Page 68

Raising the item to her nose, she inhaled. It smelled like Bethany.
But reminded her of someone else.
Someone who might be Bethany’s kidnapper.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Mason had just pulled into the police station parking lot when his cell phone rang.
Joseph.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mason. I just heard back from my contact at the lab.”
“What have you got?”
“For one, the print on the car is a match with our Mr. Howe.”
Satisfaction curled in Mason. Then fizzled. So far, having Howe in custody hadn’t helped Bethany. “So, who’s he working with? We need a name.”
“On the advice of his lawyer, Howe has decided not to say anything further at this time.” Joseph sounded disgusted. Mason could relate.
“Great.” He sighed. “I wonder if Daniel questioned that other person from the shelter that Troy mentioned.”
“He said he was going to.”
“I’ll give him a call in a minute.”
He climbed out of his car as he said, “Okay, so what can they charge Howe with?”
“Attempted kidnapping, obstruction, leaving the scene of an accident. Just for starters.”
“Good. What about the white Buick?”
“Excuse me?”
“Daniel said he asked Catelyn to get a list of all of the white Buicks listed within a thirty-mile radius of the city. He seemed to think she was going to pass that on to you because you could get the information faster.”
A pause. “I haven’t heard from Daniel, and Catelyn hasn’t said a word to me about a white Buick.”
Mason pictured Daniel at the crime scene. He’d seemed tense. Anxious. Why?
Unbidden, the memory of Lacey practically accusing Daniel of being the one after her came to mind. Daniel wouldn’t cover something up, would he? Like maybe the fact that he really was the one after Lacey?
Mason seriously didn’t like the directions his thoughts were taking. “Okay.” Very strange. “Before Bethany disappeared on us again, she said a white Buick always seemed to be in the area. She was afraid of whoever was in it. While she was on the phone with me, she spotted it again.”
Joseph grunted. “I’ll have that list for you ASAP.”
“Great. Anything else?”
“Not yet. I’ll be in touch.”
His phone beeped, indicating he had another call coming in. “Hey, Lacey’s on the other line. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Mason switched over. “Hi, Lacey.”
“Mason, where are you?”