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“What did you say?”
He drew in a deep breath, his eyes unwavering, not a hint of hesitation within. “I said I loved her. Claire and I were… We were dating.”
“Dating?” My voice rose in pitch, unsure what to believe. If they were together, why didn’t she say anything?
“For the past year until…” He trailed off, swallowing hard, taking a moment to collect himself. “She didn’t want to say anything. Not yet.” He blew out a subtle laugh, a nostalgic smile tugging on his lips. “I guess she was kind of worried about how you’d react. Reminded me you had a bit of a temper and she didn’t want me to be on the receiving end.” He used his shirt to wipe the blood that continued to spill from his nose. “Seems she had a point.”
I blinked, shocked. But the fact he was supposedly in love with my sister had nothing to do with all the other evidence.
“Okay then. Fine. You loved Claire. That doesn’t explain how the backpack belonging to my girlfriend’s missing daughter ended up in your goddamn house.”
“It was actually found in his car.”
I spun around as Detective Walker approached, that same, smug expression plastered on his face.
“The trunk, to be precise.”
A sob echoed. I looked to see Julia standing mere feet from me. I rushed over and pulled her into my arms. What I wouldn’t give to snap my fingers and go back in time. Insist we take Imogene home immediately following her soccer game.
If I had, we’d still be together.
But like Nikko had attempted to assure me, if Nick were behind this, and we were all but certain he was, he would have found a way to get Imogene, no matter what.
“I have no idea how it got there,” Dax argued. “I’ve never seen that backpack before.”
“Where were you from the hours of five to seven yesterday evening?” Detective Walker asked, flipping open his small notepad.
“At the gym.”
“What gym is that?”
“Lifetime Fitness. In North Brookhaven.”
“So you were at a gym in North Brookhaven. Which is where Imogene Prescott attends school. And near the park where surveillance cameras captured footage of a man matching your description hiring a courier to deliver a book to Agent Curran at the memorial he staged for a woman Domenic Jaskulski brutally raped and left for dead. A book Agent Curran had given Jaskulski in prison. And the Mercedes this backpack was found in was also seen on that surveillance footage.”
“And like I already told Agent Hawkins… I have several cars. Since the weather’s been nice, I’ve been driving the Wrangler lately.” His lips curved into a sad smile. “Claire loved that car.”
“So you’re saying you weren’t driving your Mercedes yesterday evening in the North Brookhaven area?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then how do you explain the fact a man matching your description and driving your car was seen at Brookhaven Park?”
“I can’t. Someone could have taken the Mercedes, then returned it before I even knew it was gone.”
“And just so happened to leave the missing girl’s backpack in the trunk?”
“I didn’t kidnap her. And I certainly didn’t drive my Mercedes to Brookhaven Park yesterday.”
“Can you tell me what you did at the gym?”
“Why does it matter? I went to the gym. Worked out. Came back here. Fell asleep. I swear to you. I have no idea where that girl is.” He turned his pleading eyes toward Julia. “I am so sorry your daughter is missing. I can’t even imagine how difficult this must be for you. But I had nothing to do with it. Someone must have stolen my car to make it look like I was involved.”
Julia opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Detective Walker interjected.
“So your theory is that someone stole your car, used it to deliver a package to a courier and kidnap Imogene Prescott, then returned the car, leaving the backpack in it to make it appear like you were involved.”
“I don’t know,” he exclaimed, becoming increasingly frustrated. But he still made no move to insist on calling his lawyer before answering any more questions. “All I do know is I didn’t take the poor girl. I would never do something like that. Would never do anything to harm another person. It’s not in my nature.”
