“Good.” He wrapped his fingers around her elbow and stopped her in her tracks. “Slow down. We have to find her first.”
“We find the car, we’ll find her,” Jac said. “If nothing else, we’re doing something. Instead of just sitting here, coming up with theories.”
She always had been impatient when she felt passionately about something. Max tightened his hold on her elbow. “What do we know about her?”
Jac pulled in a breath. She was close enough Max could almost feel her exhale. “Dani is forwarding that information. The aunt drives a red Pontiac. They’ve confirmed the license plate number. It was her there. The mystery woman. We can say definitively that she was at least in the vicinity shortly after Rachel was killed.”
Max nodded. “I’ll drive.”
They discussed the specifics as Max drove toward the address Dani sent them.
“Maybe she had the girls? Was bringing them home, running late? Maybe she pulled in and saw what was happening with Edith? Maybe she got out of the car first? Went to get Rachel to help her carry the girls in, leaving the girls alone in the drive for a minute? When she saw what happened, the killer turned on her and she just ran—back to her car?”
Max nodded. It made sense. “She stumbled right into it. Was attacked herself, but managed to get away. We don’t know yet how much of the blood was hers, or Edith’s or Rachel’s. That’s going to take time. She could have jumped into the car and driven away.”
“With Ava and Livy still in the backseat. I hope that’s it. I hope she got them far away from this place. Most of all, I just hope they are all safe.”
“Me, too.”
They pulled into a small bungalow and killed the engine.
The house was deserted. Max knew it with one glance. A cat, yellow and white, jumped into the window at his knock. It mewed at him plaintively.
Jac peered into the garage window.
“Nothing. The car’s not here.”
Max almost said something in reply when a woman from the house next door called out. “Can I help you with something?”
Jac came around on his left side. “We’re with the FBI. We’re looking for Deborah Miller.”
“Is she ok? I can’t imagine Debbie being in legal trouble.” The woman was around Deborah’s age. She eyed them with suspicion. Jac held out her credentials for her, trying to look unthreatening. With hesitant witnesses, she often led—Max, at six four and solid male muscle, was just too intimidating at times. He tried, but that wasn’t something he could always control.
“She’s not in trouble. We are here regarding her niece, Rachel.”
“Oh my. Is Rachel ok? Debbie thinks the world of her. And the girls, of course.”
“Can you tell us the last time you saw Rachel and Olivia and Ava?”
“Yesterday, of course. Debbie was keeping the girls. Rachel wasn’t feeling well, and she’d driven the girls over here during the afternoon. I suspect that husband of hers is out of town again. He is always leaving the girls with their mother. Even though he has to know Rachel is a bit frail at times.”
That was information they hadn’t been given yet. Max made a note to check with Rachel’s primary physician. “How so?”
“Always pale. Always sickly. Migraines, I think I’ve heard. Or fibromyalgia. Would send her to bed for hours, even days, I think. Saw a migraine come on myself just a few months ago. Fine one minute, pale as death the next. Anyway, Debbie gets the girls whenever she can to help out. She had them all yesterday and last night. I saw her leave around eleven thirty, last night, though. Both girls were still awake, which I thought was a little odd. The younger one was crying. I asked Debbie what was going on. She said something about the little one not feeling well, and Debbie was going to drive them both home. They wanted their mother, of course, as little as they are.”
“Thanks,” Max said.
They’d just confirmed who had Paul and Rachel’s daughters. Now, they had to find where they were now. He wasn’t going to relax until he had those girls safe. Not yet. “So you didn’t hear her return last night?”
She shook her head. “No. I just assumed she spent the night with her niece. She’s done that before. To help out with the girls. Is Rachel ok?”
“We’re not releasing that sort of information right now. We just have some questions for Debbie regarding Paul Sturvin. Have you ever met him?”
“I’ve seen him at a distance. But the likes of him won’t have anything to do with the type of people that live around here in this neighborhood. He despises Debbie—and the feeling is mutual. You have any more questions, you should ask the preacher where she works. He’ll know. He and Debbie are pretty close.”
49
Max called PAVAD from the car while Jac asked the neighbor a few more questions. When she finally joined him in the SUV, he had good news to tell her. Comparatively.
“He’s her emergency contact, other than Rachel. The pastor of her church. Dani mentioned it to Whit. Whit’s calling the pastor and letting him know we’re on the way.”
She shook her head. “I was so focused on just evading Barnes, I wasn’t really paying attention to Whit.”
“The last thing we needed on this case is Todd Barnes.”
“Tell me about it. Hopefully, when this is over, he’ll slink back under whatever rock he came from. And keep his hands to himself this time.”
Max shot a quick look at her before returning his gaze to the road. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. It’s not that important.”
“Jac…don’t shut me out. Not on this one.” Not ever again. Max knew what he wanted, but if he just told her—especially now—she’d build the wall around herself so fast he couldn’t stop it.
He’d watched her do it time and time again before.
“I…” She turned toward him. She was pale,
