Little Girl Gone (An Afton Tangler Thriller #1)(73)

“When the kidnappers hear about it,” Afton said, “they’ll just want him to add it to the ransom.”

“I’m working hard to get him to hold off,” Thacker said. His clenched hands flew open. “But . . . who knows?”

“Has the media gotten a whiff of this yet?” Afton asked.

“I hope not,” Thacker said. He looked at her sharply. “Still want to be a detective?”

“Would it sound strange right now if I said yes?”

“Maybe a little,” Thacker said. “But I kind of suspected that’s what you’d say. You have to be a little out there on the edge to be able to handle this job.”

Afton sat a little straighter in her chair. This was Thacker’s version of praise. “You think I meet the minimum daily requirement of derangement?”

“Maybe,” Thacker said. “You might be getting there.” He was silent for a moment, and then said, “We’ve got things pretty well covered here. You two should head over to the Saint Croix medical examiner’s lab. The ME is doing an autopsy on Muriel Pink this afternoon.” When Afton looked squeamish, he said, “Yeah, I know. But it’s part and parcel, so take off.”


*

THE last person they expected to run into at police headquarters was Portia Bourgoyne, but there she was. Lounging in the hallway next to the file room, speaking in a low melodic whisper, her lips practically brushing the ear of a young uniformed officer.

Harry Affolter, Afton thought, when she caught sight of them. Was he the leak? Then she turned her attention back on Portia. The woman was wearing a black cashmere dress and black stilettos that showed off her rounded curves and shapely calves. It seemed fairly clear that the young officer was firmly under her spell.

“Is there something I can help you with, Miss Bourgoyne?” Max asked in a loud, authoritative tone. He’d not only caught Portia’s attention, but sent the young officer scurrying away.

Portia cast a disdainful look at Max and said, “I was just checking in with your media relations officer.”

“Trying to wangle some inside information?” Afton asked.

Portia ignored her.

Max suddenly advanced on Portia. “You killed that woman, you know that?” His mouth was an angry slash, and if Afton didn’t know better, she’d say his ears were pulled back flat against his head. Like a jackal ready to attack.

Portia just stared at him.

“Muriel Pink,” Max hissed. “You killed her just as sure as if you’d held a knife to her throat and slit open her jugular.”

Portia’s eyes blazed. “How dare you insinuate—”

“I’m not insinuating anything,” Max said. “I’m stating a fact. You manipulated that poor, gullible old woman. You put her on TV and practically dared the killer to go after her. Well, that’s exactly what happened. So now I’m asking you, how do you sleep at night?”

“Any issue of culpability can be taken up directly with my news director,” Portia spit back. “And my station’s attorney.”

Afton had to hand it to her. Portia was good. She wasn’t afraid to stand her ground. Or maybe she was just too dumb to know she might be in serious trouble.

Portia curled a lip. “With a two-million-dollar ransom demand, and now a possible reward in the making, you’re going to have your hands full fielding calls from all the loonies out there.”

Afton couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How did Portia know about the ransom? And the fact that Darden might offer a reward? Was the department hemorrhaging information?

“Who’d you have to bribe to get that information?” Max asked.

Portia focused a cool smile on him. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” She tilted her head and gazed up at him. Bit her lower lip and offered a sexy smile. “C’mon,” she said, her voice a little breathier now. “Work with me on this, Max. When this case finally breaks—and I know it will—a lot of people are going to want to grab the brass ring and take credit. I can make sure the bright lights land squarely on you.”

Afton watched Max carefully. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or capitulating. Then he did something she never would have expected. He blinked and smiled at Portia. He hung his head and said, in an almost sheepish tone, “You know what? I give up.”

“What?” Afton said.

“Excuse me?” Portia asked. Even she seemed startled by his change of heart.

“I may as well tell you the whole thing.” Max gave a deferential shrug. “You’re just going to find out anyway.”

“No, Max,” Afton said. “What are you doing?”

But like a great white shark, Portia had sensed a trickle of blood in the water. Her confident smile returned and she pulled out her smartphone to record Max’s words.

Max waved his hands. “No, this has to be off the record. You didn’t hear it from me, and Detective Tangler will deny all knowledge of this conversation.” He glanced at Afton. “Correct?”

Afton stood in dumbfounded silence. She wasn’t sure what to make of this. “Correct,” she said finally. She wasn’t sure what kind of game Max was playing.

“Okay, that won’t be a problem,” Portia said. “I can cite you as an anonymous source close to the investigation.” She held up a finger. “But when this story breaks, I’ll want you to go on record to corroborate my story.”