CHAPTER EIGHT
FLINT WENT IN the back way of the sheriff’s department. On the drive in, he’d told himself to keep his cool. But just the thought of seeing Celeste and knowing what she’d done...
“Stay calm,” he reminded himself as he walked down to the interrogation room and stopped short to duck into the viewing room. He could see Mark sitting down with Celeste and her husband. Wayne looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep. Celeste had put on her face before coming down. Just knowing that she’d taken the time to apply makeup when Maggie was missing made his blood boil.
He turned on the speaker so he could hear what was being said.
“I’m telling you I didn’t have anything to do with this woman’s disappearance,” Celeste said indignantly.
Mark said, “But you saw her at the grocery store the day she disappeared.”
“Did I? I suppose so. I saw a lot of people.”
“Maggie told you that she and Flint were moving in together,” the undersheriff informed her.
Celeste raised an eyebrow. “Why would she bother to share something like that with me? I couldn’t care less.” Beside her Wayne groaned. “Fine, but she didn’t tell me. I overheard her on the phone with Flint.”
“Where did you go after you left the grocery store?”
“I took my groceries home and put them away and then packed for the spa.”
Mark shot a look at Wayne, who had his head down. “Your husband said you called him upset.”
Celeste didn’t look over at Wayne. “I’m sure he’s exaggerating. I was probably just harried because I’d checked the weather and wasn’t sure I could reach the spa before the storm hit.”
Flint saw Wayne close his eyes.
“Harried?” Mark asked. “Is that how you explain the condition of your bedroom before you left?”
“I told you,” she said with infinite patience, “I was in a hurry.”
“But not so much of a hurry that you didn’t drive by your ex-husband’s house.”
The large dark SUV that Alma Ellison had seen. He fisted his hands, his breathing coming faster. If she lied...
“That’s not on your way out of town,” Mark pointed out. “In fact, it’s out of your way.”
Celeste took her time answering. “You have no proof that I drove by his house.”
“Actually, we have an eyewitness who saw you heading down the street toward the house where Maggie disappeared from shortly after that.” It was a bluff.
“It’s my word against your eyewitness’s,” Celeste said, lifting her chin in defiance.
“In an assault, abduction and possible murder case, I suspect the eyewitness will be enough to send you to prison,” Mark said.
“I told you—”
“Let me break it down for you. Maggie has disappeared. We know she was bleeding at the house. If you know where she is, you need to tell us what happened.” Celeste tried to interrupt, but Mark kept talking over the top of her. “Here’s what I suspect happened. You got into a fight. It turned violent. You panicked. Then what did you do with her? Promise to take her to the hospital? But where did you take her instead? If you let her die, it’s murder. So tell me, where is Maggie? The clock is ticking, Celeste. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison.”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” she screamed as she got to her feet. “I didn’t do anything to the woman. Yes, I drove past the house. I don’t know why I did, all right? I just did and then I left town. Alone. I drove toward Paradise Valley, but the roads got too bad. I pulled over at the first motel I found. You aren’t going to pin this on me. I know my rights. I want a lawyer.”
Flint couldn’t take any more. Celeste was lying through her teeth. He stalked out of the viewing room and burst into the interrogation. His ex-wife’s eyes widened in alarm when she saw him. She backed up as he stalked toward her until she collided with the wall.
All that warning himself to be calm did no good. He rushed to her, demanding, “Where is Maggie? What did you do to her, you crazy—”
The rest was a blur. He heard the scrape of Mark’s chair as he clamored to his feet over Celeste’s scream. All the months of Celeste’s tormenting Maggie and doing everything possible to keep them apart came out in a flash of fury.
“You’re going to tell me the truth before it’s too late!” He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed.
He felt strong hands on him, dragging him back. He could hear Mark telling him to stop. All the years he’d been a lawman, he’d never lost control. It irritated the hell out of his siblings because he was the one who stayed calm no matter what.
Several more hands were on him. Mark had him in a headlock and someone broke his hold on his ex-wife.
“If you hurt Maggie, so help me, I’ll...I’ll kill you,” Flint yelled as the two deputies pulled him off her.
Celeste leaned back against the wall, her eyes wide with fear as she touched her throat where Flint’s hands had been only moments before. She was gasping for breath.
“You really do hate me, don’t you.” She was the only one in the room who sounded calm.
