Chapter Thirty-Two
Ava and Logan had dropped the twins with her mother and headed out for Dr. Bartlett’s home as soon as they’d both showered. The house was near the prison so they had time to eat their breakfast on the go and discuss what they might find, where Wade might be, and of course what he might be planning to do next.
There were many possibilities and few of them were good news. While many escaped prisoners might lie low and try to keep their nose clean so they wouldn’t attract any attention to themselves, Logan seemed positive that Wade wouldn’t take that route. He loved attention so he wasn’t going to disappear somewhere for years. He’d want to make a splash and get the sensational headlines. The question was how long did they have before his first kill? Who would he target?
Ava checked the directions again on her phone. They should be getting close to the doctor’s house.
“What if Dr. Bartlett is home with the flu?”
Logan had already confirmed with Jason’s source that the therapist hadn’t shown up for work this morning.
“Then we’ll fix her some tea and ask her where she thinks he might go. If he ever mentioned anyone or anywhere outside of those walls.” Logan glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road. “Are you still worried that Wade might be at her house? I’ve got the local cops meeting us there.”
It had crossed her mind a few times. It wasn’t out of the question that Wade would show up at the doctor’s residence seeking shelter and assistance, whether willingly or by force.
“I think it’s a possibility we need to be ready for. The reason she might not be at work could be that he’s holding her hostage.”
Logan’s jaw tightened and his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “To be frank, I don’t think she’s long for this world either way. If Wade is holed up at her house, he won’t think twice about killing her. If he does that, heaven help us because he’s going to get addicted to that feeling again. Just like a junkie, he’s going to need it over and over, more frequently each time. Once won’t be enough.”
Ava shuddered as she remembered seeing the body of Wade’s own father who he had shot in the head.
“You think he’ll go on a spree?”
“I think it’s highly likely. He’ll love the press coverage.”
Ava pointed to a small white house on the corner of a quiet residential street. Jason had already called them back and told them that the local police weren’t all that interested in Dr. Marilyn Bartlett if they weren’t sure that she had broken any laws. As far as the police were concerned, Logan had an interesting theory but absolutely no evidence.
Luckily Jason was able to convince the local cops to at least meet them there in case the doctor’s life was in danger. He’d suggested that they wouldn’t want the bad publicity. That had done the trick. They’d agreed to do a “well-being” check on Marilyn Bartlett.
An unmarked patrol car was parked in front of the house.
Pulling up in front of the home, Ava slid out of the vehicle happy to stretch her legs. She and Logan walked toward the door and were immediately greeted by a plainclothes police officer in the doorway. Clearly Wade wasn’t here.
An older man with silver hair shook their hands. “I’m Detective Murray Townsend. You must be Logan Wright.”
“I am, and this is my wife Ava. She also consults from time to time.”
I do? How cool.
The captain didn’t even question Ava’s presence, getting straight to the point. “I must admit, Mr. Wright, I’m not sure why we’re here. Has Dr. Bartlett broken any laws?”
“I don’t know yet, but I am concerned for her safety. Wade Bryson is a dangerous man.”
The man seemed dubious but accepted Logan’s explanation. “Well, you’re lucky my captain thinks so highly of the Anderson family. I can’t think of anyone else that would be allowed to do this. We’re breaking a couple of statutes right now.”
Ava didn’t care about the rules and Logan…well…he never had.
“I’m confident in my theory, Detective. I believe Marilyn Bartlett is in danger.”
The older man shrugged. “If I get in trouble for this I’m throwing you under the bus. Anyway, I did a little checking while I was waiting for you. The female subject Dr. Bartlett isn’t here, nor has she shown up for work. Her vehicle is not in the garage but the door to the garage was unlocked and from there I was able to enter the residence.”
They’d need to put out a BOLO for the car.
“She didn’t take her cell phone. I found that on her desk in the living room. There doesn’t appear to have been any struggle, however. I see no evidence of any crime here.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s with Wade Bryson voluntarily,” Ava pointed out. “It just means she didn’t fight back in this location.”
“It could also mean that she’s at the grocery store or visiting a friend and if she comes home and catches us inside of her house she’ll sue the pants off of the department.”
The detective was kind of a pessimist.
“Can we look around?” Logan asked. She could feel the leashed up tension in his body. He wanted…something to happen.
“Sure, why the hell not? We’re already on thin ice. Just be quick. We have real crimes that need to be investigated. I’ll wait outside. Don’t take anything. I could get in big trouble for this.”
The cop turned and exited the house.
“I don’t think he believes your theory, husband.”
“I don’t give a shit what he believes. I should have just broken into the house. It would have been easier. Let’s check out the kitchen.”
Logan studied a wooden block of knives on the counter. One was missing.
“One of the knives is missing.”
“But there’s no blood anywhere that I can see.” Logan opened the dishwasher. “And here it is. She really shouldn’t put expensive knives in the dishwasher. She’ll ruin them.”
“You’re kind of annoying at a possible crime scene.”
Logan flashed her a grin. “I’m betting it’s only going to become worse.”
