Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [271]
“How about the victims?” Gwen suggested. “Maybe the candy bars belonged to the victims. Any chance they’re diabetic?”
“Too much of a coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“No, you’d much rather believe that Albert Stucky has kidnapped your neighbor, who by the way wasn’t your neighbor yet, and took a real estate agent simply because you bought a house from her. I have to tell you, Maggie, it all sounds a bit ridiculous. You have absolutely no proof that either of these women are even missing, let alone that Stucky has them.”
“Gwen, it’s no coincidence that the waitress in Kansas City and the pizza delivery girl had both come in contact with me only hours before they were murdered in the same manner. I’m the only link. Don’t you think I want to believe that neither Rachel nor Tess were taken by Stucky? Don’t you think I’d rather believe they are both on some secluded beach sipping piña coladas with their lovers?”
She hated that her voice could get so shrill, that her hands could shake and her heart pound in her ears. She went back to the pile, shuffling through the folders and trying to make sense of Tully’s attempt at order, or rather his disorder. She could feel Gwen’s eyes examining her. Maybe Gwen was right. Perhaps the paranoia skewed her rationality. What if she was blowing all this out of proportion? What if she was slipping over some mental edge? It certainly felt like that.
“If that’s true, then it would mean Stucky is watching you, following you.”
“Yes,” Maggie said, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as possible.
“If he’s choosing women he sees you with, then why hasn’t he chosen me?”
Maggie looked up at her friend, startled by the flicker of fear she thought she saw in the otherwise strong and confident eyes. “He only targets women I come in contact with, not women I know. It makes his next move less predictable. He wants me to feel like an accomplice. I don’t think he wants to destroy me. And hurting you would destroy me.”
She went back to her search, wanting to close the subject and dismiss the possibility. Fact was, she had thought about Stucky moving on to those who were close to her. Nothing would stop him from doing so if he wanted to up the ante.
“Have you talked to Agent Tully about any of this?”
“You’re my friend, and you think I’m nuts. Why in the world would I share any of it with him?”
“Because he’s your partner, and the two of you should be working through this mess together, no matter how crazy every tidbit appears to be. Promise me you won’t be checking out stuff on your own.”
Maggie found a new set of documents and began flipping through the pages. Was it possible she was only imagining that there was something else that linked Rachel Endicott to Stucky?
“Maggie, did you hear me?”
She glanced up to find Gwen’s normally smooth forehead wrinkled with concern, her warm green eyes filled with worry.
“Promise me you won’t go off on your own again,” Gwen demanded.
“I won’t go off on my own again.” She dug out a brown manila envelope and started extracting its contents.
“Maggie, I mean it.”
She stopped and looked up at her friend. Even Harvey stared at her with sad, brown eyes. This from the same dog who had spent the last two nights going back and forth, checking the front door and each of the windows, looking for and waiting for his master to pick him up as though he couldn’t stand to spend one more moment with Maggie.
“Please, don’t worry, Gwen. I promise I won’t do anything stupid.” She unfolded several copies and immediately found what she had been searching for. It was the report from the airport authority and a police impound notice for a white Ford van. “Here it is. This is it. This is what’s been nagging at me.”
“What is it?”
Maggie stood and began pacing.
“Susan Lyndell told me that the man Rachel Endicott may have run off