Page 25 of Alibi for Murder (Colby Agency: The Next Generation #2)

“Fair enough.” He shifted his attention back to Allie. “But don’t make me regret trusting you. If some form of the po-po shows up here after you leave, I’m gonna—”

“They won’t,” Steve inserted, his words a little on the lethal side.

“The parents brought the kid in. They were both distraught, you know. Tore all to pieces, like you’d expect.

They waited while I did what had to be done.

But—” he cast another of those furtive looks first right then left “—before I took him back, the mother leaned down and kissed him. Not unusual.” He shrugged.

“But she whispered something to him. Not I love you or something you’d expect. ”

“What did she say?” Allie asked when his dramatic pause went on a beat too long.

“She said, ‘Daddy will bring you back.’ It freaked me out a little, I have to tell you.”

A chill raced over Allie’s skin. “Did you see or hear anything else?”

He nodded. “When I prepared him for the crematorium, I noticed something weird. Trust me, I’ve seen some weird stuff in my time—working with the dead, I mean. But this was really creepy considering that one of the parents would have had to do it.”

“What exactly did you notice?” Steve prompted. “If you could be as precise as possible.”

“His eyes were missing.” He patted one eyelid. “You know, the whole eyeball.”

Allie’s heart stumbled then started to race. “You’re certain?”

He nodded. “Oh yeah. I checked. I’m sorry, but that is just bizarre.

Who takes their own kid’s eyes? I mentioned it to the manager later, and he told me never to talk about it again.

It was a matter of discretion. He said I’d be fired if I ever mentioned it to a soul.

So I didn’t ask anything else, but I did talk about it with a couple of guys at the pub.

I was a little drunk. I guess it got back to the wrong person.

The next thing I knew, I was being followed. ”

“You’re sure someone was following you?” Steve countered.

Allie could understand why Steve would be skeptical. The guy gave off a less-than-reliable vibe. Still, what he’d said so far made her feel ill.

“Definitely. I’ve been the target of drug dealers, loan sharks, pissed-off broads, I know when I’m being followed.

It didn’t take me long to figure out who it was.

Especially after that sleazebag reporter, Rivero, tracked me down.

I knew it was Ledwell. Damn it. I knew it, and I got the hell out.

I had heard what those bastards did to people who saw things and dared to talk. ”

For a moment, Allie couldn’t find her voice.

Of course the idea had been in the back of her mind that Ledwell had been taking care of anyone who might dare tell his secrets.

Rivero had confirmed as much…but this was the sort of affirmation that made her worry about what she might find at the end of all this.

Didn’t matter. She was on a mission to find the truth about her parents’ accident and to prove she did not murder anyone. “Did you happen to overhear the Madisons mention what they planned to do with his ashes?” She really needed to know where he was interred.

You planning to dig him up?

Allie banished the voice. If that was what it took to find answers then…yes. Maybe.

Griggs drew in another of those big, exaggerated breaths. “The wife mentioned she wanted him with her roses. Whatever that means.”

Allie’s breath stalled in her lungs. She knew exactly what that meant.

Talbert/Madison Residence

Justen Road

McHenry, Illinois, 7:00 p.m.

This had been Jane and Thomas Madison’s home at the time of their son’s death.

Mrs. Talbert, Jane’s mother, had explained as much.

This was the place where they entertained their friends and probably business associates as well.

It was the place where their son died. This was the place where Jane had grown her roses.

The backyard was shrouded in shadows now. They had very little daylight left, but they had to try.

Steve had brought the shovel from her house.

He had started to dig amid the overgrown rose bushes.

Allie held a flashlight to aid their ability to see between the overrun shrubs.

When he’d loosened most of the ground around the fountain and the rose bushes were out of the way, she got down on her knees and picked through the loosened clumps.

They didn’t have any gloves—they’d forgotten them—but she didn’t care.

She needed to find an urn or box. Something!

Steve knelt beside her and dug in as well. The more she plowed her fingers through the dirt and found nothing, the tighter desperation banded around her chest. There had to be something here. There just had to be. Tears burned in her eyes. This could not be another dead end.

But there was nothing. Not unless they had buried the child’s remains far deeper.

“We can try again tomorrow,” Steve promised as he dusted off his hands.

Allie dusted off her hands as best she could. “You’re right. It’s too dark…we’re not prepared. Tomorrow will be better.”

She was exhausted, and she was certain he was as well. It had been a very long day, and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t made some new discoveries.

Baby steps.

Like those of a little boy who was buried around here somewhere. Maybe with evidence that would prove Ledwell had reason to want her parents, a janitor and God knows who else dead.

On the way back to the SUV, she called Rivero and gave him the bad news. He didn’t take it well. The man was such a jerk.

Back at his SUV, Steve loaded the shovel, and Allie watched the last of the light sink into the treetops.

