California Schemin' - Kate George [74]
Fogel must have caught sight of us from the corner of his eye, because he swung around and jogged over.
“My God, Bree, I’ve been worried about you. You wouldn’t believe the uproar your disappearance has caused. I’ve got Brooks calling me every couple of hours. Steve Leftsky is pretending to attend a law enforcement convention in Sacramento while he haunts me and walks around the river looking under rocks for your cold body. Tom Maverick calls more than Brooks does. Says his wife is beside herself with worry, but I think he’s just as concerned.”
“But you knew where I was, or at least who I was with, didn’t you? Couldn’t you assure everyone that I was in good hands?”
“I assumed you were with someone safe, but I didn’t know who it was or where they’d taken you until I got a call from Madison Truefellow alerting me you were in Sacramento. Today, of course, I got a call for backup from her just a little while ago. I sent backup and headed down here to make sure you’re okay. The girls there,” he nodded to Paris and Wendy, “told me you were handcuffed but that you weren’t harmed. That true?”
“I’m all right. I can’t say the same about Richard Hambecker. I poisoned the whole household trying to get away.”
Fogel reached down and shook Beau’s hand.
“Forgive me for ignoring you, Beau, I didn’t know you were back in California. Were you in on the Bree search, too?”
“I didn’t know Bree was missing. A day after we flew home I was approached by a guy who wanted me to do some stonework. I told him I wouldn’t be able to do any actual work for several weeks, but he said come out and do the planning. So I did. I had no idea I was a captive until Bree came to rescue me. Dense, huh?”
Fogel turned his attention back to me.
“So where have you been? No, that I can’t guess.” He glanced over to where Wendy and Paris were collecting their trash.
“Senator Wallace’s house in Sacramento.”
Fogel looked like he wanted to slap a hand to his forehead.
“God, that man has nerve. He must think we’re stupid,” he said. “We’ve heard from the wife’s lawyer. She was going to divorce him.”
“He’s trying to get me to finger a couple of parolees for his wife’s murder. Tried to appeal to my sense of community, my friends. He grabbed Beau, and then he tried to bribe me. I don’t have any proof, but I’m pretty sure he killed his wife.”
“I’m going to take you over to the office to make a statement. Then I’m keeping you there until the situation at the Wallace cabin is resolved.”
Paris drove the Jeep, Wendy drove Madison’s rental car, and Beau and I rode in Fogel’s squad car. Fogel wasn’t taking any chances on us disappearing between the hospital and the station. Wendy and Paris decided it was in their interest to stick with us until Fogel thought it was safe for them to go home—their own homes, not back to Wallace’s.
Fogel sat me down with a female officer in the squad room while Beau was led down the hall to a conference room. I thought it was kind of funny that they separated us, but it probably was standard operating procedure.
It took forever for me to tell the entire story. I started with finding Lily Wallace and continued from there into being abducted from my home. I could tell the officer didn’t completely believe Hambecker existed, and Moose was a big question mark in her mind, as well. She kept harping back to his association with the FBI, but I knew less than nothing about him. I figured at least half of what he told me was a lie, and Moose, too. I felt a little sad about the loss of the blue shoes and matching dress. I really liked those shoes.
I must have spent a little too much time describing the shoes, because the officer was looking at me like I was off my rocker. I got