Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(57)

“Have you talked to the other three people on the list?”

“Two of the three have been warned—just like Mindy. We haven’t been able to get a hold of Gary Perdue. We’re on our way to his house in Auburn to see if we can locate him.”

“Be careful.”

“We’ll call you if we find anything.”

Lizzy hung up the phone. She needed to see Detective Chase sooner rather than later. She quickly thanked Ben and his mother for answering her questions. The woman must have felt badly about her initial reluctance to help out because she gave Lizzy a piece of paper with her number on it and told her to call if she had any further questions.

Before Lizzy got to her car, Ben called her name as he ran out of the house and caught up to her. “There’s one other thing I wanted to tell you, but not in front of my mother.” He looked over his shoulder toward the house.

They could both see his mom looking out the window, her shoulders stiff.

“Go on,” Lizzy said.

“Two days before Shelby disappeared, we had sex for the first time.”

Lizzy waited patiently for him to continue.

“We’ve been dating for three years,” he went on, “but Shelby told me more than once that it was important to her that we wait. Recently, though, I . . . I put a lot of pressure on her.” He swallowed, looked away. “I told her I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold off. Now I’m afraid I might be the reason she’s gone. I think I scared her off.”

Lizzy touched his arm. “I appreciate you telling me, Ben, but just between you and me, I don’t think you scared her off. Last time I saw her, in fact, she told me all about you. She seemed happy about the relationship.”

The boy visibly relaxed. “Thanks. That’s a relief. I miss her, and I would do anything to get her back. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Keep talking to Shelby’s friends, anyone who knew her. Ask them questions, lots of questions. Sometimes that’s all it takes to jar something loose. Somebody might not realize that what they saw or heard is a gold nugget of information that could help us find her.”

“I’ll do that.”

“You have my number. Call me if you learn anything new, anything at all.”

He nodded.

Lizzy got into her car and drove off.

Before she got more than a couple of blocks, she was overtaken by a painful tightening in her gut.

She pulled over to the curb, her knuckles white on the wheel.

Shelby had been afraid to go to the movies.

Shelby had been looking over her shoulder and was suddenly afraid of her own shadow.

There was no doubt in Lizzy’s mind—the answer to Shelby’s disappearance had been right in front of her all along.

She could feel it—a burning sensation inside, a flash of insight.

It was him.

Lizzy had been unforgivably stupid not to have seen it before now.

It was because of her that Shelby had been taken.

Lizzy closed her eyes, fought it for as long as she could, then loosed a scream of frustrated rage.





CHAPTER 40

Detective Chase was easy enough to locate. He lived in the Regency Park area in Sacramento. His house was a one-story, single-family home set on a corner lot and was painted a cheery yellow, which contrasted greatly with the man who opened the door.

Detective Chase looked different dressed in casual weekend clothes, but they didn’t make him appear any less threatening. He stood inside the entryway, looking out at Lizzy with his usual deadpan expression. “So, this couldn’t wait until Monday?”

“It’s important.”

“Of course it is.” Reluctantly, he opened the door.

Lizzy stepped inside. The place had mantuary written all over it. The detective’s man cave was complete with a putting green where the dining room table should be. Half of the living area was taken over by an eighty-inch flat-screen TV. She’d caught him in the middle of a basketball game. On the table in front of a worn leather couch was a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. Her stomach rumbled.

“Have a seat,” he said, “and I’ll make you a sandwich.”

“Really? You’re going to make me something to eat?”

He was already halfway to the kitchen. “I can’t exactly eat with you watching me, can I?”

“You’ve got a point. I’ll talk while you work.”

He gathered everything he’d need to make another sandwich: grater, Jack and cheddar cheese, pickles, sourdough bread, and butter. The pan he’d used earlier sat on the stove. “What brings you to my doorstep on my day off, Gardner?”

“It’s about Shelby Geitner.”

“I thought we made a deal.”

She tried to look surprised. “What deal? Are you talking about the four-questions-and-I’ll-leave-you-alone thing?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Forget about all that,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I know who took Shelby.”

He finally looked away from the frying pan and into her eyes. “Who would that be?”

“The same man who’s been following me. He even visited Jared. Signed in under the name Samuel Jones. I’ve got two notes from the man. Maybe you could have some sort of handwriting analysis done.”