“Get him out of here,” Mark said to the other deputy, who quickly ushered him out of the room. He heard Mark say, “Let’s all take it easy.”
“I want a restraining order against that man,” Celeste said, sounding not just calm now, but pleased. “And I want assault charges filed against him,” he heard her say before the door closed behind him.
* * *
MARK SIGHED AS the door closed behind the deputy and Flint. How had the sheriff known he was interrogating Celeste? Harp, he thought with a curse. He’d been there this morning when Celeste and her husband came in.
“Let’s sit back down,” he said, worried what was about to happen now.
Celeste looked over at her husband. Wayne hadn’t moved during all that. Nor had he said a word. He still had his head down as if studying the top of the interrogation table. “Wayne? Do you hear me? I want Flint fired.” She began to cry as she touched her throat. “I want him thrown in jail. I want him...” She glared at Mark. “I want him behind bars. I don’t feel...safe.”
“I don’t condone the sheriff’s behavior,” the undersheriff said. “But given the earlier stunts you pulled on Flint, I can understand his frustration. He believes you’re lying. He believes you have harmed Maggie. He believes you are willing to let her die rather than tell the truth.”
Celeste’s gaze was tear-free and ice-cold when she settled it on him. “I wish I had taken her. I wouldn’t have brought her back. It would serve him right.”
Wayne lifted his head to look over at her, his expression filled with horror.
As if realizing how damning her words were, Celeste quickly began to cry. Through her sobs, she swore she hadn’t taken Maggie.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve threatened Maggie,” Mark said. “I believe the words you wrote on the mirror at the beauty shop were ‘Die Bitch.’ If you had anything to do with Maggie being injured at her house and disappearing, we need to find out before it’s too late. If Maggie is found alive before anything else happens to her, things will go much easier on you.”
“I told you I don’t know anything about the beauty-shop break-in or Maggie disappearing,” Celeste said through her tears. “Just because I didn’t want Flint getting tied down with that...woman—”
“Celeste,” Duma snapped, raising his head again to glare at her. “For God’s sake, if you did something to this poor woman—”
Mark could see that they weren’t getting anywhere. He didn’t have enough to lock Celeste up. Better to keep a tail on her. Maybe she would lead them to Maggie. Or, given the obvious feelings she had for the woman, maybe not. Wherever Maggie was, if Celeste had left her there, he didn’t think she’d be going back for her.
“Since you have nothing to hide, you won’t mind if we inspect your vehicle,” Mark said. “We’ll be able to tell how many miles you went since Maggie disappeared and even possibly where you went.”
“You’ll need to get a warrant,” Celeste snapped as she dug in her purse for a tissue.
“You won’t need a warrant,” Wayne said with a sigh. “The vehicle is in my name. You have my permission to keep it as long as you like. I just had it serviced before Celeste took it, so you should be able to get the information you need easily enough. Also, we have the navigation service. I’ll make sure they work with you.”
Celeste’s eyes flared with anger as Wayne rose to his feet. “I mean what I said,” she snapped, turning back to Mark. “I want Flint arrested for attacking me.”
“I didn’t see anyone attack you,” Wayne said, making both Mark and Celeste turn to look at him. “I think you’re lying again.”
“What?” she demanded, clearly in shock. “He just had to be pulled off of me. You were sitting right here. You saw what happened. You witnessed it.”
Wayne smiled. “But it’s your word against mine, Celeste.”
Her gaze shot to Mark. “You had to have him pulled off me.”
He said nothing, waiting to see how this played out.
She clamped her jaw tight, eyes narrowing. “I see what the two of you are doing.” Her face was a mask of anger. “I might have driven by his house, but I didn’t touch a hair on that bitch’s head. However, I do have bruises on my neck that prove that Flint tried to kill me.”
“How do we know it wasn’t like last time when you hurt yourself to make it look like I abused you?” Wayne asked, his voice deadly low.
All the color drained from Celeste’s face.
“I guess we’re done here for now, then,” Mark said, getting to his feet. “But I have to ask you not to leave town, Mrs. Duma.”
She shot him a withering look. “How could I since you’ll have my SUV?” Celeste looked indignant as she met his gaze. “Everyone always wants to blame me. But you have to believe me. This time, I didn’t do anything.”
“This time,” Duma said with a groan. He looked at Mark. “I can’t let her talk to you again without a lawyer present,” he said almost apologetically to the undersheriff. Without looking at Celeste, he started for the door.
