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“Why would someone bring them back to the house? Why would Professor Lipton kidnap them at the college then drive them home? Unless he knew your whereabouts, he’d be risking a lot.”
“Why would anyone?” Chet shot back, voice as hard as the metal folding chair Mia sat on.
Elizabeth hooked an eyebrow. “That’s the question of the hour. Or at least one of them.” She scooped up another file and flipped it open. “The other would be why did this man kill your wife and daughter the same night he took them? Hours after. The assumption appears to be that you came home, startled him, he attacked you and fled after bounding you, and left you all in the home to burn.”
Mia squeezed her eyes shut against the ghostly image.
“That’s correct,” Cruz said, filling in the answer after several beats of silence.
“But why not make sure to kill you, too? Why not take your wife and daughter somewhere he has more knowledge of, more certainty and privacy so he can treat them the same as every other victim that has been discovered?” Elizabeth kept her words measured, quiet, and calm. As if she were trying to answer them herself as she asked them.
Chet stayed silent and the air in the room crackled with emotional energy.
“We don’t know,” Tucker said, voicing what had to be in everyone else’s mind. “What’s your initial thought? I know you have one.”
The mask of professionalism finally slipped from Elizabeth’s face and sadness pooled in her hazel eyes. “What happened with Laurie and Riley was more personal. It wasn’t just a random woman and child. It wasn’t planned. He’d thought about taking them—at least Laurie—before. He knew them. And he knows you, Chet. Because if he didn’t, you would be dead.”
* * *
Cold condensation coatedChet’s palms, but the heat of anger still pulsed inside him with every rapid beat of his heart. The Chill N’ Grill was mostly empty in the late afternoon. A few stragglers lingered at tables, stretching out their lunch hours before returning to whatever job made them wear a suit and tie. The low thrum of music was just a jumble of words and noises in Chet’s ears.
Mia sat on a backless stool to his left side, Cruz on the other, but the only thing in his mind was the litany of opinions Elizabeth Gilmore had dropped on him like a grenade. If what she said was right, then not only was the killer from Pine Valley, but it was someone he knew. Which not only ruled out Professor Lipton, but made Chet consider everyone in town a suspect. Something that left him unsettled at least, pissed off and fearful at most.
But as much as he didn’t want to admit it, what Elizabeth said made sense. Especially considering the photo found of Laurie and Riley and the personal attacks on him and Mia since the graves were uncovered. As if by simply being present when the victims had been found had reopened some personal vendetta Chet had known nothing about.
“Well, Tucker’s profiler definitely didn’t pull any punches,” Cruz said, lifting a finger to signal to Wade. “How ya feeling, man?”
Chet lifted his glass to his lips and drained his beer. “Like I need another drink.”
Wade grabbed his glass and placed it under the tap, pulling the wooden lever to fill the cup with the amber liquid. “You guys need anything else?”
“Just the check.” Cruz slid his empty plate forward. Only a few French fries left behind.
Mia pushed aside a salad she’d barely touched. “I’m good, Wade. Thanks.”
Chet waited for his now-full glass and took another swig. Previous experience had shown him no amount of alcohol would dim his pain, but damnit, he needed something to take off the edge.
Wade placed a slip of paper in front of Cruz. “I’ll be in the back. Holler if ya’ll need me.”
Chet stared into his glass. Speaking with Elizabeth had brought to life even more haunting memories. Memories he wished had burned along with his house three years ago.
Mia propped her elbows on the bar. “She seemed so certain of everything she said. How can she read some statements, talk to strangers, then come up with such concrete theories about what’s going on in some madman’s brain?”
Cruz shrugged and plucked his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. “She was one of the top profilers in the country. I don’t understand the complexities of everything that goes into what she does, but the students she’s teaching right now don’t realize how lucky they are to have her. And when you pick apart what she has to say, it’s hard to argue with her conclusion.”
“If we follow her train of thought, it would mean that whoever took Laurie and Riley knew that Chet was out of town that night. Was there anyone you or Laurie told?” Mia asked.
Pain beat against the middle of his forehead. He’d been over all of this so many times before. Desperation made him want to believe talking things through one more time would lead to answers, but chances of that happening were as low as the beer level at the bottom of his glass. “It wasn’t a secret I was gone.”
“Was it just for a night?” Mia asked.
He scrubbed a palm over his face. “A few. My mom had died a month before. I had to close up her house and get it ready for sale. The guys I worked with knew where I was. Laurie’s friends. Hell, it’s Pine Valley. Shit gets around fast. Even mundane info. Half the town probably knew where I was, and when I was supposed to get home.”
“Is there anyone who asked a lot of questions about when you’d be back?” Mia asked. “Or talked to your wife about it? Anyone who’d bothered her, or even stood out as being a little too friendly?”
He thought back on the conversations he’d had with Laurie while he’d been out of town. Tried to remember her mentioning anything, or anyone, bothering her. Only one name came to mind. “Professor Lipton.” He drained his beer then signaled a waitress for his bill.
“I had Wade put yours and Mia’s stuff on my bill,” Cruz said, standing. “I hate dragging this all back up. I really do. But Professor Lipton doesn’t fit the profile Elizabeth has started building.”
