Sweet Justice (8 page)

Piney Ridge, California

Honor collapsed onto the bed in the sterile-looking hotel room. She felt as if she hadn’t slept in days. Flying internationally always did that to her, but the extra stops in Indianapolis and Houston had been a bit much. Of course, it hadn’t helped that Seth had been beside her all the way, either. Not that he had done anything wrong. In fact, he had been polite, had said nothing inappropriate or controversial, and once had cracked a joke that had been funny. Even Jared had lifted half of a lip in a smile.

Seth was behaving like a complete professional, and he was irritating the hell out of her.

No explanation of what he had been doing for the past five years. No information about why Noah McCall thought he was totally qualified for this job. Not once had he offered her anything other than that one touch in the conference room, when his finger had caressed the scar on her neck and he’d said he was sorry. Shivers ran up her spine at the memory.

She could come right out and ask him. She would at some point, if he didn’t volunteer the information. How to pose the question was the sticking point. Asking a question without any seeming interest in the answer wasn’t something she had a lot of practice with. When asking questions, she always made it clear she was interested in the answer.

Over the years, she had studiously avoided knowing anything about Seth and what became of him. Oh, she’d come close on several occasions. Once, in the middle of the night, she’d woken throbbing and aching from a much too realistic sex-filled Seth dream. She’d slunk into her small office, turned on her computer, and Googled his name. The instant Ruth’s Place, his restaurant, popped up, she’d slammed the laptop closed and marched back to bed, furious at herself.

Others had known about her antipathy to his name. After their breakup, a few people had tried to question her about what went wrong. When she’d cut them cold, word had gotten out. Honor had developed the reputation of being fair-minded, professional, and easy to work with … as long as one man’s name was never mentioned. Now she regretted being so hard-nosed about it. What had she missed? Should she try another Internet search and this time have the courage to actually read the information?

Blowing out an exasperated sigh at her own foolishness, she got to her feet. She needed to get her butt in the shower; she was meeting Seth in the lobby in half an hour.

They were going to see Drenda Greene’s family. Since LCR wasn’t a law enforcement agency, they were somewhat limited in their scope of authority. People didn’t have to talk with them. That had been a difficult adjustment for Honor. As an FBI agent, she’d been used to people having to talk with her, whether they wanted to or not. Fortunately, the Greene family was interested in getting help any way they could. Their daughter had been missing for well over a year; any additional offer of assistance not only was welcomed but revived hope in what had become a hopeless situation.

Tomorrow they would interview the Bradfords, who weren’t going to be as cooperative. Yes, they loved their daughter and wanted her back home. However, Anna’s parents were in the middle of a bitter divorce, and talking with Honor and Seth was apparently one more thing they couldn’t agree on.

She would be meeting with Anna’s mother. Seth would go to the next town over and talk with the young woman’s father.

After those interviews, it would be on to the colleges the girls had attended.

Opting not to wash her hair, since blowing it dry would take too long, she finished her shower and was ready to dress in minutes. She stood at the closet and barely paused for thought before selecting a light blue pantsuit. Seth used to tease her about her pantsuits, telling her she must have a closet full of them. The first time he’d spent the night with her, he had discovered how right he’d been in his assessment of her wardrobe. She still remembered the morning he’d walked buck naked into her closet, thinking it was the bathroom. He’d turned on the light and burst out laughing. Seth had a great laugh.

Her eyes rolling at where her thoughts had once again headed, she dressed quickly. Makeup was a light foundation, mascara to darken her lashes, and a colorless lip gloss. Pulling her hair back into a low ponytail, she stepped back to access her appearance. Unimaginative and much too bland, but also coolly professional—an image that would inspire confidence in others. Not only that—seeing Seth again had put her emotions into a tail-spin. Dressing in this manner gave her a much-needed feeling of normalcy.

She fastened a side holster at her waist, slid her SIG Sauer inside the pocket, and snapped the buckle. Shrugging into her jacket, she stepped back once more and gave a final nod of approval. Attractive, competent, and businesslike. In no way did she reveal that her insides were experiencing a mild earthquake at the thought that, in a few minutes, she would see Seth again.

