Chapter 44

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

It felt a little odd to be back in the office. They'd taken Monday off so they could both relax and recuperate a bit. So much had happened, and they still hadn't located April. River was worried about her, and she knew Tony was too.

She could tell Tony was also concerned about the Strangler's accomplice, but strangely enough, she wasn't. She was ready for this to finally be over. She was tired of this maniac's threats hanging over her life. But for him to be stopped, she needed to be in the office. Tony knew that was true, but he was clearly tense. He wasn't leaning back in his chair, a sure sign that he was worried. Although he was trying to act like he was just fine, there was no doubt in her mind that he was afraid that something could go wrong.

"I really appreciate your dad and your brother offering to move things around in the basement so I can stay down there," Tony said suddenly, "but you really don't need to put me up. My insurance will pay for a hotel."

"I know that, and I'm glad you have great insurance, but we need to stay together right now. And after we take care of our Strangler problem, I still don't want you in a hotel. I really think you'll be comfortable in that room downstairs. It was built to be a bedroom. My mom's never used it for that, but all of Dan's bedroom furniture was stored down there. I think she was toying with the idea of turning the space into a guest bedroom. She just never got around to it. There's also a small bathroom that I'll clean up and stock. I even ordered a new mattress for the bed." She waved her hand at him when he started to say something. "Don't even go there. I'm not going to be able to sleep thinking of you down there on some old, lumpy mattress. That thing's so ancient, it's not fit for anyone to sleep on. Besides, once you go back to your apartment, we'll finally have a guest bedroom. Dan's said he'll visit more often. He can stay down there, so really, having you at the house has turned out to be a blessing in many ways."

"I appreciate that, but I'd like to at least reimburse you for the mattress."

River shrugged. "You don't need to. Happy birthday."

"My birthday isn't for two months."

"Okay, happy early birthday. Now hush up."

Before he had a chance to respond, his phone rang. While he answered it, River took her laptop out of her tote bag and put it on her desk. She plugged it in and turned it on. Then she started checking their emails. She was happy to see several requests for meetings. Most of them were references from Arnie, but River was confident that eventually they'd get even more business by word of mouth.

When Tony finally disconnected his call, he stared at her with a strange look on this face.

"Something wrong?"

"No, actually just the opposite. If you weren't already sitting down, I'd tell you to."

River frowned at him. "Okay, I'm intrigued. Tell me."

"A doctor named Marnet in Illinois contacted the police. He had quite a story to tell them. Seems that about a year ago, a man he knew offered him a lot of money to accept his daughter into his small, private hospital for patients deemed mentally disturbed in a small town near Terre Haute. Since he was almost bankrupt because of his gambling debts, he accepted the deal. His instructions were to keep the girl sedated, unable to leave. But then one of his nurses helped the girl escape. The police are certain she's the one who sent Nathan the notes telling him April needed help. Another man, someone working with the father, found them hiding in a motel. The girl was returned to the hospital, although the man who brought her back wanted the doctor to kill her. Give her an overdose. The father wouldn't allow it. But when the nurse who'd tried to help the girl was found dead, Dr. Marnet decided he'd had enough. He called the police. When they arrived, they arrested the doctor and moved the girl to a hospital in St. Louis where she's being monitored."

River tried to blink away the tears that filled her eyes. "Please tell me you're talking about April."

Tony nodded. "Arnie was alerted, and he called Nathan, who's on his way to the hospital."

"Wow. That's ... that's amazing." She frowned. "But why didn't the nurse just call the police?"

"Seems she was afraid of the man working with April's father. Afraid he would kill her if he found out she'd told anyone. Something else—when the police went through Porter's house, they found his laptop. A quick look revealed that he was Lamont Cranston. They also found a note they think Jeffrey Bailey wrote saying he knew April's login information for her podcast and that he'd shut it down. Since he cleaned out her apartment, my guess is he found it in that planner Nathan told us about."

"Well, that makes sense," River said.

"Porter was trying to shut April down from the beginning, afraid that she'd uncover his secret. Like you thought, he's the one who struck and killed Cheryl Armitage. He hid the damage to his car by saying he'd hit a deer. No one followed up on him because he was a respected police detective. Seems he was drunk the night it happened and didn't notice her. Cheryl must have seen him though. That's why she whispered ‘three little piggies' while she was dying. Porter and a couple of his cronies had encountered her before. I guess they weren't very nice about it. That was her nickname for them. Once they found out Porter was dead, one of his old police buddies came forward with that information. Guess he was too afraid of Porter to say anything before."

"You know, I just realized something else," River said. "When I talked to Porter, he told me that Cheryl's husband couldn't have taken April because he was dead when April went missing. But I didn't tell him when April disappeared. He knew because he was involved in her kidnapping. Another thing I missed."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Tony said. "I didn't catch it either. We both assumed a respected detective wouldn't be involved in something like that." He shook his head. "Seems Porter was walking on the edge of a cliff, and he was afraid April was the one who would finally push him over.

