Murder Outside the Box by Saralyn Richard

Author:Saralyn Richard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saralyn Richard
Published: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-six

Instead of returning to the station, Parrott drove to the Campbell property. His desire to talk with T.J. Bath had increased since learning more about the role Amanda Hoffman had accepted as surrogate. If he could establish a connection between the young woman and the Campbells’ property caretaker, he’d be well on his way to understanding why the baby was left on his back steps.

T.J.’s secrets from his wife and his three-day absence from Brandywine added to Parrott’s suspicions of the man. In addition, T.J.’s love child lived in Texas—where Amanda Hoffman was from.

When he arrived at the front of the Bath cottage a little after one, the Polaris was still under the porte cochere, but Kate’s car was in the driveway, and she was bending over the open trunk, gathering something in her arms. When Parrott slammed his car door, Kate turned around, her eyes wide and her manner jumpy.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Parrott said. “Here, let me help you carry something.”

Kate gave a wobbly smile. “I thought you were T.J.” She refused the offer of help, although she had to set her suitcase down on the pavement in order to shut the trunk. “How is it that whenever I go anywhere, my baggage multiplies?”

“May I ask where you went?”

She hesitated before answering. “I needed a break. I stayed with my cousin in Philadelphia for a couple days.”

House key in hand, Kate paused to give Parrott a head-tilting stare. “Why are you here? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. Contrary to what most people think, a visit from a cop isn’t always bad news.” He followed Kate into the cottage. “I was hoping to talk to T.J.”

Kate’s face twitched, and she squinted. “So am I. T.J. left with Lucy one day last week, and I haven’t seen or heard from them since. That’s why I went to Steven’s—”

So the cousin in Philadelphia is Steven Mooney. Very interesting. “I was here at the Campbells’ yesterday. Lucy is over there.”

“Really? I had no idea. I’ll go get her after I unpack. Did the Campbells know where T.J. was going?”

“Not to my knowledge. But they said he’d definitely be back today.” Parrott looked around the combination family room and kitchen. His eyes lit on two notes, folded and propped up on the kitchen table, one marked T.J. and the other, Kate. Why two people who live in the same house had to communicate with written notes was beyond him, but he couldn’t judge. He often left notes for Tonya when she was sleeping.

“Well, he’s not back yet.” Kate swiped at her eyes. “This is the longest we’ve ever gone without communicating. I hope he’s okay.”

Parrott had his own concerns about T.J.’s being AWOL. “Do you want to file a missing persons report? I can help you with that.”

“No, the day’s not over yet. Maybe he’ll turn up in the next few hours.”

Parrott didn’t say John E. was under the impression T.J. would be back at work this morning. “Do you have any idea where he went?”

Kate shook her head.

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