Get a grip, Stone
. Satisfied with the mini-chastisement, she turned away.

She had deliberately not listened when Seth had checked in, not wanting to know where he would be sleeping. When she opened her hotel room door, she froze. A lot of good that had done; Seth was coming out of his room right across from her.

As if he had known her thoughts moments before, his eyes swept up and down in a hot, thorough glance. “Nice pantsuit. New one?”

The glare Honor shot him could’ve melted his gun. Now, what the hell had he done to set her off?

Mentally shrugging at the intricacies and intriguing layers of the beautiful woman glaring daggers at him, he headed to the elevator. “You want to grab dinner after we talk to the Greenes?”

Honor entered the elevator first. The instant the doors closed, she said, “I think we need to do more than just have dinner.”

Seth went hard instantly. Did she mean …? He snuck a glance at her face. Of course she didn’t. Her beautiful face held an expression he’d seen more than once when they were dating. She had questions and wanted answers. And hell, if anyone deserved answers, wasn’t it this woman?

He nodded. “You’re right.”

She released a long sigh, as if she’d been holding her breath. Had she thought he would refuse? Probably. Their last time together hadn’t exactly been pleasant. He’d said things he never expected forgiveness for.

Despite how he’d hurt her, he knew it couldn’t have ended any other way. Not only would Honor’s career have been permanently tarnished if they’d stayed together, but Clemmons would have gladly used her to manipulate Seth. And if the man had tried that, the game would have been up. No way in hell would he have allowed Honor to be used as a pawn or to be hurt. He would’ve killed Clemmons.

Little had he known that his biggest regret would be in not killing the bastard when he’d had the chance. If he had, at least he would’ve been spared the nightmares.

The elevator door opened. As if they’d read each other’s minds, they exited wearing the same expression of seriousness. The past could be discussed and dissected another time. Now it was time to get to work.

Drenda Greene’s family lived in an upper-middle-class neighborhood just outside the city limits of Piney Ridge. Her father was a plumber, her mother a real estate agent. She had one sister who was still in high school and a brother in middle school.

Evelyn and Marty Greene greeted them with hope in their eyes. Seth had listened to Honor on the phone when she’d set up the appointment. She’d given them a brief rundown of why LCR was on the case. Not in any way had she been encouraging or discouraging about the chances of finding their daughter. But the Greenes were grasping at anything, and LCR’s involvement gave them renewed hope.

Sitting in the Greenes’ living room, sipping tea and eating cookies, seemed incongruent with what they were discussing, but that was the nature of this case. What the hell kind of refreshment do you serve when you’re discussing your missing child?

“So you said that someone hired your company to look into my Drenda’s disappearance?” Mrs. Greene was a slender, middle-aged blond with a nervous habit of blinking rapidly when she spoke.

In a compassionate but firm voice, Honor said, “Not only your daughter’s disappearance but several others’ as well.”

“So there’s a possibility somebody took our Drenda and is holding her along with other girls?” Mr. Greene was a stout, ruddy-faced man with deep lines around his mouth. The worry in his eyes indicated his grief over his daughter’s disappearance.

“That’s what we’re looking into,” Honor said.

Feeling Honor’s eyes on him, Seth explained: “A few weeks ago, my niece Kelli disappeared. I’m a former cop, so my brother called me for help. I have the experience to find my niece, but I don’t have the contacts. Last Chance Rescue specializes in finding missing people. I felt getting them involved was my best bet in finding my niece.”

“But what does that have to do with Drenda?” Her eyes filling with tears, Mrs. Greene added shakily, “Our daughter’s been missing for a year and a half.”

“We don’t know that the person who took Mr. Cavanaugh’s niece is the same one who took Drenda; however, that’s what we’re trying to determine.”

Mr. Greene leaned forward, his expression one of desperation. “If there’s anything we can tell you that will help you find our Drenda, all you have to do is ask.”

Mrs. Greene nodded. “The FBI delved into everything, from our personal life to Marty’s and my business associates.”

