She spun to face me.
“It was my father-in-law’s business manager.” Tears wet the gnarled flesh. “He forced Evangeline to do it.”
“Mr. Evil No Name.” I wasn’t buying it. If there was such a person, Obeline had to know who he was.
“David fired him the day of his father’s death. I only found out about the pictures later.”
“What happened to Evangeline?” I’d keep hammering the question as long as I had to.
She stared at me, lips trembling.
“What happened to Evangeline?”
“Why can’t you leave well enough alone?”
“Well enough? Who’s well enough? Evangeline?”
“Please.”
“What happened to Evangeline?”
A sob rose from her throat.
“Did your husband kill her?”
“Don’t be crazy. Why do you say this?”
“One of his henchmen?”
“David would never let anyone hurt her! He loves her!”
Obeline’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes widened in horror.
As before, I felt a coldness spread through me.
“She’s alive,” I said quietly.
“No.” Desperate. “David loves her memory. Her poetry. My sister was a beautiful person.”
“Where is she?”
“
“I’m the bully?”
“You will only cause her pain. You will only hurt her.”
“Is she with this man?”
I remembered Obeline’s words from earlier. How had she put it? David and this man needed each other.
“She won’t want to see you.”
“He’s hiding her, isn’t he?”
“What? Did hubby swap your sister for Claudine? Needed a newer model?”
Obeline’s face tightened into a mask of fury. When she answered her voice had gone harder than mine.
We locked glares, but I looked away first. Was I feeling a touch of uncertainty? A motor sound drifted in from outside. Grew louder. Stopped. Shortly, the front door opened. Closed. Footsteps ticked up the hall, then Ryan strode into the dining room.
“Ready to roll?”
“Definitely.”
If my vehemence surprised Ryan, he didn’t let on.
“What about Claudine?” I asked, scooping my notes and phone into my purse.
“Social Services is right behind me.”
“Bastarache?”
“Handed him off to the Trois-Rivieres SQ. They’ll stay on him. Looks like he’s heading to Montreal.”
“Hippo?”
“Flying to Tracadie later today. Plans to squeeze Mulally and Babin, check out some things that turned up in Bastarache’s files.”
I turned to Obeline.
“Last chance.”
She offered nothing.
I put all the menace I could into my parting words.
“Mark this, Obeline. I won’t stop until I find your sister. And I’ll do everything I can to see that your husband is prosecuted for kidnapping, child exploitation, child endangerment, and anything else we can think to pin to his sorry ass.”
