Page 56 of The Husband's Secret
“No.” Brenda shrugged. “I can’t say that Scott didn’t allow her to come over to Mallory’s when I was traveling, but I haven’t gone anywhere overnight in the past year—except the trip to Los Angeles that you already know about.”
“So she could have been here during that time,” Shelton suggested.
“That’s possible,” Brenda agreed, “but Mallory never mentioned it, and usually Janey tells all about her adventures with Mallory. And the receipt on the pizza box is from yesterday.”
Ben hoped the little girl was seeing this time away from her mother as just another adventure with her nanny. If one or both had been harmed… He wasn’t going there. Not yet. There was still every reason to believe the child was safe. He suspected that would be the case as long as the cartel or persons responsible for her abduction needed her for leverage.
Shelton closed his notepad. “If I have more questions, I’ll call. The coroner will be here soon, so it’s better if the two of you go home. I think you’ve done enoughinvestigatingfor one evening.”
Brenda stood. Ben followed suit. When they would have started for the door, she hesitated. “I have a question for you.”
Shelton heaved himself to his feet. “If I have an answer I will share it with you.” There was no enthusiasm in the words.
“What about Lena Jenner? Are you investigating her the way you are me?”
Good question. Ben should have asked, but it was better coming from Brenda.
Shelton looked surprised at the subject of the question. “Do you have some reason to believe I should be investigating her?”
“Tate and Scott were partners,” Brenda tossed back at him. “Doesn’t that make the possibility that she knows something as likely as the possibility that I do?”
Shelton nodded slowly as if needing time to make his response more palatable. “It does. What you don’t know is that Agent Cummings focused on Jenner’s wife while I focused on you. We felt it was the best way to cover all bases. But I assure you, she didn’t get off any easier. At least I assume she didn’t. With what we’ve learned about Cummings, I can’t be certain of his activities. Which just means I will have to follow up. So, to answer your question, if she hasn’t already felt the weight of this investigation, she will soon.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
Once they were outside, Ben scanned the street for a vehicle that may have belonged to Cummings. There were several. He supposed Shelton’s people would have to figure out that part. At his rental, he turned on the flashlight app of his phone and checked the car doors, peered at length under the body of the car then had a look under the hood. Once he was satisfied all was clear, he unlocked the passenger compartment and checked the interior.
“You can get in now,” he said to Brenda, who stood by patiently as she did every time he performed this safety check. Once she was inside, he walked around to the driver’s side and got in.
Not until they were driving away did a rush of words burst out of her. “I really want to go see Lena Jenner now. I can’t get the idea out of my head that her using the same attorney—Harris Carlisle—as Dirk Lanier means something relevant to all this. I want to talk to her before she disappears too.”
Ben glanced at her. There hadn’t been time to go into this before when Brenda brought up the prospect of looking more closely at the partner’s wife. “I have Max checking up on Lena Jenner. Like you,” he confirmed, “I’m not a fan of coincidences. We did a preliminary in the beginning but found nothing. It’s time for a deeper dig.”
Brenda turned in her seat. “What if Lena has been looking for Mallory and Janey and was here when Cummings showed up? She may have killed him. I really want to go to her house. Now. Right now. We might even catch her in the act of washing blood off her hands.”
Ben glanced at her. “No wonder your books are so well-done. You think like a detective.” He laughed. “Or maybe a criminal.”
Brenda smiled and he was glad he’d had something to do with it.
“We’re going to find your daughter.”
She nodded and resettled in her seat.
Ben was determined that whoever had started this thing, he intended to end it.
Chapter Twenty
Jenner Residence
Carnoustie Lane
Huntsville, 9:30 p.m.
Brenda was out of the car before Ben could round the hood. She stared up at the multistory home, her frustration building. Like Scott, Tate Jenner had chosen a home on the prestigious Ledges. Closer to the golf course, naturally.
The garage doors were shut so they had no way to determine if Lena’s SUV was here. But there were lights on in the house. Brenda had only been to the Jenner home on a few occasions. Christmas parties, mostly. Only once here, maybe two years ago. An anniversary party for the couple, which, she assumed, was mostly because they had wanted to show off their new home.
The house was a carefully balanced blend of rustic country and elegance. The wraparound porches provided the country touch to the exterior. Inside were acres of wide plank wood flooring showcased by smooth white walls and rustic, natural beadboard. It was all very stately and large. But that didn’t mean there weren’t secrets hiding in the dark corners. All this time she had trusted the man she married to be the husband she thought he was. She’d trusted these people to be who they presented themselves to be.
