Blue Valor by Illona Haus

Author:Illona Haus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2006-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

42

“I WOULD HAVE come with you.” From the passenger seat, Finn watched the stately homes of Guilford slip past them as Kay drove.

When she’d walked into the office a half hour ago, she’d filled him in on her morning: her visit to the stables, to the scene of Estcott’s abduction, and finally her talk with Constance. All of it delivered with a detachment that Finn tried not to take personally.

“I stopped by the boat,” she said. “You weren’t there.”

“Sorry.” But he didn’t offer an explanation.

Finn watched a muscle work along Kay’s jaw and suspected that she’d guessed he’d stayed the night at Angie’s again.

After Kay had dropped him at Headquarters late last night, he’d called his ex-wife, asked how Maeve was doing, then turned the car around and drove to Hunting Ridge instead of the boat.

Maeve had been in bed by the time he got there. He’d looked in on her anyway, watched her sleep.

And then there’d been Ang.

He hadn’t intended to stay the night or to allow his feelings to cloud the real reason for his visit. And he certainly hadn’t intended to sleep with Angie. Or maybe he had.

Across the police car’s stale interior he stared at Kay: her face all harsh lines and angles.

“What?” she asked him suddenly, clearly sensing his stare even though her eyes never left the traffic ahead of them.

“Nothing.” He turned away.

When Kay steered onto Norwood, they could already spot the TV satellite trucks outside the Estcott house.

“Fucking vultures,” Kay mumbled as they parked behind Braddock’s car.

She’d wanted to join the canvass she’d told Finn back at the office, wanted to check out the neighbors. Finn followed her up the drive, past rows of boxwood hedges and azalea bushes. On the wide front porch, Mark Estcott addressed a neighborhood group. They carried staple guns and fistfuls of flyers. Next to Estcott, Adam Braddock seemed to be vying for a possible photo op.

“You want to talk to Mark?” Finn asked.

Kay shook her head. She lifted a hand to acknowledge the defense attorney, then started around the east side of the garage.

“Amber’s abductor knew her schedule,” Kay explained to Finn once they were away from the crowd. “So he had to be watching her.”

She pointed up to the bank of windows. “That’s Amber’s bedroom.” Then she gestured to the adjacent house. It sat closer to the street than the Estcott residence, so Amber’s bedroom windows directly overlooked the fenced backyard. The underside of the new leaves on the trees backing the yard were speckled with light: the sun reflecting off the surface of a pool, Finn guessed.

He followed Kay to the house. At the front porch, Kay rang the bell. Beyond the double doors Finn heard the ostentatious chimes.

But there was no answer.

Kay rang again, only this time the chime was drowned out by the low throttle of a car’s engine behind them.

Finn watched as the black Mustang with its professionally detailed racing flames and logo careened past the satellite trucks and lurched into the short drive.

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