Page 67

Bishop

A familiar face was in the hallway near the entrance of the station when I walked out of the interview room.

“Mr. Chambers, wait!” The detective was hot on my heels.

I lifted a hand and turned to my brother. “Well?”

“Dulvaney left his hotel around nine and came down to the station. Deacon followed. He called me when a squad of uniforms set off to your place. He saw them take you and hung around. They put Eden into a car with the fuckwit stalking her. I came straight here, while he followed Dulvaney.”

“You know where they are?”

Rook nodded. “My car is parked across the street; Dally is safe at home. I’m ready to go when you are.”

“This is a police matter. The girl was registered missing. At the very least tell me what you know?” the detective demanded.

I swung to face him.

“What I know is that one of your own has lost his fucking mind. That girl, my wife , escaped from that fucking asshole and you handed her back to him. If she’s hurt in any way, you can kiss your career goodbye.” I turned back to Rook. “Show me.” We set off along the sidewalk.

“Wait. I’ll come with you. You can fill me in on the details on the way.”

I stopped, and turned slowly, frowning. “Why aren’t you demanding more information?”

His eyes shifted away from me. I advanced on him. “You knew. You fucking knew. You let him take her because you needed proof. This entire fucking thing. Announcing her as missing, turning up at my house, taking me to the station and leaving her with him … you used her as fucking bait.”

“Bishop.” Rook’s hand touched my arm. I shook him off.

“We had nothing on him other than suspicions. We needed something concrete.”

“Concrete?” My voice was soft. “How’s this for fucking concrete?” I punched him.

He staggered backward. I’d have gone after him, only my brother grabbed hold of me again. “We don’t have time for this.” He forced me back around and shoved me forward. “Keep moving. Detective, if you really want to take this fucker down, you can follow along, but don’t get in our way.”

When we reached Rook’s car, I stopped. “Where are they?”

“Deacon said he was holed up in a motel just outside of town. I told him to hold off going in until we got there unless he needed to.”

Unless Dulvaney hurt Eden, he meant.

“Being a cop means we can’t just go in and take the fucker out,” Rook continued. “He’ll be missed, and with Eden all over the news as a missing person, it would be too easy to link his death to you.”

“That’s why you invited Detective Flannigan along. To give us credibility when I blow his head off.”

Rook unlocked his car and opened the door. “Something like that.”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

***

“There’s Deacon.” Rook nodded toward a dark shadow which peeled away from the wall when we turned into the parking lot.

I was out of the car before it rolled to a stop. “Update me.”

“They went inside a couple of hours ago. I’ve heard shouting from him, but your girl hasn’t said a word that I could hear.”

“Any signs of violence?”

Deacon’s head canted, brown eyes gleaming under the light of the motel sign. “If there had, you wouldn’t have found me standing out here,” he said softly.

The detective’s car pulled into the space beside us. Deacon frowned as he climbed out.

“This is Detective Flannigan. Apparently, Dulvaney has been on their radar for a while. He hasn’t shared what for.” I slanted a look at the detective. “But he’s going to tell us right now. Aren’t you?”

“We have reason to believe that Chester Dulvaney has been using his position as a detective working out of New York to commit various crimes … mostly against women, including rape and murder.”

I started toward him again.

“Bishop. What the fuck is wrong with you? Calm down.” Rook stepped between us.

“When he put in a missing person report for Eden, we thought that she might already be dead, and it was his way of covering his tracks. But then a sighting of her was reported here in Glenville. The detective investigating the case in New York reached out to tell us Dulvaney was traveling here, and I was asked to keep an eye on him.”

“And you thought that using an innocent girl, who’s already been his victim in too many fucking ways to list, would be the way to catch him?” Anger simmered under my skin, an emotion I wasn’t used to feeling. I flexed my fingers. “If she’s hurt—”

“Okay, enough. We’re not getting anywhere standing out here arguing.” Rook, the voice of reason, cut in.

“If Eden Marshall is really your wife, then I understand why you’re angry and upset.”

“You have no fucking idea,” I growled.

“But the fact of the matter is unless we have proof that he’s kidnapped her, there’s nothing we can do. For all we know, they’re celebrating being reunited in there.”

I lost the battle to control my temper.