He opened the refrigerator and the contents were sparse. The pantry was stocked slightly more but it didn’t look like Marilyn Bartlett liked to cook.
Opening a drawer, Logan pulled out a stack of well-worn takeout menus. “Bingo. I bet she mostly ate out. So an empty refrigerator means nothing.”
The rest of the kitchen didn’t help so they moved into the living room. Ava headed straight for the desk where the cop said the cell phone had been found. She believed that desks and workspaces said a great deal about a person. For example, Ava’s said that she was neat but impatient. Creative but orderly.
The doctor’s desk was neat as well. A place for everything and everything in its place. Pens and pencils in the holder. Paper clips in a little open box. Even the rubber bands were stacked neatly.
If Marilyn Bartlett kept her work area this clean and organized that meant that all work had to put away in the drawers. She wouldn’t leave it out. Sliding open the middle drawer, Ava found a planner open to the current week. Notations had been made on each day including exercise, water intake, and appointments. Dr. Bartlett has visited the dentist earlier this week. There was nothing there about Wade but they’d need to look through it completely.
“Logan, I found the doctor’s daily planner.”
“If she’s anything like you she would have written down that she was planning to help a sociopath break out of prison. Monday, laundry. Tuesday, spinning class. Wednesday, help a serial killer. Thursday, book club.”
So I might be a little detail oriented. Is that so wrong?
“Really? You’re going to give me a hard time about my planner now? Is this really the time? You were right. You are more annoying.”
“I think your planner is cute. Now what else can we find in this desk?”
“Was the doctor right or left handed?” Ava asked, standing in front of the desk. “There’s a theory that everything important is always placed on the same side.”
Thinking for a moment, Logan pointed to the right column of drawers. “She was right handed.”
“Then let’s try these first.”
The top drawer was filled with receipts, probably for tax purposes, all clipped together in orderly little piles. The second drawer was almost empty, with nothing but a checkbook and an adding machine in it.
“I can’t remember the last time I wrote a check,” Ava said, picking it up and paging through the register. As expected, Dr. Bartlett was meticulous about recording every check written.
“Or used an adding machine. What’s the date of the last entry?”
Ava held it up to show him. “About two years ago. She probably kept it for taxes.”
“Check the bottom drawer.”
Empty. The left column wasn’t much better. After scouring the living room for a while longer, they made their way into the bedroom. Like the two rooms before, it was neat as a pin. The only item out of place was a recent hardback bestseller on the nightstand that Ava had recently finished reading. The book was facedown and open. A book lover, it drove Ava crazy when she saw people do this.
“She didn’t have a freakin’ book mark? She has a stack of post it notes on her desk. This poor book.”
Ava lifted it, intending to see where in the story Dr. Bartlett had left off but there was something or things, plural, underneath it and they cascaded to the floor.
“Shit,” Ava cursed, both her and Logan bending down to pick up what looked like a stack of photos. “I’ve got butterfingers.”
Faster than she could ever hope to be, he had scooped up most of the photos before she had a chance. “Baby, have I said that I love you today?”
He had.
“You did when I poured you coffee this morning. Why?”
He was grinning. That smile he was famous for, if only locally and among friends.
He held up one of the photos. “Look.”
Ava had to look hard to see what he was smiling about, studying the photo carefully. When she did, her heart shifted into another gear and she had to remind herself to breathe. In and out. In and out.
Screw it, I’ll breathe later. This is important now.
It was a picture of Lyle on that jogging path.
All of the pictures were of Lyle going about his day and they appeared to be taken from a distance, as if Dr. Bartlett had followed Lyle to study his daily schedule.
“I’ll have Jared check to see if she has any firearms registered in her name. I’ll have Jason call the authorities again as well. I think now I might have a little more credibility that Dr. Marilyn Bartlett, once a witness for the prosecution, shot and killed Lyle Bryson because his brother Wade wanted him dead. They might even believe that she helped him escape from prison and is on the run with him now.”
Ava heard her husband speaking but the words barely penetrated her brain. She was too busy looking at the photos. There weren’t many, maybe eight in total, but the more closely she looked at a few of them the more frightened she became until her heart was lodged in her throat. She grabbed Logan by the shirt, yanking it to get his attention.
She tapped on one of the pictures. “Look! It’s not Lyle.”
Logan took it from her hand and held it closer. “What do you mean? These are Lyle.”
“No, those are Lyle.” She pushed two other photos under his nose, her whole body shaking. The drive back to Corville would take too long. They’d have to call Drake. Thank heavens he’d stayed behind this morning due to some local business. “These are Aaron. Logan, she’s not just after Lyle, she’s after Aaron, too.”
The brothers were close in age and looked very much alike.
It made sense. Wade hated the Bryson family dynasty and the business. He wouldn’t choose one brother over the other. He’d want both of them gone.
The color drained from Logan’s face and he quickly levered to his feet, dragging her with him. He was already running for the door with her on his heels. “Fuck, we need to get back there. Son of a fucking bitch.”
Ava could only hope they’d figured it out in time.