Page 76 of Wild Escape

We strolled the walkway, and I rang the bell.

Audrey answered the door a moment later and invited us in. “Deputies, this is Cole. I’ve decided it might be a good idea to have security on hand for the foreseeable future.”

We exchanged pleasantries.

Cole filled out his charcoal suit with the appropriate amount of muscle. He had a slick, shaved head, a trimmed beard, and keen blue eyes.

We all took a seat in the living room.

“This is a beautiful home,” Daphne said.

"Thank you. Can I get you anything to drink? Water, coffee, soda?"

"No thank you," I said. "How are you holding up?”

She frowned and shrugged. "I’m hanging in there.”

“How’s Douglas?”

She deflated. “The same. The bullet penetrated the abdomen and damaged the liver. He lost a lot of blood. They did an emergency laparotomy. Then they had to go back in again to control the bleeding. They put him in a medically induced coma to reduce metabolic demand.” Her eyes welled. “I’m about to go back up there.”

“If there’s anything we can do, let us know,” I said.

“Are you making any progress? You said on the phone you had a potential lead."

"I'm afraid this might go in an unpleasant direction.”

She lifted her brow with intrigue. "I think I've had enough unpleasantness. Don't know if I can handle any more.”

"How is Kenzie’s relationship with her father?”

Audrey cringed. "It’s not good. It got worse when she started dating Hayden. Douglas can’t stand him. I don't think he's a bad kid, but Douglas wanted so much more for Kenzie. She’s such a bright girl, but…" Audrey exhaled a frustrated breath. "She's gotten herself mixed up with the wrong people.”

That was an understatement.

"When she started seeing Hayden, that's when the drug use began,” Audrey said. “I don't think she had so much as touched alcohol before then. Hayden has a problem, and I think he gave that problem to my daughter. It is easy to see what was going on, and Douglas didn't approve. Neither did I. Doug told her he wasn't going to keep funding her lifestyle if she kept using drugs. We tried to get her into a treatment program, but she wouldn't go. She maintained that she didn't have a problem. What can you do? You can't force someone to change. Everyone's got to come to that place on their own terms, in their own time. Of course, that wasn't happening as fast as we'd like. Douglas laid out an ultimatum for her. She had to go to rehab and get off the drugs, or she’d get cut off. It also meant she had to stop seeing Hayden. Around him, she would just fall right back into the same pattern.”

I shared a look with Jack. The motive was clear.

"I assume that you’re paying for the condo at the Nautilus,” I said.

“The condo, her car, her credit card bill, everything. In hindsight, that was a mistake, but we spoiled her. She is our only child." Her face soured. "I think we've got no one to blame but ourselves.” Audrey sighed, then said, "I shouldn't be boring you with family details."

"You're not boring us. I think this is all relevant.”

Audrey’s eyes narrowed at me, then her face twisted in horror as she put it all together. "You think she did this.”

I nodded. "You should take another look at the security footage. I think you'll find that your daughter matches the woman in the video, down to the type of shoes she wears.”

The color drained from Audrey's face. She swallowed hard, knowing the truth. Audrey grabbed her phone, pulled up the camera footage, then scrolled back through the timeline.

It was undeniable.

Sadness tugged her face, and the tears spilled over.

"I'm 99% certain the big guy in the video is Levi Bryant.”

“I don’t know him.”