“We appreciate that, Mrs. Greene,” Honor said. “What I’d like to do is start with Drenda. Tell us about your daughter.”

Seth stayed quiet as Honor led the couple through a discussion of their oldest daughter. Her soft voice and open-ended questions soothed even as she dug deeply into Drenda’s personal life.

With tears and a smile, Evelyn Greene talked about how she and her husband had despaired of ever having children and the moment they’d seen a photograph of the Hispanic baby girl who’d been put up for adoption, they’d fallen in love.

Marty Greene chimed in to brag about what a good daughter Drenda was and how she’d been such a good role model for her two younger siblings.

Two hours later, as they stood to leave, Seth felt as though they had a good understanding of the young woman. Drenda was quiet, somewhat shy, had a few close friends and no steady boyfriend. After eight years of lessons, she played piano like a dream and attended church regularly. She had an affinity with animals and planned to be a veterinarian. All of these things were important for victimology and determining a commonality to tie the disappearances together. Unfortunately, he still saw no real relationship between hers and Kelli’s disappearances. That gut feeling he’d had that they were related was fading fast.

After shaking both parents’ hands and assuring them that if any information about their daughter’s whereabouts became available, they would be contacted immediately, he and Honor went through the door and headed to their rental car.

Doing what he’d been taught to do from the time he was strong enough to handle a door of any kind, he opened the passenger door for Honor. She barely acknowledged the gesture, and Seth could tell something was on her mind that she wanted to discuss. He had an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew what that something was. Not only were they on a wild goose chase, but they’d probably given hope to Drenda’s parents when there was no hope.

Seth got into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. Instead of starting the engine, he looked over at her. “This is pointless, isn’t it?”

Turning to face him, her eyes dancing with excitement, she practically shouted her answer: “Are you kidding? We’re on to something, Seth, I know we are.”

eight

Seth stared blankly at Honor. It was obvious he’d missed the connection. He confirmed it with “We are?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Honor saw Mrs. Greene peeking out from beind the blinds of the living room. Since she didn’t want to get the woman too optimistic until she checked the information on the other missing girls—seeing them have an animated discussion might well do that—she said, “Let’s get out of here and I’ll tell you.”

Seth started the engine and pulled out onto the road. As he maneuvered through the subdivision, she collected her thoughts.
This had to mean something … it had to
.

The Greenes’ upscale neighborhood had a large park exclusively for the residents. They’d passed it on the way in, and Honor instinctively knew that was where Seth was headed. As he turned onto the paved parkway, she pondered her ability to read him after all these years. Which seemed odd, since she didn’t think she’d read him well when they were together.

He parked the car under a shade tree, turned off the ignition, and faced her. “Okay, what’d I miss?”

“Did you hear Mrs. Greene talk about how Drenda hadn’t liked the college she was attending the year before and transferred to a smaller school last year, just a couple of months before she disappeared?”

“Yeah … so?”

“That’s a similarity, Seth. Remember, Kelli did the same thing this year.”

The expression on his face wasn’t encouraging. “So what? Lots of kids can’t settle in one school and move to another to finish up. Two of my sisters did the same thing.”

“But it is a similarity … something that ties these girls closer together.”

“Hell, honey, that’s a stretch.”

She did her best not to show a reaction to his endearment. It meant nothing. Seth was from Texas. She used to live there, too, and had gotten called “honey,” “sugar,” and “darling” a hell of a lot more than “Honor.” It meant absolutely nothing. But when Seth said it, in that gravelly bedroom voice she remembered so well, her body took it a different way.

Pushing past the need, she said, “A stretch, but still something.”

“So, even though they have this similarity, how does it connect them? They went to different schools, all across the country.”

Refusing to be discouraged by his underwhelming response to her theory, Honor shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m going to call Jared and ask him to check. If he hears the same thing about Karen or Missy, it could very well mean the beginning of a new thread.”

Muttering under his breath with what sounded like a “Pollyanna” slur, Seth started the car and continued through the subdivision.

Honor pulled her phone from her purse and punched in speed dial for Jared. Until she heard differently, she was maintaining her optimism. Because right now, it was all they had.