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“What if it’s a trap? Should I call for backup?”
Mason nodded. “It sure wouldn’t hurt. But tell them to stay out of sight unless we need them.”
A few minutes later, Mason pulled into the parking lot specified by Daniel and saw the man’s unmarked car parked in the corner. Rolling to a stop beside him, Mason rolled down his window. “Where’s Bethany?”
Confusion and a small flicker of fear crossed Daniel’s face. “I don’t know, but I’m afraid I might know who does.”
Mason tensed and Catelyn shifted beside him. “What do you mean, Daniel?”
“I, uh, found some evidence that points to—” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath “—Janice.”
“What?” Catelyn exclaimed. “Why would you say that?”
“Does this have anything to do with the scarf you found?”
A flush covered the man’s cheeks. “How did you know about that?”
“Lacey saw you put it in a bag. She wanted to check out the evidence for some reason and it wasn’t listed on the evidence log.”
A muscle jumped in his cheek. “I know. I was wrong. I should have logged it, but it caught me completely by surprise. I honestly convinced myself that it was a fluke.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Billy’s testimony.”
“Which was?”
“He said a woman paid him five hundred dollars to inject that fluid into a girl.” He paused and cleared his throat. “He also said the woman drove off in a white Buick.”
“Let me guess, Janice drives a white Buick.”
Misery on his face, Daniel nodded. “Sometimes. It’s her father’s car. For some reason she likes to drive it and will go trade her car out for it.”
She likes to drive it so no one can connect her to anything she’s doing, Mason thought. He looked at Catelyn, “Excuse me for a minute.”
He motioned Daniel to talk in private. With a resigned look, he followed Daniel to the other side of the car so they could talk without being overheard.
Mason got right to it. “Just tell me. You lied to me about Lacey, didn’t you?”
Shame flashed across Daniel’s face and then his jaw hardened. “Yeah. I did.”
The words punched the breath from his lungs. “Why?” he finally managed.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed and something close to hate entered them. “Because it was always so easy for you. Everything you touched turned to gold. I was sick of it.”
“So you wrecked three people’s lives as a result?”
The man shook his head. “I can’t explain it, Mason. I’m not proud of it, but I did it.”
Before he could come back with a response, Mason’s cell buzzed, indicating he’d missed a call. He looked at the number. Lacey.
Dialing his voice mail, he indicated to Catelyn he needed to listen. She nodded.
Lacey’s voice came on the line. “I think I know who helped Bethany. That scarf is Janice’s. I think Daniel was in the closet that night because her perfume is so strong, it was on his clothes. That’s why it lingered. I’m going to see if I can find Janice. I have my cell phone.”
Mason felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Lacey was walking into the hands of a possible killer.
* * *
