“Seems she was afraid of the man working with April’s father. Afraid he would kill her if he found out she’d told anyone. Something else—when the police went through Porter’s house, they found his laptop. A quick look revealed that he was Lamont Cranston. They also found a note they think Jeffrey Bailey wrote saying he knew April’s login information for her podcast and that he’d shut it down. Since he cleaned out her apartment, my guess is he found it in that planner Nathan told us about.”
“Well, that makes sense,” River said.
“Porter was trying to shut April down from the beginning, afraid that she’d uncover his secret. Like you thought, he’s the one who struck and killed Cheryl Armitage. He hid the damage to his car by saying he’d hit a deer. No one followed up on him because he was a respected police detective. Seems he was drunk the night it happened and didn’t notice her. Cheryl must have seen him though. That’s why she whispered ‘three little piggies’ while she was dying. Porter and a couple of his cronies had encountered her before. I guess they weren’t very nice about it. That was her nickname for them. Once they found out Porter was dead, one of his old police buddies came forward with that information. Guess he was too afraid of Porter to say anything before.”
“You know, I just realized something else,” River said. “When I talked to Porter, he told me that Cheryl’s husband couldn’t have taken April because he was dead when April went missing. But I didn’t tell him when April disappeared. He knew because he was involved in her kidnapping. Another thing I missed.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Tony said. “I didn’t catch it either. We both assumed a respected detective wouldn’t be involved in something like that.” He shook his head. “Seems Porter was walking on the edge of a cliff, and he was afraid April was the one who would finally push him over.
“Something else about Jeffrey Bailey. Now that the police realize he was working with Vincent Porter, they’re going to look into April’s mother’s death again. The dream April had as a child about seeing a woman dead under a tree? They’re wondering if Porter actually killed her and then staged her death somewhere else. You remember that Jeffrey was cleared of her murder because he had an alibi?”
River nodded.
“If they can find something that connects Porter to her death, it could mean that Jeffrey really was behind it. I hate thinking that April may have to deal with something like that, but I believe she needs to know the truth.”
“I do too,” River said. “You said there were two things you needed to tell me. Was that the second thing?”
Tony chuckled. “It’s another story about someone in law enforcement. However, I can guarantee you’ll like this one a lot more. Not long ago, a woman who was having car trouble pulled over to the side of a road that wasn’t very well traveled out near Kimmswick. A man stopped and asked if he could help. Then he attacked her. Turns out the woman was an off-duty police officer. She took him down. Guy never stood a chance. When other officers arrived, they found a bag with silk dogwood flowers in his car.”
“Are you telling me that they caught the guy who killed Shelly Evans and Ted Piper?”
“Yeah, and because you noticed those flowers, they believe they’ll be able to tie him not only to their deaths, but also the others Arnie told us about,” Tony said.
“That’s incredible.”
“Doesn’t that mean that all of April’s cold cases are closed?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, except for the man whose body was found next to the railroad tracks. I wish we could have done something with that.”
“I do too, River, but to be honest, not all crimes are solved. This is one we’ll just have to walk away from.”
“I guess so.” She shrugged. “I can’t complain, I guess. I would like to know what happened to Jeffrey Bailey. It’s obvious he and Porter were connected and keeping each other’s secrets.”
“I’m convinced he’s dead, River. I think Porter killed him. Even though the police haven’t found his body yet, I’m sure they will.”
“Yeah, maybe,” River said. “But isn’t it possible he might have just taken off? Decided to run away?”
“Anything’s possible, I guess. Arnie said that in his own way, he cared about his daughter. He spent a lot of the money from April’s trust fund trying to keep her alive.”
River snorted. “Yeah, sure. Who keeps their daughter drugged up for months? Sorry, but Jeffrey Bailey deserves whatever he gets . . . or got. I know I’m supposed to be compassionate toward people—remember that God loves them as much as He loves us. But sometimes it’s really hard.”
“Yes, it is.” Tony sighed.
“You okay?”
Tony shook his head. “No, I was thinking about Watson. Wondering if I should have brought him with us today. He’s been sticking close to me ever since the fire. I know he was traumatized by it.”
“Traumatized? Are you kidding? He’s having a blast with all the attention he’s getting. Mom, Mrs. Weyland, and Scutter are all crazy about him. He’s soaking it up like a sponge.” She smiled at him. “Seriously, Tony. He’s doing great. He was a little confused and insecure the first couple of days, but he’s got so much support now, I think he’s over it.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He stared at her for a moment before saying, “I’m so grateful Porter was stopped before he bombed your house. If you hadn’t gone to the office . . .”
“It’s okay. I usually try to do what you ask me to do, but sometimes . . .”
“Sometimes you’re smarter than me?”
She grinned at him. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that sometimes God is smarter than you.”
Tony leaned his head back and laughed, which made River feel better. They still had a major obstacle in front of them, but God had proven to be exactly who He said He was. A help in time of trouble. A loving Father. A protector. She had faith that everything was going to be okay.
THEY HUNG AROUND THE OFFICE the rest of the day. At five o’clock, they got up from their desks. Tony walked up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s pray first,” he said.
“You know it might not be today.”
“I know,” he said. “But we’re giving him a chance. I think he’s been waiting for it.”
She nodded. “I agree. I’d appreciate that prayer.”
Tony took a deep breath before praying, “Father, Your Word says that you give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. That no weapon formed against us will prosper. Father, we believe that since River has set her love upon You, that You will protect her. You’ve promised to be with us when we’re in trouble—to deliver us and honor us. We believe Your promises. Thank You for being with River and . . .” Tony took a deep, shaky breath and choked out the rest of his words. “Thank You for giving us success in this endeavor. I know You’ll keep her safe, Father. She means so much to me . . .”
River looked up into his tear-filled eyes. Before she realized what she was doing she reached up and put her hand on his cheek.
“I’ll be okay, Tony. We both will. When this is over, there are things to be said.”
“I’m tired of waiting,” Tony said, his voice husky with emotion. He leaned down and put his lips on hers. She felt something so powerful when they kissed that it took her breath away. When he moved away, all she could do was stare at him.
“I believe you’ll come back to me,” Tony said, “and you’re right, when this is over, we’ll sit down and talk. But I don’t want you doing this thing until you know how much I love you.”
