He had a gnawing sense of something wrong, something not quite right. But he had to trust that Kate was on it. It’s just that he knew—to his own folly—that sometimes just being on it didn’t mean jack shit. Things still went wrong. He thought about the little bit he knew about this woman and the things that he’d heard from Kate, and he realized it was still a wild open field of chaos.
He shook his head, walked over to his kitchen, and put on a pot of coffee. It would be a hell of a long day. No way he would rest until he knew how this ended up playing out. And he could only hope that Kate would come and tell him at the end of the day. But he knew that, if things went wrong, she wouldn’t get free from this for hours yet.
Chapter 21
Kate walked upto the beautiful house. It was a huge brick estate. With Rodney at her side, she stared at it in surprise. “It’s easy enough to see why they think they won’t necessarily have to deal with the law,” she murmured.
“And yet we’re still not exactly sure what’s going on here.”
“No, but it is damn well time to find out.” She knocked on the door, and, when a maid answered, Kate identified herself with her badge and asked to speak to Pamela’s parents.
The woman frowned. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll let them know that you’re here.”
“Please do,” Kate said in a cool voice.
“How many times have we come across maids in our work?”
“This may be the first time for me, but, of course, you’re acting all blasé, like it’s business as usual.”
He laughed. “Wouldn’t that’d be nice… to have a maid, you know?”
“Laundry, buying groceries—and cooking—that’s what I would have mine do,” she said.
“Did you ever unpack?”
“Hell no,” she said.
“I suppose they could do that too then.” He chuckled.
“Nah, that’d be a waste of time. I’ve got out just what I use.”
Then the massive front door opened again, and they were allowed to enter the foyer. As the maid turned to look down the hall, Kate watched as a well-dressed—almost overdressed—woman scurried toward them. Kate smiled at her. “Are you Sarah, Pamela’s mother?”
“Yes. Why are you here?”
Kate held up her badge and identified herself. “I told you that we needed to ask Pamela some questions.”
“No, you don’t understand. Pamela is not in any shape to answer questions.”
“Then you need to explain just what that means,” her partner said.
“She’s not all there now,” her mother replied. “This all had a terrible effect on her nerves.”
“So, is she of a nervous disposition?” Kate asked, pressing. “Because that doesn’t mean the same thing to me as it probably does to you.”
The woman frowned at her. “Look. I told you already. She’s not capable of talking to you. That’s all there is to it.”
“No, it’s not. That is not all there is to it. We need proof that she is alive and well,” Kate said flatly. “And we’re not leaving until we get it.”
The woman looked at her in shock. “What are you saying?”
“You heard me. Now where is your daughter?”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“I think it’s you who doesn’t understand, and frankly you’re not helping your case.”
At that, a booming voice called out, “Who’s at the door?” Kate braced herself as the father came around the corner. He glared at them. “What on earth are the cops doing at my house?” he said, with a sneer.