“I didn’t do anything,” Celeste said, practically stomping her feet in frustration.
“If you can’t tell the truth, then just keep your mouth shut,” Wayne said.
Mark saw her appalled face. There would be hell to pay when Celeste and Wayne got home. He hoped he didn’t get another domestic dispute call from that house tonight.
“This isn’t over,” she snapped and stormed out after her husband.
* * *
FLINT HAD HIS head in his hands and a deputy at the door to keep him from leaving his own office. He couldn’t believe what he’d done. What scared him most was that he would do it again if he got the chance. Celeste was lying. He knew it gut deep.
But still, he shouldn’t have burst in there. He shouldn’t have grabbed her. All the years of problems with her had surfaced in the perfect storm. He’d never put his hands on a woman like that, never thought he ever would. That Celeste had pushed him to that point terrified him. What if the lawmen hadn’t been there to pull him off her?
His cell phone rang. He checked it, not interested in talking to anyone but Maggie. But when he saw it was Frank calling, he took it.
“I wanted to update you on what we’ve gotten so far,” the PI said.
He only half listened, even more convinced that some man in a brown van hadn’t taken Maggie. He realized that he’d missed something. “Wait—did you just say you’re on your way to Radville, North Dakota?”
“Nettie has her heart set on it,” Frank joked. “We want to talk to Jenna’s friend. Don’t worry—this is on the house. We think this Clark person might be the man in the brown van. Reiner said the plates on the van weren’t Wyoming or Montana. We’re thinking they could have been North Dakota. I know it’s a stretch.”
“No, that’s good. But I’m still paying.” He heard Mark coming down the hallway. “I have to go. Let me know where you’re staying in Radville. If you can’t reach me, call my brother Hawk. I might be in jail for a while.” He disconnected as the undersheriff came into the room. “I’m sorry,” Flint said, lifting his head when he heard Mark walk into the room. “I lost it. I couldn’t help it. I’m sure they’re filing charges. I just hope I can make bail.”
Mark walked around to his desk and sat down. He motioned for the deputy to leave them alone. “No one is filing charges.”
Flint looked up at him in surprise from the chair where he sat.
“I’m as surprised as you are that you won’t be spending Christmas behind bars. That is where you should be.”
“I don’t know what possessed me.”
“Sure you do,” Mark said, leaning back in his chair. “I wanted to shake the truth out of her too. You’ve had years of her lies.”
That surprised him. If anyone was by the book, it was his undersheriff.
“Celeste wanted you sent straight to prison, but her husband defended you. He said he didn’t see anything.”
Flint blinked. “Why would he do that?”
“From what I gathered, he still might have some resentment toward her after she called 9-1-1 and said her husband had hit her.”
He nodded. “Then later she just happened to remember that Wayne wasn’t even in the house and that she must have fallen down.”
“You think she purposely injured herself to try to...frame him?”
Flint sighed. “We’re talking about Celeste. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I shouldn’t have lost it with her, but she’s the most lying, conniving woman I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
“Including attacking and abducting Maggie.”
He nodded, feeling the weight of his building grief. “It’s been too long. If Maggie’s injured...”
“We’re following every lead. I’m hoping Celeste’s car will give us some idea of where she went.”
“You have an eyewitness who saw her in my neighborhood right before Maggie disappeared. Maybe if you arrested her...”
Mark shook his head. “If she took Maggie, she might lead us to her. Also, Alma remembered that the woman driving was blonde and ID’d Celeste. But she’s admitted driving past. Unfortunately, Alma can’t swear that Celeste pulled in at your house. She did slow down, though, before Alma lost sight of her behind the trees.”
Flint swore, knowing he was right. He was glad that Mark was in charge of the investigation. “I’m not thinking clearly. Of course you’re right.”
“That’s why I’m tempted to lock you up for your own good,” his undersheriff said. “Another stunt like you just pulled and—”
“I know. I would do the same thing if it was you. I keep thinking about Anvil Holloway when his wife disappeared. I never appreciated what he’d been going through. All those months...” He shook his head. “You have my cell number if—”
“If we get any word of Maggie, you know I’ll call. But, Flint, if you go near Celeste—”
He nodded. “I won’t. I can’t. I honestly am not sure what I would do if I found out that she has Maggie.”
“That is not what I wanted to hear,” Mark said.