Nathan thought back to the link chart as Joshua’s pins clarified the pattern in his mind. He’d been right.

A doctor.

Nathan tried to swallow past the viselike sensation.

“Ma’am, we’ll need a recent picture of your son, if you have one.”