"Something else about Jeffrey Bailey. Now that the police realize he was working with Vincent Porter, they're going to look into April's mother's death again. The dream April had as a child about seeing a woman dead under a tree? They're wondering if Porter actually killed her and then staged her death somewhere else. You remember that Jeffrey was cleared of her murder because he had an alibi?"

River nodded.

"If they can find something that connects Porter to her death, it could mean that Jeffrey really was behind it. I hate thinking that April may have to deal with something like that, but I believe she needs to know the truth."

"I do too," River said. "You said there were two things you needed to tell me. Was that the second thing?"

Tony chuckled. "It's another story about someone in law enforcement. However, I can guarantee you'll like this one a lot more. Not long ago, a woman who was having car trouble pulled over to the side of a road that wasn't very well traveled out near Kimmswick. A man stopped and asked if he could help. Then he attacked her. Turns out the woman was an off-duty police officer. She took him down. Guy never stood a chance. When other officers arrived, they found a bag with silk dogwood flowers in his car."

"Are you telling me that they caught the guy who killed Shelly Evans and Ted Piper?"

"Yeah, and because you noticed those flowers, they believe they'll be able to tie him not only to their deaths, but also the others Arnie told us about," Tony said.

"That's incredible."

"Doesn't that mean that all of April's cold cases are closed?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, except for the man whose body was found next to the railroad tracks. I wish we could have done something with that."

"I do too, River, but to be honest, not all crimes are solved. This is one we'll just have to walk away from."

"I guess so." She shrugged. "I can't complain, I guess. I would like to know what happened to Jeffrey Bailey. It's obvious he and Porter were connected and keeping each other's secrets."

"I'm convinced he's dead, River. I think Porter killed him. Even though the police haven't found his body yet, I'm sure they will."

"Yeah, maybe," River said. "But isn't it possible he might have just taken off? Decided to run away?"

"Anything's possible, I guess. Arnie said that in his own way, he cared about his daughter. He spent a lot of the money from April's trust fund trying to keep her alive."

River snorted. "Yeah, sure. Who keeps their daughter drugged up for months? Sorry, but Jeffrey Bailey deserves whatever he gets ... or got. I know I'm supposed to be compassionate toward people—remember that God loves them as much as He loves us. But sometimes it's really hard."

"Yes, it is." Tony sighed.

"You okay?"

Tony shook his head. "No, I was thinking about Watson. Wondering if I should have brought him with us today. He's been sticking close to me ever since the fire. I know he was traumatized by it."

"Traumatized? Are you kidding? He's having a blast with all the attention he's getting. Mom, Mrs. Weyland, and Scutter are all crazy about him. He's soaking it up like a sponge." She smiled at him. "Seriously, Tony. He's doing great. He was a little confused and insecure the first couple of days, but he's got so much support now, I think he's over it."

"Maybe you're right." He stared at her for a moment before saying, "I'm so grateful Porter was stopped before he bombed your house. If you hadn't gone to the office..."

"It's okay. I usually try to do what you ask me to do, but sometimes..."

"Sometimes you're smarter than me?"

She grinned at him. "I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say that sometimes God is smarter than you."

Tony leaned his head back and laughed, which made River feel better. They still had a major obstacle in front of them, but God had proven to be exactly who He said He was. A help in time of trouble. A loving Father. A protector. She had faith that everything was going to be okay.

THEY HUNG AROUND THE OFFICE the rest of the day. At five o'clock, they got up from their desks. Tony walked up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's pray first," he said.

"You know it might not be today."

"I know," he said. "But we're giving him a chance. I think he's been waiting for it."

She nodded. "I agree. I'd appreciate that prayer."

Tony took a deep breath before praying, "Father, Your Word says that you give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. That no weapon formed against us will prosper. Father, we believe that since River has set her love upon You, that You will protect her. You've promised to be with us when we're in trouble—to deliver us and honor us. We believe Your promises. Thank You for being with River and..." Tony took a deep, shaky breath and choked out the rest of his words. "Thank You for giving us success in this endeavor. I know You'll keep her safe, Father. She means so much to me..."

River looked up into his tear-filled eyes. Before she realized what she was doing she reached up and put her hand on his cheek.

"I'll be okay, Tony. We both will. When this is over, there are things to be said."

"I'm tired of waiting," Tony said, his voice husky with emotion. He leaned down and put his lips on hers. She felt something so powerful when they kissed that it took her breath away. When he moved away, all she could do was stare at him.

"I believe you'll come back to me," Tony said, "and you're right, when this is over, we'll sit down and talk. But I don't want you doing this thing until you know how much I love you."

River tried to speak, but Tony put his fingers on her lips.

"Not now," he said. "When you're ready."

She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, but she was too emotional to speak. As they headed for the door, River was filled with peace. At the same time, she was overwhelmed by the love she felt for the man who had changed her life and taught her what love actually was.