Page 54 of The Husband's Secret
Her heart surged higher into her throat, and she rushed out of the room, uncertain of her ability to keep down whatever she’d eaten or drank last. Her gaze shifted to the door that led into the other room, and her knees nearly gave out. What if Mallory and her child were in there? Tied up…possibly injured or…worse.
What if Mallory was the friend Cummings had been staying with? He’d said he was staying with a friend that night he caught her and Ben in Scott’s house. If that were the case, could it mean he and Mallory were working together? How was that possible? Brenda had known Mallory for two years. Surely that couldn’t be. There had to be some misunderstanding… Maybe Mrs. Lawrence was growing senile and wrongfully thought the cabin had sold. Maybe…
Brenda had to see for herself what was in the only other room on this floor.
She forced one foot in front of the other until she reached the door, then she stalled. On the beige carpet next to the bed was a Barbie doll with purple hair.Blossom.
Her heart squeezed as she walked slowly across the room then bent down to pick up the doll. She traced the pad of her thumb over the outfit…the denim overalls and tie-dyed shirt Janey loved. The angel necklace was looped around and around the doll. If the cheese pizza wasn’t proof enough, this confirmed it. Janey had been here.
“I’m calling Detective Shelton.”
Brenda turned to where Ben waited at the door. She held up the doll. “Janey was here. This is her doll.”
Ben was across the room in three long strides. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “This is a good thing,” he murmured.
Brenda hadn’t realized she was crying until he hugged her. Then she couldn’t stop. She buried her face in his chest.
“She was here, Brenda,” he said softly, “not somewhere far away. She was here just yesterday, maybe even earlier today.” He drew back then and fixed his gaze on hers. “There is no indication of a struggle or injury anywhere in this house. There’s only Cummings—if Mallory saw him as an enemy, she may have stabbed him to get away from him. To get Janey away from him.”
Brenda swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks. Hurt and anger roared through her, but somehow she nodded her understanding. “If it’s okay, I want to search this room.”
“I’ll call Shelton, and then I’ll help you search the whole place.”
He made the call. Brenda was vaguely aware of his voice as she explored every inch of the small bedroom. Under the bed. Between the mattress and box spring. The closet. The drawers in the dresser. Beneath the heating and air-conditioning floor register and in the cavity that it covered. There was nothing else of Janey’s in the room. Nothing else at all. No extra bed linens. No stored decor. Most people stored their rarely used items or out-of-season clothing in an extra closet. But there was nothing here.
Where in the world had Mallory taken Janey?
Chapter Nineteen
7:15 p.m.
When Ben had completed his call to Detective Shelton, he and Brenda performed a closer inspection of the main bedroom. He was careful to avoid the area immediately around the body. No need to bother with that side of the bed. There was no table or anything else there, just the man’s body.
One of the pressing questions in Ben’s mind was why Cummings was here. Was he staying here? Was Mallory the friend he mentioned knowing in the area? Not likely unless of course Mallory was employed by the cartel as well. But if he were staying here, where were the signs of this? Ben had found nothing that he could point to as belonging to the man. No toiletries in the bathroom. No clothes unless Brenda had found something in one of the drawers.
“The usual personal items, all Mallory’s,” Brenda said, as she closed the final drawer on the dresser. “I can’t say if anything is missing.”
“Nothing that may have belonged to Cummings?” he asked from the closet door.
“No. Nothing like that. Are you thinking he was staying here? I wondered that myself. He said he had a friend nearby when we spoke to him at Scott’s house.”
“It was a thought, yes.” Ben completed his inspection of the closet. “There are empty hangers, suggesting some items might be missing. A couple of hangers are on the floor.”
Brenda joined him at the small walk-in closet. “Mallory’s a neat freak. She must have been in a hurry to leave them there.”
“Along with the potential missing clothing, we have this.” He pointed to the wood shelf above the rod. “There’s dust on either side of an empty, dust-free space. My guess is that’s where a large item, like an overnight bag or suitcase, was stored.”
Brenda nodded. “Mallory obviously realized she had to get out of here.” She glanced toward the bed. “But was it before or after she killed Cummings?”
“Very good question,” Ben agreed. He followed her out of the small closet. “In the bathroom there was no toothbrush in the holder. No hairbrush lying on the counter. There’s every reason to believe Mallory grabbed a few things and left.” He shrugged. “Maybe in a hurry.”
“I thoroughly searched the other bedroom,” Brenda said. “Looks like that’s all there is to learn up here.” She glanced toward the bed again. “Unless the forensic people find something they probably won’t tell us about.”
“I checked the other bathroom on this floor. Nothing unexpected there either. Let’s go downstairs and finish our search before Shelton arrives.”
Downstairs there was nothing of Janey’s in the living room. In the kitchen there was that pizza box in the fridge as well as her favorite fruit drink.
“Janey loves these goldfish crackers,” Brenda announced, holding a small bag she had found in one of the cabinets over the sink.
