got to warn you also that it was on the radio this morning that the Laura Wilcox disappearance is a publicity stunt she dreamed up with that comedian, Robby Brent. Rich Stevens is a very unhappy guy about all the time we've wasted over Wilcox when he has a homicidal maniac in Orange County on his hands. So do yourself a favor and don't bring up her name.'
62
When Jean awoke, she was astonished to see that it was nine o'clock. She shivered as she got out of bed. The window was open a few inches from the bottom, and a cold breeze was blowing through the room. She hurried over and closed the window, then opened the blinds. Outside the sun was breaking through the overhead clouds, reflecting, she decided, the way she was feeling. The sun was breaking through the clouds in her life, and she was filled with a sense of euphoria. Laura is the one who has been contacting me about Lily, she reasoned, and if there is anything I can stake my life on, it is that Laura would never harm her. This is all about her need for money.
Still, I hope she gets in touch with me again soon, Jean thought. I should despise her for what she has put me through, but I realize now how desperate she was. There was something frenetic about her behavior on Saturday evening. I remember how she acted when I tried to talk to her before the honoree dinner. I asked her if she had seen anyone carrying a rose at the cemetery. She kept trying to brush me off, and finally she practically threw me out of her room. Was it because she could see how upset I was and felt guilty about what she was doing to me? Jean wondered. I'll bet anything she put the rose on the tombstone. She would have guessed that I'd visit Reed's grave.
Jean's last conscious thought before she fell asleep last night had been that she must let Craig Michaelson know about the fax from Laura. If on his own he had chosen to contact Lily's adoptive parents, it simply wasn't fair to continue to worry them.
She slipped on her robe, went over to the desk, fished in her pocketbook for Michaelson's card, and phoned his office. He took her call immediately, and her heart sank at his reaction to what she told him.
'Dr. Sheridan,' Craig Michaelson said, 'have you verified that this latest communication is actually from Laura Wilcox?'
'No, and I can't. But do I believe she sent it? Absolutely. I confess that I was shocked to learn Laura knew about Lily and must have known I had been dating Reed. She certainly never let on at the time. Anyway, we also know, because of the cell phone Robby Brent bought and the time element of when I supposedly heard from Laura, that Robby must have made the phone call to me, imitating her voice. So I think we have two situations going here. Laura knows who Lily is, and she is broke and desperate for money. Then Robby concocted Laura's disappearance because he intends to use her on his new sitcom and was just trying to generate publicity. If you knew Robby Brent, you would understand it's the kind of performance- and sneaky trick-that he is utterly capable of carrying out.'
Again she waited for reassurance from Craig Michaelson.
'Dr. Sheridan,' he said finally, 'I can understand your relief. As you very correctly surmised, when you came to my office yesterday, I was not at all convinced that you might not be concocting a story because you were obsessed with your need to locate your daughter. Frankly, your outburst was what convinced me that you were absolutely on the level. So I'm going to level with you now.'
He did handle the adoption, Jean thought. He knows who Lily is and
'I considered the potential danger to your daughter serious enough to contact her adoptive father. He happens to be out of the country right now, but I'm sure I will hear from him shortly. I am going to tell him everything you have told me including who you are. As you know, you and I do not have an attorney-client privilege, and I feel I owe it to him and to his wife to make them aware that you are both believable and responsible.'
'That is absolutely fine with me,' Jean said. 'But I don't want those people to go through the hell I've been going through these last few days. I don't want them to get the impression that Lily is in danger now, because I don't think she is anymore.'
'I hope she is not, Dr. Sheridan, but I think until Ms. Wilcox comes forward, we should not be too sanguine about the fact that a serious problem may not still exist. Did you show this fax to the investigator you told me about?'
'Sam Deegan? Yes, I did. As a matter of fact, I gave it to him.'
'May I have his phone number?'
'Of course.' Jean had memorized Sam's number, but the continuing concern in Craig Michaelson's voice upset her enough that she could not be sure she remembered it. She looked it up, gave it to him, then said, 'Mr. Michaelson, we seem to have reversed positions. Why are you so worried when I'm so relieved?'
'It's that hairbrush, Dr. Sheridan. If Lily remembers anything about the details of losing it-where she was, who she was with-it is a direct link to the person who sent it. If she recalls having been in the company of Laura Wilcox, then we can believe the contents of the recent fax are on the level. But knowing the adoptive parents and knowing Ms. Wilcox's rather well documented lifestyle, I find it a big stretch to think that your daughter was likely to be around her.'
'I see,' Jean said slowly, suddenly chilled by the logic of his reasoning. She ended the call with Michaelson, after agreeing to keep in touch. She then immediately dialed Sam's cell phone, but got no answer.
Her next call was to Alice Sommers. ' Alice,' she said, taking a deep breath. 'Please be frank with me. Do you think there's any chance that the fax from Laura, or supposedly from Laura, was a ploy to slow us down, to keep me from contacting Lily's adoptive parents and asking about the hairbrush?'
The answer was the one she feared yet instinctively knew she was going to receive. 'I didn't trust it at all, Jeannie,' Alice said reluctantly. 'Don't ask me why, but it didn't ring true to me, and I could tell Sam felt exactly the same way.'
63
As Eddie Zarro had warned, District Attorney Rich Stevens was upset and angry. 'These broken-down performers come into this county doing publicity stunts and waste our time when we have a maniac on our hands/' he barked. 'I'm going to issue a statement to the press to the effect that both Robby Brent and Laura Wilcox may face criminal charges for creating a hoax. Laura Wilcox has admitted that she's been sending those faxes threatening Dr. Sheridan's daughter. I don't care whether Dr. Sheridan is in a forgiving mood or not. I'm not. It's a crime to send threatening letters, and Laura Wilcox is going to answer for it.'
Alarmed, Sam hastened to calm Stevens. 'Wait, Rich,' he said. 'The press does not know about Dr. Sheridan's daughter or the threats to her. We can't let that out now.'
'I'm aware of that, Sam,' Rich Stevens snapped. 'We're only going to refer to the publicity stunt that Wilcox confessed to in that last fax.' He handed Sam the file on his desk. 'Photos of the crime scene,' he explained. 'Take a look at them. Joy was the first one of our people to get there after the call came in. I know the rest of you have heard this already, but, Joy, fill Sam in on the victim and what the neighbor told you.'
There were four other investigators in addition to Sam and Eddie
Zarro in the district attorney's office. Joy Lacko, the only woman in the group, had been an investigator for less than a year, but Sam had enormous respect for her intelligence and ability to extract information from shocked or grief-stricken witnesses.
'The victim, Yvonne Tepper, was sixty-three years old, divorced, with two grown sons, both of whom are married and live in California.' Joy had her notebook in her hand but did not consult it as she looked directly at Sam. 'She owned her own hairdressing salon, was very well liked, and apparently had no enemies. Her former husband has remarried and lives in Illinois.' She paused. 'Sam, all of this is probably irrelevant, given the pewter owl we found in Tepper's pocket.'
'No fingerprints on it, I assume?' Sam queried.
