Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

E ver since her coworker had been killed while making a home visit, Maisey had started hating home visits. That was her least favorite part of the job. This time, it was to a home full of kids, and it looked like the mother might be in trouble with the law. There was no father, so that meant there would be no one to care for the kids.

The house was a ramshackle mess at the edge of town. When she pulled up, it was behind another car, an SUV, and a fairly new one at that. And it was in very good shape. That made her wonder who else was there. Had some other social worker been assigned? Had she crossed the Whitley County line into another county? She glanced at the documents again. No, she was at the right place, and her name was on everything. Once she’d gathered everything up, she got out of the car and headed to the door.

Just as she reached up to knock, the door swung open and a woman stood there, her lips sunk inward from lack of teeth. “No need to knock. I seen ya pull up. Come on in.” The furniture was threadbare, and so was the rug, which was placed directly over the particleboard subfloor. A skinny dog wandered around, sniffing here and there. It was hard to pretend she hadn’t seen through the kitchen doorway, but the piles of dirty dishes and garbage were hard to miss. “Have a seat,” the woman said and pointed to a beat-up recliner. When Maisey sat down, she got quite the surprise.

Directly in front of her on the wall was a huge TV. Enormous. Before she could stop herself, she muttered, “Wow. That’s some TV.”

“Like that? Yeah, it’s just an eighty-five inch. Wanted one-a them ninety-eight inch ones, but the store didn’t have none of ’em, so I settled for this ’un. Might get a bigger ’un later on. Dunno.”

“You watch a lot of TV?”

“Oh, yeah. Got about ten diffurnt streamin’ channel thangs so there’s allays sumpin’ to watch.”

Maisey was flabbergasted, and she realized she hadn’t even introduced herself. “That’s nice. So, um, my name is MaiseyFriedman and I work for the Kentucky Department of Health and Family Services, Child Protective Branch. And you are NoraWurth?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And you have five minor children―Rachel, who’s two, Dennis, who’s six, NevaLou, who’s nine, Tucker, who’s thirteen, and Deena, who’s seventeen. Did I get that right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And I have here that you’re a stay-at-home mother?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you mind me asking whose car that is out front?”

“No, ma’am. Don’t mind at all. It’s mine.”

Shithole house. Nice car. Huge TV. What the hell is going on here? There was no indication of any drug activity, not so much as a cigarette butt, and there were no empty beer cans or bottles, or any other liquor that she could see. “So do you have a partner, significant other, someone other adult in the family?”

“No, ma’am. Just me and these kids.”

“Okay. So it says here in the documentation that you’re having trouble paying your utilities and affording food. Is that correct?”

“Well, ’twas, but it ain’t anymore. No reason for y’all to worry about us. We’re doing fine.”

“And your ability to afford these things… Is that right now, or ongoing?”

“Definitely ongoing,” Nora said and nodded.

“I see.” No, actually, I don’t. What’s missing here? “Well, okay, I’ll put that in my report. Is there anything I can do for you? Any kind of assistance you need?”

“Yeah, I need me a cleanin’ lady!” Nora said and laughed loudly. “This here place is a mess!”

“We can’t help you with that, but I’m sure you can find someone. Okay then. I’ll just be going, and if you think of anything you need help with, just let me know.” Maisey handed Nora a business card and stood. “Otherwise, I’ll see you in six months just to check on you.”

“Okie dokie then. You be careful going back, ya hear?” Nora said as she followed Maisey to the door.

“Will do. Take care, Ms.Wurth.” Maisey headed to the car, thankful to be outside. The place was rank with the smell of rotting garbage everywhere, but there were no signs of feces or anything like that. Just garbage.

Before she left, Maisey took a picture of the license plate on the car. She’d give that to Aaron, and he could run the plate to see who it belonged to. As she drove, she tried to piece the puzzle together, and she just couldn’t. It was like somebody had taken two puzzles and swapped up their pieces. It just didn’t work.

That was all she needed―another mystery.

The chicken casserole was in the oven and Maisey was making a pretty salad when Aaron walked through the door. “Hey, babe, smells fantastic,” he said as he strolled past her and slipped a little kiss on her cheek. “Gonna go change and I’ll be right back.”

“You got news for me?”

“Sure do.” He disappeared into the bedroom, and Maisey wondered what he’d found out.

When he returned, he leaned back against the countertop, his hands braced on its edge. “So I ran that plate.”

“And?”

“The car is registered to a DeenaWurth.”

“You mean Nora.”

“No, Deena.”

“But she’s only seventeen.”

“That’s what it says on the registration and the title.”

“What about insurance? Because she has to have insurance.”

“She does. And I tried to get the carrier to tell me who paid for the policy, but they wouldn’t. Said I’d have to have a warrant. That’ll take time and, frankly, right now, I don’t have cause to get one.”

“Aaron, they have an eighty-five inch TV.” His mouth fell open. “Yeah. I had the same reaction. It’s fucking huge. And the house is a wreck. Garbage everywhere, dirty dishes everywhere. But a brand-new jumbo TV and a very, very nice vehicle.”

“Yeah. A Lincoln Aviator, Maisey. That’s a really expensive vehicle. And it’s just a year old, so it’s practically brand new.”

“How in the world did they afford that?”

Aaron shrugged. “I have no idea. I did some digging and there’s no record of there ever being a Mr.Wurth, so god only knows who these kids’ dads are. But a high school girl with a car like that? Beats me.” He picked up a grape tomato and popped it into his mouth. “You doing the coat thing tonight?”

“I think I should.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

And she knew he would be.

“Here we go.” Maisey pulled the coat up her arms, then grabbed the lapels and settled it on her shoulders.

Everything went black, and the lights off in the distance were more distinct than usual. That meant the visions were getting clearer, thank goodness. It was the same figure. “You need to keep your mouth shut.”

Victoria’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Please, I really don’t know what happened. I won’t say a word, I swear.”

“You’re right. You’re not going to. She’s just a stupid high school girl. It’s her fault because he’s a good man. If you do the right thing, you’ll ruin everything for me, so that can’t happen.”

“But I didn’t see―”

“You’re right. You didn’t see anything.”

And there it was―the flash of the blade, the searing of the cut, the pain deep inside. “Why? I don’t understand…” She could feel the life force ebbing from Victoria.

“Because I want …”

The darkness started to lift, and Maisey couldn’t get her bearings. Who was that? The voice sounded familiar, but when she ran through the people she knew or had met, she couldn’t come up with a face. “Maise? Talk to me. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She fought to sit upright. “I’m fine. I just need some rest.”

“What happened? Anything new?”

“Yeah. But can I tell you in the morning? I’m really, really tired.”

“Sure. Come on. Let’s go to bed.” Maisey let him help her to standing and wrap an arm around her waist to support her as she walked along. Who was the stupid high school girl? Who was the man? And what did he want?

Other than wanting Victoria dead.