Temptation - Brenda Jackson [51]
Zeke got out of his chair to sit on the edge of his desk. “This woman came through the shelter recently?”
Summer shook her head. “Yes, around seven months ago. She was eight months pregnant and her boyfriend had gotten violent and cut her on her hand with a bowie knife. She wouldn’t give the authorities his name, and stayed at the shelter one week before leaving without a trace in the middle of the night.”
Zeke nodded slowly, not believing he might finally have a break in the case. “Do you have any information you can give us on her?”
“No, and by law our records are sealed to protect the women who come to the shelter for our protection. I can tell you, however, that the information she gave us wasn’t correct. When she disappeared I tried to find her to make sure she was okay and ran into a dead end. I’m not even sure Diane Worth is her real name.”
Zeke rubbed his chin. “And you said she was pregnant and vanished without a trace?”
“Yes, but Abigail might be able to help you further.”
Brad lifted a brow. “Abigail Langley?”
Summer nodded. “Yes. It just so happened the night Diane disappeared, we thought she might have met with foul play. But Abigail had volunteered to man our suicide phone line that night, and according to Abigail, when she went out to put something in her car, she saw Diane getting into a car with some man of her own free will.”
“That was a while back. I wonder if Abigail would be able to identify the guy she saw?” Brad mused.
“We can pay Abigail a visit and find out,” Zeke said. He looked over at Summer. “We need a description of Diane Worth for the authorities. Can we get it from you?”
Summer smiled. “With a judge’s order I can do better than that. I can pull our security camera’s tape of the inside of the building. There were several in the lounge area where Diane used to hang out. I bet we got some pretty clear shots of her.”
Adrenaline was flowing fast and furious through Zeke’s veins. “Where’s Judge Meadows?” he asked Brad.
Brad smiled. “About to go hunting somewhere with Dad. Getting that court order from him shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good,” Zeke said, glancing down at his watch. “First I want to pay Abigail Langley a visit. And then I want to check out those videotapes from the shelter’s security camera.”
“I’m coming with you when you question Abigail,” Brad said, getting to his feet.
Zeke raised a brow. “Why?”
Brad shrugged. “Because I want to.”
Zeke rolled his eyes as he moved toward the door. “Fine, but don’t you dare make her cry again.”
“You made Abigail cry?” Summer asked, frowning over at him.
“It wasn’t intentional and I apologized,” a remorseful-sounding Brad said, and he quickly followed Zeke out the door.
Ten
“You need a husband.”
Sheila groaned inwardly. Her mother was definitely on a roll today. “No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do, and with that kind of attitude you’ll never get one. You need to return to Dallas and meet one of Charles’s nephews.”
Sheila shook her head. Her mother had called to brag about a new man she’d met. Some wealthy oilman and his two nephews. Cassie had warned her that they were short for Texans, less than six feet tall, but what they lacked in height, they made up for in greenbacks.
“So, will you fly up this weekend and—”
“No, Mom. I don’t want to return to Dallas.”
Her mother paused a moment and then said, “I wasn’t going to mention it, but I ran into Crawford today.”
Sheila drew in a deep breath. Hearing his name no longer caused her pain. “That’s nice.”
“He asked about you.”
“I don’t know why,” she said, glancing across the room to where Sunnie was reaching for one of her toys.
“He’s no longer with that woman and I think he wants you back,” her mother said.
“I wouldn’t take him back if he was the last man on earth.”
“And you think you can be choosy?”
Sheila smiled, remembering that morning with Zeke. “Yes, I think I can.”
“Well, I don’t know who would put