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“No, ma’am,” Bent said. “We have questions for you ... related to the Time Thiefcase. There are some inconsistencies we believe you can help us with.”

She blinked. Once.

“Why don’t I call Carl?” Vee suggested gently. “He should be here for you.”

For a long moment Elizabeth stared, first at Vee, then at Bent, as if a new realization had dawned on her. Her jaw sagged, but no words came out. The tears had slowed, drying on her skin, leaving messy paths in her makeup.

“No,” she finally said, her voice so low it was nearly inaudible. “I don’t want him here for this.”

Well hell. As nice as it was to be right about a conclusion, this wasn’t the sort of situation that gave anyone pleasure. “All right then. But I need to advise you of your rights—”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly, lifted a hand to stop him. “I waive my rights. An attorney can’t help me, and he sure as hell can’t help my son.”

“Elizabeth,” Vee urged, “you need to think about that for a moment, because anything you tell us can be used against you. You’re emotional right now, you may not be thinking straight. We don’t want you to regret this decision tomorrow or next week.”

“It’s too late for regrets,” Elizabeth said, her lips quivering. She swiped at her cheeks with her fingers. “It was me. Carl had nothing to do with it. I watched the three I selected very carefully. I ... I was extremely cautious about everything. The dosage of the drug. All of it.” She turned her hands up. “I didn’t want anyone hurt.” She shook her head, drew in a ragged breath. “But I suppose I did choose the ones I did for a little payback. Is that what tipped you off?”

Rather than answer her question, Bent asked, “Was Nolan to be the fourth victim?”

She nodded. “I left him the message on his windshield. I was going to meet him that night at that old shack where Owens lives. I’d alreadyset everything up. I would do exactly as I did the others so he wouldn’t know it was me ... but he never showed up.” Her face pinched with agony. “I was certain Nolan had figured it out. Then, when he didn’t come home, I thought he was angry at me. I was up walking the floors all night ... until Chief Teller called.” Her voice quavered. “I never intended to hurt anyone. I just wanted ...”

“You wanted,” Vee offered, “to give Nolan that big story he’s been waiting for.”

Elizabeth jerked her head up and down, her lips clamped together. “I had no idea I might be inviting some evil person to get involved.”

“First,” Bent said, “as far as what you’ve done goes, the good news is you didn’t harm anyone—not really. But you need to understand that this is kidnapping, Elizabeth. This is a very serious situation. At least a second-degree felony. Then there’s the false imprisonment.”

“I don’t care about that,” she argued, her voice frantic. “All that matters is finding Nolan.” Tears streamed down her face once more. “Someone had to be watching me ... switched out my message. They took my son.” Her cries again turned to agonized howls.

Bent looked again to Vee, who made a face at him. She should know how to handle this part better than him. Three seconds passed before she finally spoke up. “Elizabeth, we’re doing all possible to find him. But we need your help if we’re going to be successful. Can you pull yourself together and do that?”

Elizabeth swiped at her eyes, this time with her forearms—mascara and foundation smearing on the silk sleeves. “Yes. Yes. Of course. Whatever I can do. After what I’ve done, this is probably God’s punishment.” She fell apart again. “It’s my fault. Oh God. It’s my fault.”

Bent grabbed the box of tissues from the coffee table and took it to her. “What we believe happened,” he said gently, “likely was not because of anything you did.”

“And you can rest assured that God,” Vee tossed in, “had nothing to do with this.” She waited until Bent was seated once more. “Unlessyou left another message besides the one on Nolan’s windshield, we have reason to believe this has something to do with someone from my past.”

Elizabeth stared at her, the tissue clamped between her fingers and tears still streaming down her cheeks. “What?” She shook her head as if to clear it. “I don’t understand. What other message?”

“We don’t know anything for certain just yet,” Bent countered, hoping to head off what he suspected would be a meltdown.

“I’m not following.” Elizabeth scrubbed at her cheeks with the deteriorating tissue. “You have some idea who took him?”

“We have another potential suspect,” Bent explained carefully. “What we need from you is to know if anyone has gone into the apartment since we were here on Tuesday.”

She slumped. “I ... I’m ... let me think ...” She looked to Bent. “You and your people were here first. Wait, no. Chief Teller came first after that call from Joel. So he was first, but then he called you. So, I guess you and your people went into Nolan’s ...” Her lips trembled. “Nolan’s apartment next.” She moistened her lips and took a breath. “Then you and Vera. I don’t think there was anyone else.”

Bent nodded. It was possible the person who left the message on the mirror had picked the lock, but he had left no marks whatsoever. It took someone very skilled to manage that feat.

“Wait, no.” Elizabeth’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “There was someone here this morning. Carl mentioned it on his way out the door. He said someone from the sheriff’s department had needed to get back in.” She stared at the floor. “I slept in. Couldn’t seem to drag myself out of bed. I hadn’t slept at all the night before ... the night he was taken.” She shook her head. “Anyway, Carl gave the key to whoever it was—that’s why I didn’t remember.”

“Why don’t I call Carl?” Bent suggested. “We’ll meet him at my office, and he can tell us about this other person.”

Elizabeth pushed to her feet. “I’d like to call him. Prepare him for ... the rest.”

Bent stood, as did Vee. “All right. We’ll wait at the front door. You let us know when you’re ready to go.”

Elizabeth left the room. Vee jerked her head in the direction Elizabeth had disappeared. “Should I keep an eye on her?”