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“Probably not,” Brook speculated as she reached down for her purse that she’d set on the floorboard. “We’re about to find out, though.”
Theo turned off the engine as Brook opened the passenger side door. He’d wanted to talk to her a little more in-depth about her decision to cut everyone out of a moment where they could have been some semblance of support for her. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t give him the opportunity to steer the conversation in a different direction.
Brook wanted distance, so he would give her that for the time being. She was slowly coming around to the fact that she didn’t need to go through life alone. Friendships were important, and she’d cultivated those alliances without even realizing that she’d done so over the course of the past year.
After joining her on the sidewalk and locking up the Jeep, they made their way inside the lobby of the building where a panel had been installed on the lefthand side. Theo quickly located Beau Willow’s buzzer, which would alert the man that his visitors had arrived for their scheduled meeting.
“You mentioned that Beau Willow spent a lot of money in the weeks after his wife’s abduction. Private investigators, rewards, and even a so-called psychic.”
“That’s what Sylvie discovered when she combed through the husband’s financials.” Theo heard the entrance lock disengage, so he reached forward and opened the door for Brook. She stepped inside and waited for him to join her. “From what I understand, he refused to accept that his wife was dead months after her bloody handprint had been discovered in the bakery’s restroom. He hasn’t spoken to his in-laws since the funeral. I guess they had a big falling out over their decision to officially declare Grace dead.”
“We know that Jackson Ridgeway is connected to Beau Willow. We just need to figure out the correlation to Grace’s abduction.” Brook and Theo chose to take the stairs instead of the elevator. The second floor held numerous apartments, but it didn’t take them long to find the correct door. He rapped his knuckles a few times on the hard surface as she finished her thought. “Everything stopped with Ridgeway’s death.”
“We have to be on the right track, though,” Theo pointed out while not wanting to judge the reason that Agent Parker might have missed such glaring evidence. “As you said, the abductions stopped the moment that Ridgeway took his own life. That’s not a coincidence.”
“Remember, Leonard Buchert didn’t mention Ridgeway when being questioned by Agent Parker. Sid wouldn’t have known about the connection.” Brook removed her leather gloves and shoved them inside her purse while they waited for Beau Willow to greet them. “The only reason that I was even aware of Ridgeway was because one of the employees thought that I was with the firm involved in the wrongful death suit against them.”
The door finally opened to reveal a man who appeared older than his twenty-nine years. Deep set eyes to the point that they looked hollow, prominent cheekbones that didn’t come from genetics, and a gaze that held no hope for the future. He’d been wearing a suit, although he was currently sans jacket. His tie had been loosened, as well.
“Come on in,” Beau replied as he took a step back. “Sorry for the clutter. My meeting ran long, and I didn’t get a chance to pick up the place.”
“It’s not a problem,” Theo said in reassurance as he and Brook stepped into what could be a poster for bachelorhood. Open containers of food were on the coffee table, clothes were draped over the furniture, and there were numerous boxes stacked on top of one another in a corner. “We appreciate you taking the time to speak with us.”
“I saw the news. I know that the Handprint Killer is back.” Beau motioned for them to have a seat on the couch, which he must have just cleared. “What makes you think that you can do what the Feds couldn’t three years ago?”
Theo crossed the room, immediately taking notice of someone standing in the kitchen. The way the apartment was designed, the far wall had made it difficult to see the entire unit. A male subject lifted a hand of acknowledgement, but he didn’t immediately join them in the living room.
“That’s Levi Kittle. He’s a good friend of mine,” Beau replied as he ran a hand through his hair. He was in a desperate need of a cut, but Theo doubted that the man was too concerned with his looks. “He’ll join us when he’s off the phone.”
Brook had remained silent ever since they’d entered the apartment, allowing Theo to take the lead. As he sat next to her on the couch, he took a moment to follow her gaze to something else that seemed to have caught her interest. There was a one-year AA bronze medallion tossed among the clutter on the coffee table. It was then that Theo realized Levi Kittle wasn’t just Beau’s friend. The man was an AA sponsor.
“Mr. Willow, as I explained to you on the phone, we’re an independent firm that is working in conjunction with the FBI.”
Theo had hoped that by taking a seat on the couch, it would alleviate Beau’s anxiety.
“We’re not making any claims about closing this case, but we do believe it is possible that the individual responsible for your wife’s abduction is following his own footsteps from three years ago. We’d like your help.” Theo had crafted his speech carefully. Giving Beau the sense that he was helping find answers regarding his wife’s disappearance would hopefully give the man a sense of purpose. “I know it’s painful, but we’d like you to start from the beginning.”
“There is nothing else that I can say that hasn’t already been said, so read the reports.”
Beau wasn’t coming across as a man who went through his life’s savings to find the person responsible who took his wife. Something had changed, and it could very well have to do with the AA chip on the table in front of them.
Had Grace’s husband given up hope?
With no bodies, there was nothing to say that the women weren’t being kept alive somewhere. Granted, that scenario was very unlikely given what it would take to keep six women prisoners…not that it couldn’t be done or hadn’t been done by others.
One scenario that hadn’t been discussed was some type of human trafficking network. What if they weren’t dealing with a serial killer at all?
Brook continued to remain silent while Theo cultivated his thoughts, and he didn’t have to glance her way to know that she was scanning the apartment. She had the ability to pick up on things that others couldn’t, and she also had a process that couldn’t be taught. It was the reason that she thrived with having a team of investigators under her gathering all the information so that she could piece everything together.
“We’re very interested in the weeksbeforeGrace’s disappearance.“ Theo had decided to break down the interview in sections so that Beau wasn’t too overwhelmed with the past. “Please, sit down with us.”
Beau seemed to weigh Theo’s words carefully before finally taking a seat in the chair. It was as if doing so had taken a lot of effort, and he didn’t seem to have the energy to check on his sponsor.
Speaking of Levi Kittle, the man was still pacing back and forth in the kitchen while holding his cell phone to his ear. Oddly enough, Theo had yet to hear the man speak a single word to the person on the other end of the line.
“What was the first thing that Grace mentioned to you when she believed that someone was following her?” Theo asked, doing his best to ignore Brook. Something had definitely caught her interest near the mound of boxes, but he didn’t want to distract Beau from his replies. “Was it her car keys being moved from their usual place? Was it simply a feeling?”
“Grace came home one day and said that someone had practically been on her bumper the entire ride home from the daycare center.” Beau shifted so that his elbow was resting on the arm of the chair. “She complained about it while we were making dinner. We always shared even the smallest things about our days. We’d just bought the house months prior, and we were thinking about starting a family.”
