Jane frowned, and a chill worked its way down her back. “Why didn’t you call us right away?”
“I wanted to calm down first. And it’s only been a few minutes.”
Will’s voice held a tremor, and their big, strapping son wouldn’t want anyone to hear him crying. Lauren’s words had to have hurt.
Reid glanced at Jane for her advice and mouthed, What should we do? before answering.
Jane leaned forward. “Call the station and tell the dispatcher what you told us. Say you’re afraid to go out and look. Officer Brown will probably be the responding officer, and he’ll take good care of you. If she’s irrational, I don’t want her assaulting you again. She might be out there waiting for you to show up. Is the door locked?”
“Y-Yes.”
“We’re going to hang up now so you can call. Call us back after you talk to the dispatcher.”
“Thanks, Mom. I-I’m a little scared of her.”
“It’s going to be okay. Call right now.”
“Okay, bye.”
When the screen went blank, she pointed toward town. “We need to get home right away. I don’t like the sound of this. And what was he doing at home anyway? He was supposed to be staying with Dad.”
Reid nodded. “He likes fishing. Maybe Charles dropped him off for a bit.”
“We’ll figure that out later. You drive, and I’ll see if we can get a flight out today.”
While Reid accelerated away from the stop sign, she checked to see if there was an earlier flight. “Nothing tonight. We’ll have to take our original morning flight.”
At least it left at six, but the wait would be excruciating.
She could put the time to use. She placed a call to the district FBI office to inquire about Divine Rights. The agent she spoke to said the group knew the FBI was watching them and had kept out of trouble. For now.
“I don’t think they’ll be bothering us.” She told Reid what she’d learned. “They aren’t going to want to bring any attention to themselves.”
Which was fine by her.
* * *
Jane paced the carpet of her hotel suite. Reid stood at the sliding glass door, looking out at the lights of town. From down below somewhere, the smell of pizza wafted up toward them. The little town bustled with summer visitors.
Reid turned back toward her. “I don’t understand why Will hasn’t called back.”
“Dispatch would have kept him on the phone since he was afraid of being attacked again. And he might be with them down at the water, showing them where the confrontation took place.”
“He’s never without that phone. It’s part of his arm.”
“They wouldn’t let him answer a call if they’re interviewing him.”
A dozen scenarios raced through her head. Will cuffed and taken to jail. Lauren’s body forever lost and Will under suspicion for the rest of his life. Calculating stares around town.
“You’re worried. I can hear it in your voice.”
She gave a jerky nod. “Okay, fine. I’m worried something has happened to her. And that our son will immediately be implicated because of the argument.”
“Like in maybe she’s dead?” His voice rose and horror spiked in his eyes.
“The thought crossed my mind. I would have expected her to stomp off to her car and drive off. Why didn’t she?”
The first people the police considered for guilt were those closest to the victim. In this case it would be Reid and Will. Maybe even Jane herself. She was the other woman. The thought was beyond distasteful. They all had something to gain from her death.
This long silence felt ominous and wrong.
Her phone’s ring stopped her from admitting her worst fear. She quickly answered the call. “Jackson, what’s going on there?”
“We found Lauren Dixon’s car, but there’s no sign of her, Chief. Your son told us she fell into the river, but other than a wet spot on the pier, there’s no sign of the altercation.”
“How’s Will doing?”
“A little distraught. He keeps saying it’s all his fault.”
“It wasn’t,” she said sharply. “She assaulted him, and when he tried to stop her from hitting him, she jerked away and fell.”
“So he said, Chief.”
In spite of Jackson’s affable tone, Jane inwardly cringed at the hint of doubt in his voice. This could go very badly if Lauren was found dead.
“When are you getting back?”
“Tomorrow by noon. We leave at six in the morning. We couldn’t get a flight out tonight.”
“What should I do with Will?”
“Take him to my dad’s, please. Have you heard from my father?”
“No, ma’am. I tried to call him, but he didn’t pick up. I left a message.”
“He’s bad about leaving his phone when he’s in the bunker. I’ll try to call him, but Will has a key. Just take him back and make sure he’s okay.”
“Will do. Safe travels.”
“Thanks.” Jane ended the call and told Reid what she’d learned.
“Lauren could be dead. Several gators inhabit the river by my house. What happens if her body is never found? Is Will in trouble?”
She wanted to reassure Reid, but she couldn’t mislead him. “Maybe. A case could be made that he should have made sure she was out of the water before he left her. The blame for her fall could be placed on him.”
“He’s just a kid!”
She didn’t want to mention all the kids she’d seen over the years who’d been tried as adults. Will didn’t have a mean bone in his body, but the law could trap the unsuspecting. “I’ll make sure his rights are protected.”
“If she’s never found . . .”
She nodded. “Lots of suspicion will fall on all of us. And she disappeared once before. What if she’s doing it again? This might be more of her manipulation.”
“What would she have to gain by this?”
“Money for her to turn up and prove she’s alive. Or maybe she’ll just sit back and laugh at the trouble Will’s in. She could even plant false evidence. I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I.” He looked a little green. “You really think she’d do this on purpose?” He ran his hand over the stubble on his head. “What am I saying? Of course she would. It’s her normal behavior. She wouldn’t think twice about throwing us into quicksand. Even Will. He said she was acting crazy and saying she’d never wanted him.”
“She’s an evil woman.”
“Should he lawyer up now?”
“It might be wise. You call Scott while I throw my things in the suitcase. Is your room all packed up?”
He pointed to his suitcase. “Yep. We’ll get some sleep and head for the airport in plenty of time.”
“Maybe we should just go to the airport.”
He shook his head. “I want you to be able to stretch out for a few hours. We only have carry-on luggage so we can take the shuttle to the airport at four and be okay. Maybe you can at least close your eyes for a few hours.”
She didn’t think she would sleep a wink. This could ruin Will’s life, even if he wasn’t charged. A cloud of suspicion would hover over him once word of the altercation got out.