Her mind was spinning with possibilities. Could Daisy be trying to save the twins from a threat? But, if that was the case, why would she attack Tegan? Unless... Did Daisy think Tegan was a danger to Stevie and Frankie? Surely not.
“I don’t know.” Leon’s face was grim. “But I intend to find out.”
She couldn’t ask the other question out loud. The one that hovered on the tip of her tongue. The one that had to remain unsaid. If the words were spoken, they would become a possibility. But they remained on repeat inside her mind. Over and over. Taunting her with their awfulness.
What if you never get that chance? What if Daisy harmed the boys before they could get to her?
Joe ended his calls and turned back to them. “I’ve got an Amber Alert on Daisy, the twins, and her vehicle. I’m also trying to trace her cell phone, and I’ve sent a couple officers over to check out her home address.”
“There must be something more we can do.” A new wave of panic crashed over Flora. Every minute they spent here took Stevie and Frankie farther away from her.
“The chief has just returned from Nevada. She’s coordinating with Sheriff Harvey to get a helicopter search underway,” Joe said. “The terrain around here is easier to view from the air.”
Flora gave a little moan and Leon drew her tighter against his side. As he did, his cell phone buzzed, and he groaned. “Again?”
When he withdrew his cell from his pocket, his expression changed so suddenly it was as if he’d been slapped. Looking stunned, he held the phone up so Flora could see the display.
“It’s Daisy.”
“I’ve sent a message to the chief to see if she can get a fix on Daisy’s location,” Joe said. “Put this call on Speakerphone. We have no idea what she’s going to say, so just stay calm and listen. Let’s find out what she wants.”
Leon had no idea why Daisy would contact him instead of Flora, but he figured he was about to find out. With a heart that was hammering out of control, he answered the call.
Daisy spoke before he could say anything. “Is she with you?”
He guessed that she meant Flora, but he decided to act dumb. “Who?”
Daisy’s laugh jarred like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. “Don’t play games, Doctor. Not now I’ve finally gotten your attention.”
“If you mean Dr. Monroe, yes, she’s right here. She wants to know if her boys are okay.” Flora’s fingernails dug painfully into his side.
“Them? Oh, they’re fine.” Daisy’s dismissive tone sounded unnatural.
“What’s this about?” Leon fought to keep his tone calm.
“You really don’t know.” She laughed again, a different sound this time, soft and disbelieving. “All the things I’ve done to get you to notice me, and you still haven’t figured it out?”
Leon was a doctor. He knew his heart hadn’t really just thudded to a standstill. It was an illusion. So was the sensation that his mouth was so dry he couldn’t speak. But the horror of what he was hearing was like a series of electric shocks tingling through him.
Could it be true? Flora had said Daisy had a crush on him. Was it that simple? Could this whole thing have been about Leon all along?
“You’re going to have to explain it to me, Daisy.”
“I was waiting for you. I thought you weren’t ready for a new relationship.” There was a bitter edge to her voice that chilled him. “Then she came along. Dr. Monroe. How ironic was that? While I was doing everything I could to save the Main Street Clinic, you were falling for the very person who was going to destroy it.”
Joe gestured to Leon to try to get Daisy to expand on what she was saying. Wishing he didn’t have to do this to Flora, didn’t have to add to the look of distress in her eyes, he plunged on. “What were you doing to save the Main Street Clinic?”
“I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now. Dr. Grayson said the Ryerson Center would be the end of his practice. Then that article in the Stillwater Sentinel confirmed it.” She gave a snicker. “By the way, that reporter? He didn’t leave town.”
Leon swallowed hard. “What happened to him?”
“You’re an educated guy. Figure it out. Back to my story. I thought that, if you lost your job, you might leave town. I couldn’t risk that, so I had to do something about it.” The matter-of-fact way Daisy spoke chilled Leon even further. It was as if she was talking about a minor decision like what to have for dinner. “The Sentinel reporter made it clear. Dr. Monroe was the person who was trying to ruin everything. If I wanted to bring down the Ryerson Center, I knew she was the one I had to get rid of.”
Leon closed his eyes briefly. It didn’t give him any satisfaction to know he had been right. The Ryerson Center had been the target, but, in Daisy’s eyes, Flora had been entwined with it. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Laurie slipping silently into the room.
“I could have killed her, of course.” Daisy continued in the same conversational tone.
The statement triggered a thought and Leon gestured for something with which to write. Laurie handed him her notebook, and he quickly scribbled a few words. Has she killed before? If that was the case, he didn’t know how Daisy could have gained a childcare qualification or passed the required background checks. But, in his opinion, most people didn’t discuss murder in such a casual manner.
“What I really needed was to taint her so completely that no one in Stillwater would ever step foot inside the Ryerson Center,” Daisy went on. “Dr. Death. It has a ring to it, don’t you think? Jennifer Webster, Joy Valeski, Lilith Bronson, and Vivien McAuley would probably
