Where the Blame Lies(84)

Ms. Merrick looked right at Zach, her smile wistful. “We called him our little copycat.”

Zach had sat stock-still as Ms. Merrick spoke and now he glanced at the window, his eyes spearing Josie though she knew he could not see her. The small nod helped her breath come easier though, and she expelled the pent-up air, willing herself to relax.

“Why did you send him back?” Zach asked.

Ms. Merrick stared at him for a moment, her gaze going stony. “I found out about another affair.” She looked away, out the window on the opposite wall. “We tried counseling. But despite our best efforts, Charlie’s behavior got worse. Then one day he almost drowned our older daughter in the pool. That was the final straw. I couldn’t deal with everything crumbling down around me and fearing for my daughters’ safety at the same time. We had to end the fostering.”

“Did Charlie know your husband had had an affair, Ms. Merrick? Did he know that was at the heart of the reason he was being sent away?”

That seemed to make her pause. “I . . . maybe. He might have heard me on the phone.” She shook her head. “I was very distraught. I needed to vent.” Ms. Merrick seemed worn down, tired, and utterly defeated.

“About the woman your husband slept with?”

As she stared at Zach, something fiery came into her eyes. Ms. Merrick leaned forward, placing her fists on the table and banging lightly. “The women, Detective. Plural. Every last one of them that willingly spit on my marriage. Vaughn carries the bulk of the blame, don’t think I don’t realize that. But they’re not innocent. In the end, they’re all to blame for the ruin of our family.” She sat back. “They’re all to blame for us not being able to give Charlie a home.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT


Zach locked the door behind him and turned to Josie. She was already standing, and the look of utter devastation on her face obliterated him.

He closed the distance between them in two heartbeats and took her in his arms. She was shaking and she clutched at him tightly, allowing him to comfort her. When he stood back, he saw that she had tears in her eyes, but also that same fire he’d seen in her so long ago. He smoothed back her hair. I love you, he thought. Maybe I have since the moment I saw you, beaten and bent, but unbroken. Just like now.

“It was him,” she said, her voice clogged. “Cooper.” She shook her head, gasping out a small breath. “He impersonated Marshall, didn’t he?”

“I believe so,” he said quietly. “That’s what it looks like.”

Her gaze grew distant. “Once I was sure of who he was, I didn’t question the small inconsistencies.”

“It’s what the mind does, Josie. It fills in gaps. You cannot blame yourself for that.”

“He impersonated him, and then he killed him. Made it look like a suicide.”

He gripped her head, bringing her eyes to his. “We’ll find him, Josie. We will.”

She nodded her head, a jerky movement, and he caught a tear with his thumb, wiped it away. “Zach,” she whispered, her expression crumpling, “do you realize what this means? Cooper is the father of my baby. All this time . . . I’ve been looking in the wrong direction. All this time . . .”

Zach opened his mouth to speak when a knock came at the door. Josie stepped back, swiping the wetness from her cheeks as she nodded.

Zach brought his lips to her forehead quickly and then opened the door to Jimmy. “We got his address. He was living in an apartment in Price Hill under C. Cooper Hartsman. The place is cleared out. He’s gone.”

Zach swore harshly. “Did you search the whole building?”

“The whole thing. No trace of him, and no sign of anyone else.”

No sign of Reagan.

Zach rubbed at his temple. “So he had to use his legal name to work and rent an apartment, but otherwise, went by Cooper Hart.”

“From what we can tell so far.”

Of course, the guy was apparently a brilliant impersonator and a master manipulator. He could appear anywhere as anyone. And in the meantime, Reagan was probably chained up in some dark underground room.

“We have the name of his social worker. She’ll be able to tell us who took him in after the Merricks dumped him.” Dumped him. Accurate enough, though Zach refused to feel empathy for a murdering psychopath.

Josie stepped up to them. “Can I come with you?” she asked and when she obviously spotted the doubt in Zach’s face, she hurried on. “Please. I can’t be left out of this now.”

“Everyone’s on this, Cope,” Jimmy said softly. “We can’t spare anyone to provide her security.”

Josie looked grateful that Jimmy wasn’t going to lobby to cut her loose. And Zach could admit that she knew this case as well as they did at this point. To have to sit at home and wait for information from them would be like a kick to her gut.

“All right, fine,” Zach said, shooting her a concerned glance. “I’ll drive.”

It was nearly five p.m. when they walked into Janelle Gilbert’s office at the Department of Job and Family Services. The petite woman with short gray hair and large brown eyes stood as they entered. Jimmy had called her on the way and she’d waited for their arrival, though it had sounded like she was packing up to leave when they’d spoken.