She wished she could remember the times she had been here…

the things that happened… Had she played with that little boy more than once?

Had she overheard hushed conversations that might help her now?

“Hey.” Steve came to her at the passenger-side door and gave her a hug. “We’ll get there.” He drew back and smiled down at her. “Don’t worry.”

“Thanks.” She dredged up a smile. “I needed a hug.”

“I thought you might. What do you say we go home and crack open a bottle from your stash?”

“I say that sounds amazing.”

As did a long hot bath and maybe a nice salad.

And some time just to be.

Thankfully, Steve had a package of wet wipes in his SUV, and they were able to reasonably clean their hands. Her whole body pulsated with something…an urgency she couldn’t label. Maybe what she needed was to feel something more…a connection to another human—like this man.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Al. This is work for him.

Besides, now wasn’t the time. She needed to focus.

The drive back to her house felt as if it were taking forever. “We should just grab something at a drive-through,” she suggested. There was nothing at home. She really did have to do a better job of keeping her pantry and fridge stocked. She was kind of pathetic at the job.

She thought of the baby bracelet. Why the hell had Rivero kept it all this time?

And why didn’t he talk to her the first time they went to his house?

The whole idea infuriated her now that she thought about it.

Particularly after he’d basically hung up on her when she told him they hadn’t found anything beneath the roses at the former Madison home yet.

He’d been furious they had dared to leave rather than continue to dig. Jerk.

Like Griggs said, Rivero was mostly a sleazeball.

“We can do that. Just name your preference.”

“I’m easy,” she assured him. “Just pull in at the next place we pass.”

Blue lights suddenly throbbed in the side mirror. Allie twisted around in her seat. A police cruiser, lights blaring, nosed up behind them and sounded off a quick burst of its siren.

“What the hell?” Allie turned to Steve. “Were you speeding?”

“I was not.” Steve slowed and eased to the side of the highway. “I guess we’ll find out what I was doing.”

Allie could not remember the last time she had been pulled over by the police. But then she didn’t do a lot of driving, so that wasn’t making a point at all.

Steve powered his window down and placed his hands on the steering wheel.

The officer took his time getting out and then approaching their vehicle.

Allie just wanted to go home. She felt more tired than she had in her entire life.

A flashlight pierced the interior of the SUV. She squinted to block the blare.

“License and registration,” the officer demanded.

Steve reached for his wallet, removed his driver’s license and handed it to the officer. “Is it okay if I reach into the glovebox and get the registration?”

The officer studied his license and then shone the flashlight directly in Steve’s face. “That won’t be necessary, sir. I need you to step out of the vehicle.”

Allie’s pulse reacted. Was this normal procedure?

“I will step out of the vehicle when you tell me the reason you pulled me over and why you need me to get out.”

“Sir, there’s an APB out for your arrest, and I’m going to need you to come with me. You can call your attorney once we’re at the station. But I would prefer that we not have any trouble here on the street.”

Steve held up his hands. “I’m certain there’s been a mistake, but I’m happy to cooperate. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to make a call and confirm that the APB is actually for me. I believe I’m well within my rights to request confirmation.”

“If you’ll step out of the vehicle, sir,” the officer repeated, “you can make the call from my patrol car.”

“I’ll make it now,” Steve countered. “We’ll go from there. I’m an attorney. I know my rights.”

“I’ll stand by.” The officer didn’t move or take his flashlight’s beam off the two of them.

Steve picked up his cell from the console and made the call.

Allie’s frustration and anger mounted with every second that passed. This was ridiculous. How the hell could there be an APB out on Steve?

“Thanks.” Steve ended the call. “Looks like I’m taking a ride to the city jail.”

“This is insane,” Allie argued. “You haven’t done anything.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “My team is on it. You can follow us there. This shouldn’t take long to clear up, but I need you to follow us there and stay within view of the officer manning the lobby at the jail.”

“You should go home, ma’am,” the officer spoke up. “This may take some time.” He opened the driver-side door.

“Follow us,” Steve repeated. “I want you nearby.”

“I will.”

Allie watched in horror as Steve was handcuffed then escorted to the cruiser and placed in the backseat. What the hell was going on here?

She climbed across the console, settled behind the steering wheel and adjusted the seat.

When the police cruiser pulled away from the curb, she did the same.

She followed the vehicle through the dark streets.

This was so wrong. She shivered. But what could she do? How did she prove it was a mistake?

Maybe she should call Rivero. He might have a contact with the police from back when he was such a big news star. There likely weren’t very many people in this little town that he didn’t know.

But that had been a long time ago.

Then again, the Ledwell group didn’t just know people. They appeared to own people. How did you stop a machine like that?

Not alone, for sure.

Steve had called his people. The Colby Agency would know what to do. If anyone could stop them, it was the Colby Agency.