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“No, I think it’s more likely he’s keeping this on the down low because he received a ransom note and is trying to handle the situation himself.”
Hale gave Malcolm a questioning look. “Stands to reason.”
Malcolm nodded.
“Any other guesses as to who took her?” Hale asked. He tapped his pen on the notebook as though considering it, but I noticed he wasn’t taking notes.
“Ricky Morris. TJ’s trying to shut down his operation, and from what little I’ve dug up on Morris, he’s got a history of stopping people who get in his way. The only complication is that his method of choice is usually arson, not kidnapping.”
Surprise filled Hale’s eyes and he gave a slight nod.
“So I’m struggling to reconcile why he’d switch tactics so abruptly. Why not burn down the family business? Or their home? Has he gotten a new associate who might use different tactics? Like a new enforcer?”
The two men exchanged looks, then Malcolm said, “No.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him. I finished off my drink and set the glass on Hale’s fancy desk. “I’m not ready to drop him as a suspect. People can change, and there’s something else that caught my attention. A body was found close to the laundromat the night Ava was kidnapped. Someone with ties to Morris. That seems too coincidental.”
Hale picked up the glass with a distasteful look and set it aside, next to the thumb. “So why take Johnson?”
“That’s just it. I don’t see a connection between Eddie and Morris, so I don’t know. Maybe the person writing the notes didn’t take her. What if he’s following me, reacting to what I find out about the case?”
“No, it makes more sense that it wasn’t Morris,” Malcolm said, keeping his gaze on the bookcase behind Hale’s desk. “This has to do with you.” His head swiveled to face me. “Someone’s following you. The only people who knew we were at the station were the three of us and none of us put the note or thumb in your car. And I didn’t even know you yesterday, so why would I write a note saying it should have been you?”
He had a point.
“And even if I had put the photo in the car, along with today’s present, why would I be robbing a family photo from your house?” He tipped his head down, still holding my gaze. “It wasn’t me. Admit it.”
“I never said it was you.”
“But you never said it wasn’t.”
“Fine, I know it wasn’t you.” I shot a glance to Hale. “Or your attorney.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgment.
“We have other matters to discuss,” I said. “Like your interest in Eddie Johnson.”
“Eddie didn’t take that girl,” Malcolm said.
“I’m not so sure,” I countered. “But if we discount the notes, and focus on what we know, we know that Eddie befriended her. Maybe he won her trust for Morris.”
Both men sat in their seats with a brooding look.
“Look,” I said. “It fits. What if he befriended her at Morris’s request? Vanessa admitted that Ava had a bad night with her dad. What if she somehow contacted Eddie and he helped her escape? Or they happened to plan it for Monday night, and fighting with her father was a coincidence. It’s not that far-fetched. I take it TJ was hard on her most nights. But after Eddie got her out of the house, maybe he took her to Morris, which would explain why he was at work the next day.”
Neither man said anything, but Hale could have bored holes into Malcolm with his laser focus.
“What?” I said, my back tensing. “What are you keeping from me?”
“You’ve got to tell her,” Hale said.
“Fuck,” Malcolm grumbled under his breath, then turned to me, looking pissed as hell that he was having to tell me anything at all. “Eddie wouldn’t have kidnapped Ava for Morris, because he was working for me.”
Chapter 29
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Eddie Johnson was working for you?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
